aaahhhhh

[moominmolly]

I finally brought the noise-cancelling headphones in to work and it's amazing what a difference it makes. I'm in my own little world, now, and I don't have to listen to the constant conversations all around my head...

Comments

[srd.livejournal.com]

brand? model? price?

Re:

[moominmolly.livejournal.com]

Hm -- Sony, MDR-NC20, price unknown because they're borrowed from alanj. Sony (http://www.sel.sony.com/SEL/consumer/ss5/generic/accessories/noisecancelingheadphones/index.shtml) says they're $200, though, for reference. They're not perfect by any means, but they're SO much better than nothing that it's pretty cool. The strangest thing for me is not being able to hear myself type.

[srd.livejournal.com]

hmm, ok.
so in what ways are they not perfect/what are the drawbacks that one should be aware of, and the marketing droids won't be likely to tell you?

Re:

[moominmolly.livejournal.com]

Hm. Well, they're pretty darn good but I can still hear through them. I don't know much about noise cancellation, so maybe Alan can chime in here with what exactly is better about the Bose (http://www.bose.com/noise_reduction/personal/qc_headset/) headphones. It's fun to wear them, even without music playing, and switch the noise cancellation off and on. Wow - it's like things just suddenly get more distant and ignorable.

[srd.livejournal.com]

Well, the reason I ask, is because I live, work and sleep in a room with at least 2, often 3 or 4 computers running. And the whining of the fans and harddisks is slowly getting on my nerves. It's easily ignoreable, usually, but in some cases, like when I want to go to sleep or I need to concentrate, it's as if the humming suddenly siddles up to me, humming and whining just for me.
While I found a way to ignore it when going to sleep, it still gets on my nerves when I need to concetrate.
Already working on getting the machines as quiet as absolutely possible, though. Now, if only that Via C3 CPU would arrive, I'd already have one loud CPU fan less to worry about. The harddrives spin down as much as possible. Hrm, I'm rambling. I guess the real question is: does it work for objectively 'quiet' noises too?

Re:

[moominmolly.livejournal.com]

Yes. In fact, it seems to work best on that sort of noise. All of the general low-hum noises around me (fans, etc.) are very well cancelled.

[alanj]

Disadvantages:

1) The sound quality is good, but not what you'd expect from $150 phones, maybe good $50 phones instead.
2) They're around-the-ear phones, and on hot days, they can make your ears sweat unpleasantly.
3) The cancellation isn't perfect, especially on irregular high-pitch noises (like loud conversation). they're best on steady low hums.
4) The cancellation effect can sound unnatural, or like a quiet white-noise hiss, which can be disconcerting.
5) They require AAA batteries, and while they last for like 50 hours, they'll die if you forget to turn them off.

That said, I liked them a lot. And they're small and fold up compactly and stuff. But I'd suggest getting them from someplace with a return policy, so you can try them out for a while.

The Bose headphones are $300 and much bulkier, but they have excellent sound quality, and the anti-noise properties are better, largely because they provide so much physical insulation from external sound in addition to the electronic tricks. Better in air-conditioned offices, much better on airplanes, not nearly as good if you want to wear them while wandering around.