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Made in gb
Dakka Veteran





I have been able to work from home for something like 18 months now but soon I am going to have to go back to my awful, noisy office. I have wondered for a while now if noise-cancelling headphones might help to block out people in the background but I don't entirely understand how they work and all the information for them is confusing.

My ideal situation is one where the headphones are actively working to electronically cancel out any and all background noise. Some advertise 'active noise cancellation', which I assume is that? Does that imply that ones that just say 'noise cancellation' are doing nothing more than physically blocking my ears? Some others say 'noise-cancelling microphone', which I assume is of no benefit to the person wearing them? Some that advertise active noise cancellation are not the over-ear type, which surely cannot do nearly as good a job of blocking out sound? Also, do they just kind of generally cancel out low background chatter or do they work against things like phones ringing an intolerable whistling colleague?

Does anyone have any specific recommendations? I have the following criteria:

*Absolutely must be wired. I am not dealing with recharging garbage that will go dead after a year.
*Should block out as much background sound as possible.
*Must look halfway acceptable in a work environment. No cat ears.

Thanks!

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Made in gb
Longtime Dakkanaut





I have a pair of noise cancelling headphones. I understand they were at the higher end of what was available when I got them (they were a gift).

They don’t stop all noise or people talking/phones ringing etc. Think of them more like ear defenders. They will block out background hubbub and white noise and other things like voices, phones ringing will be muffled rather than stopped completely. If you have the noise cancellation turned on while playing music, you won’t hear much of anything else going on around you.

For what it’s worth I wear mine instead of ear defenders when cutting the grass and listen to podcasts/audio books or music and I can’t hear the lawn mower. I travel a fair bit for work and the main reason I got them was for on aeroplanes, where they are excellent for cutting out the background engine noise during a flight.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2021/10/20 09:37:29


 
   
Made in au
Grizzled Space Wolves Great Wolf





Active noise cancelling means the speakers make noise designed to interfere with the noise around you. They don't just block out sound, they create a counter-wave to try and eliminate it.

They vary wildly in quality, some will drown out damned near everything, others won't. I haven't looked at what's new in the past couple of years, but a few years ago Bose were the industry leaders of active noise cancellation (and I don't say that lightly, because in general I think Bose are overpriced gimmicky garbage, lol).

I know you said you didn't want wireless, but most of the guys at my work got the wireless Bose ones because they were the best at the time for noise cancelling. I never jumped on board because I also appreciate sound quality, where Sennheiser has been my go-to.
   
Made in gb
Joined the Military for Authentic Experience





On an Express Elevator to Hell!!

AllSeeingSkink has said pretty much what I was going to say.

If you want effective noise cancellation, short of wearing a space suit helmet and surrounding yourself with a vacuum, something with active noise cancellation is the way to go. I would try and get to a good hi-fi shop that carries a range and try some, you will not believe how effective they are. I regularly wore them on train commutes; gakker directly behind you doing business meetings at 100db, crying babies, all gets reduced to a distant background murmur (it doesn't cut it out completely). They are also very good on flights and things like that, cutting the engine roar down to a minimum. Of course, it goes without saying you need to be careful if you wear them out on the street and step out onto a road etc. but you can turn the cancellation on and off with a switch.

I have a pair of Bose, they were expensive but very good. You do need to charge them if using wirelessly as the noise cancellation tech uses power, but I generally use them for about a week or so without needing to charge. When you do just wack in a micro-USB. The sound quality is good also, not up to the level of the audiophile headphones I own, but pretty good and the closed backs make for strong base/treble and an intense (if a bit tiring) audio quality.

I haven't kept up to speed on other releases recently; but I have seen Sony, Sennheiser etc. have released their own versions now which I assume have the same technology as the Bose ones. As a rule I would normally stick clear of Apple or Beats headphones unless you are really into the brand and want the fashion headphones, you are just paying for the name and not the audio quality. Finally, I would just have a read of some hi-fi websites and some reviews; like anything it's generally a sliding scale of features and audio as well as build quality that you get for the money you spend.

This message was edited 2 times. Last update was at 2021/10/20 10:38:22


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Made in au
Grizzled Space Wolves Great Wolf





 Pacific wrote:
Finally, I would just have a read of some hi-fi websites and some reviews; like anything it's generally a sliding scale of features and audio as well as build quality that you get for the money you spend.


I agree, there's a lot of audio-nerds out there so finding comprehensive information on all but the most obscure equipment isn't usually difficult. Read some reviews, but remember it's subjective, so try and find reviews which are comparative in nature or the same person has reviewed the different options you are interested in.
   
Made in gb
Dakka Veteran





Interesting, thanks for the information

I should add that I mostly listen to podcasts rather than music and I really can't tell the difference between good and bad audio quality,

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Made in gb
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No problem! There are a couple of decent options on this list. I would probably go with either the Audio Technicas or Sennheisers if you are after a good pair that won't break the bank, but I'm sure any in this list will do providing they have the active noise cancellation technology. https://www.techradar.com/uk/deals/cheap-noise-canceling-headphone-deals

Yes for Podcasts its probably not worth focussing too much on the audio quality. Although the noise cancelling will definitely come into its own if you want to follow conversation, and normally a good audio quality will come with the better build quality, features etc.


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Made in au
Grizzled Space Wolves Great Wolf





 Bilge Rat wrote:
Interesting, thanks for the information

I should add that I mostly listen to podcasts rather than music and I really can't tell the difference between good and bad audio quality,


A big question is always how much money do you have to spend (or are willing to spend).

I guess the take home message is even if you don't care about good or bad audio quality, because the noise cancelling is "active" there can also be a lot of variation in how well it works.

If you read some reviews you might find that some noise cancelling headphones work better at combating continuous noise (e.g. jet engines on a plane, a noisy air conditioner in your office, the background noise of a workshop, and so on) and others might work better for reducing voices (a noisy office for example).

Unfortunately I'm too out of date to know what specific sets to go for now, but I know some of the cheaper Sennheiser options a few years ago were okay but didn't match up to the Bose options in terms of noise cancelling, and I know that because I normally favour Sennheiser (from an audiophile perspective). I really don't know what the landscape is now, but yeah, look for comparative reviews which compare the benchmark to ones you are interested in so you can get an idea of how you might be compromising and if you're willing to live with those compromises.

Outside of the "active" group, looking at options that seek to block out sound rather than actively cancelling it, well fitting earbuds do a great job and blocking a large amount of noise. I used to use some Klipsch S4 ear buds when on flights and they have a silicone cup that seals onto your ear and blocks a large portion of noise, especially if you're listening to something else in them. The sound quality was mediocre through (I found them tinny compared to my other admittedly much more expensive headphones) and over long periods of time they'd get uncomfortable, so I'd have to take them out occasionally to let my ears breathe. But I know other folk who wear the same set all day and don't have my comfort issues. A friend of mine said he got a pair of earbuds with custom made cups moulded to his ear which were both super comfortable (at least that's what he said!) and blocked out most noise.

EDIT: A word of warning if you want to go down the earbud path, wearing earbuds that plug your ears well for long periods of time can increase your risk of ear infections, it's not a problem for most people but if you're already prone to ear infections I'd steer clear of them. The same is true of ear protection style ear plugs that you jam in your ears, they can cause problems for some people if left in for long periods.

I have also used closed cans designed to block out external noise without actively cancelling it, but the ones I've used weren't very comfortable. They clamped very tightly on the head in order to block out noise and had quite stiff foam, which made long sessions of wearing them difficult, the pressure would give me a headache after a while.

This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at 2021/10/21 02:44:31


 
   
Made in no
Longtime Dakkanaut






Yea the key important info is, all of them reduce background sounds, they do not eliminate them, and they are ment to be used with a sound source to increase the effect of the background sound reduction.

If you dont use a sound source you will hear a nonstop whitenoice. I own the boose cq25 and 35, and they are ment to be used in the everyday life and agaisnt low frequency noice. the 25 is cable only and using 1x AAA batt, the 35 is usb charged only and bluetooth but it does have an exit for 3.5mm jack. the 35 allso has modes that amplifyes the sorounding area around you and toutch controlls on the right ear housing.

In terms of noice reduction, i cant hear any difference between the models, but then again, i have a weak tinnitus on both ears.
They realy help in situations like community transport, or if the apartment over you is playing loud music or if you have a open office enviroment at work. car traffic noice is reduced by about 50% when you are walking on a sidewalk if you dont have any soundsource.

But none of the models is comfy to wear over long time, when you pass the 2Hour point, you will feel discomfort.

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