Work a graphic art job; have to make lots of little decisions during the day.

Have an office where there is constant chatter, and like most of the people here, I'm terribly susceptible to distraction.

Wonder if anyone has found success thru a set of noise cancelling headphones.

I do like pushing in at the bottom of my earlobes, but that ties up the hands. But the ability to focus with soundlessness is stunning...

I have a pair of "Skull Candy" headphones. They have three "plugs" you can interchange to fit to your ears, and they do cancel out a lot of the noise, not all, but do a good job. They also really enhance the base, and have a volume adjustment on the cord. After several other pairs, these are my favs.

I have the Bose QC3 headphones. They work great, but can be a bit pricey :-(

I'm sensitive to noise too. I use earplugs which helps. Sometimes it's not enough though. Maybe you could get a white noise CD to drown out the chatter.

I agree with asdfasdf: Bose are excellent & also $$$$$

good luck

tc
mctavish23
(Robert)

i was recently introduced to "sound isolating" headphones, which work on a different principle to "noise canceling" headphones!

To be honest, the jury is still out on the decision of which is better, however they are effective in reducing outside noise, they do not require batteries which mean they are lighter and more importantly, they are cheaper!

worth checking out and giving both types a road test

Not sure if you are looking for headphones or earmuffs. Good noise-cancelling headphones (like the Bose ones recommended above) are going to be expensive - there are cheaper versions out there, but I haven't found any that work that well.

If you are looking for something cheap, good noise attenuation earmuffs are another option. They are much cheaper and can be found all over the internet (work safety and shooting sites). Here's a link to the ones I have - they work great.
http://www.envirosafetyproducts.com/product/Bilsom-Leightning-L3-Earmuffs-hearing-protection.html


They helped me during law school and studying for the bar exam - at school in the library, or at home when my girlfriend wanted to watch tv or listen to music. I still use them when I want to read and she wants to watch tv. You may look a little silly wearing them (like you should be signaling planes or handling baggage at the airport), but they work great.

Yeah, unfortunately, I veer on the self-conscious side, so those earmuffs are probably going to consume more of my attention, sort of antithetical to the main idea.
Thanks though.

FrazzleDazzle,

Would you have a link to the model of 'phones you're talking about? Or just the model #? They (SkullCandy) seem to have a lot of different options.

I use foam earplugs with Bose QC3 earphones on top of that. Works pretty well. I also face away from the door, have the blinds pulled, and shut down email for most of the day.

B

I have these: http://www.warehousedeals.com/AudioTechnica-ATHANC7-QuietPoint-Active-NoiseCancelling-Headphones/M/B000OMKR8E.htm?utm_campaign=froogle&utm_medium=organic&utm_source=froogle

Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7 QuietPoint Active Noise-Cancelling Headphones
and have tried Bose... but this is by far better. I have bad tinnitus, specially from the meds, and these do a GREAT job. And it's WAY cheaper.

Most of the time I don't even turn on the noice cancellation...they are that GOOD!

Sennheiser HD-280 Professional Headphones

http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HD-280-Pro-Professional/dp/B000065BPB/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1212791393&sr=1-12


No batteries, and no constant hissing sound. Many audiophiles talk about them and most prefer them over bose.


here is a site that just talks about headphones:
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/


A step up would be:

Denon AHD2000 High Performance Over-Ear Headphones

http://www.amazon.com/Denon-AHD2000-Performance-Over-Ear-Headphones/dp/B000MVEC0Q/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1212791753&sr=1-2 (http://www.amazon.com/Denon-AHD2000-Performance-Over-Ear-Headphones/dp/B000MVEC0Q/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1212791753&sr=1-2)


the quality on both sets of headphones is excellent. once you hear music through a good set of cans your standard for sound quality will likely increase.

i own a pair of Sennheiser HD-555 Audiophile Headphones (entry level). they are 'open headphones' which let the sound out, resulting in a more true and balanced sound. the way the recording artist intended it to be. listening to music i can easily tell if the artist recorded at a good quality studio or not, and i often don't use an equalizer because the sound is so true and beautiful by itself.

now i have an appreciation for jazz, classical, and even sound effects in movies. this is added to the wide range of music i like already.

the amazing thing is that a $200 pair of cans and a proper amp, can sound like a $2000 - $10,000 stereo/surround system.

have fun :)

I use Shure earbud headphones with my iPod. I initially bought them for sleeping, I love to drift to sleep with Enya. lol

They also come in handy when I'm trying to do housework or something, and need to tune out the "Mom, can I ...." distractions. When inserted firmly, I hear nothing, but the music.

I also can insert them loosely and still hear important things like "Mom, I caught the couch on fire..."

Here's a link to the ones like I have

http://www.amazon.com/Shure-E3c-n-Sound-Isolating-Earphones/dp/B000E5DLIE/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1212808505&sr=1-4

I have never heard of the other two brands mentioned above. But I did buy a pair of Bose headphones last year. I think they are nothing short of fantastic! They do need a "AAA" a battery, an alkaline lasts for a very long long time. But there NO "hissing." Somebody mentioned they are expensive, but I believe you get what you pay for. Not only that but they give you 12 moths to pay- Interest 0%. I am a drummer and when I put them on and turn on the Lexar MP3 player that they gave me for free, I can hear the music great and believe it or not I can not hear myself playing the drums! I don't think $325.00 in twelve payments is too much for this type of performance.

I've tried several noise canceling headphones. One thing I found out is that the cheap ones either don't do anything, or make things worse.

There's a lot of engineering behind noise suppression.

First of all you need to have a tight fit around your ears. If sound gets in at the sides then noise cancellation is useless. You might as well be wearing socks on your ears.... wait that's actually better.

Secondly, active suppression relies on a sampling the sound/noise coming in via a microphone, inverting the wave, and playing back out again. The inversion does the canceling. Unfortunately this isn't 100% even in the top quality headphones. The cheaper headphones actually make it worse! You can end up with a doubling effect inside your head. Even if the error is slightly off.

Thirdly, there's some sounds that just cannot be eradicated. These are mostly deep reverberating sounds. Sounds that you can feel. The deeper the sound/noise, the bigger the speaker you need to, (invert and), cancel it out. Most headphones just aren't able to cope with the deeper sounds. The same with higher frequencies. Check the frequency range of the headphones.

Fourthly, the active cancellation can get it wrong, because the manufacturers work on the average heads size and ear construction. For some they just won't work, or, (in my case), end up with a horrible headache right in the center of my head.

Having said all that, quite often simple earplugs are the best thing to have around. The ones swimmers wear that are fitted to your ear. A little expensive, but worth it. This is what I use nowadays. No batteries. You can have several, (in case you lose them/forget to bring them home from work). Fantastic! Don't get the 'general purpose' ones - you'll end up with sore ears. Go to a swimming shop, and get some fitted for your ear.