headfi49
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Oct 5, 2011
- Posts
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First off, I want to apologize for making this topic. I've tried searching the forums and gather some opinions, but I feel like I have some very direct questions, so I'm going to make a new topic...
Background Information
I work in (what I consider to be) an extremely loud office environment. I'm a computer programmer, and all day I hear people around me pounding away on their mechanical keyboards. It drives me absolutely crazy, and so I'm looking for some solutions.
What I've Tried
I'm currently wearing a pair of Sennheiser HD 280 pro's. In terms of sound quality, it's great (I'm not a huge audiophile, so I'm not that picky). However, the isolation they provide -- allegedly 32 dB of attentuation -- is extremely disappointing. If I don't have music on, it's about the equivalent of cupping my hands over my ears. In other words, I can blatantly and clearly hear conversations around me, can clearly hear the keyboards clicking away, etc. Which leads me to a question...
In terms of headphones, what is isolation, exactly?
There's evidently a distinction between ear protection and headphones, in terms of the attenuation rating of the two. The reason I say this is because I tried some big, beefy ear muffs rated at around 30 dB, and I could hardly hear a thing. As I mentioned above, the HD 280 pro's offer practically nothing. Even with music on at about 30% on my iPod, the keyboard clicking is still distracting enough that I consider it an issue. It's like listening to a song, and hearing extra notes added in the form of obnoxious keyboard "click-clack" noises!
Now, obviously, headphones and ear muffs serve two different purposes (e.g. one is for playing audio, the other is protecting your ears). Is the attenuation rating on headphones more of a gimmick? What am I missing? is that the rating they're supposed to provide with music playing at X volume?
For what it's worth, I feel like the Sennheiser headphones fit really loosely on my head. As in, even if they conceivably did isolate well, they don't fit snug enough to work properly anyway.
Isolation Trumps Clarity
Like I said earlier, I'm not a huge audiophile, so I'd rather take headphones that isolate better as opposed to a pair that sound better.
I'd Strongly Prefer to Avoid In-Ear Solutions
There are two reasons I shy away from these: first, my ear drums are slightly irregularly-shaped, so I often have difficulty getting ear buds to stay in or fit properly (and without pain, for the matter).
Second, there's another larger, more practical reason: I have to talk to people enough during the day that I'd have to take them in and put them out way too often, to the point that it would become a burden.
Recommendations?
I'd say the most I'd be willing to spend would be about $200, but that's realy pushing it. I'd say somewhere around $100-150 would be the range I'm most comfortable with.
I've seen the "Extreme Isolation" headphones, but the reviews haven't impressed me very much. It seems like those have a satisfaction guarantee though, so maybe I'll give those a try.
Again, I have a pair of the HD 280 pro's, and I feel like the isolation they offer is minimal at best. I almost feel like I need to just buy a pair of ear muffs and modify them to play music; I've tried the ear-muff-with-ear-bud underneath "solution", and it just became way too much of a pain taking the muffs off and the buds out and then putting them back in every time I had to have a conversation.
I'm really desperate for something. The noisy environment is immensely distracting to me some days. I really appreciate any help!
Background Information
I work in (what I consider to be) an extremely loud office environment. I'm a computer programmer, and all day I hear people around me pounding away on their mechanical keyboards. It drives me absolutely crazy, and so I'm looking for some solutions.
What I've Tried
I'm currently wearing a pair of Sennheiser HD 280 pro's. In terms of sound quality, it's great (I'm not a huge audiophile, so I'm not that picky). However, the isolation they provide -- allegedly 32 dB of attentuation -- is extremely disappointing. If I don't have music on, it's about the equivalent of cupping my hands over my ears. In other words, I can blatantly and clearly hear conversations around me, can clearly hear the keyboards clicking away, etc. Which leads me to a question...
In terms of headphones, what is isolation, exactly?
There's evidently a distinction between ear protection and headphones, in terms of the attenuation rating of the two. The reason I say this is because I tried some big, beefy ear muffs rated at around 30 dB, and I could hardly hear a thing. As I mentioned above, the HD 280 pro's offer practically nothing. Even with music on at about 30% on my iPod, the keyboard clicking is still distracting enough that I consider it an issue. It's like listening to a song, and hearing extra notes added in the form of obnoxious keyboard "click-clack" noises!
Now, obviously, headphones and ear muffs serve two different purposes (e.g. one is for playing audio, the other is protecting your ears). Is the attenuation rating on headphones more of a gimmick? What am I missing? is that the rating they're supposed to provide with music playing at X volume?
For what it's worth, I feel like the Sennheiser headphones fit really loosely on my head. As in, even if they conceivably did isolate well, they don't fit snug enough to work properly anyway.
Isolation Trumps Clarity
Like I said earlier, I'm not a huge audiophile, so I'd rather take headphones that isolate better as opposed to a pair that sound better.
I'd Strongly Prefer to Avoid In-Ear Solutions
There are two reasons I shy away from these: first, my ear drums are slightly irregularly-shaped, so I often have difficulty getting ear buds to stay in or fit properly (and without pain, for the matter).
Second, there's another larger, more practical reason: I have to talk to people enough during the day that I'd have to take them in and put them out way too often, to the point that it would become a burden.
Recommendations?
I'd say the most I'd be willing to spend would be about $200, but that's realy pushing it. I'd say somewhere around $100-150 would be the range I'm most comfortable with.
I've seen the "Extreme Isolation" headphones, but the reviews haven't impressed me very much. It seems like those have a satisfaction guarantee though, so maybe I'll give those a try.
Again, I have a pair of the HD 280 pro's, and I feel like the isolation they offer is minimal at best. I almost feel like I need to just buy a pair of ear muffs and modify them to play music; I've tried the ear-muff-with-ear-bud underneath "solution", and it just became way too much of a pain taking the muffs off and the buds out and then putting them back in every time I had to have a conversation.
I'm really desperate for something. The noisy environment is immensely distracting to me some days. I really appreciate any help!
