Drummer Headphones, Hearing Protection and In-Ear Monitor Review 

Immediately stayed on your video because you are not promoting a product you are being paid to promote. Great stuff.

In ear monitors can definitely still be as dangerous, as loud wedges, since you have all that pressure directly on your ear drum. Check out 64 Audio's ADEL technology, which in essence is a sympathetic ear drum built right into the monitor to relieve that pressure on your actual ear drum. Not only does it save your hearing, but they feel much more natural to wear than other custom IEM's, and sound absolutely incredible *this has NOT been a paid endorsement lol

Glad to see the VF headphones in this review, been using them for years and love 'em - on and off stage i'll add...

Thanks for the feedback! And thanks for pointing out your experience. Keep rockin!

The wire connecting my Vic Firth headphones deteriorated over a period of four years after continuous, and heavy usage. So, I would invest in a warranty. Just a tip for everyone. Thanks for the video!

Custom in-ear fits will change your life!! There's nothing in the world like it. When your in-ears 'fit like a glove' and seal your ears up, it's magic!!

I've been drumming with a 3-driver IEM product from Westone for about 2-3 years now (3-4 hours a week, every week) and been very happy. They are not custom fit, so the cost is more in the $300-$400 range. Anyway, the sound has been great, fit is good, and the build quality seems to be rock solid. I decided to go to them after I smoked out *three* pair of Shures in a row. Just puttin' it out there. Thanks for the great video!!

good video.. but i really wished you would have mentioned how the in-ear monitors reduce the sound compared to the vic firth over ear headphones

Great review video, man. Very thorough. I started out with Vic Firth cans, then Sennheiser HD-280 cans (which I still love), and then finally pulled the trigger on a pair of custom molded JH Audio JH-5 dual driver IEM. Custom molds are definitely worth the investment if you're playing regularly.

Wow - best product review I've seen in a long time - clear, concise - good job! And thanks!

delighted to come across my buddy eric doing yet another one of his inrecible reviews.!! Super job and very comprehensive review

listen to him ! i am 64 and played without protection in small venues ,,,,i have had tinnitus for over 30 years ,no cure and it sucks really bad ,,,young fellows pay attention . for your own good . thanks for doing this vid .

Thanks! I know a lot of people who use JH Audio and they are also excellent in-ears!

Just got a set of the Shure se535 for live performances. Also a 3 driver in-ear. Amazing sound, great isolation, and about half the price of the moulded monitors. Best part is they have detachable kevlar reinforced cables that you can replace for about $30 if they ever go bad. For the studio I use the Audio-Tecnica MT-50's. I also have a set of the Beyerdynamic DT 770's, but I found that the AT's have a livelier sound with more highs and lows. Beyer's are great if you are looking for a flatter response.

NICELY DONE ! We are about to equip key personnel and were looking for a quick well-rounded review of the options out there. Thanks !

I really enjoyed this post because I've played in a few groups that are a) really loud and b) use electronics. Also, I practice to tracks regularly so I need to manage my audio and my hearing. I use the Vic Firth headphones which are great. What I also do is mic my drums when I rehearse and plug my Vic phones into my tascam digital recorder connected to my laptop so I can manage the levels of my kit in my ears (so no overplaying) and the level of the tracks I'm playing to. Great post!

only one stereo (L/R) input on the PreSonus. It does have a stereo output as well so you can daisy chain a bunch of the HP4's together for tons of outputs though! Good luck!

I have been using the Shure SE215 for our praise band, I actually have 2 set and they work great for drums. 215 are abt 99, 315 dual drivers are abt 199. Running thru a Rolls PM50 works like a charm...

Great video Eric! I watched this video before, and now that I'm ready to buy headphones, I'm watching it a second time, to refresh. Thanks!

Dat intro!

I have had 2 pair of Vic Firth and each has lasted only about 6 months(the left side has gone out on both pair). Got a pair of cheap(should say cheaper than Firth) Sony noise cancelling phones and they too lasted about 6 months,with the left side going out. So now i have a cheaper pair of Skullcandy ear buds and i put the Sonys over them and so far so good (about 1 yr now). "Just a home body hobbyist"!!!

Thanks! great vid. I used the EX-29s for years, only recently I've tried the vic firth ones and they do a great job.

I like the blue vic firth ear muffs theywork really well. always stay on my head when im rocking out at a show.

I use a Bose Around Ear for Muffling and a Sennheiser Adidas Sport Earphones for the sound. I like how the Bose's cord can be detached. It works pretty well for me considering I play really hard!

One thing I would point out is that a standard headphone amp does 'not' have a limiter built in. When using in ear monitoring, the build in limiter on the good wireless or wired body packs not only protects your ears from audio spikes, but it also protects your (very expensive) in ear monitors. I destroyed the drivers in two basic in ear monitoring solutions (£60 worth each) before I started using a wireless system with a limiter. Blow a drive, and you'll be buying a new one for sure

Hey man! Awesome video. Does the Presonus headphone amp have multiple inputs? So you can listen to more than one thing at a time?

The Vic Firth drummer headphones are awesome. Not the most comfortable but you still hear everything while isolating. you still feel and hear your drums and the rest of the band along with the click track and in ear mix. I prefer my 60 dollar Vic Firth headphones over the expensive in ear shure monitors the rest of the band uses. The Vic Firth’s do get very hot when playing live and not the best passing but honestly it’s worth the sacrifice since I can actually hear everything including my own drums.

skull candy ear buds are actually REALLY good for using with your ipod. Moderately muffles the sounds of your drums, and you are able to hear your music clearly without needing to have max volume. i also use them as personal drum monitors through my Zoom multi-track recorder to hear my kick during practice sessions with my band.

Would you recommend the Vic Firths for electronic drums?

great review man, i've been using westone es2 for a little over a year with a rolls pm351 to control them and they are amazing, cost effective and awesome sounding

I am recently using custom In Ear protection plus PA or headphones when practicing, but on stage in ear monitoring is a must !

i did a stupid thing months ago and bought the vic firths without cable so i put my sennhieser mx680i headphones in and isolate with my vic firths, works ok, wish i had something better but im hapoy:) thanks alot for this vid!

Wicked video man! How do you find the PreSonus headphone amp in a live situation? I'm using a Peavy headphone amp at the moment but the sound quality isn't the best, lots of constant buzzing and also I have to have the volume on 1 constantly because the gap in between 'barely audible' to 'ear drums blown out' is pretty minimal! Cheers brother keep doing your thing!

Thanks for this Eric. I actually own Ultimate Ears Triple Fi 10, Monster Turbine high performance in ear speakers & the Extreme Isolation HP25. I have yet to get my own custom in ears which will hopefully be my next purchase.

Excellent advice for younger musicians... protect your hearing! Once lost, it doesn't come back.

Great Video!! I just wish you also covered the same custom range in the Shure's as well to make a decision.

Thank you for a comprehensive review. I have a 14 year old drummer and have had difficult time getting any straight reliable answers about hearing protection and in ear monitors. He is a serious dedicated drummer in two bands and would be using them fro both rehearsal and live sound. Would you advise jumping to the higher cost pro models or starting with a lower end dual driver for our scenario?

Best custom in ears I just bought are called 1964ears. I got 6 drivers for $650. They're fully customizable from a logo, to color. I do a lot of traveling with a famous band and these work amazing for live sound to even using them to listen to music on my iPhone. Great ears for an amazing price!

We got any endorsement by Gorilla Ears and really excited to get them through now! For me (Rich - Drummer) can you suggest ways of setting up in ear monitors through a wired system. I want to ensure I have: 1) A Limiter 2) Mix in from sound/mixing desk 3) Ability to connect a secondary audio i.e. phone, laptop, metronome. Got some basic ideas but piecing it all together. Also don't want to spend a massive fortune otherwise may as well go wireless. Any help would be awesome! Thanks, Rich

Yeah great video bro i think the inexpensive in ears and certified construction ear muffs would be the most sensible , safest and cost effective way to go . Thanks buddy .

Great info...!! THANKS! I'm currently using either my shure e5's or a older pair of Ultimate Ears with dual drivers... Being on a budget, in your opinion is it worth the investment to upgraded "custom" fit models ?

Great review! I've been looking into the in-ears and the Gorilla's sound great! I'm going to look into those a bit more now! Thanks a bunch brother!

Thanks, Eric. I've used the lower-end Shure in-ears before. I thought they were high priced until I watched your video! My band can't afford to go in-ear for all the members. We were told it's basically $650 per person to go wireless on stage. I guess that would be using some type of universal earphones if Ultimate Ears and Gorilla are that high.

those vic firths are what i've been looking for for a long time!

I like to play/practice my drums to music while listening to my compact discs. Do you have a recommendation for wireless headphones with transmitter that I can connect to my amplifier that will allow me to hear the music at a reasonable level (while playing the drums) but be able to leave the amp level down so as not to drive everyone out of the room?

great mate, love the video & honesty of the information - from the land Down Under Australia

Really excellent overview of the many sound isolating solutions our there. Have you tried the Beyerdynamic DT 770 M? Provides up to 35db attenuation with sound quality reportedly superior to Vic Firth.

Have you heard of the JamHub to use as a mixer so you can have complete control on your mix? Have you considered trying it?

Very informative video thanks. My buddy a basement drummer wants to have his drums and play along music pumped through his head phones. As a former sound engineer we never did this but I tried drum microphones on his kit and putting everything through a 12 channel Yamaha mixer and plugged him into the head phone jack and it sounded like crap. I've tried to explain how this stuff works but he want what he see's on You tube videos he thinks what he hears on the video is what the drummer is hearing in his head phones. Any suggestions on getting closer to what he thinks he wants? HB

Direct Sound ex-29 vs Vic Firth. Which one do you prefer, assuming you have tried the 29's?

Hey Eric, great review! I also have some UE studio.fi headphones but the part of the cable that connects the two golden prongs fell out and now one of my headphones doesn't work, even after re attaching it! What did you to replace the cables when your fell off?

I buyed some etymotic Mc5 for 59.99 it's the BEST EVAR. Give up to 42db isolation and the sound is amazing. nothing can equal them up to 200$.

off-topic Q for you. I noticed your crown molding does not go all the way to the ceiling. Is that to run wires/cables and/or add some sort of sound proofing to prevent reflecting the sound waves? thanks.

What do you think of the skull-candy type of earbuds? I've been rehearsing with a pair connected to my ipod with the biggest rubber ear "suction cup", and it seems to work wonders with me. Only complain about them is that there's not any volume control on the headphones themselves, so I can't use them live... Is there something out there like skullcandies with a volume adjust on the wire itself that you would suggest?

i used to use The shure E2 and there is also E1 and E3. The shure's are good inbetween step from the vic firth over head isolation monitors, and they range from $100-300. They are pretty good sound quality, but i also find they kind of tire out your ears after a while, and also if u play alot of live gigs...and get sweaty, they start to slip out very easily which can be a problem. if you are oak with spending money i recommend ultimate ears for sure.

Do the in ear monitors cancel noise as well as the Vic Firth headphones?

I've been using Shure SE-215s for years, same pair, and they have worked well for in-ear monitors with noise-isolation. I don't have $850, lol.

Do in ear monitors cancel noise more than the Vic Firth isolation headphones?

Check out the Shure SE215, they are great in-ear monitors for only about $100. The reviews for them are fantastic.

While Beats sound good, they are the most over priced headphones available. I wouldn't spend the money on them and instead go for something in-ear like the comments above. There are in-ear monitors with universal fit that are cheaper than Beats! Good luck!

I have the Beyerdynamic DT-770-M-80 and their sound isolation is PRETTY good, and their comfort level is incredible!!! I'm still however, looking for even MORE isolation than the Beyer's. Anyone out there know of something quieter than the Beyerdynamic DT-770-M-80?? I know they're way up there in terms of noise reduction, but I'd still like even more DB reduction for use in my home studio. I'm trying to avoid custom moulded IEM's, just because of the price increase... I'd like to try and stay around the $250 range.

I need a set of headphones that let me hear my drums and also let me hear the music so I can play along with the song but without needing to have the music really loud. Any suggestions? Drummer Connection

I use Skull Candy ear buds under hardware store ear muffs. Is this a good combo?

well the Vic Firth isolation headphones ... they reduce the decibels but it compromises the tone of the drums .... is that the case with these in ear custom fit monitors? Cause if all they are is just cool lookin then I don't see why I'd ever spend the money ...

Great video! It's always good to see some honsest reviews. For anyone looking for hearing protection that lowers the volume evenly and that you can still hear clearly, Please check out the link to our website on our YT page.

Hello, I run a home studio, and my drummer always complains about the phones. He´s never satisfied. He wants big loudspeakers next to him in order to hear and "feel" the heavy sound of the band. He finds the earphone´s sound too low and thin. I tested with many different earphones, and I don´t know what to do. I can´t use loudspeakers while recording. It looks like he has a hearing problem. He justifies by saying that he wants to hear and feel people around him. Every earphone I tested, he finds low and thin. I use a Behringer Powerplay Pro XL as the phones amplifier. I even burned one of the earphones trying to achieve the power he finds it´s the optimum. Now, I seek a robust very high power earphone for drummers, in order that he "feels" he´s on stage, what do you suggest ?

There's an incredible world of difference between custom fit in-ears and universal fit. The sound is also much different. Universal fit earplugs aren't for everyone, as I have found out too that I have an allergy to them. My advice is to treat your custom in-ears like they are an infant baby. Take really really good care of them because once you use them there's no going back to the others.

Great review and very useful. It is definately information that I was looking for! Thanx!

Can you please talk about how much isolation you get with the inner ear monitors

HAve you every tried skull candy ear buds? if so what are your thoughts on those?

etymotic research earplugs too; nice way to filter down some volume. why 4 sets of vic firth headphones?

Check out 1964 ears. They are VERY affordable compared to the other IEM companies, and they sound incredible.

My Vic firth sound like garbage so I took them back to guitar center and they compared mine to the same exact one on the shelf and those to had a horrible sound. Any explanation on why tht may have happened? I was very disappointed

question i need good protection but i also need to hear the lead singers voice as i do harmonies any suggestions .

Thanks for this. I have heard that "Alien Ears" are a good and cheaper option also. Never tried them but I,m told the single or duel driver are around 3 to 4 hundred dollars or so.

You are very welcome!

Unfortunately my Gorilla Ears broke :-( The pins in the detachable cable broke in the mould (which was an ongoing frustration as they kept on slipping out over time). The firm mould also means when you smile, they pop out! Shame as to get them fixed is going to cost me about £200 (international / UK based). Probably good if you are based in the USA. Looking into some standard moulds from Shure now as they are much cheaper and will do the same job. Sorry Gorilla Ears but struggled with them from the beginning

Thanks for the review, very helpful.

Hey men great review, one question what do you think about QuietComfort® 20i Acoustic Noise Cancelling® headphones

Hahaha that intro xD dude how can you keep a straight face after that :D

I use Bose QuietComfort 15 ,now they are for $269.95 has a really good sound quality and real noise cancelling....

I know he likes the VFs, but for hearing protection they are not very good. The drivers are not great either--bad sound. The cups are shallow, which makes them uncomfortable, and may be the cause of the poor isolation. Foam earplugs (33dB) are the best. Next best are ear muffs, the Peltors (30dB) are the best (3M Peltor Optime 105). When practicing at home, I use foam earplugs and earmuffs at the same time. J

Hey, I've tried vic firth once, but they're really make my ears burns and sweats after some time.. I'm looking for some budget in-ears. Whats about Sennheiser ie4?

I use the "iPods earbuds + ear protectors" but my problem is that after playing for a while, my lower part of the ear hurts cause of the pressure the iPod's cable put over. Any ideas how to solve that?

i've had 2 pairs of vic firth isolation headphones and both broke after about a month.

Thanks!!! That's awesome!

Too be in all out honesty... I love floor monitors, I love to feel what I play and what others play around me too!! I would normally have them in my drum cage with me :)) my hearing is fine!

I have a problem hearing my cymbals when I have my in ear monitors in. I remember hearing about monitors that you could adjust the ambient noise in the monitors but I can not remember the brand. Any info would be appreciated.

Thank you!

Really good post! Someday, I hope to have everything I'd need to mix my drums with whatever tunes I'm into... and have everything mixed perfectly into custom molded ear phones. Someday! ;)

is that the shure e2 could work than the e3?

Very helpful review

Thanks, there are more iem company since 2012. Jerry Harvey audio, 1964 ears, and Noble and so on....but thanks

Thanks for a great review

i use shure 535 for about a year i wonder if i can ket a custum fit kit

Good video!

Great job, thanks for the info !!!

Wait till you get your hands on JH Audio Pro13

Do any of the Bose noise cancelling headphones over the ear, work well for drummimg?

the vic firth the sound volume is to low i can here my drums and the vit is nice bud the volume is so low i cant here the play along music anymore haha