Everything about noise cancelling
Do you never want to be bothered again by the gossiping neighbor on the train or the coffee machine in the café? Then noise cancelling is your best friend. Put in your noise cancelling earbuds, block out the ambient noise and pause the world for a moment. But how exactly does it work and what is the best variant for you? Let's dive into the world of silence.
Published on: 11 october 2024
What is noise cancelling?
Noise cancelling - also known as noise reduction - ensures that ambient sounds are reduced or blocked on your headphones or earbuds. This way you can always enjoy your favorite music, series or podcast, wherever you are. Ideal for when you are in a noisy environment, such as the train, office, airplane or café. There are many types of noise cancelling, more on that later.
How does noise cancelling work?
The secret behind the functioning of noise cancelling headphones lies in their ability to pick up the sound waves of disturbing ambient sounds and produce an opposite sound wave. The sound is picked up by a microphone in your headphones or earbuds. Then an opposite wave, or anti-sound, ensures that the original sound is canceled before it reaches your ears. This way you can enjoy your music in silence.
Different types of noise cancelling
What is passive noise cancelling?
Passive noise cancelling is the simplest form of noise reduction. Because headphones and earbuds close off your ear canal, you automatically hear less ambient sound. All headphones and earbuds therefore have passive noise cancelling to some extent. The effectiveness depends on how well the device fits on your ears. An over-ear headphone therefore offers the best passive noise cancelling, because the design sits over your ears. This way, the headphones block all sound around your ear. The advantage: headphones or earbuds with passive noise cancelling are budget friendly. Nice for your wallet!
What is active noise cancelling?
There are two types of active noise cancelling, namely: feedforward anc and feedback anc.
Feedforward anc is a form of active noise cancelling that uses external microphones to pick up ambient sounds before they reach the ears. The microphone is therefore located on the outside of the earbud or headphone. These microphones detect the incoming sound and create an 'anti-noise' signal to suppress the unwanted sound. Feedforward anc is especially effective at higher frequency sounds and is often used in on-ear and over-ear headphones.
Feedback anc, you guessed it, is the opposite of feedforward anc. With feedback anc, the microphones are placed on the inside of the headphones or earbuds. As a result, they pick up the sound that has already reached the ears. Then an 'anti-noise' signal is created to suppress the incoming sound. Although feedback anc is very effective, it can have difficulty counteracting sounds with a longer wavelength, such as the hum of airplane engines.
What is hybrid active noise cancelling?
Hybrid anc is a combination of feedforward and feedback anc. So there are microphones on both the inside and outside of the device. This allows a wider range of frequencies to be filtered. The quality of hybrid anc can vary due to factors such as fit, chipset quality, and operating system.
Not sure which hybrid anc headphone is best for you? Then definitely check out our guide on the best noise cancelling headphones!
What is adaptive noise cancelling?
Take it a step further with the advanced adaptive hybrid anc. The microphones on the inside and outside of the device automatically adapt to your environment. This way you always get the optimal sound experience, wherever you are.
