[genck]

be sure to buy hi res audio stickers for your hifi gear, preferably covering up everything. enhances the sound

 

[chesebert]

Don't think I'd call these "hifi" though.

AirPod Pro is fairly transparent in the mid and upper mid and therefore qualifies as hifi for getting 2/3 of the most important frequency range correct - most crap/consumer cans get nothing right.

The lower mid suck out, mid bass hump and lack of lower bass can be EQed to a certain degree. Same goes for lowered high treble and elevated mid treble. What you can’t EQ is slight muddiness, artificial soundstage (outside head but hard to place instruments and no height resolution and no real instrument weight/size), lower treble grain, lack of dynamics, slam, PraTT and resolving power.

I would absolutely qualify these as entry level hifi - very acceptable for on the go music with ANC engaged.

 

[Duncan]

??? There is no firmware update

My firmware was 2B576 - there was a day one update as per this link

 

[buzzlulu]

My firmware was 2B576 - there was a day one update as per this link

you learn something every day! Thanks
(and I am an amateur Mac tech support guy for others - surprised I missed this. It was not widely reported)

 

[Bhelpoori]

Actually, it appears that Apple has removed AptX support from their MacBooks with the release of Catalina. There's been no definitive response from Apple on the matter but I've not seen anyone who's successfully used AptX since upgrading.

Actually, if you look at the logs it looks like APT-X in Catalina is still there since you can force it but the indicator in the Bluetooth menu doesn’t show it. This is a bug introduced which is quite irritating...

 

[audiofool]

I wanted to like these. The technology is impressive and superbly considered and implemented. The sound quality compared to my beloved Etymotic 4S is meh, but I did not care. In the environments in which they would be used I would not be doing critical listening. Unfortunately, the hard plastic AirPods which I used for one hour gave me severe temperomandibular joint (TMJ) pain that lasted nearly a month. Interestingly, just in the left ear. So I was very hopeful that the new design with the silicon tips would accommodate my unique anatomy. Unfortunately, the very useful fit assessment software that determines your seal quality showed I could not get a good seal in my left ear regardless of tip size. Did I mention pain? Yes but it was not as bad as the hard AirPods. Hopefully, the aftermarket will come out with some foam tips that do not compromise the sound further. As to the SQ (take from observations when I did get a good seal) it seemed very euphonic to me. Listening to kick drums, there just seemed to be slurred sound, the crisp attack was blurred, like viewing an image through gauze. There was also no sibilance but the highs seemed very rolled off. The human voice (female and male vocalists) seemed like they had a cold. So count me as unimpressed with the sound quality. On the other hand the new ergonomics with the capacitive touch sensors that can be individually configured and the subtle click when you succeed in activating it seemed brilliant. Further the transparency mode worked well. The ANC also worked well. I cannot compare it to Bose or others as I listened to those too long ago. It worked for me. In fact, it made me aware of the high level of ambient noise in my office to which I had become acclimated.

Executive summary: I wanted to like them for use with my iPhone and think they are OK but not for critical listening (but I do not think they were made for that). The ANC and transparency seem well implemented. Unfortunately, they do not work for my anatomy.

P.S. My AirPods Pro had the firmware update before I started listening.

 

[nacho.]

I'm in the market for my first pair of wireless earphones. The first Airpods were cool, but I have been using in-ears for sooo long that I can't go back to something else. This new Airpods Pro have everything I wanted, in-ears and ANC with the convenience of the H1 chip and iPhone integration.
Right now I'm using wired in-ears, a pair of Zero Audio Carbo Mezzo. They cost around 50$. Do you think Airpods Pro sound quality is as good as those? I know they can't compete with 249$ IEMs but I atleast want to retain the same sound quality... People in the reviews are saying that they sound better than the standard Airpods (as expected), but others are saying that the quality gain is pretty meh and 30$ wired in-ears sound better and that would be pretty disappointing.

I know it's a long shot, but maybe someone with this Airpods Pro and some wired in-ears can make a sound quality comparison.

 

[audiofool]

I'm in the market for my first pair of wireless earphones. The first Airpods were cool, but I have been using in-ears for sooo long that I can't go back to something else. This new Airpods Pro have everything I wanted, in-ears and ANC with the convenience of the H1 chip and iPhone integration.
Right now I'm using wired in-ears, a pair of Zero Audio Carbo Mezzo. They cost around 50$. Do you think Airpods Pro sound quality is as good as those? I know they can't compete with 249$ IEMs but I atleast want to retain the same sound quality... People in the reviews are saying that they sound better than the standard Airpods (as expected), but others are saying that the quality gain is pretty meh and 30$ wired in-ears sound better and that would be pretty disappointing.

I know it's a long shot, but maybe something with this Airpods Pro and some wired in-ears can make a sound quality comparison.

You have a two week trial period to see if they will suit you.

 

[chesebert]

My firmware was 2B576 - there was a day one update as per this link

Did not know that. Thank you.

 

[pieman3141]

Not as good as my New Primacy IEMs, but not terribly too far off the mark either. APPs are more comfortable and a lot less finicky to wear. And the APPs stay in my ear, unlike every other IEMs I've tried, where I constantly need to adjust them.

 

[richpjr]

So curiosity got the better of me and I picked up the AirPod Pros at lunch today. I have the unfortunate combination of a big head and big ears, so comfort is always an issue for me with headphones. I have Powerbeats3 and Plantronics Backbeat Fit for working out and neither are very comfortable. I tried the first gen AirPods before and they would not stay in my ears well but I figured these with the rubber tips had a much better chance. After swapping one of the medium tips for a large, I get a good seal. As has been pointed out multiple times in this thread, the convenience with Apple products is superb and they are very comfortable - something I rarely say about headphones..

After a couple of hours listening non-critically at work, the sound is pretty good. I have a mixture of Beyerdynamic, Sennheiser and Hifiman headphones at home with several amps and DACs and clearly these fall well short of those - but I didn't expect them to compete with those. I will use these for working out and to drown out some loud people at work and these look like they will work very well for that. I kind of hate buying disposable headphones like this - I really wish the battery was replaceable. Overall I am happy with the AirPod Pros.

 

[nealh]

Anyone try to mod the silicone tips with foam?

 

[swmtnbiker]

I swapped a few emails with Comply support, and while they gave me no firm info, it seems that they'll eventually be offering tips for these.

 

[nealh]

I swapped a few emails with Comply support, and while they gave me no firm info, it seems that they'll eventually be offering tips for these.

Thx. Any chance you can add some foam to the current tips. I can see the tip well enough to know

 

[swmtnbiker]

I guess you could finagle it somehow.