Can't hear mix through headphones

[electricsmooth]

I have a pair of HDJ-1000s and although they work perfectly at home, I can't hear my mix properly while at a gig. I do mobile DJ type stuff and as such, don't have a booth nor do I have monitors. My main speakers are usually 2-4 feet in front of me (obviously facing away from me towards the dance floor). It just gets so loud that my headphones, even when cranked to full volume, can't overpower the outside sound. I find this a bit scary because when I turn them up that high at home, they get too loud for comfort. The pads are a bit worn on the headphones so I'm wondering if this may be the problem.

Is this a normal problem or are there other headphones out there that do a better job of noise isolation? Is there somewhere to get replacement pads if this is the likely culprit?

Thanks

[Dix]

Let us know if its the same system at home & at gigs. Are you plugging them into your sound card, into the mixer or laptop, etc... how are they hooked up?

[electricsmooth]

Everything is the same except I use studio monitors at home and obviously don't play as loud. My headphones go straight into the mixer. I don't think it is a problem with volume because they get plenty loud. It is just that there is more outside sound coming in when I have my gig speakers pounding.

I'm just wondering if this is common or if I should change the pads.

[Dix]

I'm just wondering if this is common or if I should change the pads.

I have played live radio, the clubs & mobile gigs & its never been a problem with me. Its either your headphones or the pads. When I say it may be the headphones, it depends on the sound or tones its delivering. We as humans hear some tones better than others.... especially with other loud noises around. So that scenario would explain why you can hear at home where there is virtually no noise, then cant hear once you get at a gig with lots of noise. I think I would try some new, quality headphones before I spent money on new pads.

Hope this helps

[DJArmani]

If you had monitors, it might be easier to hear the sound because it's right next to you, and if you have the speakers a little more farther out and lowered the main volume on your mixer a little, and brought up the gains, it might work.

[Estacy]

hdj 1000s go more than loud enough for most scenarios, I cant imagine them being too quiet. what mixer do you use?

[electricsmooth]

A rane 68 or a NS6

[CarlNapp]

Old thread, but I got the same problem lately...
I have been using my AIAIAI TMA-2 for 2 years now and always found them to be quite good in terms of sound quality and isolation. obviously, at home at "normal" volumes they are perfectly fine, and even at most gigs and out-door events they did a good job. but last weekend i played a small bar without monitors and the PA speaker standing directly to my left side (usually my 'mixing ear' for one-sided headphone listening). at some point during my set, i just got so confused about the sound... the AIAIAI cranked all the way up but still i just couldn't hear my cued-up song, making it reeeally hard to beatmatch (meaning I fucked up several transitions). There only was a muddy sound, I could not differentiate between the songs anymore.

So the question is: Are there any thoughts on this? Do you have recommendations for better isolated headphones?

[light-o-matic]

Old thread, but I got the same problem lately...
I have been using my AIAIAI TMA-2 for 2 years now and always found them to be quite good in terms of sound quality and isolation. obviously, at home at "normal" volumes they are perfectly fine, and even at most gigs and out-door events they did a good job. but last weekend i played a small bar without monitors and the PA speaker standing directly to my left side (usually my 'mixing ear' for one-sided headphone listening). at some point during my set, i just got so confused about the sound... the AIAIAI cranked all the way up but still i just couldn't hear my cued-up song, making it reeeally hard to beatmatch (meaning I fucked up several transitions). There only was a muddy sound, I could not differentiate between the songs anymore.

So the question is: Are there any thoughts on this? Do you have recommendations for better isolated headphones?

Well.. that's an ON ear headphone (supra-aural) vs around-ear (circum-aural) so it really has got to have good contact with your ears. I have Sennheiser HD25's which are similar (the AIAIAI is kind of a copy of the Sennheiser) and when I am in a really loud situation I will press on the earcup when I'm mixing, it helps. If your earpads are wearing out get fresh ones. The other factor here is headphone impedance, mine are 70 ohms which is pretty high and some mixers and controller can't drive them super well, yours are 32 ohms which is more typical but still may not do perfectly well with some controllers esp if they are running off USB power. Some mixers/controllers just have better headphone amps and sound better in your headphones.

Different headphones also have different sensitivity, and will go louder on the same mixer as another headphone.

Bottom line is that some headphones have better isolation than other, some go louder than others. People complain about the HD25's not having the best isolation but I love em and won't change. It all depends what you like, everything has its upside and downside.. but when you are in a super loud situation like that you are always going to do better with big over-ear headphone with huge cushions.... One trick I use beatmatching is to EQ the new track (before I start mixing it) to have lots of mids, no highs and just a little bass.. so basically I hear the kick pop really hard in the headphones, and then I'll play the master in the headphones too and it's really easy to hear when they are matched. Once I have them matched perfectly I'll flip over to just master in the headphones then mix... I don't use the monitor, so I don't have to worry when I play whether they will have a monitor or whether I will like the monitor, because I don't need it.

[dlove]

Well.. that's an ON ear headphone (supra-aural) vs around-ear (circum-aural) so it really has got to have good contact with your ears. I have Sennheiser HD25's which are similar (the AIAIAI is kind of a copy of the Sennheiser) and when I am in a really loud situation I will press on the earcup when I'm mixing, it helps. If your earpads are wearing out get fresh ones. The other factor here is headphone impedance, mine are 70 ohms which is pretty high and some mixers and controller can't drive them super well, yours are 32 ohms which is more typical but still may not do perfectly well with some controllers esp if they are running off USB power. Some mixers/controllers just have better headphone amps and sound better in your headphones.

Different headphones also have different sensitivity, and will go louder on the same mixer as another headphone.

Bottom line is that some headphones have better isolation than other, some go louder than others. People complain about the HD25's not having the best isolation but I love em and won't change. It all depends what you like, everything has its upside and downside.. but when you are in a super loud situation like that you are always going to do better with big over-ear headphone with huge cushions.... One trick I use beatmatching is to EQ the new track (before I start mixing it) to have lots of mids, no highs and just a little bass.. so basically I hear the kick pop really hard in the headphones, and then I'll play the master in the headphones too and it's really easy to hear when they are matched. Once I have them matched perfectly I'll flip over to just master in the headphones then mix... I don't use the monitor, so I don't have to worry when I play whether they will have a monitor or whether I will like the monitor, because I don't need it.

loads of great information here; Big Ups light-o-matic