Active Noise Cancelling

Noise-cancelling headphones are headphones that reduce disturbing sounds from your surroundings so you can listen to music, podcasts or calls with fewer distractions. This makes them especially popular in places with a lot of background noise, such as on planes, trains, in offices or while commuting.

Most noise-cancelling headphones use active noise cancelling (ANC). This means that microphones in the headphones pick up sounds from the environment and create an opposite sound signal that reduces or neutralises the noise before it reaches your ears.

In addition to active noise cancelling, the physical design of the headphones can also help reduce noise. For example, over-ear headphones with large ear cups can provide extra passive noise isolation because they cover the entire ear.

In short, noise-cancelling headphones help you reduce background noise and enjoy a more focused and comfortable listening experience, even in noisy environments.

Active Noise Cancelling (ANC) is a headphone technology that reduces distracting sounds from your surroundings so you can listen to music, podcasts or calls with fewer interruptions.

The technology works by using microphones in the headphones to pick up ambient sounds, such as traffic, airplane engines or office noise. The headphones then create an opposite sound signal (anti-noise) that neutralizes the incoming sound before it reaches your ears.

This reduces many background noises, especially low-frequency and constant sounds, such as:
• Airplane or train engines
• Traffic noise
• Ventilation or office noise

The result is a quieter listening environment, allowing you to hear details in music and calls more clearly without having to turn up the volume.

In short, ANC uses the headphones’ microphones and electronics to actively reduce ambient noise, giving you a more focused and comfortable listening experience.

The difference between active noise cancelling and passive noise reduction is about how the headphones reduce sound from the surroundings.

Active noise cancelling (ANC) uses electronics and microphones in the headphones to actively reduce background noise. The microphones pick up sounds from the environment and the headphones create an opposite sound signal that neutralises parts of the noise before it reaches your ears. This technology is particularly effective against steady, constant sounds such as traffic, aircraft engines or ventilation noise.

Passive noise reduction means that the headphones reduce noise through their physical design. For example, over-ear headphones with large ear cups or our Comfort Foam Tips can block some of the ambient sound by creating a physical barrier.

In short:
• Active noise cancelling (ANC) reduces sound using technology and microphones.
• Passive noise reduction reduces sound through the shape and materials of the headphones.

Many modern headphones combine both methods to provide even better noise isolation.

No, noise-cancelling headphones do not block all sound completely. They are designed to reduce disturbing background noise, but some sounds can still be heard.

Active noise cancelling (ANC) works best against steady, continuous sounds, such as:
• Engine noise from planes or trains
• Traffic
• Ventilation or office noise

More sudden sounds, such as voices, signals, or other quick noises, can still be heard because they change too quickly for the technology to fully cancel them out.
In addition, the design of the headphones contributes to passive noise isolation, which helps to further reduce sound. The combination of active and passive noise reduction makes many background sounds feel significantly weaker.

In short: noise-cancelling headphones reduce a lot of ambient noise, but they do not eliminate it completely. They are still very effective for creating a calmer listening environment when you travel, work, or want to focus on your music.

Ambient mode is a feature in earphones where microphones let in sound from your surroundings so you can hear what’s going on around you while listening to music or talking on the phone. The feature is sometimes also called transparency mode or ambient mode.

When ambient mode is activated, the earphones’ microphones pick up sounds from the environment and play them back in the earphones. This allows you, for example, to hear people talking to you, traffic noise, or announcements at an airport without having to take the earphones out.

Ambient mode can be especially useful when you:
• Want to be more aware of your surroundings
• Commute or move around in traffic
• Talk to someone without taking out your earphones
• Are waiting for important announcements while travelling

In short, ambient mode in earphones lets you combine your listening experience with better awareness of what’s happening around you.