I have qc20's and they are mostly effective against droning, repetitious noises (think airplane noise). If the chitchat is far enough away, quieter, and random

I have qc20's and they are mostly effective against droning, repetitious noises (think airplane noise). If the chitchat is far enough away, quieter, and random enough (think coffeeshop/library) it helps a lot. If it's a couple of co-workers sitting 6 feet away, it's not going to help enough unless you listen loud enough to damage your hearing. That's my experience, but I already got tinnitus from trying to drown out coworkers and have to keep music very low these days.