the AirPods Pro 2 definitely surprised me with its ANC compared to the WH-1000XM5s. I was expecting more from the XM5s but found the AirPods to have noticeably better ANC. It's strange, given the size and design of the XM5s. Using an iPhone, I expected the XM5s to outperform the AirPods in audio quality, but the XM5s sound more muffled and lack clarity in the high frequencies.
this post was submitted on 27 Nov 2023
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According to Rtings, the Airpods cancel bass and low-mid frequencies much better than the XM5. The XM5 blocks higher frequencies better, although that's mostly from the physical design of the headphones, not so much the noise cancelling tech. So yup, the Airpods do actually have better noise cancelling.
Doesn't the Sony ones rely more on passive noise insulation compared to the Airpods?
The Airpods Pro 2 has more "negative pressure" to its ANC over the WHXM5. In recent years a lot of people have realized they biologically can't tolerate this pressure, leading to brands like Sony carefully tweaking their algorithm to try and minimize it, but this pressure can also give you the sensation that ANC is more effective.