Air Filter made car quiter

Civic coupe vti 99.

Just removed the old man filter which had dirt and debris etc for another cheap £6 filter and the car got quiter.

I’m just wondering if the quietness be because the new filter isn’t blocked by dirt like the used one or is it because the new filter is different – besides it being cheap I noticed the intake side of the filter the depth is maybe 3 times more than the last one so would this be the cause?

I prefer louder.