Headphones in Corporate Culture? 206
TheGreatOrangePeel asks: "In an ever increasing sea of white-earbuds in my office, I broke from the mainstream and recently purchased the iAudio X5 to help pass the downtime I experience behind cube walls. I've got a decent set of headphones, but recently I've discovered that being able to hear the rap-tap on the cube frame is sometimes a problem even with the volume cranked way down and considering how my current headphones are about ready for retirement anyway, I thought I would start shopping around for a new set. The problem is that most of mid priced headphones out there are designed to block out real world noise. The Sennheiser PX100 look like they may fit what I'm looking for, but I question the durability of folding headphones and I thought I would see what my peers on Slashdot prefer. What I'm looking for is a set of headphones with (1) good sound in a wide variety of music (2) in the $30-$99 range that (3) will let me hear the warnings of imminent attack at work by co-workers, and the alerts at my monthly LAN parties from allied gamers."
a mirror (Score:4, Informative)
Re:a mirror (Score:3, Interesting)
http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/accessories/29
Re:a mirror (Score:3, Informative)
The quality is something I'd expect for a trinket from the back of a comic book. Very disappointing. I solidly do not recommend the product.
Re:a mirror (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:a mirror (Score:2)
Otherwise, do what I did for a while - I had a big set of sony studio monitor headphones - they're impossible to miss. people would come in to my cube and see them on and just make some noise. it removes the 'are they ignoring me' factor and lets them know they should be loud.
easy. or you could just stick a post it
Re:a mirror (Score:5, Interesting)
Note that AOL CDs (while rarer these days) or any other free, pressed discs work best (as they are the shiniest); most CD-Rs don't work so well.
Re:a mirror (Score:2, Insightful)
If you like CDs, you'd love hard disk platters.
Probably getting too late to score anything bigger than a 3", but a 5" platter is a nice size for a cubicle mirror. Someday maybe I'll find an 8"... (I've seen platters larger than 8", but all of them were dull oxide, not the highly polished, bright mirror surface you want for a cubicle mirror.
Oh, and any extra platters make much better wind c
How about some other hack ... a "doorbell"? (Score:2)
Shouldn't be hard to cob together. Read it through the parallel port, use the appropriate API to make a sound.
Then get yourself some decent headphones that block the noise out, and keep the sounds in.
Why stop at a doorbell? (Score:2)
Then when you feel like turning around, you just work your way down the queue. I know I'd be loads more productive if this were the case.
Re:a mirror (Score:2, Interesting)
Altenatively, you could get a cheap webcam to point over your shoulder, and monitor the video in a window. But that seems like overkill. (But this is Slashdot, so who knows?)
Re:a mirror (Score:2)
Re:a mirror (Score:2)
...as does my father where he works, though his is the kind you'd stick on a car for a blind spot view.
When I used to where ear phones at work a lot, I liked the over-the-ear-but-still-ear-bid kind (mine were from Koss (similar to these [amazon.com] on Amazon)). I had all the benefits of personal music, but could easily hear people coming up who needed to talk to me.
Noise cancelling headset (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Noise cancelling headset (Score:2)
Re:Noise cancelling headset (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Noise cancelling headset (Score:2)
You guys are missing the damn point. (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:You guys are missing the damn point. (Score:2)
Me, I don't use anything fancy at work, just a set of Sennheiser MX500 earbuds. Decent sound quality for the price, little noise leakage to piss off your cubemates, VERY light (a huge plus when you spend the whole day craning your neck, staring at a monitor), and a tiny inline volume control. Plus, you can actually hear those around you. About 15 bucks online.
I love quality headphones, but unless you work alone, buying them for work is about as smart as b
$30-99? Grado SR-60s (Score:5, Informative)
Re:$30-99? Grado SR-60s (Score:2)
Re:$30-99? Grado SR-60s (Score:2)
Re:$30-99? Grado SR-60s (Score:2)
I was using my music from an IPOD with MP3's VBR hi rate to compare the two models. The 125's required an AMP. But they sound great if you want to spend as much on a headphone amp as you did on a Ipod.
The 80's are worth the money.
Re:$30-99? Grado SR-60s (Score:2)
Re:$30-99? Grado SR-60s (Score:2)
Re:$30-99? Grado SR-60s (Score:2)
So, to the asker, keep in mind that the open stage nature of the Grado's is double edged. You can hear whats going on (I'd attend lectures with them on back in college), but other people around you some
Re:$30-99? Grado SR-60s (Score:3, Informative)
Grado SR-80s (Score:3, Informative)
I went down to my local hifi shop (you must buy Grados from an authorized distributer or else no warranty) to get the 60s and just on a lark did a 'blind test' of the 60s and 80s and I thought there was a very noticable difference in sound. I think the difference may be mostly due to the different ear ear surrounds and cushioning, although I suppose it could be the cable as well. The differences between the 60s and
Re:$30-99? Grado SR-60s (Score:2)
But they do sound great, so if you're the kind of guy who isn't afraid to return things, go ahead and try these. Chances are you'll like it anyway, I'm sure I'm in the minority here.
wearing grados and glasses (Score:2)
I looked around web review sites extensively before purchasing mine; the criterion was the best headphones for under $100. Any audioph
Re:$30-99? Grado SR-60s (Score:2)
I've had my SR125's for a year now, and while they sound great, I can only wear them for about four hours before they start to hurt.
Radhack (Score:3, Insightful)
Jeez, why make it so damn complicated. Who needs to show off their headphones at work?
Re:Radhack (Score:4, Interesting)
If you want to make a statement, get a pair of bluetooth headphones. Pair them and a regular bt headset to your computer. Velcro the headset to the wall of your cubicle with a sign saying "intercom". Set the computer to pipe music to the headphones until the intercom button is pushed.
Re:Radhack (Score:2)
Bluetooth intercom (off-topic) (Score:2)
The trouble is, it doesn't seem widely implemented, because there's not much profit motive to do so. If there were a widely-publicized project that used these capabilities, it might spur manufacturers into supporting the odd little features...
Re:Radhack (Score:2)
Re:Radhack (Score:2)
I used to buy the three year warranties, but then they started giving me crap about "abuse" when four consecutive pair of headphones broke in exactly the same way -- I call that a design flaw.
Re:Radhack (Score:3, Insightful)
I'm not too sure he's trying to show off. In fact, I suspect he's actually looking for good sound. My first clue was when he wrote "What I'm looking for is a set of headphones with (1) good sound in a wide variety of music..." My second clue was when he said he was looking for "headphones" which are typically used for personal listening as opposed to "giant speakers," which are often used to compare manhood.
My final clu
Re:Radhack (Score:2)
Re:Radhack (Score:2)
The UR40s have served me well for quite some time now, and I hear all immenant attack due to the open-ear design.
Re:Radhack (Score:2)
My problem is always the same, the stupid black foam starts to break down...then I'm stuck with black foam crap on my ears.
My last set of Koss were the faux leather ones...so first the outside part had to breakdown, then the foam on the inside. Took about 2 years.
Every Sony product I used has broken down earlier. Right now I am working on Sennheisens (sp) hopefully they work out a little better.
But
Cord length is variable, and should be. (Score:2)
Re:Radhack (Score:2)
Personally I'm a fan of Grado Labs, since I think they satisfy both these objectives, but I'm sure there are other companies that would fit the bill. The surrounds pop on and off fairly easily, and the cord is also replacable (although you'd need a soldering iron -- or send them back to the factory, which I'm sure is t
Go Sennheizer (Score:5, Informative)
They are semi-open back. They block out most ambient noise just by putting them on - the general chatter fades out. Talking in the next cube, rap-tap-tapping and the phone doesn't go.
Turn on some music and bam - nearly everything is gone. I play the music quietly all day and I don't have a problem. I can hear when people are talking to me or tapping on the cube, so it is cool.
Re:Go Sennheizer (Score:2, Interesting)
Original Sony Street-style phones? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Original Sony Street-style phones? (Score:2)
"Hearing Aid" (Score:4, Funny)
I feel sorry for you (Score:2)
PX 100's (Score:4, Informative)
Re:PX 100's (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:PX 100's (Score:2)
What I really want... (Score:2)
... AND when I'm in a noisy environment, my head phones double as hearing protection. I often venture into a data center that has a lot of fan noise at hear
Re:What I really want... (Score:2)
I don't know about wireless, but certainly a good quality padded, closed back set of phones with a decent retractable boom mic and some way to tie it to the phone as well.
What I am after is an external sound card - USB or something. The two PCs on my desk have crappy sound cards (most sound cards are crappy) and with decent headphones you can hear a
Use a mic (Score:5, Interesting)
Put on your headphones, then adjust the mic mix till you hear the desired amount of background noise.
Re:Use a mic (Score:5, Informative)
-dave
Comfort (Score:2)
However, I recently sold the B&O headphones because I
my experience (Score:2, Insightful)
Great service, great price, I reccomend them.
They've lasted me 3 years of hard use and sound great. I can just make out the phone ringing with them on and music at reasonable levels.
Office chatter is completely gone. I did have to get one of the monitor mirrors...but I tend to tune out everything when in deep hack mode so it is of limited use.
In-ear headphones (Score:2)
Some people swear by them, though, and I can see why - when they're in, they sound great. I think they just didn
Re:In-ear headphones (Score:2)
get creative! (Score:5, Funny)
The low-tech solution is to set up a rear-view mirror. But this is slashdot, so...
Write an app to lower your volume and/or play a sound when one of the following inputs are detected:
- your doorbell is pressed
- your touch-sensitive welcome mat is stood upon
- your door-mounted IR/laser beam is broken
- your cube-mounted microphone picks up an audio pattern that matches your "knock-knock" or "ahem" signature.
- your directional light sensor detects a shadow between it and a certain ceiling light above and outside of your door.
- your digital IR camera detects a body mass of close to 98.6 degrees fahrenheit standing in the doorway.
OK, so maybe ALL of these is overkill. But I haven't been snuck up on in years!!!
Re:get creative! (Score:4, Funny)
Unless they clear their throat!
ObKentBrockman (Score:3, Funny)
one more requirement you forgot (Score:5, Insightful)
It's amazing how many people think that the cheap earbuds they wear can only be heard by the wearer. Sitting 3-4 feet away, I can often understand every word being sung, at least on those songs where the singer can be understood. With 2 or 3 such people around, I get a headache from the clash of noise.
In an office setting, with open-top cubicles, sound carries an incredible distance. Try not to irritate your co-workers. Try out the headphones you like, adjust the volume to what you like, then get someone else to wear them while you sit a few feet away and listen while doing other relatively quiet tasks like reading a web page, typing a slashdot post, or playing solitaire. If you can still hear the music, maybe these aren't the right headphones for you after all.
Re:one more requirement you forgot (Score:2)
As far as normal headphones go, what brand/model would you recommend for the best direction of noise (so you can hear it, but others can't)?
Re:one more requirement you forgot (Score:2)
Another solution (Score:2)
buds Vs muffs (Score:3, Insightful)
-Rick
Re:buds Vs muffs (Score:2)
Extended Hearing is key (Score:3, Informative)
I tried those BOSE noise cancellation headphones on an airplane recently, and after about 2 hours, my ears were really killing me. Not the outside part of the ear (lobe) but my actual eardrums.
If you're going to have the things on all day long, then think about professionals whose job requires they where headphones all day, every day - studio musicians, engineers, radio announcers, etc.
When I was in Recording School, I bought a pair of the Ubiquitous AKG K240s. At that time, most recording studios had these in large supply. They are fairly durable, comfortable, and you can listen on them a very long time. I've been using mine over 10 years and they're still in great shape.
They may look a bit dorky, and they don't fold, but they've survived my cluttered backback on many a trip. At just under $100 [sweetwater.com], they fit in your price range.
One other thing that's really nice about them... they have an 1/8" jack, and come with a threaded 1/4" adapter. The threaded adapter is priceless if you're contantly plugging your headphones in and out of studio gear.
Re:Extended Hearing is key (Score:2, Informative)
PX-100 Reliability (Score:2)
We both carry them in our computer bags, just toss them in and go...
They sound great, but don't require more power than a typical laptop or portable audio device. I haven't felt like I needed an amp.
They let you hear a lot of
Sony MDR-V6 (Score:2)
They're earmuff style, but they do allow enough ambient noise in that you won't miss much. Just be sure to avoid the MDR-V600s/700s/800s which look almost identical but are a classic example of how quality has slipped at Sony since the 80s.
I had a bit of trouble
Re:Sony MDR-V6 (Score:3, Informative)
As the poster said, look out for the look-alikes, particularly the V600. It's not the same thing at all. It's well known among enthusiasts that most Sony mass-marketed 'phones are crap, but the V6s are an exception and
Re:Sony MDR-V6 (Score:2)
Andrew
PS: I bought mine before the whole $sys$ thing was made public.
RE: Grado SR 60 vs. Grado SR 80 (Score:2, Informative)
I would disagree with this. I also was looing for high quality headphones awhile ago, and Grado came up in many audiophile circles. The difference between the SR 60's and the SR 80's is that the SR 80's have a better bass response. Emphasise the word "response". This means that if the sound mix on a cd has a lot of low frequencies, it will reproduce
PX-100Ws (Score:2)
I use them on a daily basis for hours at a time.
At reasonable volumes or quiet songs you can hear people around you fine.
I don't know what that guy was complaining about the case being difficult was about. It takes me all of 15 seconds to put them in the case while being careful.
Another thing I have to comment on is the cord. I don't know what the hell it's made of but it's very k
The PX100 cord is absolutely phenomenal. (Score:2)
Mine has lasted well over a year now with no sign of wear.
Practically all of my old (usually cheap) headphones developed serious problems with broken wires in the cables, but my PX100s look like they will last for freaking ever
Sennheiser HD-485 (Score:2)
1. It's open-air, so you can hear approaching bosses & coworkers.
2. It's got surprisingly good bass response for an open-air design.
3. It's got a long cord (3m), so it can reach the computer under the desk if need be.
4. Lightweight and comfortable to wear for a couple of hours at a stretch.
Suggestion: Buy a couple of pairs of replacement ear foams, as they will eventually wear o
Wireless? (Score:2)
Great sound, excellent bass response.
Sennheiser (Score:2)
Sennheisers are good (Score:2)
You can get noise-reducing white earbuds: (Score:2)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000779RZU/ [amazon.com]
Bought these around Christmas for $19. About the same quality as the original ipod buds, but with noiseproofing. Comes with 3 different size earbud attachments to fit different size ears.
Mine just went through the laundry and after drying it out for 24 hours, still works.
Re:You can get noise-reducing white earbuds: (Score:3, Informative)
These earbuds (along with the MDR-EX51LPs) suffer from a very serious defect - the cords turn gummy and then dissolve after a matter of months, exposing the bare wires (and then breaking shortly thereafter) - usually right after the 90 day warranty expires. Don't trust me, go on amazon and read the reviews. Virtually every one posted after March 2005 is negative (yet Amazon keeps the high rated reviews up, but that is a different story)
Sony has known about this issue for quite some time (the prob
Re:You can get noise-reducing white earbuds: (Score:2)
I have had my Sony earbuds for about 2 years and they are still in perfect shape. I have recommended them to 2 other co-workers, both of whom have owned them for almost a year and still love them. I bought some for my mom last year, she thinks they are a huge improvement in comfort and a decent improvement in sound over the stock iPod's.
The nice thing about these compared to many other earbuds (at least 3 I have tried) is they are really comfortable over a relatively lon
Re:You can get noise-reducing white earbuds: (Score:2)
Like I said, read the reviews on amazon, etc.
BTW, the 51s seem to have more of a problem than the 71s,
Re:You can get noise-reducing white earbuds: (Score:2)
I called Sony and made sure to at least take a few minutes of their time to tell them how crappy they were and see if I could somehow get a new pair. They offered to replace them with a refurb copy for a fee, I can't recall exactly, but it was in the neighborhood of $30. I told them to suck it, cause there was no way I was paying $30 bucks for refurb in
Re:You can get noise-reducing white earbuds: (Score:2)
Will post back here if it ever occurs.
Koss Porta-Pro. (Score:2)
Re:Koss Porta-Pro. (Score:2)
Instead of headphones (Score:2)
PX100s are awesome, also PXC250 (Score:2)
The PXC250s are also good, basically PX100s with added active noise reduction. It'll filter out machine fan noise, but you'll still be able to hear people just fine.
I was somewhat embarrassed to discover that I preferred the sound of my PX100s to my full-size Sennheisers...
Sennheiser Px100 (Score:2)
I have a pair of Sennheiser HD580's that I use in the office. They're a bit pricey, but they are PERFECT for office use. Very comfortable, impeccable sound quality, and just e
Re:Get the Sennheiser PXC 300 (Score:2)
Re:Get the Sennheiser PXC 300 (Score:2, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Get the Sennheiser PXC 300 (Score:4, Informative)
Of course, this begs the question, "If quality reproduction is what you want, why are you sourceing from an MP3 Player?"
Now, to get back on topic, I have to wonder if submitter's little player really does have the juice to run a really good set of cans. I'd highly recommend that the submitter check out http://www.headphone.com/ [headphone.com] and read up. Lots of great info there on headphones, a bit of the physics, and a *huge* selection of headphones and headphone amps.
Re:Get the Sennheiser PXC 300 (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Get the Sennheiser PXC 300 (Score:2, Funny)
Re:What you're looking for... (Score:2)
This is a very bold declaration here. Sennheiser are probably the most well known cans makers, and they're extremely renowned, but their cans go head to head with Beyerdynamic's [beyerdynamic.com] and AKG's [akg.com] and they don't always come out at the lead.
Sennheiser's cans are usually really good (and even then, they also have some crappy stuff), but The Best is quite stretching it.
I second the Grados (Score:3, Insightful)