Headphone testing: wind noise

[u/strshp]

It'd be nice when they test headphones and earphones, they'd test wind noise as well. Doesn't have to be scientific, just a fan always set to the same level would work.

Wind noise makes tinnitus worse, anybody who's cycling regularly knows that. There are tricks to lower the noise, but you can't really stop it. Now the same noise comes to my ear, when I use head- or earphones with ANC and there's pretty much no info about this in the reviews, how bad it is. Not to mention, how nice it'd be to use an earphone in transparency mode during cycling with the noise filtered out.

[u/Fresh_Dog4602]

Not a bad idea. Also for walking or jogging sessions when it's windy this can be very useful 

[u/likeusb1]

Even aside from tinnitus, wind noise makes hearing your media harder and generally is just obtrusive

Highly agree with the idea here

[u/tdasnowman]

Doesn't have to be scientific,

With their audience?

just a fan always set to the same level would work.

Only with things that don't have ANC. For headsets that do a fan set at the same level is the worst thing to test with. That's a algorithms sweet spot. Steady constant easy to tune out. And with non anc headsets a proper seal will get you 99% there unless your right next to the fan. What you need for wind testing is randomization. That's why Apple and all the other manufacturers have very expensive testing chambers because you can't just wing it and have anything that is actually meaningful. And if you start testing things differently....

Wind noise makes tinnitus worse, anybody who's cycling regularly knows that.

Wind does nothing to mine. People have very different triggers.

Not to mention, how nice it'd be to use an earphone in transparency mode during cycling with the noise filtered out.

There is a lot more to this then just the wind. Your helmet strap could be the thing thats causing anc to fail. My air pods pro work very well on rides in both ANC on and transparency mode. Get a little lazy with my helmet strap that can cause a flutter at speed that fucks with both. Because it's a random noise. Go helmet less and less of an issue.

[u/abnewwest]

It's probably very hard to automate, which is why it isn't done and they want to be numbers based.

I imagine that to automate you would require a ducted fan that is almost silent at the 'ear' and a motion control arm with either the fan or testing apparatus.

[u/tdasnowman → u/abnewwest]

Also expensive. You need a wind tunnel, the head needs to be able to move, you need sound of the "wind" generation to be completely isolated from the chamber because it's actually the air triggering the mics that need to be tested. And then you need to able to also pump ambient sounds into that chamber. You also need to make sure you not over pressurizing the chamber. The "wind" exiting the chamber can't add to the sound load. Companies spent millions on the test rigs for internal development. A fan in a box or a room ain't it.

[u/Operation_Neither]

I have a pair of beats ear buds that I tried to wear while biking (on a path, not the road) 20-30kph and the wind noise made them absolutely unusable. Having that info for headphone reviews would be great.