How noise cancelling headphones drastically improved our productivity at Spindle | Hacker News Reader

How noise cancelling headphones drastically improved our productivity at Spindle

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9 pointspeternator10 comments

Been using noise cancelling headphones for the last four years and they make working in a open office a lot better.

I just wish people wouldn't tap on the shoulder when I have headphones on. It's a sign of "I'm working on something, go away".

Btw. NC-headphones are not complete solution as they can pass nearby human speech through quite clearly.

That's why the music on top of NC is great but there's times when one doesn't want to listen music and then some white noise or waterfall sounds can be really, really useful.

"I just wish people wouldn't tap on the shoulder when I have headphones on. It's a sign of "I'm working on something, go away"."

True, we have a convention that you - unless it's really important - don't tap someone on the shoulder if he/she is 'plugged in', but mention him in Slack. That way one can seriously stay focused.

"Btw. NC-headphones are not complete solution as they can pass nearby human speech through quite clearly."

My Bose QC20's actually filter out speech really well, only high frequencies can be heared a bit, but not enough to be distracted by imho :-)

I'm using AKG's N60 NC's and they are much better regarding nearby high pitch speech than the older AKG models (495 and 490) but without music/white noise there may be some speech coming through.

I'm on my third pair of Bose QC now. Somehow I keep breaking them (noise cancelling stopped working, twice). Maybe it's because I sleep with them on and contort the cords? I also wish the design was a bit easier on the hands. Despite that they've been worth it.

Wow, are you using the over-ear (QC25) or in-ears (QC20)? While most of my colleagues are using the over-ears, I'm using the in-ears and I am really curious about the durability of the whole thing. The cable going from the 'noise cancelling unit' to your pc/phone feels a bit thin, and you'll have to bend it to put it in it's pouch. Doesn't feel right.

Overall both versions feels pretty durable, but with you already on your 3rd pair, I'm curious how this will work out for us!

QC20i. I'd like to think I'm unlucky. Also, like I said, I wear them in my sleep and the cords are contorted in the morning.

But I can't live without them now, so if I have to I'll pay for a new pair every year. I'd really rather not though... I'm eagerly waiting for the newer models. Any improvement would be good.

I don't put them in the pouch. Too much hassle. I just bundle them and put them in my pocket.

If it comforts, I'm running my third pair of AKGs in 4 years. First 490, then 495 and now N60 NC. First got 490 warranty replaced with 495 and when they broke, bought N60 as I still prefer AKG sound quality over Boses and the NC got much better with this model.

In both 490 and 495 the problem wasn't the NC or audio or cabling but the cursed plastics. They just gave up on normal day-to-day use. I did use them really carefully and without any abuse :/

Are there any cheaper alternatives that work (almost) as well?

Colleagues have used AudioTechnica NC headphones, but were actually blown away by the amount of noise that is being cancelled on the Bose Quiet Comfort's. Not sure if cheaper alternatives can do that too :)

I have some harman/kardon brand in-ear noise cancelling headphones that I got for cheap. They work reasonably well.

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