When shopping for headphones or earbuds, you’ve probably seen the letters “ANC” everywhere. But you may have a vague idea of what ANC does, and often wonder whether you really need it. We’ve put together a little guide explaining what it is, how noise-cancelling technology works, and why (or why you don’t) need it in your next pair of headphones.
What is the African National Congress?
Simply put, ANC, which stands for Active Noise Cancellation, is a feature on headphones that reduces unwanted background noise so you can enjoy your music better. It was originally introduced on over-the-ear headphones, but as technology gets smaller and more advanced, it can now be squeezed into wireless earbuds as well.
I believe Shure’s latest Aonic 50 second generation headphones Offers excellent ANC, but comes with a hefty price tag of $350.Claire’s Alpha active noise cancellation is a relatively cheap option at $200 that has powerful noise canceling capabilities. For earbuds, the latest version from Master & Dynamic, MW09my first choice for a good ANC, and Samsung Galaxy Buds FEThe price is $100 and it is my recommendation.
While the noise cancellation part is pretty straightforward, you might be wondering what “active” in ANC refers to. Therefore, there is another noise reduction technology, which is passive noise reduction, and “active noise reduction” exists to distinguish ANC from passive noise reduction.
Passive noise cancellation doesn’t use advanced technology; it relies solely on the device’s earcups to cancel unwanted noise. This feature works best with large on-ear headphones or headphones with thick rubber earcups that cancel out most ambient sound. But just like ANC, it’s also entering the realm of earbuds.
If there’s an antithesis to ANC, it’s transparency mode. As the name suggests, Transparency Mode lets ambient sounds pass through your headphones if you want to know what’s going on around you. For safety reasons, it’s usually a good idea to leave it open on the street.
What if you want a higher level of cancellation when there is noise, but not so much in quieter situations? There is also a mode to achieve this. Adaptive noise cancellation adapts to your environment and can adjust its level based on the loudness of your surroundings. There are also adjustable ANC modes on some audio devices if you want to control it instead of letting the algorithm do its job. This allows you to adjust manually.
Here’s how the technology works. Microphones on the outside of the earbuds listen for ambient sounds to mute them. One or two microphones inside the headphones also listen to your voice. The microphone then produces sound waves to neutralize unwanted ambient sounds. bang aufsen That makes sense. “It’s kind of like taking +2 on the outside and adding -2 on the inside to get zero.”
Do I need active noise cancellation?
Whether your headphones require ANC ultimately comes down to personal preference and lifestyle. Of course, if you often have long and busy commutes where you can’t listen to audiobooks in peace. You can also inherit this feature if you only use headphones or earbuds at home and don’t live in a noisy neighborhood.
But especially with ANC technology becoming so affordable, it’s good to choose a device that offers it. This is a very convenient feature. Even if you’re lucky enough to live in a quiet neighborhood, you may need it the next time you fly or when you want to use the washing machine running in the back. We live in a noisy world, and ANC has more benefits than you might think.