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Headphones in Corporate Culture? 206

Posted by Cliff from the anything-but-earbuds dept.
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."
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Headphones in Corporate Culture? More

Headphones in Corporate Culture?

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  • a mirror (Score:4, Informative)

    by file cabinet ( 773149 ) on Monday February 06, 2006 @09:29PM (#14656201) Journal
    one of the people where I work has a mirror (similar to the one you would see on a bike) attached to her monitor..

    • Re:a mirror (Score:3, Interesting)

      by daeley ( 126313 )
      ThinkGeek has its C.H.I.M.P., which is basically a convex cubicle mirror. Works well enough:

      http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/accessories/294 0/ [thinkgeek.com]

      • Re:a mirror (Score:3, Informative)

        by UnrefinedLayman ( 185512 )
        No, it really doesn't work well enough. The CHIMP mirror is made of cheap plastic and the resolution of the "mirror" (silver-painted plastic) is ridiculous. To boot, the wedge of the mirror makes it impossible to attach to any modern LCD without blocking a significant part of the screen.

        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)

      by Impeesa ( 763920 )
      Better still, if you can manage it, is to arrange your cubicle/office so that your face is towards the entrance, rather than some combination of your back and your screen full of pr0n^H^H^H^H confidential work stuff.
    • I've got one, and I do the headphone thing a lot - it works great. You get used to including it in your peripheral vision and soon you notice people before they knock and you can suprise them.

      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)

      by ScrO ( 221643 ) on Tuesday February 07, 2006 @03:13AM (#14658028)
      Monitor mirrors are for HR and Marketing drones... I much prefer the strategically-placed CDs (data side out) pinned to my cube wall and aimed the appropriate direction with additional pushpins behind them. It amazes me that nobody catches on until I specifically point it out to them.

      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)

        by sylvandb ( 308927 )
        I much prefer the strategically-placed CDs (data side out) pinned to my cube wall and aimed the appropriate direction

        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
    • Suppose your cubicle had a push button which would mix an alert sound into your headphones.

      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.

      • If you're going to do that, why not attach it to a large LED display, and let everyone who wants to talk to you "Please Take a Number?" :)

        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)

      by rhandir ( 762788 )
      A secondary advantage of a mirror, is that when you look into it, you shift the focal length in your eye compared to staring at the monitor, which helps reduce eyestrain.

      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?)
      • I had the webcam setup for a while. Be careful with that system... you'll find that a camera height appropriate for seeing people coming tends to ride tit level at people in your cube. Fine for women with whom you have a good rapport, not so fine with HR people.

    • one of the people where I work has a mirror

      ...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.

  • I've been using the Bose QuietComfort II [bose.com] for nearly two years now (I'm working in a noisy environment) mainly for its noise cancelling ability, and I'm very satisfied with it. Of course, it's expensive, but in my opinion, it was well worth the price.

  • You guys are missing the damn point. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by rincebrain ( 776480 ) on Monday February 06, 2006 @09:31PM (#14656218) Homepage
    He explicitly said he wanted headphones that did NOT block out all ambient noise.
    • That's just what I was saying after reading this.

      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)

    by trickykungfu ( 778316 ) on Monday February 06, 2006 @09:31PM (#14656226)
    Grado SR-60s are the way to go for your requirements. They are, hands down, the best headphones available under $100. The only drawback is that they are open stage, so you can hear sounds around you, which is not so good for a metro or bus ride. But it sounds like that's an advantage rather than a drawback in your case. SR-60s will run you about $80 USD shipped. Oh, and don't succumb to the temptation to get the SR-80s just because they've got a higher model number. The 60s are far better for non-amp-driven listening.
    • I've got a pair of these myself. They block very little noise, and the open back actually lets other people know what you're playing - a "feature" I myself aren't very fond of. But for $76 shipped (www.headphone.com), you can't beat the sound quality, and the ear pads are very comfortable (the headband is what gets you). They are a little big overall, but that's only a problem because I have to fit them in a school backpack. Actual adults don't have to worry about that. ;)
    • You might be able to get the SR60s slightly cheaper if you buy from a local dealer instead of a store. The prices are all the same, and you have to purchase from an authorized dealer if you want to keep the warranty. Your local hi-fi shop should stock them. I own a pair and have been very happy with them.
    • At $95 the 80's do sound better. They don't need an amp.

      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.
    • My Grado SR-60s are absolutely fantastic; I've never used a pair of headphones that sounded better. One of my friends had a pair of extortionately priced Sennheiser 'phones, and had to concede the fact. As another poster mentioned, the downside is the open backs; it means that they get better frequency response, but at the cost of being pretty much unsuitable for work. If you're playing your music at any sort of volume above whisper quiet, everyone can hear it.
    • What is the differentce with the SR-80's? I wore my SR-80's well past the point of death, they were my alltime favorites. I vaguely understand what you're saying-- even at full volume some of my various playing devices were struggling (others were fine)-- but what is the actual difference that causes this?

      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

    • Grado SR-80s (Score:3, Informative)

      by Kadin2048 ( 468275 )
      I agree with you on the Grados in general, but I disagree about the SR80s not being worth it.

      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

  • Radhack (Score:3, Insightful)

    by RomulusNR ( 29439 ) on Monday February 06, 2006 @09:33PM (#14656244) Homepage
    I have a pair of what are probably Radio Shack foam-padded old-school jobs that probably didn't even cost $20. They're sufficiently hearable and they don't block out outside noise.

    Jeez, why make it so damn complicated. Who needs to show off their headphones at work?

    • Re:Radhack (Score:4, Interesting)

      by Myself ( 57572 ) on Monday February 06, 2006 @09:47PM (#14656323) Journal
      Amen. My pair of Pro-35s has served me well for many years. The sound is adequate for casual listening, and the open-air design is more appropriate than blocking out the world. They're fairly light, reasonably durable, and very comfortable. Find 'em on sale for $20 more often than not.

      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. :)
      • That 'intercom' idea is absolutely brilliant!
        • Even spookier, the Bluetooth spec already defines an Intercom Profile [palowireless.com] for cases like this. Some headsets already support pairing to each other for use as short-range walkie talkies, such as a motorcycle driver and rider communicating between their helmets.

          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...
      • So far as I know (can't say I looked farther due to being satisfied enough), these [radioshack.com] are the best-quality modest-price headphones Radio Shack sells. They also tend to be on sale fairly often at a reduced price.
        • I've bought Radio Shack headphones before, but I try not to plan on them lasting more than about four months. They sound good, but they're very fragile.

          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)

      by Total_Wimp ( 564548 )
      Jeez, why make it so damn complicated. Who needs to show off their headphones at work?

      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
    • I agree. A good $30-$40 pair of Koss headphones will last you for life, and give you decent (if not excellent) sound quality.

      The UR40s have served me well for quite some time now, and I hear all immenant attack due to the open-ear design.
      • I've gone through a lot of headphones- including Koss, and I don't think that anything will last 'for life.'

        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
        • You should know that you can buy or build an extension cable for the headphone cord. The extra length means that you can route the cable to fit your workspace, rather than having to deal with a cord which is stretched across the most annoying part of your keyboard. The extra length is also insurance against tugging the headphone cord leads loose within the plug, or (worse) within the headphone set itself. The thinner and more limply flexible the headphone cord is, the thinner and more fragile the individual
        • I think the solution there is get headphones on which the foam surrounds are replacable, and get them from a manufacturer that's likely to still be in business when it's time to get a new set.

          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)

    by thegrassyknowl ( 762218 ) on Monday February 06, 2006 @09:34PM (#14656249)
    I have a pair of senheizer HD-220s or somesuch (they're from the 200 series but I can't remember the specific number because they are at work where I am not).

    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)

      by Fnord666 ( 889225 )
      Definitely go Sennheiser. The sound reproduction is excellent. Personally I use and recommend the PXC250s. They are noise cancelling but they won't interfere with your ability to hear people talking to you. They just cancel out steady noise like the heating units or a power supply fan. The difference there will surprise you though. They work very well on airplanes and come with a several connectors for that purpose. They also come in a decent carrying case.
  • They sound decent, are between $20-40, and they let in ambient noise at low levels. You're set!

  • "Hearing Aid" (Score:4, Funny)

    by Frogbert ( 589961 ) <frogbert@gmail . c om> on Monday February 06, 2006 @09:38PM (#14656268)
    My tactic is to leave one ear bud out and hidden away under my shirt. I've managed to convince everyone in the office that it is a hearing aid. Now even in the odd chance that I don't hear someone they just chalk it up to my bad hearing.

  • PX 100's (Score:4, Informative)

    by spoop ( 952477 ) on Monday February 06, 2006 @09:39PM (#14656277)
    I have a pair of Sennheiser PX 100's, and they are great. They are quite durable, although they might not look that way. Mine have been through a lot and are still in perfect condition. They come with a case which is a pain to use, but protects them very well. Most of the parts on them can be replaced if need be, and they come with a two year warranty. I say go for the PX 100's.

    • Re:PX 100's (Score:2, Interesting)

      by googleaseerch ( 682399 )
      Seconded. I recently went a step up from my old pair to the PSC 250's, which have a closed design and noise cancelling, for about $100-110. The increase per price isn't as dramatic as the 100's though, which are nearly impossible to beat for their size and price, and the submitter wanted to be able to hear people, anyways.
  • To me a full-featured headset would be wireless head phones with a mic. When the phone rings, I can hit a keyboard sequence that cuts the music, and allows me to hold a phone conversation without changing head phones. When I'm on hold or listening to the meeting drones buzz-on, I can turn the music back up at a very low volume (just for me of course).

    ... 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

    • I work in a similar environment. We have a custom wireless phone system that I don't believe can be integrated to the PC - so I am a bit pissed off about that.

      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)

    by t0qer ( 230538 ) on Monday February 06, 2006 @09:52PM (#14656354) Homepage Journal
    Just plug a microphone in. Make sure it's sinsoid and not cartoid type, since sinsoid picks up sound in any direction.

    Put on your headphones, then adjust the mic mix till you hear the desired amount of background noise.
  • If you're looking into wearing headphones for a long period of time, I would suggest buying a comfortable pair. Perhaps my ears are more sensitive than most, but some headphones I've worn began to hurt after about 30-60 minutes. In light of this, I would suggest the Bang & Olufsen style of headphones (A8 [bang-olufsen.com]). The headphones can be purchased for under $100 on eBay (because they cost around $80 in China/HK, about half what they retail at in the US).

    However, I recently sold the B&O headphones because I

  • my experience (Score:2, Insightful)

    by jerrol ( 7184 )
    I got a pair of Beyerdynamic DT231s from www.headphone.com
    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.

  • If you can stand them, they sound phenomenal. They're basically earplugs with speakers built in, so they block out damn near all external sound by making an airtight seal, and you can keep the volume pretty low as a result. I used them for about a month, before I decided they were too much trouble than they were worth, though. They just wouldn't stay in my ears for extended periods of time.

    Some people swear by them, though, and I can see why - when they're in, they sound great. I think they just didn

  • get creative! (Score:5, Funny)

    by fanblade ( 863089 ) on Monday February 06, 2006 @10:05PM (#14656438) Journal
    You could also try some cube modding to find out when people are behind you!

    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!!!

  • one more requirement you forgot (Score:5, Insightful)

    by egburr ( 141740 ) on Monday February 06, 2006 @10:12PM (#14656474) Homepage
    You forgot the requirement that they direct the noise to your ears only and not disturb everyone around you.

    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.

    • I've never had a problem with earbuds being too loud. I always pay attention to the noise level, and my current ones (the cheap Sony ones that are frequently given out on airline flights) can't be heard 1m from my ear.

      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)?
    • I've never understood why people always have to have earphones loud enough that people can hear them from meters away. I can't hear mine (outside my ear, pointed towards the ear) until I'm within 10cm or usually even closer.
  • Same headphones - just attach a cheap microphone to the audio socket as well, put it where your expect people to enter the cube and adjust your mixer settings appropriately.

  • buds Vs muffs (Score:3, Insightful)

    by RingDev ( 879105 ) on Monday February 06, 2006 @10:23PM (#14656537) Homepage Journal
    When I got the green light to listen to music at work, my first choice was buds. I'm a application developer, and when we moved offices I went from a somewhat annoying (right next to the door) yet quiet (against 2 exterior walls), to a very loud (next to the network support bull pen) cubical. I used the ear buds for a while, but the ambient noise was still adiable unless I really cranked the music, which was just as distracting. I finally dug out an old set of Sony Switchback headphones. Those things are wonderful. Ambient noise gets cut way down, and they have some pretty decent sound quality. As for the cubical tapping, I figure if it's really important, they'll tap louder.

    -Rick
    • Same here. I did the earbud thing at first, but they had to be up louder, and some days (usually around the end of the week) they would bug me. After a while, I tried a couple different styles, eventually giving up and settling for a pair of back of the head jogging headphones. Not only do they work better as far as filtering out ambient noise while still letting me hear "important" things, I've found they have the added benefit of being a visual clue to others. I don't get bugged as much with petty "qu

  • Extended Hearing is key (Score:3, Informative)

    by picklepuss ( 749206 ) on Monday February 06, 2006 @10:27PM (#14656560) Homepage

    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.

    • Same for the pair of Sony MDR-7506 [musiciansfriend.com] I got. They are durable, have the threaded 1/4" adapter, are collapsible, and have a convient storage bag. When I went to Musician's Friend to get a pair I brought a recording of some Rimsky-Korsakov since it is generally demanding on the playback medium for audio range and fidelity. These were better quality than almost every other pair in the store for response, range, and clarity. They don't leak much even at moderate listening volume since they are over-the-ear rat
  • My wife and I have each have a pair of the PX-100s. We've had them for something around 2 years, and have had absolutely no problems with them. You question the robustness of the folding design. These units seem to be extremely solid. Plus, the case they fit in is also quite solid.

    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
  • Before you all go apeshit I just want to let you know that these cans were produced in Sony's pre-evil stage. Sony first made them in 1985 and hasn't seen fit to make any changes since (even brand new models come with the same manual from '85).

    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)

      by Chris Pimlott ( 16212 )
      I second this. I used to use a pair as my office headphones at my last job. They fulfilled the chief objectives - good sound quality, don't leak sound to the surroundings, comfortable, and cheap enough that I can afford to leave them at the office and not worry too much if they disappear.

      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
      • I third this. These are probably one of the best pairs you can get in this price range. Myself and a couple of my friends have them. Plus, you get the wonderful 80s aesthetic :).

        Andrew

        PS: I bought mine before the whole $sys$ thing was made public.
  • Oh, and don't succumb to the temptation to get the SR-80s just because they've got a higher model number. The 60s are far better for non-amp-driven listening.

    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

  • I have a pair of PX-100Ws (white) and they rock. Amazing bass for headphones. (White was what they had at Best Buy that day.)

    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
    • Apparently the cable is reinforced with kevlar... whether that is true or not I couldn't say. But they're definitely the lightest, strongest, most flexible headphone cable I have ever seen.

      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 :)
  • I have a previous generation of this model (the HD-470), and it's excellent. I suspect the new one will fit your needs.

    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
  • I have the Sennheiser RS 110 [google.com] model in my lab. Wireless, and open stage so I can still hear people. I have a mirror on the computer monitor, but can usually hear people walk up if I want to (read: volume isn't hella loud). Cost me $80 or so, and I can walk to the john and still hear my music, if I want to. Battery life is pretty good too. I use them almost every [work] day for a few hours and have to replace the batteries about every 2 months or so.

    Great sound, excellent bass response.
  • Sennheiser HD433 that sounds great and is a bargain. Open back, so ambient noise intrudes with volume down. Around 30 bucks, I think.
  • I got the PXC250 [sennheiserusa.com] though. Compared to the Bose noise canceling headphones, they're pretty cheap, and they won't hurt your ears nearly as much. (Plus, they collapse in on themselves making it possible to carry them in your pocket.) I've had these for over a year and the active noise cancelling really does work. The unit will get rid of the low rumbling noises (air conditioners, motors, etc) but doesn't touch most other sounds (like keyboards.) You'll end up listening to your music at a lower volume with the
  • Sony MDR-EX51LP
    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.
    • NO! No, No!
      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
      • What? This is a huge exaggeration.

        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
        • Had you actually read my post, you would of have seen "the problems started happening a year or so". Up to that point the cords had no problems (and I still have a pair of these from back then). Then Sony changed something (I recall hearing something about moving manufacturing from Korea to China) and turned a quality product into shit. If you can get an old set, they are great, but the news ones are crap.
          Like I said, read the reviews on amazon, etc.
          BTW, the 51s seem to have more of a problem than the 71s,
      • Yup, I've got a pair and mine took about 6 months to completely go to hell. I hadn't heard that this was a chronic problem, but I can't say I'm suprised.

        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
      • Read about that that cord problem before buying them. Apparently it doesn't happen to *everyone*. You'd think it might after going through the wash in hot water with extra-strength Tide but it didn't.

        Will post back here if it ever occurs.
  • Koss Porta-Pro. $30. You can still hear everything around you, the foam pads are cushy and won't make your ears sweat, and the quality is better than anything shy of the Grado SR-60 or the $100 Sennheisers.
    • I second that. The only downside is that the foampads wear out. I'm on my second set of Portapros because I couldn't get a new set of foampads for the first set when they wore out.
  • Just buy a microphone and unmute it. Then you'll get all that lovely background noise while you listen . . .
  • The PX100s are great, they come with a hard protective case but I don't use it and they haven't broken.

    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...
  • I'm currently using the Sennheiser PX 100's the original poster inquired about, and I find them excellent for portable listening on my laptop. They're comfortable, surprisingly durable, and have excellent sound in a small package. However, these are my travel 'phones, and I have a couple of other suggestions for in-cube listening.

    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

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