Comments on: Quiet is nice http://blog.xcski.com/2006/01/05/quiet-is-nice Everything I used to bore people on newsgroups and mailing lists with, now in one inconvenient place. Fri, 05 Dec 2008 11:19:56 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.5 By: Geoff Gigg http://blog.xcski.com/2006/01/05/quiet-is-nice#comment-1743 Geoff Gigg Sun, 12 Mar 2006 00:25:47 +0000 http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/2006/01/05/quiet-is-nice#comment-1743 I bought a pair of cheap muffs (Howard Leightning NRR 29, about $25-$30) to gain some quiet in the open office environment. Seems like most muffs are designed to cut off high frequencies, but let speech frequencies through - i.e. industrial situations where you need to be able to hear a safety warning. It was hard to find one that would be an effective conversation blocker. (I looked briefly into the cancelling types, but too rich for me.) They aren't powered, but do an effective job - HVAC and computer hum disappear; and talk, while still there, recedes far enough into the background that it becomes unintelligible. Mr. "Hacknot" has a good article on the lunacy of paying people for their thoughts, and then putting them into an environment that seems designed to destroy all possibility of coherent, sustained thought: http://www.hacknot.info/hacknot/action/showEntry?eid=78 When I first started out (many decades ago) everybody was in offices, max two people. Within a few years, I got my own. Since then, back into open offices, and the acreage just gets larger and larger. I bought a pair of cheap muffs (Howard Leightning NRR 29, about $25-$30) to gain some quiet in the open office environment. Seems like most muffs are designed to cut off high frequencies, but let speech frequencies through - i.e. industrial situations where you need to be able to hear a safety warning. It was hard to find one that would be an effective conversation blocker. (I looked briefly into the cancelling types, but too rich for me.)

They aren’t powered, but do an effective job - HVAC and computer hum disappear; and talk, while still there, recedes far enough into the background that it becomes unintelligible.

Mr. “Hacknot” has a good article on the lunacy of paying people for their thoughts, and then putting them into an environment that seems designed to destroy all possibility of coherent, sustained thought:

http://www.hacknot.info/hacknot/action/showEntry?eid=78

When I first started out (many decades ago) everybody was in offices, max two people. Within a few years, I got my own. Since then, back into open offices, and the acreage just gets larger and larger.

]]> By: Ian http://blog.xcski.com/2006/01/05/quiet-is-nice#comment-1570 Ian Fri, 06 Jan 2006 05:05:17 +0000 http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/2006/01/05/quiet-is-nice#comment-1570 <em>The battery compartment presses into my head annoyingly after a lot of hours of continuous use.</em> You probably need some kind of padding. Something thin, but tough ... you don't want it to get scraped away by the headphones. Not just in one spot, because the headphones are going to slide around a bit, right? And most padding is just going to flop around, you need something malleable, that you can sort of wrap around a bit so it's not annoying. I know! Tin foil! Perfect! Then you'll have the kind of privacy you need. Your helpful friend, Ian The battery compartment presses into my head annoyingly after a lot of hours of continuous use.

You probably need some kind of padding. Something thin, but tough … you don’t want it to get scraped away by the headphones. Not just in one spot, because the headphones are going to slide around a bit, right? And most padding is just going to flop around, you need something malleable, that you can sort of wrap around a bit so it’s not annoying. I know! Tin foil! Perfect! Then you’ll have the kind of privacy you need.

Your helpful friend,

Ian

]]> By: Frank Ch. Eigler http://blog.xcski.com/2006/01/05/quiet-is-nice#comment-1568 Frank Ch. Eigler Thu, 05 Jan 2006 21:44:23 +0000 http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/2006/01/05/quiet-is-nice#comment-1568 I bought one of the Bose ANR headphones you mention. It has been running on its first and only AAA battery for months, for perhaps 50+ hours of usage. Audio quality is excellent - no complaints about the bass or the fit (though I don't know just how much you might like). The sensation of disappearing ambient noise is a revelation. I bought one of the Bose ANR headphones you mention. It has been running on its first and only AAA battery for months, for perhaps 50+ hours of usage. Audio quality is excellent - no complaints about the bass or the fit (though I don’t know just how much you might like).

The sensation of disappearing ambient noise is a revelation.

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