Table of contents:
- With sound against sound: active noise canceling (ANC) is better than earplugs
- Noise canceling explains: how you can easily imagine sound
- The technology of noise-canceling headphones: Wellenberg meets Wellental
- Noise canceling is all about timing
- Noise canceling: how does that sound?
- Is noise canceling harmful to health?
- Noise canceling headphones

Video: Noise Canceling Headphones: What Is It And How Does It Work?

2023 Author: Sheila Hailey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-08-25 04:29
- With sound against sound: ANC is better than earplugs
- How you can easily imagine sound
- The technology of noise-canceling headphones: Wellenberg meets Wellental
- What does noise canceling sound like?
- Is noise canceling harmful to health?
- List: headphones with noise canceling
With sound against sound: active noise canceling (ANC) is better than earplugs
Numerous manufacturers offer actively noise-reducing headphones - both classic on-ear headphones with a strap and compact in-ears for plugging in. The models are usually a bit more expensive than conventional headphones and either additional batteries, a built-in rechargeable battery or a connection via Lightning or USB Type-C are required. So technology obviously uses electricity to create silence. The technical basis for active noise suppression is the counter- noise principle. That means: Sound is actively "fought" with sound. In contrast to earplugs, which are simply inserted into the ear and block the sound by means of insulation - this is a passive process.
What does the sound look like that we can hear as sound, music, speech or noise? A vibrating guitar string is a good example: here we hear the sound generated and also see what it produces. What we hear is the vibrating movement of the string, which is transmitted to the surrounding air and reaches the human ear in the form of the vibration. The brain interprets these fine vibrations as sound again. So we can perceive vibrations - or more precisely, pressure and density fluctuations in the air - as sound.
BOSE Quietcomfort 35 II with noise canceling
Now from € 223.23 at Amazon Similar offer at Cyberport Similar offer at Mediamarkt Price can now be higher. Price from 2020-26-07 11:30 p.m.
Noise canceling explains: how you can easily imagine sound

Unfortunately we don't see the sound when it travels from the instrument through the room to our head - so how can you imagine it? The term "sound wave" gets to the point, it is a wave that is transported by the air and that is constantly increasing. You already know this from somewhere else: If you throw a stone into a pond, you can wonderfully observe how the waves generated spread out. They look like bigger and bigger rings from above and from the side like a regular pattern - an ups and downs of mountains and valleys. A single wave always has a highest and a lowest point.

The technology of noise-canceling headphones: Wellenberg meets Wellental
You throw the stones away from each other in the same pond. What happens when two waves meet? The wave rings spread out, meet in the middle and … - What is taking place cannot be said in general, because it depends on the exact time.

- A particularly high wave crest could form if the moment is right and two wave crests add up.
- If two wave valleys unite, then a particularly deep valley is formed.
- The third case is the basis for active noise reduction: a wave crest meets a wave trough and both cancel each other out. This is known from mathematics: +1 and -1 add up to 0. Transferred to sound, this means that if two uniform sound waves meet at the right moment, they can cancel each other out and there is silence. In this case, natural science, more precisely: physics, speaks of destructive interference.

Noise canceling is all about timing
Noise-reducing headphones work on this principle and are therefore equipped with microphones. These permanently absorb the noises from the environment. The built-in electronics process these signals at lightning speed - the faster, the better: it reverses the sound waves, an opposite-polarity signal is generated and passed on to the headphones and "mixed" with the music, if you are listening to them. If this anti-sound hits the eardrum at the same time as the original signal - i.e. the actual ambient noise - then they cancel each other out and you hear … nothing.

So the noise-canceling headphones not only have to be able to play music, they also have to create an opposite polarity image of the ambient noise and mix it in with millisecond precision. The better it all works, the stronger the noise reduction effect.
Noise canceling: how does that sound?
Active noise canceling is particularly suitable for switching off low frequencies. The technology can show its strengths when it comes to monotonous hum in an airplane. In fact, the principle also comes from aviation, where pilots have the problem that engine noise drowns out radio communications. With active noise cancellation, you can clearly understand the voice of the person you are talking to in the headset and you don't have to turn it up so loud.
In an experiment we recorded for you how strong noise canceling is (it's best to put on headphones when you watch the video):
Test: Noise Canceling is so quiet
At high frequencies, the method is less effective due to interference, and the principle works less well even with very loud noises. Something else helps there: The shielding by a good fit and complete closure of the ear. As with hearing protection on the construction site: the noise of the jackhammer does not get through to the ear, the energy of the sound wave apparently fizzles out at the hearing protection housing. What is physically correct is that it is converted into thermal energy. When good passive shielding and effective active noise canceling are combined, the noise-reducing headphones are particularly good.
Purchasing advice on the topic:
The best noise-canceling headphones: Over- and in-ear models with noise cancellation
But even the best model cannot ensure absolute silence, for this you would have to measure each ear individually and adapt the electronics accordingly. Part of the ambient sound is also picked up by the skull and transported to the eardrum. The headphones cannot intercept and hide them. Anyone who experiences active noise canceling for the first time will still be amazed. You can still perceive your surroundings - but much more quietly, as if you had closed a door behind you. Then add music and the experience is perfect.
Is noise canceling harmful to health?
Can noise-canceling headphones harm health? No, the opposite is the case, as Dr.-Ing. Hannes Seidler (Dresden University of Technology, Medical Faculty Clinic and Polyclinic for Otolaryngology Ear Research Center Dresden) explained on our request. Here is his detailed answer:
Noise canceling headphones
Here is a list of ANC headphone models that GIGA has tested. Click on the name to open the corresponding test report.
-
Apple AirPods Pro
Apple AirPods Pro
Now from € 229.00 at Cyberport Similar offer at Mediamarkt Price comparison Price can now be higher. Price from 2020-27-07 00:35 a.m.
-
Beats Powerbeats Pro
Beats Powerbeats Pro Beats Powerbeats Pro
Now from € 197.88 at Amazon Similar offer at Mediamarkt Similar offer at Otto Price can now be higher. Price from 27.07.2020 02:03 a.m.
-
Beats Solo Pro
Beats Solo Pro: Wireless Noise Canceling Headphones Beats Solo Pro: Wireless Noise Canceling Headphones
Now from € 223.23 at Amazon Similar offer at Mediamarkt Similar offer at Otto Price can now be higher. Price from 27.07.2020 00:24 a.m.
-
Bose Headphones 700
Bose Noise Canceling Headphones 700 Bose Noise Canceling Headphones 700
Now from € 281.71 at Amazon Similar offer at Cyberport price can now be higher. Price from 27.07.2020 02:22 a.m.
-
Bose QuietComfort 35 II
BOSE Quietcomfort 35 II with noise canceling
Now from € 223.23 at Amazon Similar offer at Cyberport Similar offer at Mediamarkt Price can now be higher. Price from 2020-26-07 11:30 p.m.
-
Bowers & Wilkins PX5
Bowers & Wilkins PX5 Wireless On-Ear Headphones with Noise Canceling - Blue Bowers & Wilkins PX5 Wireless On-Ear Headphones with Noise Canceling - Blue
Now from € 258.49 at Amazon Similar offer at Cyberport price can now be higher. Price from 27.07.2020 02:16 a.m.
-
Libratone Track Air +
Libratone TRACK Air + Libratone TRACK Air +
Now from € 444.99 at Amazon price can now be higher. Price from 15.07.2020 04:56 a.m.
-
Sony WH-1000XM3
Sony WH-1000XM3
Now from € 255.99 at Notebooksbilliger Similar offer at Amazon Similar offer at Saturn Similar offer at Otto Price can now be higher. Price from 18.06.2020 08:21 a.m.
did you like this article? Let us know in the comments or share the article. We look forward to your opinion - and of course you are welcome to follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

Is the article helpful?
Yes No
Your life is GIGA.
?
Help us to improve and please tell us:
Why is the article not helpful for you?
The information is out of date I have not received enough information The information is incorrect I disagree Other Send answer
Thank you, your GIGA team
?
Thank you
Your opinion is important to us. Also like to discuss with us in the comments.
Window will close automatically in 6 seconds
Close Window
Recommended:
Noise-canceling Headphones In Test 2020: Over- And In-ear Models With Noise Cancellation

Headphones with active noise canceling (ANC) ensure comfortable rest when traveling and in the office by actively suppressing ambient noise
Sony WF-1000XM3 Falling In Price: Noise-canceling Headphones At A Hammer Price

If you are currently looking for true wireless headphones with active noise canceling, you should consider this offer with the Sony WF-1000XM3
Sony WH-H900N Falling In Price: Noise-canceling Headphones For Less Than 120 Euros

The Sony WH-H900N is also known as „ h.ear on 2 “known. The manufacturer sees one for the ANC headphones
Airplane Mode: What Does It Mean And How Does It Work?

The flight mode of a smartphone, tablet or laptop (e.g. iPhone, iPad, Samsung Galaxy etc.) cuts all or at least many network connections
ANC Headphones: Bose QuietComfort 35 II And Bose Noise Canceling Headphones 700 In Comparison

Bose against Bose, established ANC over-ear against newcomers from the same company: What are the differences between the popular QuietComfort