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headphone practice solution

#81
I had a chance to listen to the Sony MDR 7506 this afternoon. Wow. I wasn't A/B -ing them with other models, but wow. They sounded so... open and transparent. And yet big and warm. Everything clean, nothing harsh. Hard to describe.

I sampled some Bonnie Raitt, some Brazillian jazz, some J. Ralph classical, some Girlyman acoustic, some Psapp toytronica.

Wow.

And I won't be buying them. $85 is just too much for headphones. I'd never get it past the minister of finance. The end.

Think I'll try the JVC set that is so well-reviewed on Amazon.

Amazon.com: JVC HARX700 Precision Sound Full Size Headphones - Black: Electronics
 
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#86
clutebass said:
I actually do the last thing you mentioned. I run earbuds out of my computer or ipod and put the larger earphones over top of the earbuds feeding out of my amp. Not perfect but does the trick.
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I did this EXACT same thing for YEARS before I got the (now discontinued) Invalid Link Removed. I never thought of it as "ghetto". That sounds a little "spoiled elitist snob" to me.

I learned how to play drums the same way. Put on headphones and played on an acoustic kit which I could easily hear even with the headphones on. The word "ghetto" never entered my mind. "Resourceful", yes..."ghetto", no.

Guess it all depends on your perspective and how badly you want something...and how much money you're willing to spend for convenience. I don't know what the new ones are going for but I paid $200 for the Tascam that I have.
 
#87
You don't like he term ghetto. Ok. What about makeshift, stopgap, make-do, improvised, ad hoc, jury-rigged, jerry-built, thrown together or cobbled together? Better? Pick one.

Resourceful, yes. But I would like something better and I'm willing to pay for it. Lots of us here don't want to spend thousands on basses and other equipment only to have to listen to it like that with headphones piggy-backed on our earbuds. Not when a properly engineered solution seems so within reach as to be technically trivial.

My contention is that several simple and reliable solutions to this problem should be hanging in blister packs next to the strings at Guitar Centers everywhere for $29.95. The closest thing I've seen to what I have in mind is that $150 British box. There's no reason something like this should cost that much.
 
#90
scottfeldstein said:
...Basically, I get a good set of headphones and then put two inputs into them: one, my bass; two, the music from my mp3 player. The end.

Except, you can't do that with just a Y-cable. It works the other way (one source into two headphones) but not the other way (multiple sources into one headphone)...
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Yes, you can.

Here, get one of Link Removed. I have 2 of these adapters.

You may want a couple of Link Removed too.

You might want one of these for the MP3 player. I happen to have 3 or 4 of them myself.

It can be done.
 
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#91
scottfeldstein said:
You don't like he term ghetto. Ok. What about makeshift, stopgap, make-do, improvised, ad hoc, jury-rigged, jerry-built, thrown together or cobbled together? Better? Pick one.

Resourceful, yes. But I would like something better and I'm willing to pay for it. Lots of us here don't want to spend thousands on basses and other equipment only to have to listen to it like that with headphones piggy-backed on our earbuds. Not when a properly engineered solution seems so within reach as to be technically trivial.

My contention is that several simple and reliable solutions to this problem should be hanging in blister packs next to the strings at Guitar Centers everywhere for $29.95. The closest thing I've seen to what I have in mind is that $150 British box. There's no reason something like this should cost that much.
Click to expand...
Well, it DOES cost that much. If you're willing to pay for it, you can get an MP3 player specifically made for your purpose (like the Tascam I mentioned). Several manufacturers make similar units. To my knowledge, all of them are in the 3 digit price range. I'm not sure how to get around that unless you go the Radio Shack improv route that I suggested in my last post.
 
#92
totallyfrozen said:
Yes, you can.

Here, Link Removed. I have 2 of these adapters.
Click to expand...

Funny. I've read that it's dangerous to do this. That you're hooking up your audio sources not only to the speakers, but also to each other--and that this can be very bad news. Not so? It's weird, too, that nobody in four pages of discussion has thought to mention this simple solution. I think I'd like to hear what others think before risking my iPod or my SansAmp.
 
#93
totallyfrozen said:
Well, it DOES cost that much. If you're willing to pay for it, you can get an MP3 player specifically made for your purpose (like the Tascam I mentioned). Several manufacturers make similar units. To my knowledge, all of them are in the 3 digit price range. I'm not sure how to get around that unless you go the Radio Shack improv route that I suggested in my last post.
Click to expand...

Dude, what are you so angry about? Surely it can't be just my search for a good 2 audio sources into 1 headphone solution. If you don't like the discussion, nobody's making you participate. What's up?
 
#94
scottfeldstein said:
Funny. I've read that it's dangerous to do this. That you're hooking up your audio sources not only to the speakers, but also to each other--and that this can be very bad news. Not so? It's weird, too, that nobody in four pages of discussion has thought to mention this simple solution. I think I'd like to hear what others think before risking my iPod or my SansAmp.
Click to expand...

Quick....everybody leave this thread! Now.
 
#96
StereoPlayer said:
Quick....everybody leave this thread! Now.
Click to expand...

Well I'm gonna. It's clear that someone's getting pretty heated about something or other. What's less clear is what's bugging you.

I'm not anyone's therapist. I'll leave it to others to help you through it.

To everyone else, these pages of comments have been extremely helpful. Kicking around solutions, linking to various products, has really helped me better understand what's out there--and what isn't. Thanks!
 
#97
scottfeldstein said:
Funny. I've read that it's dangerous to do this. That you're hooking up your audio sources not only to the speakers, but also to each other--and that this can be very bad news. Not so? It's weird, too, that nobody in four pages of discussion has thought to mention this simple solution. I think I'd like to hear what others think before risking my iPod or my SansAmp.
Click to expand...
Well, remember, the signal will be coming OUT of the iPod into the headphones. There shouldn't be any signal (i.e. electrical energy) ENTERING the iPod by using this adapter. You'll need a male to female cable coming out of the headphone jack of the iPod into the Y adapter (so you'll need the 1/8" to 1/4" adapter). Your bass amp will heaphone out (or line out) into the other male end of the Y (presumably using an extension cable/adapter). Then your headphones will plug into the single female port of the jack.

Signal will be coming OUT of both the amp and the iPod and going IN to the headphones. There shouldn't be a risk to the iPod.

Of course, I don't blame you for asking around first.
 
#98
Like I said on page 3, All you need is a Y (single female to double male), an mp3 player or computer or any music player with headphone out, an amp or multi-effects or similiar with headphone/line out, and headphones. There is no danger of hurting equipment that I've experienced or heard of. :) It's not portable but it works and is the cheapest way I know of.
 
#99
I suggest more listening tests and less theorizing. You simply cannot speculate something's monetary value until you have heard the results.

If one has already spent "thousands on basses and other equipment" then it would seem reasonable to invest in a quality headphone monitoring solution since one could spend as much time (if not more time) with this system than with an amp. But to expect a faithful representation of "your sound" from a $70 Behringer mixer and $50 AT headphones is unrealistic. Passable perhaps, but far from accurate.

In fact, the vast majority of products marketed to musicians have relatively poor headphone amps. Listen to a Cafe Walter or H1 or Grado headphone amp with some decent reference headphones and compared to Behringer or Tascam the differences will be pretty striking.

As always, IMO, YMMV, LMFAO, ETC.
 
#100
Simplified:

If your bass amp has a headphone out, use it for the headphones.

If your amp has 2 inputs, you're good to go. Music source in one input (adapters possibly needed), bass in the other input.

If the bass amp has only one input, just use a Y-cord.

Eden WT-550 has a headphone out, a bass input, and on the back has left and right aux inputs. Lovin' it for that plus other reasons (i.e. Eden sound quarlity)

But you could rig up almost any amp to do the same thing with the right spiderweb of cords and adapters.

Tweakerboxes like the Boss micro BR-80 have useful tools like being able to change the pitch or tempo of the music source, but (unless you need the portability) the best bet is to play the mp3s on your PC and use freeware like "audacity" to do the pitch and tempo changes, run the PC headphone out into the (aux in or Y-cord) of the bass amp, and run your bass into the (input or otherside of the Y-cord) of the bass amp,
and take the headphones out of the bass amp.

Hope this helps, tonight I'm a few beers left of "should have sat down and shut up".
 

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