118 MACWORLD MARCH 2020
PLAYLISTIMAGE: AUDEARAH
eadphones with active noise
cancelling (ANC) are nothing
new. They include
microphones that sample the
ambient noise around you and then
reproduce that sound after shifting its
phase by 180 degrees and mixing it with
the original. The two out-of-phase sounds
cancel each other out, reducing the level
that reaches your ears. This works best on
steady-state, low-frequency sounds, such
as the constant din of engines inside an
airplane.
The Audeara A-01 is just such aAudeara A-01 headphone: These
ANC cans promise to compensate
for your hearing deficits
It’s a brilliant idea, and the tech that makes it possible works fairly well,
at least when ANC is turned on.
BY SCOTT WILKINSON