AirPods Pro & Max - totally different sound between Noise C/Off/Transparent

[dannys1]

I'm not sure if this has only happened since iOS15 as I first noticed it with AirPods Max on an iOS15 Beta on iPad, but can confirm it's the same with AirPods Pro on the latest iOS15 release.

The signature and sound quality are completely different between noise cancelling and off/transparent. You'd expect some difference, in fact you'd expect noise cancelling to be noticeably worse with "off" being the purest original sound - yet switching between the two noise cancelling actually sounds far far better, to the point where it's impossible to change to "off" afterwards - it makes all the bass frequencies disappear and the sound is thin and very unimpressive.

It's not like noise cancelling is boosting bass frequencies to unreasonable levels either - it just sounds "right" and the other two modes sound very wrong in comparison.

I can't be the only person who can hear this, it's not exactly a subtle change between each setting.

 

[Bromeo]

I believe that's by design. At least with my AirPods Pro, Transparency and Noise Cancelation both turn on active EQ, whereas Off mode does not, saving even more battery. I find the EQ of both powered modes to sound the same, but Off definitely sounds flat in comparison.

I auditioned the AirPods Pro Max this morning at my local Apple Store. Nice sound. Don Dorsey’s Bachbusters really put them to work!

 

[bigshot]

^ yes it's the adaptive eq.

 

[dannys1]

Interesting - because I reported this to Apple's bug report - and they did a 2 hour phone call with me collecting diagnostics to try and figure out why. Now you've said it's adaptive EQ kicking in, it makes sense.

In that case though i'd rather have adaptive EQ (or at least the option of it) in "off" - so I can have the same sound without the noise cancellation, ah well.

The Max are ok - they're not great. They're a bit aggressive on vocals. There's definitely better headphones for the price but they don't come with the build quality and the Apple features.

 

[bigshot]

Interesting that you think the vocals are prominent. I found the exact opposite. I needed to boost the range around 1kHz a couple of dB and pull back the sub-80Hz bass about the same amount. Everyone's ears are different I guess. The Max follows the latest Harman Curve pretty well though, so it should appeal to most people.

 

[MayaTlab]

I believe that's by design. At least with my AirPods Pro, Transparency and Noise Cancelation both turn on active EQ, whereas Off mode does not, saving even more battery. I find the EQ of both powered modes to sound the same, but Off definitely sounds flat in comparison.

Adaptive EQ still works when ANC is off - that's how Apple is capable of having it in the Airpods 3 even without ANC -, but it requires a broader signal (white noise, music, etc.) to work properly.

Theoretically there shouldn't be any significant difference in SQ between all three modes, as I and others can confirm with measurements (measurements showing a significant difference did so using sine sweeps which may produce errors when ANC is off).

What could happen though, for example :
- with the AirPods Pro, if the mesh facing the user's ear is clogged up, this may introduce a difference between ANC off and ANC on / transparency. ANC performance is also degraded. That's something that I could experience for myself as the APP design means that given the anatomy of my concha this mesh invariably gets clogged up over time, even with the newer, recessed version meant to solve that problem.
- with the Airpods Max, if the seal is suboptimal, perhaps the slightly different way the Adaptive EQ algorithm works in ANC off vs. ANC on / transparency may introduce differences. This is not something that I personally experience under most circumstances, but their poor headband to cup attachment design means that it might be occurring more frequently for some people depending on one's anatomy.

An important note I think is one's subjective impressions of a similar FR being shaped by the APP / APM's occlusion noise when ANC is off (sounds emanating from you own body) vs. when ANC / transparency are on. When on, these noises are reduced by the ANC circuit, and you get a low level white-ish noise in the background. That alone may introduce a difference in one's subjective impression of the SQ, even though the FR is the same. Or not, IDK !

 

[secretk]

I actually do expect to sense some difference between ANC on/off. ANC should cancel background noises. It does it by generating white noise that counteracts noise around us. Depending on someone's sensitivity you can sense less or more the combination of what you are listening to with the white noise that the headphones are generating.

Also the more noise is cancelled, the more I at least can hear small details of the music (some beats, vocal effects etc). Depending the song and how much such tidbits I can hear with ANC on and not hear with ANC off, I can be left with the impression that the sound is different.

Lastly having Transparency on, kind of mimics the effect of open can vs closed one. This can significantly change the sound as well.

This is in general on why you can sense difference between ANC on and off. If you feel a sudden change then I would suggest to check the earbuds themselves (if there is general NG degradation) and not only the software changes.

I just tested with my Airpods Pro and my iPad 6th generation (that is with iPadOS 15) and I do not feel vast difference. There is some difference but it is nuanced and it is mostly to what it means to be with ANC on, Transparency on or with off.