Noise cancelling headphones
The noise at work is practically impossible to work with so a decent pair of headphones is needed. My current ones are too uncomfortable when worn for long periods and I have to listen to music louder than I'd like to be (for the sake of my hearing) to try and drown out the din.

Can anybody recommend a pair before I have a breakdown at work?

:edit: If they're comfortable to wear with glasses that'd be a massive plus.
( Captain V, Tue 19 May 2009, 14:01, 18 replies, latest was 16 years ago)

I recently bought some Klipsch ones off Amazon.
Does what it says on the tin.
( girlinthehole, Tue 19 May 2009, 14:09, Reply)

Depends what you want
If you don't mind wearing big over ear ones, Sony have an excellent pair. A tad price at £350 though. If you're going to for something a bit smaller, have a look at Sennheiser's range. The more expensive models also have great sound quality and cancel well, and you can find a pair that will suit your needs. I have a pair I use when flying. Also, the difference in cancellation between 75% and 80% reduction is surprisingly large. That's all dependent on your ears though.
(Potty Jag har smör i min rumpspringa, Tue 19 May 2009, 14:11, Reply)

Sennheiser's range are pretty good
/did some work for them in the past
( Noeli overtheshoulderboulderholderthingstraplatchboobs, Tue 19 May 2009, 14:20, Reply)

Just get a pair of
Industrial-grade Ear Defenders and listen to your normal in-ear music-pipes inside them.
( Cawl, Tue 19 May 2009, 14:12, Reply)

I use some Sennheiser HD215s
Not strictly noise cancelling, but are big enough to cover the whole ear and therefore block out a lot of chatter.

They're also super comfortable, and have a lovely balanced sound.
( Labia Majora You keep on talking but it makes no sense at all, Tue 19 May 2009, 14:19, Reply)

Kill everyone in your office
aww sweet sweet silence
( TGB checking Off Topic is still shit at, Tue 19 May 2009, 14:22, Reply)

I'd love to do this
Some people would be left alive and kept in a pen outside though. I could poke them with sticks.
( Captain V, Tue 19 May 2009, 14:30, Reply)

Get some skull candy ones
They're expensive, but worth it
( fuck shit up the best you never had, Tue 19 May 2009, 14:31, Reply)

These look cool too
Thanks.
( Captain V, Tue 19 May 2009, 14:36, Reply)

Sennheiser
Seems like I'll be looking at these guys. Not really fussed about the size although anything that isn't a bud I'll have to try on with glasses.
( Captain V, Tue 19 May 2009, 14:32, Reply)

I had a pair of
Senheisers (can't spell it, oh well), that I used to wear for DJing.
They were awesome.
( Cawl, Tue 19 May 2009, 14:34, Reply)

I use those £30ish Sinehouzers, they're not proper 'noise cancelling', but I think they work just as good at doing that.
It's the first time I've spent any kind of money on earbuds/headphones, and now I can't see why someone would spend loads on an MP3 player then use the cheap headphones that come with them;.
( G/PP 💩💩💩💩💩&#128, Tue 19 May 2009, 14:37, Reply)

I've got Sennheisers that I use for listening at home and recording
they are good

we're no longer allowed to use earphones at work though. really fucks me off as I am clearly more productive if I don't have to listen to the morons in my open plan office of 50 people.

fortunately I can work from home sometimes, so I'm currently sat in bed with my laptop listening to very loud music.

and I've almost got my work done for the afternoon already
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Tue 19 May 2009, 14:39, Reply)

I remeber you saying
I'd be quitting if they made such a rule here. Oddly I can't work in silence either (focusing in exams is impossible) but if the noise is something I can make sense of I really struggle to concentrate.

I could sit in the middle of a busy london street and work more effectively than I can in this office.
( Captain V, Tue 19 May 2009, 14:44, Reply)

I'm hoping that it might get overturned
other than this stupid rule it's a good job unfortunately.
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Tue 19 May 2009, 15:03, Reply)

Sony
I've used differing models of Sony in-ear headphones for years, they're all of the awesome and a decent pair of "noise reducing" ones can be got for something like £30 upwards.
(b3tamax Mate, you're fat and I'll throw you in the river, Tue 19 May 2009, 14:39, Reply)

Not noise-cancelling but...
I'm currently using these and they pretty much mean I can't hear a thing.

They're bloody comfortable, can wear them for hours whereas normal in-ear 'phones make my ears ache, and the sound quality is ace too.

Some hiss when I connect them to my mac, but I get the impression that's from the mac itself.

Sennheiser CX550 - can't go wrong with sennheiser.
(Shippy likes linebreaks and doesn't care what you think, Tue 19 May 2009, 15:26, Reply)

^^^ All these people are wrong! ^^^ ;-)
The correct answer is of course the Etymotic ER4 series of canalphones.

www.productwiki.com/etymotic-er4s/

www.etymotic.com/

Excellent sound quality and noise supression without destroying the sound quality unlike all active noise cancelling systems.

Expensive but oh so worth it. The ER6 are also good if you can't afford the ER4s.

I'll bring mine along to the next bash along with a fresh pair of eartips if you'd like a listen.
(bill, Tue 19 May 2009, 19:28, Reply)