15 ms·

Poor Man’s Bose – Open Office and on the Go Noise Control

152 points by nwrk 8y ago

lukeholder 8y ago
I use mack's ultra soft ear plugs (correctly inserted, which most people don't do) and Bose QC35's with sound cancelling on playing non-lyrical electronic music loud enough to only hear faintly. You will not hear a 747 land in your back yard. Edit: How to insert correctly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xF1CjCugD_M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xF1CjCugD_M
rsync 8y ago
For a brief moment I was interested in noise cancelling headphones for airplane usage. Much, much simpler, cheaper - and certainly more effective - is to use any old earbuds that you prefer and put them underneath a pair of these: https://www.amazon.com/3M-Earmuff-Protectors-Hearing-Protection/dp/B00009LI4K/ https://www.amazon.com/3M-Earmuff-Protectors-Hearing-Protect... No batteries to deal with, no mode switching, much less expensive, etc. It works wonderfully and the only downside is that you look a little odd.
- TeMPOraL 8y ago
  They're not yellow, so they don't actually look that odd. If I walked past someone wearing them, I'd probably not notice what they are.
- blakesterz 8y ago
  It's not the same thing, but even simpler is just a white noise app and regular ear buds. That's worked well for me everytime, I don't need silence to fall asleep on a plane I guess.
- WalterSear 8y ago
  Noise cancelling isn't hearing protection, fwiw. Ear protectors do a much better job of that, too.
  - wenc 8y ago
    Yes, I have a pair of Bose QC15's ($150 refurb) that have given me excellent service for the past 3 years, but lately I've discovered that earplugs work just as well if you're not trying to listen to music. Also when you're trying to sleep on a plane, Bose's active noise-cancellation stops working when you lean your head hard against a headrest (such that the earmuffs touch the headrest). I think it's just the nature of active noise-cancellation. I've resorted to earplugs when trying to sleep while flying.
    - WalterSear 8y ago
      Noise canceling isn't perfect, so it leaves comb filter peaks of uncanceled sound in the sound field.
      - wenc 8y ago
        It wasn't noise-cancelling not being perfect (it worked just fine), but noise cancelling going bonkers when the earmuffs come into contact with another solid object (in my case, neck cushion on seat). I think it broke the around-ear seal a teeny bit and that threw the noise cancellation off.
        WalterSear 8y ago
        Right. I'm saying even when used correctly, it wasn't protecting your hearing from the noise of the flight. Notches of noise were poking through the filters despite the impression of quietness, and causing fatigue damage to the cells tuned to those frequencies.
  - saudioger 8y ago
    Right, with noise cancelling headphones on I can talk on a plane at a normal volume and hear everything better generally. If I just wanted to block out noise entirely, ear plugs/muffs would do a better job.
- briffle 8y ago
  I got a pair of Howard Leight Earmuffs to use at the range. They work amazing, and can be adjusted to amplify talking if you want. They have a small cord for plugging into your phone. https://www.amazon.com/Howard-Leight-Amplification-Electronic-R-01902/dp/B007BGSI5U https://www.amazon.com/Howard-Leight-Amplification-Electroni...
  - c0mputer1 8y ago
    How's the sound quality on those? I've tried 3M "worktunes" eamuffs (which have an audio jack), but at low volumes the sound quality is quite bad (there is background white noise).
- timerol 8y ago
  I own similar ear protection that I wear to sleep on the bus, plane, and if I'm going to bed early while my neighbors are being loud. Mine are completely black, and almost look like big headphones with earbud wires coming out of the bottom.
- jccalhoun 8y ago
  Those are what I use too
- duiker101 8y ago
  For the longest time this is actually what they did in the League of Legends eSports scene. Even if they could have afforded proper equipment they continued like that. I guess it's a pretty good enough solution.
- c0mputer1 8y ago
  I've also found success with a solution like this (earmuffs + earbuds) for travel and certain office environments. I've tried a few different earmuffs, and this model from 3M has been the best for me. They're low profile, (more) comfortable, and as effective as any: https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company-us/all-3m-products/~/3M-PELTOR-X4-Earmuffs-X4A-37273-AAD-Over-the-Head-10-EA-Case/?N=5002385+8709322+8711405+8720539+3294326333&preselect=8720546+8720749+8731725&rt=rud https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company-us/all-3m-products/~/3M-... Wearing glasses underneath earmuffs meant for high noise exposure environments can be uncomfortable, as the cups are meant to press into the side of your head.
- davio 8y ago
  The HD280s are basically equivalent to this. Similar noise attenuation and already designed to work as headphones. I used to switch between the earmuffs with earbuds below and the HD280s when playing drums along to music.
  - wilsonnb3 8y ago
    There’s no way the HD280s are blocking 30db. Here’s a source that says 12db. https://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/sennheiser/hd-280-pro#comparison_2088 https://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/sennheiser/hd-280-...
rashkov 8y ago
The author says he tried the bose qc20 (in-ear headphones), but then goes onto describe the bose qc25 (over-ear headphones). I'd like to defend the honor of the bose qc20, which has superior noise canceling to the qc25. While it's true that it doesn't block out talking, it makes it sound like it's in a distant room, and with a little bit of white noise or music it makes the open office noise a non-issue for me. Furthermore, it's a godsend in a loud city and it's incredible to hear the little details in your music and not having to crank your volume past 50%. That said, they're super pricey and they do fall apart, but I've got mine patched up after three years and holding onto them until other products can match this level of noise canceling.
- hellcow 8y ago
  I bought 3 pairs of QC20s. Each of them fell apart in less than a year, despite absurdly careful care. There's a design flaw where the wire connects to the battery pack. Tape could only hold them together for so long. After 3 failures I vowed to not buy another one, despite the exceptional sound canceling. I switched to a cheapo $30 Samsung pair I bought at an airport, beat it to hell and back, and it's in perfect shape years later.
  - rashkov 8y ago
    It's true, the build quality is bad and my coworker has the same exact issues as mine (rubber coating came off the casing, volume up button stops clicking but can still be mushed down to use). The battery pack casing started to open up and would cause line noise, especially when charging.. I glued the case back together and it seems to be better now. I think I could have used the soft case more, instead of keeping them bare in my pockets, but it seems inevitable that they'd fall apart anyway. I can't really recommend them because of these issues, but the noise canceling is one of those magical life upgrades for me.
- CAT0 8y ago
  It's crazy that people actually buy the qc20 when you can get just as good active noice canceling for $20 eg. from Bluedio.
hamandcheese 8y ago
I work in an open office. Turns out that if I’m in the zone, noise around me isn’t a problem whatsoever, so long as someone doesn’t say my name. I end up wearing my Bose much less often than not.
- TeMPOraL 8y ago
  For me, the office noise isn't a problem when I'm in the zone. The noise is a problem when I'm trying to get into the zone.
- sys_64738 8y ago
  I think it depends on the voices. I have one person who has a gravelly loud voice which can be heard above all others. Using noise cancelling headphones seems to make their voice even clearer.
bussierem 8y ago
I'm gonna step in and defend the Bose headphones that he seems to have had some seriously bad luck with. I had a pair of wired QC25's as my first pair, and they had some really good noise cancelling. I could still distantly hear people talk, but when I had music on them (albeit probably louder than him) I could hear almost nothing. Regarding Quality: Those QC25s were used when I got them (couldn't justify full price at the time), and they lasted for about 2.5 years beyond, being used literally every day for 5+ hours per day (Programming with music is my thing) When those broke, I had absolutely no problem justifying what seems to be an exorbitant price for the newer bluetooth QC35 set. These are far beyond what the other set were. Nowadays I keep my music much quieter - listening to soft electronica at maybe 1/4 of the volume I used to, and when I do that, I can't even hear myself type on my mechanical keyboard, let alone any people talking. People can come up to my desk and talk directly to me and I won't realize it unless I see their mouth moving. I'm not sure why his experience with Bose has been so bad, but I'm more likely to suspect he got a lemon for his headphones. I have had my QC35's now for....2 years, with I would average at 6-8h of use every day at work. They don't have a single iota of visible wear on them, and the battery life is still 24-32 hours on a single charge. I imagine that, barring any accidents with them, they will probably last another 2+ years for me.
- tachion 8y ago
  I've tried many and I must agree with the OP - Bose headphones are terrible in terms of build quality and materials, bad in terms of sound quality, average when it comes to noise cancelation, poor in terms of features and absolutely bad at this price tag. I've settled for Sennheiser's Momementum and can't recommend them more - made of metal and leather, build to last, superb sound quality, very good noise cancelation and nice features and amazing support. I'm really surprised they're not discovered by people spending such amount of money on headphones.
  - pathartl 8y ago
    I'm going to go against you and agree with the person your commenting on. I really only bought my QC35's because I was backed into a corner with my iPhone 7. I wanted bluetooth over-the-ear headphones that could also do wired, had good battery life, and sounded okay. After plonking down the $350 I was pleasantly surprised by the build quality, 20+ hr battery life, and the comfort. The noise reduction is pretty incredible and I've heard things in songs that I've never heard before. They are not the 100% best sounding headphones. However, the clarity and imaging they provide is pretty astounding and I think they compete with any similarly priced competitor. I'm the kind of guy that will take speakers over headphones any day, and I find myself using the QC35's more than my speakers these days.
nimbius 8y ago
As someone who works in a garage most of the day as a mechanic, just what is office noise? they all seem pretty quiet to me. What are we trying to reduce? Around the shop I carry a few pairs of disposable foam Howard Leight earplugs. They come in small plastic bags, or you can buy them in boxes of 500. I'll hand them out to apprentices I catch not wearing ear protection or to old timers so they can sneer at me. they work wonders for any kind of noise. We once had a garbage truck plow through a rolling dumpster out back and I never knew about it until lunch.
- jccalhoun 8y ago
  For me it is an officemate talking loudly on the phone that is really distracting. Last year a guy in the office would have long, loud, sometimes heated conversations on the phone with me and 2 other people sitting in the office. Apparently, he was also a preacher and his cell phone ringtone was "Our God is an Awesome God" and he was one of those people that when he made a call on his desk phone he would put it on speaker phone, dial, let it ring, and then pick up the phone. That's when I brought in my over the ear hearing protectors. Luckily, he got a different job but oddly, the person who sat behind me moved to his desk and now she has started making lots of calls. Maybe that desk is cursed or something?
  - TeMPOraL 8y ago
    Should've asked the guy to perform an exorcism on the desk before he left the job.
- loganwedwards 8y ago
  From my experience, it is not so much the noise level, but the distractions that they create. A nice set of noise-cancelling headphones allow me to focus in on my tasks.
  - wil421 8y ago
    I never knew how much noise the AC made in my office until I got noise cancelling headsets. After my first week of using them I noticed how loud the HVAC fans really are. One thing I did notice was I have to pop my ears when I have the noise cancelling on. A few times it also made me feel nauseous when I turned them on.
jccalhoun 8y ago
I've never used any active noise cancelling headphones. I swear by wearing shooting or construction style hearing protectors. I wear them on air planes with my corded earbuds under them. And since I haves tarted a job where I share an office I definitely swear by them when an officemate starts talking loudly on the phone. I have these but I only bought them because they were in stock at the store https://www.amazon.com/3M-Earmuff-Protectors-Hearing-Protection/dp/B00009LI4K/ https://www.amazon.com/3M-Earmuff-Protectors-Hearing-Protect... I used to feel weird wearing them on a plane but with big Beats-style headphones so common now I fit right in.
- MrLeap 8y ago
  My range cans have an aux port and speakers on the inside. Maybe it's psychosomatic but I stand by the improved effectiveness gained by not breaking the seal snaking earbud lines under em'. ;) I use your strategy from time to time though. If it's safe to shoot a .50 cal in em' it'll probably drown the shrill winging. If you want to pump up (down?) the jams you can wear inner ear plugs under the outer ones. It's like a sensory deprivation tank for your mind.
manishsharan 8y ago
I have found that using sound isolation earbud foam tips from Comply, which I can slip on my cheap earbuds from Sony /panasonic , along with my music helps me not go postal when the guy across from me is taking a conference call on this phone. Also I can't pull off that cool the-over-the-ear-phone-wearing-hipster look.
- drcongo 8y ago
  Comply foam tips are incredible. I bought a cheapo pair of in-ear wireless earphones off wish.com and the sound quality was abysmal, I stuck some Comply tips on and now they sound excellent. The tips cost more than the earphones.
- DenisM 8y ago
  Thirded. Half-decent earbuds plus dense foam tips like Comply and I couldn’t care less about a crying baby in the next row on the plane. Cheap, compact, and effective.
rb808 8y ago
I've worn headphones in open plan offices and that combined with a bunch of concerts and clubs has given me some good noise-induced hearing loss & tinnitus. My Audiologist suggested the headphones dont help the Tinnitus as they trigger the Limbic system and heighten anxiety which could trigger Tinnitus. Anyone heard this? So advice to people - go easy on the headphones, even if the volume isn't high - too many hours a week is bad. I'd avoid the white noise too - maybe just ear plugs are best.
- kup0 8y ago
  Headphones generally help my tinnitus as long as I have something (anything) playing in them, even at extremely low volumes, but it's interesting there's a chance it could (temporarily) make it worse! That said, yes concerts/clubs, and poor choices when it comes to car audio, etc have all contributed to some hearing loss and tinnitus for me. I think headphones have been the smallest overall contributor. I typically don't listen to headphones turned up loud, however. I'm pretty sure as long as the volume is always kept to a reasonable level, wearing headphones constantly shouldn't be an issue as far as any hearing damage is concerned. Especially when it comes to NC headphones- I would think this would often cause the wearer to not have to have the volume as high since less needs "drowned out". There are other issues with long-term wearing, though, at least for some. For existing tinnitus I suppose it could be a problem- though even earplugs aggravate that for me because the less sound I hear externally the more perceptible my tinnitus gets (power outages are the worst because when a room goes dead silent my tinnitus goes nuts). And of course there are issues of comfort, migraines/headaches, etc
  - c0mputer1 8y ago
    I also depend on noise to mask my tinnitus. However, depending on the type of noise, it doesn't take much. I've found certain genres of music (e.g. noise rock) to require less volume than white/pink/brown noise to have the same masking effect. I use an earmuffs/earbuds combo for travel and certain office environments as I find that grants me the most control over the noise my ears are exposed to. That way, I can limit noise to useful/intentional noise, and keep the volume as low as possible.
- 8y ago
ryanianian 8y ago
I read this as "the work water-cooler was full of poison so I found some cheap antidote and now I only suffer mild headaches." I'm glad this person found some inexpensive tech that works for them. But if we only focus on blocking the sound (which is not that effective for some) rather than focusing on what it means to have an effective working environment, we're missing opportunities to shape our working cultures/environments to be one of "library quiet respectful". I'm extremely sensitive to sounds of all varieties. I don't understand how anyone works with music blasting into their ears. Even white/pink/brown-noise feels like a barrage of sound. Earplugs make me feel claustrophobic, and I have the uncontrollable urge to rip them out after 15 minutes. Noise-cancelling tech almost always fails to block human voices (our brains are hard-wired to listen for voices after all). At the risk of stating the obvious, we need to pay more attention to making more "zone-friendly" workspaces. I.e., not loud, open offices where everyone feels okay talking at full volume.
- TeMPOraL 8y ago
  Unfortunately, we're all doomed to seek workarounds for the time being. A "zone-friendly workspace" is an abstract concept that will show in productivity over long time. An open office is cheap right now, and will be cheaper as headcount increases. Then you have conflicting individual interests - programmers may dislike open floors, but sales people (apparently) love them, the bosses love them, and even among programmers there's always this likable extrovert who likes open floors and is vocal about it, ruining any chance of collective action. (It also seems people dislike open floor plans for different reasons. You don't like sounds. I don't mind sounds, I don't like feeling the presence of other people around me all the time.)
  - amag 8y ago
    > It also seems people dislike open floor plans for different reasons. You don't like sounds. I don't mind sounds, I don't like feeling the presence of other people around me all the time. Alas, I suffer both but it's more socially acceptable to blame noise...
    - 8y ago
sbradford26 8y ago
I have the Sony WH1000XM2s and they work very well for an office. They have held up very well and give me noise cancellation, durability, and good sound quality. Sony just released the WH1000XM3s which are probably worth a look if you are in the market.
kaffein 8y ago
Personally not a fan of active noise cancellation as I dont like the feeling of it, plus the Bose are expensive and I mostly want to mask speech. I settled on noise isolation in the form of studio/dj headphones, that work well wearing for long periods with glasses on. Got these Beyerdynamic https://www.amazon.com/beyerdynamic-770-PRO-Studio-Headphone/dp/B0016MNAAI/ref=mp_s_a_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1539102058&sr=8-15-spons&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=beyerdynamic+dt770+pro&psc=1 https://www.amazon.com/beyerdynamic-770-PRO-Studio-Headphone... though paid around $130 instead. The 80 ohm version still works well with my phone without amp.
- moftz 8y ago
  I have the 250 ohm impedance versions, they work really well for office-like situations and I used them extensively in college for studying, sometimes not even listening to anything. However they really don't do a thing when on a plane or in a place with a lot of low frequency noise as passive noise cancellation doesn't work well for that. I ended up buying a cheap pair of active noise cancelling bluetooth headphones for traveling (which are pretty terrible at blocking voices/footsteps).
stcredzero 8y ago
Bose are great headphones for looking like you are an audiophile. If you aren't an audiophile. Some audiophiles might well think, "Why are you wearing those? You're not on an airplane!" I much prefer passive noise isolation. Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 80 Ohm is my recommendation, especially if you like bass. The 80 Ohm is much easier to drive, and you can even run them off your laptop in a pinch. The earpads are pretty good stock. Not everyone's head is compatible with big circles pressed up against them, however.
compumike 8y ago
I recently tried a coworker's QC35s and was impressed. I decided to buy the TaoTronics TT-BH22 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075CBHN9M/ https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075CBHN9M/ (about $60; don't get tricked by the "newer model of this item" link which is quite different) -- and I think they're a fantastic value with maybe 75% of the noise cancellation performance of the $300+ name-brand product. I use them basically all day in our open office. The active noise cancellation cuts down tremendously on low-frequency noise from air handlers and distant conversations. Would recommend. One downside is that when they're first turned on, I can faintly hear the switching power supply charging up the internal capacitors for the first few seconds. But I've been told that I have unusually good high-frequency hearing, and this basically goes away once it's charged, and is certainly not audible over music.
binarysolo 8y ago
Bose convert here after years of working in open offices, coding in cafes, flying, and what not. I have somewhat sensitive ears as a classical (hobbyist) musician and am always paranoid about hearing loss. My main pain points have been: 1. Distinct voices in conversation - I find that voices block voices, and instrumental music does a poorer job at this since it's maybe on different frequencies? I usually use a cafe-noise app like coffitivity to best stay focused. 2. Loud continuous noises a la plane - the Bose headphones basically reduce the noise by ~20db I think, which makes the experience overall more bearable. The main downside of noise-canceling headphones for some subset of people (alas me included) is that you get a weird pressure feeling when using them for prolonged periods of time. Apparently this is just us perceiving the change in ambient sound as a pressure difference so we feel like popping our ears. This basically happens in hour 1 of my usage. As for attrition - I've had my QC35's for about a year and they haven't had any issues yet. My old QC25's lasted for 3 years and still work fine but got donated to make way for my new bluetooth ones. https://smile.amazon.com/Bose-QuietComfort-Wireless-Headphones-Cancelling/dp/B0756CYWWD?_encoding=UTF8&ie=UTF8&keywords=qc35&pldnCmp=dls&pldnCrt=rdl&pldnNewCustomer=1&pldnSite=1&tag=sdnet-20&qid=1539101946&ref_=smi_ge_cnf_cnf_smi&s=electronics&sr=1-3 https://smile.amazon.com/Bose-QuietComfort-Wireless-Headphon... (note affiliatized Amazon donation link)
krupan 8y ago
I found moldable earplugs to be better than the foam ones. Something like this: https://earplugsonline.com/ https://earplugsonline.com/ Yo don't have to wait for them to expand like the foam ones. They also don't press on your glasses like over-the-ear headphones or ear protectors.
Raphmedia 8y ago
I have had good results by using this noise generator: https://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/cafeRestaurantNoiseGenerator.php https://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/cafeRestaurantNoiseGenerat... This site lets you customize the sounds that are generated. I crank the left ones (bass) up until it drowns the people that are talking around me. The first minutes are a bit confusing because you are in the middle of a stream of conversations that you are not able to understand. After a few minutes you brain blocks everything, even the real conversation around you. It even works with my regular earbuds. Sometimes, I put some mall/elevator music (the main artist for those is called Muzak) over it and I really feel like I'm working in a mall's Starbucks.
theptip 8y ago
> I noticed that most of their “noise-cancelling” was actually passive and consisted of good noise suppression from the good seal created by the headphone ear cups. This is absolutely not the case, you can turn the cancelling on and off while still wearing them and it makes a huge difference to background noise. Many years ago they had a demo where you stand in the store and they blast a low-pitched white noise roar (like a jet engine) at you, and have you turn the cancelling on and off -- it's something ridiculous like a 45db drop. I bought a pair on the spot. It's certainly the case that the cancelling is less effective at higher frequencies like voices than it is at low-pitch background noise, which does decrease their effectiveness in an office environment. I have mixed opinions about build quality -- the originals were solid, I wore these around town most days for a few years, and they are now about 6 years old and still working. The replacement cups that I bought were garbage and disintegrated within 6 months of only at-desk wearing. So perhaps construction is not what it used to be. Interestingly I heard that Bose patented the physically optimal geometry for noise-cancelling microphones, which would mean that their competitors are necessarily inferior at pure noise cancelling; don't know if that's true though. I also find it annoying that these headphones require batteries to function even if you aren't using the noise cancelling feature; makes it very unreliable for carrying around town, but not a problem at my office desk. Without knowing anything about the electronics involved, it seems like it would be much better to have it degrade to being non-noise-cancelling powered headphones, instead of bricks, when the battery dies.
- bvy 8y ago
  Pretty sure most of the current crop of ANC headphones can be wired in.
syntaxing 8y ago
I own a pair of the Sony Wh1000mx2/B. It was pretty pricey (I think $250ish?) when I bought about a year ago. They work flawlessly. I work in an open office and I think it's one of the peripherals I use the most out of anything, including my phone. No visible wear/damage or battery degradation so far. I highly recommend them! According to reviews the newer generation (Sony wh1000mx3)is even better than Bose's comfort and NC (significantly apparently).
- sbradford26 8y ago
  I bought I also have the WH1000xm2s and are very happy them but the new WH1000xm3s are tempting me.
  - syntaxing 8y ago
    Same, I like the USB-C port since my phone is the same. I hear the new QN1 chip is pretty good on the XM3.
- namirez 8y ago
  I second the Sony WH1000XM2 or XM3. I owned both of them. In terms of noise cancelling I didn't notice much difference between them, except XM3 feels a bit more comfortable. Compared to Bose QC35, however, they were significantly superior. They were not even close.
  - syntaxing 8y ago
    Yeah, my ear area gets a bit sweaty if I wear it too long. How is the charging for the XM3? It takes a "while" to go to 100% full for my XM2. I hear that the XM3 blocks voice a bit better too?
    - namirez 8y ago
      XM3 has a usb-c connector with fast charging, so it's better than XM2. Going to 100% takes a while though (maybe about 1 hour) but charging it for about 10 min is enough to get you going for the whole day. I charge mine about once a week. As for the noise cancelling, I haven't noticed much of a difference with XM2, but I'm not an audiophile anyway, so I'm not sure.
bitwize 8y ago
Headphones are NOT a solution to open office plans. When I wear headphones or earbuds, I can block out the sounds, but I become more sensitive to other non-sound cues indicating human activity around me such as movement seen out of the corner of my eye and even air currents. And these become more unnerving with the sound blocked out. And open office plans are never adopted to "foster collaboration". That's bullshit that management feeds you to mask the real reasons: 1) they save money by packing more employees in the same space 2) it's an easy-to-implement panopticon, letting management keep tabs on you easily
- commandlinefan 8y ago
  I keep reading how we're "in demand" and how we're hard to find and retain - and then we're treated as disposably as fast-food burger-flippers: you're lucky you even have a job, you ungrateful wretch, so you'd better not complain about all of your efforts to make it nearly impossible to get your job done.
jordache 8y ago
such an annoying title. Bose is not synonymous with noise cancelation. Noise cancelation is a technology independent of a brand
tomc1985 8y ago
It's funny that people are trying to hard to advance tech in active noise cancelling. The real secret is in the materials -- I don't know how but my favorite passive headphones knock out ambient noise better than most of the active cans (Bose or other) I've demoed at tech stores. Plus, they cost less and reproduce music more accurately (which may or may not be to everyone's liking)
fpgaminer 8y ago
I'm extremely sensitive to noise, so I've tried my fair share of solutions as well. In terms of absolutely blocking sound, the best I've found thus far are a pair of Etymotic in-ear headphones. I don't recall the model I have. They aren't noise cancelling; they're basically just earplug headphones. But they are really effectively. Just be sure you use them correctly. It's easy to think you just plop them in your ear like normal earbuds. You have to insert them like ear plugs. When done correctly they create a seal and the noise blocking is incredible, even compared to the big PPE ear equipment I have. Plus they look just like any other earbuds to other people, so you don't look like a dork :P Besides those, the Bose noise cancelling headphones are "okay". As others have mentioned, they're really poor at blocking nearby voices. If you're going to be listening to music, that's not much of an issue. But I tend to listen to podcasts, videos, etc, so there's nothing else extra to drown out what the headphones miss. And you're paying quite a premium for headphones that, in terms of build quality, sound quality, and features, are worth maybe 1/3 of the MSRP. Not much you can do about that; Bose holds patents on the best noise cancelling. On a slight tangent. My sensitivities to noise have led me to some ... interesting solutions over the years living in noisy apartments. Hearing people's TVs, talking, etc through walls really bothers me. The solution I came up with was to pump white noise through a subwoofer, turned down really low. It creates a very subtle, low frequency rumble. It's just loud enough to drown out the stuff that bleeds through walls, but quiet enough that you forget it's there. By using just the subwoofer you target the majority of frequencies that can make it through walls, without adding the annoying "hiss" of regular white noise machines. For me that was really effective for dealing with the day-to-day noise of apartments.
- wishinghand 8y ago
  I have a pair of Grado earbuds that create a seal similar to Etymotics, but not as deep. Often times people will stand next to me and speak to me and I won't hear them (music at a moderate volume). I imagine your Etymotics are even better. The only reason I didn't get Etymotics is because my ears are super waxy and I didn't want to clean them every usage. If you have the models I think you do, they're as expensive as the Bose QC35 headphones. However, Etys are easier to pack, have a better sound quality, and don't need batteries.
twotwotwo 8y ago
I got the big Leight headphones a while back and more recently QC35's. My wife happened to get the older model MPOW adapter in the post; it broke with the blue-flashing-light issue that appears in some user reviews--she replaced it with a Yeti, which worked. Also, MPOW has newer models that might not have the issue and at least one reviewer said MPOW replaced their blue-flashing-light unit. Seems accurate that the Leight things' passive isolation, combined with playing most any sound through them, should make background speech indistinct enough to be less distracting. Generally, like the post says, ANC is great at quieting deep rumbles (cars, trains, etc.), and physical isolation is better at blocking higher pitches (speech and higher noise). (Also ++ to the comment saying it's a shame many folks have to make up for employers imposing open offices, but only so much a single worker can do about that.) What the Bose have going for them are 1) ANC seems like a legit win for train or plane trips, 2) I wanted a BT headset (including a mic for phone calls) and the QC35s provide that, 3) the QC35's are decent, though not audiophile-level, as headphones. And I'd heard lots of praise for them from acquaintances, which made me hopeful there'd be no unpleasant surprises. The QC35's are doing the job. I don't know if some cheaper/different arrangement would also have done the job. ANC seems great when you want it, but for me that's not every day; maybe I could have gone w/something cheaper, or two setups similar to the blog post, one for work/calls and the other for the occasional noisy trip.
woolvalley 8y ago
Noise cancelling cannot cancel out voices. It's designed to cancel out predictable lower frequency sounds such as fans, A/C system fans, engine rumbles and jet engine noise. The noise cancelling system has an inherent delay in processing the sound it's listening to output an opposing waveform. Since voices are not predictable, outputting a waveform after a slight delay will just cause it to be out of sync and cancel out nothing. Maybe some ML system could do this in the future, but it would have to be absolutely perfect to not sound distractingly strange at times. Fans on the other hand are predictable, so you can output an opposing waveform despite the processing delay because you can predict how the waveform will act after your processing delay and keep them in phase.
- ju-st 8y ago
  What amount of delay is acceptable?
  - dta5003 8y ago
    In order to effectively cancel, it would have to be less than the time difference between the sound being detected/processed by the headphones and the sound being detected by your ears. So, roughly the time it takes sound to travel at most an inch?
- TeMPOraL 8y ago
  There's an interesting twist on the active cancelling idea for stopping voices. You embrace the delay, increase it to ~200 msec, and just play the normal waveform out loud. The result is uncomfortable and will make the speaker shut up. https://arxiv.org/vc/arxiv/papers/1202/1202.6106v1.pdf https://arxiv.org/vc/arxiv/papers/1202/1202.6106v1.pdf
endergen 8y ago
These have higher DB cancellation: https://www.amazon.com/3M-Earmuff-Protectors-Hearing-Protection/dp/B00009LI4K/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1539112187&sr=8-8&keywords=construction+headphones&dpID=51fbuP-CLzL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch https://www.amazon.com/3M-Earmuff-Protectors-Hearing-Protect... I use them, but without audio. Just for pure silence, then use my Bose headphones when I want to actually hear anything?
KaiserPro 8y ago
I've done the same thing with the sync. the only difference is that I have hot glued the bluetooth adaptor on the right side of the head band. I have a small 3.5mm cable that links the adaptor to the headphones. Proper ear monitors are the holy grail, as they are comfortable (if you have your ear cast/pour done properly) and should have >28 db of noise reduction. Alas I don't have a proper cast anymore, its about £200 to get it done properly. The problem with noise cancelling headphones is they are great for white noise/whirs/traffic, they are terrible at blocking voices. However I don't have music playing in the office. I just use the ear defenders as attenuators. Its only on the commute do I listen to stuff. The sync only knocks off 25db, you can get ear plugs/defenders that reduce noise by 34db. Some of the howard leight squidgy earplugs are super comfortable, soft enough to sleep in.
mygo 8y ago
Aren't ear-plugs noise cancelling? What if they just put tiny speakers inside ear-plugs and bypassed the whole active noise cancelling component?
- Erwin 8y ago
  That's pretty much the venerable Etymotic which also have the best isolation as per that site: https://www.rtings.com/headphones/tests/isolation/noise-isolation-cancellation-passive-active https://www.rtings.com/headphones/tests/isolation/noise-isol... For me, they're not comfortable for more than 3 or so hours while I can have either The QC30 or HD800S on all day.
- diffeomorphism 8y ago
  > Aren't ear-plugs noise cancelling? No, they are isolating. Canceling is an active process using destructive interference of sound waves. Since it is a different mechanism you have quite different properties. For example size/material/fit on ear have different constraints and you can selectively filter out different frequencies (many noise canceling headphones allow you to let voices through for example, or sirens/warning noises).
jpalomaki 8y ago
Article links to Ultraphones, - high isolation headphones. ”UltraPhones are SONY 7506 Studio Monitor headphone components mounted in a comfortable 29 db passive isolation hearing protection muff.” https://www.gk-music.com/product/ultraphones/ https://www.gk-music.com/product/ultraphones/ Any experience on these? I’ve been using the BeyerDynamics mentioned in the thread, but I’m not fully satisfied with the isolation.
- wilsonnb3 8y ago
  I’ve never used them but I would never recommend the Sony MDR7506 to anyone, they sound awful to me.
  - jpitz 8y ago
    They're ( they, the MDR 7506 ) kind of a industry standard in professional editing and mixing settings, not to mention as monitors. They sound pretty good to a lot of people. I 'grew up' on them, perhaps I'm biased. I've got a pair kicking around that are over 20 years old. Absolutely, get the cans that sound good to you. Get whatever sounds good to you, doesn't matter what they are. But, please, give a listen to as many different cans as you are able to. Speakers and headphones are terribly, terribly subjective.
13415 8y ago
I've tried brown noise a while ago and it certainly didn't work for me. Being stressed out by a constant background noise is not the same as silence.
dogma1138 8y ago
A cheaper option is any type of over the ear hearing protection and in ear headphones if you want to listen to music. But neat none the less.
- bunderbunder 8y ago
  That's pretty much exactly what option #2 from TFA is. The author quotes a higher price, but that's only because the recommended pair of headphones costs more than the entirety of the first option.
marshray 8y ago
Having gone through a couple pairs of the Bose QC35, I am currently happy with the Sennheiser PXC 550. The noise cancellation is comparable and I feel like the sound quality is just a tiny bit better. But perhaps the best part is they protrude less than the Bose, making it easier to listen while lying down.
sevensor 8y ago
Drummers have an interesting perspective on this problem: http://www.drummerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=114491 http://www.drummerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=114491 The linked thread gets into some details that are irrelevant for programming, unless you use a click track to time your keystrokes. However, a lot of the same considerations apply, particularly the need for really strong attenuation, and the same discussions are had regarding in-ear versus over-ear monitors.
JohnBooty 8y ago
This guy has a lot of misconceptions. > Bose are great headphones for looking like you are > an audiophile. As far as I can tell – from talking > to friends who are recording music in studios – nobody > uses them professionally. Listening to music at home != listening for professional use. Most common pro studio headphones are Sony MDR 7506's. They are pretty enjoyable for home use too but (like all studio headphones) are a little thin on the bass. Leaving aside the "audiophile" term since it means different things to different people. Home headphones have bass that is typically either moderately boosted (as in the Bose QC15/25/35) or ridiculously boosted (some Beats headphones, especially the early models) That doesn't mean they're "bad" because his "friends who are recording music in studios" don't use them. You just can't realistically use them for creating professional audio. > They do a pretty good job with steady constant droning > noises (like the HVAC fans) but any higher frequency > sound – like people talking – is left uncancelled. Not true. High frequency sound isn't attenuated nearly as much as low frequency sounds, but is pretty effectively blocked by the Bose if you have any audio whatsoever playing, even at low volumes. > (i.e. they break apart within a few months of daily use) Wow. I know lots and lots of people who own them and they typically last years. What's this guy doing to his headphones? > you need to purchase expensive replacement parts for them. I’ve > replaced the ear cups on them twice so far and for the last pair > I’ve been very careful not to damage them. The problem is they > come undone even if I barely use them and at $30 a pair they are > expensive!!! Ear pads last a year or two of daily use. Never had them "come undone." BTW when I say "daily use" I don't mean abusive daily use. If you're transporting them you can't just throw them into a bag or they will wear out/break sooner. Of course that's true for most headphones. As far as expensive replacements, there are great $15 unofficial pads on eBay, they are indistinguishable from the OEM pads to me. > I noticed that most of their “noise-cancelling” was actually > passive and consisted of good noise suppression from the good > seal created by the headphone ear cups. This guy's really living on another planet. There's a very significant difference when you flip the switch from passive to active. > Music after a while gets tiring – especially when I’m in my > 8th hour of listening through emotionally taxing soundtracks > like Two Steps from Hell "I listened to emotionally taxing music for eight hours straight and I found it emotionally taxing" Cool insight! > I got myself a pair of [actual passive noise canceling headphones > like you'd find at a hardware store] In all seriousness, if serious noise cancellation is what you need, yeah -- it's true. A cheap pair of passive noise cancellers from a hardware store will block more sound than a Bose. It's what I wear when using my table saw or other power tools. They are much, much larger than the Bose though. If you're cool with that, then you're set. Lest anybody wonder if I'm some kind of secret Bose operative, I will also say that Sony's latest noise canceling headphones have really closed the gap in my opinion. Of course, maybe I could be some kind of secret double triple agent working for multiple Big Headphone entities.
kornork 8y ago
Has anyone here successfully lobbied their management to get rid of the open office plan? A good game plan for that seems much more valuable than headphone recommendations.
ndh2 8y ago
> NOTE 2: Depending on the shape of your head the head band of the earmuffs can make the crown of your head hurt – though this is not limited to earmuffs as may headphones have this undesirable feature. I tied a piece of memory foam that I salvaged from an old mattress to the head band, using two strips of velcro tape. Looks ridiculous, works really well.
meatmanek 8y ago
I swear by the the 3m X5A headphones[1] (which have 4.8, 8.1, and 12.4dB better attenuation at 125Hz, 250Hz, and 500Hz than the Leight Sync headphones in the article, according to their datasheet[2]), plus the Koss KSC75 headphones[3], with the clip removed and shoved inside, per [4].(I've since added a little wedge of foam behind each of the headphones to better keep them in place.) The better attenuation at low frequencies makes these really good at blocking human voices, which is the thing that I find most distracting in an open office. With even a little bit of music, I can barely tell that people are having a conversation 10 feet from me. The headphone cables can sometimes break the seal, but I find shifting them usually fixes it. Besides, the noise that sneaks in is high-frequency stuff like key clicks, not distracting voices. The downsides are: these are extremely large cans (2.5-3" deep), the KSC75s have a pretty short cable, and if you drop your cans or yank the cable, the headphones will tend to pop out. 1. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CPCHBCQ https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CPCHBCQ 2. https://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/845196O/3m-peltor-x-series-passive-hearing-protection-earmuff-technical-data-sheet.pdf https://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/845196O/3m-peltor-x-seri... 3. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006B486K https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006B486K 4. https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/5bwu48/homemade_noise_isolating_headphones_p/ https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/5bwu48/homemade...

152 points by nwrk 8y ago

I use mack's ultra soft ear plugs (correctly inserted, which most people don't do) and Bose QC35's with sound cancelling on playing non-lyrical electronic music loud enough to only hear faintly. You will not hear a 747 land in your back yard. Edit: How to insert correctly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xF1CjCugD_M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xF1CjCugD_M

rsync 8y ago

For a brief moment I was interested in noise cancelling headphones for airplane usage. Much, much simpler, cheaper - and certainly more effective - is to use any old earbuds that you prefer and put them underneath a pair of these: https://www.amazon.com/3M-Earmuff-Protectors-Hearing-Protection/dp/B00009LI4K/ https://www.amazon.com/3M-Earmuff-Protectors-Hearing-Protect... No batteries to deal with, no mode switching, much less expensive, etc. It works wonderfully and the only downside is that you look a little odd.

TeMPOraL 8y ago
They're not yellow, so they don't actually look that odd. If I walked past someone wearing them, I'd probably not notice what they are.
blakesterz 8y ago
It's not the same thing, but even simpler is just a white noise app and regular ear buds. That's worked well for me everytime, I don't need silence to fall asleep on a plane I guess.
WalterSear 8y ago
Noise cancelling isn't hearing protection, fwiw. Ear protectors do a much better job of that, too.
- wenc 8y ago
  Yes, I have a pair of Bose QC15's ($150 refurb) that have given me excellent service for the past 3 years, but lately I've discovered that earplugs work just as well if you're not trying to listen to music. Also when you're trying to sleep on a plane, Bose's active noise-cancellation stops working when you lean your head hard against a headrest (such that the earmuffs touch the headrest). I think it's just the nature of active noise-cancellation. I've resorted to earplugs when trying to sleep while flying.
  - WalterSear 8y ago
    Noise canceling isn't perfect, so it leaves comb filter peaks of uncanceled sound in the sound field.
    - wenc 8y ago
      It wasn't noise-cancelling not being perfect (it worked just fine), but noise cancelling going bonkers when the earmuffs come into contact with another solid object (in my case, neck cushion on seat). I think it broke the around-ear seal a teeny bit and that threw the noise cancellation off.
      - WalterSear 8y ago
        Right. I'm saying even when used correctly, it wasn't protecting your hearing from the noise of the flight. Notches of noise were poking through the filters despite the impression of quietness, and causing fatigue damage to the cells tuned to those frequencies.
- saudioger 8y ago
  Right, with noise cancelling headphones on I can talk on a plane at a normal volume and hear everything better generally. If I just wanted to block out noise entirely, ear plugs/muffs would do a better job.
briffle 8y ago
I got a pair of Howard Leight Earmuffs to use at the range. They work amazing, and can be adjusted to amplify talking if you want. They have a small cord for plugging into your phone. https://www.amazon.com/Howard-Leight-Amplification-Electronic-R-01902/dp/B007BGSI5U https://www.amazon.com/Howard-Leight-Amplification-Electroni...
- c0mputer1 8y ago
  How's the sound quality on those? I've tried 3M "worktunes" eamuffs (which have an audio jack), but at low volumes the sound quality is quite bad (there is background white noise).
timerol 8y ago
I own similar ear protection that I wear to sleep on the bus, plane, and if I'm going to bed early while my neighbors are being loud. Mine are completely black, and almost look like big headphones with earbud wires coming out of the bottom.
jccalhoun 8y ago
Those are what I use too
duiker101 8y ago
For the longest time this is actually what they did in the League of Legends eSports scene. Even if they could have afforded proper equipment they continued like that. I guess it's a pretty good enough solution.
c0mputer1 8y ago
I've also found success with a solution like this (earmuffs + earbuds) for travel and certain office environments. I've tried a few different earmuffs, and this model from 3M has been the best for me. They're low profile, (more) comfortable, and as effective as any: https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company-us/all-3m-products/~/3M-PELTOR-X4-Earmuffs-X4A-37273-AAD-Over-the-Head-10-EA-Case/?N=5002385+8709322+8711405+8720539+3294326333&preselect=8720546+8720749+8731725&rt=rud https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company-us/all-3m-products/~/3M-... Wearing glasses underneath earmuffs meant for high noise exposure environments can be uncomfortable, as the cups are meant to press into the side of your head.
davio 8y ago
The HD280s are basically equivalent to this. Similar noise attenuation and already designed to work as headphones. I used to switch between the earmuffs with earbuds below and the HD280s when playing drums along to music.
- wilsonnb3 8y ago
  There’s no way the HD280s are blocking 30db. Here’s a source that says 12db. https://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/sennheiser/hd-280-pro#comparison_2088 https://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/sennheiser/hd-280-...

rashkov 8y ago

The author says he tried the bose qc20 (in-ear headphones), but then goes onto describe the bose qc25 (over-ear headphones). I'd like to defend the honor of the bose qc20, which has superior noise canceling to the qc25. While it's true that it doesn't block out talking, it makes it sound like it's in a distant room, and with a little bit of white noise or music it makes the open office noise a non-issue for me. Furthermore, it's a godsend in a loud city and it's incredible to hear the little details in your music and not having to crank your volume past 50%. That said, they're super pricey and they do fall apart, but I've got mine patched up after three years and holding onto them until other products can match this level of noise canceling.

hellcow 8y ago
I bought 3 pairs of QC20s. Each of them fell apart in less than a year, despite absurdly careful care. There's a design flaw where the wire connects to the battery pack. Tape could only hold them together for so long. After 3 failures I vowed to not buy another one, despite the exceptional sound canceling. I switched to a cheapo $30 Samsung pair I bought at an airport, beat it to hell and back, and it's in perfect shape years later.
- rashkov 8y ago
  It's true, the build quality is bad and my coworker has the same exact issues as mine (rubber coating came off the casing, volume up button stops clicking but can still be mushed down to use). The battery pack casing started to open up and would cause line noise, especially when charging.. I glued the case back together and it seems to be better now. I think I could have used the soft case more, instead of keeping them bare in my pockets, but it seems inevitable that they'd fall apart anyway. I can't really recommend them because of these issues, but the noise canceling is one of those magical life upgrades for me.
CAT0 8y ago
It's crazy that people actually buy the qc20 when you can get just as good active noice canceling for $20 eg. from Bluedio.

hamandcheese 8y ago

I work in an open office. Turns out that if I’m in the zone, noise around me isn’t a problem whatsoever, so long as someone doesn’t say my name. I end up wearing my Bose much less often than not.

TeMPOraL 8y ago
For me, the office noise isn't a problem when I'm in the zone. The noise is a problem when I'm trying to get into the zone.
sys_64738 8y ago
I think it depends on the voices. I have one person who has a gravelly loud voice which can be heard above all others. Using noise cancelling headphones seems to make their voice even clearer.

bussierem 8y ago

I'm gonna step in and defend the Bose headphones that he seems to have had some seriously bad luck with. I had a pair of wired QC25's as my first pair, and they had some really good noise cancelling. I could still distantly hear people talk, but when I had music on them (albeit probably louder than him) I could hear almost nothing. Regarding Quality: Those QC25s were used when I got them (couldn't justify full price at the time), and they lasted for about 2.5 years beyond, being used literally every day for 5+ hours per day (Programming with music is my thing) When those broke, I had absolutely no problem justifying what seems to be an exorbitant price for the newer bluetooth QC35 set. These are far beyond what the other set were. Nowadays I keep my music much quieter - listening to soft electronica at maybe 1/4 of the volume I used to, and when I do that, I can't even hear myself type on my mechanical keyboard, let alone any people talking. People can come up to my desk and talk directly to me and I won't realize it unless I see their mouth moving. I'm not sure why his experience with Bose has been so bad, but I'm more likely to suspect he got a lemon for his headphones. I have had my QC35's now for....2 years, with I would average at 6-8h of use every day at work. They don't have a single iota of visible wear on them, and the battery life is still 24-32 hours on a single charge. I imagine that, barring any accidents with them, they will probably last another 2+ years for me.

tachion 8y ago
I've tried many and I must agree with the OP - Bose headphones are terrible in terms of build quality and materials, bad in terms of sound quality, average when it comes to noise cancelation, poor in terms of features and absolutely bad at this price tag. I've settled for Sennheiser's Momementum and can't recommend them more - made of metal and leather, build to last, superb sound quality, very good noise cancelation and nice features and amazing support. I'm really surprised they're not discovered by people spending such amount of money on headphones.
- pathartl 8y ago
  I'm going to go against you and agree with the person your commenting on. I really only bought my QC35's because I was backed into a corner with my iPhone 7. I wanted bluetooth over-the-ear headphones that could also do wired, had good battery life, and sounded okay. After plonking down the $350 I was pleasantly surprised by the build quality, 20+ hr battery life, and the comfort. The noise reduction is pretty incredible and I've heard things in songs that I've never heard before. They are not the 100% best sounding headphones. However, the clarity and imaging they provide is pretty astounding and I think they compete with any similarly priced competitor. I'm the kind of guy that will take speakers over headphones any day, and I find myself using the QC35's more than my speakers these days.

nimbius 8y ago

As someone who works in a garage most of the day as a mechanic, just what is office noise? they all seem pretty quiet to me. What are we trying to reduce? Around the shop I carry a few pairs of disposable foam Howard Leight earplugs. They come in small plastic bags, or you can buy them in boxes of 500. I'll hand them out to apprentices I catch not wearing ear protection or to old timers so they can sneer at me. they work wonders for any kind of noise. We once had a garbage truck plow through a rolling dumpster out back and I never knew about it until lunch.

jccalhoun 8y ago
For me it is an officemate talking loudly on the phone that is really distracting. Last year a guy in the office would have long, loud, sometimes heated conversations on the phone with me and 2 other people sitting in the office. Apparently, he was also a preacher and his cell phone ringtone was "Our God is an Awesome God" and he was one of those people that when he made a call on his desk phone he would put it on speaker phone, dial, let it ring, and then pick up the phone. That's when I brought in my over the ear hearing protectors. Luckily, he got a different job but oddly, the person who sat behind me moved to his desk and now she has started making lots of calls. Maybe that desk is cursed or something?
- TeMPOraL 8y ago
  Should've asked the guy to perform an exorcism on the desk before he left the job.
loganwedwards 8y ago
From my experience, it is not so much the noise level, but the distractions that they create. A nice set of noise-cancelling headphones allow me to focus in on my tasks.
- wil421 8y ago
  I never knew how much noise the AC made in my office until I got noise cancelling headsets. After my first week of using them I noticed how loud the HVAC fans really are. One thing I did notice was I have to pop my ears when I have the noise cancelling on. A few times it also made me feel nauseous when I turned them on.

jccalhoun 8y ago

I've never used any active noise cancelling headphones. I swear by wearing shooting or construction style hearing protectors. I wear them on air planes with my corded earbuds under them. And since I haves tarted a job where I share an office I definitely swear by them when an officemate starts talking loudly on the phone. I have these but I only bought them because they were in stock at the store https://www.amazon.com/3M-Earmuff-Protectors-Hearing-Protection/dp/B00009LI4K/ https://www.amazon.com/3M-Earmuff-Protectors-Hearing-Protect... I used to feel weird wearing them on a plane but with big Beats-style headphones so common now I fit right in.

MrLeap 8y ago
My range cans have an aux port and speakers on the inside. Maybe it's psychosomatic but I stand by the improved effectiveness gained by not breaking the seal snaking earbud lines under em'. ;) I use your strategy from time to time though. If it's safe to shoot a .50 cal in em' it'll probably drown the shrill winging. If you want to pump up (down?) the jams you can wear inner ear plugs under the outer ones. It's like a sensory deprivation tank for your mind.

manishsharan 8y ago

I have found that using sound isolation earbud foam tips from Comply, which I can slip on my cheap earbuds from Sony /panasonic , along with my music helps me not go postal when the guy across from me is taking a conference call on this phone. Also I can't pull off that cool the-over-the-ear-phone-wearing-hipster look.

drcongo 8y ago
Comply foam tips are incredible. I bought a cheapo pair of in-ear wireless earphones off wish.com and the sound quality was abysmal, I stuck some Comply tips on and now they sound excellent. The tips cost more than the earphones.
DenisM 8y ago
Thirded. Half-decent earbuds plus dense foam tips like Comply and I couldn’t care less about a crying baby in the next row on the plane. Cheap, compact, and effective.

rb808 8y ago

I've worn headphones in open plan offices and that combined with a bunch of concerts and clubs has given me some good noise-induced hearing loss & tinnitus. My Audiologist suggested the headphones dont help the Tinnitus as they trigger the Limbic system and heighten anxiety which could trigger Tinnitus. Anyone heard this? So advice to people - go easy on the headphones, even if the volume isn't high - too many hours a week is bad. I'd avoid the white noise too - maybe just ear plugs are best.

kup0 8y ago
Headphones generally help my tinnitus as long as I have something (anything) playing in them, even at extremely low volumes, but it's interesting there's a chance it could (temporarily) make it worse! That said, yes concerts/clubs, and poor choices when it comes to car audio, etc have all contributed to some hearing loss and tinnitus for me. I think headphones have been the smallest overall contributor. I typically don't listen to headphones turned up loud, however. I'm pretty sure as long as the volume is always kept to a reasonable level, wearing headphones constantly shouldn't be an issue as far as any hearing damage is concerned. Especially when it comes to NC headphones- I would think this would often cause the wearer to not have to have the volume as high since less needs "drowned out". There are other issues with long-term wearing, though, at least for some. For existing tinnitus I suppose it could be a problem- though even earplugs aggravate that for me because the less sound I hear externally the more perceptible my tinnitus gets (power outages are the worst because when a room goes dead silent my tinnitus goes nuts). And of course there are issues of comfort, migraines/headaches, etc
- c0mputer1 8y ago
  I also depend on noise to mask my tinnitus. However, depending on the type of noise, it doesn't take much. I've found certain genres of music (e.g. noise rock) to require less volume than white/pink/brown noise to have the same masking effect. I use an earmuffs/earbuds combo for travel and certain office environments as I find that grants me the most control over the noise my ears are exposed to. That way, I can limit noise to useful/intentional noise, and keep the volume as low as possible.
8y ago

ryanianian 8y ago

I read this as "the work water-cooler was full of poison so I found some cheap antidote and now I only suffer mild headaches." I'm glad this person found some inexpensive tech that works for them. But if we only focus on blocking the sound (which is not that effective for some) rather than focusing on what it means to have an effective working environment, we're missing opportunities to shape our working cultures/environments to be one of "library quiet respectful". I'm extremely sensitive to sounds of all varieties. I don't understand how anyone works with music blasting into their ears. Even white/pink/brown-noise feels like a barrage of sound. Earplugs make me feel claustrophobic, and I have the uncontrollable urge to rip them out after 15 minutes. Noise-cancelling tech almost always fails to block human voices (our brains are hard-wired to listen for voices after all). At the risk of stating the obvious, we need to pay more attention to making more "zone-friendly" workspaces. I.e., not loud, open offices where everyone feels okay talking at full volume.

TeMPOraL 8y ago
Unfortunately, we're all doomed to seek workarounds for the time being. A "zone-friendly workspace" is an abstract concept that will show in productivity over long time. An open office is cheap right now, and will be cheaper as headcount increases. Then you have conflicting individual interests - programmers may dislike open floors, but sales people (apparently) love them, the bosses love them, and even among programmers there's always this likable extrovert who likes open floors and is vocal about it, ruining any chance of collective action. (It also seems people dislike open floor plans for different reasons. You don't like sounds. I don't mind sounds, I don't like feeling the presence of other people around me all the time.)
- amag 8y ago
  > It also seems people dislike open floor plans for different reasons. You don't like sounds. I don't mind sounds, I don't like feeling the presence of other people around me all the time. Alas, I suffer both but it's more socially acceptable to blame noise...
  - 8y ago

sbradford26 8y ago

I have the Sony WH1000XM2s and they work very well for an office. They have held up very well and give me noise cancellation, durability, and good sound quality. Sony just released the WH1000XM3s which are probably worth a look if you are in the market.

kaffein 8y ago

Personally not a fan of active noise cancellation as I dont like the feeling of it, plus the Bose are expensive and I mostly want to mask speech. I settled on noise isolation in the form of studio/dj headphones, that work well wearing for long periods with glasses on. Got these Beyerdynamic https://www.amazon.com/beyerdynamic-770-PRO-Studio-Headphone/dp/B0016MNAAI/ref=mp_s_a_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1539102058&sr=8-15-spons&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=beyerdynamic+dt770+pro&psc=1 https://www.amazon.com/beyerdynamic-770-PRO-Studio-Headphone... though paid around $130 instead. The 80 ohm version still works well with my phone without amp.

moftz 8y ago
I have the 250 ohm impedance versions, they work really well for office-like situations and I used them extensively in college for studying, sometimes not even listening to anything. However they really don't do a thing when on a plane or in a place with a lot of low frequency noise as passive noise cancellation doesn't work well for that. I ended up buying a cheap pair of active noise cancelling bluetooth headphones for traveling (which are pretty terrible at blocking voices/footsteps).

stcredzero 8y ago

Bose are great headphones for looking like you are an audiophile. If you aren't an audiophile. Some audiophiles might well think, "Why are you wearing those? You're not on an airplane!" I much prefer passive noise isolation. Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 80 Ohm is my recommendation, especially if you like bass. The 80 Ohm is much easier to drive, and you can even run them off your laptop in a pinch. The earpads are pretty good stock. Not everyone's head is compatible with big circles pressed up against them, however.

compumike 8y ago

I recently tried a coworker's QC35s and was impressed. I decided to buy the TaoTronics TT-BH22 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075CBHN9M/ https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075CBHN9M/ (about $60; don't get tricked by the "newer model of this item" link which is quite different) -- and I think they're a fantastic value with maybe 75% of the noise cancellation performance of the $300+ name-brand product. I use them basically all day in our open office. The active noise cancellation cuts down tremendously on low-frequency noise from air handlers and distant conversations. Would recommend. One downside is that when they're first turned on, I can faintly hear the switching power supply charging up the internal capacitors for the first few seconds. But I've been told that I have unusually good high-frequency hearing, and this basically goes away once it's charged, and is certainly not audible over music.

binarysolo 8y ago

Bose convert here after years of working in open offices, coding in cafes, flying, and what not. I have somewhat sensitive ears as a classical (hobbyist) musician and am always paranoid about hearing loss. My main pain points have been: 1. Distinct voices in conversation - I find that voices block voices, and instrumental music does a poorer job at this since it's maybe on different frequencies? I usually use a cafe-noise app like coffitivity to best stay focused. 2. Loud continuous noises a la plane - the Bose headphones basically reduce the noise by ~20db I think, which makes the experience overall more bearable. The main downside of noise-canceling headphones for some subset of people (alas me included) is that you get a weird pressure feeling when using them for prolonged periods of time. Apparently this is just us perceiving the change in ambient sound as a pressure difference so we feel like popping our ears. This basically happens in hour 1 of my usage. As for attrition - I've had my QC35's for about a year and they haven't had any issues yet. My old QC25's lasted for 3 years and still work fine but got donated to make way for my new bluetooth ones. https://smile.amazon.com/Bose-QuietComfort-Wireless-Headphones-Cancelling/dp/B0756CYWWD?_encoding=UTF8&ie=UTF8&keywords=qc35&pldnCmp=dls&pldnCrt=rdl&pldnNewCustomer=1&pldnSite=1&tag=sdnet-20&qid=1539101946&ref_=smi_ge_cnf_cnf_smi&s=electronics&sr=1-3 https://smile.amazon.com/Bose-QuietComfort-Wireless-Headphon... (note affiliatized Amazon donation link)

krupan 8y ago

I found moldable earplugs to be better than the foam ones. Something like this: https://earplugsonline.com/ https://earplugsonline.com/ Yo don't have to wait for them to expand like the foam ones. They also don't press on your glasses like over-the-ear headphones or ear protectors.

Raphmedia 8y ago

I have had good results by using this noise generator: https://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/cafeRestaurantNoiseGenerator.php https://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/cafeRestaurantNoiseGenerat... This site lets you customize the sounds that are generated. I crank the left ones (bass) up until it drowns the people that are talking around me. The first minutes are a bit confusing because you are in the middle of a stream of conversations that you are not able to understand. After a few minutes you brain blocks everything, even the real conversation around you. It even works with my regular earbuds. Sometimes, I put some mall/elevator music (the main artist for those is called Muzak) over it and I really feel like I'm working in a mall's Starbucks.

theptip 8y ago

> I noticed that most of their “noise-cancelling” was actually passive and consisted of good noise suppression from the good seal created by the headphone ear cups. This is absolutely not the case, you can turn the cancelling on and off while still wearing them and it makes a huge difference to background noise. Many years ago they had a demo where you stand in the store and they blast a low-pitched white noise roar (like a jet engine) at you, and have you turn the cancelling on and off -- it's something ridiculous like a 45db drop. I bought a pair on the spot. It's certainly the case that the cancelling is less effective at higher frequencies like voices than it is at low-pitch background noise, which does decrease their effectiveness in an office environment. I have mixed opinions about build quality -- the originals were solid, I wore these around town most days for a few years, and they are now about 6 years old and still working. The replacement cups that I bought were garbage and disintegrated within 6 months of only at-desk wearing. So perhaps construction is not what it used to be. Interestingly I heard that Bose patented the physically optimal geometry for noise-cancelling microphones, which would mean that their competitors are necessarily inferior at pure noise cancelling; don't know if that's true though. I also find it annoying that these headphones require batteries to function even if you aren't using the noise cancelling feature; makes it very unreliable for carrying around town, but not a problem at my office desk. Without knowing anything about the electronics involved, it seems like it would be much better to have it degrade to being non-noise-cancelling powered headphones, instead of bricks, when the battery dies.

bvy 8y ago
Pretty sure most of the current crop of ANC headphones can be wired in.

syntaxing 8y ago

I own a pair of the Sony Wh1000mx2/B. It was pretty pricey (I think $250ish?) when I bought about a year ago. They work flawlessly. I work in an open office and I think it's one of the peripherals I use the most out of anything, including my phone. No visible wear/damage or battery degradation so far. I highly recommend them! According to reviews the newer generation (Sony wh1000mx3)is even better than Bose's comfort and NC (significantly apparently).

sbradford26 8y ago
I bought I also have the WH1000xm2s and are very happy them but the new WH1000xm3s are tempting me.
- syntaxing 8y ago
  Same, I like the USB-C port since my phone is the same. I hear the new QN1 chip is pretty good on the XM3.
namirez 8y ago
I second the Sony WH1000XM2 or XM3. I owned both of them. In terms of noise cancelling I didn't notice much difference between them, except XM3 feels a bit more comfortable. Compared to Bose QC35, however, they were significantly superior. They were not even close.
- syntaxing 8y ago
  Yeah, my ear area gets a bit sweaty if I wear it too long. How is the charging for the XM3? It takes a "while" to go to 100% full for my XM2. I hear that the XM3 blocks voice a bit better too?
  - namirez 8y ago
    XM3 has a usb-c connector with fast charging, so it's better than XM2. Going to 100% takes a while though (maybe about 1 hour) but charging it for about 10 min is enough to get you going for the whole day. I charge mine about once a week. As for the noise cancelling, I haven't noticed much of a difference with XM2, but I'm not an audiophile anyway, so I'm not sure.

bitwize 8y ago

Headphones are NOT a solution to open office plans. When I wear headphones or earbuds, I can block out the sounds, but I become more sensitive to other non-sound cues indicating human activity around me such as movement seen out of the corner of my eye and even air currents. And these become more unnerving with the sound blocked out. And open office plans are never adopted to "foster collaboration". That's bullshit that management feeds you to mask the real reasons: 1) they save money by packing more employees in the same space 2) it's an easy-to-implement panopticon, letting management keep tabs on you easily

commandlinefan 8y ago
I keep reading how we're "in demand" and how we're hard to find and retain - and then we're treated as disposably as fast-food burger-flippers: you're lucky you even have a job, you ungrateful wretch, so you'd better not complain about all of your efforts to make it nearly impossible to get your job done.

jordache 8y ago

such an annoying title. Bose is not synonymous with noise cancelation. Noise cancelation is a technology independent of a brand

tomc1985 8y ago

It's funny that people are trying to hard to advance tech in active noise cancelling. The real secret is in the materials -- I don't know how but my favorite passive headphones knock out ambient noise better than most of the active cans (Bose or other) I've demoed at tech stores. Plus, they cost less and reproduce music more accurately (which may or may not be to everyone's liking)

fpgaminer 8y ago

I'm extremely sensitive to noise, so I've tried my fair share of solutions as well. In terms of absolutely blocking sound, the best I've found thus far are a pair of Etymotic in-ear headphones. I don't recall the model I have. They aren't noise cancelling; they're basically just earplug headphones. But they are really effectively. Just be sure you use them correctly. It's easy to think you just plop them in your ear like normal earbuds. You have to insert them like ear plugs. When done correctly they create a seal and the noise blocking is incredible, even compared to the big PPE ear equipment I have. Plus they look just like any other earbuds to other people, so you don't look like a dork :P Besides those, the Bose noise cancelling headphones are "okay". As others have mentioned, they're really poor at blocking nearby voices. If you're going to be listening to music, that's not much of an issue. But I tend to listen to podcasts, videos, etc, so there's nothing else extra to drown out what the headphones miss. And you're paying quite a premium for headphones that, in terms of build quality, sound quality, and features, are worth maybe 1/3 of the MSRP. Not much you can do about that; Bose holds patents on the best noise cancelling. On a slight tangent. My sensitivities to noise have led me to some ... interesting solutions over the years living in noisy apartments. Hearing people's TVs, talking, etc through walls really bothers me. The solution I came up with was to pump white noise through a subwoofer, turned down really low. It creates a very subtle, low frequency rumble. It's just loud enough to drown out the stuff that bleeds through walls, but quiet enough that you forget it's there. By using just the subwoofer you target the majority of frequencies that can make it through walls, without adding the annoying "hiss" of regular white noise machines. For me that was really effective for dealing with the day-to-day noise of apartments.

wishinghand 8y ago
I have a pair of Grado earbuds that create a seal similar to Etymotics, but not as deep. Often times people will stand next to me and speak to me and I won't hear them (music at a moderate volume). I imagine your Etymotics are even better. The only reason I didn't get Etymotics is because my ears are super waxy and I didn't want to clean them every usage. If you have the models I think you do, they're as expensive as the Bose QC35 headphones. However, Etys are easier to pack, have a better sound quality, and don't need batteries.

twotwotwo 8y ago

I got the big Leight headphones a while back and more recently QC35's. My wife happened to get the older model MPOW adapter in the post; it broke with the blue-flashing-light issue that appears in some user reviews--she replaced it with a Yeti, which worked. Also, MPOW has newer models that might not have the issue and at least one reviewer said MPOW replaced their blue-flashing-light unit. Seems accurate that the Leight things' passive isolation, combined with playing most any sound through them, should make background speech indistinct enough to be less distracting. Generally, like the post says, ANC is great at quieting deep rumbles (cars, trains, etc.), and physical isolation is better at blocking higher pitches (speech and higher noise). (Also ++ to the comment saying it's a shame many folks have to make up for employers imposing open offices, but only so much a single worker can do about that.) What the Bose have going for them are 1) ANC seems like a legit win for train or plane trips, 2) I wanted a BT headset (including a mic for phone calls) and the QC35s provide that, 3) the QC35's are decent, though not audiophile-level, as headphones. And I'd heard lots of praise for them from acquaintances, which made me hopeful there'd be no unpleasant surprises. The QC35's are doing the job. I don't know if some cheaper/different arrangement would also have done the job. ANC seems great when you want it, but for me that's not every day; maybe I could have gone w/something cheaper, or two setups similar to the blog post, one for work/calls and the other for the occasional noisy trip.

woolvalley 8y ago

Noise cancelling cannot cancel out voices. It's designed to cancel out predictable lower frequency sounds such as fans, A/C system fans, engine rumbles and jet engine noise. The noise cancelling system has an inherent delay in processing the sound it's listening to output an opposing waveform. Since voices are not predictable, outputting a waveform after a slight delay will just cause it to be out of sync and cancel out nothing. Maybe some ML system could do this in the future, but it would have to be absolutely perfect to not sound distractingly strange at times. Fans on the other hand are predictable, so you can output an opposing waveform despite the processing delay because you can predict how the waveform will act after your processing delay and keep them in phase.

ju-st 8y ago
What amount of delay is acceptable?
- dta5003 8y ago
  In order to effectively cancel, it would have to be less than the time difference between the sound being detected/processed by the headphones and the sound being detected by your ears. So, roughly the time it takes sound to travel at most an inch?
TeMPOraL 8y ago
There's an interesting twist on the active cancelling idea for stopping voices. You embrace the delay, increase it to ~200 msec, and just play the normal waveform out loud. The result is uncomfortable and will make the speaker shut up. https://arxiv.org/vc/arxiv/papers/1202/1202.6106v1.pdf https://arxiv.org/vc/arxiv/papers/1202/1202.6106v1.pdf

endergen 8y ago

These have higher DB cancellation: https://www.amazon.com/3M-Earmuff-Protectors-Hearing-Protection/dp/B00009LI4K/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1539112187&sr=8-8&keywords=construction+headphones&dpID=51fbuP-CLzL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch https://www.amazon.com/3M-Earmuff-Protectors-Hearing-Protect... I use them, but without audio. Just for pure silence, then use my Bose headphones when I want to actually hear anything?

KaiserPro 8y ago

I've done the same thing with the sync. the only difference is that I have hot glued the bluetooth adaptor on the right side of the head band. I have a small 3.5mm cable that links the adaptor to the headphones. Proper ear monitors are the holy grail, as they are comfortable (if you have your ear cast/pour done properly) and should have >28 db of noise reduction. Alas I don't have a proper cast anymore, its about £200 to get it done properly. The problem with noise cancelling headphones is they are great for white noise/whirs/traffic, they are terrible at blocking voices. However I don't have music playing in the office. I just use the ear defenders as attenuators. Its only on the commute do I listen to stuff. The sync only knocks off 25db, you can get ear plugs/defenders that reduce noise by 34db. Some of the howard leight squidgy earplugs are super comfortable, soft enough to sleep in.

mygo 8y ago

Aren't ear-plugs noise cancelling? What if they just put tiny speakers inside ear-plugs and bypassed the whole active noise cancelling component?

Erwin 8y ago
That's pretty much the venerable Etymotic which also have the best isolation as per that site: https://www.rtings.com/headphones/tests/isolation/noise-isolation-cancellation-passive-active https://www.rtings.com/headphones/tests/isolation/noise-isol... For me, they're not comfortable for more than 3 or so hours while I can have either The QC30 or HD800S on all day.
diffeomorphism 8y ago
> Aren't ear-plugs noise cancelling? No, they are isolating. Canceling is an active process using destructive interference of sound waves. Since it is a different mechanism you have quite different properties. For example size/material/fit on ear have different constraints and you can selectively filter out different frequencies (many noise canceling headphones allow you to let voices through for example, or sirens/warning noises).

jpalomaki 8y ago

Article links to Ultraphones, - high isolation headphones. ”UltraPhones are SONY 7506 Studio Monitor headphone components mounted in a comfortable 29 db passive isolation hearing protection muff.” https://www.gk-music.com/product/ultraphones/ https://www.gk-music.com/product/ultraphones/ Any experience on these? I’ve been using the BeyerDynamics mentioned in the thread, but I’m not fully satisfied with the isolation.

wilsonnb3 8y ago
I’ve never used them but I would never recommend the Sony MDR7506 to anyone, they sound awful to me.
- jpitz 8y ago
  They're ( they, the MDR 7506 ) kind of a industry standard in professional editing and mixing settings, not to mention as monitors. They sound pretty good to a lot of people. I 'grew up' on them, perhaps I'm biased. I've got a pair kicking around that are over 20 years old. Absolutely, get the cans that sound good to you. Get whatever sounds good to you, doesn't matter what they are. But, please, give a listen to as many different cans as you are able to. Speakers and headphones are terribly, terribly subjective.

13415 8y ago

I've tried brown noise a while ago and it certainly didn't work for me. Being stressed out by a constant background noise is not the same as silence.

dogma1138 8y ago

A cheaper option is any type of over the ear hearing protection and in ear headphones if you want to listen to music. But neat none the less.

bunderbunder 8y ago
That's pretty much exactly what option #2 from TFA is. The author quotes a higher price, but that's only because the recommended pair of headphones costs more than the entirety of the first option.

marshray 8y ago

Having gone through a couple pairs of the Bose QC35, I am currently happy with the Sennheiser PXC 550. The noise cancellation is comparable and I feel like the sound quality is just a tiny bit better. But perhaps the best part is they protrude less than the Bose, making it easier to listen while lying down.

sevensor 8y ago

Drummers have an interesting perspective on this problem: http://www.drummerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=114491 http://www.drummerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=114491 The linked thread gets into some details that are irrelevant for programming, unless you use a click track to time your keystrokes. However, a lot of the same considerations apply, particularly the need for really strong attenuation, and the same discussions are had regarding in-ear versus over-ear monitors.

JohnBooty 8y ago

This guy has a lot of misconceptions. > Bose are great headphones for looking like you are > an audiophile. As far as I can tell – from talking > to friends who are recording music in studios – nobody > uses them professionally. Listening to music at home != listening for professional use. Most common pro studio headphones are Sony MDR 7506's. They are pretty enjoyable for home use too but (like all studio headphones) are a little thin on the bass. Leaving aside the "audiophile" term since it means different things to different people. Home headphones have bass that is typically either moderately boosted (as in the Bose QC15/25/35) or ridiculously boosted (some Beats headphones, especially the early models) That doesn't mean they're "bad" because his "friends who are recording music in studios" don't use them. You just can't realistically use them for creating professional audio. > They do a pretty good job with steady constant droning > noises (like the HVAC fans) but any higher frequency > sound – like people talking – is left uncancelled. Not true. High frequency sound isn't attenuated nearly as much as low frequency sounds, but is pretty effectively blocked by the Bose if you have any audio whatsoever playing, even at low volumes. > (i.e. they break apart within a few months of daily use) Wow. I know lots and lots of people who own them and they typically last years. What's this guy doing to his headphones? > you need to purchase expensive replacement parts for them. I’ve > replaced the ear cups on them twice so far and for the last pair > I’ve been very careful not to damage them. The problem is they > come undone even if I barely use them and at $30 a pair they are > expensive!!! Ear pads last a year or two of daily use. Never had them "come undone." BTW when I say "daily use" I don't mean abusive daily use. If you're transporting them you can't just throw them into a bag or they will wear out/break sooner. Of course that's true for most headphones. As far as expensive replacements, there are great $15 unofficial pads on eBay, they are indistinguishable from the OEM pads to me. > I noticed that most of their “noise-cancelling” was actually > passive and consisted of good noise suppression from the good > seal created by the headphone ear cups. This guy's really living on another planet. There's a very significant difference when you flip the switch from passive to active. > Music after a while gets tiring – especially when I’m in my > 8th hour of listening through emotionally taxing soundtracks > like Two Steps from Hell "I listened to emotionally taxing music for eight hours straight and I found it emotionally taxing" Cool insight! > I got myself a pair of [actual passive noise canceling headphones > like you'd find at a hardware store] In all seriousness, if serious noise cancellation is what you need, yeah -- it's true. A cheap pair of passive noise cancellers from a hardware store will block more sound than a Bose. It's what I wear when using my table saw or other power tools. They are much, much larger than the Bose though. If you're cool with that, then you're set. Lest anybody wonder if I'm some kind of secret Bose operative, I will also say that Sony's latest noise canceling headphones have really closed the gap in my opinion. Of course, maybe I could be some kind of secret double triple agent working for multiple Big Headphone entities.

kornork 8y ago

Has anyone here successfully lobbied their management to get rid of the open office plan? A good game plan for that seems much more valuable than headphone recommendations.

ndh2 8y ago

> NOTE 2: Depending on the shape of your head the head band of the earmuffs can make the crown of your head hurt – though this is not limited to earmuffs as may headphones have this undesirable feature. I tied a piece of memory foam that I salvaged from an old mattress to the head band, using two strips of velcro tape. Looks ridiculous, works really well.

meatmanek 8y ago

I swear by the the 3m X5A headphones[1] (which have 4.8, 8.1, and 12.4dB better attenuation at 125Hz, 250Hz, and 500Hz than the Leight Sync headphones in the article, according to their datasheet[2]), plus the Koss KSC75 headphones[3], with the clip removed and shoved inside, per [4].(I've since added a little wedge of foam behind each of the headphones to better keep them in place.) The better attenuation at low frequencies makes these really good at blocking human voices, which is the thing that I find most distracting in an open office. With even a little bit of music, I can barely tell that people are having a conversation 10 feet from me. The headphone cables can sometimes break the seal, but I find shifting them usually fixes it. Besides, the noise that sneaks in is high-frequency stuff like key clicks, not distracting voices. The downsides are: these are extremely large cans (2.5-3" deep), the KSC75s have a pretty short cable, and if you drop your cans or yank the cable, the headphones will tend to pop out. 1. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CPCHBCQ https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CPCHBCQ 2. https://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/845196O/3m-peltor-x-series-passive-hearing-protection-earmuff-technical-data-sheet.pdf https://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/845196O/3m-peltor-x-seri... 3. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006B486K https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006B486K 4. https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/5bwu48/homemade_noise_isolating_headphones_p/ https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/5bwu48/homemade...