Noise cancelling headphones.

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Johnboy

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Has anyone here tried noise cancelling headphones in the workshop? The Bose ones are very expensive but a quick search finds some Panasonic ones for about £40. I think they only cancel continuous noises ( jet engines and the like) and wondered if they would be any good in the workshop.

John
 
My company supplied me with a set from RS Components part No 290-2009 and I find them great, they cut in if the Db level exceeds a preset level and react quickly even to a gun shot, mine have a volume control on each earpiece and can be set so you still hear any machinery you are using and when SHMBO calls , the only drawback is I keep forgetting to switch them off when not in use and drain the batteries :oops:

nigel
 
John,

Noise cancelling headphones are different to the ones that Ray and Nigel are talking about.

I recently bought a pair of noise cancelling headphones (Altec Lansing - £50), and they are fantastic for what they are intended for - cancelling out low frequency background noise so that you can hear the music more clearly. Essentially they are just acoustic headphones with a noise cancelling circuit. I was absolutely amazed at the difference they make on an aeroplane. However, I would doubt whether they would be much use in a wood shop as most of the noise would be of a higher frequency than they are able to attenuate.

The headphones Ray and Neil are talking about are ear defenders that automatically compensate for the noise level - a different animal entirely.

Hope that this helps.

Regards

Gary
 
Hi Gary, I have used the electronic ones that Ray and Nigel are talking about for clay pigeon shooting and as you say they are not noise cancelling. Just wondered if anyone had tried them in the workshop but as you say they probably wont be effective against the high frequency sounds from saws routers etc.

John
 
John,

Yes - it was noticeable when I used them on the plane that they were very effective at cancelling the low - frequency rumble, but higher frequency sounds (speech etc) wasn't effected at all. When I was researching which ones to buy, I noticed that all brands were the same, in that they are designed to eliminate the low-end stuff.

Regards

Gary
 
I've just tried the defenders as mentioned in my previous post and was pleased with how they work. To start with, they're a very good fit, so noise reduction is as good as a pro set of defenders.

The difference is that when machinery is not running, you can hear conversation, even bird-song, as though you hadn't got any on at all. When using machinery (table saw, router, etc.) they work just like a good pair of defenders do, so the benefit is that you can leave them on and still converse, listen to music, etc.

Ray
 
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