Get to Know: ANC Headphones

The trending, popular headphones of today are built with a host of cool features that make all other ordinary headphones pale in comparison. They don’t just thump out sweet sounds into your ears. They can also listen for and reduce, or even block out any unwanted background noises so that nothing filters through to what you’re listening to. 

WHAT IS ANC?

ANC stands for “active noise cancellation”, which is a feature that is an increasingly common must-have feature on headphones and earbuds. It’s a clever piece of technology that uses microphones to “listen” and tune out ambient sounds so you can enjoy your music, movies, and podcasts without any distractions.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

ANC headphones have tiny microphones that are built-in to pick up sound—everything from the hum of the air conditioning unit, to the sound of a passing car, and people chatting around you. The ANC technology then inverts these soundwaves, and a speaker located inside the earphone cancels them with neutralizing, “anti-noise” soundwaves.

There are different ways to which Active Noise Cancellation can be applied. The three most common implementations are:

1. FEEDFORWARD ANC

A feedforward ANC system has microphones installed on the outside of the earphone, so noise reaches the microphones before the user’s ear canal. While it is the simplest type of ANC, feedforward technology has its share of pros and cons.

Pros:
The external microphone has the best noise sensitivity, so it’s great for mid-frequency noise canceling and can be used to isolate specific sounds like speech or traffic.

Cons:
Feedforward ANC is more sensitive to wind howl and other forms of incidental noise that might get amplified instead of canceled out. Noise canceling properties also differ between wearers; how you wear your earphones, and how the earphones fit on you. A loose fit, for instance, may allow high-frequency noises to bleed through which the processing cannot account for.

2. FEEDBACK ANC

A feedback ANC system has microphones placed on the inside of the earphone.

Pros:
A major benefit of feedback ANC is that noise is captured by the microphone more accurately, regardless of the positioning and fit of the headphones. As a result, this allows it to adapt better to variations, and correct the signals if necessary. It’s also more resistant to wind howl and other incidental sounds, and is most effective against low-frequency noises.

Cons:
The drawback is that as with all feedback systems, runaway amplification can occur, which results in an increase in the amount of noise or a ringing feedback sound. This happens when the system picks up its own anti-noise signal and increases the level of amplification in an attempt to cancel it out.

3. HYBRID ANC

As the name suggests, a hybrid ANC is a mixed approach. It offers the best of both worlds by combining feedforward and feedback systems, which means the microphones are positioned on the inside and outside of the earphone. This makes hybrid ANC the most effective because both methods of processing are used, thus covering all the bases.

Pros:
The hybrid use of both ANC systems works together to reduce a broader spectrum of noise, so you are able to drown out more noises than a pair of headphones sporting just Feedforward ANC or Feedback ANC.

Cons:
Headphones made with hybrid ANC technology are typically on the higher end when it comes to prices, because they are built with two (or more) microphones, and these microphones need to be of higher quality so as to avoid causing or introducing any additional noise.

WHICH NOISE-CANCELING HEADPHONES SHOULD I GET?

Depending on the extensiveness of “noise cancellation” you’re after, Creative has a selection of headphones with ANC capabilities.