Wind is ANC's archenemy. Not because your headphones are broken, but because physics is a cruel science. Let us explain why.
Why is wind like kryptonite for ANC?
Active noise cancellation works by having microphones on the outside of the headphones listen to the environment and generate a counter-sound. A steady hum, like a plane engine, office AC, or a train rattling along, is easy for ANC. It's predictable and constant.
Wind, on the other hand, is chaos. It hits the microphones directly with random pressure waves, and the ANC algorithm desperately tries to generate a counter-sound for noise that changes every millisecond. The result is often worse than no ANC at all: you get a weird pumping, pulsing sound in your ears on top of the wind.
This isn't a Valco problem. It's a problem for every ANC headphone on earth. Sony, Bose, Apple, they all suffer from the same physics. We just admit it out loud.
Here's how to make the best of it
- Update the firmware. If your model is the VMK25.2 or VMK15, check for updates using the Valco Updater app (Android, Google Play). Other models don't get updates. Sometimes the ANC algorithm gets improved, and the update actually helps.
- Check the fit. On over-ear headphones, the ear pads need to seal properly around your ears. If air is leaking, ANC loses its power. Shift the headband and try a different position.
- Swap the tips on earbuds. On the NL25, try different sizes of silicone tips. The seal is everything. If the tip is too small, ANC won't work properly, and neither will passive isolation.
- Turn your back to the wind. Seriously. The ANC microphones are on the outside of the headphones, and if wind blows straight into them, no algorithm can save you. Turn your head or find shelter from the wind.
- Try turning ANC off. There are no ANC intensity settings on Valco devices, just modes: on, transparency, and off. In strong wind, turning ANC off often works better than full power, because the algorithm stops fighting a losing battle against the wind.
- Consider turning off transparency mode. If transparency mode (ambient mode) is on, it actively amplifies outside sounds, wind included. Make sure you're in ANC mode, not transparency mode.
What about the microphone during calls in wind?
If the problem is that the other person hears wind during calls, that's a different issue. Call microphones are sensitive to wind, and ANC doesn't help with that. On over-ear headphones the MFB button handles calls, but in wind it helps to shield the microphone with your hand or move indoors. You can't cheat physics.
If nothing helps
If ANC doesn't seem to work even indoors in a quiet environment, it might be an actual defect. Do this:
- Reset the headphones (on over-ear models, plug in the AUX cable and unplug it)
- If the problem continues, send us a message at info@valco.fi and include your order number and a description of the problem
Jasse and the service team in Kajaani will sort it out.
ANC is a great invention, but it's not magic. It's at its best against steady noise and at its worst in wind. But hey, even without ANC these headphones sound better than the competition's flagships. That much we've got covered.
