Reading on a train / Noise Cancellation

[briansnail]

Reading on a train.Do not assume you will get a seat.For popular destinations eg London in the morning you might have to stand.
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I ride Brompton and a 100% British Vintage

[horizon]

Book seats in the Quiet Coach. In my experience it tends to be respected.

Not all trains have quiet coaches (Cross Country abandoned theirs some time ago and they run very long journeys e.g. Penzance to Glasgow). There is also bizarrely no quiet coach in First Class on GWR AFAIK.

However, where they remain, I agree, they do seem to be very well respected and you should be able to politely challenge any transgressors (you probably won't even be the first to do so). Coach A on FGW services is the one to aim for. The silence in these coaches is actually quite beautiful.

Unfortunately FGW have moved the bike spaces away from coach A to coach B (and others further up). That means that to sit in coach A, you will be a little distant from your bike.

[[XAP]Bob]

Reading on a train.Do not assume you will get a seat.For popular destinations eg London in the morning you might have to stand.
******************************************
I ride Brompton and a 100% British Vintage

Again, I don't recommend becoming a wheelchair user, but I do at least get a seat wherever I am
Of course it makes booking significantly more hit and miss..

[Mick F]

Chatting to a friend today, and he's disabled. Two big clogs on his feet. He can walk, but his car is hand-controlled.
Mentioning Mrs Mick F's hearing and how she can turn her ear volume down and alter the spectrum of her aids, we discussed the "advantages" of being disabled.

Free parking, can park on (some) double yellow lines, and he gets quite some dosh per month paid into his account. A few other "perks" too.

[thirdcrank]

Chatting to a friend today, and he's disabled. Two big clogs on his feet. He can walk, but his car is hand-controlled.
Mentioning Mrs Mick F's hearing and how she can turn her ear volume down and alter the spectrum of her aids, we discussed the "advantages" of being disabled.

Free parking, can park on (some) double yellow lines, and he gets quite some dosh per month paid into his account. A few other "perks" too.

I think perks is an unfortunate word here. I think these are attempts to mitigate disability.

Anyway, a big leap from getting a bit of peace and quiet on a train

[[XAP]Bob]

Chatting to a friend today, and he's disabled. Two big clogs on his feet. He can walk, but his car is hand-controlled.
Mentioning Mrs Mick F's hearing and how she can turn her ear volume down and alter the spectrum of her aids, we discussed the "advantages" of being disabled.

Free parking, can park on (some) double yellow lines, and he gets quite some dosh per month paid into his account. A few other "perks" too.

I think perks is an unfortunate word here. I think these are attempts to mitigate disability.

Anyway, a big leap from getting a bit of peace and quiet on a train

Perks is definitely not the right word...
Though referencing them is probably my fault... if we don't laugh then depression awaits.

[CliveyT]

Sliced Bread (a R4 program) covered noise cancelling headphones so may be worth searching BBC Sounds to see if it's still there. In short as others have said they do work but aren't perfect.
I've got a pair of over ear ones from Valco ( Valco.io) , very Finnish, quite sweary, have some supply issues, but make good kit and at a good price. They have a button on the side so you can turn the NC on or off and it does make quite a difference. TBH, as others have also said, I nearly always play something over them when I'm working.
One other bit of advice if you get them, don't forget you have them on. Mrs T frequently accuses me of SHOUTING AT HER WHEN SHE'S STANDING RIGHT NEXT TO ME

[richardfm]

Sliced Bread (a R4 program) covered noise cancelling headphones so may be worth searching BBC Sounds to see if it's still there. In short as others have said they do work but aren't perfect.
I've got a pair of over ear ones from Valco ( Valco.io) , very Finnish, quite sweary, have some supply issues, but make good kit and at a good price. They have a button on the side so you can turn the NC on or off and it does make quite a difference. TBH, as others have also said, I nearly always play something over them when I'm working.
One other bit of advice if you get them, don't forget you have them on. Mrs T frequently accuses me of SHOUTING AT HER WHEN SHE'S STANDING RIGHT NEXT TO ME

Here is the Sliced Bread episode https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p08c7 ... are-mobile

[thirdcrank]

Mrs thirdcrank has always been unsettled by other people's noise and that's now exacerbated by tinnitus and problems with earwax. I was very grateful for the truly helpful advice I received on this forum about cordless earphones for the telly which have been bordering on magic, but we do have cases of unnecessary shouting

[DaveReading]

I've got a pair of over ear ones from Valco ( Valco.io) , very Finnish, quite sweary

Sounds like to need to be a bit more careful with your choice of listening ...

[Mick F]

Perks?

My quote above, didn't include my quotation marks.

Chatting to a friend today, and he's disabled. Two big clogs on his feet. He can walk, but his car is hand-controlled.
Mentioning Mrs Mick F's hearing and how she can turn her ear volume down and alter the spectrum of her aids, we discussed the "advantages" of being disabled.

Free parking, can park on (some) double yellow lines, and he gets quite some dosh per month paid into his account. A few other "perks" too.

[Stevek76]

There are two factors to consider with the overall sound reduction - active noise cancellation (ANC), where the sound signal is modified to cancel what a microphone on the outside hears, and isolation, which is the general passive reduction.

ANC generally only covers up to around 1-2kHz (though the measurements I've seen indicate the very newest bose models can be somewhat effective up to 3kHz). For higher frequencies only isolation is effective. Overears therefore tend to be a bit better than in-ear 'buds', particularly as it seems to be considered a 'good' design trait of the latter to be light, which isn't massively compatible with excellent isolation.

That said, ear buds with a decent fit and can still do a very good job to the point that only quiet volume music is needed to mask anything getting through.

They also seem to be generally getting better including in ears being able to essentially totally eliminate the low 'rumble' you get from simply having something in your ears in the first place, which is quite weird when switching the NC on and off.

[Pebble]

Many thanks for all the replies, most interesting

I recently started a new job, and they issued us with noise cancelling headphones. I hadn't used them before, and frankly I'm impressed. They don't completely eliminate background noise, but I can no longer hear specifics. Someone's conversation about what to cook when they get home becomes a murmur. I can listen to quiet music, and hardly hear my keyboard when I work. It was initially a little disconcerting, but I've gotten used to it.

I'm not sure I would spend the £200ish they cost just to not be annoyed by other passengers on long train rides, though.

What is the make and model? sounds expensive but small change in comparison the train travel in the UK. £10 a journey for 10 trips, and there will be many more than that, then there is sitting in cafes etc,

Reading on a train.Do not assume you will get a seat.For popular destinations eg London in the morning you might have to stand.
******************************************
I ride Brompton and a 100% British Vintage

The trains I am on (at least when north of york) tend not to be busy, so I usually just find another seat in another carriage, but unfortunately I have become intolerant to people shouting into their mobile phones, and these clowns are everywhere now. Why my brain insists in listening to exactly what I don't want to listen to is a bit of a puzzle, but unfortunately that is the way it is.

Sliced Bread (a R4 program) covered noise cancelling headphones so may be worth searching BBC Sounds to see if it's still there. In short as others have said they do work but aren't perfect.
I've got a pair of over ear ones from Valco ( Valco.io) , very Finnish, quite sweary, have some supply issues, but make good kit and at a good price. They have a button on the side so you can turn the NC on or off and it does make quite a difference. TBH, as others have also said, I nearly always play something over them when I'm working.
One other bit of advice if you get them, don't forget you have them on. Mrs T frequently accuses me of SHOUTING AT HER WHEN SHE'S STANDING RIGHT NEXT TO ME

Here is the Sliced Bread episode https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p08c7 ... are-mobile

The woman music/sounds expert seemed to be very impressed with them, they sound just the job for me!

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I took my ear defenders with me the last time, the ear protectors that I use with the chainsaw, they were quite adequate, a bit tight, but reduced noise to the extent that I could not make out other peoples conversations. Plus they smell quite nice, two-stroke, wood, smoke, forrest.... quite nice whilst sat there having buttered scones, looking at books of pressed flowers in my high heels suspendies and a bra.

Anyway, off up to edinburgh today, have found a shop that sells them so will hopefully get to try them out.

[Vorpal]

Many thanks for all the replies, most interesting

I recently started a new job, and they issued us with noise cancelling headphones. I hadn't used them before, and frankly I'm impressed. They don't completely eliminate background noise, but I can no longer hear specifics. Someone's conversation about what to cook when they get home becomes a murmur. I can listen to quiet music, and hardly hear my keyboard when I work. It was initially a little disconcerting, but I've gotten used to it.

I'm not sure I would spend the £200ish they cost just to not be annoyed by other passengers on long train rides, though.

What is the make and model? sounds expensive but small change in comparison the train travel in the UK. £10 a journey for 10 trips, and there will be many more than that, then there is sitting in cafes etc,

Sorry, I've been travelling & didn't get a chance to check. My headphones are Sony YY2951. The exact version doesn't appear to be available in the UK, but it's kind of between the models I've linked to from Amazon:
this one is closest (though mine has the 'extra bass' in he 2nd link)
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-WH-1000XM ... G5LP&psc=1

and if you don't need the stereo connections, there is this somewhat less expensive version
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-WH-XB910N ... B09FKG4PP3