Methods for modeling the secondary path of an ANC system to improve convergence and tracking during noise control operation, and their associated uses are provided. In one aspect, for example, a method for modeling a secondary path for an active noise control system is provided. Such a method may include receiving a reference signal, filtering the reference signal with an initial secondary path model to obtain a filtered reference signal, calculating an autocorrelation matrix from the filtered reference signal, and calculating a plurality of eigenvalues from the autocorrelation matrix. The method may further include calculating a maximum difference between the plurality of eigenvalues and iterating a test model to determine an optimized secondary path model having a plurality of optimized eigenvalues that have a minimized difference that is less than the maximum difference of the plurality of eigenvalues, such that the optimized secondary path model may be utilized in the active noise control system.