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.
I'm surprised that upon checking, I seem to have the accused firmware.
It's not that bad.
OT but I really have trouble with the idea of walking around cities with noise canceling earpods in. I'm even am a bit uncomfortable walking on a forest path with regular earbuds--and I mostly don't do it.
I guess I just grew up without such things and it feels a bit isolating.
I think the real feature is that you're in full control: the Transparency option is basically the opposite of noise-cancelling, giving you full operational awareness in a noisy environment without taking the headphones out. It's even trivial to switch between them (pinch and hold the stem).
The real use for noise-cancelling isn't city-walking, but airplanes, crowded coffee shops, etc. :)
Transparency mode is great. That's what I normally use, and then only switch to quiet mode when I'm in a particularly noisy environment such as on the subway.
Honestly I'd feel that walking around in a city with noise cancellation is dangerous. At night you risk mugging, and during the day you risk running into people or getting run over by a car or bicycle or something.
City streets are so loud I kind of hate riding/ walking without something to block out traffic sounds. It's particularly bad here in Oregon where they don't have SMOG/ noise regulation and idiots think running their trucks with straight pipes boosts horsepower in a meaningful way.
Believe me, they have noise regulations. The cops just love big trucks or something. Drive around a Honda with a barely noisy exhaust and watch the tickets pile up.
Rice burners are about the least offensive of the noise hogs. Harleys and Mega-trucks dominate the noise landscape here. I suppose on the bright side we do seem to have a lot fewer cars with ridiculously loud stereos than when I was in California.
Other people have suggested noise cancelling may be a possible source of hearing damage...and I'm just some rando on the Internet, so I have no idea, but I do try and be aware of exposing myself to sustained loud noises.
All I've noticed is that I tend to have the volume at a lower setting with the AirPods Pro with noise cancelling when wearing them out and about. With AirPods I would occasionally max out the volume setting and sometimes wish it would go louder. I noticed similar things with previous, wired headphones. I tend to only use passthrough when I'm in a quiet environment, like at home, and listening for/to someone.
Apple Health shows audio exposure logging going back to Aug of last year. Back then I'm seeing 12-15hrs /wk of 90dB and a Loud! warning flagged (It says WHO recommends 4hrs/wk at 90dB). More recently (after buying the AirPods Pro) its logging 18-23hrs of 67-75dB (WHO recommends 40hrs at 80dB and 127hrs at 75dB). I tend to listen to podcasts. So it's talking instead of anything loud or sustained.
As far as I've seen, the only people who have suggested noise canceling may be a possible source of hearing damage are people who don't understand how sound works. Would love to see a single coherent explanation of how it could be the case from someone who has a clue.
Absolutely. When I'm in a controlled space but it's noisy, noise canceling is great. I just can't empathize with cutting myself off from my surroundings like that if I'm walking down a sidewalk in a city.
I'm surprised that upon checking, I seem to have the accused firmware. It's not that bad.