In Ear headphones for drumming

Grace :)

Senior Member
Hi,
I've been looking over the forum and a lot of people seem to say that a good pair of in ear headphones are far better than sound cancelling over ear headphones for drumming.

I was wondering if anybody could give me any advice on any of these headphones, or help me identify what it is i'm looking for in a good pair of in ear headphones.

http://hmv.com/hmvweb/displayProductDetails.do?ctx=345;16;-1;-1;234&sku=956941
(these are described as 'having an ear canal fit for extra noise reduction')

http://hmv.com/hmvweb/displayProductDetails.do?ctx=345;16;-1;-1;234&sku=907065
(sound pressure sensitivity 100Db)

Obviously there are more expensive ones, but what exactly is 'sound pressure sensitivity' and does it affect the amount of noise reduction given by a headphone? What should I be looking for ideally?

Any help would be greatly appreciated :)
 
From what you're asking, I'm guessing you need something for listening to music/metronome while cutting the sound of your drums. If that's the case I have a very cheap alternative that I just did and works perfect.
I bought industrial ear muffs (the ones people use when they work with heavy machinery and such) and then bought some ear buds that mold to the canal. Put the ear buds in, put the ear muffs over them and you are set.
You can still hear the drums while hearing your music and this cost me $23 Canadian.
 
I use SkullCandy Ink'd. They're 10-15 bucks if you shop around and let you hear enough of your drums while still keeping you mostly in the music. When I use my Shure SE115's they isolate WAY too much.
 
I use SkullCandy Ink'd. They're 10-15 bucks if you shop around and let you hear enough of your drums while still keeping you mostly in the music. When I use my Shure SE115's they isolate WAY too much.

I can vouch for the SkullCandy buds. They cut out quite a bit of the drums so you don't have to blast your ears with music. I often use them as ear plugs. They seem to cut the db just enough but not so much that I can't hear the crispy good stuff too.

I can imagine that these combined with a cheap pair of industrial noise cancelling ear muffs would be perfect for playing along to tracks while saving your ears.
 
Hey Crew,

I bought a pair of Skull Candy Inked buds a few weeks ago (I paid $19.99 @ Radio Shack) and LOVE them- I saw a pair of (very similar looking) buds for $5 less, but they were not lifetime guaranteed like the S.C. ones.

Great investment, GREAT fit and comfort- I'll endorse them personally.
BTW- great bass for such tiny speakers!

Cheers,
C. P.
 
I would not recommend using Skull Candy ear buds or any other ears buds that are designed for MP3 players for drums.

These DO NOT protect you. While I understand that some do not have hundreds of bucks to put into musician In-Ears, let me just tell you that your hearing has no price and once it's gone, it's gone. Too many people underestimate this.

Proper In-Ears do cut out a lot, but that is their purpose. It just takes some getting used to.

Save up and get some proper In-Ears. You can find Shure E2Cs for 60€ on the Internet which is a good price, if you have the money get some custom molded ones which will be even more comfortable. Do your audition a favor!

Edit: On a more personal note, I don't like cans, especially over ear buds. The ear buds can sort of be pulled out inside the cans because of the the wire being held by the head muffs against your head and they tend to make sound coming from the outside a complete mess. If you play in a band, the low frequencies coming from the outside are all over the place and you can't hear anything (it's annoying when you need to lock in with the bass player). Even worse if you play rock or metal. You might want to take this into account.
 
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From what you're asking, I'm guessing you need something for listening to music/metronome while cutting the sound of your drums. If that's the case I have a very cheap alternative that I just did and works perfect.
I bought industrial ear muffs (the ones people use when they work with heavy machinery and such) and then bought some ear buds that mold to the canal. Put the ear buds in, put the ear muffs over them and you are set.
You can still hear the drums while hearing your music and this cost me $23 Canadian.

Thats a genius idea. I'm going to start doing that. I always get an inkling feeling my in-ears were not quite sound-blocking full proof.
 
I would not recommend using Skull Candy ear buds or any other ears buds that are designed for MP3 players for drums.

These DO NOT protect you. While I understand that some do not have hundreds of bucks to put into musician In-Ears, let me just tell you that your hearing has no price and once it's gone, it's gone. Too many people underestimate this.

Proper In-Ears do cut out a lot, but that is their purpose. It just takes some getting used to.

Save up and get some proper In-Ears. You can find Shure E2Cs for 60€ on the Internet which is a good price, if you have the money get some custom molded ones which will be even more comfortable. Do your audition a favor!

Edit: On a more personal note, I don't like cans, especially over ear buds. The ear buds can sort of be pulled out inside the cans because of the the wire being held by the head muffs against your head and they tend to make sound coming from the outside a complete mess. If you play in a band, the low frequencies coming from the outside are all over the place and you can't hear anything (it's annoying when you need to lock in with the bass player). Even worse if you play rock or metal. You might want to take this into account.


thats interesting...my hearing is far more important to me, and i've started to look into the shure e2cs. do you think these provide a suitable level of protection when playing drums?

*edit*
after looking, it appears that the EC2s aren't made anymore, do these appear to be a similar type of headphone?
http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/shop/flypage/product_id/3681/r/google
 
DH, do you have any data to back up that claim? Obviously rubber plugs aren't going to offer the same level of noise blocking as foam plugs, but considering I've read they block ~25dB I'd say that's pretty dang good.

Besides, if I use those big beefy foam ear plugs, I can't play.
 
thats interesting...my hearing is far more important to me, and i've started to look into the shure e2cs. do you think these provide a suitable level of protection when playing drums?

*edit*
after looking, it appears that the EC2s aren't made anymore, do these appear to be a similar type of headphone?
http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/shop/flypage/product_id/3681/r/google

Hello Grace,

E2Cs do still exist but they changed the name to SCL2 - the ones you are looking at. They have a very suitable level of protection when playing drums. Those are the ones I started with and I had custom molds made for them so I could have -40dB noise reduction.

If you are going to use them for gigs you should look into a limiter - the downside with In-Ears is that if ever someone puts the volume up too loud in the monitors it can be dangerous.

DH, do you have any data to back up that claim? Obviously rubber plugs aren't going to offer the same level of noise blocking as foam plugs, but considering I've read they block ~25dB I'd say that's pretty dang good.

Besides, if I use those big beefy foam ear plugs, I can't play.

What kind of data do you want me to provide? If you want a research on Skull Candy ear gear sorry no such thing.

As a general rule, MP3 headsets are not made to deal with high sound pressure levels. They are made just to cut out ambient street noises. Professional music gear is by design made to deal with musical situations and to cut out the right frequencies. Any ENT specialist will tell you to stay away from anything else.

All in all do as you want. I'm only trying to friendly advise people to be careful.

Why can't you play with foam ear plugs? Are you talking about the yellow cylindrical ones?
 
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What kind of data do you want me to provide? If you want a research on Skull Candy ear gear sorry no such thing.

As a general rule, MP3 headsets are not made to deal with high sound pressure levels. They are made just to cut out ambient street noises. Professional music gear is by design made to deal with musical situations and to cut out the right frequencies. Any ENT specialist will tell you to stay away from anything else.

All in all do as you want. I'm only trying to friendly advise people to be careful.

Why can't you play with foam ear plugs? Are you talking about the yellow cylindrical ones?

Any kind of data showing that rubber ear cone plugs offer no protection. And I understand they aren't on the same level as the pro level things, just that they DO help.

The reason I can't play with foam plugs is... they block too much. I can't hear what I'm doing, ESPECIALLY the bass.
 
Any kind of data showing that rubber ear cone plugs offer no protection. And I understand they aren't on the same level as the pro level things, just that they DO help.

The reason I can't play with foam plugs is... they block too much. I can't hear what I'm doing, ESPECIALLY the bass.

It's not the ear cone plugs per se - you get a set of rubber, plastic and foam with the E2Cs for example just as you can get the same on some Walkman consumer ear buds. The difference is the way they are designed and made to block out the sound. I am only drawing attention to the fact that you are taking a risk by using Skull Candy earphones with your drums...

About not hearing with foam plugs it's a bit hard to give advice since this depends a lot on the person. I use to use them and couldn't hear either, but I did get use to them. Just as much as I had to get used to using In-Ear gear with my band.
 
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I am using m-audio ie10's for about three years now, bought them new for $90Cdn + tax.
they are well built quality in ears, they sound the same today as they did when I bought them.
Over those I also use the vic firth ear phones as a second layer of defense.
I am very happy with them and I would recommend them to anyone.
 
Im using JHAudio JH-16s.....love em.


F
 
Ultimate ears UE-11. AWESOME!
 
Ultimate ears UE-11. AWESOME!

I agree, spend the money and get a quality set of in ear monitor, not just a regular pair of ear buds. There is a HUGE difference between the two. I use Ultimate Ears UE-7 Pros customs. Again, they aren't cheap, but, the difference is amazing!! Their cheapest pair of customs are $399, and yes, they do take some getting use to but you'll never go back to a regular floor monitor again, or regular headphones again.
 
I use Shure SCL4 inner ear monitors. They work very nice, the nice thing is the band I play in that uses them also have the proper head phone amps with feedback protection. Plus we have a dedicated guy that runs our sound and knows how to use the inner monitor system.
My monitor mix is as loud as an I-pod at med volume. I have never played so relaxed in my life, its great when you can hear every thing crystal clear. There is a huge difference between ear buds and personal monitors.
 
There are many ways to skin this proverbial cat. What works for you is fine, just remember that in ear monitors/earbuds can get 'loud' and also cause hearing damage. My preference is the JH Audio JH13 Pro as have tried quite a few solutions. You can choose fully 'sealed' or with ambient vent, with the choice possibly depending on your preference that may also depend on how 'hard hitting' you are (NONvented) or softer touch/technique (vented). Again, can not stress enough that what works for you is fine, just remember that in ear monitors/earbuds can get 'loud' and also cause hearing damage.
 
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