Week 4 [16.11-22.11] Active Noise Cancellation – history, introduction to technology and the most popular ANC Bluetooth headphones available on the market
Active Noise Cancellation – history, introduction to technology and the most popular ANC Bluetooth headphones available on the market
Each of us, while doing important things, would like to be able to focus on them one hundred percent. Unfortunately, this is not always easy. Sometimes, just when we want to work on something, a neighbor just starts drilling, the neighbor's children scream outside, and dogs bark all over the neighborhood. Or maybe the sounds of public transport or traffic irritate you? Fortunately, nowadays isolating yourself from the sounds of the environment is very simple and convenient thanks to Active Noise Cancellation.
“The principle of ANC technology is relatively simple. On the outside of the headphones, the microphone picks up the sound from the surroundings, and the electronic circuit inverts it in phase and applies it to the music. In this way, each signal appearing around the listener gains its negative in the headphones - so the wave penetrating the casing from the outside hits its "anti-wave" and as a result both cancel each other out.” – says Waldemar Nowak from Infoaudio.PL.
The history of this technology dates back to the 1930s, when Paul Lueg filed a patent containing the principles of this technology. Unfortunately, at that time, defining the rules of technology was the only thing people could do. Twenty years later, as technology moved forward, Dr. Lawrence Jerome Fogel created his own noise canceling patent to protect the ears of helicopters during flights.
Another twenty years later, Dr. Amare Bose, the founder of Bose, experienced some very unpleasant noise from the plane while flying to Europe. This pushed him towards the creation of the first noise canceling headphones, on the basis of which modern headphones function.
First Bose ANC Headphones, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BOSE_QuietComfort.JPG?fbclid=IwAR2gfY_0NS_vyn7lRVGLxyy6XvHMUeJAhCXiBbUDVbobhWElrB094n7DchE
Today, the market of devices with ANC technology is quite versatile. Many companies are trying to enter the ANC technology market, but when it comes to headphones, two leaders - Bose and Sony - dominate. I have listened to both headphones so I can share my opinion. In my opinion, Sony equipment has a better ANC - it isolates more sounds from the environment. But although the ANC Bose works not much worse, the sound of their headphones is much more natural, spacious and clear. Sony seemed over-bassed and very narrow. In addition, Sony headphones after a few hours of testing began to press my head to such an extent that it made me hurt. But this is a very subjective topic, others may have different feelings. If you are curious about the price of such headphones it is between 1200 and 1600 PLN.
Headphones with ANC with Bluetooth have been around for a while, but the in-ear earphones with ANC and Bluetooth have become a real revolution. Here again we can distinguish two leaders - Bose and Apple, where Apple has an advantage. Their advantage is not about the quality of the sound itself, but about the ease of use. Even audiophiles often prefer to buy Apple AirPods Pro earphones over Bose. The cost of ANC Bluetooth earphones is between 900 and 1200 PLN.
Apple and Bose earphones, source: https://www.techradar.com/news/apple-airpods-pro-vs-bose-quietcomfort-earbuds-which-noise-cancelling-earbuds-are-best
Obviously experience from listening to both types of headphones is different. It's the people's choice what suits them better. Different tastes have different opinions. You can find a pair of headphones for a lower price, but I decided to present some of the best ones that can be found on the market. Unfortunately, ANC slightly deteriorates the sound quality, but it is not a disturbing difference. In addition, as I mentioned, you can cut out distracting sounds by keeping the volume of the music played low, which is very healthy for your ears.
All I can say is, ANC headphones have a very interesting history, and today they can help many people isolate themselves from low–mid frequencies and at the same time provide an interesting and enjoyable musical experience.
Questions:
- How do you deal with disturbing sounds? Or maybe they don't make it difficult for you to focus?
- Would you be interested in ANC Bluetooth headphones? Would they be over-ear headphones or in-ear earphones?
- Is the quality of music important to you?
Sources
[1] | [Online]. Available: https://www.nuraphone.com/backstage/the-history-of-active-noise-cancellation. |
[2] | W. Nowak, „infoaudio.pl,” [Online]. Available: https://www.infoaudio.pl/artykul/650,active-noise-cancelling-jak-dziala-aktywne-tlumienie. |
Comments
I think that ambient surrounding sounds, like raining, a coffeeshop or a library are good to focus, if no one talks really loudly of course. If I'm in a place where it's expected that some disturbing sounds will happen (the office open space) I tend to
wear my headphones with some ambient music or rythmic music without words.
2.
I think that ANC headphones are really useful in outdoor situations, for example when taking the tram to work or walking nest to a road with big huge traffic. With ANC we don't need to put the volume very high to be able to hear something so our hearing won't be damaged that much.
3.
It used to be, I guess that when choosing audio equipment I always tend to lean toward monitor spearkers and headphones that have a flat response original to the audio source.
Well, I don't find that many sounds disturbing. Maybe neighbour drilling and traffic sounds are the worst for me. But to deal with it I play some music myself and try not to bother.
2. Would you be interested in ANC Bluetooth headphones? Would they be over-ear headphones or in-ear earphones?
Yeah, for sure. I would prefer over-ear headphones but it's a little bit to expansive for me right now.
3. Is the quality of music important to you?
Not that much. Obviously I hate this kind of audio devices that "farts" with sound if you know what I'm saying. But if it's at medium quality I can accept it.
Apart from the sound of my neighbor drilling, I don't find myself in such situations where I would be disturbed by various sounds. Or, maybe there's another disturbing sound, the sound of people talking in the library or at the cinema. Those drive me mad!
I don't use headphones or earphones much, mainly during my commute around the city. I would definitely be happy to try out ANC in-ear earphones, although I suppose they might be dangerous to use for example when crossing a street. Even when you have regular headphones on, you can still hear cars accelerating or an ambulance siren. But the regular office work or in a cafe are those types of environment that ANC headphones would prove to be quite useful.
I might call myself a music freak. I love to listen to high-quality songs on my in-ear monitors (earphones made for musicians), play CD disks, vinyl records, or even audiotapes. The imperfections (or perfections!) of analog recordings send shivers down my spine!
It also happens to me that songs with words keep me from concentrating. The melodies are definitely more fun to focus on.
Lucky you. I would also like to be immune to environmental sounds.
My opinion was similar to yours about the quality of music until I got a little interested in the sound of musical equipment. I was curious why some products can cost so much. Now I understand..
I was also very surprised! I wouldn't have thought people had such great ideas so long ago.
Regarding ambient noise, more and more ANC headphones feature an ambient mode that allows ambient sounds to pass through your ears. Great if you want to get around the city with headphones.
I use ANC headphones :))). They are great for work, particularly in the office.
Would you be interested in ANC Bluetooth headphones? Would they be over-ear headphones or in-ear earphones?
I have both in-ear and over-ear ANC headphones. In-ear are more portable and I don't like wearing big headphones outside my apartment especially in the summer. Over-ear have a better sound quality and you can wear them much longer than in-ear once.
One more advantage of in-ear headphones is the possibility of running with them. It was a game-changer for me.
Is the quality of music important to you?
It is somehow important. I'm not a "meloman" but I often feel the difference between good and bad quality of the audio recording.
3. Yes, the quality of the music is important to me, but as I mentioned in the comment above, I'm not an audiophile. I used to be at an audio equipment fair at the national stadium in Warsaw and when testing different models from a different price range from a thousand to about 30 thousand, the differences did not seem too big (but it also depends on the type of audio file, cable, mute and so on).
It seems to me that a lot of people do not appreciate this technology until they are exposed to it. What specific headphones do you have? What do you like about them and what would you like to change?
I also have big problems with coping with background sounds.
The most important thing is that they suit you very much! :) Make sure you will not be disturbed by poor microphone quality, e.g. when calling on Skype. Many users of these headphones complain about it.
When were you at this type of event? Was admission paid? Do you know how often such appear in Warsaw? Do you recommend such events?
For some time I thought that sounds surrounding me are not much of a distraction and that I can absolutely manage my concentration and focus on whatever I need to focus on at the moment. I turned kut that I coulsn't be more wrong. When I got a pair of ANC headphones from my girlfriend I realised that I have never actually been 100% focused. Maybe that's an exageration but I really felt the difference in my work when I tried noise cancelling for the first time and it changed my perspective completely.
Would you be interested in ANC Bluetooth headphones? Would they be over-ear headphones or in-ear earphones?
As I have earlier mentioned, I have my own pair of ANC headphones. It's an over-ear Sony pair of headphones. I am in love with them and for the first time in my life I have this feeling that I can't actually find a replacement for them even if I wanted to because they are so good.
Is the quality of music important to you?,
It's very important to me. People close to me tend to say that I am an audiophile but I don't think that's very accurate. I do, however, love a good quality audio files being played on a good quality piece of audio equipment. If the quality is extraordinary I tend to feel the uncomperable joy from listening.
Do you think that one day ANC has a chance to be the standard in all headphones?
The thing with me is that I consider a lot of sounds as disturbing.
In order to work I need absolute silence!
However, I seem to relax better, hearing the mighty wind blowing. It makes me feel alive!
I don't think I need ANC headphones right now.
Would rather know to some degree, what is happening around me.
But they would come handy, when watching an epic movie or playing immersive game.
Quality of music becomes important for me, when I concentrate on listening.
In fact, it seems that working on audio for private projects, made me value audio quality more.
2. I already have a pair of some low-quality JBL ANC headphones at home, but I rarely use them. It might be a placebo effect, but after wearing headphones with noise cancelling on for a long period of time my head starts to hurt, therefore I'm not really fond of them. I must admit that they're irreplaceable on long-distance flights though. This might not be such big of an issue during our pandemic, but before this time I had great trouble with going to sleep mid-flight during the day. With ANC headphones counteracting the whir and hum of the engines, however, I was able to fall asleep a couple of times. To sum up, for me they're very useful albeit situational.
3.To some extent, yes. I'm not an audiophile by all means, but I became used to a certain level of sound quality. I have a set of decent mid-range headphones at home and wireless Bluetooth ones, both of which I'm pretty happy with. When I listen to a song I know on someone else's audio gear if it's lower in quality or the audio profile is vastly different, it disturbs me enough to not enjoy the song anymore. When everyday commuting was still relevant though, the sound quality was not as important, because in such a situation I mainly used music to drown all the auxiliary background noise.
Well to be honest I hate that disturbing sounds, I don't like to hear someones conversation or my neighbours noise so the best for me is listening to music, it is relaxing. Actually music helps me focusing on something
2. Would you be interested in ANC Bluetooth headphones? Would they be over-ear headphones or in-ear earphones?
Yes I am already interested, I wouldn't mind to have both of them. I prefer over-ear headphones but they are not always comfortable, so I am interested to have both of them)
3. Is the quality of music important to you?,
Quality of headphone is important for me because I am on it almost all day. and If you hear noise it is disturbing you
The background noises distract me especially in activities that require deeper concentration. To solve this problem, I usually look for a solution at the source. If something is making noise in my surroundings, I try to silence it or change the place where I am. Unfortunately, it isn't always possible and then I help myself with in-ear headphones and play music on them. Then I choose music that favors concentration, in example some slower electronics or classical music.
Would you be interested in ANC Bluetooth headphones? Would they be over-ear headphones or in-ear earphones?
I know both the Bose QC35 and Sony wh-1000xm3 headphones considered to be the best ANC headphones. None of them, in my opinion, even presents a satisfactory sound quality. Overall Active Noisy Cancelling technology it's a very interesting solution that can be used primarily in an airplane. ANC works best with steadily humming sound and gets lost in cases of high volume amplitudes and variable frequency. I also know of headache cases from anc headphone users. All this shows that it isn't an ideal solution, but still worth considering, especially in noisy places such as plane or bus. If I had to choose for myself, I would choose the over-ear headphone with the ANC because the ANC works more effectively there.
Is the quality of music important to you?
I have been an audiophile for many years. My adventure with audio started somehow in 2012 and still continues. I have spent countless hours testing my audio electronics and tuning it to my liking. I spent a lot of money on it, but I would prefer not to mention this topic. My adventure with audio led me to work as a salesman in an audio store and an exhibitor at an audiovisual fair. These insanely expensive audio systems offer such great possibilities and realism that let's get to know the music anew and allow it to be deeper into it. Although I'm an audiophile, I don't listen to the sound but I listen to music, and the sound quality makes me feel the songs more intensely. I had to set a hard line where the pleasure of listening to music ends and where the sound madness begins.
I have heard about this issue regarding headache from ANC. It seems like over time some people get use to ANC technology, which at the beginning might cause such difficulties like headache.
Nice to have an audiophile around here :) I would like to ask you about your music equipment. What kind of setup are you currently using? What do you like and dislike about it?
Have you heard about ambient mode in new ANC headphones? Headphones with such functionality are able to transfer sounds of environment to the headphones and play music at the same time. I would be a great option for moving around the city, don't you think? :)
2.I don't think I'm the main customer for these headphones, but I'd love to test them. As for me, I would choose over-ear headphones. I often have a problem with the earbuds. They don't always fit well. They often fall out of the ear. The sound is too intense and I feel uncomfortable.
3.Yes of course, but it is not very important. I try to put emphasis on good audio, but it is not a priority. I am also assuming that good music will defend itself. Although the equipment in the overall experience is very important.
1. How do you deal with disturbing sounds? Or maybe they don't make it difficult for you to focus?
I usually take a break from what I’m doing if I know that the disturbing noise won’t last for long. My boyfriend snores a bit so I learned to use earplugs for sleeping.
2. Would you be interested in ANC Bluetooth headphones? Would they be over-ear headphones or in-ear earphones?
I prefer in-ear headphones for their small form factor and better portability. I can take earbuds with me without a handbag to store them. By being closer to the ear, I already value in-ear headphones for their outside noise isolation. Enabling ANC in this type of earphones makes a good product even better. On the negative side, in-ear Bluetooth earphones tend to be heavy as they are battery powered and they don’t sit on your head. If they don’t fit your ear perfectly, they are likely to fall out.
3. Is the quality of music important to you?
It sure is. I can spend a significant amount of money on a product if superior sound quality goes with it. I don’t understand people who like vinyls. Digitization of music brought us amazing sound quality. The distortions coming out of vinyl players are a defect, they don’t add ‘soul’ to the music.
As I said I have mid-class Sony. In-ear earphones don't fit me at all, so I only use over-ear headphones.
In a world of streaming services, it's impossible to get lossless audio files (maybe Tidal HIFI is an exception). I don't pay that much attention to quality. When I used to import CDs I always used > 256kbps bitrate and it was enough for me.
I rarely need to deal with them, there is not much going on around my space. Sometimes there is general makeover of apartment and I hear drilling, but usually I'm so focused on a task I'm doing my head naturally cancels it out. As other comments mentioned - background noises like coffee shop buzz, rain or quiet music in the background is not disturbing me at all.
Would you be interested in ANC Bluetooth headphones? Would they be over-ear headphones or in-ear earphones?
I was very sceptical for it. Initially, when I tried it from my peers at job the absolute quietness your "hear" in them was disturbing to me. One day I needed to upgrade my broken airpods and decided to go with airpods pro option as the price tag was neglectable. I was aware noise cancelling technology is there, but I thought I'll have it turned off most of the time. Surprise, surprise, I totally fell in love with them and their ANC.
Is the quality of music important to you?
I wish I could say yes, but in reality I suppose I don't have enough "ear" skills to really hear the difference between high-end and low-end audio rig. It just all sounds the same for me. I've got headphones of my choice for last ... 8 years? Already bought them second time, as I completely destroyed first once (from over usage!). It's bayerdynamic's Custom one pro, audiophiles would put them in somewhere between "street" and "studio" headphones. They got unnatural bass frequencies (way to deep) but it hit the right spot from me.
To stay focused, I use my headphones/earphones to listen some music. Or if I don't have any of them with me I just try to change place where it's more peaceful.
2. Would you be interested in ANC Bluetooth headphones? Would they be over-ear headphones or in-ear earphones?
I am interested in ANC Bluetooth headphones so I got one few momnths ago. I have over-ear headphones and in-ear earphones, both with ANC, for different occasions. I use headphones for longer trips like for example train ride and earphones for shorter one like when I am hanging out with my friends when I have to travel by using public transport.
3. Is the quality of music important to you?
I like to pay attention to the quality of music, but I am definitely not an audiophile. I just like when my music is not much distorted.
I like hustle and bustle, especially of the city, ironicaly the sounds from outside helps me to focus. I really like to do anything with music.
To be honest it is my daily habit to start with music on my Homepod when at early morning it makes me awake, then it is my companion when I am getting ready to work and by earbuds it is my all day mate during any travel time when I am alone. Also doing things with other people is more convinient when there is some music - it can improve atmosphere
2.Would you be interested in ANC Bluetooth headphones? Would they be over-ear headphones or in-ear earphones?
Yes, actually I am the owner od Apple Airpods and it was shock when I've tried it for the first time. It really works and it changes everything. It is completly diffrent feeling when you hear literally nothing beside thoughts in your head. Also when some of my friends are asking if it works when they tries it is shocking effects for each of them. However there are some cons about it - Sometimes you have to check whether someone is talking to you or not or it can be really dangerous because you don't hear outside - so it can cause many accidents.
3.Is the quality of music important to you?
Yes, but is not the only one factor. Also if you have too good device you can actually have bad experience because the music you play can be played in weaker quality format so it is great to have great comofrt-to-sound-quality ratio.
2. I don't need ANC technology. I have bluetooth in-ear earphones without this technology and I don’t hear outside sounds. Sometimes I want to hear outside sounds, like when I'm on the bus and want to hear the name of the stop.
3. No, it is not. I am not an audiophile and I do not notice any differences in the sound quality, it is enough for me that the quality is not bad.
It just so happens that almost all digital music compression formats are lossy, while discs or vinyls enjoy a much higher quality of music. It's hard to see in electronic music, but where there are a lot of instruments you can hear a significant difference.
Unfortunately, almost all bluetooth compression formats except FLAC are lossy. Tidal Hi-Fi may not do much if you use the AAC format, for example.
Can you picture your life without ANC?
I think I have my strength in dealing with disturbing sounds by daylight. I just focus on my work and forget about noises. But my mental health is kind a strange because at night I need a fully silence. I can’t sleep when one on my monitors makes tiny noises or cars ride in front of my house. The solution for that is very simple. I just unplug one of my monitors and close windows up. Things can be different when summers sun hits so hard that I have to sleep with opened windows and for that I don’t have any solution, I have to live with it.
Would you be interested in ANC Bluetooth headphones? Would they be over-ear headphones or in-ear earphones?
Yes I would or I should say I’m interested in ANC Bluetooth headphones and prefer over-ear one. Since the beginning of my life, I was never into in-ear headphones. Feeling that something is in my ear, is really disgusting and uncomfortable. I know that in-ear headphones are much smaller and sometimes costs less than heavyweights over-ear one. But I have to say it’s human preference.
Is the quality of music important to you?
Yes it is. Music quality is something that I pay attention. My hearing is very sensitive to low quality sounds. I feel very uncomfortable listening to low quality music. The soundtrack is also very poor and the vocals can be very indistinct. Since streaming services have appeared on the market, the problem with the quality of music is slowly disappearing. as far as I am concerned, listening to good quality music improves the mood and well-being
I wish that the noise of the hustle and bustle would be able to help me focus :)
Why did you decide to buy Airpods?
Try Bose headphones. They have a really original sound, they are very comfortable and their warranty service is really impressive. Whatever you do not break, they immediately send a courier to pick up the headphones and send you new ones
I like to listen to music while I'm working, and i use headphones to do so. Thanks to that, I can concentrate on my thoughts.
2. Would you be interested in ANC Bluetooth headphones? Would they be over-ear headphones or in-ear earphones?
Looking at the price of such headphones, I think I'll pass. I don't think that ANC headphones are a necessity for me, since normal headphones do the trick for me. If I had to get a pair though, it would definitely by over-ear headphones.
3. Is the quality of music important to you?
It is, although I don't believe I would hear a significant difference between 200zł and 1000zł headphones, so I wouldn't go for expensive headphones.
Personally, I am a huge fan of silence. I don't mind noise, but I spend my time in silence much better. However, when I want to relax, I use earplugs.
2. Would you be interested in ANC Bluetooth headphones? Would they be over-ear headphones or in-ear earphones?
I already have Bluetooth headphones with ANC in the in-ear version. I am very happy with them and I use them practically all the time. I don't like over-ear headphones because they are big for me.
3. Is the quality of music important to you?
Of course. I don't listen to music often, but I want it to be of very good quality.
If they are not too loud - I'm okay with them. Usually, I'm just too concentrated on something to hear them, but if it's a relaxing time - then, yeah, I don't want to hear any of them, but if there are not inside my flat there is no way to deal with them.
2.Would you be interested in ANC Bluetooth headphones? Would they be over-ear headphones or in-ear earphones?
Well, why not. But if to think about it, I can miss something important. Like somebody shouting "fire". There are reasons why people are communicating more with sounds than anything else. So negating them can be not as good as it seems first.
3.Is the quality of music important to you?
It should be just good, without strange noises, just clear studio track if we talk about music in our phones. And of course, live concerts are good too. I never try to found something with the "best quality in the world".
I have two dogs that often are quite loud but other than that I live in a quiet neighbourhood so I don't really have to cope with this kind of problems. I usually just close all the doors and put on my headphones. This usually is enough to not hear anything disturbing at all.
2. Would you be interested in ANC Bluetooth headphones? Would they be over-ear headphones or in-ear earphones?
Not really. I am not exposed to disturbing sounds while I'm at home and I'd rather not use the ANC if I'm travelling since it might make me less aware of my surroundings. And I guess it would make the headphones more pricy. Also I try to avoid cordless things because it sucks when you forget to get them fully charged before leaving the house.
I prefer over-ear indoors and in-ear outdoors.
3. Is the quality of music important to you?
Yes but I'm no audiophile. I just use mid-range products that don't cost a fortune but still provide a good quality sound. The other thing is that getting a good pair of headphones might not be enough if the source of music is bad or if you're listening to plain MP3. I just don't think all the hustle is worth it.
They are not disturbing me. Usually when normal sounds are distracting me from focus I put my headphones on and its enough to keep focus.
2. Would you be interested in ANC Bluetooth headphones? Would they be over-ear headphones or in-ear earphones?
I don't like Bluetooth headphones. I prefer both over-ear and in-ear headphones. Depends on situation and place where I am listening to.
3. Is the quality of music important to you?
Music quality is not that important for me. Only thing I need is good bass in speakers. Music is only mean to achieve my focus or entertainment. It's not that important for it to be perfect.