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Noise Cancelation Head Phones for Keyboard Practice


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Greetings,

 

My wife, and I moved into a new open floor plan home and it's really nice but practicing on digital piano can be somewhat of a challenge when I am practicing my in my practice space, while my wife is cooking dinner, especially when she's using the blender to make her salsa or watching her telenovelas. . The kitchen is about 25 feet from my studio and I'm thinking a pair of a goodpair of head phones could cut out some the noise. I looking to spend up $300, but would consider more if they can do what I need them to do really well.

 

Any suggestions? thanks!

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I can hear someone say "Yeah, but wouldn't that cut out the 'noise' from the piano?"

 

Not that your playing is "noise".... :)

 

The solution is to simply route the piano's output into the audio-input jack of the NC device. I have a set of Bose in-ear Noise Cancelling earplugs, and they are comfortable enough to wear under shooting muffs when I mow my lawn. My old iPod with Classic Rocks tunes plugs into the Bose NC plugs, those are worn, and then I wear the larger muffs over those. That combination cuts out 90% of the mower's sound -- so well, in fact, that I once forgot to restart the blades and I went around 1/4 of the yard before my wife saw and HEARD me (um, the blades not running...) and came out and slapped me upside the head.

 

It's possible that only the NC plugs or muffs along would work really well for you. If I recall, the Bose ones I got (a few years ago) were in your price range, but I haven't looked lately. Good luck.

 

Old No7

Yamaha MODX6 * Hammond SK Pro 73 * Roland Fantom-08 * Crumar Mojo Pedals * Mackie Thump 12As * Tascam DP-24SD * JBL 305 MkIIs

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I seem to be practicing later and later in my apartment so I got a new set of headphones Beyerdynamics DT 770 Pro 32ohm closed back headphones. Now I was using open back headphones and didn't realize how much relied on the open back for doing Zoom sessions, play to a backing track, or even my metronome. So the closed back really does block out room sound I don't know about a blender or telenovelas but should definitely keep them low enough to be a minor distraction. So maybe closed back will be enough and not have to go to the expensive of active noise cancelation.

 

 

I now have the problem of my Kronos with the headphones sounds so good, I want to get a speaker setup that sounds like the headphones. So I'm looking for speakers that don't color the sound.

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Have you ever actually used/tried noise cancelling headphones?

 

Myself, I cannot tolerate them. Just sayin. Hope you find what you need.

 

+1 on this. Tried a pair and couldn't stand the weird pressure sensation when cancellation was on. It's hard to imagine that they're good for the ears... YMMV.

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...maybe closed back will be enough and not have to go to the expensive of active noise cancelation.

 

Agree that closed-back is a better solution for practicing in a noisy environment, although I should say that my experience of ANC headphones is limited to the Bose in-ear and over-ear QuietComfort products. They're great on an airplane, but they sound kind of weird. I wouldn't want to listen to myself playing through them.

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My company recently went through an in-depth evaluation of over-the-ear noise-cancelling headphones during our recent transition from private offices to "open floor plan". Don't get me started on THAT lunacy, but I digress........

 

We evaluated several brands and the overall winner was Sennheiser MB 660. Runner up was the Plantronics Voyager 8200 UC. There are pros and cons to both, personally I prefer the tactile feel of the controls on the Plantronics 8200 over the "slide-touch-tap" controls of the Sennheiser 660's, but the noise cancellation on the Sennheiser's is absolutely incredible! From my home (Covid) office, I did an A/B comparison of these two headphones while my neighbor's lawn service was running three (yes, count 'em, THREE) Stihl backpack leaf blowers AND a commercial lawn mower, and the Sennheiser's were DEAD QUIET. If they can cancel that noise, I'm sure they can handle a blender! The Plantronics were definitely "very acceptable" with very little noise bleed-through, but the Sennheiser's were unreal. (Both have corded capability for zero-latency audio, in addition to BT, either native or through a USB dongle).

 

If your budget is more modest, in 2018 we were originally issued Plantronics Voyager Focus UC on-ear headphones for online video calls, before the open office space. They worked very well considering their price point, offering reasonable noise cancellation. They also had the best phone call audio of all 3 headsets for Teams/Zoom calls. But the Sennheiser MB 660 are truly in a class by themselves when it comes to noise cancellation.

 

Lou

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I recently got a pair of Tascam TH-02, for almost nothing. Not specifically designed for noise cancellation, but I find that they provide a respectable degree of isolation from external noises. And they sound very good for the ridiculously low price. (I won't mix on them, though :hand::D )
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You might want to wait a few weeks until after Christmas sales. A couple of years ago in January I picked up my noise cancelling over the ear Sonys for $100 off their holiday price.

 

Model number is unimportant because I'm sure they've been superseded by now.

 

The Sony and the Bose in the same room were over $300 originally, but both marked down significantly. I chose Sony because they didn't exert pressure in the inner ear as much. I originally bought them to DJ with in clubs, but ended up using them all the time. Very comfortable for extended periods - and if you can, try phones out in person to see if you can live with them on for several hours.

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I've been using a David Clark 10S/DC stereo headset for years. You won't find higher quality.

 

Edit: DCs have a number of accessories. I use the ear seal comfort covers, though they do cut down the seal and thus isolation a bit. The eyeglass cushions are on order.

 

 

Interesting choice that I have never heard off. Apparently these are designed for pilots? Thank you for bringing these to my attention.

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Have you ever actually used/tried noise cancelling headphones?

 

Myself, I cannot tolerate them. Just sayin. Hope you find what you need.

 

 

Actually I don't think I have, Maybe once or twice in a store for a minuet. I never had a need for them until now. Why don't you like them? Comfort? Sound? Both?

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My company recently went through an in-depth evaluation of over-the-ear noise-cancelling headphones during our recent transition from private offices to "open floor plan". Don't get me started on THAT lunacy, but I digress........

 

We evaluated several brands and the overall winner was Sennheiser MB 660. Runner up was the Plantronics Voyager 8200 UC. There are pros and cons to both, personally I prefer the tactile feel of the controls on the Plantronics 8200 over the "slide-touch-tap" controls of the Sennheiser 660's, but the noise cancellation on the Sennheiser's is absolutely incredible! From my home (Covid) office, I did an A/B comparison of these two headphones while my neighbor's lawn service was running three (yes, count 'em, THREE) Stihl backpack leaf blowers AND a commercial lawn mower, and the Sennheiser's were DEAD QUIET. If they can cancel that noise, I'm sure they can handle a blender! The Plantronics were definitely "very acceptable" with very little noise bleed-through, but the Sennheiser's were unreal. (Both have corded capability for zero-latency audio, in addition to BT, either native or through a USB dongle).

 

If your budget is more modest, in 2018 we were originally issued Plantronics Voyager Focus UC on-ear headphones for online video calls, before the open office space. They worked very well considering their price point, offering reasonable noise cancellation. They also had the best phone call audio of all 3 headsets for Teams/Zoom calls. But the Sennheiser MB 660 are truly in a class by themselves when it comes to noise cancellation.

 

Lou

 

Those all seem like they would work well to lower the noise level here at home. Have you tried them with your keyboards or just for office communication?

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My office/music area has no door. When we moved into this house in March 2020 with a third-grader, I didn't realize that the rest of third (and then all of fourth) grade was going to happen a few yards away on the other side of my nonexistent door.

 

I use Shure 215's with triple-flanged tips that I jam deep in my ear. Eventually I decided that wasn't enough, so I bought some cheap shooter's ear muffs.

 

Covid and school staff shortages gave us a surprise early Thanksgiving holiday this year, so here I am again working at my desk, Snarky Puppy in the Shures, and the ear muffs over them. Not the most comfortable arrangement, but effective.

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I've been using a David Clark 10S/DC stereo headset for years. You won't find higher quality.

 

Edit: DCs have a number of accessories. I use the ear seal comfort covers, though they do cut down the seal and thus isolation a bit. The eyeglass cushions are on order.

 

 

Interesting choice that I have never heard off. Apparently these are designed for pilots? Tank you for bringing these to my attention.

I bought them, I'm guessing the 90s? My day job was at Collins Avionics, (airplane radios). D/C pilot headphones were everywhere in the labs. The magazine advertisement for these showed a model/business executive sitting in his office at a big wood desk with one of those aluminum airplane models on it, eyes closed, hands folded across his lap, smiling while wearing is D/Cs and listening to some tunes. I think I paid $150.

 

At the time, I was playing tenor in a blues band and needed the hearing protection. There was, what I suppose could be called a down side. I was using a personal monitor feed and the isolation was so good that I could run it at very low volume and hear everything clearly. As a result it was sort of isolating in another way - a lack of engagement with the music. (There could be other reasons for that too I suppose.)

 

A couple of years ago I noticed a buzz on one side when playing very low bass notes. I sent them in and D/C replaced both drivers and the cord for free. Obviously, I am a sold on them. :cool:

 

I found this attenuation chart.

 

sXQNnKOl.jpg

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My company recently went through an in-depth evaluation of over-the-ear noise-cancelling headphones during our recent transition from private offices to "open floor plan". Don't get me started on THAT lunacy, but I digress........

 

We evaluated several brands and the overall winner was Sennheiser MB 660. Runner up was the Plantronics Voyager 8200 UC. There are pros and cons to both, personally I prefer the tactile feel of the controls on the Plantronics 8200 over the "slide-touch-tap" controls of the Sennheiser 660's, but the noise cancellation on the Sennheiser's is absolutely incredible! From my home (Covid) office, I did an A/B comparison of these two headphones while my neighbor's lawn service was running three (yes, count 'em, THREE) Stihl backpack leaf blowers AND a commercial lawn mower, and the Sennheiser's were DEAD QUIET. If they can cancel that noise, I'm sure they can handle a blender! The Plantronics were definitely "very acceptable" with very little noise bleed-through, but the Sennheiser's were unreal. (Both have corded capability for zero-latency audio, in addition to BT, either native or through a USB dongle).

 

If your budget is more modest, in 2018 we were originally issued Plantronics Voyager Focus UC on-ear headphones for online video calls, before the open office space. They worked very well considering their price point, offering reasonable noise cancellation. They also had the best phone call audio of all 3 headsets for Teams/Zoom calls. But the Sennheiser MB 660 are truly in a class by themselves when it comes to noise cancellation.

 

Lou

 

Those all seem like they would work well to lower the noise level here at home. Have you tried them with your keyboards or just for office communication?

 

No, I haven't used them with the keyboards, other than a quick experiment using a cheap BT transmitter plugged into my mixer sending BT audio to one of the headphones (can't remember which one). There was noticeable latency (probably from the cheap BT transmitter) that made that particular configuration unusable. So I continue to use my wired Sony MDR-V6 headphones with my keyboard setup. But I HAVE listened to MP3 and Youtube audio on my computer through all 3 brands/models of the noise cancelling headphones described above, and the audio quality of all of them was excellent to my ears. So, using a wired configuration would probably be fine with any of them from the standpoint of audio quality. (Actually now that I think of it, I don't believe that the more affordable Plantronics Voyager on-ear headphones have wired capability, so that is probably not an option with that choice).

 

Lou

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