Heads Up! Extreme Isolation Headphones

I just got my extreme isolation headphones today, the grey 29dB reduction ones. And all in all, I'm not that impressed. The sound quality inside the phones isn't that good. Also the isolation isn't that good either...which is a big lesson to me since dB is just a ratio. 10dB with respect to some scale is considerably different than 10dB A or whatever different scale. I would not pay $87.95 shipped for these headphones EVER AGAIN (the most I'd pay would be $40). Why? because they don't isolate enough and sound subpar in my opinion. I could still clearly hear my drums and the fact that the sound inside the headphones was barely mediocre (sounds like $10max walkman headphones) really disappointed me. I do like the following:

1) construction quality
2) fairly comfortable
3) frontendaudio distributor responded to my emails quickly which was nice :)

I tested these playing drums during record tracking to some vocal/guitar/bass music, so this is ONLY MY OPINION. They were a 6/10 rating from me. I would rather save my money for AKG K171 which seem to have more sound isloation.
I think for average hobbyist use, these will be OK..not good or bad. If you think $87.95 merits the fact that you can play drums with proper hearing protection and have the ability to record tracks with the same heaphones, then it's for you. But for me, it was NOT even adequate for mic placement since I was still, very easily, hearing acoustic drum sound bleed into the phones. Therefore, I think the title "Extreme" isolation heaphones is misleading, especially for mic placement on acoustic drums.

Any other questions, concerns? I'll be happy to help, correct my mistakes, and answer them the best I can :).
 
thanks, dejacky, and you spelled "hobbyist" MY way! I just got a pair of Sony MDR7506s that had been touted by a friend in Wichita and they are a big step up from the K-22Ms I've been using (but my personal pair joined the others in the headphone amp--no sense spoiling the talent). I don't know how they compare as far as isolation, but they are better than what I had.
 
How does their sound compare to the Sennheiser HD280? The 280 has the same isolation spec and are pretty good for tracking IMO.
 
I've never tried the Sennheiser HD280. However, for playing drums to headphone music, it was okay. My biggest gripe is these didn't have enough isolation or accurate sound reproduction to be used Effectively for LIVE mic placement...ESPECIALLY on ACOUSTIC DRUMS. But again, for me playing along to music on these "iso" phones was more bearable than my other headphones since they have less bleed. But, I still had to turn the volume up on the phones to hear it above my drum playing. my $0.02 again. Please remember that 29dB DOES NOT equal 29dB because both decibal ratios can be using different reference points/numbers.
 
HD280

haven't used the Extreme IsoCans, but i LOVE my set of HD280s. they're VERY useful for mic placement, especially on drums. haven't used them in a live context, but given the way these things isolate, i can't imagine they'd suck at it. excellent for tracking as well.

dejacky, i'd return those Extreme IsoCans and get a pair of HD280's instead. They're comfortable, have fantastic sound and excellent isolation.


wade
 
I'm going to compare them to the Sennheisers at a local music store...Review #2 coming soon! Also, any suggestions for making my reviews more thorough and better overall will be much appreciated!

-dejacky
 
oh btw I can still hear my panflo 92mm exhaust computer fan (30dB rating, it's very quiet thougu) even with these alleged "extreme isolation" headphones. pfftt, I can't believe you gave them 5 dots "dot."...especially for ~$80.

-dejacky
 
dejacky, sorry to hear you don't dig the phones. It happens bro.

In my humble studio, I don't have shitloads of acts coming through. But, so far everyone here who has put on the Extremes don't opt for anything else around. Singers, drummers (especially), guitarists, you name it they're diggin' 'em. And they all make comments about how awesome they think they are, and I sell a pair to just about every band's drummer that comes through.

But, this just goes to show that we're not all the same and that is a-ok with me! :) If we were all the same this would be one boring place.

I personally keep them by my side in every session, and have learned them by now. The response is flat and unhyped, but easy to learn so I can zero in on mic placement etc. My favorite feature is the isolation which does well for me on my head. While some guitarist is taking his 36th whack at that rhythm part...I get to throw on my Extremes and turn them all the way down for a little peace. :)

Returns on these headphones run very low but we've had a couple come back.

Best of luck in your search! :)

War

Warren Dent
www.frontendaudio.com
 
dejacky said:
I'm going to compare them to the Sennheisers at a local music store...Review #2 coming soon! Also, any suggestions for making my reviews more thorough and better overall will be much appreciated!
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I know many many people who have bought the Extreme headphones based on my recommendations, and most are extremely happy with them. I turned Mojo Pie on to them, and Steve said he thought it was one of the best products that had come in for review.

I gave them a perfect rating when the price was $160! I still do. If you don't like them or feel the product is misrepresented, then return them. They are more than worth the money, and you either just don't like them or got a pair that is not up to specs.

Dan Richards
The Listening Sessions
The Project Studio Handbook
 
Review #2.

I didn't bother testing sound quality since Isolation is more important for my applications.

Direct Sound Extreme Isolation headphones VS. Sennheiser HD280.
The HD280's isolation is..what? what isolation?! I can still hear everything!! So the Extereme Iso headphones have MUCH BETTER isolation than the Sennheiser HD280. In fact the Sennheiser's ARE NOT ISOLATION headphones. You can hear everything, especially drums in them. For drum tracking or trying to hear what's playing in the headphones during any live semi-loud environment, The HD280's ARE NOT GOOD for this purpose, unless u like to crank the volume EXTREMELY loud...we're talking ear damaging volumes here. Now that this is clear, the sales guy let me demo some "Metromome" isolation headphones..


Direct Sound Extreme Isolation headphones VS. METROMONE headphones.
These were both VERY close in terms of isolation. It seemed the metromome sounded more quiet when I initially put them on, but the high frequencies bled through a little more noticeably when testing them on drums. The Extreme Iso headphones seemed like I could hear barely slightly more ambient noise in the store, but when I started drumming the high frequencies did not bleed through as much as the Metromome. For example, I could noticeably hear more "slap" sound from the Kick drum whereas the Extreme ISO's wouldn't let this bleed through..i could only hear the concise/controlled "thump", which is better. IMO, the Extreme Iso Headphones have slightly better isolation in terms of not letting those nasty SPL peaks bleed through.

IMO (comparatively), MetroMones = 7.1/10
Direct Sound Extreme Isolation = 7.8/10

these are my opinion ratings of their isolation.

Allegedly the AKG K171 have 43dB of isolation so I've inclined to try these, but can't find any store in Dallas that has them. Can anyone help me out? Thanks!

-dejacky
 
dejacky said:
Allegedly the AKG K171 have 43dB of isolation so I've inclined to try these, but can't find any store in Dallas that has them. Can anyone help me out? Thanks!

-dejacky
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Since Barb and Al Priestly moved their store to Austin, we don't really have any pro audio dealers left in North Texas. Hillcrest Hifi in Dallas can probably order you a pair.
 
After reading on some Headphone specif forums, the consensus seemed to be that they were too tight squeeze on the head, and were ear fatiguing when listening too for more that 10min apparently... Regarding specifications of the K171 not posted on their website, it's SLIGHTLY possible someone emailed them and they gave the following response :D :


I do not know where Recording Magazine got the spec. I have not seen the isolation specs published in any AKG literature. However, I have been told informally that the K171 Studio and K271 Studio models provide between 30 and 40 dB attenuation from outside noise. This was confirmed with an experiment I conducted with a pair of K271 Studios in our service lab. An open omni-directional mic was placed in our test chamber at one meter from the sound source (standard distance for testing). The mic was, then, placed between the K271 ear cups that were taped together. The resulting measurement was 37 dB less than that of the open mic.

It is possible that the people at Recording did a similar experiment as -43 dB is not far from the expected amount of isolation.
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-dejacky
 
The cables on the cans are made of Kleenex wire -- one foot on and, Voila, NO Cable left standing.
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Green Hornet,
I wish I listened to you earlier. I've grown to HATE these direct sound Extreme Isolation headphones for the following reasons:

1. THEY DO NOT ISOLATE THE SOUND WELL..nowhere near "extreme isolation"

2. Shortly after I bought them, a light tug on the right wire connecting to the right head phone was causing audio drop outs..so I used some tape to keep the wire in place. It worked fine for many many months, but alas the Direct Sound Extreme Isolation headphones NO LONGER WORK.

3. The sound quality is complete GARBAGE.

I do not recommend these headphones to anyone, especially for $87+ :mad:.
 
I have a pair of these & do not think they are that bad. However I would never use them for 'enjoyment listening', as they are too heavy, & too tight, & I do not like isolation type headphones in general. But for figuring out what your mic placement is sounding like when in the same room with a live instrument, I think they get the job done.
 
But for figuring out what your mic placement is sounding like when in the same room with a live instrument, I think they get the job done.
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I completely disagree :eek: . Maybe, if you're doing some soft quiet music these might help. But with a live birch acoustic drumset, these were horrible for mic placement use because THERE IS SO MUCH sound bleeding into the headphones you can't accurately hear the nuances in mic placement.

I'm considering trying the Beyer & AKG iso headphones next. Stay tuned for another review :eek: .
 
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