If you’re looking for a pair of modern wireless Bluetooth headphones, you’re looking for active noise cancellation as part of the deal. Bluetooth and wireless connectivity can have an effect on sound, and many headphones and earphones also feature what’s called a transparency mode that uses the same microphones that cancel sound in ANC mode to broadcast sound from your surroundings. This increases awareness of your surroundings, but will invariably have an effect on sound quality. So, between the two modes (or even choosing to turn disabled both modes), how to get the best sound?
As with all things audio, there is no single, simple approach to this question. After all, different headphones have different basic audio quality, and even within that, some ANC modes are better than others. This can have a huge perceived effect on the sound. For the purposes of this article, we’ll avoid that variability and talk about the concepts, but remember that not all headphones are the same.
In general, an ANC mode can enable high-quality sound because it masks sound from the environment around you. This provides a “silent” canvas on which your headphones can create audio. This could lead to good quality sound, but as the ANC modes work using “sound cancellation” technology, there could be some effect on the audio itself. Transparency modes, on the other hand, actually incorporate audio from the outside world. This is great for keeping you informed and safe in a busy environment, but it can be distracting from the audio.
How ANC and Transparency Technology Affect Audio
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To truly understand how good sound can be with active noise cancellation, we need to address what it actually is. In its simplest form, ANC uses microphones built into a pair of headphones to play back any sound occurring in the listener’s environment. Next, it uses quiet, targeted amounts of noise that are precisely placed “out of phase” with the rest of the surrounding audio. This cancels this audio output giving the impression of silence. This silence can be great for hearing the detail and power of a mix, but as you can imagine, it can also affect some of the frequencies present in the audio itself. This is particularly prevalent in lower quality noise cancellation. Transparency modes can be seen as the opposite of ANC. These modes use these microphones to amplify the sound around you, allowing you to stay tuned for disturbances and stay safe in busy or traffic-laden environments. This extra noise can obviously distract from the sound you’re hearing, but it can also give the illusion of a more three-dimensional soundstage in the sound.
In other scenarios, headphones use software and equalization to shape the sound to accommodate ANC or transparency artifacts. In the case of high-end headphones, this may actually mean that enabling these settings can actually improve the audio itself, as is often the case with Apple’s Adaptive EQ modes which activate alongside their ANC and Transparency modes. We also like how it sounds on the AirPods Pro 3. Ultimately, quality is in the ear of the listener, so try turning all of these features on and off and see what you like best.
