Zildjian's L80 Low Volume hi-hats are real, playable cymbals — not rubber pads or mesh — built with cutouts that knock a big chunk of volume off a normal hi-hat while keeping the feel of an actual cymbal under your stick and foot. Zildjian markets them as up to 80% quieter than traditional cymbals, aimed at practice rooms, lessons, and low-volume gigs rather than full-band stage volume. If you live somewhere thin walls are a daily worry, this is one of the more realistic upgrades from a completely silent setup.
What Makes Them Different From a Regular Hi-Hat
A standard hi-hat is loud because the metal is thin and free to vibrate. L80 cymbals cut holes into the metal, which breaks up that vibration and drops the volume without turning the cymbal into a dead thud. Zildjian's own description leans on that same idea: a design meant to sound and respond like a cymbal, just much quieter. You still get an open/closed hi-hat sound, chick sounds from the pedal, and a stick response that reacts to how hard you hit — you're just doing it at a volume that won't travel through an apartment wall the way a full cymbal would.
Who These Are Actually For
They make sense if:
- You already own an acoustic kit (or are building one) and need to keep it livable in an apartment, condo, or shared house.
- You want the feel of real cymbals under your hands and foot — not the bounce of a practice pad or the different feel of electronic hi-hat pads.
- You're not chasing full-volume rock gig sound; you're practicing, taking lessons, or playing at low-volume gigs where a normal hi-hat would be too much.
If you're starting from zero and don't already have an acoustic kit, it's worth comparing this route against a full electronic drum set, which is quieter across every drum and cymbal, not just the hi-hats, and pairs with headphones for electronic drums for near-silent practice.
Sizes and What's in the Package
L80 Low Volume hi-hats come in 13" and 14" sizes, and they're sold as a matched pair — a top and bottom cymbal, same as a normal hi-hat setup. Zildjian also sells them as part of a larger L80 cymbal pack that pairs a 13" hi-hat with an 18" crash/ride, if you're looking to quiet down more than just your hi-hats down the line.
How They Actually Sound and Feel
Zildjian and reviewers describe the L80 line as staying articulate and responsive whether you play them with sticks, brushes, or mallets — meaning they respond to dynamics rather than just producing one flat sound no matter how hard you hit. That response is one of the things separating them from a rubber or mesh hi-hat pad, where stick feel and cymbal-to-cymbal contact don't behave the same way.
Drummers discussing low-volume cymbal options online have noted that the Zildjian L80 alloy china is louder than some other low-volume cymbals on the market, but still much quieter than a standard cymbal — worth knowing if your main goal is squeezing out every last decibel rather than getting the closest feel to a real kit. The same discussion mentions that L80 cymbals tend to sound surprisingly good once you tone down the higher-pitched ring that some cymbals have out of the box, which some drummers consider a normal part of settling into a new set of cymbals rather than a defect.
What Low Volume Hi-Hats Won't Fix
Cutting hi-hat volume helps with one specific noise source — it doesn't solve everything an apartment setup runs into:
- Kick drum thump and floor vibration still travels through the floor to anyone below you. An anti-vibration mat or riser under the whole kit addresses that separately — see our drum risers and anti-vibration mats guide.
- Stick and shell volume on the snare and toms isn't reduced by quiet hi-hats. If you need the whole kit down, mesh heads or a full electronic kit go further.
- Your own hearing protection is a separate issue from neighbor noise — even a quieter kit benefits from a pair of ear plugs for drummers during long practice sessions.
- Stick choice still affects how hard everything sounds; lighter drum sticks can shave a bit more edge off your overall volume on top of the low-volume hi-hats.
Bottom Line
L80 Low Volume hi-hats are a solid, targeted fix if your main noise complaint is the hi-hat — and you want that fix to still feel like playing real cymbals rather than switching to a pad. They won't make an apartment kit silent on their own; pair them with attention to the kick drum and floor vibration, and realistic expectations about volume, and they can meaningfully extend how long and how late you can practice.