Has anybody found any noise cancelling bluetooth headphones for the shop they can recommend?

I like to listen to NPR in the shop and right now I have some BT earplugs t hat I put under my headphones (the ones for noise) to listen to. This is O K, but after a couple of hours becomes uncomfortable. I just can't seem to find a noise cancelling BT enabled headset that is suitable. I'm not inte rested in audiophile quality as I never really listen to music, just NPR. I 'm more interested in comfort and hearing protection then audio quality.

Makes sanding almost tolerable.

Thanks. Jim

Reply to
Jim
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I've been looking for a pair for mowing, for a couple of years. I've bought a few pairs from Amazon but they really aren't satisfactory. I don't want to spend a *log* of money on them, since they'll be pretty well abused.

Reply to
krw

Keep in mind I'm a drummer in my other life, so I might have a much higher bar when it comes to hearing protection than the average woodworker. The majority of the time I'm playing music, I'm either wearing hearing protection, or earbuds/headphones that offer hearing protection along with playing audio for my ears to hear.

There are times I actually "unplug" my earbuds a bit so I can hear some of the ambient sounds of my drums while still hearing the music coming into the in-ear speakers.

This is similar to what I want to hear when woodworking. I actually want to hear a bit of the powertool when woodworking. I want to hear if it's binding or bogging down or other things. This can be accomplished with a moderate amount of attenuation.

When drumming in a band setting, I'm under a constant barrage of way over 100dB for extended periods of time. This is when I really need

32dB+ of attenuation... or even more, to keep from doing serious hearing damage. After more than 3 decades of drumming, I still have excellent hearing. I take hearing protection seriously.

Having written all that, I bought some LG bluetooth earbuds for doing things like mowing the lawn and long bouts with the power sander. They have really good sound and *sufficient* attenuation for mowing and woodworking. You don't really need a lot of attenuation when using a power sander or planer, etc. 15-20dB is plenty.

The LG earbuds use the rubber cup type "plunger" that fits into the ear canal and it comes in a few different sizes to fit your ear. In my opinion (which I hope I shown to be based on plenty of experience in this area) they have enough attenuation to be used in woodworking and mowing. They also happen to sound pretty good.

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Reply to
-MIKE-

Oh crap! Yes, they are comfortable. The are very light and you hardly feel them on you.

Reply to
-MIKE-

Thanks, Mike. I've tried over-the-ear, on-the-ear, and (wired) buds. None of them has enough isolation for my tastes. In fact, I have to crank up the volume to 11 to hear anything (which isn't good in itself), and still miss a lot. None of these were very expensive, though. I may try a pair of these, though I really don't like anything around my neck. I need something better than what I have.

Which model do you have?

Reply to
krw

HBS-730. May not be available anymore due to improvements in newer models. If you don't like anything around your neck, they are companies now making wireless buds that go in your ear with nothing else attached.

Reply to
-MIKE-

Thanks. I was more worried about the "sports" version, which is sweat "proof" but from what I gather from the comments, grabs pretty tightly to the neck. I don't run anymore (but walk 10-12mi a day), bouncing isn't much of a problem but I don't think I'd like that at all. Maybe one of the other models would work better.

I've seen the wireless ear buds but it's hard to know about any of this stuff without trying it, which has obvious problems. I'm concerned that I'm going to spend another hundred bucks (or more) and have something that doesn't work any better than what I have.

Reply to
krw

Yeah, I definitely get that. FWIW, mine don't "grab" the neck, they just sort of sit there. Of course all necks are different... you might have a big ol' gorilla neck for all I know. :-)

Reply to
-MIKE-

Well, I'm certainly no pencil neck. ;-)

I tried on the Bose active noise canceling over-the-ear phones. They're really nice but I'm not about to spend $350 on earphones to use while I'm working or at the gym.

Reply to
krw

FWIW, some years back I picked up a set of cheapie earbuds at a dollar store. I've since gotten many "better" sets. They're all dead, the cheapies are still working fine. Don't sound all that great but I don't hear all that great anymore either.

Reply to
J. Clarke

Maybe it was from using those cheapie earbuds. ;)

Reply to
Meanie

What?

Reply to
DerbyDad03

Nahh, they aren't loud enough to do damage. Or maybe they are and I've got so much damage already that I can't tell they're loud.

Reply to
J. Clarke

I've never been happy with any earbud for hearing protection, even the ones with multiple flanges, or foam surrounds. Just not enough protection, and I end up raising the music volume to overcome the noise. My LG HBS-750 lowers outside sounds enough that I don't hear my wife (sometimes all I need), but I like more protection from really loud noise. Mine is a discontinued model, but still available for about $50-60. Previously I used the HBS-730 until my wife wanted it back... The 750 connects with my phone quicker than the 730 did. Good battery life and recharges quickly. Seems to be sweat resistant. If I turn them off without taking them off, I forget they are around my neck. Walking into a brisk wind will cause some noise around the ear buds, like any other ear bud I've used. For mowing and using power tools, I'll add a pair of muffs just so I can lower the volume even more.

I keep looking at the 3M Bluetooth Worktunes muffs, but my current solution gives me more options.

Reply to
Larry Kraus

Yeah, I would like something over the ear, but just can't find it. I might go with the LG and just put my earphones over them.

Reply to
Jim

That's what I do in the studio when I have an all-day session or rehearsal. My musicians' in-ear buds sound phenomenal and are fine for concert length use. But for 6+ hours, I will use my buds and wear either ear muffs over them or studio headphones over them. The headphones over the in-ears give the added benefit of giving me some spacial low-end which allows me to lower the overall volume to my ears but still have some "oomph" getting to my head.

Another thing that allows this is what's called a "seat-thumper." It's an actuator that is connected to a drummer's throne or think plywood that a musician stands on, which vibrates to the pulses of the low-end in the music. This replaces the giant bass speakers in wedge or side-fill speakers that would allow a musician to "feel" the low-end in the music, something that was lost with the advent of in-ear monitors.

Reply to
-MIKE-

Super great information, Thanks!

Reply to
OFWW

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