Bose QC35 Noise Reducing Headphones and Woodworking Machinery

[grbmds]

For those looking for something with the best fit, go to your local hearing aid store (not a chain) and get a set of custom moulded ones.  I use the ones by Westone and I can wear these all day and forget they are in my ear.  I tried the foams, but just found they never fit or would fall out of my ear at the worst time.  You can get them in all sorts of colors too.  I have a orange pair I use for sporting clays and clear when I'm wood working or doing anything else around the house...like the girls yelling at each other to get out of the bathroom.....

You can have covers made for your in-ear headphones, but they don't have a NRR because they are not specifically made too that purpose nor have been tested for that purpose.

 

[nickao]

I use the Bose sound link ae2 wireless over ear headphones with built in bluetooth in the workshop and love them.

Connected to both my sound system and iPhone they work great, meaning I don't miss calls, messages and I can work and chat on the phone at the same time!

They are not the sound cancelling ones, but still do take the edge off the machine or tool. And in fact I still like to be able to hear and think it good to still be able to hear the tool or machine.

One of the best buys I made last year  [big grin]

[attachimg=1]

To protect your ears those are a joke, I have them and I would never, ever suggest those for a wood shop in any form for hearing protection, if you use hearing protection with them then the sound is awful. They offer zero protection and in my shop, well I would go deaf in 3 months using them. I know, I own them. For the sake of your safety dont use those in your shop, its simply not going to protect your ears in any way and adding ear buds with them just takes away the point of them muffling the nice sound they actually do give.

I have over 50 different hearing protection muffs and tried them all, but as far as Bluetooth type there are slim pickings only about 3 that are even worth considering, IMHO. Of those by far the best Bluetooth type  and I mean not even close are these linked below. Factor in cost and performance and so far I cant find anything remotely as good, so much so I have three pair:
https://www.amazon.com/3M-WorkTunes-Protector-Technology-90542-3DC/dp/B0146A4SWA

[attachimg=1]

The only others that I would even recommend(I stopped recommending the ION Audio brand, I had issues) for a shop setting are going to be in the 150.00 to 400.00 cost range plus, similar to what I used on the runways at O'hare airport. The WS 100 are my second choice if you must be able to talk to others, but I like the cheaper units listed above better. I returned the WS 100 pretty fast as for 385.00 they just were no better and I work alone so for me not worth it.:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DHVXF2...ode=ur2&tag=nn-txt-20&linkId=ARBJ5MO4IHDEQAMQ

[attachimg=2]

 

[RickyL]

I used Seinheisser momentums. With an ETS and CT26 on I can hear a little bit of noise without music. Infact, if I've switched the CT26 to manual I leave it on and don't realise until theres a break in the music.

 

[nickao]

Replacing one sound louder at the ear to cover a loud noise does not protect the ear at all and that is EXACTLY what the music type headphones are doing. It's not protection in the least. 

I also have two pair of different Senns and they are fantastic! I even used them for a short time in the shop until I realized all I was doing was cranking them up doing what I tell my kids not to do.

Music type headphones simply do not save the ear drum. Just put them on and dont run music or sound through them, one second of that and using a loud machine, even an ETS and CT on low will prove they dont do a darn thing.

Once you get a true hearing projection with a speaker for sound, whether Bluetooth or not, I bet you won't ever go back to  regular headphones( Senn's, Bose or whatever) in the shop again.

 

[Kodi Crescent]

There's a handful of recommendations for different things in this thread.  Some are looking at things for hearing protection, others for sound masking. The Bose headphones discussed here aren't intended to be hearing protection.  They do not have a NRR (noise reduction rating). 

Masking loud offensive noises with pleasant noises still results in damage to your hearing.  The structures in your ear don't differentiate.  Exposure to noise over some set limit (ex. 80 dB) for some particular time (ex. 8 hrs) over long periods may result in permanent threshold shifts, aka "hearing loss".

Working with sound masking headphones that do not have a NRR is asking for trouble, in my opinion.

 

[Holmz]

There's a handful of recommendations for different things in this thread.  Some are looking at things for hearing protection, others for sound masking. The Bose headphones discussed here aren't intended to be hearing protection.  They do not have a NRR (noise reduction rating). 

Masking loud offensive noises with pleasant noises still results in damage to your hearing.  The structures in your ear don't differentiate.  Exposure to noise over some set limit (ex. 80 dB) for some particular time (ex. 8 hrs) over long periods may result in permanent threshold shifts, aka "hearing loss".

Working with sound masking headphones that do not have a NRR is asking for trouble, in my opinion.

With the addition of a couple of scientific/medical references you can remove the "in my opinion" part. That would be a good thing to improve the general conclusion of the thread. Other than that you are "spot on".

 

[pixelated]

Before I bought my noise canceling ear buds I tried to research whether the noise canceling directed more energy to the ears than just the noise, and I didn't find much information. The scientific theory is sound, if you produce a exact opposite wave then the waves do cancel each other out. Put the buds or canceling earphones on, and flip the switch that turns on the electronics and most ambient sounds disappear, the effect is startling. In theory, zero sound is zero sound (less sound actually) whether you get there by actively canceling out the wave-form or blocking it with dampening foam.

I did experiment with listening to music while on the moto, and the sound level I needed from the player to hear the music well wasn't different moving than it was stopped. As I said earlier though, I typically use them not plugged into a music source.

I have tinnitus from years of various exposure to high noise environments, I find the buds are more effective at blocking the perceived noise than 33db foam ear plugs when on the moto, and I have fewer after-effects like increased "ringing" post ride.

Bose does sell headsets  specifically designed for high noise environments that use the electronic cancelation, but they are much pricier than the consumer sets.

All that said, and has been pointed out, these aren't sold to be hearing protection devices, and there is no spec provided by Bose as to the actual amount of noise reduction or the frequencies they block. I believe they do provide specs on the commercial devices, however.
In my shop experiment, my perception was that the noise from the machinery (table saw + vac) was reduced (vs no protection), but my regular ear muff protectors seemed to do equally well. Since the muffs are less fussy to fit than wired earbuds, I've not pursued that any further.

YMMV.

 

[Kodi Crescent]

Working with sound masking headphones that do not have a NRR is asking for trouble, in my opinion.

With the addition of a couple of scientific/medical references you can remove the "in my opinion" part. That would be a good thing to improve the general conclusion of the thread. Other than that you are "spot on".

I've been out of that field for over a decade, and too lazy to look anything up the literature to see if the conclusions changed since then.

 

[Jimmy FineCut]

I use the Bose sound link ae2 wireless over ear headphones with built in bluetooth in the workshop and love them.

Connected to both my sound system and iPhone they work great, meaning I don't miss calls, messages and I can work and chat on the phone at the same time!

They are not the sound cancelling ones, but still do take the edge off the machine or tool. And in fact I still like to be able to hear and think it good to still be able to hear the tool or machine.

One of the best buys I made last year  [big grin]

[attachimg=1]

To protect your ears those are a joke, I have them and I would never, ever suggest those for a wood shop in any form for hearing protection, if you use hearing protection with them then the sound is awful. They offer zero protection and in my shop, well I would go deaf in 3 months using them. I know, I own them. For the sake of your safety dont use those in your shop, its simply not going to protect your ears in any way and adding ear buds with them just takes away the point of them muffling the nice sound they actually do give.

I have over 50 different hearing protection muffs and tried them all, but as far as Bluetooth type there are slim pickings only about 3 that are even worth considering, IMHO. Of those by far the best Bluetooth type  and I mean not even close are these linked below. Factor in cost and performance and so far I cant find anything remotely as good, so much so I have three pair:
https://www.amazon.com/3M-WorkTunes-Protector-Technology-90542-3DC/dp/B0146A4SWA

[attachimg=1]

The only others that I would even recommend(I stopped recommending the ION Audio brand, I had issues) for a shop setting are going to be in the 150.00 to 400.00 cost range plus, similar to what I used on the runways at O'hare airport. The WS 100 are my second choice if you must be able to talk to others, but I like the cheaper units listed above better. I returned the WS 100 pretty fast as for 385.00 they just were no better and I work alone so for me not worth it.:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DHVXF2...ode=ur2&tag=nn-txt-20&linkId=ARBJ5MO4IHDEQAMQ

[attachimg=2]

Just to clarify [member=3373]Dovetail65[/member] I only use these for certain jobs and don't use them on bigger machines as yes like you say they have zero protection.

They make sanding a whole lot more enjoyable thats for sure!

Other than that they are banging headphones in my opinion.

 

[waterloomarc]

I use the Peltor 105's as well. I keep a few throughout the shop. I guess I'm old school but I just crank up the tunes loud enough to hear through the ear muffs. Really the only time I listen to music is when I'm sanding anyway, anything else I don't seem to have the mental capacity to do the two things at once anyway!

I do like the Bluetooth aspect though for not missing calls. It never fails that I can wait all day for a call but fire up some machines for 10 minutes and that's when it will come through.

 

[pingvinlakrits]

Personally not a fan of the Bose headphones, I returned mine. Good at reducing droning sound but not higher frequencies and the quality of sound left a lot to wish for. I would not consider using them in my shop.

I did a little hack to enable listening to music in the shop while doing menial tasks such as sanding down 100+ interior doors for a new coat of paint...

I picked up a pair of old style Koss headphones, a decent pair for chump change. I then encased them in a Pair of 3M/Peltor X4A which is a pretty high dB rated "slim style" pair with a more dense foam inside than the regular pairs.
I can run an FM radio/MP3, my iPhone or for the most part my tiny iPod Shuffle tethered to the ear protectors. 

The sound is actually unexpectedly good from the Koss earphones when encased in the Peltor ear protectors. I use them when sanding drywall, general sanding or other menial tasks at the workshop. I would not play music while working with routers or table saws and I don't talk on the phone while I am working so I am fine with this set up.

The quality of sound actually surpasses the Bose QC 25 unit I had. I have done the same with another pair of Peltors (with Sennheiser phones in them) and I have an older pair of Peltor with FM radio which is ok too but we have poor reception in the work shop so I prefer MP3-players.

I have tried Howard Leigh (passive with phone jack) and newer Zekler with AUX input but the EC standard 85dB cutoff level is a joke - it takes no consideration to source level rendering it unusable as a weak recording/source material or FM source becomes inaudible even at the highest available level on the headphones. I prefer my own cut off point thank you very much and the inserted KOSS and Senn's allow me to adjust accordingly.  

 

[Holmz]

These have a true metric of a safety NR of 22 with the rubber sleeves and 27 with the foam.http://www.etymotic.com/consumer/earphones/hd5.html

 

[pingvinlakrits]

Holmz: those actually don't look to bad. 

For the most part I use ear plugs on a string, the kind that sits a little deeper in ear and that are made out of silicone and not foam. They are my preferred choice as I generally find ear phones a bit "clammy".

For the sanding I do with the ETS EC 150 I can get by, easily, with any Sony/HTC ear plugs with music running. The shells on the Peltor ear protectors can and do resonate or "drone" when I have been sanding down doors, to the point it is annoying. The earplugs don't do that.

The Peltor pair I modded is nice to have in the workshop when me or the other guys are running heavier machinery.

 

[RickyL]

Replacing one sound louder at the ear to cover a loud noise does not protect the ear at all and that is EXACTLY what the music type headphones are doing. It's not protection in the least. 

I also have two pair of different Senns and they are fantastic! I even used them for a short time in the shop until I realized all I was doing was cranking them up doing what I tell my kids not to do.

Music type headphones simply do not save the ear drum. Just put them on and dont run music or sound through them, one second of that and using a loud machine, even an ETS and CT on low will prove they dont do a darn thing.

Once you get a true hearing projection with a speaker for sound, whether Bluetooth or not, I bet you won't ever go back to  regular headphones( Senn's, Bose or whatever) in the shop again.

Even without music I cannot hear the extractor or most tools. I actually think this is more dangerous, as in leaving equipment running because you cannot hear it. The issue is I like listening to music when I work.

 

[Holmz]

Holmz: those actually don't look to bad. 

For the most part I use ear plugs on a string, the kind that sits a little deeper in ear and that are made out of silicone and not foam. They are my preferred choice as I generally find ear phones a bit "clammy".

For the sanding I do with the ETS EC 150 I can get by, easily, with any Sony/HTC ear plugs with music running. The shells on the Peltor ear protectors can and do resonate or "drone" when I have been sanding down doors, to the point it is annoying. The earplugs don't do that.

The Peltor pair I modded is nice to have in the workshop when me or the other guys are running heavier machinery.

Yes Henrik those models silicon are the best, but the $60 ones does the business for reducing noise. The only issue is that the cord needs to be run inside the shirt to keep it out of the way.

 

[mikeyr]

I would never wear corded headphones in the shop, even if I ran the cord under my shirt or like that.

I have several pairs of ear muffs in the shop and also boxes of foamies in several locations. 

Last year I purchased custom in the ear fitted electronic shooting protection, wow that was EXPENSIVE but I now use them in the shop all day and love it.  I can play music in the shop and these ear plugs amplify the sound and clip all sound at 80db by 30NRR, the only negative is that any sound lower than 80db is amplified to 80db but I have a fairly quiet shop since its just me.  But some very quiet tools are actually amplified, luckily there is a super easy to get to on/off switch and then its very comfortable total silence.

I didn't buy these for working in the shop, I bought them for my other hobby which is shooting, they are great for that and I find I now wear them in the shop and also doing yard work.  When I say EXPENSIVE I mean it, more than Festool even.

 

[pingvinlakrits]

Replacing one sound louder at the ear to cover a loud noise does not protect the ear at all and that is EXACTLY what the music type headphones are doing. It's not protection in the least. 

I also have two pair of different Senns and they are fantastic! I even used them for a short time in the shop until I realized all I was doing was cranking them up doing what I tell my kids not to do.

Music type headphones simply do not save the ear drum. Just put them on and dont run music or sound through them, one second of that and using a loud machine, even an ETS and CT on low will prove they dont do a darn thing.

Once you get a true hearing projection with a speaker for sound, whether Bluetooth or not, I bet you won't ever go back to  regular headphones( Senn's, Bose or whatever) in the shop again.

Even without music I cannot hear the extractor or most tools. I actually think this is more dangerous, as in leaving equipment running because you cannot hear it. The issue is I like listening to music when I work.

I think most, if not all, in this thread agree that drowning noise with noise is not the objective... If you have not tried earphones that actually attenuate noise even while not playing music you need to get out more.
I think it is as simple as horses for courses and for roughly 75% of my work (which runs from A-Z and back again in diversity) I get by, easily, with good ear plugs, small ones like the ones mentioned earlier in the thread.

I cherish my hearing and I am - like so many others - a bit of an audiophile and would _never_ risk my hearing. I am turning 45 and I still have very acute hearing despite being in this trade for the last twenty years.

Many people don't have a deeper understanding of dB and sound pressure in relation to the frequency range and the inherent dangers of _some_ of them. I have learnt some about it from a friend who is a renowned psycho acoustic researcher and who knows more about human hearing than, probably, all of the woodworking forum members combined.  There is noise that can kill your ears swiftly and abruptly in no time and noise that doesn't do much at all even over a longer period - though sound pressure levels and exposure are exactly the same. All noise is not created equal and some is simply put, not even affecting the ear drums adversely much at all despite a high sound pressure level.

Knowledge is power and caution is key.

Some things I would never expose myself too but for a lot of the tasks as mentioned earlier in the thread light protection suffices - with margin to spare. I seldom use heavier ear protection but I have them in the work shop and one pair in the field kit and I definitely use them when I am in a situation that demands it. I have even used both silicone plugs and Peltors combined while watching some guys sandblasting a huge door - it was one of the worst types of noise I have ever been subjected too - jet engine type roar on a reflective surface in a confined space from a few meters away and still there were a few guys that had NO hearing protection and were looking on - playing tough and grinning away... I really pity them, it was as stupid as it gets. [scared]

Mikeyr:
As you can see in the photos there is no cord running under shirt with this simple hack. I hate cords. I do feel it is a bit bulky at times but I have the light option of having the iPod shuffle clipped to my glasses with a short corded pair of earphones that only run from ear to ear - they are my favourite.

Which fitted earphones did you get? I am interested in getting a pair myself, I value my hearing and feeling unrestricted and if the solution is great I don't mind shelling out for it.

 

[Skill Builder]

Have a look at those made by JSP they have a lot of different grades for different pitches.

 

[pingvinlakrits]

Will check out JSP, thanks!

 

[BobsInTheGarage]

I use my Bose QC35 bluetooth noise cancelling headphones for about 4 hours daily as I work in my home shop.  I agree with much of what has been said here, and came down to choosing them for many reasons.  I compared them to my 3M Peltor ear muffs, as well as foam ear plugs.  My experience is wide, including motorcycling, long distance truck driving, shop work since childhood, Burning Man and other music festivals yearly, and training and 20 years working as an MD. 

I like listening to music and not missing phone calls, as well as receiving notification of incoming text messages when I work.  If I am deep and do not want any interruptions then I put my phone on silent.  I wanted to like the 3M Peltor products I own but do not.  The Bose are much more comfortable - I can wear them for hours and forget they are on my head!  I also did not like the transition from noisy activity, put on headphones, quiet activity, remove, noisy, put on, etc.  I ended up leaving the Peltors over by the saw, then running compressed air, blowing off stuff, compressor comes on, then vacuum a little bit, then drill some metal, then climb a ladder and run some lag bolts in with the impact (ouch!) and I just winced and continued because I didn't want to go find the ear muffs for such short intermittent dispersed tasks.  With the Bose I am free to roam, make intermittent noise, and am always protected. 

My 'final exam' came a few days ago when I used a jig saw to cut a rectangular hole in a metal drum.  Great noise!!  I switched between Peltors and Bose and preferred the feel of the Bose.  The Peltors always leave me feeling a little cut off from the world, with the Bose I feel like I am in the world, but protected by a gentle sound buffer.

In summary I realized that the best noise/ear protection is the one that is most likely to be used, any shortcomings of the QC35 are outweighed by the fact that I use them all of the time, versus the Peltors which I can't wait to take off given the discomfort, lack of music, and weird disconnected feeling I have with them on.