Canalphones and isolation?

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Monkey_feces

Gawd
Joined
Jun 27, 2006
Messages
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I'm not really satisfied with the isolation on my JVC marshmellows. Does the JVC offer subpar external sound blocking, or is it average and I shouldn't expect much from an upgrade. What canalphones within an $80ish dollar price range can offer the features I desire?
 
ultimate ears, westone, etymotic and shure all have have good to great icolation and for the most part sound great.

koss and senn both have iem's around that price. i have been told they sound good but they dont isolate well at all.
 
If I moisten the bi flanges (or tri flanges) of my er-6is and fit them nicely up in the ear canal getting a good seal I really can't hear anything but music.

I usually reinsert them a few minutes after the initial insertion to get them sealed well rather than wetting them first.
 
Isolation is the biggest pro for canal aka IEM phones.

But what i am worried is about ear damage since it's closer to your ear drums....

Stereo cup headphones are supposedly better for your ears since you don't need to turn the volume up so high that hurt your ears :x

Just my opinion...
 
From what I have read, IEMs can offer better isolation than any cupped headphone that isn't a $300 bose qc2. If they isolate better, then you don't need to raise the volume to compensate for external noise, which is actually healthier for your ears.
 
You are correct. Nothing isolates as well as canal phones. The very best are, of course, ones that are custom made for your ear. However normal ones are really good as well provided you choose the insert correctly to fit your ear and make sure you have a good seal.

There are volume warnings about them mainly because on a given source, they are usually capable of getting louder than circumaural phones. They tend to be much more efficient in terms of how much sound power they get per mW since they are closer to the ear and use smaller drivers. Also, they generally tend to be lower impedance and thus get louder per volt than higher impedance phones. The combination means that even something like an iPod can drive them to damaging levels, and thus you have to be careful.

However they are the best bet for noisy environments as they do isolate the best and thus can be run at the most moderate volume levels. You just need to not abuse the volume knob and make sure to keep it reasonable.
 
i never understand why people think the iem's are prone to hearing damage. the ear works in absoluts. it does not matter if its on your drum, the pressure is the same. the real issue is being mindfull of your volume habits.

i use e500's 5 hours a day mon. though fri. and never feel uncomfortable. i lock my nanos volume at half and normaly use about 75% of that.

if you have not seen Jays yet they have a set in your budget. i have not listened to them but praise for them is around the net. i am interested in the new Q-Jays as a second mobile set.
 
Tangent inc. said:
i never understand why people think the iem's are prone to hearing damage. the ear works in absoluts. it does not matter if its on your drum, the pressure is the same.
Click to expand...

The pressure is not the same for two reasons:

1) They are closer to your ear. Sound diminishes with the square of the distance, the farther something is away, the softer it is. As such the difference between circumaural phones and IEMs is significant. You can run them at the same output, but the pressure on the ear from the IEMs will be much larger because it is closer to the eardrum, and well sealed.

2) Because of the smaller, lighter drivers, it takes less power to drive them to greater levels.

What these add up to is that just about any device can drive them to damaging levels with ease. Often they have efficiencies in the realm of 115dB/mW. That means with just a single milliwatt of power, something that any portable can do, they can generate levels sufficient to damage hearing in only a few minutes (OSHA guidelines state that sounds over 105dB are of extreme risk). In fact, coupled with their low impedance, many devices can hit that only part way up the volume dial.

Now compare that to circumaural phones. Their efficiencies are usually more in the 100dB/mW range. This means that at the same power level, they are something you can deal with for an hour or two without damage. Also, given their generally lower impedances, you'll have to go higher up on the dial to get them to that higher power.

That's the risk. It's not that IEMs are poorly designed or anything, they are just capable of high volume levels with very little input. If you control the volume levels, no problem, but don't fool yourself in to thinking they can't do real damage. Circumaural phones can too, but it's generally harder to do. As an extreme case take the Sennheiser 580s. I've yet to find the portable device that can even drive those to normal listening levels much less dangerous ones. Without an amp with some serious voltage ability, they just can't get loud enough to be dangerous.
 
Monkey_feces said:
I have free time to go back to circuit city to get these jvc marshmallows replaced.
Can someone do me a favor and skim through these 2 lists for my best option?
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Head...6+312927002/link/ref/rpem/ccd/categorylist.do
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Head...6+312927003/link/ref/rpem/ccd/categorylist.do

Isolation is my top priority.
Click to expand...

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/ETYM...78831/catOid/-12938/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do is your best bet if you're going to go to Circuit City

or the Shures.
 
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