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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
Earbud headphone recommendations?
Ron Erdrich, Photographer
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Abilene | TX | USA | Posted: 7:35 PM on 05.07.09 |
->> I was wondering what kind of earbud headphones would work best for audio recording in the field? I've got some good regular headphones right now, I'd just like something lighter that blocks out other sound and won't get tangled up as easily in camera straps.
thanks,
-Ron- |
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Max Gersh, Photographer
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St. Louis | MO | USA | Posted: 7:58 PM on 05.07.09 |
->> They may not be earbuds, but these headphones are small, easily tossed in a bag and great sound quality:
http://tinyurl.com/rz8rc
These are very light weight and can easily be worn around the neck when not on your ears. I really like that it only has a wire running to one ear and the rest of the wiring is concealed.
They have a nice frequency response of 10 - 21,000 Hz.
I have used them on my M-Audio recorder, Canon XHA1, and my MP3 player. They work great for each.
They are not noise canceling but they do block out a lot of noise.
I used these heavily for the past 3+ years and I just now broke them (which is a really long life for headphones that I own). I won't hesitate buying a new pair. |
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Max Gersh, Photographer
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St. Louis | MO | USA | Posted: 8:01 PM on 05.07.09 |
| ->> I forgot to mention that the cord easily wraps around the headphones themselves so they wont get tangled as easily as earbuds. |
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Patrick Smith, Photographer
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Baltimore | MD | USA | Posted: 8:03 PM on 05.07.09 |
->> Ron-
I swear by my Sony MDR-NC22 in-ear noise canceling headphones. They have a switch to go back-and-forth between "normal" headphones and noise canceling, which is very convenient if you’re trying to block out all ambient sounds or not. In addition, and probably the most important, they are super comfortable; which can't be said for those cheap, all plastic headphones that come with iPods.
Nonetheless, I use them for audio recording, video work, biking, air travel, and everything in between.
Good luck in your hunt. |
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Robert Hanashiro, Photographer
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Los Angeles | CA | | Posted: 8:19 PM on 05.07.09 |
->> Ear buds are not the greatest for monitoring audio capture for a video camera or audio recorder in my experience.
The over the ear headphones, while large and bulky in comparison, are really the best way to go.
I have two over the ear headphones I use a lot --- the Sony and Senheiser. I do have a couple of decent earbuds (Sure SE310 and the Bose). But mostly I use them to listen to music. The times I have used them for monitoring audio capture, what I heard and what was recorded was very different.
I can certainly agree that having something small and portable is nice. But if you can't judge the quality of the sound, then it's a trade off.
'Nuff Said! |
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Jason Joseph, Photographer
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Dublin | OH | USA | Posted: 8:42 PM on 05.07.09 |
| ->> I used to be a huge advocate for over the ear headphones, until I got a pair of Shure E2 ear buds. As long as you put the right sized rubber (or foam) fitting on, they will block out ALL outside noise. I use them when I am shooting to monitor audio from the camera. I use them on planes to sleep, sometimes while not plugged into anything. I use them to mow the yard with my iPod and my wife chases me around the yard because I can't hear her yelling at me. The point it that they work and the sound quality is great. Even though the E2's are discontinued, the current line is just as good if not better. Let's face it. These are the little siblings of the ones used my musicians and performers on VERY loud stages as in ear monitors. |
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David Harpe, Photographer
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Louisville | KY | USA | Posted: 1:01 AM on 05.08.09 |
->> It depends on how much you want to spend and how good you need to be able to judge the sound. For important projects or things where tight sound is critical, over-the-ear is really the only way to go. But they're bulky - and if you use a shoulder-carried video camera you just can't use them. That puts you into earbuds.
I have a nice pair of Sony noise-cancelling buds that are very good, but they're also bulky and complicated (wires everywhere, batteries, etc.) When I need something that just gets me in the ballpark, these are hard to beat:
http://www.skullcandy.com/shop/inkd-p-126.html
They are cheap, you can find them at Target or Staples for $10, and they isolate sound surprisingly well. Performance is good enough to tell whether you're getting something or not, and they're cheap enough to have multiple pairs around (one in the camera bag, one in the camcorder bag, one in the recorder bag, etc.). They're a 90% solution to be sure - but a lot of times when you're trying to do multiple things, 90% is good enough. |
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Mike Huffstatler, Photographer, Assistant
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Rancho Cucamonga | Ca | United States | Posted: 1:32 AM on 05.08.09 |
->> Choosing earbuds or even over-the-ear designs can be an incredibly difficult thing to do for other people. O-T-E units will have the larger drivers, etc. and will provide some of the best sound and isolation. But, there are also some very good in-ear designs now using high quality, multiple driver technologies. As mentioned above, I think getting the right fit to the earbuds is incredibly important.
I've used Shure's in the past. I had the E2's...loved them. Tried the E4, wasn't as thilled as I wanted to be. The 310's Bert mentioned are good too, but fo rme I'm currently loving, by a wide margin my M-Audio IE30 units.
These are dual-driver earbuds with very, very good audio acuracy. They have a triple driver unit as well, but I didn't want to spend that much. The IE30 units retail around $300, but you can find them much closer to $200. I've been really pleased with these buds...so much in fact that it has me wanting to go back and re-rip many CD's at higher bit rates. The flaws become more and more obvious as you get better and better.
I'd stay away from noise-cancelling solutions myself. From the limited exposure I have with them, it seems that they work by isolating frequencies. Problem with that is you can't selectively isolate those frequencies. It feel it pulls away from the audio experience. Others like them, but for me, no.
Good luck with a choice. It can be difficult for sure. |
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Jonathan Castner, Photographer, Assistant
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Longmont | CO | USA | Posted: 10:02 AM on 05.08.09 |
->> For low cost and best audio quality OTE phones are the best. The Sennheiser PX100 has great sound, folds up into a little case and is very reasonably priced. They do not isolate sound though which is good and bad. Good that you can hear if someone talking to you off mic but bad as in a noisy situation your monitoring isn't as good as if you were using isolating phones. I use these when I'm doing a sit down location interview with a subject.
For real sound isolation you need a phone with a full cup around your ear and that is often not practical to use in the field. I have a pair of Sony MDR-V6 phones that I use for editing for critical listening and stereo field placement but I never use them "out there" recording. If only because they are heavy and don't stay on my head well while I'm running around.
I've been using, funny as it sounds, the Koss Plug in ear phone with modified foam surrounds. I remove the stock surrounds and replace them with 25db foam earplugs which give more isolation and a better fit. These cheap little things actually sound pretty good but do have a low mid hump to their eq but that's easily compensated for in your head. The reason that I use them is that they sound good enough, are tiny, easily pop in and out of my ears and only cost about $15 so they are disposable. Because I am "one man band"-ing things often two DSLR's and a video cam the juggling of equipment tends to be hard on the phone wires and connectors. Thus I tend to kill at least one headphone set a year.
If I were doing a feature film or another project that required more pristine sound I would most likely have a dedicated sound guy to get it perfect. I worry more about being able to get the images and sound that I need in the limited amount of time that I have rather than worry if my field monitors (headphones) have a 2.1db boost at 310hz. I've tried higher priced audiophile quality in ear phones and find that they don't stay put as well, the cables are often stiff and for the run and gun stuff that we do as MMJ's the difference in sound quality doesn't make a difference but putting $200 versus $15 into easily breakable phones does. |
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Allen Murabayashi, Photographer
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New York | NY | USA | Posted: 12:40 PM on 05.08.09 |
->> should make a distinction between buds and "in-ear" monitors. buds don't really seal off the ear canal, whereas "in-ear" will -- and as a consequence can block up to 30dBs).
ultimate ears are really good. we have a number of guys that have these at the office.
http://www.ultimateears.com/_ultimateears/
i had a pair of lower end shures, but the bass response was pretty crappy.
eventually, i ponied up and had an audiologist make a cast of my ear canal and got some custom fitted ones, which are awesome. |
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Allen Murabayashi, Photographer
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New York | NY | USA | Posted: 12:40 PM on 05.08.09 |
| ->> btw, the apple store used to carry ultimate ears, and they have a 14-day money back guarantee even on headphones. a nice way to try and buy. |
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Tom Knier, Photographer
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Lancaster | PA | USA | Posted: 12:46 PM on 05.08.09 |
->> Audio monitoring: Sony MDR-7506.
Pure rocking: anything from Grado. |
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Daniel Bates, Photographer
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Fayetteville | NC | | Posted: 6:15 PM on 05.08.09 |
->> Sensaphonics. They're like Ultimate Ears but with a soft silicone mold. 26dB passive noise reduction makes them good enough to use as noise-isolating IEMs for any environment. I use them as earplugs when I shoot my M4, for instance.
Oh yeah, they sound great, too. |
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Ron Erdrich, Photographer
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Abilene | TX | USA | Posted: 12:57 AM on 05.09.09 |
| ->> Thanks, all. This was much easier and more informative that trying to find an unbiased review on the internet. |
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