[IhateZumba]

Hello dear members,
 
I like to work out and do this between 5-7 times per week. Currently I am getting my 245pounds into perfect shape through a combination of heavy lifting with cardio at the end every second day.
 
For the regular workout I was using Jaybird Sportsband II, which is actually quite bad. I have it a couple of months and they are starting to fall apart. I am now trying out the Sony BTN200M which are actually quite good although not specifically made for workouts. Nonetheless this is covered.
 
My problem is cardio. Not only do I hate the monotous journey on the bike or cross trainer that takes you no where, but to my great delight the cardio machines are directly on the wall of the course room and only a few meters away from the speakers that pump out music to fill the whole gym which used to be a reasonably large super market.
This courseroom is the bane of my workout because 3x per week there is Zumba.
 
While I in general appreciate fat to reasonably fat women trying to copy a decently fit Zumba trainer 2 times per week to calm their concious and at least feel like they are losing pounds, the noise coming out of this room is atrocious.
Not only is the music pumped up way beyond levels recommended by ear doctors, but every now and then the women feel the need to collectively scream like it was not a Zumba, but a "Tolerating Rape" course.
 
So my goal is to mute these women along with the rest of the sound coming from the Studio.
I have already tried Sony MDR 1RNC, but unfortunately noise cancelling is more made for constant noises and is not that good at filtering out voices and vocals. While it does have an effect, the effect is quite minute, only cancelling out the lower portions of the noise, leaving unaffected the screems of the not so pretty ladies.
 
What headphones would you suggest that best block out ambient noise?
 
My further plan is to pair good noise isolation ear buds with actual full size ear protection such as being used on construction sites.
 
Thank you for the advice, I really hate Zumba!

 

[frostburg]

Etymotic ER-4s? Do you need something very rugged?

 

[IhateZumba]

Quote:

Etymotic ER-4s? Do you need something very rugged?

Thank you for the suggestion. I do not need anything particularly rugged I guess, although they should be able to handle a fair amount of moisture in form of sweat.
 
Just ordered the 4PT, the 4s have too much ohm for my mobile I think.

 

[mbritt]

I agree with Frostburg about the Etymotics.  I used to fly a lot with the ER6i's and when you insert the silicone flange tips correctly into your ear canals they block out most of the noise.  One time on a plane everyone was turning around staring at the row behind me.  I looked back and saw a red faced baby screaming her head off.  I hadn't heard a thing with the flange tips on the ER6i's.
 
Your post title reminds me of a joke:
 
A gold digger hot young bride marries an 89 year old millionaire with the goal of screwing him into having a heart attack on their wedding night.  She put on her sexiest lingerie and poses seductively on the bed while he's in the bathroom getting ready.  He comes out wearing nothing but a condom, earplugs and nose plugs.  She asked him what's with the get up and he says "Honey, I hate the sound of women screaming and the smell of rubber burning".

 

[ScaryFatKidGT]

Try Mt. Biking, I to hate running in a big circle and there are few places I want to jog to and arive sweaty at but MT. biking is really fun to me its more challanging so you don't relize your working out you just are trying to go as fast as you can with out crashing ha
 
But anyway I would suggest Shure SE215's (or any SE line actually)
 
The Shure's and Etymotics block out more noise than pretty much any other IEM
 
For headphones Beyer DT770's block out a lot but wont run from a portable, then theres the Beyer DT1350's and the Sennheiser HD-25-1's and amperiors.

 

[IhateZumba]

Ok so one question:

I ordered the Etymotic ER 4pt for 230€
The Shure SE535 would cost 360€
Would it be worth the additional cost for the Shure?

 

[ScaryFatKidGT]

Quote:

Ok so one question:

I ordered the Etymotic ER 4pt for 230€
The Shure SE535 would cost 360€
Would it be worth the additional cost for the Shure?

ummmmmm I guess I didn't realize you were going that high end
 
The Ety will have more detail and are more treble first then mids then bass where the Shures are mid forward with good bass but the treble is sort of left in the back (the red 535's have more treble), so it depends on what your looking for. People say the 535's aren't detailed but I think they are through the mid's they just don't have much treble sparkle.
 
I should also say that there is an un arguable fact that the Shure's will have better frequency extention, 3 BA's beats 1 but the ER4 is a very good if not the best single BA IEM.

 

[IhateZumba]

Quote:

ummmmmm I guess I didn't realize you were going that high end
 
The Ety will have more detail and are more treble first then mids then bass where the Shures are mid forward with good bass but the treble is sort of left in the back (the red 535's have more treble), so it depends on what your looking for. People say the 535's aren't detailed but I think they are through the mid's they just don't have much treble sparkle.
 
I should also say that there is an un arguable fact that the Shure's will have better frequency extention, 3 BA's beats 1 but the ER4 is a very good if not the best single BA IEM.

 
Actually I am still undecided on how much I am willing to pay.
 
At the moment I am pondering the core decision of whether to go middle end or high end on my purchase.
On the one hand cheaper headphones with good noise isolation like the Sony XBA-20 or XBA-40 should do the job quite well, on the other hand high end phones such as the westone 4 or the shure se535 will offer better should quality, but.
 
Currently I am strongly leaning towards the Sony XBA-20. They offer good sound at a reasonable price of just 100€ with shipping. The only unfortunate problem is that they are a Japan import.
But judging from the XBA-4 I tried and quite liked though not loved, I know that the sound isolation on those is also very good.
 
As I have the ATH M50 for quality listening I don't really require high end headphones, although at times I feel the sound of the ATH M50 lacking something I can't really describe.
 
Any other suggestions around 100€ with good noise isolation are welcome, but I think in that cathegory the Sonys win the bang for buck award.
 
EDIT: Just ordered the XBA-20, those with some ear protecting gear should silence Zumba forever
Now I hope it won't take too long to arrive from Japan and they get past customs.
If they do suck, 100€ is not that big of a loss, as I think i could resell them quite well.