In light of the current Sony WH-1000XM3 headphone craze, what have you guys actively noise cancelled?
Here's mine:
Plane lift-off
Plane commutes
Driving through tunnels
Having the air-con on whilst attempting to sleep
What Have You Actively Noise Cancelled?
Binsignature on 20/10/2018 - 11:17
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@EFC94: Felt it was fun testing the noise cancelling in different environments :) it was a very peaceful 8 minute tunnel ride
@happirt: What, so being really good involves tail gating the car ahead then?
Don't think so mate, I'll drive at speed limit if nothing's ahead of me, stick a healthy distance behind the cars in front of me and I'll stay aware at where cars are positioned around me so I can confidently change lanes whenever and stay in control.
Driving defensively.
The dogs next door barking all night….. no wait, I used a high pressure garden hose to spray them with water to do that. Cost me nothing and so satisfying.
I would be spraying the owners with that high pressure garden hose.
use the neighbors water
Do you have to have music etc playing to have them effective?
Because they "cancel" repetitive noises they are usually pretty effective without playing music. However, obviously, the music will mask stuff that isn't completely removed. Some of the earlier models needed the earphones to be in "active" mode to be able to play music - which was a pain when your battery was flat. The later ones are better - you won't get noise cancelling but you can still play your music.
Passive / Noise isolation is a much better way to go for me. smaller more effective no batteries and much better quality sound depending on what you're prepared to pay.
With Active To elaborate a little with N/C there are a series of little microphones external and internal to the headphone the noises they pick up or frequencies the they play through the headphone as a polar opposite to help cancel it out the sound. Sudden changes or the high pitch scream you will hear and while they are getting better it's actually more to do with the rating of the cup itself and the higher standard it can muffle as a decibel rating.
You don't have to play music for them to work some people have them on to cancel out some of the drone.
What!?
Camping especially when someone is having drink night.
On a plane.
On a train.
On a bus.
On a car which I'm not driving.
Waiting someone in a pub and they always late.only on the plane/car/? what about in them?
Me thinks having headphones on in a bar is pretty awkward and stupid. I’m sure you don’t care but just wanted to let you know anyway.
Camping especially when someone is having drink night.
Sounds like they would be great for other types of accommodation with noisy drunks around. Backpackers hostel, certain hotels, even cruise ships with loud drunks fighting.
1) Nation based or cultural stereotyping
2) Sexist rants against the opposite sex
3) Unwarranted and non-contextual negativityDo you need a safe space to live in?
Why not consolidate that to "any opinions that differ to my personal self belief or views on the world reality"?
I hope you live in a sound-proofed cocoon…
"3) Unwarranted and non-contextual negativity"
Sorry, can't hear you with my Sony's on
Bird pecking at the window while I sleep.
I don't find it comfy to sleep in these things. You might break them when you roll around too.
Train, work (so much white noise!), plane
What's wrong with being white?
I specifically bought them to dull out the drone from the CNC machines at work. Anyone else take a while to get used to the "pressure" on your ears?
This is my first experience with ANC and boy, am I impressed. I worked in the dining room of a McDonald's full of noisy drunks and never got distracted.I'm finding myself constantly realising how much drone-y noise I put up with on a daily basis, even the aircon irks me now!
You commute by plane?
I think we just found Bronwyn Bishop's OzBargain account…She uses helicopters.
Kids "rapping" in Pitt Street.
i put noise cancelling headphones on my noise cancelling headphones so they cancel each other out. two negatives make a positive :)
Ironically, active noise cancelling headphones already use white noise specifically tuned to background noise to cancel that out, so it's already a positive + positive = negative kind of deal. Two of those would be… well negative + negative = negative kind of thing.
so two noise cancelling headphones = super amplified enhanced hearing!
The background noise of the universe. Now if only someone could invent a device so I couldn't hear the neurons firing….
someone yelling warning me that a car was about to run me over
…..WHAAAAAAAAAT?
Just finished a 11 hour flight from Sydney to Shanghai. Two screaming kids near me all flight. Slept well through most of it. Paid for themselves right there.
Congratulations on your safe journey
I have just re-visited the idea of getting some noise cancelling headphones. Similarly with technology such as voice recognition, I once had no interest as the technology was in its infancy and not worth bothering with but has now advanced so much it is worth while.
Noise cancelling headphones from about 10 years back seemed rather ineffective, but todays noise cancelling tech seems great, from what I have been reading recently online.
My lawnmower man wears headphones. Would a good pair of modern active noise cancelling headphones actually block out noise of mower, even when he is right behind it ? I had guessed that they were just like ear muffs with headphone inside, but it seems noise cancelling tech has come alot further than I realized.
Also, if you wore active noise cancelling headphones while mowing lawns all day everyday, would you still get the industrial deafness, hearing damage from the 'canceled' sound that you are not actually hearing any more ?
Noise cancelling headphones, just like high end earmuffs, would reduce hearing damage for spending large amounts of time around noisy equipment like airplanes, lawn mowers, chainsaws, vegetation grinders, vacuum blowers. The headphones create an inverse waveform to negate the incoming waveform as it enters the air inside the ear cuffs.
Two things to note: 1. Ear muffs are really good at blocking medium and high frequencies (like -30 Db), but poor at attenuating low frequencies, so the Sony Sony WH-1000XM3 would actually be better than ear muffs in the above situations.
- Noise cancelling is ineffective for medium and high frequencies (human voices, birds, crickets, cicadas,barking dogs etc). Take a look at the graph here: https://www.rtings.com/headphones/1-2/graph#678/2090
At above 700 KHz noise cancelling has no significant effect, the reduction in volume of mid to high frequnecies is purely the passive effect of having something covering your ears
That said, the Sony WH-1000XM3 are somewhat better at cancelling out low freqencies. Here is the best comparison I have seen, very technical and quantitative: https://www.rtings.com/headphones/tools/compare/sony-wh-1000…
Thanks for the detailed response. Very interesting.
So I guess that professional lawnmower (or anyone who uses headphones for high noise environment work) can put his expensive noise cancelling headphones in his tax deductibles.
If I was doing such work, I would get noise cancelling Earphones, and put a pair of proper earmuffs over the top.
dude how did we post this within minutes of each other
Personally I wouldn't bank on a pair of Bose's or Sony's giving you industrial grade noise blocking protection because they're for the average consumer, but if I may suggest an alternative solution: wear in-ear earbuds (they don't have to be noise cancelling just need good isolation) and then industrial grade blockers from like 3M or something on top of them like how the kids in esports do them nowadays
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rllyKE70YKo/hqdefault.jpg
If you want google assistant then some wired in-ears have them as well. My Xiaomi ANCs have them for instance
people trying to communicate with me on an emotional or intellectual level. cant they see the bargains?
Wonder if it will noise-cancel the annoying chatter in the office.
I am temporarily at another site. Between the worker that has to narrate every single thing she is doing/working on and the close-to-retirement dude whose sole existence revolves around footy and his upcoming trip to Europe, there are a million other personal conversations I had rather not hear. <rant over>
Depends on how near they are to you. The headphones might make it worse by filtering background hubbub. Get blockout in ear buds to remove that chatter.
Na, just having a whinge. I have learnt to ignore background noise over the years.
If you work in gov precinct in Brisbane, then you likely also experienced a fair few fire drills and false alarms this past fortnight…
kids screaming on airplanes,
noise at workplaceTo quote OP "Driving through tunnels" Seriously??? How is it allowed to wear nc headset while driving???
I also think it's dangerous to wear nc headset while on road… (i.e. pedestrian or driver of a vehicle)Totally agree, but if it involves driving straight in a tunnel for 7 minutes straight without needing to change lanes I think I'll pop them on. Besides, horns are not high frequency sound, they'll come right through albeit muffled. Tested it using my own horn.
I only do it because I know I'm always visually aware of my surroundings as I drive flicking my eyes to my mirrors
Bus noises.
Including the people.
Though the damn bus engines are so loud and irregular that NC doesn't completely get rid of it.
Edit: remove
Commuter noise and the destruction noise from the building next door to work. That will undoubtedly become construction noise shortly, which will continue for at least 2 years.
The noise-cancelling is good, but doesn't stop the whole building shaking as they do yet another smash.
Breathing. Turns out breathing is really loud.
Lawn mower (well mostly)
Vending machine,
Microwave
Staff members disturbing me on my lunch break
Flights
Announcements at the airport.
Cars - Road noise and Engine
Cortana
Trains
and just to get some peace and quiet every now and thenITS: people who don't understand how active noise cancelling headphones work.
Too bad it doesn't work on spouses right?
Ear plugs + ear muffs would work better if you're not listening to anything.
I tried simulating what it'd feel like being in a telsa model s, like how quiet it was. Then I turned around and realised I had my qc35 with me and I put em on, and like, eh, surely the model s can't be quieter than this naturally. Bare in mind I have a golf mk6 tsi, so it's relatively quiet. Then when you turn off the bose off they have a massive hummmmmm and that made the car seem like 10x quieter and the anc so much better but idk 🤷♂️
My favourite one recently.
I was walking down Elizabeth street and stopped at a crossing, and started to feel a filthy rumble through my chest and stomach. Thinking, oh oh, I'm going to shit myself or something bad is happening to me. I go to take me headphones off and bam, it's just a Harley 2m away from me rumbling the world up, but the headphones had completely cut the sound out and it was just me feeling the vibrations only. Hilarity ensued
Fapping. I put them on the missus when she's asleep.
Plane
Office
Family
what ?
A young couple having sex in public, right below my apartment window. I closed my windows, doors, and turned my TV volume up, but they just kept getting louder.
I'm not going to lie, I was equally outraged and amused at how loud they got before I put the headphones on.
Also, I live in a "cosy" studio apartment. If someone stays the night and I've had a lot to drink, I request they wear my headphones and listen to music while my bowels punish me for it in the morning.
My upstairs neighbour sometimes decides to construct things at 3am, using hammers and power tools. I sometimes do the same. So instead of complaining like a hypocrite, I just put my headphones on.
Some neighbours like yourself are just absolute heroes. I have no idea how my gf's neighbours stand her dogs barking outside during midnight (before being stopped shortly after) but there's been no complaints ever…
Ever since buying these headphones, I am left wondering whether I am doing something wrong…..With noise cancelling enabled and no song playing (and ambient sound off), I can still hear people talking near me just a bit more muffled which is annoying when trying to focus on my work, it does a good job on cars passing by the office or the AC though.
Repetitive sounds are "cancelled", hence cars or AC; but "one off" noises like talking tend not to be blocked. The muffled effect will be the cuffs. If you want to block out surrounding conversations I suggest getting a good pair of ear plugs. If you want to play music get a good pair of in ear headphones and get matching comply tips. The only issue with these is when you are walking you can't hear the traffic around you so you have to stay alert.
MDR-1000x owner. Commuting, cowowrkers and kids (when working from home)
Your mum, jeez she nags…
This seems like a logical question for the OZB community.
At home - everybody else
Not at home - nothing really just would use it on train when it gets packed or noisy
I wish I could walk with some on 24/7 comfortably but need the sound awareness from time to time out of paranoia and in case you need to be a good Samaritan some how.
But am looking for some really sturdy good wireless ones now can be closed back headphones, in ear buds or just plain earphones.
The cable is annoying and I feel like the cable that connects to my phone will break if I put it in my jeans pocket so I keep it in my jacket or jumper front or side pockets to resist cable breaking.
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@Binsignature: I'm still confused why you need them? Like I've never driven through a tunnel and thought it was something I needed to do