Home Forums Software and Equipment Max noise isolation headphones DIY

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    • #18114
      superblonde
      Keymaster

      Back in early summer I needed a way to cut out environmental noise, as much as possible, yet still wanted to listen to music or guitar or phone (and at much lower volumes, since external noise would be cut way down). Previously I got the Shure SRH840 headphones which are just plain awesome sounding. They have some very good isolation. Sometimes it is not ‘enough’ isolation, it’s not as max as possible. The max isolation possible is really, these – 3M ear protection –

      3m_earmuffs

      These are under $20. 3M Peltor H10A Optime 105 Earmuff So inexpensive that everyone should have a set.. simply for use with household chores or yard work.. I even saw in the amazon reviews that some people wear these in their cubicle day jobs. That seems like a whacky idea but now I am totally down with that and I would do it myself too. These are really good protectors, very comfortable to wear long term, and really do cut out distraction from a ton of noise pollution created by modern society. Plus, I dont know what it is about companies today but the level of noise in offices, it seems to me, just keeps going up and up, and now companies are bragging about “open floor plan workspace” (Wth? Brag about removing all ability to think and focus on anything in the workplace because the walls have been taken out and other people are talking all around, even loudly on the phone, without any sound barriers? Makes no sense.) Have a f—book addiction where a habitual instinct is to reach for the phone when it vibrates with an update? Put these babies on, and there won’t be any sounds from phone vibration on a desk, or phone beeping, or ring tones, anything.. Especially “Loud Phone Talker Coworker Guy” – you know, every office has one? Or, barking neighbor’s dogs and screaming backyard kids.. (or near me, the military planes and copters, that have ramped up significantly in the past several months) I remember my last cubicle job, where I would actually breathe a sigh of relief when the air conditioners shut off after 8pm when working late. The air ducts added that constant hum or growling to the entire office space which was only noticed when they shut off, after hours. Is it any wonder that people in the office often seemed a bit grumpy or unhappy to be there? Yea really, it has an effect.

      So I thought, hm. Couple these ear protectors, with some headphones inside, and could be good to go? Max isolation, plus music? Yup it actually works. Take some small earbuds, some electrical tape, these ear protectors (that are something like, 30 dB.. as good as you can get), put them together – just minimize the amount of flex where the headphone cable is taped to reach outside, where the ear meets the foam pad, because the ear protectors work by making an air-tight seal – and they work great. The drawback of course is that the ear protectors fit really tightly so they may not seem super comfortable, but some guys wear these all the time (in construction), it’s not so bad once you get used to it, and the infinite quietness is worth it.

      This may seem totally whacky though.. so, perspective:

      A while back in this thread,

      Hearing protection (was: Electronic drums today)

      it was suggested that a good way to protect ears when playing live or in rehearsal, without getting expensive personally-molded in-ear-monitors, might be to use isolating headphones (especially in-ear earbuds) with a personal mix. I suggested maybe a cheap mp3 recorder as the source for the mix, using headphones as monitor, and volume could be adjusted way down. I had tried this, clipped my mp3 recorder to my guitar strap (it has a built-in mic), with some noise isolating in-ear headphones as monitors, and it worked to some extent that the in-ear headphones provided isolation. They weren’t max isolation, but it worked well — I killed the volume of the overly loud drums at least, while still hearing very flat response from the guitars, a little bit of compression from the mp3 recorder’s mic, and importantly, I could easily hear the normal speaking voice of bandmates between songs or adjust the volume that I heard in my ears. But this is way better than earbud isolation. So here ya go, a nice DIY solution to the problem, pair the ear protection with some earbuds, and frequency response is still great, and isolation is still as max as humanly possible. I dont know how much isolation (dB) is provided by in-ear monitors but I doubt they beat the 3M ear protection which has like 2″ of dampening material around the ears and a very tight seal.

      This is Paul Gilbert playing live, with some ear protection. I think safetyblitz had mentioned his ear problems before.

      paul_gilbert_with_headphones_live

      Ultimately I’ll look at getting some flat cabling (vs normal headphone cable), which can lie more flat when taped against the foam (or underneath and thru the foam pads), and a headphone jack, and solder those together so the ear protectors have a headphone jack instead of a messy headphone cable. Basically like the Shure headphones have: a headphone jack at the right speaker to plug a stereo cable into, instead of a fixed wire with a plug. The jack could make it tidy, simply unplug the ear protectors when not listening to anything.

      Here’s a few reasons I like using max isolation when practicing.

      1. When practicing vocals, I want to listen to the monitor channel, and block out the voice from my own head as much as possible. I want to hear what is coming thru the microphone (plus reverb or whatever I add), as much as possible. This would make my vocal practice closer to the real thing, and make my practice more productive. (Even if singing without a mic, I believe this is true.) Then, I can lower the monitor channel too, and practice vocals without hearing myself much at all (the unfortunate reality of live singing) – only harmonizing with whatever louder backing music I’m singing to.

      2. When practicing guitar, I also want to listen to the amp sound, and block out acoustic string noise. I practice at low volumes, so, I can’t just crank up my amp to overpower the acoustic string noise. I noticed a while back that I was paying attention to some string noise things that just don’t come thru an amp (so, why care about them?) and vice versa, not paying enough attention to string muting that only does come thru metal setting on the amp at higher volume.

      2. Part 2. Better to listen to the amp sound thru the amp line-out, than thru the amp speaker. Not only because my amp has a cheap, tin-sounding speaker but because, the line-out will be full range which goes to the PA which the audience will hear (right?), and I want to practice with the same sounds that the audience will hear.

      3. Better focus. I really get lost in the music much better without the environmental noise distractions. Well, I didnt even hear the teapot whistling away when I had it on high – it was screaming away, I was oblivious, practicing a song. So some distractions are good, but many are not. Screaming neighbor kids on Sunday afternoon when I’m trying to learn a new song, are in the “not” list.

      I'm an intermediate student of Metal Method. I play seitannic heavy metal. All Kale Seitan! ♯ ♮ ♭ ø ° Δ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬
      And on the Seventh Day, Mustaine said: ∇ ⨯ E = - ∂B / ∂t ; and there was Thrash; and it had a ♭3; and it was good.

      Attachments:
      1. 3m_earmuffs.png

      2. paul_gilbert_with_headphones_live.jpg

    • #18123
      safetyblitz
      Participant

      For those who aren’t as motivated as superblonde to do a DIY solution, Paul Gilbert uses an off-the-shelf version which is effectively the equivalent to the 3M ear protectors with built-in speakers:

      https://www.extremeheadphones.com/passive-noise-isolation-hearing-protection-headphones/studio-products/ex-25-headphones/

      https://www.extremeheadphones.com/passive-noise-isolation-hearing-protection-headphones/studio-products/ex-29-headphones/

      But note that in a pinch, you could probably just wear your favorite earbuds and slap the $20 3M earmuffs over top of them without modifying anything.

      Another option highly praised on the internets is off-the-shelf isolation headphones from Vic Firth (marketed primarily at drummers):

      https://vicfirth.com/products/accessories/hearing-protection/stereo-isolation-headphones/

    • #18125
      superblonde
      Keymaster

      Wow cool, didnt know about those Vic Firth headphones. They look absolutely identical in every detail to the 3M ear protectors (the way the padding looks, the wire support, the foam layer, the shape, etc). (Minus the headphone cables sticking out) I guess they got 3M to make OEM versions.

      I need to find some fancy stickers to put on mine. Don’t want to look like a construction worker while impersonating a rockstar ;-D

      I'm an intermediate student of Metal Method. I play seitannic heavy metal. All Kale Seitan! ♯ ♮ ♭ ø ° Δ ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬
      And on the Seventh Day, Mustaine said: ∇ ⨯ E = - ∂B / ∂t ; and there was Thrash; and it had a ♭3; and it was good.

    • #18126
      vinay
      Participant

      Yep, I’ve got these Vic Firth headphones and leave them at work. I actually want another pair because I sometimes miss them at home :). They don’t sound as transparent as some other less isolated headphones (which still go around the ear) though sound is still pretty good. Keep in mind though that your ears are your cooling fins. If you cover them up like this, you’re going to warm up. Another solution I sometimes use is to use the less isolating headphones with in ear protection plugged in my ears (I use Alpine).

    • #18129
      Igglepud
      Participant

      Those look pretty awesome. I agree that there is a lot of artificial noise pollution, and I would like it to go away. I live in a rural area, too. I can’t imagine what city life sounds like.

      MY ROCK IS FIERCE!!!

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