How Quiet Do You Think Your Drone is?

[LoudThunder]

I've watched so many YouTube Videos and read so many topics on how quiet the Mini 2 and Mini SE drones are purported to be and since I only own the Mini 2, I do not have anything else to compare the level of "noise" to in order to run a comparison.

Now, the reason I bring this up is that I have High-Frequency hearing loss from my 30-plus years in the Air Force as a Jet engine mechanic and small arms instructor and I have to wear hearing aids. I'm not deaf, usually catch most of what is said in conversation without the hearing aids. When I'm out flying my Mini 2, I usually do not wear the hearing aids while I'm putzing around.

So, here is the thing, I hear the drone, even when it's up at 150 feet, if there is no wind, I hear it up to 200 feet. And as a test, I've flown the drone a couple of hundred feet off in one direction and manually set the Home Point a couple of hundred feet in the opposite direction so the drone has to over fly me. BTW, I set the RTH to hover so it does not land in a neighbor's yard if I get distracted. I then have the wife press the RTH so I do not know exactly when the Drone is supposed to be overhead, but I can hear it when it gets overhead.

So, I'm curious as what other folks think about the "noise" level of their Drones.

 

[Desert Drone Works]

I always get a good chuckle when someone (or some YouTube personality) says how quiet a particular drone is. I can only assume they're saying that in reference to another "loud" drone they've had experience with. Even my Air 2S is quite loud. The Mavic 3 I had was a lower tone that could be perceived as quieter, but it was still fairly loud. All in all, it really depends on the person hearing it. I know if I take off from my back yard that neighbors a few blocks away will definitely be able to hear it at 1-200' agl.

 

[Deleted member 93449]

I know this is a DJI forum but as far as quiet goes noting I've seen beats the Parrot Anafi. 30 feet overhead and you won't know it's there.

 

[Sky Cyclist]

"Quiet or not" is subjective.

The standard safety flight distance is 100ft (3D) in my region. I use it as the standard to evaluate the noise of the flight.

When they fly above 100ft or above, their noise is ignorable and also very easily be covered by background noise. Mostly my flights' alt is at about 300 to 400ft, so their noise is barely noticeable.

I am very happy with my DJI Air 2S and Mavic 3. They produce a quite loud noise when landing quickly other than that, they are quiet.

I don't have a Mini 2 but If my information is correct, DJI Mini 2 is quieter than DJI Air 2S.

"Quiet or not" is relative.

If you have Skydio 2/2+ drone, you will know how terrible noise the Skydio drone produces and DJI's are relatively quiet.

 

[Sky Cyclist]

I know this is a DJI forum but as far as quiet goes noting I've seen beats the Parrot Anafi. 30 feet overhead and you won't know it's there.

Since you mentioned, I just did a search and found the video:

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I have to say if the test is true, then both Parrot Anafi and DJI Mini 2 are very quiet and they are the same quiet.

Highlights of the test - Indoor / 70cm

Parrot Anafi

• Avg: 54.5 dB

DJI Mini 2

• Avg: 53.0 dB

 

[LoudThunder]

I know this is a DJI forum but as far as quiet goes noting I've seen beats the Parrot Anafi.

I for one thank you for your input. Yeah, it is pretty much DJI (99.999999% ), but some of the members also have other drones, so I welcome your input.

Actually, I also have a KoolRC 161 Drone, I know I wrote I do not have another drone to compare it to as I consider the 161 a Real Toy! It only cost $30 (Drone, Controller, Three Batteries, Spare Props, Cables and a Pretty Nifty "Hard Case" and the cost also included Free Shipping On Ebay). As for the 161, it sounds like a miniature Chain Saw, but it sure flies nice for a Non-GPS Drone, and I'm not afraid to let the grandkids fly it.

 

[Dronut]

I live half the week in a, usually, very quiet rural area. I have a Mini 2 and I'm pretty amazed at how quiet it is at low altitudes. I can fly quite close to 'roos, cattle and horses and I have a tame Magpie that I have to shoo away when I'm landing or taking off. I just went out the back for a higher altitude sound check (100 metres), and I could hear it out to 230 metres before it goes silent, a little further if I'm climbing. That's in Normal Mode. I try to stay at least 150 metres away from any houses while flying, and so far I don't think anyone within cooee even knows I own a drone.

A few weeks ago I was in my loungeroom with the front door open and I was startled by what sounded like a vacuum cleaner right outside my front door. After quickly checking there was nobody using one in my driveway (!) I looked across the road and saw, about 220 metres away, someone using what looked like a Phantom 3 taking real-estate photos of my closest neighbour's place. There's no way you could fly one of them without attracting attention!

 

[ICHOTT]

Agreed, it’s all subjective and in relation to what you’re comparing the sound to.

Even at 400’ I can hear my mini2 though I would describe it as quiet!
If someone who didn’t know the drone was there, with normal hearing, they would also be able to hear it but they would be fairly unlikely to notice it even if they looked up because it’s small and would be a dot that they wouldn’t understand unless it was flying backwards and forwards.

Regarding your own hearing levels, (BTW I’m an audiologist) as 68 I have almost normal hearing and though you may have a reduction at higher frequencies, it’s quite possible that your ability to hear mid to low tones is exactly the same as mine.

In addition, Drone sounds are lower tones, hence the name ‘drone’,
you don’t refer to high frequency noise as a droning sound.

Best reference by the way, is a ten year old, they can see and hear for miles

 

[Faster]

It all depends on many factors, your hearing capacity, drone size and power, flight altitude, flight mode, wind direction, ambient loudness. My Air 2S is way louder than my Mini 2. In same conditions I can hear my Air 2S at twice the distance than my Mini 2, if not more.

 

[DSRT_VLTR]

I think audible drone noise is affected by atmospheric humidity. I live in the Sonoran Desert where humidity can vary from 5%(with negative dewpoints) to 70% depending on the season. I can definitely hear my Mini 2 at 100ft altitude directly above me in very low humidity, and at 50ft in high humidity. Obviously higher humidity can muffle sound more than low humidity, but this never seems to be discussed.

 

[EsaT]

Since you mentioned, I just did a search and found the video:

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I have to say if the test is true, then both Parrot Anafi and DJI Mini 2 are very quiet and they are the same quiet.

Highlights of the test - Indoor / 70cm

Parrot Anafi

• Avg: 54.5 dB

DJI Mini 2

• Avg: 53.0 dB

That's not really good comparison with room echoes being easily capable to messing it.

And while dumb dB meter might say Mini 2 is quieter, for human hearing peak frequency and spectrum distribution affect lot to how sound is perceived.
And in that Mini 2 is worser with many higher frequency spikes.
While Anafi's peak frequency is below 400Hz with only broadband noise at higher frequencies.

Anafi's spectrum is in lower part and Mini2's in top: