Digital Trends

Audio-Technica ATH-ANC3

April 4th, 2008 | by Mike Kobrin

Sound Quality

We tested the ANC3 with an iPod Touch and music encoded in pristine-sounding Apple Lossless format to ensure performance wasn't held back by iffy source material. On electronica from artists like DJ Shadow, Kruder & Dorfmeister, and Bass Mekanik, the headphones kept up with low bass very well, without losing too much detail. Vocals by the likes of Ella Fitzgerald and Stevie Wonder have plenty of presence, though there's a slight dip in the upper mids that pinches the sound a little. The ANC3's also did well with acoustic jazz (Bill Evans, John Coltrane, Miles Davis), with sparklier highs than the Sony NC22. Overall, the sound is well-balanced and didn't fatigue our ears during long listening sessions.

We like the fact that the headphones play audio even when the battery runs out. Even better is that there isn't the typical drop in volume and sound quality when you switch off the noise cancellation. As with the Sony NC22, you can expect roughly 50 hours of noise cancellation from an alkaline triple-A battery with the ANC3. We got a comfortable listening level on most tracks with our iPod at about three-quarters volume, though some recordings were quieter and some were louder.

Noise Cancellation

The headphone's packaging claims 85% noise reduction of ambient noise. We think that's a pretty optimistic number based on very specific noise generated at a certain volume. The ANC3 does achieve a reasonable level of noise blocking just by sealing up your ear canal, but it's noticeably less effective than the Shure's SE series, which have silicone-coated memory foam tips. Switching on the noise cancellation took much of the rumble out of New York's L train and a Delta flight to Vegas, though it left enough highs so we could hear announcements. Compared with our Shure SE420, which doesn't have active noise cancellation circuitry, the ANC3 blocks low rumble and lower midrange sounds a little better, but it misses more upper mids and highs. 

Unfortunately we could hear a lot of wind noise when we used the ANC3 outdoors, which is common to most earbuds that aren't particularly intrusive into your ear canal. There's also a slight background hiss when you activate the cancellation -- not much in and of itself, but it can amplify hiss already present on recordings. Even so, noisy environments are likely to drown that hiss out anyway.

The Monitor button lets you temporarily hear what's going on around you without having to remove the earbuds. When we pressed it, the audio was mostly muted, though we could still hear enough bleed to follow the song, which was distracting during brief conversations.

Conclusion

At $169.95 USD, the ATH-ANC3 are pricier than Sony's $99 MDR-NC22 earbuds, though we've seen deep discounts as low as $120 USD online. Both are very compact, cancel noise well, and have long battery life, but Sony offers longer cabling, while Audio-Technica has the livelier sound. If full-size active noise-cancelling headphones like the Bose QuietComfort series or earplug-style passive noise blockers like Shure's SE series don't cut it for you, these hybrids are worth a listen.

Pros:

• Very good sound and quieting
• Can play music without batteries
• Long battery life
• Compact

Cons:

• Cabling is a bit short for some usage scenarios
• No volume control
• Monitor button still lets audio bleed through