Calling that "empirical" is the pinnacle of trolling. Either that or ignorance. Asking for real empirical proof (!), however, is not trolling.
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Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods 2, AirPods 3, AirPods Pro 1 and AirPods Max
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I haven't seen any empirical evidence. Talk again when you have some. Case closed
I found that the ANC has definitely decreased after the update.
In Apple Watch noise monitoring you can measure the DB level in your ears with/without ANC active.
Before the update the reduction was about 30db in average, after about 20/22db.
25/30% less reduction.
Like me, many other user confirm this decibel gap.
So, it’s ok to share your opinions, but when people say that the ANC has decreased there’s definitely a reason.
There’s no need of rtings or other rocket-science test to demonstrate that.
There's also YouTube videos to test ANC performance of your headphones (plane noises etc.) I've used these in the past with my Airpods Max often and after each update to see if I could hear a difference in comparison to previous firmwares, like e.g. which noise level on my MacBook was needed to start hearing the engine noises etc. I did the same for the APP2 before and after the update and still cannot tell a difference. Doesn't mean I'm right btw. It's just my personal experience that is as valid as the ones of the others. There are people claiming it got worse, fine. However, there many others claiming differently. So who is right, now? For that, real world tests (and rtings isn't a bad example for that) are needed. Everything else is just anectodal evidence.
i understand, but even if it's not 100% accurate, i think that what i said in the previous post is a "realk world" test.
There are numbers.
There are videos on YT where users test how much DB the new airpods cancel and yes, it's about 30. 30db is a huge amount of noise cutted out. In fact, at the launch day they claimed a 2X stronger ANC.
Now with 20db cutted is something like the Pro 1st series, better than nothing, but, jeez, nothing that can be compared with a 30db cut.
And yet, not all numbers automatically make it empirical, you see. If I say before the update all noises up until level XY in video XY were cancelled for me and the same is true after the update, then that is also "numbers". Not very reliable numbers, mind you.
rtings at least have a controlled environment that is absolutely the same each time they (re-)test.
See, what they found out for the first gen Airpods Pro, I wouldn't dispute as not being empirical enough, e.g.
"Note: We've tested 'Noise Isolation' with a couple of other firmware updates. We didn't get noticeable differences with firmware update 2B588, released in November 2019. Apple may have tweaked the ANC in this update, but not enough to noticeably impact the overall performance. There have also been user reports that the ANC became worse after firmware update 2C54, released in December 2019. After updating this firmware, our results showed a fairly significant drop in isolation performance, primarily in the bass range. This means that with ANC turned on, they won't do nearly as good a job blocking out the low engine rumbles of planes or buses as they did before this update. Our latest retest uses firmware update 4A400, released in October 2021, which shows that their overall noise isolation performance has been further weakened."
That's measurable with solid equipment in a controlled environment by people who do that all the time. Someone using the Apple Watch for a test like that is not the same. At least not for me. The same applies to my "testings" btw
ehm no. If you say "all noises up to XX are cancelled" it's just your perception.
Is i say without ANC your ears got (i.e.) 70db at full range and them with ANC that level decrease of 30%, well, it's a bit more solid than your statement.
Rting performed a first test of Airpods Pro 1. And guess what? The average cut is 21db. Exactly the same that I and many other user see with the noise tracking of Apple Watch.
Now, if we assume that the 2nd generation is 2x more powerful than the 1st you easy understand that something might be wrong with this damn update.
Well you claimed the „average“ before the update was 30db. However, properly measured, it was not. The average was somewhere between 20 and 30, depending on frequency as you can see here.
Tests like these are needed for empirical data. Good thing is, we’ll get them sooner or later
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Well you claimed the „average“ before the update was 30db. However, properly measured, it was not. The average was somewhere between 20 and 30, depending on frequency as you can see here.
Tests like these are needed for empirical data. Good thing is, we’ll get them sooner or later
You keep picking’ specific informations at your convenience. If many people say they experimented a reduction it’s a problem.
If you do not hear differences in your MacBook while booting, whoa, that’s cool.
The person who use ANC while working in loud environment, using subways, and so on are the person who immediately notice if something’s wrong.
I owned AirPods Pro from the launch day and I set my personal standard for anc. With APP2 this standard has been completely modified to an higher level.
Now it has roll back again to the previous standard.
Talking about numbers, I tested the cut in different situation (with, obviously different frequencies) and the cut never max the 22db.
Again, if you are ok with your unit, that’s great.
But please do not keep trying convince users that nothing has changed. If nothing has changed for you, it’s not an universal rule.
This is right even at the opposite: I do not claim that every one else have my issue.
Did you check before the update for both of them being equal? You may have one set that are inherently worse than the other and the difference has nothing to do with the update. But clearly there is no consensus. Just as many say there is no change versus better versus worse.
There is so much variation on people's experience, logically none of us are absolutely right.
Feel free to show me where I said that only because nothing has changed for me it would be a "universal rule". I said several times that I might not be right, that all other opinions are as valid as my own and that I would love to see empirical evidence of these claims.
I'm not trying to convince anybody. I would just like to see evidence that's all. And reports from users on the internet (no matter if they claim it's the same or if they say it got worse) is not enough for me and seemingly for some others, too.
There might be an issue, it's possible. It's been proven in the past as well on the APP1 and the Max, too. My main problem is that after each and every firmware update from almost all manufacturers, we see these statements like "call quality has significantly decreased", "ANC has significantly decreased", "battery life got way worse" you name it.
That is the experience of individuals as long as it's not been proven to affect all units and that the reason for it definitely is firmware update XY. And if the firmware update is the culprit, it's not very likely to get vastly different experiences from various users.
I will repeat that the fact that Apple can fundamentally alter the functionality of a product after it has been released irritates the crap out of me.
I’m looking for that post as I would like to see that empirical evidence - I went through several of them, which post are you reffering to?
Where did you point to empirical analysis? I just went through this whole thread and never saw it. I did see you post the Apple feedback link multiple times but never any data or analysis.
FYI @tenlow
Watching TV in bed. sound 42-55db.
With APP2, 23-31db (it goes crazy).
Previously, it was absolutely in the teens - 12-17db. And had a MUCH greater impact on voices. It’s as if it blocks ZERO vocal noise spectrum.
(Last week I was on five flights in which I had peaceful rest. Now? I can hear the person breathing next to me - they sound like they have a cold)
With APP2, 23-31db (it goes crazy).
Previously, it was absolutely in the teens - 12-17db. And had a MUCH greater impact on voices. It’s as if it blocks ZERO vocal noise spectrum.
(Last week I was on five flights in which I had peaceful rest. Now? I can hear the person breathing next to me - they sound like they have a cold)
Another post confirming what I’m try to say. There no need of rtings evidences.
An Apple Watch with noise measurements and our ears are enough!
But only those ears hearing the same as you, right? The other ears don’t count as we have learned. And I’m going to write rtings a message asking them to replace their standardized testing system with an Apple Watch from now on. Guess that will help with quicker test results from now on, too. Great.
The air pod thing isn’t their fault though. A patent troll forced them to apply nerfs. They are suing apple and if they win they intend to go after the other anc leaders like Bose and Sony.
Same here. I realized my APP1's hasn't updated since 4E71 firmware, and the jump to the newest version quite shocked me that the audio actually improved, it's crisp and more 'high-quality' to me.
As someone mentioned a few pages back, these same observations and/or complaints happen on most forums for all audio products; not just Apple hardware. I remember when Apple made their music lossless and we had those who said they could tell the difference using regular hardware. Unless they tell us exactly what the fw update does we just speculate.
Does this update re-enable active noise cancellation on Airpods Pro 1?
When I bought them I could not believe how well it worked.
Over time it seems like a lot of the active noise cancellation was removed through firmware updates.
When I bought them I could not believe how well it worked.
Over time it seems like a lot of the active noise cancellation was removed through firmware updates.
There are 7 pages of different opinions/experiences on the firmware update and it's effect on different Airpods. Your answers on ANC performance are in those comments