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BIG CLUNKY HEADPHONES never look good - even less so on stage. But e-drummers increasingly rely on headphones to monitor not only their own sound, but also that of the rest of the band. More gigging drummers are moving to discrete in-ear monitors, of which there are two main types. Earbuds or earphones are headphones that fit in the ear, but outside of the ear canal. These are generally associated with personal audio devices. More advanced – and expensive – in-ear monitors (IEMs or canalphones) are earphones that are inserted directly into the ear canal. This latter category has the advantage of also acting as an earplug, cutting out extraneous noise. While the technical specifications can be baffling, there are a couple of things to consider. Firstly, look out for the type of transducer used in the device. The diaphragm-type used in earbuds tends to favour bass response at the expense of highs. Armature-based transducers, associated with hearing aids, have more highs and are often used in two-way arrangements – one for the highs and one for the lows. The more expensive units have multiple drivers for smoother, more balanced sound palettes. Impedance is the important factor, with all headphones falling into either the high- or low-impedance category, with around 500 Ohms being the tipping point. Low impedance earphones generally plug straight into the headphone socket; higher impedance units usually need an amplifier. So low-impedance units will sound louder, especially when plugged into a drum module. digitalDrummer assembled a bunch of earbuds and IEMs to find which work best for edrums. These findings are totally subjective, much as any individual purchase decision in this category will be based on how the product feels, sounds and isolates noise. Testing included extended playing with a TD-20 kit, primarily using the inbuilt patterns, and a variety of kits from stock patches to VExpressions kits. A/B testing was done using an output splitter. The tone and colour of all earphones is obviously shaped by the audio device to which they’re attached, but the module was chosen as a test bed because many edrummers will spend much of their time listening to that source. I won’t bamboozle you (or myself) with specifications and tedious technical comparisons. This is not an audiophile review but more of a plug-and-play assessment of what to expect when you stick them in and fire up the module. The samples are listed in ascending price order. 22
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