[msooffutt]

I have maybe 15-20 pairs of headphone for all sorts of listening pleasure. The OG AirPods became my everyday pair because they were just so simple to use. Not on, no off, no hassell. Just put them in your ear and go. In quiet areas they sounded decent too. They were no audiophile headphones but when the surrounding were subdued, i thought they sounded good. And for calls they are a no brainer.

now with ANC, and better passive NC, they could be real winners. Best pair, probably not, but best all round and convenient? Probably

I agree 100%. I’ve owned Senns, Anbes, M&D, Sabbat, jabra, and Two Sony true wireless, and at least for work, the old AirPods were the most reliable and convenient. Now with just pure music listening, I give it to the others, but with work listening where I need to get them in and out of my pocket quickly and being able to reliably answer the phone, the AirPods won easily. I don’t know if I’ll like these new iPods, but they check all of the right boxes.

 

[clerkpalmer]

Here is one take on sound quality that isn't great:


We've yet to really test the new AirPods Pro with a range of music, but so far we've listened to a number of dance tracks from Ministry of Sound and the Interstellar soundtrack by Hans Zimmer to give us a sense of how well these in-ears cope.


What is instantly clear is that it's considerably better than the standard AirPods we've been using. While the original AirPods focus on ease of use rather than amazing sound quality, the AirPods Pro addresses that latter point.


Sure, the Pro doesn't come as bass-focused as the PowerBeats Pro, for example, but still certainly delivers a decent sound for what they are. For many they will be more than good enough for commuting and running, especially once you factor in the ANC performance.




I really like the PB Pro SQ and if these were on par with that, I would be satisfied. I would not be satisfied if they fall short however. I guess we shall see tomorrow. Bass is not the only measure of SQ.

 

[Slater]

Reviews on the AirPod Pro are not pushing the needle for me. I had them in my shopping cart, but just removed them. Several reviews indicate there is more bass on the current generation of AirPods. Those of you like a flat signature may enjoy these, but if you're not part of the Apple ecosystem, may as well go with the Amazon Echo Buds with dual Knowles BAs. "Neutral" and "flat" are words that make me cringe.



https://www.t3.com/news/apple-airpods-pro-review

I’m sure the “Pro” moniker will sell a lot just because of the name alone. Because who doesn’t want to be a “Pro” vs a chump, right?

 

[jasaero]

Reviews on the AirPod Pro are not pushing the needle for me. I had them in my shopping cart, but just removed them. Several reviews indicate there is more bass on the current generation of AirPods. Those of you like a flat signature may enjoy these, but if you're not part of the Apple ecosystem, may as well go with the Amazon Echo Buds with dual Knowles BAs. "Neutral" and "flat" are words that make me cringe.



https://www.t3.com/news/apple-airpods-pro-review

Haha, I don't think Neutral and Flat always means that they can't properly reproduce tracks that do have a good amount of bass per intent of the production. What I don't like is bass enhanced tuning where music that technically has very subdued bass presence and the tuning gives it more presence. If I listen to a rap track or a tuba I want bass. If I listen to something where such things aren't heavy in the mix, but maybe exist, I don't want them refocused into the mix with tuning generally.

 

[willryan042]

^ I also find it extremely hard to believe that the old Airpods have more bass than IEM-Airpods.

 

[jasaero]

^ I also find it extremely hard to believe that the old Airpods have more bass than IEM-Airpods.

I totally get that could be the case for someone with small ears. Our biology messes enough with impression of sealed buds from one person to next. But when it's the original unsealed earpod/airpod style I am sure they have to compensate a lot for the lack of seal, but then if you have tiny ear pocket there where they are intended to sit, they WILL seal and you probably get exaggerated bass level all the sudden.

 

[hifi80sman]

Here is one take on sound quality that isn't great:


We've yet to really test the new AirPods Pro with a range of music, but so far we've listened to a number of dance tracks from Ministry of Sound and the Interstellar soundtrack by Hans Zimmer to give us a sense of how well these in-ears cope.


What is instantly clear is that it's considerably better than the standard AirPods we've been using. While the original AirPods focus on ease of use rather than amazing sound quality, the AirPods Pro addresses that latter point.


Sure, the Pro doesn't come as bass-focused as the PowerBeats Pro, for example, but still certainly delivers a decent sound for what they are. For many they will be more than good enough for commuting and running, especially once you factor in the ANC performance.




I really like the PB Pro SQ and if these were on par with that, I would be satisfied. I would not be satisfied if they fall short however. I guess we shall see tomorrow. Bass is not the only measure of SQ.

Looking forward to your impressions. None of the reviews I've seen have really shown anyone being blown away by the sound. Most compare to the AirPods, which makes sense, but sound fairly poor, and simply say it's better. Some reviews are even saying the AirPods have more bass, and while bass itself is certainly not a sign of good sound, it still gives me some pause, as I do like some thump in the trunk.

No volume control and hybrid touch (pressure) controls are not compelling for me personally.

 

[clerkpalmer]

Looking forward to your impressions. None of the reviews I've seen have really shown anyone being blown away by the sound. Most compare to the AirPods, which makes sense, but sound fairly poor, and simply say it's better. Some reviews are even saying the AirPods have more bass, and while bass itself is certainly not a sign of good sound, it still gives me some pause, as I do like some thump in the trunk.

No volume control and hybrid touch (pressure) controls are not compelling for me personally.

I can live wo the onboard volume but for 250 they better sing. Agree early reviews are discouraging for sq. Perhaps apple is just not focused on sq. Thankfully returns are easy.

 

[Minarets]

This one is promising. Is she an audio file? Maybe not but still I just want all the functionality and the ease of use.

 

[AtariPrime]

1) Not really, and they're actually a bit smaller than the older airpods. Most TW buds have their own quirks. I feel like Frankenstein when I wear the Senn MTW, but at the end of the day I don't give a crap what they look like. Function > fashion.

2) Dude, WHAT. I don't think any true wireless bud has a 15 hour battery life. Most are 3-6, so that's a total BS point.

3) I mean we don't know what the SQ is like since they're not even out yet, but no one's expecting audiophile quality from Apple buds. People get them for the convenience as well as "ecosystem-only" features that you can't get with any other bluetooth buds.

4) Nope. These are obviously meant to compete with Senn's MTW, Audio Technica TW, B&O E8, Sony TW, MW07, etc. All of which are between $230-350 or so, and almost all of which also don't have ANC like the Airpods.

1) Wasn't comparing them to each other, but other earbuds. The stick out of your ear more than an inch, most earbuds do not.

2) Look at the Creative Outlier Air (8 hrs), Cambridge Melomania 1 (9 hrs), Creative Outlier Gold (14 hrs), and the Audio-Technica ATH-CKS5TW (15 hrs). Most, in fact, are now crossing 8 hrs, 5 hours is so 2018.

3) The point is there are many better options for sound quality and most are much cheaper.

4) Plenty of earbuds now have ANC. There is the Sony WF-1000XM3 ($229) which gets 6-8 hrs. of battery life and I promise sounds better than anything Apple makes. There are also the Libratone Track Air+ which are $186 at present and are smaller than any Airpod.

 

[Blueshound24]

If one were looking for a good budget TWS that is balanced, yet dynamic, good but not basshead bass, good detail with crisp highs. Maybe a bit of V or U shaped sig? Which of these would be a good choice? Bomaker, EarFun Free, Kissral UFO, SSK TWS, or some other? TIA

 

[XGUGU]

Just received the Tiso i5, well in their Arespark AP-05 incarnation and they're...garbage. The SQ is poor with a huge emphasis on bass, so much so that they distort ! Enough said but I'll add that while they look "cute" (as in being tiny) they're so small that they're actually hard to tuck in my ear securely so that they don't move and lose the seal if I yawn or chew./QUOTE]

Remove the mesh filter, they tend to aggressively block treble

 

[tlau1125]

If one were looking for a good budget TWS that is balanced, yet dynamic, good but not basshead bass, good detail with crisp highs. Maybe a bit of V or U shaped sig? Which of these would be a good choice? Bomaker, EarFun Free, Kissral UFO, SSK TWS, or some other? TIA

Edifier TWS1 is also worth considering, especially given the upcoming 11.11 price at Aliexpress. It uses the QCC3020 chip and therefore supports aptx, but oddly it does not support aac.

 

[Mouseman]

Poor KZ. I don’t think they’ve ever made a single Bluetooth product that actually had a stable and reliable connection. They’ve been releasing Bluetooth stuff for years now, and are at least on their 7th or 8th product now.

Seriously, they should have plenty of experience by now to get their act together. I just don’t get it.

I don't get it, either. I received mine today, after much patient waiting, and....they absolutely suck. They lose connection intermittently while they're on the bed next to me, and putting them in my (non-lead-lined) pants pocket is almost unusable. I've tested them with iPhone and my R5, so it's not an Apple problem. In fact, it's worse with Android. I guess KZ needs to stick to wires, although the "beta" pair isn't bad.

But these? Total crap. Stay far away.

 

[mattedialdoc]

The SSK just arrived. What a cool little case.

What’s the consensus on the SSK vs. MPOW T5?. Of all the ones I’ve tried I’ve only kept the T5 and Bomaker. But he sound great to me. I’ll get these charged up and give them a listen. For $20 bucks I can’t say no to trying these!

So for me the SSK are just “ok” and not better than the MPOW or Bomaker.