Topic: Headphone Recommendation

[F0CKER]

Somebody recommend me a good set of headphones specific for use in the field.  They're going to be used in loud concert environments to help set the pattern and width for a Soundfield setup on the fly.  I need a set of cans that has good rejection of outside noise, good bass extension, and won't drain my bank account. 

[Frank in JC]

Those would be magic headphones you're looking for 

If anything though, try the in-ear-monitor route.  I use a pair of Etymotic ER-4Ss and Shure SE530s, both of which offer a fair amount of isolation (the Etys are much better, though), and it's STILL not enough to monitor effectively at the average loud concert.  Also, because the attenuated ambient noise is still pretty loud, you'll need to crank the volume to unhealthy levels. 

Now if you wear hearing protectors on top of IEMs, you'll be getting somewhere... but you'll also look like a dork   

[OFOTD]

Sony MDR-7506 without question.   You can find them for $100 or less tons of places.   

They are a helluva field headphone.  I absolutely love mine.

[pfife]

Sony MDR-7506 without question.   You can find them for $100 or less tons of places.   

They are a helluva field headphone.  I absolutely love mine.

I love mine, but I don't feel they isolate very well.

to the OP, be careful of damaging your hearing.  Concert SPLs are ridiclously loud as is...

[Tim]

I agree with pfife on the 7506's - I love em and they are built like tanks but I don't find that they isolate that well.

[Church-Audio]

Sony MDR-7506 without question.   You can find them for $100 or less tons of places.   

They are a helluva field headphone.  I absolutely love mine.

I love mine, but I don't feel they isolate very well.

to the OP, be careful of damaging your hearing.  Concert SPLs are ridiclously loud as is...

I use my 7506 headphone for live mixing all the time.. Plenty of isolation for my needs for the last 20 years or so. But if your right beside the PA they might not isolate enough. These headphones are the standard mixing headphones for live sound in the industry since there inception.

[ilduclo]

SENNHEISERS

[Shawn]

I think I remember reading that the sennheiser hd280's reject about 30 db of outside noise so they could be decent for on the fly mixing. I wouldn't say they have the greatest bass extension in the world. They are bulky as hell for lugging around in a gear bag too, but I know some tapers who do (bean comes to mind).

[Tim]

I use my 7506 headphone for live mixing all the time.. Plenty of isolation for my needs for the last 20 years or so. But if your right beside the PA they might not isolate enough. These headphones are the standard mixing headphones for live sound in the industry since there inception.

how does the headphone jack on the 722 compare to one on a FOH desk? I used my 7506's when I was mixing but that was with the good headphone jacks on the console

[Frank in JC]

I think I remember reading that the sennheiser hd580's reject about 30 db of outside noise...

No offense, but that's gotta be a mistake.  The 580 is an open-back design that might attenuate ambient noise by a handful of decibels.  I've never worn them, but my Grados are the same type of headphone. 

Maybe you're referring to a closed-back model? 

[Shawn]

oops I meant hd280. brain fart.

[JasonR]

how does the headphone jack on the 722 compare to one on a FOH desk? I used my 7506's when I was mixing but that was with the good headphone jacks on the console

It gets loud.  It doesn't sound any good, but it gets loud enough to monitor.  I have to agree with the recommendations for an in-ear monitor like the Etymotics or Shures.  I keep a pair of ER6s in my bag, and they're a great tool.  The 7-series headphone amp doesn't sound good enough to really evaluate how good a recording you're getting, but you can establish the overall signal, balance, time issues, etc... and really that's probably all most of us need to do in the field.

- Jason

[George]

The only headphone/iem's I could recommend are the ones that have custom molding to fit your ears to provide the absolute best hearing protection and that will give you the ability to monitor on the fly.

I've owned the 7506's for 6 years, they don't block out enough train noise to be used in the subway (I'm talking about the A, C and F lines for you New Yorkers).  I think the 7506's might give you about 5db of isolation, they're pretty much useless for on the fly monitoring, imho.

[pfife]

I've owned the 7506's for 6 years, they don't block out enough train noise to be used in the subway (I'm talking about the A, C and F lines for you New Yorkers).  I think the 7506's might give you about 5db of isolation, they're pretty much useless for on the fly monitoring, imho.

this was my experience with them too.

[Frank in JC]

...they don't block out enough train noise to be used in the subway (I'm talking about the A, C and F lines for you New Yorkers). 

I hate the noise of the subway about 10% as much as I hate the summer heat down there (meaning I still really, really hate the noise).  With a pair of Shure SE530s and a Ray Samuels Tomahawk, I'm the happiest guy on the PATH... everybody else looks as painfully miserable as I'd be otherwise!   

I found that the Etys isolate too well to be safe in a busy place like this, however.