Active Noise Canceling headphones. Fantastic!

masraum · 03-04-2018, 06:47 PM

I have had a pair of noise cancelling headphones similar to the Bose QC35s since Christmas, and I find myself wondering what took me so long. I love them. I wear them at work and I wear them at home. It's shocking how loud our environment is. You don't really have any idea until you've worn them for a while and then turn them off or take them off.

I have Plantronics Voyager 8200UC headphones. Their MSRP is $349, but I got them from $269 from headsetsdirect.com which is an authorized retailer. They say they have a 24 hour talk/listen time, but when I charge them, the software always says 22-23 hr which is plenty for me. I've never actually timed them so I don't know what I get, but I think it is at least 20 hours but probably closer to 22-24. The have 2 levels of ANC (active noise cancellation). Besides that noise cancellation, they also have several microphones for when you are using them to talk to others to provide noise cancellation for your half of the conversation as well. There's no boom mic, there are dual pairs of mics built into each can that point toward your mouth. THe sound out of them is excellent, to me, and the bluetooth performance is pretty remarkable (probably more like 30 yards than 30 feet). They can connect to 2 items via bluetooth at a time and can remember up to 8 devices. They can also connect via a 3.5mm audio cable if you want to be wired.

I bought them primarily for work. I stream pandora to my cell phone and listen through the headset. If I get a call on my Cisco deskphone, I can answer the call with a touch of a button and when the call is done, the music will start back up where it left off. I don't do that much work via the phone, but when I do, I can be on the phone for up to 12 hours at a stretch, so having the long battery life (and exceptional bluetooth connectivity over a distance) is crucial. I don't have to worry about having to switch to a handset or speaker phone after a few hours and I can even go on mute, head to the head or the breakroom and listen in without having to hang up and call back. I have them connect to my cell phone, ipad, AppleTV, PC and work deskphone all via bluetooth.

It's really nice to have them block out the hums and hisses and white noise and other background noise. Yeah, you can still hear things, sometimes it's fairly remarkable what you can hear. The other day I was at work and thought I heard organ music. I took them off and didn't hear anything, but then listened a bit harder and thought I still heard it. One of the guys that sits near me said "Yeah, every day at noon, the church down the road plays it." So it had blocked out all of the background noise which allowed me to hear the music (faintly).

I just want to know why I waited so long to get some.

wildthing · 03-04-2018, 07:06 PM

I was clued into one of these things but never sprang for one due to the cost. But for my few trips a year, it is really worth it. I think with getting old, I value the silence...

Now that you say you wear it at work, maybe I'll try it. I have a coworker who talks really loudly while on his conference calls.

HardDrive · 03-04-2018, 07:10 PM

They really are great. Increasingly its seems like everyone is moving to shared workspaces, and they are essential far as I'm concerned. I've got an older Bose model.

masraum · 07:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wildthing

I was clued into one of these things but never sprang for one due to the cost. But for my few trips a year, it is really worth it. I think with getting old, I value the silence...

Now that you say you wear it at work, maybe I'll try it. I have a coworker who talks really loudly while on his conference calls.

They will help with that since they will dull his roar, but ANC doesn't generally catch momentary noise like speech or sudden sound, what it's better at is background noise like hums, hisses and white noise. Unless you are listening to music, then the active noise cancellation, noise isolation from the cans/foam over and around your ears, and sound will drown out most sound.

I probably do have them on without the music streaming almost as much as I have them on with it, and I love them both ways. I work from home at least one day a week and wear them then too. I've even been known to put them on when I'm not working when the missus is running the blender or vacuum too.

RKDinOKC · RKDinOKC's Garage

Helped my sister move half-way across the country. Was relegated to driving the rented moving van. The noise cancelling headphones made all the difference that truck was so noisy. Originally took them to wear on the flight to my sister's so I could get some sleep. Worked well for that too. That or they locked the screaming kid in the toilet for the whole flight.

Holger · 03-05-2018, 12:53 AM

I have a Jabra noice canceling headphone at work. I hate it. It does not feel good at all. I need some noice level.

The same as the walls in the inlinehockey-arena we use. They are perforated and noice canceling. It drives you nuts when sitting next to the wall. One ear gets the noice from the field and one ear doesnt.

sc_rufctr · 03-05-2018, 02:37 AM

Are they any good for tinnitus?

ckelly78z · 03-05-2018, 04:26 AM

My wife has a set for shooting. I tried them and liked them, it would almost completely cancel out the blast from a shotgun, or a .45 handgun, but then let you hear people's voices, and small noises without removal. I haven't thought of these for loud trucks, or airline travel, thanks !

onewhippedpuppy · 03-05-2018, 04:37 AM

They are incredible for airplanes, I don't know how I lived without my Bose noise cancelling headphones.

billybek · billybek's Garage

But don't you have to listen to the voices in your head when you wear them?

I have thought about getting some for work and travel. The cost holds me back.

masraum · 03-05-2018, 05:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sc_rufctr

Are they any good for tinnitus?

No, not really. I've got it. Tinnitus is your brain trying to amplify a certain frequency to try to hear something on it. By putting yourself in a situation where there's less noise than usual, the tinnitus seems even louder than usual.

masraum · 03-05-2018, 05:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by billybek

But don't you have to listen to the voices in your head when you wear them?

I have thought about getting some for work and travel. The cost holds me back.

They aren't cheap at all, but I thought $269 was a pretty good price for an authorized vendor.

mepstein · 03-05-2018, 07:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by masraum

No, not really. I've got it. Tinnitus is your brain trying to amplify a certain frequency to try to hear something on it. By putting yourself in a situation where there's less noise than usual, the tinnitus seems even louder than usual.

My FIL was an anti aircraft gunner in the army. He had tinnnitus pretty bad. He always had classical music playing in the house. It helped distract him.

David · David's Garage

Any flight over a couple hours and they're a must.

I'm not a fan of wearing headphones while driving but I'm going to give them a try on my upcoming Hill Country Rally drive in the loud 930.

flatbutt · 03-05-2018, 08:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sc_rufctr

Are they any good for tinnitus?

I was using a drone tone generator the other day while practicing on my cello and noticed that my tinnitus faded for a while after turning off the drone. So I turned it back on and just let it run for a bit. And again when I turned it off my tinnitus was absent for a bit. No idea if wave cancelling was in play but there it is FWIW.

masraum · 03-05-2018, 09:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flatbutt

I was using a drone tone generator the other day while practicing on my cello and noticed that my tinnitus faded for a while after turning off the drone. So I turned it back on and just let it run for a bit. And again when I turned it off my tinnitus was absent for a bit. No idea if wave cancelling was in play but there it is FWIW.

I believe I've heard that if you play a tone at the same frequency(ies) as your tinnitus, that it will cause your brain to turn down the volume for a while. I think there are even hearing aids or something that you can buy that do just that. There's a thread here on the board about it.

cmccuist · 03-05-2018, 01:36 PM

I made that Doha-Houston flight about 4 times per year for seven years (15-16 hours). The Bose QC's were a necessity. Almost completely eliminates the jet noise and drowns out the occasional baby crying if you're watching a movie.

You can get the QC-15's for $75-$150 now. They're up to QC-35 now, so the older models are much cheaper. Still work great. I bought pairs for my wife and daughter who travel frequently.

Oracle · 03-05-2018, 01:46 PM

Seems those are the headsets I've been looking for! All the features I've wanted.. Seriously.
but for that price.. no.. I just can't justify... I guess I'll keep my cheapie headphones for another 5-10 years until I find those Plantronics Voyager 8200UC on ebay.

Jeff Higgins · 03-05-2018, 02:12 PM

I'll chime in with a very big, enthusiastic "hell yeah!!!" on these things. As much as I used to travel for work, these were a veritable life saver. 12 hour screaming baby flights became a distant memory. Not that I avoided getting stuck on them, but pull the ol' Bose over my ears, find some music on my i-pod (over 12,000 songs at last count), and chill. They even made the movies more enjoyable, with much clearer sound in the absence of any background noise.

I don't use them as much now that I'm retired. About their only duty is in my 911 on long road trips. With no carpeting, headliner, or sound deadening of any kind, it gets pretty loud in there. Locally I just wear ear plugs, but those 16 hour, thousand mile days are sure much more pleasant with the headphones playing me some tunes.

Tobra · Tobra's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by sc_rufctr

Are they any good for tinnitus?

nothing is good for tinnitus