Noise cancelling headphones at work

You're not too late to.the party, I still haven't got anything sorted out yet, it's currently being looked into by our IT dept. My regional manager mentioned in passing how much the pair they'd found cost, but told me not to worry about it.

Hello there,

Sorry if I am a little late to the party. I have had a lot of experience with several models of noise-cancelling headphones and would like to add some input if that may still be useful to you.

Firstly, I would strongly recommend brands such as Bose and Sony for their noise-cancelling tech, with some caveats.

I personally daily a set of Bose QC45 headphones which are especially comfortable and provide a good degree of noise cancellation, if you can pick up a pair on sale from somewhere such as John Lewis, or even Bose directly I would say go for it. The reason I mention JL specifically is because they typically offer a two-year warranty on all tech products, whereas other retailers may only offer one. Outside of the QC45s, I previously owned a pair of Bose 700s which I found to be massively uncomfortable and plagued with software issues, from my own experience, I would not recommend them for prolonged use. 

In the past, I have also used both the Sony WH-1000XM3 and Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones but ended up replacing the XM3s due to malfunctions with internal hardware. Outside of that issue, I found the XM3s to be wonderfully comfortable whilst offering a level of noise cancellation which, in my opinion, rivalled Bose. The Sony XM4s, essentially an upgraded version of the XM3's, offer superior noise cancellation but are not without fault; Sony designed this model with a sensor to detect when the headphones are taken off by the user so that the headphones can pause music automatically. The issue with this is that the sensor was crudely implemented such that, given your ears are the right shape, one can feel the sensor when the headphones are being worn. However, I know many people with XM4's who have not experienced this issue and are more than happy with their headphones. 

A final note on Sony; they offer headphones at all price points. I have found their more budget-oriented and mid-range models to be hit-and-miss in the past when it comes to the quality of noise cancelling provided, it is for that reason I always suggest people go for the highest-end noise cancelling headphones their allocated budget permits. I would argue that this applies to almost all brands, I have never encountered a set of entry-level noise-cancelling headphones that offer noise-cancelling tech which rivals higher-end and flagship models. 

Both Bose and Sony have also released newer models, such as the Bose Quiet Comfort Ultras, and the Sony WH-1000XM5. Unfortunately, I have no first-hand experience with these models, so I can only suggest you conduct your own research in the event either model interests you. 

(I would strongly recommend the website 'SoundGuys' if you are looking for comprehensive, in-depth reviews and comparisons on the latest noise-cancelling headphones)

Finally, I would just like to mention that, from my experience, it appears that the implementation of active noise cancelling (ANC) technology across brands varies. For example, in Bose units, I have always been able to detect a perceivable high-pitched 'buzz' from the ANC system, whereas Sony's produce a lower-pitched hum. Again, this is just from my experience and could very well differ from person to person. All I would say is that, if possible, trying on noise-cancelling headphones before you buy can be a useful means of determining whether or not you find the sound, if any, produced by the ANC system tolerable. 

I do hope this has been able to help you in some way :)

Good luck with your search for noise-cancelling headphones!

I use a similar premium brand - Bowers & Wilkins. Very pricey, but extremely comfortable for long term wearing, physical clicky buttons which are easier to use than the faddy touch sensitive models. Sound quality and noise cancellation is excellent. You can completely switch of the rest of the world and escape into sound. But if you want to converse they have a transparency mode which allow voice to come through the cancelling. 

Noise cancelling is good, really comfy, good sound quality, easy to use as they have physical buttons rather then touch pads like some others.  They are called quiet comfort. 

Thanks Jude. Are there any particular features or qualities in your headphones that make them ad good as they are?

I got some bose ones. They are bt but you can also used them wired. Very good nc and great sound quality. They are expensive though. 

Hi Arise- thanks for the input. As I understand it some models of this headset include the cables to plug directly into a phone system, hence their preference.

I’m confused. If I’m reading your post correctly you say that your employer doesn’t want to use/provide you with BT headphones but the link takes me to exactly that - a pair of BT headphones. They look pretty good, from reading the specs. No idea what they sound like but they’re definitely noise cancelling and have a boom mic which should pick up your voice extremely well. 

Thanks arise, sounds like I need to check in with the IT people at work.

This will very much depend on the phone system. Most headphones that are capable of noise cancelling as well as intercom/headset functionality will be Bluetooth rather than wired. In order to connect these devices to a phone the phone also needs Bluetooth capability and crucially the ability to initiate a pairing request. If your phone can do this you’ll probably find most Bluetooth headsets will connect. For example I know it’s possible to connect Apple AirPods to a Cisco VOIP phone unit. I suspect the various transparency modes on the AirPods would work really well, reducing background noise but still allowing conversational awareness.