Should I use the noise cancelling on the Airpods Pro in a quiet room?

[Gary500]

Does the noise cancelling actually make the sound better? If I'm in a quiet room can I turn it off and get the same audio quality? Not sure how transparency mode affects it either.

 

[unobtainium]

I was testing this earlier and I’d say no. If anything it sounded slightly better with ANC off. Important thing is getting a good seal, even if there’s no external noise.

 

[Closingracer]

I would turn it off for better battery life

 

[Strangedream]

It seems the ACN reduces the soundstage, otherwise there is no change in audio quality whether it's on or off. Using ACN in a quiet room is fine but you'd waste battery life.

 

[unobtainium]

Huh, The Verge says ANC enables a unique feature:

But the real key ingredient is a feature called Ambient EQ. As you listen to music, the AirPods Pro adjust the sound signal 200 times a second to optimize audio for your specific ear shape with the help of an internal-facing microphone. Now, in some ways, you’ve got to take the company’s word for this stuff. How is anyone really going to know if that analysis is happening? It’s not something you hear or can detect. But when you turn off noise cancellation, Ambient EQ also goes with it — and you can hear a difference. The AirPods Prodo sound slightly slightly better with Ambient EQ enabled.

 

[darrinS]

I hear the music better with anc on, even in a quiet room. To me it sounds better.

 

[jcshas]

I've decided to leave ANC off unless I'm in a loud environment. The sound quality is nearly the same and it saves on battery life.

 

[blairh]

To my ears the AP sound better with NC off. So I'd only enable it when needed.