Active Noise Cancellation

[opensesame]

Can someone explain in laymans term what this is exactly? Why would you want to cancel some of the engine noise? I heard engine noise will come through the speakers, but what if my speakers are turned off?

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[Ericc B]

Active Noise Cancelling is an electronic system that records ambient sounds (in a car that would be tire, engine and exhaust noise), actively creates an opposite soundwave (anti-sound) and plays that through a speaker system. Target is to cancel out the ambient noise al together and therefore create a more silent enviroment.

It's basically the same thing that noise cancelling headphones do.

Why anyone would want to do that in a car is a matter of personal taste. Some like it loud, I for one like quiet cars and I really look forward to this feature.

Obviously if the speakers are off then it won't work. I'm sure the ANC system itself will have an on/off setting as well.

 

[tsunami]

Have you ever ridden in a poorly sound-proofed V8 muscle car for a few hours? I swear that it takes a couple of years off your hearing.

I fly quite a bit and use Bose Noise-Canceling earphones. Without them, after a six house trip...I have quite a headache and ringing ears. The difference is spectacular.
Boeing is contemplating putting Noise-Canceling into the PA system of their next generation of jets.
Noise-Canceling is one of the reason I want the premium sound system.

 

[Bahndvr]

There is nothing like long tube headers and glass packs on a V8 muscle car but I'm interested in trying this noise cancellation out.

 

[Thed]

Now that I think of it, this actually sounds kind of appealing. Have a crazy loud car that pisses the living shit out of a Prius snob and not have to put up with it so much.

But basically it works as stated above. It uses microphones to pick up unwanted noise and uses the car's sound system to transmit certain opposing frequencies to effectively cancel out said unwanted noise.

 

[mc lane]

well.
we will see, how effective the System is gonna be
what is pretty simple in theory is often pretty tricky in reality
Lotus (english sports car manufacturer) had been working on this System in the 1970s (they were always working on those promising Technologies, most times to find out, such things are far more complicated in real life than in Technology classes in college)

 

[DBCooper]

Noise-Canceling is one of the reason I want the premium sound system.

It looks to me like ANC is standard on the EB

http://www.ford.com/cars/mustang/trim/ecoboostfastback/interiorfeatures/

 

[MustangSteve]

Can someone explain in laymans term what this is exactly? Why would you want to cancel some of the engine noise? I heard engine noise will come through the speakers, but what if my speakers are turned off?

Microphones are mounted in the cabin to feed the ambient sound into a digital signal processor. While you can conceivably cancel out all sounds by simply creating an opposite sound wave and playing it out through the audio system speakers.

However, in most cases including the Mustang EcoBoost, the system is only looking for specific frequencies that are objectionable. ANC is primarily used to cancel the low frequency boominess that is often characteristic of four cylinder engines, especially at low speeds. All of this is done in real-time. The mid-range and higher frequency sounds that give the car a sporty note are left untouched by ANC.

While ANC does use the audio system speakers to generate the opposing sound waves, it operates independently of the audio system itself and does work even if the radio is turned off.

 

[Don's Stang]

I love it active noise cancellation, but then they put a sound tube to pump engine sound into the cabin. . Kinda will cancel each other out

 

[DBCooper]

From what I've read, they tune it so that the "pleasing" motor sounds that you want to hear are not cancelled.

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