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Seeking Recommendation of Flat, High-Isolation Cans

andymok

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Being classically trained, owning AKG K240s, Ety ER4-PT, Sony MDR-7506, Senn HD25

I would try AT M50X instead
 

solderdude

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The 280Pro (and 380Pro) as well as DT250-250 give good isolation and have some clamping force but the treble reproduction is not hi-fi and somewhat on the coarse side.

The Denon and Fostex derivatives don't isolate that well even though they are said to be closed.
 

Frank Dernie

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The ER4s are extremely effective, no doubt. Unfortunately I have always found that after 3 hours they start to irritate my ears. They are also very cumbersome to put in and take out, particularly using comply tips which I find pretty much essential. That could be solved by using plastic/rubber/whateverthatmaterialis tips, but then they lose a lot of their isolating properties. Oh, the cost of replacement earwax filters in Canada is also a thing...

Basically, my experience has been that I don't get along will with long periods of wearing earbuds that extend far enough into the ear canal to provide really good reduction of external sound. When I am working at home and need to wear headphones for whatever reason, I will always use cans.

I'm jealous of the custom moulds by the way, it's something I've sort of been eyeing for years. That is an option I am now going to consider as well.
I have had custom moulds for my Etymotic ER4s for about 20 years. They work well for use on planes.
I did find using them caused my ears to produce much more wax than usual, to the extent of blocking my ears and needing them syringed clear. Going back to normal headphone fixed that problem but wasn't as good for isolation.
I have never had a job where listening to headphones would have been possible so I don't know how long I could put up with any of them.
I rarely use headphone other than travel.
 

Erik

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Are Etymotics really neutral? Maybe to their own target curve. Etymotic ER4P were rated as average sounding earphones in Harman blind tests. And if people tend to choose most accurate speakers in blind tests, I don't see any reson why it would be not true with earphones.

1544111232600.png


At the top of the graph is plotted the error curve, which represents the difference between Etymotic ER4P and Harman IE target.
 

amirm

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And if people tend to choose most accurate speakers in blind tests, I don't see any reson why it would be not true with earphones.
The difference with headphones is accuracy of measurements: there is such small volume of air/shape of your ear that lab measurements may not represent what you hear. This is not a problem with speaker measurements.
 

Headphonaholic

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Being classically trained, owning AKG K240s, Ety ER4-PT, Sony MDR-7506, Senn HD25

I would try AT M50X instead
Classically trained? I own a pair of M40X and I know they sound a bit different but I've never heard anyone refer to the M50X as having a flat response. The isolation is pretty good though.

The Denon and Fostex derivatives don't isolate that well even though they are said to be closed.
Ah good to know. I imagine the wood is part of the issue?
 

Erik

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The difference with headphones is accuracy of measurements: there is such small volume of air/shape of your ear that lab measurements may not represent what you hear. This is not a problem with speaker measurements.
What I meant is that if Etymotics were rated as average sounding earphones then half of other earphones included in the test sounded more neutral to listeners than Etymotics.
 

JJB70

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Try the Audio Technica ATH-MSR7, they're slightly bright but not unduly so, have superb resolution, don't look dork-ish and have good passive noise isolation. Easy to drive. Detachable cable, comfort is something you need to try. And they can be found at good discounts. For some reason they're one of those models that seem to fly below most radars and are very under rated.
 
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Headphonaholic

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See what the available reviews out there say for ones such as the K553 MkII perhaps?
I own a pair of AKG K553 Pro that I had bought from Massdrop ages ago for around $200. I haven't listened to them in a while but I recall them having an overall v shaped sound signature but not overly so. Isolation was good from what I remember. I can pull them out and make an update later. Build quality was really good on em too.
 

Memoryerror

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Shure SRH1540 might fit the bill. Too bad the Oppo PM-3 is no longer in production.
 
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Guermantes

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Try the Audio Technica ATH-MSR7, they're slightly bright but not unduly so, have superb resolution, don't look dork-ish and have good passive noise isolation. Easy to drive. Detachable cable, comfort is something you need to try. And they can be found at good discounts. For some reason they're one of those models that seem to fly below most radars and are very under rated.

I have just picked up a pair of MSR7s and like them but they do have a definite treble spike. Here is the Sonarworks measurement for these:
1544153569515.png


If you have access to some parametric EQ, that might tame the spike.

Comfort is a difficult one. Many reviewers of the MSR7 have complained that they hurt after a short time. I have a small head (and thus a small brain) and they seem to have just the right amount of clamping force with little discomfort. In comparison, the NAD HP50s I own don't sit well and droop down on my ears -- I may need to get something to add extra padding to the headband to combat this.

The Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 250 ohms are our standard issue at work. No one has complained of discomfort and I can personally wear them for hours if necessary. Here is the Sonarworks measurement for these:
1544154308207.png


And for reference, here is the measurement for the AKG 702:
1544154668964.png
 

THW

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Try the Audio Technica ATH-MSR7, they're slightly bright but not unduly so, have superb resolution, don't look dork-ish and have good passive noise isolation. Easy to drive. Detachable cable, comfort is something you need to try. And they can be found at good discounts. For some reason they're one of those models that seem to fly below most radars and are very under rated.

Yeah really liked the MSR7 when I did get to try it, was a bit on the bright side for my tastes but I thought it was a fantastic buy for the asking price, its not even that much more expensive than the M50x

If anything, people should be getting the MSR7 instead of the M50x
 

JJB70

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Yeah really liked the MSR7 when I did get to try it, was a bit on the bright side for my tastes but I thought it was a fantastic buy for the asking price, its not even that much more expensive than the M50x

If anything, people should be getting the MSR7 instead of the M50x


I was so impressed I just bought a pair for pretty much the same reasons you are looking for. While they are on the bright side I find them more than acceptable in terms of brightness (mind you I like Beyerdynamic headphones so maybe I like a bit more treble than some) and find them on the bright side of neutral rather than bright bright. At the price they're very well made and sound terrific, for travelling on the train etc they're ideal as the passive noise isolation is very good. I think they're an absolute steal, I paid £134 (UK).
 

Chris Prosser

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which boosts the signal for speech recognition use.
How well does the mic work for speech recognition? I currently use Sennheiser SD Pro 2 with dragon naturallyspeaking, but my workspace will be removing all the walls soon. The SD Pros are on ear and not great at isolating.
 

JJB70

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I thought the Innerfidelity review of the MSR7 was very good (well, I agreed with Tyll on this one:

 

confucius_zero

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DT1770? It's a wonderful pair of closed back for this kind of sound. It's safe from the "bayer peak" too!
 

labdoc

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How well does the mic work for speech recognition? I currently use Sennheiser SD Pro 2 with dragon naturallyspeaking, but my workspace will be removing all the walls soon. The SD Pros are on ear and not great at isolating.
With Dragon Medical Pro Individual 15.3 (latest version), recognition is good, not great. For my work, most of which is repetitive, it is close to 100% in Dragon friendly applications. Somewhat less in Thunderbird email, which is not Dragon friendly. The SpeechProductivity [www.speechproductivity.eu ] dictation box add-on is really good for use in network applications (over Citrix for example).
 
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