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• HARDWARE REVIEW (Studio) •

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Manufacturer: Direct Sound Released: 1/1/2004

Invented by a drummer, for studio drum use, the EX-29 Extreme Isolation headphones have many more uses than originally intended. We have run these solid headphones through their paces in a variety of uses in our project studio including:

- monitoring while recording drums, acoustic guitars and vocals
- worn by the vocalist while recording vocals along with pre-recorded tracks
- worn by the drummer while playing along with pre-recorded tracks or click track

The Extreme Isolation headphones perform commendably in all situations and virtually eliminate many common studio problems including:

- bleed from headphones into microphone while recording quiet vocals
- inability of the drummer to hear backing tracks in headphones unless they are turned up to eardrum-crushing volume
- distortion of sound when turning up headphones to above eardrum-crushing volume
- inability to accurately place microphones on drums in a one-room studio setup
All in all these headphones are solidly built and perform commendably. Highly recommended for any studio or home recording setup, or even for live drum monitoring, DJ use, etc. Anywhere where you need to hear something clearly over loud background noise, the EX-29 headphones are likely the solution.
Construction-wise the headphones are solidly built and fit very snugly so they are not likely to fall off even of a drummer while drumming. The fact that they are very airtight (required for sound-proofing) means that you may find your ear area gets a bit sweaty after a time but this is just encouragement to take them off and give your ears a break every now and then which is recommended to avoid fatigue anyway.

Technically speaking, the headphones offer the full 20 to 20kHz frequency response, a generous 9 foot cord, and fold up somewhat to make them a little more portable if needed. As mentioned they are solidly built and fit snugly, and are adjustable for a variety of human head sizes.

Other suggested uses include listening to music or movies on an airplane, listening to broadcasts in stadiums at sporting events, auto races etc.

Definitely a worthwhile and affordable investment for anyone searching for clear, background-noise-free sound.