AirPods Pro 2: ANC after 5B58 update?

[aevan]

You forgot the majority of people and common sense. And the fact that we have the same thing every time there is a firmware update from any manufacturer.

Funny that Rtings now doesn't mean anything to you I'm sure it would have meant the world to you, had they found any proof for your strange claims.

Instead, your Apple Watch still is king. Cannot make that stuff up. Gotta love the internet.

Rtings is controlled by aliens. So is Apple. ANC is our only defense against their sonic weaponry and they’ve been ruining it one firmware at a time!

 

[Herrpod]

Imagine trusting rtings on anything other than TVs. Lol.

Bought another pair from Target (199 dollar sale) for my wife, and the difference in what hers blocks out is dramatically different than what mine do(mine have the firmware update). It may be blocking the same percentage but possibly the frequencies were altered. All I know is that higher pitched sounds my wife’s AirPods block mine used to and now don’t. This isn’t a debatable point.

 

[tenlow]

Imagine trusting rtings on anything other than TVs. Lol.

It may be blocking the same percentage but possibly the frequencies were altered. All I know is that higher pitched sounds my wife’s AirPods block mine used to and now don’t. This isn’t a debatable point.

We kind of know this, though, and not just the percentages.

https://www.rtings.com/assets/pages/C1ZQQDgM/anc-fw5a377-vs-5b58-large.jpg

Anyway, I don't think this debate will lead to anything at this point anymore.

 

[lindros2]

Imagine trusting rtings on anything other than TVs. Lol.

Bought another pair from Target (199 dollar sale) for my wife, and the difference in what hers blocks out is dramatically different than what mine do(mine have the firmware update). It may be blocking the same percentage but possibly the frequencies were altered. All I know is that higher pitched sounds my wife’s AirPods block mine used to and now don’t. This isn’t a debatable point.

I wish I had hard tangible evidence. It is clear as day. It's even more severe than 4E65 > 4E71 on the APP1 (and AP Max).

 

[tenlow]

I wish I had hard tangible evidence.

oh, we all do

It is clear as day. It's even more severe than 4E65 > 4E71 on the APP1 (and AP Max).

So clear and so severe that no measurements are able to show it whatsoever. Jeez.

 

[Jutah]

Bought another pair from Target (199 dollar sale) for my wife, and the difference in what hers blocks out is dramatically different than what mine do(mine have the firmware update). It may be blocking the same percentage but possibly the frequencies were altered. All I know is that higher pitched sounds my wife’s AirPods block mine used to and now don’t. This isn’t a debatable point.

Sooner or later you’re wife’s app will upgrade. Check how is it after that and post the updates so you can compare 2 different unit with same fw version.

 

[Herrpod]

Sooner or later you’re wife’s app will upgrade. Check how is it after that and post the updates so you can compare 2 different unit with same fw version.

It updated today. Now the ANC is identical to the ones I bought last month. In other words, what’s being noise canceled has changed for the worse (imo). It does ok with the really low sounds, but whereas it used to do well with higher pitched sounds, it’s not handling those well at all anymore.

 

[Jutah]

It updated today. Now the ANC is identical to the ones I bought last month. In other words, what’s being noise canceled has changed for the worse (imo). It does ok with the really low sounds, but whereas it used to do well with higher pitched sounds, it’s not handling those well at all anymore.

Like many other users.

The problem are the higher pitch, yes.

Let’s hope that the next one will strengthen it!

 

[meridiusuk]

I think these do not do a good job at higher frequencies anymore . I am sure they used to on day of release. Also when on the bus if I turn off anc the environment sounds like a loud hum but soon as I turn on anc it turns that hum into a hair dryer type sound which is very strange as it’s making the sound a higher pitch instead of cancelling it out and makes it worse.

Sure apple have caused a bug in the new update for this to happen.

Apart from that they do a good job at blocking out lower sounds but people speaking or the bus sounds there not great which is a shame as I use the his every day.

Maybe I need a new job that I need to stand next to a worker with a jack hammer as they seem to do a good job at that according to apple. Lol.

 

[tenlow]

I find it interesting that some people think the APP2 (or most other TWS for that matter) were/are very effective with regard to higher frequency attenuation. They’re not. And they haven’t been even before the „evil“ new firmware update.

As we can clearly see in the Soundguys ANC measurement of the old firmware, the best attenuation was between 0hz and roughly 4khz.

Everything above that, the ANC cut less than the passive isolation already did. Which is pretty normal for ANC in TWS btw. You can see that green line doesn’t ever go higher than the pink one after 4khz basically.

This means that even on the previous firmware, everything above 4khz was attenuated by passive isolation (aka seal) more than anything else and not really by the ANC.

So, long story short, people need to stop that the previous firmware cut out „everything“, even „higher pitched sounds“ while the new one doesn’t. It’s just nonsense. See the chart on that in the picture here.

Some anecdotal evidence at the end:

I was watching TV last evening testing out the ANC of the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 vs. the Apple AirPods Pro 2 and while the MTW3 have the way better passive isolation when all ANC is off, when ANC is activated I felt that the APP2 were better all things considered. I was still able to hear some of what the voices were saying on both sets but less so on the APP2.

This means two things:

1. The APP2 (still) have way better ANC than the MTW3 and

2. I could still hear some of the voices for the reasons just explained (and shown on the Soundguys measurement).

 

[Herrpod]

I find it interesting that some people think the APP2 (or most other TWS for that matter) were/are very effective with regard to higher frequency attenuation. They’re not. And they haven’t been even before the „evil“ new firmware update.

As we can clearly see in the Soundguys ANC measurement of the old firmware, the best attenuation was between 0hz and roughly 4khz.

Everything above that, the ANC cut less than the passive isolation already did. Which is pretty normal for ANC in TWS btw. You can see that green line doesn’t ever go higher than the pink one after 4khz basically.

This means that even on the previous firmware, everything above 4khz was attenuated by passive isolation (aka seal) more than anything else and not really by the ANC.

So, long story short, people need to stop that the previous firmware cut out „everything“, even „higher pitched sounds“ while the new one doesn’t. It’s just nonsense. See the chart on that in the picture here.

Some anecdotal evidence at the end:

I was watching TV last evening testing out the ANC of the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 vs. the Apple AirPods Pro 2 and while the MTW3 have the way better passive isolation when all ANC is off, when ANC is activated I felt that the APP2 were better all things considered. I was still able to hear some of what the voices were saying on both sets but less so on the APP2.

This means two things:

1. The APP2 (still) have way better ANC than the MTW3 and

2. I could still hear some of the voices for the reasons just explained (and shown on the Soundguys measurement).

You can’t believe people know what they themselves are hearing?

 

[tenlow]

You don’t like facts too much, do you?

Oh, I’m sure people hear all kinds of things. The reasons behind it are often quite more varied than a firmware update, though

 

[scrane]

A matter of perception. When new we listen for the silence. Later we become more critical (cynical?) and listen for the noise.

 

[tenlow]

A matter of perception. When new we listen for the silence. Later we become more critical (cynical?) and listen for the noise.

One of many reasons, correct. Now that people read about stuff like that here, they pay extra attention anyway. Cynical is a good word for it, actually

 

[Herrpod]

One of many reasons, correct. Now that people read about stuff like that here, they pay extra attention anyway. Cynical is a good word for it, actually

Or they come here to see if anyone else noticed a change. I wasn’t prompted to look for a difference. It was obvious and glaring.

 

[tenlow]

Or they come here to see if anyone else noticed a change. I wasn’t prompted to look for a difference. It was obvious and glaring.

Alright then. How do you explain that the vast majority doesn’t hear it and we have ze-ro scientific evidence for the claims while we do have various scientific measurements and evidence that nothing of significance actually has changed? Also, why do we have the exact same phenomenon every time a manufacturer releases a firmware update? Why is that? I’d love to know really because logically the argument „some people hear such things more than others“ is not a good one if it can’t even be measured in any form and the majority doesn’t think it’s different. There’s dozens of potential reasons for individual issues with ANC performance that make way more sense than a firmware update when no test or measurement can find any proof of these things that some people allegedly hear. And I’m not even saying that they’re wrong in hearing it. But perception and all the reasons mentioned here and in the other thread are just way more likely the culprit for these issues than anything else.

Anyway, feel free to believe it was the firmware update. I’m kind of tired of repeating the same arguments all over again. I hope for everyone affected by this sudden loss of ANC that one of the next „firmware updates“ will sort it out for you again

 

[Herrpod]

Lol you’re the one invested in telling people their ears are lying. I literally had two pairs last week. A new one without the new update and my first pair with the update. The ANC was noticeably different on both until the new pair got the update and now the anc is as disappointing as the first pair. No amount of copy and pasting a link to a site falsely claiming nothing has changed will change the fact that my ears aren’t lying. And given Apples well known history of making anc worse with firmware updates, it’s not u expected that they’d alter something again.

 

[tenlow]

Lol you’re the one invested in telling people their ears are lying. I literally had two pairs last week. A new one without the new update and my first pair with the update. The ANC was noticeably different on both until the new pair got the update and now the anc is as disappointing as the first pair. No amount of copy and pasting a link to a site falsely claiming nothing has changed will change the fact that my ears aren’t lying. And given Apples well known history of making anc worse with firmware updates, it’s not u expected that they’d alter something again.

Right. We all have the same firmware. Mine don’t do that. The ones of the majority don’t do that. The ones in the measurements don’t do that. Sure that‘s all „falsely claiming nothing has changed“ stuff, I know.

I hope your pair(s) will get back to normal again at some point then, I really do

 

[Herrpod]

Right. We all have the same firmware. Mine don’t do that. The ones of the majority don’t do that. The ones in the measurements don’t do that. Sure that‘s all „falsely claiming nothing has changed“ stuff, I know.

I hope your pair(s) will get back to normal again at some point then, I really do

Yes that is indeed the hope.

 

[tenlow]

So, since we all know for a fact now that Apple wants to take away the ANC from us, we have to fight back!

Joke aside, I did some "hybrid" foam/silicone tips using the original Apple tips and filling them with precisely cut out orange foam (for the looks of course) and the passive isolation is actually significantly better than before. Another benefit is, the tips stay even more secure in my ear than before. Pretty nice

 

[meridiusuk]

So, since we all know for a fact now that Apple wants to take away the ANC from us, we have to fight back!

Joke aside, I did some "hybrid" foam/silicone tips using the original Apple tips and filling them with precisely cut out orange foam (for the looks of course) and the passive isolation is actually significantly better than before. Another benefit is, the tips stay even more secure in my ear than before. Pretty nice

where did you get them from and any guides on how to do this ?

thanks

 

[tenlow]

where did you get them from and any guides on how to do this ?

thanks

I found similar ones at aliexpress When they arrived, they were not of very good quality and didn’t fit the AirPods as good as the original ones. I then decided to at least take out the orange foam parts and just put them into the stock silicone tips which worked perfectly. So now, the silicone „fit problem“ onto the buds is no longer there and the benefit of the foam inside still remains.

 

[Jutah]

Just for the records.
The new watchOs enable the noise cancelling impact in noise app even on Airpods Pro 1.

With the update the average cut measured on my watch on APP2 now is 24dB (before watch update was 22dB). Just a recalibration.

 

[StoveJeebs]

ANC is severely degraded with 5B58. I thought it was all in my head until I researched the new firmware update. In a populated GYM, I can hear voices, where I couldn't hear hardly anything before.

In my old truck on the highway (78 DB). I couldn't hear the engine or hardly any wind noise, now it's noticible. ANC has been degraded to the point where my AirPod Pro 2's are now equivilent to my old AirPod Pro 1's. This is completely unacceptable.

I started a ticket with Apple, and they refused to acknowledge this, and told me to update my iOS which obviously made no difference.

 

[japanime]

Just for the records.
The new watchOs enable the noise cancelling impact in noise app even on Airpods Pro 1.

With the update the average cut measured on my watch on APP2 now is 24dB (before watch update was 22dB). Just a recalibration.

While sitting in my otherwise dead-silent room with a Dyson air filter running, the WatchOS Noise app indicates that my APP1s reduce the noise by 30db, while my AirPods Max reduce the noise by 29db. But I can clearly hear the hum of the air filter while wearing my Pros, and barely at all while wearing the Max.

From that, I can conclude the APP1 and Max have basically the same ANC technology, and it's just the over-the-ear nature of the Max that makes them seem more effective than the APP1.

However, Apple claimed that the APP2 can cancel up to twice as much noise as the APP1. So, instead of showing a 30db reduction, I should expect the Noise app to show a 60db reduction, right?

EDIT: Several members kindly explained to me how the measurement of decibels works and therefore why my assumption was incorrect. I appreciate it.