Best Noise cancelling headphones for open office - wired?

[gangzoom]

Has anyone got any headphone suggestions that would work for the following:

1: Active noise cancelling if possible.
2: Works well in an open office for music + Teams calls
3: Ideally WIRED, as it’ll need to work on multiple devices, and having a USB C-3.5mm jack to plug in/out is much easier than Bluetooth paring with multiple devices
4: Budget - £20-150+, really depends on how much of the first 3 criteria can be met.

I’ve already got Galaxy Bud Pros - which fail at point 3 totally, got some old AKG wired headphones that work well but falling apart now and have no ANC.

Haven’t looked at headphones for ages, and the choices now seem mad, so looking for anyone who’s actually used/bought any recently.

[Jazoli]

I use Sony wh-1000mx4 in an open plan office and they are excellent and have everything you need, cheapish now the xm5's are out.

[davek_964]

Second the Sony recommendation. I have the XM3s and they are superb in an office - cancel out other people talking very well and I use them for online meetings

[bobthemonkey]

Bose QC35/45 ( or SE) and one of the many add on wired boom mics.

[CoolHands]

You can buy this little Bluetooth usb adaptor. You can pair it to your headphones (if wireless) and this would be easy to move to various PCs ie you just plug it in to a usb slot then that pc will wirelessly send the music to your headphones. Maybe test it with your existing galaxy headphones.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09S15RLH5/ref...

[Craikeybaby]

I have the Soundcore Q20s, which I have been impressed by, but would buy the Q30s if I needed to replace them, as they can connect to 2 devices and have USB-C rather than micro USB charging.

[Alorotom]

I didn’t like my Sony XM4s so they got sent back but I find my Bose 700s to be excellent for exactly this.

I don’t use them cabled (but they can), I use them connected to 3 devices by Bluetooth and they switch perfectly as needed.

[sjg]

Anything wireless and SfB/Teams certified has to use a USB dongle which it stays paired with, so just move the dongle between. Although I leave the dongle in my work laptop and then bluetooth pair to my personal laptop for music etc.

If you do want wired, about the best is the the Poly Blackwire 8225, it's £130 on amazon, you may find cheaper elsewhere. Jabra Evolve2 40 is similar.

If you want full over-the-ear then the older Jabra Evolve 80.

Go certified if you care about how you sound to others on calls, some headphones can sound great to you but awful to the other party.

[Bollah]

Jazoli said:

I use Sony wh-1000mx4 in an open plan office and they are excellent and have everything you need, cheapish now the xm5's are out.

I have the XM5's and whilst they are very good, they are not good for Teams, especially in an open plan office. They will pick up all the background noise. I have been on calls, where someone opposite me has started talking to someone else in the office and this can be heard by people on the Teams call. They also have no integration with Teams, so you can't double tap the side to mute yourself, instead, you just end the call by doing that.

[wyson]

Some sort of Jabra headset with boom mic.

They have wired and wireless ranges.

I find wireless a boon. Can get up for a comfort break or to make a cup of tea during boring ass team calls where someone is droning on about their gardening. The bluetooth isn’t an issue if its used exclusively with one or two work devices. Stuff like the Jabra comes with a dedicated dongle as well which makes it easier again.

The Boom mic makes a difference to your clarity to people on the other end.

Edited by wyson on Wednesday 12th April 16:58

[ccr32]

Ok, these are not audiophile by any means, but I use a set of Microsoft LifeChat LX-3000's both at home and in the office. They are not ANC, so fail on that front per your requirements, but they are over-the-ear with comfortable ear cups which isolate noise pretty well (i've used them to keep out the noise of the builders at home and they do a decent enough job of that with some tunes on quietly in the background).

Sound quality for listening to music is very good with a decent amount of low end without sounding inbalanced, and calls through the computer (Teams, Zoom, Webex) are crystal clear both for me listening and those listening to me (having tested as such).

They are USB A, but I use a little Samsung adapter that came with one of my phones to take this to USB C and plug in to either my work Dell laptop or my Mac Mini as required, both of which works fine and without issue.

[donkmeister]

davek_964 said:

Second the Sony recommendation. I have the XM3s and they are superb in an office - cancel out other people talking very well and I use them for online meetings

They're also very well built - I've had mine for 4 or 5 years, and as well as the usual work/flights/walking use I've worn them to enjoy music whilst doing various building jobs. They've been bashed and dropped multiple times but still going strong. Whereas the Sennheisers they replaced just broke one day despite a lack of walloping. Battery life is excellent and APTX-HD / LDAC codecs are definitely worth it.

I have a mate who is a chronic Applefag and even he binned his airpods for a pair of XM4s after seeing my XM3s.

[Trustmeimadoctor]

Xm3 are badly built imho the tiny bit of plastic that keeps the headband in likes to break it's a common issue
I do like mine though just wish they were better on flights

[davek_964]

Trustmeimadoctor said:

Xm3 are badly built imho the tiny bit of plastic that keeps the headband in likes to break it's a common issue
I do like mine though just wish they were better on flights

Better on flights? Mine pretty much completely silence the noise on a flight - I tend to have the volume of anything I'm watching / listening to right down to about a quarter on flights.
I also have the (in ear) XM4s - not used those on a flight yet, but will be trying them next week. I don't think the noise cancelling is as good in them, so suspect I'll be disappointed.

[Trustmeimadoctor]

I'm talking about when not having any audio playing with sound they are fine

[davek_964]

Trustmeimadoctor said:

I'm talking about when not having any audio playing with sound they are fine

OK - I think even without audio, mine cancel out virtually all noise on flights. Odd.

[Trustmeimadoctor]

Even sitting Infront of the wing etc I find them not quite as good as I'd like they are better than other cheaper NC sets I tried though I'd upgrade to the 5's bug they are apparently not as good as the 3/4

[gangzoom]

Thanks for all the suggestions, was about to go for the Sony and than saw the Soundcore suggestion. £71 for 'as new' but open boxed, arrived just in time for a trial run at the local softplay area......am sure the Sony ANC is better but I have to say the cheapo versions works well enough for me. Connected to my phone an iPad via Bluetooth, for work the 3.5mm jack will be very useful into the docking station without faffing with repairing with various laptops etc.

Thanks for all the recommendations. Had to turn down the volume, whilst sitting in the middle of utter cahos, not bad for sub £100. Came with a carrying case, 3.5mm cable, and the headband is metal, headphones really have come a long way .