Another noise complaint = Need headphone recommendations
 

It turns out that my 100W amp wasn't a good idea for my apartment- at least that's what my neighbors (and the cops) are telling me.

Need recommendations on a decent set of headphones that can handle the signal range. My bose noise cancellers crap out at too low a volume level.

Not looking to kill my ears- or the bank- think $300 max, and less than that if possible for decent quality and comfort?

I've had good results with my $50 JVC XX over the ears. They handle the bass well and get loud enough to satisfy my not so sensitive ear drums.

My open back AKG K240s sound great, but don't do loud as well.

In ear monitors, like my Shure SE215s or MEE Pro6 aren't bad either with the right tips in.

Playing back electric guitar is different than playing back recorded music or music from the radio--the dynamics and frequency range are way different. Chances are, the guitar signal is not compressed, so don't rely on listening to music through them as an indicator of how well headphones will work for listening to your electric guitar.

Best of luck.

Um, uh, if you are listening so loud that the K240s can't hack it, you are likely suffering hearing damage.

Bob

+1 On Bob's comments re: K240s. Those are some solid quality headphones.

Another option is the Beyerdynamic DT770. Very comfortable and sound great.

Yup, AKG 240's...got 10 years on a used pair and still working very well.

Ya...100 watts will honk the devil next door off.

I might have a different rec than many. I think very few amps have great sounds coming out of their headphone jack. I do not know what kind of amp you have, but Blackstars 1w and Katana 50w are both great for headphones.

I tend to like on ear phones. I am a fan of Grado and they have several models below $100 that sound great. Also Audio Technica sound good to me in the below $100 category. Spend the rest of the money saved on cheaper headphones on a good amp for those headphones.

What amp do you have? Does it actually have a headphone jack, or are you perhaps using headphones in another jack? It just seems odd that the phones are being overdriven by the amp.

I have a pair of Sennheiser Momentums that I like quite a bit - I use them with a Firehawk FX for quiet practice and they sound great with that and with music.

My son has Audio Technica M40x that are a really nice sounding set of cans and below $100

https://www.harborfreight.com/indust...ffs-60792.html

One set for each of your neighbors should do it... :cool:

I love this^^^...

Current amp is a 2015 Line6 AMPLIFi 150. Has a headphone out. I don't know if maybe the adapter I have (to go from the 1/4" to the 3.5mm) is causing the clipping?

Ultimately, I'm not in love with the AMPLIFi anyway. Seemed like a great idea at the time, but (other than a few good tone recreations) it's pretty typical digital sounding. No Kemper here.

May go to a nice low wattage tube amp (HT-1R maybe?) and still use some phones when the day turns to night...

Bought the (distant) ancestor Flextone Plus 1x12" in 1999, same results...

Went back to analog (mostly tube), after using the Line 6 maybe a dozen times in the next 3-4 years, and never looked back...

Snagged a Bugera V5 Infinium for $127 brand-new/in-the-box/full warranty earlier this year - hit the right combination of a sale, a 15% off coupon, a bit of old-fashioned haggling, and nobody else in the store...

Got a headphone out and an attenuator that'll take it down to 0.1W...

The 5W setting is great for '50s-style class-A clean tones - plenty of headroom/not a lot of volume...

'Nuff said...

If your budget for headphones was a Max of $300 you can get a katana amplifier for about that price..... I think they are pretty excellent amplifiers. I can't speak for the combo amps but I hear that they are just as good I have the 100 watt head. The beauty of the 100w head is that you could hook it up to cabinets and totally rock out.... if you are not in your apt. Otherwise you can kick it down to a half a watt, you play through the built-in 4 speaker. If you have any of the katana series in a guitar store near you I highly encourage you to try it I think you will be impressed with the tone at low volume.

Cheers...

Todd in Chicago

The 240s work well and hack it (and I do actually have 10% and 30% hearing loss in my ears from birth). I meant to say I can get higher spl from the JVC, likely due to the over the ear, closed back design.

A reactive load & convolution cab sim can capture a very good quality line-level signal from a tube amp of any size.

My own low-volume set up is a home-made reactive load -> RME Multiface -> computer running Two Notes Wall of Sound (with some Ownhammer IRs) -> hi-fi amp and either speakers or headphones.

I think the (closed back) Sony MDR V6 / 7506 are good value and will get the job done.

i use the sony 7506 and think they are great. also have sennheiser hd280 and they are fine for a while but not for long periods.

play music!

It's not like I've tried every set of headphones out there for comparison and I know there are many high-end sets that are better, but I'm liking my Audio-Technica M50x headphones for guitar practice. They're middle of the road price-wise...about $150.

I bought them to practice when others are home, but I've actually found I prefer to use them most of the time now. I can hear a lot more subtlety than I can when playing out through an amp. I use a Yamaha mixer in the middle to drive them, but I can crank it up to the point it's too loud for my ears before it starts to break up.

Another vote for Audio Technica but I recommend the M50X just because it has a detachable cable and they do sound way better than more expensive headphones.

I suggest something like the RockMan.... with whatever ear buds or head phones you choose. http://www.guitarcenter.com/Rockman/

It is likely that no amplifier will avoid annoying your neighbors, especially now that they are sensitized to the issue. You have to find a way to make acceptable sound in your ears, not in your living room.

Consider a speaker with a typical sensitivity of 90 dB at one foot for 1 Watt of input power. Every doubling of power input raises the output sound levels by 3 decibels. You get the following sound pressure levels in your apartment (more or less depending on distance):
1 Watt = 90 dB
2 Watt = 93 dB
4 Watt = 96 dB
8 Watt = 99 dB
16 Watt = 102 dB
32 Watt = 105 dB
64 Watt = 108 dB
100 Watt = 110 dB

Since most apartment walls barely stop 40 dB of speech sound (and even less for amplified music) you are creating significant sound levels in your neighbor's unit regardless of how low you set your amp. Sorry -- blame physics, not me.

OP,

You may want to consider a power attenuator such as the THD Hot Plate. You connect it between your amp head and your speaker cab. This allows you to set your amp controls to the sweet spots that you like and use the power attenuator to control the signal level to your speaker. No headphones required.

PimaDreama

That was his point. He's looking for headphones to use with his amp.

Another noise complaint = Need headphone recommendations
 

100w is insanely loud out of a guitar amp. Get a katana for home use. Has an acoustic option. Has an onboard variac that allows the same tone regardless of wattage. Nice. I have a 1 w Marshall that can switch to 0.1 w. 0.1 w is too loud for an apartment if cranked. I’ve had a nice attenuator. Not the same tone.

I lived in house when I had my Twin Reverb and it was still an issue with the neighbors. I feel your pain. Now that I got a new Tele, I tried something a couple days ago with stuff I already had. I plugged into a interface (i have a Scarlet Solo), hooked up a set of powered monitors (I have a used set of M-Audio BX5a) and down load the free version of 1K Multimedia's Amplitude software (I got it from buying an I-Rig 2 last year). Set it up and play away. You get the added bonus of being able to recording everything you play. You can overdrive the amp models without bothering anyone. And you can also plug headphones into the Scarlet if you really want to be quiet.

Looking for headphones is the right solution. IMO if the neighbors have gone to the trouble of calling cops then there probably is no low power amp solution that will work especially at night in an apartment . Human nature being what it is, may mean any music sound coming from your apartment past 5 PM is going to draw unfavorable attention. It's kind of a, "the horse is already out of the barn" type thing.

But at your stated budget I would consider both a low watt tube amp(given your not enthusiastic about the digital amp sound) that has a headphone option.
And a pair of HP's like the AKG 240

This is a thread from 2017...

And the 100w amp he is using is a Line6 Amplifi 150, not a tube amp.

It’s got a volume knob, and can be as quiet as you want without impacting tone. I use mine mainly as a monitor for my Line6 Helix.

I just went through this. Headphones are not cheap.

The basic choice I ended up with is

ATR70X
Grado SR80
Sennheiser HD600s

It is my feeling based on a ton of work researching this recently, that these are your only viable options for audiophile quality at your price level.

Have fun! Try a ton out before ya buy is my final comment. With music YOU BRING to the store on your cell phone, not the music they demo for you!@!

Was fun to debate and discuss anyhow!

Totally agree, just that the comments to try a attenuators on the OP’s amp a little misguided for the OP’s situation.

I’m definitely interested in the headphone topic, as I’m in the market.

I’ve been tempted by some recent offerings from Sennheiser. The Shure’s that I’m currently using are OK, but not comfortable for long sessions.

Maybe trade in the amp. Many people today only use like a 30w amp bc you mic it at the venue anyways. Or look at an amp that can switch down to 30wats and go up to 60w?

If you want open back I like the Sennheiser 600s. I don't like the way Grado's feel on my ears. I needed closed back at the time and auditioned 4 different close back sets and found the best value for the money were the Audio-Technica ATH-M50's (now the M50x). What made me go with those was that I was looking for headphones that would best replicate the speaker sound so the experience wouldn't change all that much when I had to use them. I got mine on a deal for $100 and I think they sell now for around $150.

Well I pulled the trigger today.

Went for an open back set, AKG 7xx.

My buddy reminded I have a nice set of Bose headphones too, which I’ve never used for guitar playing... I’ll have to do a comparison after the AKG’s arrive.