This week I’m going to explain the different types of headphones and help you choose some good ones for you studio.
There are many types of headphones, they each have their pros and cons, but not all of them are suitable for making music.
- Earbuds. These are the kind that come with iPods and sit in your ear. They usually sound really tinny and they let as much sound out the back as they put into your ears. These are garbage, do not under any circumstance use these for listening to music or recording.
- In-ear canal phones. These are a major step up from ear buds, they have a small tube wrapped in soft foam or rubber that sends the music down your ear canal while also blocking outside sound. These sound a billion times better than earbuds, but not everyone likes how these fit in their ears. Blocking outside sounds is just one of the benefits of this design because that means you don’t have to blast your ears just to hear above the environmental noise.
- Open back headphones. This type of headphone sits on your ears with a thick strap over your head. There is a speaker element about 1 and a half inches wide facing your ear. Behind the speaker there are vents, the vents help make this type of headphones natural sounding, but unfortunately at the cost of reduced isolation, meaning sound can get in and sound can get out of these headphones. If you must mix with headphones on this is the type to get. Also you should not use this type around sensitive microphones, because these are vented, the sound will get into the microphones.
- Closed back headphones. This type looks pretty much the same as the open back type, but without vents behind the speaker. This improves environmental noise reduction, but these will sound much different than open back headphones. These are great for recording, I recommend Audio Technica ATH M-30s, they are durable and sound good.
- Isolation headphones. These are a closed back design with sound blocking materials behind the speakers. They fit tight on your ears keeping the sound in and blocking outside sounds. These are great for drummers. Vic Firth makes a set of these but they are heavy and expensive, I recommend the Direct Sound Extreme Isolation headphones they are lightweight, durable and really work well.
- You can make your own set of isolation headphones with a pair of In ear canal phones, I got a pair at Walmart for 20 dollars, and a pair of construction ear protectors from the hardware store for another 20. With that you’ll easily exceed 30 dB of noise reduction.
So to sum this all up.
Isolation headphones for drummers
Closed back for general music recording
Open back for critical listening
Canal phones for portable music listening or combined with ear muffs for great isolation
Earbuds are garbage, just throw them away.
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Check out the podcast this week for discussion of this topic.
Just my 2 cents, I am a very happy owner of the ‘Direct Sound’s’. It is amazing how much isolation you get just by putting them on, a tight fit but I have not found that to be necessarily a problem even over extended listening sessions (12 hours+!). And a great bargain from most sources.
I also use Sennheiser 565′s (my ‘comfort’ phones when isolation and critical listening is not necessary, and occasionally Sony 7506′s when the ‘smile curve’ hype is not a concern.
I was thinking of buying a pair of isolation headphones. They’re all pretty pricey though. Til now, I was leaning more towards the Sennheiser HD-280 because I’ve read great reviews on them and they’re priced a bit less than the Direct Sound EX29. But after reading this article, I might just try the cheapo combo of the construction hearing protector + in-ear canal phones. Thanks for the suggestion.