Headphones in Corporate Culture?

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."

Comments

a mirror

[file cabinet]

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

[UnrefinedLayman]

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.

$30-99? Grado SR-60s

[trickykungfu]

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.

Go Sennheizer

[thegrassyknowl]

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.

PX 100's

[spoop]

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:Get the Sennheiser PXC 300

[Frequency Domain]

Etymotics aren't noise cancelling, they are noise isolating - they physically seal your ear off from the ambient noise. Noise cancelling headphones, on the other hand, have a little pickup microphone for the outside noise, and circuitry to invert the waveform and inject it into the headphone signal. The inverted waveform and original noise waveform cancel each other inside the earpiece, leaving the music much more audible at lower volumes. Since the inverting circuitry works best against steady-state drones such as jet engines, refrigerators, computer hum, etc., the earlier post is correct that it may make it possible to hear things like raps on the cubicle or conversations.

Re:Use a mic

[dpaton.net]

You mean omnidirectional, not sinusoid. Cardoid describes the polar pattern of the mic, and will tend to reject sounds that are behind the mic, like the computer fans.

-dave

Re:Get the Sennheiser PXC 300

[AsbestosRush]

Not to flame, but if the submitter is seriously considering Sennheiser cans, he subjectively won't like they reproduction of the $10 set from Best Buy. Sennheiser makes some of the best headphones in the business

Of course, this begs the question, "If quality reproduction is what you want, why are you sourceing from an MP3 Player?"

Now, to get back on topic, I have to wonder if submitter's little player really does have the juice to run a really good set of cans. I'd highly recommend that the submitter check out http://www.headphone.com/ and read up. Lots of great info there on headphones, a bit of the physics, and a *huge* selection of headphones and headphone amps.