My girlfriend needs some relief from the noise at the office and I'm trying to convince her to avoid a typical noise cancellation solution for maybe a sealed solution. The beyerdynamic DT 250-80 are about the right price but I was wondering how well they isolate you from office noise? She'd be using an iPod with no amp for her source. Her other requirement was no IEM because she doesn't like the comfort of the IEM and because she prefers others can SEE she has headphones on. Also, she thinks having a big headphone that covers the entire ear will be more comfortable than one that doesn't envelop the ear. She tried my AKG K 81 DJ and didn't like the way they felt. She also tried my HD 580 and claimed they didn't block out enough noise (which stunned me).

The dt250-80 isolates reasonably well with music playing. It's not superisolating but Pretty Good.

One point to make about active noise cancelling is that active phones will block out the noise of the fans and harddrive in her computer, and the sound of the air conditioning, but nothing else.

Yeah, active noise canceling is pretty bad for telephones, speech, etc.


The 250-80 blocks pretty well but not IEM well. I want to say the 770's block just ever so slightly more, and HD25's are about the same. The 770 and 250 win for comfort - possibly 770>250 if she wears large or dangly earrings.



I'd love to know how k271's compare, as they are the one austro-german sealed headphone I haven't tried!


Edit: other than ultrasone, but those don't count.

They are much better then the AKG in comfort and in the noise isolation dept.I have tried and owned both.Like ph0rk said,just not to IEM levels but still darn good.

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That's a good point. I'll try to bring that up because her main complaint isn't stuff like fans or a/c but people talking.

The main issue is I have to tread lightly with any advice. This is the type of thing she will dig her heels and do the opposite of what I say if she thinks I'm pushing too hard. The trick is making her think it was her idea. I'm just trying to get her something decent without pushing too hard. I'm also trying to save a bit of cash so she can upgrade her iPod later this year.

What's really frustrating is not being able to try them on prior to ordering online. Sure you can send them back but that's a pain. A lot will depend on how they fit and who knows until you get them.

Ultimately I do think IEMs are what she needs but I don't think I'm going to win that battle so I'm trying at least to get her a good sealed set.