What is noise canceling in headphones and how does it work?

TWS headphones continue to take over the market, allowing not only to enjoy music or a movie all alone, but also to forget about the little gnomes that sit in our pockets and constantly twist the cable of a wired headset. When choosing Bluetooth models, last but not least, you need to pay attention to the presence noise reduction. This option directly affects whether you can step back from what is happening around and plunge into the music world, not paying attention to the sound of the wheels of the subway train. Today we will understand how the function works, what is active noise cancellation and how it differs from the usual.

Active noise cancellation – differences from passive

Noise canceling in headphones – this is a process that cuts off extraneous sounds and allows you to not pay attention to what is happening around. This technology is present in many TWS headsets and is implemented in both passive and active formats.

The first type of noise reduction (PNC – Passive Noise Cancelation) eliminates unnecessary sounds due to special overlays (ear pads). Therefore, all in-ear headphones are able to suppress noise, regardless of whether we are talking about a wired or wireless model. The ear cushions create the effect of a vacuum in the auricle, due to which the user practically hears nothing around even without content playback. The negative side of PNC is ear fatigue after listening to music for a long time.

ПОДКЛЮЧАЙСЯ К НАШЕМУ ЧАТИКУ В ТЕЛЕГРАМЕ. ТУТ ТЕБЕ ОТВЕТЯТ НА ЛЮБЫЕ ВОПРОСЫ ОБ АНДРОИД И НЕ ТОЛЬКО

Active noise cancellation (ANC – Active Noise Cancellation) works differently. Clipping of ambient sound occurs due to a separate device built into the headphones. Headset microphones pick up noise, and a special co-processor removes it, as if creating a copy of the external signal. Because of this, the main drawback of ANC makes itself felt – the deterioration of the autonomy of the audio device.

Not all models can boast of having ANC. Active noise canceling function with rare exceptions, only wireless headphones have, but their form factor (in-ear or earplugs) does not affect the presence or absence of the option. It all depends solely on the desire of the manufacturer.

ПОДПИСЫВАЙСЯ НА ТЕЛЕГРАМ-КАНАЛ СУНДУК АЛИБАБЫ, ЧТОБЫ ПОКУПАТЬ ТОЛЬКО ЛУЧШИЕ ТОВАРЫ С АЛИЭКСПРЕСС

Today ANC – one of the main selling chips in the Bluetooth headset market. Manufacturers not only equip their headphones with active noise cancellation, but also arrange races to find out which function works best. Dry numbers help them and ordinary users in this. AT characteristics of TWS headsets indicates the ANC power, expressed in decibels. The result of -30 dB is considered basic, and therefore even budget models can boast of it. But a stronger noise reduction of -45 dB is found only in premium segment devices.

What is transparency mode

In parallel with active noise reduction, it is customary to consider a function that creates the effect transparency. It is directly related to ANC, as it works due to the same hardware features of the headphones. If noise reduction cuts off external sound, then transparency mode (Transparency Mode), on the contrary, delivers it to your ear canal.

This feature negates one of the main disadvantages of in-ear headphones. As a rule, even when playback is stopped, you can hardly hear your interlocutor due to the vacuum. However Transparency Mode creates the effect that you are not wearing headphones at all, and the only sign of using a headset is fatigue from the ear pads.

How to turn noise reduction on or off

To enable ANC, you need to make sure your wireless headphones support active noise cancellation. To do this, it is enough to study the information provided on the official website of the manufacturer or in the instructions. If ANC support is declared, then Transparency Mode is also in place.

There are no additional requirements for a smartphone. For ANC to work, you only need a headphone pairing program. As a rule, in the instructions, manufacturers themselves indicate the name of the application required to connect the headset. In the case of my vivo TWS 2, we are talking about the utility of the same name, available on Google Play. Well, now about how to turn on noise reduction:

• Connect your wireless headphones to your smartphone via Bluetooth settings.

• Launch the branded application and open its settings.

• Click the Noise Reduction button and select its expressiveness. If desired, you can activate the transparency mode here.

ПОДПИШИСЬ НА НАШ ЯНДЕКС.ДЗЕН. ТАМ МЫ ВЫКЛАДЫВАЕМ ИНТЕРЕСНЕЙШИЕ СТАТЬИ И ИНСТРУКЦИИ, КОТОРЫЕ НЕ ПОПАДАЮТ НА САЙТ

If you are using a smartphone and Bluetooth headphones same brand, you can apply noise reduction settings without a third-party application. So, all the necessary menu items are presented in the settings of vivo, realme and Xiaomi devices.

Also, do not forget that almost all wireless headphones support gesture control. Therefore, you can change the noise reduction settings even without accessing your smartphone. You just need to know what gesture is provided for enable or disable ANC on your device.

Noise canceling headphones – which ones to buy

Headsets with passive noise reduction today will not surprise anyone, but the presence of ANC is still considered the prerogative of flagship models. But the situation is gradually changing, and more and more wireless headphones with active noise reduction appear on the market every day. Here are just a few options worthy of your attention:

Headphones with ANC more expensive than models with passive noise cancellation. However, a headset that supports ambient noise cancellation also allows you to use the transparency mode, which is so important for those who never part with music for a second.