This morning I’m on one of the older, very noisy Max trains. The noise cancelling doesn’t completely remove the sound of the train, but my volume is two or three clicks down from what it would normally be as I listen to podcasts. Since I spend at least an hour a day on the train, subjecting my ears to lower volume levels is totally worth it.

Transparency mode is surprisingly good. Better than it seems like it should be. With noise cancelling on I can barely hear the announcements on the train. With transparency mode on, they are easy to hear, but the noise of the train is still reduced.

The next big test is to see how well the mic works. I wear AirPods for conference calls. A lot. I did a quick test last night and transparency mode will be good for this as being able to hear my own voice is important on calls.