ENC vs ANC which is best in 2024? (Updated)

ENC vs ANC which is best ? this is a very common and confusing question whenever you are deciding an earphone or a headphone.

Hey, how are you doing today!

I’m doing very well, and hoping you are also well. In this article I will try to help you decide a Best ENC or an ANC product.

How thought came into my mind? So today when I was scrolling through my YouTube channel, I found one of my YouTube Shorts is trending and making thousands of views on daily basis. It wan’t because created a “masala” or “amazing dance” video on internet. Rather people were watching this because of people are really confused about ENC vs ANC.

and they really want to know as you; What the hell are these technologies and how to understand them clearly and in a easy way!

And believe me, this question is asked by many of my acquaintances. Bro, ENC vs ANC which is best? ENC vs ANC which is best? And which earphones and headphones should I buy? Because people barely know the difference between these two terms ENC vs ANC. Since they are very same sounding and confusing.

Now: “What is the difference between ENC and ANC?”

And yeah if you too also want to watch my that ENC vs ANC YouTube Shorts video, you can simply click here to watch that. This is 2024 and I’m re-writing and updating this article with some new technological advancements. So never feel it is a stale article being represented to you in a fresh form.

I have seen many articles and videos on websites and YouTube channels, but no one tell you, which technology is the best for you? and Which product you should buy for a specific need?

Because in last 2 years I have tried and tested more than 200 audio products including Earbuds, Headphones, and Neckbands from different brands like Sony, Samsung, Bose, Jabra, OnePlus, Realme, Boat, Boult, Noise etc., And most of them had ENC or ANC feature on board.

So now I think after all these testings and products experiences I should update this article so that I can share and deliver the same knowledge with you also.

Why?

Because this ENC vs ANC question was more important to answer. If you don’t understand the technology; You won’t be able to differentiate between the products and you will end up buying a wrong product.

And then after you are going to blame me. Why did I never explain this to you, before making an audio product purchase, Right? haha.

Now let’s move to the main topic.

I’m going to explain you both the technologies ENC vs ANC which is best one by one. So that you can understand them in an easy and simple way. And in the end of this article I’ll share a Pros and Cons chart and some budget ENC and ANC earphones too.

ENC stands for Environmental Noise Cancellation. 

This means it is going to cancel or suppress all the background environmental noise while protecting your voice clarity when you are on a phone call, in a meeting or recoding a audio or video using your earphone’s mic.

So basically ENC is a technology which works with microphone of a earphone or headphone to send a listenable voice to the reception device or person on other end.

Now ENC doesn’t work all the time. It only comes to action when you are using the microphone of earphones for any of the previous reasons. It takes an input of your voice as well as the noise around you to reject it and send or record a a clean voice.

Do you know, how does this ENC technology works?

Let me explain this in simple words. Whenever a sound signal is fed to the internal electronic circuit of a earphone or headphone. It creates the same signal in the opposite phase like: if input signal’s noise is +1 then electronic system will generate a counter signal as -1 which cancels to each other to make the voice noiseless.

In other words, if I put 2 equally weighted things on each side of a balance scale. It will cancel out each other’s weight and both sides will come and be at the same level until disturbed. This means the weighing scale is acting as its initial (flat) position when there was no weight on either sides. 

ENC works the same as I explained in the above example. Until outer noise and system-generated signal are opposite and equal in gain. They will cancel out to each other and your listener or parter will always hear your clear voice.

Now coming to the next point.

ANC is known as Active Noise Cancellation.

So the fundamental of this technology is very same to the ENC technology. The only major difference is of implementation. This ANC technology works with earphone/headphone speakers to isolate you from the surroundings and make you feel like in Nirvana while ENC was working with your mic to deliver the best of your voice quality.

Although as per my testing and findings, ANC technology works best with Headphones, but there are also some brands like Sony, Realme, OnePlus etc. brands those have implemented ANC in their earphones and neckbands very beautifully.

So Active noise cancellation technology can be activated on demand to cancel out ambient noises, traffic noises, jet engine noise etc. Basically ANC listens to the outer sound and then creates a opposite signal to that noise and then combines it together to make it Zero.

Once it happens you ear feels like they are in heaven and feeling no noise pain but sometimes ANC above than 35dB can be scary for you. Since it creates damn silence that we are never habitual of.

I hope you are understanding till here that ANC works only for the user who is wearing an ANC-enabled device. People generally get confused that if there is a symbol of ANC on their headphones or earphones. It will definitely go to produce the best call quality for recipients and also deliver a great music for them. But this is not the case

ANC works on the same concept as I shared with you before in the ENC section. But it is more focused on delivering the listening experience to the user in noisy conditions.

Basically, ANC was introduced to protect Airplane Pilot’s ear from being damaged by loud engine noises. When you think about this pilot condition, I hope then you will be able to connect with ANC thing in a better way.

Now you might be getting a question. If both the technologies are nearly similar then what is the key difference?

As I explained in the ENC section, it works only with microphones.

This means wherever you are making a call from a noisy place. ENC is going to suppress the noise and deliver a better call quality to the receiver’s end.

On the other hand, the ANC has everything to do with speakers only. This means it is going to block all the noise (other than the original signal) and deliver isolated crisp sound to the listener.

So what do you think now? Was it easy to understand? do you know now ENC vs ANC which is best for you? Put it in the comments below.

Now, as I said earlier here is key difference chart for easy understanding ENC vs ANC:

Now I have explained you, ENC vs ANC what is best?

ANC and ENC both are best things for different jobs. If you are someone who makes too many calls in a day and always needs to be in busy area; an ENC earphone or headphone will be a best choice.

And if you are someone who loves solitude and want to always be in your own space without being disturbed by surroundings an ANC earphone or headphone will be the best choice for you.

And if you are someone like me who wants Best of the Both Worlds, just go with a product which can offer a decent ENC and ANC experience.

I hope these above lines have given you some clarity, ENC vs ANC which is best? and which type of product is best for you.

Now I’m coming to the best ANC and ENC products that I can suggest buying based on my purchase history and experience. All the mentioned products are personally used and tested well. If you have any doubts, then this post (click here) is for you.

Believe it or not but I love ANC Devices more than ENC. You can’t use these for very long durations because of deep silence but the experience is next level.

Starting with ANC Devices that I use and recommend: 

(You can also visit this page to check my other gadgets those I use Personally)

This Headphone is my all-time favourite. I treat music like a life element, which drives positivity in my veins. And these pairs of headphones are really on the next level to experience true nirvana.

Now if you are looking for a great pair of headphones and has a good budget to spend, go for this one. This has everything you need and here are some pros:

1. Dual device pair option
2. Dedicated mobile app
3. Custom equaliser control
4. 3 NC modes & Adaptive Noise Cancellation
5. Location wise auto music modes
6. 40H of battery backup
7. Button Customisation
8. Touch control options
9. Quick change & Fast Charge Support
10. Google and Alexa assistants
11. SONY Audio Codes (HiRes Audio, LDAC), DSEE HX, SBC, AAC
12. Corded and wireless mode
13. And much more.

I bought these pair of headphones after looking at the rating of this product, and believe me it never disappointed me. Now I’m using these headphones as my daily drivers and soon I’ll post a full review video on this headphone on my YouTube.

Despite costing very low, these headphone offer a lot of good feature:

1. Dedicated mobile app
2. Custom equaliser control
3. 3 NC modes + ENC
4. 40H of battery backup
5. Crystal Clear Calling
6. Quick change & Fast Charge Support
7. Google assistants
8. SONY Audio Codec (HiRes Audio), SBC, AAC
9. Corded and wireless mode
10. And much more.

If you are someone who is looking want to get rid of wires and want a tiny piece in their ears. Which can help them enjoy music and calls, while having smart features like Hybrid ANC, ENC and Equalisation in a small form factor. Then this Sony WF1000XM5 is the best companion for you. I have tested the sound and ANC; these are just awesome.

Although Samsung Buds 2 Pro also can be a alternative option to these buds, but those are recommended to Samsung smartphone users only.

Here are some highlights of these  earbuds:

1. Fast charging support (nowadays, everyone wants that)
2. Bluetooth Version 5.3 (expect good battery life and strong connection)
3. Dual device connection
4. HiRes Audio, LDAC, AAC and SBC
5. 36H of total backup (with case)
6. World call noise cancellation (people’s chit chat, vehicle noises, environmental noise suppression)

So if you are looking for something in budget around 3-4K budget then this earbud can be a better choice for you. It has some decent features like 50dB ANC, 6 ENC for calling, Bass boosted music and much more.

You can also try OnePlus Buds 3 if need a classic design or OnePlus quality standards.

Here are some highlights of these buds:

1. Fast charging support
2. Bluetooth Version 5.3 (expect good battery life and strong connection)
3. LDAC HD, AAC and SBC
4. 38H of total backup (with case)
5. Up to 50dB of noise cancellation (people’s chit chat, vehicle noises, environmental noise suppression)

Now coming to the last earbuds’ option. If you are on a very tight budget but still want to enjoy 30dB ANC and clear ENC calls. Then this earbud is a true value for you.

Highlights of this earbud:

1. Fast charging support
2. 12.4mm bigger drivers
3. Dolby & 360 spatial sound feature
4. Bluetooth Version 5.3 & App connectivity
5. 50ms Gaming low latency
6. 40H of total backup (with case)
7. Up to 30dB of noise cancellation

Although there are many ANC devices you can choose from, but I focused only on those which has a great cost to features ratio.

There are a lot of neckbands out there from different brands, but I chose to experiment with this one. At the time of launch, Realme said it has 30dB of ANC, 40 hours of backup and transparency mode, and much more.

After seeing all these new features in a neckband, I purchased it just after the launch. And after using I realised this neckband also has a good ENC calling feature.

Here are some pros of this product:

1. Realme link app (not dedicated for audio)
2. Customizable buttons (prefixed options)
3. 13.6mm drivers
4. Dual device connection
5. Gaming mode option
6. Magnetic On/Off option
7. Water-resistant design (gym purpose)
8. Low latency ~ 45ms
9. Fast & Quick charge support

If you are looking for a decent neckband which can offer you good music and noise free calling. You can consider this neckband and I have used this in past and published a full video and article too.

Here are some pros of this product:

1. Best bass boosted music
2. Decent ENC calling
3. 14.2mm drivers
4. Dual device connection
5. 40H playtime & fast charge

So these were my suggestions around this article, ENC vs ANC which is best? If you want to explore more models, please click here.

I hope you have a clear definition of ENC and ANC and understand ENC vs ANC which is best for you. Now, none can fool you with these 2 words at least.

And as promised I’m going to write a review on Boat Rockerz 255 Pro+ in my next article. If you are not subscribed to my newsletter click here to subscribe to it now for valuable future updates.

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I’m also planning to write a post, how I helped my friends and family save huge on their Big Billion and Diwali sale purchases.

Enjoy your time. See you next time. Take care

Mayank Pandey