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How effective is active noise cancelling in a car?

Discussion in 'Model X' started by jboy210, Jan 27, 2021.

  1. jboy210

    jboy210 Supporting Member

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    The update to the X includes active noise canceling as part of the new audio system. ANC works great in headsets, but I have never heard (pun intended) of one in a car. Does anyone know how effective these systems are in cars?
     
  2. andrewdtran

    andrewdtran Member

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    • Helpful x 1
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  3. InternetDude

    InternetDude Member

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    My Lexus has it, it works extremely well. I see no reason why this wouldn’t be great in a Tesla. My S is so much louder inside...
     
  4. Dominik_12

    Dominik_12 Member

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    Know I'm rather new to my 2021 Tesla XLR+, but outside noise is SO minimal to ANYTHING I've driven in or ridden I can't really understand need for more noise cancellation.
     
  5. Gvardaman

    Gvardaman Member

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    Very well! Most of the extraneous noise in a car is fairly constant; wind noise and the sound of the tires on the road are exactly the kinds of noise a noise canceling system is perfect at reducing or eliminating.
     
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  6. mxnym

    mxnym Member

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    I bet if you went through my post history you'd find posts harping about how they don't have it. I experienced it in a 2005 Acura RL, and it was amazing, so comfortable and easy to hold a conversation, night and day compared to my vehicle at the time, which at least felt quieter than my X ever has.
     
  7. Lloyd

    Lloyd Well-Known Member

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    They work great in airplanes and decrese noise ~8-10 db.
     
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  8. elguapo

    elguapo Supporting Member

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    It really depends on Tesla's implementation. Ventilated seats in general are awesome. Tesla's initial attempt at it in the X was awful. As with all features, the technology and manner in which it is used will determine whether it's meaningful.

    I have never had any real road noise or other issues in my X. It's the quietest car I've ever driven.
     
  9. Gurl3x4me

    Gurl3x4me New Member

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    Wow you got lucky. I went from a 4 series BMW with extra hard run flats to a 17 X. The X was a lot louder, squeaked and creaked inside with every bump and turn and that wasn’t even the 22”. You should have seen my family’s face when we drove it after delivery. Loved it other than that though. Nervous and excited to see what we drive off in in April.
     
    • Informative x 1
  10. elguapo

    elguapo Supporting Member

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    I don’t think ANC will help what you describe. The creeks and squeaks have a lot to do with build quality, don’t they? I hope I am wrong.
     
  11. DIL

    DIL Member

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    Are you referring to headphones? I wasn’t aware that aircraft cabins have ambient noise cancellation.
     
  12. LargeHamCollider

    LargeHamCollider Battery cells != scalable

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    Q400 does, probably some other a/c too.
     
  13. jbcarioca

    jbcarioca Well-Known Member

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    There are several different systems for aircraft, mostly OEM some aftermarket. I bought one for a King Air that totally transformed it! Suddenly the charter customers more than doubled and my spouse was thrilled. I actually flew without a noice-cancelling headset, having never done that before.

    Well done the systems are amazing, and even th mediocre ones now installed in some cars are very effective, as people report in this thread.
     
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  14. bobby g

    bobby g Member

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    Hurray for Canadian aircraft. Been in a few for short flights, only complaint, size. They, crew probably, killed my Chinese Prada overnight :)
     
  15. jbcarioca

    jbcarioca Well-Known Member

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    the Saab 340 and Saab 2000 were the first ones, I think..
     
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  16. mohanman

    mohanman Member

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    I really hope they can retrofit noise cancellation tech into older Xs ?
     
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  17. MorrisonHiker

    MorrisonHiker S 100D 2021.4.11

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    It's doubtful that older cars could be upgraded as it would require additional sensors, microphones, speakers and possibly a new MCU.

    Here's an example of how Bose QuietComfort Road Noise Control works. I assume Tesla's noise cancellation will work similarly.

     
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  18. jbcarioca

    jbcarioca Well-Known Member

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    These all work similarly. The three I know of are Silentium (a JLR supplier), Bose (already mentioned here, famous for cleverness, sometimes not so much for component quality) and Samsung (branded as Harman). All of these seem to work well, but Bose tends to want to package together with the Bose sound systems, while the other two are less rigid. Clearly integration with the sound system makes the entire project far more efficient.
    Since Tesla describes fairly exotic sound system for the new S and X ti seems that is how they planned it. Tesla's apparent chosen partner is a Bose partner so... but somehow I imagine Tesla would not be overly excited about the Bose heavy handed approach.

    This is a rapidly evolving field so we must wait to know. In the meantime there will be retrofits possible soon for an aftermarket supplier. That will be expensive and require some significant installation. I went through that for an airplane. It was obscenely expensive but worth it.
     
  19. Big Earl

    Big Earl bnkwupt

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    We have a 2014 Cadillac ELR plug-in hybrid with Bose active noise cancelling. It seems to work pretty well, although there is no way to toggle it on and off, so direct comparisons aren't really possible. Overall, the car is exceptionally quiet compared to our Model 3. If Tesla didn't think it was worthwhile, I doubt they'd be paying to license the technology from Bose.

    That said, the Model 3's audio system sounds better at moderate and high volume than the Bose system in the Cadillac, but the Bose sounds better at low volumes due to their aggressive loudness.
     
  20. DIL

    DIL Member

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    I had no idea. Thanks!
     

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