Thread: Sony noise cancelling Headphones - suitable for low level ear defending?

I don't have empirical evidence but my circumstantial observation of using cheap noise cancelling headphones on planes is:
1. They work.
2. They make the sound you want to listen to clearer.
3. They cover one noise with another.
4. They are loud, but you don't notice it.
5. It is far more restful to simply use earplugs if you don't want to listen to something.

Have you considered Bluetooth ear defenders? I have a pair of Tactix from Bunnings that can either be used as headphones or as noise cancelling earmuffs that allow conversations etc. Ok, the sound quality isn’t amazing but they do work well and I can wear them for hours at a time. Normally I use a Bluetooth speaker to listen to my Walkman with as I use handtools as much as I can but if I’m doing an extended machining session then the Tactix are what I reach for.

I've used many different pairs of noise cancelling headphones on planes, with machinery (including my 116 dB exhaust modified 120cc chainsaw) and none of were as good at noise attenuation of any of my of Peltor HB10s. To be fully protected from the CS I also wore ear plugs inside the muffs.

The main reason is that significant head side pressure is needed to prevent sound leaking in around the sides of the muffs. Noise cancelling muffs are built for comfort and simply do not use enough side pressure to prevent sound from leaking in. On my (fat) head the Peltors apply so much side pressure that they start to become uncomfortable after a couple of hours of continuous use and I would not like to wear them. However, for 20 to 30 minutes of continuous use (that's typically the max length of time for a CS cut) they are fine.

However if you were just going to use them to music when using relatively low level noise emitters like ROS or drills etc etc they should be OK. Anything more than this then I'd be wearing the Peltors

Originally Posted by BobL

The main reason is that significant head side pressure is needed to prevent sound leaking in around the sides of the muffs. Noise cancelling muffs are built for comfort and simply do not use enough side pressure to prevent sound from leaking in

Yes, that would be my concern for higher noise levels. I have a pair of 3M earmuffs with FM radio and 3.5mm jack so I can run them from my DAP. They have excellent defender capacity (plenty of head grab) but absolutely crap sound quality.

Originally Posted by BobL

However if you were just going to use them to music when using relatively low level noise emitters like ROS or drills etc etc they should be OK. Anything more than this then I'd be wearing the Peltors

That would be my intention.


What would be REALLY good is if the 3M muffs I have had the sound quality of what I suspect the Sonys have. I don't expect such a beast to have the sound quality of my Focal Stellia headphones, but something substantially better than the current tinny 3Ms would be good.

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

There are some tasks I do that have lower level noise, and that can be quite lengthy - sanding a table top for example. Neither the vac nor the sander are particularly loud, but when combined (as they always area) they are enough to make me reach for the ear defenders every time. Listening to some tunes whilst doing that would be excellent.

So I'm wondering how well noise cancelling works as ear defence. Sony have just released some new $550 Headphones which are obviously aimed at mid-range quality (because Bluetooth just can't carry the signal of very high resolution music....yet), and they are claimed to be cutting edge noise cancellation. They have some pretty cool features such as covering the ear cup to attenuate the music if you want to hear someone speaking.

But the question is: does noise cancelling work as well as ear defence for lower level noise? (I would never use them for the noisiest operations)

I use Bose because the sound quality is excellent and the muffs are bigger than sony and will cover my whole ears. I have used them when I am using my Tormek grinder while watching youtube on my TV. Sometimes the noise cancellation is so good that I have to be careful. Hearing is one of my senses that alerts me of pending danger. I have tried it on instead of ear muffs once when I was operating the table saw. The noise level was quite acceptable but I think my muffs were better.

Originally Posted by justonething

I use Bose because the sound quality is excellent and the muffs are bigger than sony and will cover my whole ears. I have used them when I am using my Tormek grinder while watching youtube on my TV. Sometimes the noise cancellation is so good that I have to be careful. Hearing is one of my senses that alerts me of pending danger.

This is a really good point. Here's an example. A few years ago I was wearing my Peltors while using my DP with a large 25mm? Morse taper (MT) bit. There's no chuck involved, the bit is just held there by the MT. While drilling a piece of steel the drill bit came out and landed on the floor and rolled under the DP. I retrieved the bit up and checking the tip was OK rammed it back into the Morse taper BUT I had forgotten to turn the motor off and I could not hear it or see the MT turning. The MT grabbed the bit with my hand wrapped around it and luckily it was a large bit on slow speed so I had time to let it go bit it still managed to cut a 1" long slice a coupe of mm deep in teh palm of my hand.

I don't use earphones or headphones in the shed with any machinery or power tools as I think they are too distractive.I do have the radio or MP3 tru a stereo on as I don't find that anywhere near as distractive.

Typically the very noisiest machines in my shed are the ones in shortest use, so earmuffs on, earmuffs off - not suitable for music in any case. My table saw, for example, is a Universal motor which is very loud. Even if I was doing an extended TS job I would only use defenders.

However, lower noise level, less dangerous, longer lasting jobs, like a thicknessing session or long sanding session are pretty suitable for some music. Even long pressure washing of the pavers in the courtyard when they are slippery. Lawn mowing.

G'Day Bret, I have a pair of the Sony ones which I bought a couple of years back from Aldi on special....

For my use they are pretty good, I just have bluetooth music running all the time...

Cheers, Peter

I, too, got a pair of the Sony bluetooth noise cancelling headphones. Specifically to use in the workshop.
Out of the box, to be honest, I was not overly impressed - but I got them because when I compared them
with the latest Bose offering in the shop they seemed to be more stable on my head.

The problems are easily solved inside of 1/2 an hour. There is a default setting where the ambient sound settings change according to your activity level (!). Think between jogging vs. sitting on a park bench. Unfortunately, every time it changes, the music stops, you hear a bell tone, then the music resumes.
What a *stupid* decision. Makes the headphones extremely annoying if you're doing cabinetry in the shop. I had to spend some time on the search engine, figured out what was causing the stupid stop-bell-start, and fixed it from the phone app.
The other thing is, I changed the equalizer settings a little. They seemed bass heavy out of the box and I do not listen to (c)rap 'music' or hip-hop.

As for performance, I would put them at a suppression level near my Peltor 4s (or are they 5s?). I have also used them without playing music -- it works. I don't hear the dusty running, barely hear the bandsaw. The compressor is a different story. It does some types of noise better than others, but the same stuff gets through the Peltors. I tried it out.
Unfortunately they don't sit on my head anywhere near as tightly as the Peltors. In other words: if I am up-and-down a lot, bending over my work, they eventually start to slip. (Ok, so I have lots of pretty wild hair, trying to emulate that well known Albert style - I am sure if you get a short back and sides regularly, you may not have that problem). But it is what it is, and, as I said, in the shop the Boses were even looser, they barely hung on when I bent over once. No good for head-bangers

The bass-adjusted music quality is very good - I have no complaints. One of the good things about my body: at 66 I don't have any hearing loss. (let's not get into any of the other age related crap). So I can really still enjoy good sound quality.
Comfort level is also good. I have extremely sensitive ears, on-ear headphones are impossible for me to wear for more than a few minutes before the pain ramps up. There seems to be plenty of space in these cans and I don't get sideways pressure or encroachment on my ears.

I’m 52 and have been in joinery shops since I was walking. Combined with lifestyle pursuits such as hunting and clay target shooting and playing drums in bands, my hearing is severely deteriorated. I wear earmuffs most all the time in the shop, but I’ve found that some are better than others and some still allow me to hear how a machine is cutting, whether it is sharp, or if spindle cutters are not the same projection and cut. But i have no experience with noise cancelling headwear or music, I think it would be distracting, it’s good to hear how a machine is cutting.

I have some Howard Leighton earmuffs which have an am/fm radio in them, I find them comfortable and very effective with just the hum of the sander, bandsaw or circ saw in the background. Purchased at Total Tools, run on aaa batteries.

Hearing protection should cut the sound pressure levels (SPL) so's the operator is exposed to a average ~80dB or less. Some standards say 85dB but I prefer to work on the conservative side. This means if you have a screaming lunchbox thicknesser that is emitting 110dB you need 30dB SPL reduction hearing protection.

Remember it is physically impossible to reduce noise using ear muffs and or plugs more than about 35dB because above that the bones of the skull will conduct more sound through the head direct to the inner wear than muffs can cut out. To get more sound reduction than this something like a deep sea divers helmet is needed.

If you have an ROS producing 90dB then maybe some cotton wool ear plugs will be enough.
But, if you then turn around and play music through those muffs to hear the music you may need to boost the total SPL to above 85dB which can be just as bad for you as the noise.

So there is still a benefit in using the best possible muffs when playing music in the presence of external unwanted noise.

I use wireless in-ear head phones (not noise cancelling), rather than over the ear head phones.

It get's really hot in summer, and I cant wear over-ear anything for more than 5 minutes.

I find that good fitting quality ear inserts with the in-ear head phones resolve most lower noise issues for me (ROS, vacuum etc), by having a good inner-ear seal.

For noisier processes i use quality foam in-ear plugs (no music).

Originally Posted by graham.murfett

I use wireless in-ear head phones (not noise cancelling), rather than over the ear head phones.

I really wish I could, for a few reasons - including summer heat and ease of wearing a brim hat outside - but I just can't get them to stay in my narrow ear canals. Have tried the smallest tips I can find, but I still have to hold them in to get any kind of bass response happening. The left one in particular falls out after perhaps a minute.