Direct Sound Extreme Isolation Headphones

  • Thread starter Thread starter BrainCase
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BrainCase

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Anybody have these? I just noticed that an online store I order through with regularity has them on sale, and I have a choice to make - do I get the Extreme Isolation Headphones or do I get the Grado's?

TIA,

BC
 
those are two headphones of very different strengths. extreme isolation headphones have .... well, lots of isolation. i've been looking to get a pair of those myself.

but i'd put money down that whatever Grados you're looking at would sound FAR better from a pure listening standpoint.
 
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Never heard of them. What do they cost?
Myself I use Koss "The Plug" that I have modified a bit using a $8 pair of ear plugs and some of that stuff you shrink onto your cables ("krympslang" in Swedish, I have no idea what it's called in english); and on top of that I put on a pair of airport-grade ear protectors. Silent enough for me... :)
 
I just picked up a couple pairs of these today at my local retailer (had them match the MF price).

Quicky review is that they definitely isolate very well! Even though they are bulky, they are comfortable, and fit snug (probably won't slide off a drummer head). The phones themselves seem very rugged, but I'm not too impressed with the whimpy cord, and the 1/4" adapters don't fit very tight ,so you may want to replace them with something better. Actually, one of my adatpers is so loose that it causes a short, and makes the headphones do goofy phasing, and cut in and out.

What's interesting is that the two pairs I have sound a bit different from each other...They differ in the midrange (not by a huge margin though). If I compare them to my Sony MDR-7506's they are much less hyped in the highs and lows (which might be a good thing)...I would say they are a bit sterile sounding by comparison. Certainly not as good as any pair of Grado's or the upper end Sennheiser's, but these are not designed to be great sounding headphones, they are designed to isolate you from the environment, which they do very well! I think they are worth the $89 I paid for them, but would I would not recommend them if you're looking for "listening enjoyment" cans. If that's what you're looking for, then Grado or Sennheiser would be the way to go.
 
Yo Brainiac:

I bought a pair of the Isolation cans; they are too tight for me. So, I just let them adorn the studio in case someone needs them. Quality of the sound from them is average -- not nearly as good as the Beyer 250.

But, if you like cans to fit snugly, these do snuggle.

Green Hornet:D :p :cool: :p
 
do you realize that the Grados do not have ANY isolation AT ALL? i have never seen these "Extreme Isolation" headphones... but if they are what their name implies, they are the opposite of your Grados. how did you come to decide between these radically different headphones?

and stock Grados are very uncomfortable by the way (i had the RS-1's for a while.) there are mods you can do... search www.head-fi.org for discussions on modding Grados.

anyway.... if you don't care about isolation, i'd recommend the Sennheiser HD-600 instead--it's a hell lot more comfortable and it sounds flatter than the RS-1 i had (which retails for $800.) grados then to be bright. if isolation is important, then you can't use a Grado. i haven't heard the beyers, but i'm sure they're good. i still use the 7506 most often--had mine for 10 years.

AND... if you want the MOST absolute isolation ever possible in a "headphone", try the etymotic 4s. it has more than 24db of isolation. when you put them on, you can't hear nothing from outside. it really is that isolated. nothing else comes close in relation to isolation.
 
BTW, the inventor/manufacturer of the "Extreme Isolation" headphones just contacted me, and offered to replace my mismatched pairs of phones with matched pairs. I didn't need him to do this, as I already exhanged the one pair that didn't seem quite right, and got another pair that seem to match quite closely...I must note that no two speaker drivers are the same, so it's expected to have some tonal/sensitivity differences..but the two pairs I have now are vitually identical sounding.

I just wanted to let everyone know that we have yet another manufacturer among us that cares about his product and our satisfaction! :cool:
 
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