Music listening and background noise

[sporkles]

I really am so fed up with traffic noise, construction noise and all the general
noise pollution you have to wade through only to get from A to B. All I want is
to have a nice walk/bus ride to work or wherever I'm headed, with some nice
music on my ears. But nooooo - not unless I want to ruin my hearing by
turning the volume up so high it pierces my eardrums. I mean, has anyone
who's using run-of-the-mill iPod buds tried listening to music in a quiet
environment - say your bedroom just before bedtime - at the same level as on
the bus, or on the streets? Yikes!

So what's the best solution for dampening background noise? A huge cup
(which always feels kind of awkward when you're on the move), or one of those
buds you nigh well stick directly into your brain (I think some of them are even
expandable, ear plugs style)?

[BASSbüro]

wear a helmet:

[fishmonkey]

I really am so fed up with traffic noise, construction noise and all the general
noise pollution you have to wade through only to get from A to B. All I want is
to have a nice walk/bus ride to work or wherever I'm headed, with some nice
music on my ears. But nooooo - not unless I want to ruin my hearing by
turning the volume up so high it pierces my eardrums. I mean, has anyone
who's using run-of-the-mill iPod buds tried listening to music in a quiet
environment - say your bedroom just before bedtime - at the same level as on
the bus, or on the streets? Yikes!

So what's the best solution for dampening background noise? A huge cup
(which always feels kind of awkward when you're on the move), or one of those
buds you nigh well stick directly into your brain (I think some of them are even
expandable, ear plugs style)?

i hear ya, i swear i'm being stalked by a whole village of construction sites... where i live we even have council workers with petrol-powered leaf blowers go around and blow debris from one bit of the road to another... it's insane...

since i'm studying hearing and hearing loss at the moment i would say avoid earbuds... there is a growing epidemic of hearing damage because of portable music players, which won't become fully apparent for some years... there was a young fella about 50 metres away from me in a quiet park the other day, and i could hear the beats coming from his earbuds... poor bastard will be half-deaf before he exits puberty... and actually it doesn't even have to hurt to be doing you damage... even at relatively moderate levels, extended periods of noise/music can wipe out those wee hair cells...

has anyone here ever tried any of those noise-cancelling headphones? i think they sample the environmental noise, invert the phase and mix it in with your music, or something like that...

[littlepig]

I've had a pair of sennheiser noise cancelling headphones for about 4 years now. They are really brilliant for getting rid of aircraft/train/car noise.

On aircraft I can listen to the movie with the volume on its minimum setting with the noise cancelling switched on. If I turn off the noise cancel I have to crank the volume up to hear it at all so it is definately cancelling a lot of noise.

The unit is powered by 2 AA batteries which last for ages.

I don't think they cancel construction noise so well because it is less predictable .

Anyway I recommend them.

[dhilsabeck]

I like my shure e2's. I use the orange foam ones you roll up and close off your ear canal with. I suppose any ear bud with the memory foam ear piece would be fine. and

[stonee]

most in ear headphones will do the trick. if you want to spend money, you can get some really nice ones.

[logic_user99]

I use a pair of Senn. in-ear headphones with ma iPodge. They work an absolute treat for getting to & from work, without being bugged by the traffic/arseholes on the bus who talk far too loud for a public place!

Great bass response, and they're only a tenner!