
Ask HN: Best isolating headphones for hacking? - sveme
On my new job I&#x27;m sitting in a room with eight others, including some guys that have a near constant flow of visitors. Behind me is a kitchen area where chatty experimentalists seem to be cooking and talking all day. 
Ask HN: what are the best non in-ear headphones that isolate you from your surroundings even when you&#x27;re not listening to music?
======
austenallred
The bible for purchasing headphones is here: [http://www.head-
fi.org/a/headphone-buying-guide](http://www.head-fi.org/a/headphone-buying-
guide)

I personally dropped $38 on the Superlux HD668b Evo, and could not be more
pleased. They are semi-open, so not _as_ closed, but they're still pretty
isolating - I can't hear anyone unless they're yelling into my ear. And the
sound quality to price ratio is astounding. They are far superior to the pair
of Bose on-ear headphones I had a while back.

~~~
jamesbritt
Being semi-open, don't the headphones leak sound to whomever is around you?

~~~
simonster
I have the Superlux HD681, which are pretty close to the HD668. They sound
great. The amount of sound they leak is modest, but they are definitely not
great as far as isolation goes. In general, I'd go with in-ears if isolation
is important to you. If you can't tolerate in-ears, a good pair of closed
headphones like the ATH-M50 will do well, but you'll have to pay more $ for
the same sound quality (at least in my experience).

For some extremely comprehensive comparisons, see [http://www.head-
fi.org/t/478568/](http://www.head-fi.org/t/478568/) (in-ears) and
[http://www.head-fi.org/t/433318/](http://www.head-fi.org/t/433318/) (portable
headphones).

------
wting
I have a bunch of expensive headphones (Bose QC2, multiple inner ear), and the
best solution I've found costs $28 and allows me to listen to music
comfortably on a Mac at 0.5 tick!

I use a pair of earphones[0] covered by industrial ear muffs[1]. For comfort
reasons, it's important that the earphones are not pressured by the
surrounding ear muffs. I haven't found any inner ear headphones that meet this
constraint. Sometimes I'll swap out the earphones for ear plugs for double ear
protection / white noise.

I'm not a fan of open office plans, but this combo lets me tune out
everything. Coworkers have gotten used to pinging me or waving to get my
attention.

Edit: Drowning out distractions by turning up the volume leads to hearing
damage. A better alternative is to eliminate ever hearing external noises.
However to prevent incoming noise, ear muffs create a tight seal around your
ears. My wife is uncomfortable with the pressure for extended periods of time.
I wear them hours daily, and especially love them for sleeping on planes.

[0]: JBuds J2 affiliate link (the white color is $7):

[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001GS8FZC/ref=as_li_ss_tl?...](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001GS8FZC/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B001GS8FZC&linkCode=as2&tag=willting-20)

JBuds J2 non-affiliate link:

[http://www.amazon.com/Premium-Noise-Isolating-Earbuds-
Headph...](http://www.amazon.com/Premium-Noise-Isolating-Earbuds-Headphones-
Chrome/dp/B001GS8FZC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384959694&sr=8-1&keywords=j2+bud)

[1]: 3M Pelter H10A Optime 105 affiliate link:

[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00009LI4K/ref=as_li_ss_tl?...](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00009LI4K/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00009LI4K&linkCode=as2&tag=willting-20)

3M Pelter H10A Optime 105 non-affiliate link:

[http://www.amazon.com/3M-Peltor-H10A-Optime-
Earmuff/dp/B0000...](http://www.amazon.com/3M-Peltor-H10A-Optime-
Earmuff/dp/B00009LI4K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384959824&sr=8-1&keywords=3m+ear+protection)

~~~
B-Con
I have those exact earmuffs and have used them for the last 4 years. (I bought
them because they had the best dB rating (31, IIRC) I could find within a
reasonable price range.) They definitely do eliminate surrounding sound very
well. I wear them when I want to isolate myself from my environment and focus
on something.

I'll echo that that they aren't as comfortable as headphones. Headphones
typically try to be light and have a soft fit around the head. These are a
little heavy and definitely a slightly tighter fit, like you said. If comfort
is extremely important, I'm not sure they'll be appreciated for extended
periods of time. I rarely wear them for longer than 20 or 30 minutes.

~~~
philsnow
I do the reverse setup: I use these earplugs [0] (or similar) and then put
sennheiser hd280 (or whatever over-the-ear headphones $EMPLOYER gave me) over
them. The former claim 20dB reduction, and I guess that the latter give
another ~3dB.

I can take the earplugs onto airplanes a bit easier than earmuffs, but if I
were to sit nearer to the coworker with the model M, I might switch to
earbuds-under-earmuffs.

[0] [http://amzn.com/B0015WNZ9K](http://amzn.com/B0015WNZ9K)

------
wpietri
I recently bought a high-end pair of industrial noise reduction earmuffs [1]
and a jar of cheap foam earplugs [2].

For me, the combination has been great. I work in an open-plan office that I
generally like, but some fiend put a chunk of common space in the middle, and
people end up doing large meetings or small parties there, right next to my
desk.

The high-end earmuffs, which were only $30, are much more comfortable to wear
than the earmuffs I had worn previously. Several hours is no problem. And the
combined noise reduction of the plugs and the muffs is amazing.

[1]
[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CPCHBCQ/](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CPCHBCQ/)

[2]
[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001J4HB1C/](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001J4HB1C/)

~~~
keithpeter
I'll be looking at a pair of the ear protectors as we call them in the UK.

Can you not swap your desk with someone who is on manager schedule and nearer
the edge of the room? I got myself moved away from the door and network
printer in a large open plan office. I'm now over by the back wall. Much less
travelled area.

------
RossM
I use a pair of Bose active noise cancelling headphones (Quiet Comfort 15,
over ear). I work in an open plan office with many people using the phone or
talking across the room. I'm fairly distracted by this and these help, but it
doesn't exactly silence outside noise. In fact, for some people their voices
seem more pronounced when the noise cancelling is on. However they're pretty
good quality, comfortable to wear and can truly deaden the sound of air
conditioning and keyboards.

Major downside is that you have to turn on noise cancelling to listen to music
- which is powered by a single AAA battery.

~~~
howradical
I second these and also recommend the new QC20's. Neither offer the best sound
quality, but hands down the best noise canceling capabilities. The QC20's are
in-ear and much more wearable outside of the office.

~~~
RossM
I've been thinking about switching back to in-ear buds - are they any better
at blocking out voices? Also does that battery pack(?) on the QC20s get in the
way much?

------
vosper
Sennheiser HD-380 Pro headphones have excellent isolation and are circumaural
(enclose your ears, rather than sitting on your earlobes) which makes them
very comfortable for long sessions. They also sound great. Only downside is
they're not that portable, but if you just need headphones for your desk then
I highly recommend them.

~~~
theneb
+1 for these too, I've had mine for over a year now. At first they were a
little un-comfortable on my ears in terms of listening but they're now
perfect.

The best part is that you can get any spare part for them from
[http://spares.sennheiser.co.uk/pro-audio-
headphones/hd-380-p...](http://spares.sennheiser.co.uk/pro-audio-
headphones/hd-380-pro) . You could probably build a pair of headphones from
the spares site alone.

------
MrZongle2
I've worn headphones at work for years. I started when I worked in bullpens in
the middle of cubicle farms, and continued when I shared offices next to break
rooms or conference rooms.

I've gone with fairly cheap, over-the-ear solutions. I'm not an audiophile,
though I can detect poor quality encoding and have had my share of "wow"
moments when I've heard something subtle in a good recording. In short, I
consider myself an "average" consumer in this regard.

Currently, I have a pair of Sony MDR-XD100s which you can get at Amazon for
about $33. They're quite comfortable, the sound quality is decent, and the
cord is nice and long if you need to roll back from your desk to get
something. If you're looking for at least a starter set of headphones, I would
recommend these. If they don't meet your expectations, you can always move up
to the more expensive solutions.

------
gruseom
Using foam earplugs along with an ordinary set of headphones playing white
noise (or rather brown—not as harsh) has changed my life. Combining the two
was the critical factor; neither worked very well by itself.

I keep the volume at the lowest level that still eliminates outside
distraction. Normally that is very low. If there's something particularly
noisy going on, I just turn it up a bit.

I used to feel extremely vulnerable to ambient noise and get thrown off by it
many times a day. I basically never have that problem any more. Curiously,
after using this solution for a few months I found that I didn't need it as
often. Frequently it's enough to just remember that it's available if I need
it.

(Earphones covered by industrial earmuffs sounds like kind of the same
solution, just inverted.)

------
bound008
You have two real options here:

In Ear: On in ear, you should spent the extra money for custom ear molds. This
will allow for all day comfort:
[http://www.sensaphonics.com/](http://www.sensaphonics.com/)

If the headphones you are considering are not on this list, then I would not
consider them. I like shure, but you can also get etymotic research.

Over Ear: Beyer Dynamic DT 770. Velour ear pads (for all day comfort and
isolation)

I have owned: Shure E2C, E4C with custom molds, Shure 840, Beyer Dynamic DT
770, Bose TriPort (previous lightweight champion, but lacking on sound)

I have tested extensively: Audio Technica m50 (more base response), beats (too
much bass), All kinds of sennheiser under $150, and various other brands under
$200.

~~~
cnvogel
I second the recommendation for Beyerdynamic's DT-770. They are standard
equipment in recording studios because of their superb sound, good isolation
(they are what's called a closed design) and ruggedness. You can also get a
lot of replacement parts, should they break (I doubt that they will in normal
office use). I wear glasses and the "part of the glasses that goes to the ear"
[what's that called?] fits below the earpads easily.

One word of caution though: They are available with three distinct impedances
(32Ω, 80Ω, 250Ω), and for usage with notebooks or an iPad I recommend the 32Ω
version which is suitable for devices that have limited voltage available.

I own the 250Ω version and for comfortable listening levels on my mobile phone
(Samsung G S2) I have to crank up the volume all to the maximum. Of course
that could also be considered a hearing-saving pressure level limit ;-).

------
Spoom
I use Ultimate Ears Triple-Fi 10, which have apparently been replaced with the
UE 900[1]. They have great isolation with Comply Foam and surprising quality
for IEMs. The replaceable cord is also a great feature, so when it inevitably
gets a kink that kills stereo, you can replace it without spending $$$ on a
new pair. The only problem I've had is that one of them has gotten loose where
the cord connects so it sometimes falls off, but usually they're good through
the day. This may have been fixed in the newer version.

1\. [http://ue.logitech.com/en-us/product/ue900](http://ue.logitech.com/en-
us/product/ue900)

------
avifreedman
They're $400 but I've found that these snoring earplugs -
[http://www.earplugstore.com/snproinwhnom.html](http://www.earplugstore.com/snproinwhnom.html)
\- plus any kind of over the ear hearing protection/headphones for shooting -
do the trick and can fight almost anything. For me it's airplanes that I
usually need them for. The most common thing I use them to fight is loud
flight attendants, esp if you are sitting at the front or the back of the
plane.

------
benjamincburns
It seems like there's a lot of high-end kit flying around this thread. I'm
sure everybody's recommendations are quite good, but this isn't a problem on
which you need to spend a ton of cash to solve.

When I had this problem I went to Best Buy and picked up a $12 pair of earbuds
which used memory foam instead of silicone. They might've been skull-candy
brand? They came with three sizes of memory foam. For me the medium-sized one
made the best seal, but wasn't so tight that they were uncomfortable to wear
for a full 8-hour coding session.

Personally I work best when I listen to music which I can easily tune out.
Sometimes that's music without lyrics (techno, classical guitar, or other
random stuff like Explosions in the Sky or The Section Quartet), sometimes
it's catchy upbeat pop songs which I've heard a million times. If you don't
want to listen to music, download a white (or pink) noise generator. Between
the seal formed by the memory foam buds and the white noise (which your brain
will _very_ quickly tune out for you) you won't hear a thing.

Another tip: I also find that if my screen is in a position where it faces the
crowd, it negates some of the benefit of wearing headphones since I can't tell
who's looking over my shoulder as easily. It's not that I usually have things
on my screen which I feel I need to hide, more that I'm kind of a privacy nut.
This would probably still be the case even if I were to get one of those
privacy filters, just because I'd periodically feel the need to look over my
shoulder to see who's there. Maybe one of those C.H.I.M.P. mirrors from Think
Geek would solve that, however.

~~~
jamesbritt
I've taken a pair of earbuds and replace the foam with actual earplugs. Does
wonders, especially on airplanes. They can be a bit awkward to get in and out,
but great if you plan on settling in.

------
deepGem
I'm trying out loud white noise in a moderately loud environment. For about 30
minutes I"m able to concentrate. Not sure how long this will last though.

~~~
MetaCosm
This can be dangerous, white noise is hard to modulate volume wise, and does
the exact same amount of hearing damage as playing death metal or (insert type
of music here).

~~~
deepGem
I did not know that. Thank you.

------
embro
Your colleagues might give you weird looks but hey...

[http://www.homedepot.com/p/Ryobi-Tek4-Audio-Plus-Noise-
Suppr...](http://www.homedepot.com/p/Ryobi-Tek4-Audio-Plus-Noise-Suppression-
Headphones-RP4530/100671268#.Uo0QzXDTuE4)

[http://www.howardleight.com/ear-muffs/sync](http://www.howardleight.com/ear-
muffs/sync)

------
Zigurd
I use fairly high-end Sennheisers with semi-open backs and big ear cups at
home. I find closed backs too isolating in most work environments, and these
are not actively anti-noise, so these won't work without music playing. They
are also too big and too expensive to carry around.

When traveling or at customer sites, I use MEElectronics IEMs. These are
reasonably priced, so I'm not worried about breaking or losing them. They are
great on airplanes. They are small and often go unnoticed. The over-the-ear
memory-wire configuration stays securely in my ears. I also use Comply foam
tips and keep some extras with me in case the headphones end up on the
airplane floor or some other place I don't want in my ears.

------
robflynn
The company that I work for purchased these for me a few days ago:
[http://www.amazon.com/Bose%C2%AE-QuietComfort%C2%AE-
Acoustic...](http://www.amazon.com/Bose%C2%AE-QuietComfort%C2%AE-Acoustic-
Cancelling%C2%AE-Headphones/dp/B0054JJ0QW)

I'm pretty happy with them. I'm fairly easily distracted by noises: Heavy
walking noises, talking, laughing, phones ringing, folks rustling potato chip
bags... It can all mess up my concentration if it comes at an inopportune
moment. I'm the only programmer here so most of the folks here do not
understand how easy it can be to derail someone that's coding when you catch
them in the middle of a thought.

Anyway, now I feel like I work in 'silence.' I have my music playing at a much
lower volume than I used to and cannot hear the office antics.

These specific headphones fit over and around ear (they provide a fairly good
seal which muffles out a decent amount of sound even when they're not turned
on.) Once turned on, most noises disappear. Sometimes I can still hear voices
but they sound like they're very far away. A little music at low volume tends
to filter out the remainder of the "very far away" voices.

The battery life is about 36 hours of active use time. The headphones have a
switch on the side to turn them off. Music cannot be played through the
headphones when they are 'off.' The headset takes 1 AAA battery, so I just
keep some rechargeable batteries on the shelf behind me.

These have their pros/cons like pretty much anything.

My apologies for rambling. :)

OH! I will add, if you have these things on your head and switched 'on' but do
not have any sound playing.... you'll feel... odd initially. I felt slightly
disoriented when I first put them on my head sans music. I guess it was a mild
sensory deprivation thing.

 _edit_

Also, if you just happen to not like Bose, check out the amazon link anyway.
The top most customer review compares the headphones to similar models from
two other brands and lists pro/cons of those models as well.

~~~
johnymontana
I have a pair of these also. I wear them most of the day in the office. The
noise canceling feature is great, but I also can't emphasize the importance of
the "over-the-ear" ear cups vs. "on-the-ear" enough. Over-the-ear makes a huge
difference if you are looking for isolation.

EDIT: forgot to mention one minor annoyance I have with over-the-ear
headphones is how some ear cups fit over my glasses. With these Bose it's not
much of an issue since the ear cups are soft enough, but has been much more
annoying with other headphones. Something to be aware of, at least.

~~~
robflynn
The glasses angle is something that I had not considered. The QC15s fit nice
and snug around your entire ear (not in an uncomfortable way) so glasses could
potentially be an issue. They are fairly soft, though, so I suppose it could
be worse.

------
gmays
I use Bose QuietComfort 15 (noise cancelling). Link:
[http://www.amazon.com/Bose%C2%AE-QuietComfort%C2%AE-
Acoustic...](http://www.amazon.com/Bose%C2%AE-QuietComfort%C2%AE-Acoustic-
Cancelling%C2%AE-Headphones/dp/B0054JJ0QW/)

I got a pair for my wife and I used them constantly, so I got a pair of my
own. I absolutely love them. I often use them just for the noise cancelling
(i.e. when travelling) without any music playing.

I'm not an audiophile and haven't tried every pair out there, but I'm very
happy with these. If you're married these really come in handy. If you don't
get it, you will.

------
shade
I'm deaf, so I don't have quite the same needs in headphones that most people
do. That said, I do sometimes like to listen to music and need isolating
headphones (so they don't leak sound and annoy my coworkers) that fit
comfortably over a behind the ear hearing aid.

Accordingly, I've been using a set of Beyerdynamic DT-770 Pro over-the-ear
headphones and I've been really happy with them. I have to adjust them a bit
funny to fit over the hearing aid without causing feedback, but they're
generally pretty comfortable.

They're a bit more expensive at around $175 to $200 depending on where you
shop, but might be worth a look.

------
kaolinite
I'm very happy with the Bang & Olufsen H6
([http://beoplay.com/Products/BeoplayH6](http://beoplay.com/Products/BeoplayH6)).
They're the only headphones that I've had that actually feel like they're
worth the money I paid for them, unlike the Bose headphones I've had which
felt somewhat cheap. They're not going to be the best for cancelling out noise
(although they helped me a lot at my last job, which was an open-plan office)
but if you're after a pair of premium headphones, I wouldn't recommend
anything else.

------
jmspring
I'm not a fan of over the ear cans, so I've gone with in ear monitors (IEMs).
Specifically, Westone 4Rs which are spendy. I've used Westone UM2s as well as
assorted Shure models. In all cases, the tips matter for proper fit and noise
isolation - almost all will ship with different types and sizes. That said,
not everyone likes having something in their ear canal.

A discussion on tips -- [http://www.avforums.com/threads/iem-tip-
comparison.1690650/](http://www.avforums.com/threads/iem-tip-
comparison.1690650/)

------
btgeekboy
I used to use a pair of in-ear monitors, a Shure SE210 set. The problem was
that, after a few months of continuous daily use, I started to suffer inner
ear impactions. Not fun at all.

I still have them, but I save them for travel now due to their size vs. sound
quality. Otherwise, at the office, I use a $20 pair of Sennheiser over-the-
ears that does _okay_ (but I don't care if something happens to them), and at
home, my Shure SRH440 are a great middle ground between quality and price.

------
swat535
I am huge fan of Bose headphones, I work in a very crowded environment and
these headphones pretty much save my day. It has a great sound quality and is
comfortable to wear all day long.

It is a little expensive but worth the money in my opinion.

[http://www.bose.com/controller?url=/shop_online/headphones/n...](http://www.bose.com/controller?url=/shop_online/headphones/noise_cancelling_headphones/quietcomfort_15/index.jsp&color=SI)

------
brentm
If you don't mind having to get an inner ear mold made and spending ~$700 the
Sensaphonics 2X-S are awesome. Since they are molded to your inner ear they
block out near 100% of sound without using audio noise reduction. The sound
quality is pretty top notch as well, their usual purpose is as in ear monitors
for musicians on stage.

[http://www.sensaphonics.com/?p=328](http://www.sensaphonics.com/?p=328)

------
lwhalen
I bought a pair of 1964 Ears quad-driver in-ear monitors for my band, and I
ended up using them EVERYWHERE - when at work (open-plan office, ugh), when
traveling (plane, motorcycle, etc), even when mowing the lawn. They're
incredible, with the best sound quality I've personally ever experienced. All
the other noise just... goes away, and I don't pick up anything that doesn't
come through the IEMs.

~~~
jason_slack
so they are worth the $525 USD? I am looking for a solution that deadens
everything so I can work and maybe sleep better at night too.

Did you send them custom ear molds, etc?

~~~
lwhalen
IMHO, worth the money and then some. I occasionally sleep in mine, they are
quite comfortable (I got the 'soft tip' additions because I do some singing
too). They do require the custom ear molds, but I got those for $10 at a
nearby audiologist.

------
atwebb
Check out www.reddit.com/r/headphones

They were helpful when I was looking and have a weekly stickied thread where
you can ask for recommendations (just fill out the simple form).

You'll need closed or IEMs. I had a pair of Sennheiser Momentums which were
comfortable and sounded good but work from home so have since changed to the
open HD-650s. Best of luck! You'll probably want something that doesn't need a
DAC/Amp.

------
codevinsky
Sennheiser HD-280 Pros. Run about $90 on Amazon (
[http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HD-280-Pro-
Headphones/dp/B0...](http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HD-280-Pro-
Headphones/dp/B000065BPB) )

With music playing through them, you'll never hear the darkness creeping in.

Without music playing through them, the screams in your head will be louder
than they've ever been before.

Highly recommended.

------
new299
Shure 315s will block out most things, one thing you need to watch out for is
that most IEMs are a pain to put in/take off. So if people are prone to ask
you questions and you keep having to take them off that could be a problem.

For this reason I've been using the new style Apple headphone recently, they
off some noise isolation but are a lot easier to take off.

------
akx
A couple of coworkers have these:
[http://www.asus.com/ROG_ROG/Vulcan_ANC/](http://www.asus.com/ROG_ROG/Vulcan_ANC/)
They're really quite impressive considering the lowish price. Apparently
there's a new version, the Vulcan Pro... probably has the same noise
cancellation circuitry.

------
rjuyal
Disclaimer: This is not what you have asked for.

If you do regular meditation ( Seven Pranayams ), then you can concentrate on
your work easily. Little chat and your surrounding will not be able to disturb
you any more. That may sound unbelievable but I do this and I know this is one
of the many benefits I got from meditation.

------
iamben
I use Sennheiser HD25s - not noise cancelling, but if I have music on I can
hear absolutely nothing going on around me.

It's actually a little bit spooky (and often makes me jump) if I'm working and
someone comes into the room behind me then comes into my field of vision, or
someone taps me on the shoulder...

------
timf
Commented here in the past on this subject, I think the best solution is a
combination of headphones and two other things:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4802700](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4802700)

------
MetaCosm
Really, by far the best solution is IEMs. But, if you must got with active
noise cancellation, the PSB M4U 2 is about the only decent one of I have
auditioned... most active noise cancellation phones absolutely sound like
muddy crap.

------
Splendor
Here's a good write-up on The Wire Cutter:
[http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-noise-canceling-
headph...](http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-noise-canceling-headphones/)

------
arh68
Sennheiser's HD25-1? You can browse reviews at headphonereviews.org .

~~~
andrewcooke
i have these, and they're great (sound good and have reasonable isolation;
they're also pretty much indestructible, and reasonably efficient, so perfect
for travelling) BUT they're not active noise cancelling. if you care more
about peace than music quality you probably want something active (and if you
care more about music than peace you may want something open - these are a
compromise, which is a good thing when that's what you want, but be aware of
that).

tl;dr - if you're willing to give up _some_ isolation (compared to active) for
better music, these sound good, last forever, and won't bother coworkers.

------
sveme
Thanks to everyone for their input, lot's of great feedback from people that
are in a similar situation and have found solutions to that issue. That's what
I like about HN.

------
rikkus
Sony MDR-1R came 'free' with the Xperia Z phone. Lovely sound, very
comfortable and good isolation. If you can find some, might be worth an
audition.

------
calebm
I've bought an expensive pair ($100) and a cheap pair ($20), both have a nice
fit. I didn't really see a difference between them.

------
ksk
I use the Etymotic HF3s with Comply tips.

"The world is dead to me" \- sums it up nicely :P

------
bboyan
Etymotic hf5: 35-42 dB isolation + good frequency response and accuracy

~~~
sisk
ER-4 with custom molds here. Customs give you almost complete isolation but
there is a warming-up period. They actually hurt for the first week or two
that you wear them. Recommended if you can put them in and keep them in but
not if you must be interrupted regularly.

One more thing to be aware of with Etymotic products: the microphonics. Lots
of noise from the cable hitting stuff. It looks super dorky but the cable clip
fixes a lot of that.

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pwheslop
Shure 425's. Lovely sound

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asc123
Shure SE215s

