When looking for coding headphones, I care about two things:
- I want to feel like I am alone in the universe and no other humans exist
- Comfortable enough to wear all day
I judge comfort both on how headphones feel on my ears/face and whether I have to keep them so loud that my ears hurt after a while.
So far my answer has been a pair of Beats Studio. They worked great, made me feel alone in the universe, and were comfortable enough to wear all day. The cable was annoying but okay. It became super annoying after Apple moved their headphone port to the right.
After about 2 years of constant use, my Beats kicked the can.
Confirmed. After about 2.5 years of everyday all day use, my Beats are on their way out. 😭
— Swizec Teller (@Swizec) July 14, 2017
And I can't solder like @m1hah suggested. pic.twitter.com/lMRelLNbsd
Looking for a replacement, everyone suggested Bose QuietComfort 35. And hot damn were they right! These things are amazing.
You put them on and the world disappears. You are alone. Think your thinks, code your code. Open office no more. Coworkers don't exist. If someone wants your attention they have to get up and come tap you on the shoulder.
You won't know they're there and you'll do a startle and shit your pants. Worth it.
I find the padding on the Bose QuietComforts a bit less comfortable than the Beats Studio, but they are a lot lighter. Never realized how heavy my Beats were until I tried these. Bose also packs smaller than Beats which is great. Bulky headphones are a pain in the arse to transport, and at $440 you're not gonna have multiple pairs.
You might. Too rich for my blood 😅
Oh and the QuietComfort sound better than Beats. Yes the Beats has more bass and that makes the sound richer, but Bose sounds more real somehow. You listen to a video or a game and it sounds real. Like it's not coming out of headphones at all.
Sometimes I look around in surprise because I can't tell if sounds are in real life or in the video. It's great.
Shout at me on Twitter if you think I'm wrong.
Continue reading about Best coding headphones: Bose QuietComfort 35
Semantically similar articles hand-picked by GPT-4
- Looking for the perfect light work device
- First day with a new 2017 MacBook Pro
- My new 5K monitor – LG UltraFine 5K 😱
- Onboard a Delta transatlantic flight with tattered seats
- Onboard a Delta transatlantic flight with tattered seats
Learned something new?
Read more Software Engineering Lessons from Production
I write articles with real insight into the career and skills of a modern software engineer. "Raw and honest from the heart!" as one reader described them. Fueled by lessons learned over 20 years of building production code for side-projects, small businesses, and hyper growth startups. Both successful and not.
Subscribe below 👇
Software Engineering Lessons from Production
Join Swizec's Newsletter and get insightful emails 💌 on mindsets, tactics, and technical skills for your career. Real lessons from building production software. No bullshit.
"Man, love your simple writing! Yours is the only newsletter I open and only blog that I give a fuck to read & scroll till the end. And wow always take away lessons with me. Inspiring! And very relatable. 👌"
Have a burning question that you think I can answer? Hit me up on twitter and I'll do my best.
Who am I and who do I help? I'm Swizec Teller and I turn coders into engineers with "Raw and honest from the heart!" writing. No bullshit. Real insights into the career and skills of a modern software engineer.
Want to become a true senior engineer? Take ownership, have autonomy, and be a force multiplier on your team. The Senior Engineer Mindset ebook can help 👉 swizec.com/senior-mindset. These are the shifts in mindset that unlocked my career.
Curious about Serverless and the modern backend? Check out Serverless Handbook, for frontend engineers 👉 ServerlessHandbook.dev
Want to Stop copy pasting D3 examples and create data visualizations of your own? Learn how to build scalable dataviz React components your whole team can understand with React for Data Visualization
Want to get my best emails on JavaScript, React, Serverless, Fullstack Web, or Indie Hacking? Check out swizec.com/collections
Did someone amazing share this letter with you? Wonderful! You can sign up for my weekly letters for software engineers on their path to greatness, here: swizec.com/blog
Want to brush up on your modern JavaScript syntax? Check out my interactive cheatsheet: es6cheatsheet.com
By the way, just in case no one has told you it yet today: I love and appreciate you for who you are ❤️