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steve217

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Nov 11, 2011
542
844
NC
I know it’s late in the year for yard work, but I was curious if anyone has mowed their lawn with AirPods Pro.

If so, how was the noise canceling?
 

Ralfi

macrumors 601
Dec 22, 2016
4,373
3,101
Australia
It’s pretty impressive. I was surprised at how effective it was.

With regular Airpods, I had to have volume at 100%, but it still wasn’t great due to not having a seal...(awful for the ears too).

But with the Pro’s in NC mode, volume was at 76% (I asked Siri what the volume was). I could’ve even turned it down a little (maybe 70%), but left it.

My lawn mower‘s spec sheet says it’s 75dB fyi.

I haven’t tried it but that can’t be good for your hearing.

Noise Cancellation allows you to lower the volume, so the impact on your hearing’s lessened.
 

mavis

macrumors 601
Jul 30, 2007
4,771
1,541
Tokyo, Japan
It’s pretty impressive. I was surprised at how effective it was.

With regular Airpods, I had to have volume at 100%, but it still wasn’t great due to not having a seal...(awful for the ears too).

But with the Pro’s in NC mode, volume was at 76% (I asked Siri what the volume was). I could’ve even turned it down a little (maybe 70%), but left it.

My lawn mower‘s spec sheet says it’s 75dB fyi.

Noise Cancellation allows you to lower the volume, so the impact on your hearing’s lessened.

That's true, but if the headphones are actively canceling 75dB of ambient/environmental noise, you're still getting at least that much noise+anti-noise (you know what I mean, the opposite waveform) PLUS the music. So I wonder if it's really THAT much better for our ears. Just thinking out loud, really ... pun intended ?
 

Ralfi

macrumors 601
Dec 22, 2016
4,373
3,101
Australia
That's true, but if the headphones are actively canceling 75dB of ambient/environmental noise, you're still getting at least that much noise+anti-noise (you know what I mean, the opposite waveform) PLUS the music. So I wonder if it's really THAT much better for our ears. Just thinking out loud, really ... pun intended ?
Doesn’t that cancel out the noise though ?

(nice punnage ?)
 

mavis

macrumors 601
Jul 30, 2007
4,771
1,541
Tokyo, Japan
Doesn’t that cancel out the noise though ?

(nice punnage ?)
lol thanks.

But yeah - if you're trying to cancel 75dB of noise, don't you need 75dB of the phase-inverted waveform (or whatever the terminology is) to do that? So you're still getting hit with 75dB of sound pressure. I mean, obviously there's going to be attenuation from the headphones/earphones themselves, so that 75dB is passively reduced to 50-60dB, before the ANC does its thing, but still ... That environmental noise is being canceled with an approximately equal/opposite noise. So your ears are still getting hit, albeit to a lesser degree (again, mainly due to the attenuation from the headphones themselves) ... Unless I'm way off base here, which is of course entirely possible. :p
 

The Game 161

macrumors Nehalem
Dec 15, 2010
30,978
20,168
UK
with loud music in the gym the sound is min but it still exists. doing the garden you will still hear it.
 

Colin8

macrumors member
May 12, 2014
52
19
That's true, but if the headphones are actively canceling 75dB of ambient/environmental noise, you're still getting at least that much noise+anti-noise (you know what I mean, the opposite waveform) PLUS the music. So I wonder if it's really THAT much better for our ears. Just thinking out loud, really ... pun intended ?

I’ve actually wondered this too and there really isn’t too much about it on the internet. But as far as I’m aware the NC headphones/airpods output a sound wave 180 degrees out of phase. Therefore when the sound reaches your eardrum, both sound waves cancel each other out so they exert no pressure onto the eardrum. This coupled with the ability to listen to music at lower volumes only makes me think NC is good for the ears.
 

robjulo

Suspended
Jul 16, 2010
1,623
3,159
You are entirely off base.

lol thanks.

But yeah - if you're trying to cancel 75dB of noise, don't you need 75dB of the phase-inverted waveform (or whatever the terminology is) to do that? So you're still getting hit with 75dB of sound pressure. I mean, obviously there's going to be attenuation from the headphones/earphones themselves, so that 75dB is passively reduced to 50-60dB, before the ANC does its thing, but still ... That environmental noise is being canceled with an approximately equal/opposite noise. So your ears are still getting hit, albeit to a lesser degree (again, mainly due to the attenuation from the headphones themselves) ... Unless I'm way off base here, which is of course entirely possible. :p
 
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mavis

macrumors 601
Jul 30, 2007
4,771
1,541
Tokyo, Japan
I’ve actually wondered this too and there really isn’t too much about it on the internet. But as far as I’m aware the NC headphones/airpods output a sound wave 180 degrees out of phase. Therefore when the sound reaches your eardrum, both sound waves cancel each other out so they exert no pressure onto the eardrum. This coupled with the ability to listen to music at lower volumes only makes me think NC is good for the ears.
OK after a little more searching, I think I've found the answer.

The waves do cancel each other out (resulting in zero waves actually hitting the eardrum, ideally) because of a principle called destructive interference.
 

Ralfi

macrumors 601
Dec 22, 2016
4,373
3,101
Australia
I've had my iPod Pros since November and tried them for the first time yesterday while doing yard work - using my gas powered weed trimmer, yard blower, etc. The noise cancellation is fantastic.
Works darn well with vacuums and carpet cleaners, too. A lot more relaxing, I like to use them while doing chores/work.
I haven’t heard my lawn mower since late last year ?

The first time I mowed with NC on....I couldn‘t stop smiling.
 
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