Anecdote:<p>Before the firmware update, they were a bit pressure-heavy and would create the "stuffed ears" feeling that I'm familiar with from Bose nausea-inducing headphones.<p>A little while ago, they stopped doing that, which was really nice, but I didn't quite notice and they continue to cancel noise to the degree they always did.<p>EDIT2: I noticed a couple weeks ago that noise was leaking into my AirPods, so I re-did the ear fit test and this time it said they weren’t a good fit. I went one size up and now it said they were, and honestly now it’s better than it was on old firmware when I first got them. I bet that’s about when the firmware update happened! Maybe the noise canceling changed slightly because the tip fit algorithm changed slightly.<p>EDIT: "Stuffed ears" notes for a bunch, since I guess I'm "lucky" to be sensitive to this:<p>AirPods Pro: minimal but present until it was gone w/ update<p>Beats Studio Pro 3: not present since purchase ~2-3 years ago<p>Bose QC15: not present since purchase 10-15 years ago<p>Bose modern (past five years): significant presence, did not have a chance to test differing levels of cancellation
I got a pair of this for Christmas and just recently put them in my ears for the first time having no idea they had noise cancellation built in. For a second I thought I broke my ears because everything was dead silent! I'm surprised how well the noise cancellation works, way better than the ancient Sony headphones I had.<p>Is there an objective way to measure this so someone would know it's getting worse? Seems like it would be really subjective if not.
There seems to be something going on related to firmware updates on noise cancelling headphones.<p>I can think of:<p>* October 2017 - Bose QC35. I don't know much about this one. [1]<p>* June 2019 - Bose QC35II: Reported loss of NC effect after updating to version 4.5.2 [2](211 pages so far). Some review sites confirm it [3][4].<p>* January 2019 - Sony WH-1000XM3: Reported decreased performance in NC after updating to 4.1.1. [4]<p>There are many theories around, such as planned obsolescence, patent infringements, changes to accommodate voice assistants or people getting used to NC over time.<p>Any opinions?<p>[1] <a href="https://community.bose.com/t5/Headphones-Archive/QC35-noise-cancellation-not-working/td-p/32783" rel="nofollow">https://community.bose.com/t5/Headphones-Archive/QC35-noise-...</a><p>[2] <a href="https://community.bose.com/t5/Around-On-Ear-Headphones/Bose-QC-35-ii-firmware-4-5-2/td-p/213820" rel="nofollow">https://community.bose.com/t5/Around-On-Ear-Headphones/Bose-...</a><p>[3] <a href="https://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/bose/quietcomfort-35-ii-qc35-ii-wireless-2018#comparison_2089" rel="nofollow">https://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/bose/quietcomfort-...</a><p>[4] <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyC9QStmzcA" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyC9QStmzcA</a><p>[5] <a href="https://community.sony.co.uk/t5/portable-audio/sony-wh-1000xm3-v4-1-1-firmware-failure/td-p/2564068" rel="nofollow">https://community.sony.co.uk/t5/portable-audio/sony-wh-1000x...</a>
Yesterday I was walking in downtown Los Angeles while donning AirPods Pro and talking on the phone and I remarked to the person I was talking to that it felt like I was walking by myself in a quiet room because of how strangely quiet it was.<p>I'm surprised that upon checking, I seem to have the accused firmware.
It's not that bad.
Haven’t noticed any difference. They’re still my absolute favourite bit of technology I’ve bought in ages, despite their ridiculous price tag.<p>You’re not buying headphones. You’re buying control of what goes in (or not) of your ears ALL DAY LONG.
It seems to me that Apple’s software is steadily regressing. One of my favourite apps is iBooks, but I cannot use it as it reloads for a good 10-15 minutes at times, or refreshes the screen here or four times unnecessarily. I am going to move to Kindle because of it.
Since we're on the topic of the Airpods noise cancellation, does anyone know why Apple doesn't let you enable noise cancelling with only one Airpod in? Is it just that they're worried about the pressure imbalance causing discomfort?
The past few days I keep thinking the noise cancellation is off and try to turn it on, only to find it is on. It’s almost as if turning on noise cancelling also turns on transparency mode. I hear the outside noise clearly, just at a different pitch or something.
Isn't this just like when people though the QC35s from Bose did this because everyone started saying they did even though there was no measurable difference?
Anyone have any experience with cheaper Anker noise cancelling earbuds? I'm experiencing the slight nausea mentioned above with my Bose QC20s and am looking for an alternative, but not at the Airpod price point.
From my perspective, I think it works a little better.<p>There's less of an "ears are plugged" sensation but everything remains quiet (it's actually a little eerie to me when I first turn it on).
Bose can't get over inflicting the annoying beeps or voice prompts on customers when earphones connect or disconnect from source.<p>It's impossible to turn this stupidity off. If you turn off voice prompts, it get replaced by beeps. And vice versa.
If you have few devices - earphones either beeps or talks to you non stop.