[llmgtab]

I previously had tried the AirPods 2 (friend was nice to allow me to try his) and found them very painful after just a few minutes. Curious if anyone here that has had both styles found the original uncomfortable but the Pro version works well for them. I am thinking of giving these a try. I know fit is different for everyone, but if anyone found the Pro's better it would give me hope. I have had to return so many a bit hesitant to try again.

 

[fallingreason]

What level sound quality does the AirPods pro achieve in terms of a wired IEM, both past or present? Like is it as good as a 1 more triple driver, an entry leve shure?

Lord no. The sound quality is roughly the same as the Gen 1/2 Airpods, only now with a bit better bass and more up front mids, though this is likely largely helped by the isolation factor.

I did quite a bit if A/B testing with my JH5 dual driver customs, and Westone W50 5 driver universals. The Airpods are not in the same ballpark at all. They do not have the same soundstage depth or stereo separation, have an incredibly small headspace which seems distant, and are missing heaps of detail, even via streaming services from an iPhone.

They sound fine, but don't expect sound better than a $20-40 wired dynamic earbud, ie skull candy. Just as the original AirPods did not sound better than the come with EarPods. For $250 you are getting:
-Wireless convenience
-Pairing and on/off convencience
-Charging convenience (case/size)
-Smartphone Features

However, you are also getting a finite product life due to batteries. Maybe they'll last 3 years at most. My current high end IEM's I've had since 2012 and 2015 and both are good as new, ready to be plugged in and used for as long as I like.

I've also noticed 2 interesting things with the AirPods Pro:
-Apple limits the volume on their devices quite significantly. These do not get loud (though they are sufficient). Makes me wonder if it is so people don't blow their drivers, ruin their hearing, battery life conservation, etc. My wired IEM's get much louder, and AirPods Pro when connected to other non-apple devices also get much louder.

-Everything sounds better from the Music app (streaming or library) with iPhones. Significantly better than spotify, independent apps, or youtube etc. So, if you are going to use your iPhone for music (which many Airpods Pro users will), strongly consider using Apple Music!

 

[richpjr]

I previously had tried the AirPods 2 (friend was nice to allow me to try his) and found them very painful after just a few minutes. Curious if anyone here that has had both styles found the original uncomfortable but the Pro version works well for them. I am thinking of giving these a try. I know fit is different for everyone, but if anyone found the Pro's better it would give me hope. I have had to return so many a bit hesitant to try again.

I tried both the first and second gen, and neither worked for me. They were uncomfortable and would not stay in my ears. The AirPod Pro fit my ears very well, are very comfortable (wear them for hours at work) and don’t fall out. I have gone running them a couple of times with no issues. Clearly, there is a large variation in people’s ear canals as some find the very comfortable and some find them painful. You really need to try them yourself to see how they work for you.

 

[MICHAELSD]

I've also noticed 2 interesting things with the AirPods Pro:
-Apple limits the volume on their devices quite significantly. These do not get loud (though they are sufficient). Makes me wonder if it is so people don't blow their drivers, ruin their hearing, battery life conservation, etc. My wired IEM's get much louder, and AirPods Pro when connected to other non-apple devices also get much louder.

-Everything sounds better from the Music app (streaming or library) with iPhones. Significantly better than spotify, independent apps, or youtube etc. So, if you are going to use your iPhone for music (which many Airpods Pro users will), strongly consider using Apple Music!

I’ve noticed that the volume seems to be lower on the Beats Solo Pro as well, and I’m glad Apple is limiting the volume to actual human levels. It still gets more than adequately loud. I think it’s socially responsible to not continuously release louder headphones as most headphones get way too loud and I’ve noticed a trend where a lot of casual listeners (even professional YouTubers) turn the volume up to max. It seems like almost everyone is just maxing out the volume on their headphones and going about their day, which is concerning.

I do think there’s some magic going on with the Music app. Technically iPhone transmits Bluetooth AAC at 264kbps and Apple Music’s AAC files are 256kbps so there should be no quality loss. Re-encoding from other sources doesn’t yield better results. Spotify has noticeably inferior sound quality to begin with.

 

[KowalskiFUT]

Bought APP an hour ago. Will try them out later today. I would be satisfied if these sound in a GR07 sound quality range. EDC3 would also be acceptable.

 

[hi-fi amateur]

Apple should just buy up Blon and have them engineer the next AirPod. Can you imagine Blon-03 quality in wireless form?

 

[emrelights1973]

And sell it for 499$!

 

[FieldingMellish]

I ordered replacement tips from Apple. Expressly for modification experiments.
Bummer was that I was only allowed to buy one pair of a chosen size, instead of going for a few sets in order to have reserves on hand. The system is setup for only getting one pair at a time.

But I learned why it runs $4.00 for a replacement pair. It included shipping. (It was UPS next day saver.) The tips came in the same little folding case you get when you buy the APP. The little case was put into a neat, sturdy little white box, which is the same look and feel as Apple's other white boxes. So whether you want it or not, you're essentially buying an Apple out-of-box experience for your replacement tips.

 

[MICHAELSD]

I ordered replacement tips from Apple. Expressly for modification experiments.
Bummer was that I was only allowed to buy one pair of a chosen size, instead of going for a few sets in order to have reserves on hand. The system is setup for only getting one pair at a time.

But I learned why it runs $4.00 for a replacement pair. It included shipping. (It was UPS next day saver.) The tips came in the same little folding case you get when you buy the APP. The little case was put into a neat, sturdy little white box, which is the same look and feel as Apple's other white boxes. So whether you want it or not, you're essentially buying an Apple out-of-box experience for your replacement tips.

People complain about Apple nickel-and-diming, but this is an example that they do the opposite when they can. $4 for replacement ear tips in a neat little box including shipping is a bargain.

 

[ZenErik]

Funny to see people complaining about these not getting loud enough. Don't think I've ever listened higher than 50%... Must be hard being an audiophile while also being deaf?

Should note that I am also using these on the bus and train at least 5 days a week due to work. Everyone okay?

 

[MICHAELSD]

Funny to see people complaining about these not getting loud enough. Don't think I've ever listened higher than 50%... Must be hard being an audiophile while also being deaf?

I’m glad Apple has been creating headphones with a restrained volume level. It’s socially responsible to not make unreasonably loud headphones, even if that’s what some people want. There’s a dangerous trend I’ve noticed where people will listen at max volume and still want more (which is an effect of the ear protecting itself) so it’s re-assuring to know they aren’t continuously building louder headphones. Nobody needs louder than 90dB in a pair of headphones.

 

[nealh]

I ordered replacement tips from Apple. Expressly for modification experiments.
Bummer was that I was only allowed to buy one pair of a chosen size, instead of going for a few sets in order to have reserves on hand. The system is setup for only getting one pair at a time.

But I learned why it runs $4.00 for a replacement pair. It included shipping. (It was UPS next day saver.) The tips came in the same little folding case you get when you buy the APP. The little case was put into a neat, sturdy little white box, which is the same look and feel as Apple's other white boxes. So whether you want it or not, you're essentially buying an Apple out-of-box experience for your replacement tips.

So the replacement tips that you buy or a single pair? I thought I had read that you got all three sizes again but I guess I’m wrong. How are you able to order the tips I can’t seem to find them on the website

 

[FieldingMellish]

So the replacement tips that you buy or a single pair? I thought I had read that you got all three sizes again but I guess I’m wrong. How are you able to order the tips I can’t seem to find them on the website

You can buy one pair of one size. I learned that once I landed on the ordering page. How I got to the ordering page was following the instructions written on this page: https://www.macrumors.com/how-to/buy-replacement-airpods-pro-ear-tips/

 

[nealh]

You can buy one pair of one size. I learned that once I landed on the ordering page. How I got to the ordering page was following the instructions written on this page: https://www.macrumors.com/how-to/buy-replacement-airpods-pro-ear-tips/

Thank you

 

[SilverEars]

Funny to see people complaining about these not getting loud enough. Don't think I've ever listened higher than 50%... Must be hard being an audiophile while also being deaf?

Should note that I am also using these on the bus and train at least 5 days a week due to work. Everyone okay?

I wrote this earlier. I had issues with volume not getting high enough. Sometimes I noticed low volume upon intial connection to the phone, and I had to diconnect and reconnect to get to normal volume level. If even after this the volume still isn't loud enough, get your hearing checked for hearing loss.

There has been a firmware update, and it seems only though Apple products firmware gets automatically updated. There is no manual way to update firmware. I was unfortunately on an Android device.