Headphones while shooting - which ones?

[Ivan Snoeckx]

I'm also using the Sennheiser HD 25-1 II. Here in Europe these are the standard headphones used by soundmen. Very comfortable to wear, even for longer periods. Expensiver then Sony, but worth every penny.

[Liam Leahy]

I was using the Senheisser HD-25's for years but then switched to the Shure E5's. Today I use the Shure SE530's which are just great. So small, and completely isolated sound (what you hear is what you get). I just feel that if you are there for work, the only thing that matters is what you are capturing. I can't compromise audio for my work, so knowing what I'm getting in real time is the end of the conversation.

[Andres Montana Duret]

Sennheiser HD 25-1 II for me. They are expensive but truly AMAZING!

[Steve Oakley]

for the _same_ prices as the 7506's are senn HD280's. vastly better because they have 30db of isoloation from outside sound so you can keep them at normal levels and hear everything ok. without good isolation, you have to turn the headphones up too high, and that leads to hearing loss eventually.

the HD280's for the price are excellent. in fact you can pick them up on amazon for $89 sometimes.

[John Willett]

Originally Posted by Harm Millaard

I second the Sennheiser HD-25. Especially the rotatable left capsule for single ear monitoring is a handy feature. Superb quality and very high sensitivity.

The HD 25-1 is the industry standard in the UK.

The sensitivity is 120dB which makes them very easy to drive with battery equipment.

[Ty Ford]

Originally Posted by Pietro Impagliazzo

Would this Audo Technica cheaper one perform the same? Or is it not so good in some aspect?

Audio-Technica | ATH-M20 - Closed-Back Headphone | ATH-M20 | B&H

Hello Pietro,

Kick it up a bit farther to the Audio Technica ATH-M50. Don't believe me?

Audio-Technica

Regards,

Ty Ford

[Richard Gooderick]

I was recommended to buy Beyerdynamic DT 250s which I did.

But these don't cancel out background noise at all (I did read around the subject but didn't realise that headphones should exclude all external sound as some of these posts seem to be saying).

Have I made a poor buy? Should I change my headphones?

[John Willett]

Originally Posted by Richard Gooderick

I was recommended to buy Beyerdynamic DT 250s which I did.

But these don't cancel out background noise at all (I did read around the subject but didn't realise that headphones should exclude all external sound as some of these posts seem to be saying).

Closed headphones can never exclude all external sound - that's impossible.

They can and do, however, reduce high frequency noise a lot - often 20-25dB above about 1 or 2 kHz. To reduce low frequency noise you need active noise reduction headphones.

[Richard Gooderick]

Thanks John
The DT 250s are described as monitoring headphones but they don't seem to give the same degree of isolation as most of the headphones mentioned in this thread do.
Here's their spec:
Frequency response 10 - 30,000 Hz
Nominal impedance 80 ohm
Nominal SPL 100 dB
Nominal power rating 100 mW
Ambient noise insulation approx. 16 dBA
Cable length 3 m
So maybe I should be looking for a headphone that gives more isolation.
The greater the isolation the less damage I am going to do to my hearing because I don't have to turn volume up so much in order to monitor the sound corrrectly. Is that correct?

[John Willett]

Originally Posted by Richard Gooderick

Thanks John
The DT 250s are described as monitoring headphones but they don't seem to give the same degree of isolation as most of the headphones mentioned in this thread do.
Here's their spec:
Frequency response 10 - 30,000 Hz
Nominal impedance 80 ohm
Nominal SPL 100 dB
Nominal power rating 100 mW
Ambient noise insulation approx. 16 dBA
Cable length 3 m
So maybe I should be looking for a headphone that gives more isolation.

Frequency response does not mean anything at all without tolerance figures.

The HD 25 is 16Hz to 22,000Hz -3dB - that's a +/- tolerance of only 1.5dB.

Efficiency is 120dB as opposed to 100dB - that's 20dB more sensitive.

Impedance is about the same, slightly less at 70-Ohms.

So the HD 25 at the same volume setting will be much louder.

There are different versions with different cable lengths - the -1 version is about 1.2m.

I am not familiar with the DT250 so I won't comment on quality.

Isolation - 16dB is so so - The HD 25 have a maximum attanuation of about 35dB at 10kHz. Nothing below 300Hz, about 20dB at 1kHz, about 35dB at 10kHz and a couple of dB less at 20kHz.

The same capsule is used on the HME 25 airline headset and the attenuation grah is on page 15 of THIS pdf brochure.

I have had my HD25s for 19 years and still do be fine - just got through about 3 pairs of earpads over the years.

Originally Posted by Richard Gooderick

The greater the isolation the less damage I am going to do to my hearing because I don't have to turn volume up so much in order to monitor the sound corrrectly. Is that correct?

Basically, yes.

[Richard Gooderick]

Many thanks John
That's very helpful. I think I may buy a new pair of headphones.