Dr. Dre Beats

Well that's where I come up with my most basic problem. I work in a generally noisy environment. All the fans and electronic cooling water lines and computer gear all going at once. It averages 90db in my workspace. Noise cancelling would be a nice thing to have. However, I also have to be able to hear the announcement system and my radio if something happens I need to be able to repsond quickly. So. That pretty much means no noise cancelling. More like sound isolation. I've been using earplugs or my Shure earphones for that purpose for a while now and with good results. But that makes me wonder about the open back designs because I figure a lot of noise would get in that way. Should I just go with a sound isolating, closed-back design? I know they don't sound as good but I may just go with that Blossom headphone amp and that runs $1,500. So I might just dive into this purely for the sound quality and when I'm not working I'll hide in a quieter space and do my listening there.

I was recently given a recommendation of the Blossom amp and the Grado RS1 headphones with balanced connectors. Great combo I think. But do I really need to spend $2,500+ just to get some good sound while I'm trying to pass the time on deployment? That's the primary reason for doing this. Otherwise I'd take my freakin' stereo with me. Which I could do but I don't trust the power on the ship. Too many brown-outs and power losses. And the surge protectors that are authorized for use suck and I don't trust them. Maybe I should just get an iQube and the Bose and be done with it. I stil don't know enough about this market to even start making an informed decision. The Dre beats I listened to AGAIN today sounded a bit better with the bass reducer turned on. It was almost just right. But started to lack in low end weight. Still had that thumping sound though.

I didn't realize headphones were so complicated. :-(

Grados won't provide you any isolation and will leak quite a bit into your surrounding environment (don't know if that is a problem for your co-workers). I'd suggest starting with the SR225s and maybe that hifi man hybrid tube/headamp. You'd probably clock in around $300 and have a very reasonable work system.

Your wants are a little confused to me as it seems you want isolation, but want to be able to hear important things--if isolation is your thing and your taste errs towards the analytical side, give Etymotic a listen. If you went for the er4ps you'd clock in below you budget and probably not need an amp. They'd provide great detail and tight bass--staging is on the flatter side and the signature can be on the drier side.

Triple.fi 10s are also a reasonable option. I ultimately gave my pair away to a friend as I wasn't using them (I'm a speaker guy) but they're nice though perhaps missing a little top end sparkle.

Audio Technica makes some great open headphone starting with the A or is it AD700--I owned the 900s and they were nice. They will leak and not give much isolation, but have a very musically satisfying signature.

I've owned a ton of headphones over the years and could go on with suggestions, but my strongest one will be to skip the beats. Seriously... You can do much better. No, I haven't heard the beats. Yes, I'm prejudiced against them despite.

Lol! Thanks Gopher. BTW, any and all of your thoughts or ideas/suggestions would be welcome. I'm slowly picking up on a few things from head-fi but suggestions for a person like me who doesn't know a thing about headphones and specific to what I'm looking for will get me much farther much faster. So please, fire away.

And I know it is confusing. I'm trying to figure out myself exactly what I should be aiming for as well. If I have reasonable isolation then I won't need to turn them up so I'll be able to hear things better. I use my Shure earphones for the same purpose and I hear everything I need to hear without losing my hearing and I can still listen to music and enjoy it.

So let's figure on well-isloated headphones. I don't mind spending a bit of cash on this either as long as they are worth it and provide a pleasant and articulate sound. They don't need to be able to get loud. They'll never approach the point of distortion. And I was thinking of just running off of a PS3 for my transport like I do now into a headphone amp. I'd also like to consider something that can be used to plug my iPod into.

Thanks!

WOW 90db in the background!!! Get IEM and save your hearing....

These cooling fans hit 102db when the cabinets are open. I go through a lot of earplugs. But the place I'd go to really do my listening is around 78db. Either way, sound isolation I think is key. Hey, it's better than no hearing protection and then turning the volume up to compensate for background noise. No it isn't an ideal environment but I've got roughly seven months to kill on a 510ft boat. I'm looking to keep myself entertained.