Used a mate's BOSE-X headset the other week in a quiet aeroplane (turbine)and thought it was crap! Heaven knows what it would be like in your average flying club Cessna.
Sounds like you forgot to turn it on....
I don't think pilots flying low hours will benefit less from ANR, they will benefit more. I switched to ANR in the middle of my PPL training, and started flying better! Reason? This was a busy Florida airport and with the passive headset I was struggling to keep up with ATC, but with my Lightspeed 25xlc the transmissions were crisp and clear. That meant I could focus more on my flying instead of RT.
As a bonus I also felt less fatigued after my longer lessons, but that might just be psychological effects
Of course, I have never tried a pair of high-end passive headsets either, so maybe it is just an unfair comparison.