[mctx]

I find that even noise cancelling headphones don't help drown out nearby conversations - I listen to Apple's Chill radio and use Noizio when I really need to focus.

[eshvk]

Noise cancelling headphones don't really drown out conversations. You should get in-ear headphones.

[raspasov]

Bose QC25 and QC35 really do though at mid level volume. You see people opening their mouths but you hear no voices.

[Scea91]

Agreed. When I have my QC35 on, people always have to tap me on the shoulder when they want to speak to me.

[raspasov]

Yes! :) To the point that it sometimes freaks me out because it's totally unexpected since you hear zero noise of someone approaching haha.

[jessriedel]

You might also consider just using brown noise. I find it very useful.

[xcasperx]

I throw rain on. If someone's straight yelling it won't help. For just general background convo noise, it works well