I see a lot of people giving thanks for 'nice noise canceling headsets' in this thread, but from what I can tell, noise canceling does not work for about 50% of people.
In my office we've tested every single noise canceling headset, from Bose QC, to Sennheiser PXC 550, to B&W PX, and everything in between.
The noise canceling is a weird hiss, increases feelings of ear pressure, and the discomfort manifests as a headache or car sickness after a few hours- and that isn't even taking into account the other pains people feel from prolonged use of over ear headphones.
When you're talking about wearing something for 8 hours a day, there are some real ergo needs that drive the shape and technology of the device. Think about how light typical call center headsets are- that is a professional device.
Not to say it doesn't work for you individually, but noise canceling headsets are NOT a solution that works for an office worth of people. Out of about 500 people in my office, only 20 or so stuck with noise canceling cans as their daily headsets.
Using headphones works very well for me, but the downside is that my brain has completely associated the sensation of headphones with productivity. Even if I'm home alone, it's hard to concentrate unless I have them on.
In my office we've tested every single noise canceling headset, from Bose QC, to Sennheiser PXC 550, to B&W PX, and everything in between.
The noise canceling is a weird hiss, increases feelings of ear pressure, and the discomfort manifests as a headache or car sickness after a few hours- and that isn't even taking into account the other pains people feel from prolonged use of over ear headphones.
When you're talking about wearing something for 8 hours a day, there are some real ergo needs that drive the shape and technology of the device. Think about how light typical call center headsets are- that is a professional device.
Not to say it doesn't work for you individually, but noise canceling headsets are NOT a solution that works for an office worth of people. Out of about 500 people in my office, only 20 or so stuck with noise canceling cans as their daily headsets.