> get yourself a set of Bose Quiet Comfort 35s

That's only if you like to listen to music while you work. If you just want quiet, get yourself a pair of the earmuffs that the airport ground crews wear out on the tarmac. I had a coworker who wore those and the only real downside was that he'd get horribly startled when people were trying to get his attention because they'd have to come up and touch him on the shoulder. Even basically yelling in the vicinity of his ears, he'd have no idea people were right behind him.

that's if you can tolerate having hot earmuffs pressing on your head all day, which I cannot. It hurts and gives me earache.

That depends on the model for me, some work good others do not. But I don't know about daily use I've only worn them for two days max.

As CTO had limited impact on floorplan, bought $350 Bose for everyone in tech, got in trouble with CFO but wasn't fired ;-)

I have some, and I don't listen to music 90% of the time. Just the noise cancelling on is extremely effective.

I have an older noise-cancelling model, the QC 15s, and they do a decent job at noise cancelling even without music. I listen to https://www.brain.fm/ (paid, but lifetime license is cheap) at a low volume to drown out any remaining noise. It's consistent background "white" noise that drowns out even the loudest co-workers. Wear them for 6-10 hours / day, best productivity investment I've ever made.

Can't you just use a pair of noise-canceling cans without piping audio through them? Is there a drawback to turning on the noise-canceling feature without coming through the speakers? It won't be completely quiet (on basic models), but it is probably comfortably quiet for most.

Perhaps suggest he strategically places a mirror on his desk.

rainymood.com (and equivalents) is perfect if you just want something to swamp out your surroundings without being a distraction.

Bose headphones spy on listeners: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bose-lawsuit-idUSKBN17L2B...

The app does, not the headphones itself.

Only the new ones. I have the previous model (Quiet Comfort 25), and they're really nice and dumb. Only a 3.5 jack and a battery compartment, no other interfaces.

It's a good reminder for those "I prefer BT to wired headphones"

No, it's not. BT used with the standard protocols is fine. It's a reminder not to install stupid "apps" when there's absolutely no need for them.

Are they robust enough for everyday use? The Sony equivalent is plagued with problems I've read in reviews.

Yes.

Cheers

Yes.

Thanks