Headphones for filtering out noise in an open-space office

Question

I'm looking for headphones for open-space office environment to filter out other people's noise (chatting, talking on the phone etc.).

Requirements:

• They should filter out usual office noise effectively.
• Filtering should work well with all kinds of music.
• It will be perfect if filtering works without even listening to music (like an ear-plug).

In the last few years I've used normal headphones which cover my whole ears (Sennheiser HD 201) and ear canal phones (Sennheiser CX-300, CX-300 II). I've found the in-ear phones are better although I'm not completely satisfied with these too. Sometimes I feel that the required volume will hurt my hearing in the long run, so I'm looking for better products.

Answer 1

I personally use Etymotic HF5, and have used the cheaper ER-6i in the past (though I think they replaced that with the MC5). The Etymotics are in-ear-canal phones, and function as ear plugs, giving over a 35dB reduction in sound levels.

They also play music really well, even at quite low volumes. That 35dB of noise isolation goes a long way to letting you listen at low volumes—you can listen low enough that quietly humming to yourself (not blocked by earplugs because that vibration is not carried via air) will drown out the music.

One tip: The cord carries vibrations like crazy. Not a huge problem sitting in a chair, but moving it is. Greatly improved by having the cord exit the earphone towards the bottom-front of your ear, then wrapping the cord over the top of your ear—that stops almost all vibration noises.

BTW: There are cheaper earphones of a similar style. Haven't used them so I can't vouch for them.