How noisy is the Mini compared to other drones?

scro · Nov 15, 2019

Ordered a Mini and currently waiting for it to make its way from China to the UK...

Just wondering how noisy (audible, rather than image noise) the MM is compared to other popular drones? I've seen a couple of YT videos doing noise comparisons and was just wondering what other's thoughts/experiences are? I'm interested in both the actual sound pressure (dB), the spectral spread (angry bees or deep thrum) and the overall "intrusiveness" of the sound. So far the general consensus for the MM seems to be:

Quieter and less intrusive than the Spark
Noticeably quieter and less intrusive than the Mavic Air
Similar to the Mavic 2 pro but higher pitched. (does the higher pitch make it more intrusive?)
Anafi?
Tello?

I appreciate the noise "quality" is a bit subjective so interested to hear a few different takes on the topic

Starz · Nov 15, 2019

Here ya go.

OldBlueHeron · Nov 15, 2019

Quietest drone I’ve flown. I own all the drones you mentioned minus the Tello. My friend has an Anafi. It’s comparable. I also have Stealth props for the MA and the Spark. It’s far quieter then either of those. The MP2 is close, but I’d give the edge to the MM. My opinion.

mavicn00b · Nov 15, 2019

It's a 2S quad, how noisy can it be? Low noise but also low power. The M2 OTOH - is a beast.

msinger · Nov 15, 2019

Here's a link to the thread mentioned above:

Mavic Mini Prop Noise Comparison (by FlytPath)

Here's a video from FlytPath comparing the prop noise for all Mavic models and the Spark:

mavicpilots.com

Prmath · Nov 15, 2019

scro said:
Ordered a Mini and currently waiting for it to make its way from China to the UK...

Just wondering how noisy (audible, rather than image noise) the MM is compared to other popular drones? I've seen a couple of YT videos doing noise comparisons and was just wondering what other's thoughts/experiences are? I'm interested in both the actual sound pressure (dB), the spectral spread (angry bees or deep thrum) and the overall "intrusiveness" of the sound. So far the general consensus for the MM seems to be:

Quieter and less intrusive than the Spark

Noticeably quieter and less intrusive than the Mavic Air

Similar to the Mavic 2 pro but higher pitched. (does the higher pitch make it more intrusive?)

Anafi?

Tello?

I appreciate the noise "quality" is a bit subjective so interested to hear a few different takes on the topic

200 ft up........ can not hear (me)

DanMan32 · Nov 16, 2019

msinger said:
Here's a link to the thread mentioned above:

Mavic Mini Prop Noise Comparison (by FlytPath)

Here's a video from FlytPath comparing the prop noise for all Mavic models and the Spark:

mavicpilots.com

Yeah, but powers that be decided to close it.

DanMan32 · Nov 16, 2019

Drone Valley did a comparison, not just by dB but also frequency spectrum analysis.

Mini was definitely quieter by dB and frequency bands.

scro · Nov 16, 2019

Here's a link...

Quite a good scientific review. Interesting to see the spectral plots of the noise.

msinger · Nov 16, 2019

DanMan32 said:
Yeah, but powers that be decided to close it.

Yes... about 30 minutes before you commented above. Super strange. I'm not sure why all of these threads are getting locked.

pmshop · Nov 16, 2019

All depends on what you consider noise.
Case in point, the Master Air Screw stealth propellers are made to produce a buzz lower in frequency.
A lot of people agree (just throwing out numbers) 2000hz buzz from the propellers are annoying.
Drop that to 1000hz and it is more tolerable.
While the db is all within 10 measures for all drones in the study, it is the frequency of the props that produces the "noise"

scro · Nov 16, 2019

mavicn00b said:
It's a 2S quad, how noisy can it be? Low noise but also low power. The M2 OTOH - is a beast.

What does 2S mean?

Buzz_uk · Nov 16, 2019

In my opinion in drone terms the quietest I’ve known by a margin

pmshop · Nov 16, 2019

scro said:
What does 2S mean?

Voltage reference.
S= step of 3.7v
2s = 7.4v
Spark and Mavic Air are 3S - 11.1v

DanMan32 · Nov 16, 2019

Actually it means 2 cells in series.
There used to be nP, where batteries were connected in parallel (n being number of cells), but cells weren't always working exactly the same so one would dominate the other.

mavicn00b · Nov 16, 2019

DanMan32 said:
Actually it means 2 cells in series.
There used to be nP, where batteries were connected in parallel (n being number of cells), but cells weren't always working exactly the same so one would dominate the other.

Yup technically its a 2S1P pack. You can find plenty of packs in parallel on hobbyking etc. Dont think I've ever seen DJI use packs in parallel on their proprietary rip-off batteries, other than the I2 which takes multiple individual packs for redundancy.

pmshop · Nov 16, 2019

...and each cell is 3.7v

DanMan32 · Nov 16, 2019

pmshop said:
...and each cell is 3.7v

That's the nominal voltage. Max voltage varies with chemistry and we're generally dealing with Li-Ion. Ni based batteries would be 1.2v.

DanMan32 · Nov 16, 2019

mavicn00b said:
Yup technically its a 2S1P pack. You can find plenty of packs in parallel on hobbyking etc. Dont think I've ever seen DJI use packs in parallel on their proprietary rip-off batteries, other than the I2 which takes multiple individual packs for redundancy.

Well the packs are not directly connected to each other. There's electronics, like diodes or FETs, between them.

Bjord · Nov 17, 2019

I flew my Mavic Mini to the other side of my house, roughly 30ft away (and blocked by the house, of course) and I could not hear it in the slightest. I was only about 20ft in the air. It's insanely quiet unless you're directly near it.