Guide to Headphones for Drummers

[.Evan.]

Nice! Those were a bit above my budget for now. Can't wait to try the 215's! I should get them after this weekend

Let me know what you think! I'm really on the fence if I should get these or not.

[HiFiBri]

Nice! Those were a bit above my budget for now. Can't wait to try the 215's! I should get them after this weekend

I've had the 215's a couple months now, and like them. They do an excellent job of noise cancellation...almost too good, I had to turn the drum mix up....odd to be playing and not really hearing what you are doing.

[Danny Mik]

The 215's are great. I use the rubber ones when im jamming with people to hear the amps. And the foam ones when i play live or have a guitar mix in my IEM's.

Do a fantastic job!

[zildjian_chris]

Thank you for the information. I have just got back into drums and have been searching for a good way to protect my hearing but be able to play to some music at the same time.

I think I will try out the Etymotic MC5, they can be had for $77 AUD on eBay.

[Rainman]

I have the Vic Firths because they were inexpensive ($50 I think?) and offer decent attenuation which was my main concern. Also-my local music store sells them and said if they didn't work for me I could return them which was a huge plus. And even with the 24 dB attenuation they offer-I find that sound quality while playing along with them is not really that big an issue (they sound fine over my kit) because my drums still cut through a lot.

But they work way better than the AKG studio headphones that I used to use which were cranked to 11 because they had no real attenuation-though had a real sweet, flat response.

I guess my point is that to me the most important feature of any headphones used for drumming to prevent hearing loss is attenuation of ambient so they can be used at a reasonable volume level and still be heard over drums with minimal chance of hearing damage.

(Note that I use them only to play along with tracks for practicing. Not for monitors. When I am not playing along with tracks I use good old 29 dB ear muffs readily available at every Home Depot.)

[lovetheblues]

Matt, thanks for the thread, my vote would be for it to be sticky'ed.

Given that the first post was written about 18 months ago and things change over time, do you have any updates re the "My Recommendations" section? Also, any view on the Vsonic's? (I have a VSonic GR02, but I don't think those are available anymore, so interested in your thoughts re the new VSonic's)

[Strongman]

Matt, thanks for the thread, my vote would be for it to be sticky'ed.

Given that the first post was written about 18 months ago and things change over time, do you have any updates re the "My Recommendations" section? Also, any view on the Vsonic's? (I have a VSonic GR02, but I don't think those are available anymore, so interested in your thoughts re the new VSonic's)

Hey, there. That was a good point! The guide is really great and even now some parts of it are applicable nowadays. But how about the update? I've found the topic about best headphones for drummers a few days ago and decided to share it here. Your suggestions?
That's a hot topic for me as I need to buy a replacement for my old headphones (which are dead now after ten years of good serving).

[dadnioo]

Hey, there. That was a good point! The guide is really great and even now some parts of it are applicable nowadays. But how about the update? I've found the topic about best headphones for drummers a few days ago and decided to share it here. Your suggestions?
That's a hot topic for me as I need to buy a replacement for my old headphones (which are dead now after ten years of good serving).

Ah well I think they're over that for a long time as the thread is of 2010

[denis021]

Hey, guys, I have few articles on this topic : best-isolation-headphones-for-drummers
why-do-drummers-wear-headphones
best-headphones-for-electronic-drums