advent calendar 2019

Gift of the Day: Noise-Canceling Headphones Perfect for an Open Office

Photo: Courtesy of the Retailer

New York Magazine is moving offices at the end of the year, which means that we’ll be going from cubicles to an open-plan office. Personally, I’m stoked about it. No more cubicles means more face time with my co-workers, who all happen to be extremely funny and attractive. The only downside is that we at the Cut tend to laugh out loud a lot, either at our own jokes or at Baby Yoda tweets. This can be distracting, especially when you’re trying to do things like blog about Baby Yoda tweets. So I’m in the market for some noise-canceling headphones.

It’s tricky, though, because I don’t want to cancel all the noise. I want to be aware, for example, when someone comes up behind me and says something like, “Hey, have you seen that new Baby Yoda meme?” It’s embarrassing when people call out your name and you don’t answer. And even more embarrassing when they tap you on the shoulder and you jump out of your chair and scream. Also, I want my headphones to signal both “Don’t talk to me” and “Please interrupt whatever I’m doing to tell me about that Baby Yoda meme if it’s a really good one.” In other words, I want them to be friendly. I’m canceling the noise, not you, dear colleague.

Miraculously, these Beats Solo Pro headphones are both noise-canceling and nice-looking in every way. The matte red looks cool, but also approachable — if I really didn’t want to talk to you, why would I be wearing such a fun color? I wore them recently on a flight and immediately fell asleep, even though I could hear every word of the safety presentation. Wherever I am, whether it’s in the office, on the subway, or stuck in a plane with a baby who is only soothed by hearing “Baby Shark” on repeat (true story), these headphones have made my life exponentially more pleasant. I would give them to all my co-workers if I could, so that they can ignore me in style.

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