Am I the only one that doesn't see a big difference in the photos that
@vinegarshots posted above? I'm not trying to be negative, I'm just not sure what it is I'm supposed to be seeing. They both look approximately the same to me.
I just got my own pair yesterday (and my wife a pair as well for herself) and tried them out for a few hours last night and today. Damn, they are nice! These are my first in-ear headphones in a long time, so maybe there's some bias there, but they sound fantastic to me and the ANC worked amazingly well in my morning (car) commute this morning. While still parked in the driveway, I had my defrost blasting. Put in my APPs and (with no music on yet), I turned on ANC and there was just.... silence. I had to turn ANC off again to make sure the defrost was still going! (This will be what I compare to after a week or two of use, to see if ANC stops working as well for me like some of you have described.)
Like
@richard371 said above, the problem for some users is likely from oils on the fingers when taking the APPs out of the case, as well as ear oils, wax and skin flakes. Fingers may be the most likely culprit though. Is there any easier way to take them out of the case without having to tug at them with grimy fingers??