From a typical open-plan ambient of 65 dB, 35 dB reduction brings the interior level to approximately 30 dB — comparable to a quiet library or a residential room at night. Ambient office speech from outside the pod becomes inaudible. You can hear low-level environmental background (HVAC, distant movement) but cannot follow conversations from outside. The environment is quietly productive rather than eerily silent, maintaining the psychological comfort that complete acoustic isolation would remove.