[MICHAELSD]

Do you really believe that AirPods even though so small, produce better audio than a circumaural full size headphone?? Could be, but if so, it’s quite impressive!

I don’t think Beats will ever sell true wireless buds or in ears! They are not allowed by Apple to do so...

And RTings rates Studios at 7,3 for mixed usage, which does not sound so mediocre to me, for sure higher than many well known headphones by Sennheiser, Shure etc, on which RTings have been quite strict I believe...

Thanks for your comments...

The sound signature of the AirPods is definitely better. No real flaws, while the Studio3 sound is colored in a poorly-tuned manner and not very neutral. Of course an over-ear will have some inherently better characteristics, particularly isolation, but Studio3 is not great for the price.

 

[MICHAELSD]

It’s entirely possible Apple will sell truly wireless Beats with an IEM design. They would never do so themselves so it makes sense for the Beats brand since they have the tech nearly perfected.

 

[tinyman392]

It’s entirely possible Apple will sell truly wireless Beats with an IEM design. They would never do so themselves so it makes sense for the Beats brand since they have the tech nearly perfected.

I'd rather them make a truly wireless version of the ADDIEM.

 

[MICHAELSD]

I'd rather them make a truly wireless version of the ADDIEM.

There’s no reason they can’t put multiple drivers in a Beats wireless headphone. I’m not sure they’ll release another Apple IEM.

 

[tinyman392]

There’s no reason they can’t put multiple drivers in a Beats wireless headphone. I’m not sure they’ll release another Apple IEM.

This has nothing to do with multiple drivers. This has much to do with the ADDIEM itself, which is actually quite a terrific IEM overall with a warm signature that meets up pretty well with the Harman target curve. Turning that wireless would probably make it one of the best sounding truly wireless IEMs around (especially if they can deal with the lower treble issues).

 

[MICHAELSD]

This has nothing to do with multiple drivers. This has much to do with the ADDIEM itself, which is actually quite a terrific IEM overall with a warm signature that meets up pretty well with the Harman target curve. Turning that wireless would probably make it one of the best sounding truly wireless IEMs around (especially if they can deal with the lower treble issues).

A dual or even multiple driver Apple IEM would probably be the best wireless IEM, period.

 

[Krutsch]

That was interesting, reading 36 pages of this thread.

My take on the AirPods: for phone use, nothing on this planet is even close. I spend a lot of time on the phone and people tell me my voice is crystal clear w/ almost no background noise. And my own audio fatigue is drastically reduced, in comparison with a desk phone. For this alone, I would easily have paid 2-3x the price.

But for music? Fuhgeddaboudit. Headache-inducing, accentuated treble with thin, flabby bass. I could excuse the bass because, well, they are ear buds. But the treble is completely grotesque.

 

[RiseFall123]

I would easily have paid 2-3x the price.

You’re probably rich.

 

[Krutsch]

You’re probably rich.

You probably don't spend much time on the phone... for work.

 

[RiseFall123]

accentuated treble

Totally disagree. Few bass ok but many treble I won’t say.

You probably don't spend much time on the phone... for work.

All the working day including car driving. I cannot use AirPods at all, I prefer a cheaper Jabra in-ear.

Weirdly I prefer AirPods for music when I don’t do “audiophile” listening.

 

[SparkOnShore]

That was interesting, reading 36 pages of this thread.

My take on the AirPods: for phone use, nothing on this planet is even close. I spend a lot of time on the phone and people tell me my voice is crystal clear w/ almost no background noise. And my own audio fatigue is drastically reduced, in comparison with a desk phone. For this alone, I would easily have paid 2-3x the price.

But for music? Fuhgeddaboudit. Headache-inducing, accentuated treble with thin, flabby bass. I could excuse the bass because, well, they are ear buds. But the treble is completely grotesque.

What is the treble on the famous among audiophiles Etymotic ER4?? Isn’t it grotesque, piercing, fatiguing and headache inducing? But they call it detailed in that case, don’t they? To each his own, I guess...

 

[Greyscale]

I can't picture myself walking around with these in. I remember when everyone was getting bashed for using those old one ear Bluetooth hands free mics. The Airpods look like those, except there are two

 

[MICHAELSD]

I can't picture myself walking around with these in. I remember when everyone was getting bashed for using those old one ear Bluetooth hands free mics. The Airpods look like those, except there are two

It’s a lot better now that people are used to seeing them and typically better-dressed people are using them which gives them some aesthetic cred.

 

[MICHAELSD]

Weirdly I prefer AirPods for music when I don’t do “audiophile” listening.

AirPods do have some “audiophile” characteristics. Unexaggerated bass, detailed treble, open soundstage, capable separation/imaging for their size.

 

[MICHAELSD]

Some key takeaways from HomePod development:

“We think we’ve built up the biggest acoustics and audio team on the planet,” said Gary Geaves, Apple’s Senior Director, Audio Design and Engineering. “We’ve drawn on many of the elite audio brands and universities to build a team that’s fantastic. The reason we wanted to build that team was certainly for HomePod, but to also to double-down on audio across all of Apple’s products.”

“There’s been certain catalysts in the development of HomePod that are feeding other products,” said Geaves. “That’s one of our advantages—we work on a bunch of different areas of audio.”

“This impacts all of the products, it’s not just about HomePod,” said Phil Schiller, Senior Vice President Worldwide Marketing. “It’s about speakers in iPhone, the quad speakers in iPad, what we put into Macs, microphone pick up, AirPods, and Siri and Apple TV. All of those products at one point in the development cycle came through here.”

If you listen to how far those tiny iPhone speakers have come, I still think Apple has the potential to make the best-sounding gear for its price. HomePod is already receiving rave reviews, and I think when we see AirPods gen 2, probably in September 2019, they’ll be incredible. There’s still a lot they can do with the earbud design IMO.

Source: http://www.loopinsight.com/2018/02/06/inside-apples-homepod-audio-lab/