Earbuds VS Headphones For Field Monitoring
by Archie Cruz
on
Jul 3, 2009 at 6:47:46 pm
I've been using Sony MDR-V6 for years to monitor my Camcorder Audio.Thanks to it's punchy drivers, I've been very satisfied with the results- especially from weakish sources. However, I'm guessing that there are noise-canceling buds that are just as good or better. It's hard to beat the $75 street price of the MDR- 7506 so I know I'll pay more for comparables. Say my new budget is $75- $150. Any recommendations?
Re: Earbuds VS Headphones For Field Monitoring by Ty Ford on Jul 3, 2009 at 10:41:49 pm
Hello Archie and welcome to the Cow Audio Forum,
I know of none that offer the frequency response that give you what you need to know when listening. Some folks may have found some and I encourage them to chime in.
Re: Earbuds VS Headphones For Field Monitoring by Jordan Wolf on Jul 4, 2009 at 7:37:23 am
I own and have used my Shure E3 (now rebadged as the SCL3) earphones as on-location monitors. They worked nicely for isolating me from the environment, but didn't sound as natural as over-the-ear headphones.
The frequency response on them is perfectly fine for monitoring - that is their intended purpose, after all. It's been a while, but I've swept them from 20Hz-20kHz and the response picked up somewhere from 40Hz and extended all the way to 20kHz. I won't say their response is flat, but neither is that of the Sony MDR-7506.
I bought my original pair for $180 a couple of years ago; I bought another pair a little over half-a-year ago, and they were around $60 ONLY because they were white and not gray in color. They are exactly the same, just a different color.
As with all in-ear monitoring solutions, the better the seal, the more bass response you will get. I tend to use the silicone, flanged "earmolds" for regular use since they are easier to take in/out, but I use the yellow foamies when I need a really good seal.
You can get custom molds made for them - which would both improve the seal AND the comfort of wearing them for hours on end - but if you're going that route, it would be best to break the bank and get a $900 pair of Futuresonics.
I say get a pair of the SCL3's in white (which equals cheaper cost) and try them out for at LEAST 1 week straight. Your ears will need to adjust a little bit. If you find they aren't adequate for monitoring audio for video, at least you'll have a nice pair of earphones for your personal music player.
Re: Earbuds VS Headphones For Field Monitoring by Archie Cruz on Jul 4, 2009 at 5:05:35 pm
Awesome response Jordan! I will take your advice and FYI...
RE:"You can get custom molds made for them - which would both improve the seal AND the comfort of wearing them for hours on end - but if you're going that route, it would be best to break the bank and get a $900 pair of Futuresonics."
I make custom molds for myself. Maybe I'll post a tutorial some day.
Re: Earbuds VS Headphones For Field Monitoring by Jordan Wolf on Jul 6, 2009 at 2:11:45 pm
That is a good picture...I should look into those sometime :-)
As far as "noise canceling" goes, that is an active technique which is employed by some headphone manufacturers. Earphones/canalphones passively attenuate the sound by acting like earplugs - though at times you will still hear low frequencies through bone conduction.
Re: Earbuds VS Headphones For Field Monitoring by Paul Hurt on Aug 25, 2009 at 2:04:42 am
I've used a pair of Shure E4 in-ears for monitoring in high-volume situations... ooh, for about four years now. They work great, as long as you use the triple-flange ear-tips (and figure out how to get them into your ears properly - usually involves gently pulling on the outside of your ear as you put them in).
They sound great, and aren't short of frequency response... but like any headphones or in-ear monitors, you have to learn how the sound you hear in your in-ears/cans translates to the "real world", because the presentation is not the same when heard over a pair of speakers.
But most of the time I think you're just listening to check that your audio is clean and strong, and for that, in-ears work great. You can worry about tone balance more when you get to the mix stage.
The only downside to in-ears is they're slow to put in and take out... compared to a pair of headphones which you can whip off your head at a moments notice when you need to talk to someone. With in-ears it's a bit more of a palaver... and you also learn to keep a hand close to your monitor level control...!
Want better production audio?: 
