The result is that the low frequency components of the radio and audio communications are cancelled along with the noise. This causes frequency response to be degraded, sounding tinny and unnatural. More sophisticated ANR systems process the signal and noise separately, allowing for full reproduction of the original audio signal. Both of these are tangible examples of real differences among different ANR headset designs. Because most ANR headsets sold today are portable models powered by batteries, speaker efficiency is an important consideration.
Higher efficiency means lower power consumption, longer battery life and smaller battery boxes.
Many people are put off by the size and hassle of the external battery modules associated with ANR headsets. Some of today's headsets come with large power packs that hang on separate cables, while others have small modules that are attached in-line to the communications cable. That's a big difference and worth investigating before you finally purchase a headset. Once again, the best and only way to really know how well various systems work is to fly with several different ones and compare. We hope you've found this series to be informative.