Things to Know Before Buying ANC Earbuds! [5 Points]

Earbuds with ANC are in great demand and every brand is trying hard to storm the market. We’ve tested more than 15 ANC earbuds and a lot to talk about. Sure, there are both good and great ANC options. After testing those earbuds, here are the 5 things to know before buying ANC earbuds.

Going through these points you will choose a remarkable product.

Why buying an ANC earbud not as easy as opening Amazon and pressing the buy now button? Well, some brands purposely use words that sound similar but it’s not. With an impulsive mind, we guess what the brand is saying which turns out to be a bad call.

This is a win-win situation for the brand and you end up spending on something you wanted but did not get! We’ve tested many Active Noise Cancellation earbuds and now the things to consider before buying earbuds with ANC!

So welcome to PadhkeDekho. if you don’t know already, we buy tech products use them for a month, and then share the review or comparison. This helps readers like you make a remarkable decision.

We are supported by the readers. Buying any TWS earbuds using the Amazon links on this page will help us earn a little commission from the brand at no additional cost to you. This motivates us to keep doing what we do instead of sponsored content.

With that said, let’s begin with the 5 things to know before buying earbuds with ANC, with point 1 as…

5 Things to Know Before Buying ANC Earbuds

Table of Contents

#1 ENC IS NOT ANC

Environmental Noise Cancellation is not Active Noise Cancellation. Brands try to confuse a buyer with false hope and they end up regretting it.

How are ENC and ANC different? ENC works during calls to cut the ambient noise around you so that the other caller can hear you properly. Whereas, ANC helps to cut out ambient noise when you are listening to music or consuming media or want to have some silence around you.

As you have read, both work differently and achieve different results. Now, the second most important thing to know is what type of ANC is offered.

#2 What Type of ANC is Offered?

Headphone Vs Earphone Noise Cancellation — things to know before buying anc earbuds

All the earbuds with ANC talk about dB (decibels). If you don’t know, decibels are the audio frequencies that form sound or music.

The frequencies are as follows; low medium and high. Low frequencies are generally used for bass, medium for music and vocals, and high for trebles.

These are quite similar for ANC as well. Low-end frequencies help to cut out vehicle engine noise, horns, factory noises, air conditioners, ceiling fans, etc. While medium to high frequencies can reduce or remove people chatters, flight announcements, etc.

But, all earbuds with ANC can’t handle both frequencies. That’s why brands mention dB count. In layman’s terms, the higher the count the better the ANC be.

For context, the BoAt Airdopes 141 ANC (Review) earbud comes with 32dB of Active Noise Cancellation Detection which means it can handle low-end frequencies and some people chatting too.

Realme Buds Air 6 (Review Soon) has up to 50 dB of Hybrid Noise Cancellation. It can handle people chatters, Metro announcements, or flight announcements better. More about it point number #5.

Note: Some people complain of pressure on the ears due to ANC. If you feel the same, take breaks after 30 minutes of use. It’s not a manufacturing or device issue. This is normal as ANC cuts the ambient noise by removing low-end frequencies and ears adapt to it.

#3 Ambient Mode or Transparency Mode Present?

BoAt Airdopes 141 vs 141 anc audio-quality

Let’s say you have shortlisted a product and are ready to buy. Do check whether it offers ambient or transparency mode. If yes then only proceed.

How will you get to know about that? Read the product description or download the product brochure from the website.

Is not having ambient or transparency mode a big thing? Does it make a lot of difference? If you don’t know ambient mode or transparency mode helps users to be more aware of the surroundings especially outdoors. This can be quite dangerous depending on where you use the audio gear.

If you are in a closed environment like Metro or bus, then it’s not a big thing but what about on a sidewalk or you are cycling? Anything can go wrong, right? It’s better not to wear any audio gear but if you intend to buy one, prefer one with ANC + Ambient or transparency mode.

How does it help? Even if you are listening to music the microphones will still feed the ambient noise ( like when we remove one earbud). With this, you will be in full control and know what is happening around you while cutting unwanted noise.

This makes earbuds with ANC better than regular earbuds with ENC.

#4 App Support?

Having ANC is one thing and an app with custom ANC options enhances the experience. In the beginning, switching modes doesn’t feel annoying as you are learning to use it but after some time it becomes inconvenient by holding the touch control and navigating thoroughly!

With app support, you can make a selection on the app, and voila! You don’t need to toggle between the modes, tap and make the selection within seconds.

Not just that, some apps offer different ANC features too if you buy Soundscore TWS with ANC you can play background music to calm you or enjoy the long flight.

App support and ANC are a great combination for long flights or travels.

#5 Hybrid or Dedicated Noise Cancellation?

ANC comes in many names with different features. The most commonly used is ANC or Active Noise Cancellation.

It relies on the outside microphones of the earbuds and cuts the ambient noise. The most advanced is the hybrid mode.

As the name applies, hybrid ANC earbuds have mics on the inside and outside of the earbuds. This helps to filter out more ambient noise.

This means hybrid ANC is better than regular most popular ANC. Yes, you can say that. The biggest question is how well the mic placement has been done and the overall quality of the mic’s hardware.

How do you know what ANC your earbuds have? There’s a misconception that hybrid ANC is not good and so broadly spread that brands “avoid” using “Hybrid” when talking about ANC on a particular earbud as it makes the product weak.

Some brands mention “28 dB ANC” or “30 dB ANC” without any fancy name. This means they have used regular ANC which will block some ambient noise of low-end frequencies or high-end frequencies depending upon the dB count. Then comes the hybrid ones with names like intelligent ANC, AI, smart, etc along with ANC.

Also, while testing hybrid ANC earbuds we felt hybrid earbuds to be more effective in blocking ambient noise.

That’s a Wrap!

I hope you will keep these ready before buying the ANC earbuds. Do share it with others looking for a tws earbuds with ANC. If you have doubts, we are just a DM away! Use any social account mentioned.