One important factor I appreciate with ANC headphones is that they allow you to be able to hear your music at a lower volume in noisy places thus, protecting your hearing.
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Airpod Pro - My noise cancellation doesn't cancel completely?
- Thread starter LarryJoe33
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I would completely agree with that. With my prior units I always had the volume maxed out. I do like loud music, but I find myself not having to Max these out. My jaybirds never went loud enough for my liking which was the rub before I bought them. I did like the BeatsX but after they broke twice and apple wanted $79 to fix $99 headphones that were 13 months old (wouldn’t honor the 12 mo warranty) I got pissed and switched to jaybirds. I really never been happy with them.
I never considered the base AirPods as I thought they looked stupid and I hate hard plastic earbuds. The APPs are everything I wanted. Soft tips and aesthetically pleasing. Great sound.
This is the biggest thing for me. At 40-50% volume for music, I don't hear much else other than the music unless it's a quiet part of a song or in between tracks. Even in my open office (100 salespeople on the phones) it cuts a ton of that noise out. I'd say on average on flights or if I ever brought them to work I'd have my BeatsX at 65% volume and they wouldn't cut everything out. At 40-50% on Airpods Pro I'm getting superior noise reduction and higher quality sound. Huge win IMO.
I have noticed how well the tips are placed in the ear makes a big difference. I can get the APP to give me a good fit with all 3 tips, but I can tell if I've got the larger tips in, the ANC is much greater than using even the medium tips. Unfortunately, I get this clicking noise when I run while using the large and medium tips which is probably from the silicone in the tips, so I run/workout with the small tips. Probably better, I don't have great noise cancellation while running though. Safety first!
I’m guessing they are crimped a tad and the bounce of running makes the crimp click.
um ok, i don't know if the sound sounds like a mess or distorts the sound when it runs. This is my case, especially with the size L tips when it is my size ....
That is a question I had. Noise reduction when cutting grass....I normally wear ear plugs, but wondered if the Pro's NC would suffice. Or is it just the same intensity but inverted sound wave in my ear?
No. I had tested my AirPods Pro in the studio as noise cancellation used to be fabulous. I used pink noise, white noise and sinuses at various pitches, at around 80 db. With this kind of steady sounds cancellation was almost 100% in my experience.
After firmware updates (or after an hardware failure, I don't know yet) I noticed ANC was dramatically less efficient so I repeated the test in the studio. Cancellation is now at around 30, 40%. Noise is very much there, whereas it used to just disappear. Also, the fit test that used to pass every time is now consistently yellow, no matter what tips I use (yes even with new tips, see later).
I requested a replacement but unfortunately Apple sent me 2 earbuds with different firmware and there is no way to sync them as a pair, only left OR right, and they just don't update the firmware when only one is in the case. But I had the chance to use the new tips on my old AirPods so no, it's not a matter of damaged/fragile tips.
The ANC on the Airpods pro has been significantly reduced as of the mid November firmware update (2B588). Those who purchased them late November onward probably have no idea how good the ANC is capable of being. The most recent firmware update (2C54) made no change to the effectiveness of the ANC and seems to have been pulled for other unrelated problems.
This should really be a much bigger story. The product reviews were all based on the initial release firmware and the APP has markedly changed through a forced update with no release notes or explanation. It's pretty shameful.
This should really be a much bigger story. The product reviews were all based on the initial release firmware and the APP has markedly changed through a forced update with no release notes or explanation. It's pretty shameful.
Which firmware do the buds have? If one have the 2C54 there’s no way the other update to the same version because Apple has pulled that version.
unofficially the latest one is the 2B588.
I would wait tomorrow or few days, they will release an update soon.
And yes, it’s definitely not a matter of faulty tips: the seal became poor due ear oil/moisture that clogged the vents inside.
many users had great benefits with the weird “sucking” technique. Some strong suck/aspiration in the grills you see when you open the lid.
PS: sorry in advance to the users for the Off Topic.
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I got my APPs on 2B588 so I have no context for what the ANC was like prior to that update. Would there be a logical reason for them to make their own product worse via that update? I'm very curious to know why they'd nerf their own best feature of these...
Same, I don't know what I am missing but I also know it was dramatic at one point and ANC on my APP's doesn't blow me away.
I'm largely impressed by ANC, but it's likely because this is the first ANC product I've owned and because I'm impressed at the level of ANC with the form factor being so small. I do wish the APPs were better at cutting voices and higher pitched sounds, but the level that they can eliminate low and mid range frequency noises is really impressive. If it used to be markedly better...Damn.
Yeah I’m thinking it can only get better for us. First pair I’ve had too with the exception of Bose headphones supplied when flying first class. I love my APPs overall. Looking forward to the firmware update.
Someone above has a great point about all the raving reviews being performed under the old firmware that presented ANC more favorably.
There's speculation the initial release ANC was causing reports of headaches and dizziness. Naturally, Apple wouldn't want the bad PR so this could've been the "easy" fix via a forced firmware update that can't be blocked by users. We will likely never know unless this story gets more traction.
In my personal experience, I would say the ANC lost about 20% effectiveness after the update. It's still good, but not great.
You guys are all nuts 
I actually have an Apple engineer friend who works in the audio division, unfortunately he's still on vacation at the moment but I'm dying to ask his opinion about this when he gets back. You know, this exact same anti-update frenzy happened with Bose, who sent in engineers and found no difference at all. Doesn't that clue you in that this might be some kind of a mass hysteria thing?
Bose, the ACR/personal audio juggernaut, engineers one of the finest noise-cancelling earphones. Then the designers, programmers, and engineers either accidentally or purposefully decide to cripple its performance on its way out the door.
Bose tells everyone they don't know what it could be, and send in engineers to investigate. Bose, the people who designed the damn thing, somehow can't figure out what they did to make it perform poorly, or are covering it up that they did because, they're evil, or something?
Then Apple releases their finely-engineered ACR eardrops.
The exact same hysteria happens.
It works great, then mysteriously stops working great, because apparently the world-class engineers who built the thing manage to cripple it with just that one last firmware update. Hmm. I'm not saying you guys are making things up, I just find this really hard to believe.
I actually have an Apple engineer friend who works in the audio division, unfortunately he's still on vacation at the moment but I'm dying to ask his opinion about this when he gets back. You know, this exact same anti-update frenzy happened with Bose, who sent in engineers and found no difference at all. Doesn't that clue you in that this might be some kind of a mass hysteria thing?Bose, the ACR/personal audio juggernaut, engineers one of the finest noise-cancelling earphones. Then the designers, programmers, and engineers either accidentally or purposefully decide to cripple its performance on its way out the door.
Bose tells everyone they don't know what it could be, and send in engineers to investigate. Bose, the people who designed the damn thing, somehow can't figure out what they did to make it perform poorly, or are covering it up that they did because, they're evil, or something?
Then Apple releases their finely-engineered ACR eardrops.
The exact same hysteria happens.
It works great, then mysteriously stops working great, because apparently the world-class engineers who built the thing manage to cripple it with just that one last firmware update. Hmm. I'm not saying you guys are making things up, I just find this really hard to believe.
That doesn't pass the smell test. Active noise cancellation has been around for a long time. There's never been a widespread issue with dizziness. There would be a warning next to the part in the manual about "Do not listen to audio at high volume for extended periods." But there isn't. No company that makes ACR headphones has ever put out a warning, there's never been any documented cases, do you seriously see Apple crippling the main selling point of this product over this? It just doesn't make sense.supergt said:
Clearly there is a fit issue, if the test is now yellow and you are experiencing decreased performance, have you done the foam tip hack yet??djcerla said:
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Bought my APP’s at launch. They are currently on 2C54. I don’t notice any degradation of ANC compared to new. Mine work flawlessly. I am not new to ANC.
That seems to be what some people are saying that had the original firmware. I can’t comment as mine came with 2B588.
2B584 was the firmware that shipped with the first batch of APP. I find it funny that people say they know ANC and thus there is no issue. I can tell you that it was stronger before the firmware update in my experience. Others will say it's just fine now and that it works for them....to each their own. Personally I'm not satisfied. I don't think it's acceptable that firmware updates are forced with no release notes. With all the software issues Apple has had this year, we should all be concerned about this.