SEPTEMBER 2020 MACWORLD 111on, the overall sound
was a touch warmer and
richer, and the vocal was
a bit more forward, but
the difference between
ANC/AccuVoice on and
off was very subtle.
Finally, I took the
AV50 on a drive around
my neighborhood to test
its noise canceling in a
somewhat noisy
environment. The
acoustic isolation of the
earpads is quite good,
and ANC is excellent,
reducing the level of
ambient noise
significantly. As before, with ANC on,
vocals were a bit more present and
forward, and the overall level seemed a bit
higher, but it wasn’t a dramatic difference.
COMPETITIVE COMPARISON
I compared the performance of the AV50
with the Edifier W860NB, which I reviewed
here (go.macworld.com/wd86), because
it’s in the same price range. I also
compared it with the Sony WH-1000XM3,
reviewed here (go.macworld.com/whm3),
even though Sony’s headphones are twice
the price of the AV50. For this comparison,
ANC was on the entire time, and I matched
the level in each headphone set as best I
could by ear.
Listening to “Time Out of Mind” from
Steely Dan’s album Gaucho, the Edifier
sounded leaner and more restrained, and
the bass was slightly subdued. The Zvox
sounded richer and warmer, and the bass
was perhaps just a tad overbalanced. The
Sony was even richer, with the bass drum
more pronounced than with the other two
headphones.
The WH-1000XM3 was the most
comfortable headphone to wear by far.
Also, the Edifier and Sony did not crackle
when the earcups were jiggled. Another
comparative factor is the size of the case;
the Zvox case is the smallest, making itThe active noise canceling works very well in environments
with ambient noise.