“RE: noise cancellation quality when not listening to music My main purpose for buying noise canceling headphones is not to listen to music without distractions, but to have peace and quiet while not listening to music. Peace. Quiet. No music, either. So, how well does the noise cancellation perform when not listening to any music? When not listening to music, will conversations be blocked out? Or, do they perform better with reducing noises like air conditioner units, subway sounds, but do not do well with blocking out human speech?”
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I found that voices will be muffled, but will still be able to hear them. The other incidental noises will be cut out. For example, on an airplane, when I turn them on without listing to any music all the sounds of the airplane itself go away, but unfortunately you can hear a baby crying or a loud passenger talking. It does reduce those sounds, but you can still hear the people and baby. When it gets like that, I put some relaxation music on really low, just enough to block out the voices and it seems to work.
Sorry, there was a problem. Please try again later.Our noise cancelling headphones, including the QC20's, are designed mainly to reduce sound from sources such as airplane or subway noise. While they will significanly reduce the overall level of sound such as a human voice, it would not be elimated completely. Thank you.
Sorry, there was a problem. Please try again later.The earbuds work fairly well blocking noise even without listening to music. I use them for this purpose while I'm in work concentrating and don't want the distraction of music or anything else. I work in a very noisy environment and this works very well for me. I'd give them a 9 on a 1-10 rating scale for this purpose.
Sorry, there was a problem. Please try again later.These will address your needs perfectly. Best in class Noise Cancellation even when not listening to music. Bose pioneered this technology and still by far the best. Conversations and people are reduced/blocked compared to previous Technology, with added advantage of simply pushing small button beside microphone to hear conversations you DO want to hear, crystal clear. Incidentally, this is probably the best feature of the QC20i's - in my opinion. This is the third pair of Bose Noise Canceling devices I have owned. Hope this helps....Independent response/review. No affiliation with BOSE other than being a customer.
Sorry, there was a problem. Please try again later.I wouldn't buy noise cancelling earphones if your main purpose is to have peace and quiet while not listening to music. If that's your main purpose, I would buy noise isolating earphones which mainly act as ear plugs (I hope I didn't get the two terms mixed). Having said this, the QC20i performs better with reducing noises like air conditioner units, subways, compared to human speech, but QC20 overall just does a good job cancelling noise so if not too loud human speech will not bother you when the canceler is on. Hope this helps.
Sorry, there was a problem. Please try again later.I use them without music at night to block out my husbands snoring. They really work and are much more comfortable than earplugs. Just be sure they're set to noise canceling.
Sorry, there was a problem. Please try again later.They do not completely cancel out conversations. They do a good job at muffling them. Some conversations I have noticed at work to be completely canceled out, however when someone tends to change the volume of their voice a lot the headphones have problems canceling the noise. I would also tell you when you aren't playing music or listening to anything, but you have the canceling on you will feel a slight pressure in your ear. It is weird at first but you get used to it. If you were buying them just for the purpose of canceling out conversations I would not recommend them, but if you would like to do that as well as buy an awesome pair of headphones, I would say these are the best out there.
Sorry, there was a problem. Please try again later.I use them all the time when traveling. Especially on long haul or transatlantic flights where I use them unplugged from a device to drown out the environmental noise and enable me enough peace to sleep. Helps block out (or reduce enough) engine noise, conversation and crying babies.
Sorry, there was a problem. Please try again later.They are fabulous even if you just want peace and quiet. Conversations either disappear or sound like they are far far away. Once in a while, when I have them on in a plane and the captain talks through pa system, I can hear him - but still quite muffled.
Sorry, there was a problem. Please try again later.With no music you can carry on normal conversation. You will speak quieter than normal because you hear less noise.
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