these plugs ive shown addapt to sound, you dont need to determine anything. simply dont use the volume knob like a crazy deaf mofo and things will be fine..
There are effectively 0 people using those microphone plugs while DJing, so regular earplugs are the only relevant topic.
Earplugs won’t save your hearing if you’re unable to determine what a safe listening level is. It’s not at all difficult to use IEMs effectively at a safe level.
Well, that’s why you turn the music in your cue down accordingly. I’m not saying you keep it at the same level you would play with over the ears. You turn it all way down and it, in theory, saves your ears.
hm, it was a dj from this forum who shown me them, so there is at least one dj that uses them
just because you and your friends use IEM it doesnt mean nobody uses anything else then IEM
Seems like an even split between people that think IEM can be safer and can be damaging. How does using ear plugs along with headphones work? I know that you can spend crazy amounts of money getting custom moldings (probably better isolation) but what are good IEMs to try and get a feel of how they work? Would something cheap like the Shure SE215 be worth a try? Would the SE215 isolate enough to make a difference?
I usually use HD 25s, and switch to SE215s when it gets loud. They have pretty good isolation once you find the right tips to fit your ears (there are many varieties included).
According to Shure’s website they provide up to 37 dB of isolation, not sure how that compares to other brands.
plugs are simple, you simply wear them underneath the normal headphones. also you can use them while in any situation where the sound may damage your ears ( like when in the crowd)
Wouldn’t you have to increase the volume on the headphones even more since you are using plugs underneath?
Yeah, so? The sound from the headphones gets reduced by the ear plugs as well.
I do exactly this whilst playing live. Although I’m quite charmed by the new pioneer dje’s that are coming out before long. But let’s see if it gets any good reviews first, they are quite expensive…
@DISaS73R doesn’t that defeat the purpose? You put in plugs only to have to increase the volume up on your headphones? Seems like a viscous cycle.
No it doesn’t. The volume is not lowered across the board. Try it, you’ll experience the same for yourself.
You’re not trying to protect your hearing from the headphones, it’s the noise in the club which is dangerous. In fact, if your booth is far enough from the club speakers (not the monitors), you may be able to get away without any protection, but I doubt that happens often.
IEMs are even simpler, you simply wear them instead of normal headphones. Also you can use them while in any situation where the sound may damage your ears (like when in the crowd).
Don’t make me laugh… who would use an in-ear phone in the crowd..? I would slap this person on the back of the head if I saw this… It would look like you are listening to tracks on your iphone instead of enjoying the club…
Stop being so against the plugs, people who have a million times more musical knowledge than me or you use them on a huge range of situations… it’s a solid and respected product, don’t act like its a piece of garbage.
Earplugs are supposed to help decrease the volume of specific frequencies, particularly the very high frequencies and I believe the very low-end frequencies. They don’t do much to the mids as far as my limited knowledge goes. Those outer limit frequencies are, I believe, the most damaging to your ears.
That still doesn’t make them better than IEMs for monitoring. Like you said, there are a “huge range of situations” that aren’t cueing up a track.
You get much better sound quality and more isolation than typical plugs when using IEMs.
Of course you get more sound quality from direct phones, but you will have pretty decent sound quality from the plugs or else musicians wouldn’t use it… also plugs will let you enjoy any situation protected and not looking like an ipod listener.
I really doubt you use your IEMs when you go to clubs and are not going to play. In other hand, I do use my plugs to go clubbing, and specially on festivals… I arive home like I just came from a quiet beach 
Sound quality is highly subjective.
Also, what do you mean by ‘typical plugs’?