News
Buyer's Guide: The Best Monitors 
Audio Technica ATH-ANC3
| Caractéristiques | |||
| Headphone Type | In-ear | ||
| Frequency Response | 15 Hz - 22 kHz | ||
| Speaker | Dynamic transducer | ||
| Impedance | 90 ohms | ||
| Sensitivity | 104 dB SPL | ||
 Show all specifications
|
|||
| Cable Length | 1.2m |
| Weight | 40 g |
 Hide specifications | |
Tristan François
Translator: Jack Sims
Test date: September 2, 2010
Translator: Jack Sims
Test date: September 2, 2010
Noise-cancellation on in-ears, but why?
In-ears automatically insulate the sound very well, because of their construction. You regularly get better than 25 dB attenuation on well-designed models. Adding active noise reduction doesn't really seem necessary.
Especially as though noise-cancellation gives total noise attenuation in theory, in practice this is far from being the case. Noise-cancelling systems almost always tend to generate a more or less noticeable hiss. Adding noise-cancellation to good insulation seems to be more of a risk than anything else.
On the ANC3s, the noise processing works pretty well but you still get an audible hiss, which becomes a sort of crackling at around 50 Hz.
Especially as though noise-cancellation gives total noise attenuation in theory, in practice this is far from being the case. Noise-cancelling systems almost always tend to generate a more or less noticeable hiss. Adding noise-cancellation to good insulation seems to be more of a risk than anything else.
On the ANC3s, the noise processing works pretty well but you still get an audible hiss, which becomes a sort of crackling at around 50 Hz.
Audio Technica seems to specialise in strange concepts, both in the pro segment and the general consumer segment.We're thinking for example about their ribbon mics (type of mic reputed to be fragile) which support, without thinking twice, powerful drums and electric guitars. Or their on-ear headphones with noise-cancelling. Now we're looking at another Audio-Technica originality: in-ear headphones with noise cancelling.
Design and build: déjà-vu anyone?The ANC3s pick up on the design of some of Sony's best known in ears, a well-thought out design which ensures good contact with the ear without making them too uncomfortable. Three sizes are supplied and this should cover the majority of users. We also like the inclusion of an extension and plane adaptor. The sizeable case means you can pack it all with no problem and put your mp3 player or phone in with it too.
Although the inclusion of noise-cancelling means there has to be some sort of external unit (this can't be integrated with the in-ear headphones), its weight along with the battery make wearing it much less comfortable. The cable pulls constantly on the headphones. If the external unit moves too much, it can pull the buds right out.
Audio: standard mid-range soundNow we're coming to the rub of it. Headphones with noise-cancelling will always cost more than those without. This is why it isn't rare to see noise-cancelling headphones at over #200..
To limit the price of these headphones, Audio Technica has kept to very standard, very basic components. You're left with simple dynamic transducers. The sound is warm, a little sketchy but not disagreeable.
Once again our doubts have been confirmed in practice. The idea of including noise-canceling on in-ears is amusing but not of much use. In fact, here, it makes wearing the headphones uncomfortable. The system works ok but doesn't justify the extra cost.
Pluses
-
Good insulation
-
Effective noise reduction
Minuses
-
Parasites generated by noise-cancelling
-
The remote is overly heavy
-
Sound is unbalanced, too warm
We weren't convinced by the concept and we were even less convinced by the final product. It doesn't work badly but (it could be better!) but certainly doesn't justify the additional cost.
