[SparkOnShore]

It’s purposeful by design not to fully isolate. If you want that, you’ll need to buy a different pair of headphones. It’s beneficial to be able to hear some background noise while using a fitness IEM.

Regarding IP rating, they’re pessimistic with it for whatever reason. (Under promise, over deliver?)

I have no concerns about Powerbeats Pro, or AirPods for that matter, getting damaged by water as long as they aren’t submerged for long periods — especially after all the tests I’ve seen.

I explained to you before that there is such technology of keeping the headphone open to surrounding sound by using 4 microphones, WHENEVER and if someone wants! But of course this would be expensive for Apple to produce and keep their extremely high margins at the same time!

On the opposite of you, I would be rather concerned about Powerbeats pro getting damaged by water! Just read Powerbeats 3 reviews on Amazon! They were also marked by Apple as water resistant!!

 

[MICHAELSD]

I explained to you before that there is such technology of keeping the headphone open to surrounding sound by using 4 microphones, WHENEVER and if someone wants! But of course this would be expensive for Apple to produce and keep their extremely high margins at the same time!

On the opposite of you, I would be rather concerned about Powerbeats pro getting damaged by water! Just read Powerbeats 3 reviews on Amazon! They were also marked by Apple as water resistant!!

Powerbeats3 were more of a Beats by Dre product (it was released shortly after the acquisition) whereas the Pro is totally Apple.

They could use the beam-forming mics that are on the headphones already to let in ambient noise as desired, but the quality suffers as a result. It’s preferable to use headphones that don’t isolate vs constantly having to use a pass through feature.

There are other benefits to a design that rests just outside the ear canal including increased comfort and less fatigue.

 

[shotgunshane]

Sweet jeebus, we get it already. There is more than one use case for wireless in-ears.

I use my AirPods for exercise and have gotten them plenty wet with Florida sweat. I have no concerns, they are dynamic drivers after all, which are pretty impervious to water in general. The only dynamics I know that have had moisture issues are typical micro-driver setups with a narrow plate opening in front of them, where a drop of moisture can temporarily block the exit hole (ala Zero Audio Tenore).

For my exercise use, I can’t stand high isolation. I have a true wireless sealed armature set and while the isolation can be nice, my footfalls are greatly amplified; distractingly so. Using Comply Sport (a looser foam) help reduce the footfall noise. Their use would be better on a train/bus commute, where the added isolation would be appreciated and footfalls a non-issue.

With AirPods earbud design, I get zero footfall noise. Unless I’m near the main road or around commercial landscapers, I like the lack of isolation. But because of those encounters, I would like just a bit more. Perhaps the Powerbeats Pro is exactly what I’m looking for. Most of my vented but wired dynamics work pretty well for my use case but I don’t want wires. Wires in the hot Florida sun just suck. Also the earhooks will be nice to keep them in place.

Tried Master and Dynamic MW07 but their SQ is atrociously bad. Great physical design though.

 

[SparkOnShore]

Powerbeats3 were more of a Beats by Dre product (it was released shortly after the acquisition) whereas the Pro is totally Apple.

They could use the beam-forming mics that are on the headphones already to let in ambient noise as desired, but the quality suffers as a result. It’s preferable to use headphones that don’t isolate vs constantly having to use a pass through feature.

There are other benefits to a design that rests just outside the ear canal including increased comfort and less fatigue.

I think you try to find excuses to love Apple so there is no useful dialogue that can be done with you! You are a fun boy, so logic lacks big time! You have Audeze and you hang out talking about toys like Powerbeats and AirPods, what more can I say??

Which quality suffers as a result? Where did you see quality suffering when you give both options to the user??

Well, I repeat once again there is no benefit in letting ambient noise in constantly, only benefit is for Apple, none is for the user. You cannot enjoy music with ambient noise. You need isolation at least as an option on every hi end headphone.

Footfall effect is mainly due to the cable connecting the 2 buds hitting on your neck and ears as well as to some silicone tips. I get zero footfall from totally wireless highly isolating iems, when I get the most footfall noise from Beats X with their huge connecting cables.

 

[shotgunshane]

Footfalls have nothing to do with a cable; my description above is with a true wireless sealed iem. Reducing isolation has a direct correlation with reduction in footfall noise.

 

[SparkOnShore]

Footfalls have nothing to do with a cable; my description above is with a true wireless sealed iem. Reducing isolation has a direct correlation with reduction in footfall noise.

Footfalls have everything to do with the general volume of the iem, cable including, as well as with the quality of the silicon tips. Apple has been using always the cheapest possible silicon tips that’s why there is footfall noise. Try some Shure which have a really high quality silicon to see for your self that there is no footfall at all. Of course if you produce iem that does not enter in the canal, allowing all noise interfere to your music, there is no footfall as well. But the case is to have a complete sealing iem which also does not produce footfall noise. But as I said when you have a company which produces IPX4 in 2019, leaving consumers to guess that since they are dynamic, they will also be water resistant, you cannot expect all these details. Make it cheap, sell it expensive: Apple!!

 

[shotgunshane]

I have tested my sealed armature true wireless set, with at least 6 different pairs of silicone tips (from Mee dual flange to Ortofon singles), with no music, and footfalls are loud. It’s directly related to isolation. Pulling one out or using porous Comply sport foams is what stops or reduces the noise.

The MW07 also has footfall noise, just not as much as the completely sealed unit. Again, Comply Sport foam reduces it further. The more venting, the less footfall volume.

 

[SparkOnShore]

And as i also wrote above, I respect that some people want to hear their surroundings while exercising. For that reason, if Apple wanted to make a high quality, competitive iem, they could allow hear through from the microphones, as other manufacturers do! This way you can have both sealing and open whenever you want! But unfortunately Powerbeats pro is not this complete iem. It’s a half baked product, let’s face it.

 

[SparkOnShore]

I have tested my sealed armature true wireless set, with at least 6 different pairs of silicone tips (from Mee dual flange to Ortofon singles), with no music, and footfalls are loud. It’s directly related to isolation. Pulling one out or using porous Comply sport foams is what stops or reduces the noise.

The MW07 also has footfall noise, just not as much as the completely sealed unit. Again, Comply Sport foam reduces it further. The more venting, the less footfall volume.

I repeat once again, it has to do with the silicon quality and the geometry of the iem. Shure has no footfall, or at least it’s minimized. Shure design covering the ear concha is the best for minimizing footfall. The solution for not having footfall is not to have the motor noise entering your music entertainment. Only in isolation you can really enjoy your music. Or you can say that you just need some companion of background songs while you are running. Then for sure, for that type of use Powerbeats and AirPods are the best...but this is not my type of use.

 

[MICHAELSD]

I think you try to find excuses to love Apple so there is no useful dialogue that can be done with you! You are a fun boy, so logic lacks big time! You have Audeze and you hang out talking about toys like Powerbeats and AirPods, what more can I say??

Which quality suffers as a result? Where did you see quality suffering when you give both options to the user??

Well, I repeat once again there is no benefit in letting ambient noise in constantly, only benefit is for Apple, none is for the user. You cannot enjoy music with ambient noise. You need isolation at least as an option on every hi end headphone.

Footfall effect is mainly due to the cable connecting the 2 buds hitting on your neck and ears as well as to some silicone tips. I get zero footfall from totally wireless highly isolating iems, when I get the most footfall noise from Beats X with their huge connecting cables.

While that may be true to an extent, when I try the Powerbeats Pro if they don’t live up to my expectations I’ll be quite vocal about it. (Look at how excited I was about Beats Studio3, then subsequently disappointed once I tried it and noted many of its flaws before Rtings did their measurements.)

I love Audeze as well, but truly wireless earbuds are more convenient so I use them more often than over-ear headphones — and AirPods really don’t sound bad. The total harmonic distortion score by Rtings for the Powerbeats Pro is actually higher (9.0) than the score they gave the LCD-2 Classic (8.4). I’m sure several factors contribute to that and I’m not saying that means the Pro is on par with a LCD-2 but distortion is impressively low, almost similar to a planar magnetic driver.

 

[shotgunshane]

I went to the Apple store today and demo’d the Powerbeats Pro. Some things I realized in person:

These are not closed back iems as Rtings describes them. They are semi-open back with large slot vents in back.

The style is not an in-ear (iem) but more of an earbud/in-ear hybrid. The design really reminds me of my Phiaton PS210, which are completely open back. The Powerbeats Pro shape is an earbud with a very, very short nozzle on front. This means they will sit very shallowly and similarly to an earbud. As you can see in the photo of the Phiaton, the driver housing will prevent the earbud from entering the canal very far. Tip rolling, like with my Phiaton, will be an important exercise to find best fit and sound.

Phiaton PS210 photo from Headphone List


I would describe AirPods as on the warm side of neutral. Bass levels are neutralish but roll off early and treble is extended but shelved down, lending to the warm signature. The sound is pleasant and natural but I wish for a little more deep bass rumble and a little more presence up top. I am hoping the Powerbeats Pro can deliver what I would change about AirPods and provide a little more isolation.

They only let me demo with a very small sized tip, so I was unable to achieve a proper fit. However, the sound I heard I was pretty linear and spacious. There was definitely more treble sparkle without being bright. There was also definitely more deep bass extension but I wasn’t able to determine relative levels due to sub-optimal fit, being limited to really tiny tips. I’ve read reviews say isolation is only slightly better than AirPods and from my demo, I can believe that.

Comfort is excellent and the ear-hooks significantly improve stableness of fit for exercise. The controls are very easy to reach and use. The store employee told me I could return them in 15 days if I didn’t like them, so I plan to purchase them in the coming weeks and try them out.

 

[erich6]

I purchased the Comply Sport Pro tips and have been using them with the Powerbeats Pro over the last couple of weeks and so far they are the best ones for me. They provide enough isolation so the bass stays rich throughout my workouts. I still feel the fit on my right ear is not quite as good as the left though....

​

 

[SparkOnShore]

I purchased the Comply Sport Pro tips and have been using them with the Powerbeats Pro over the last couple of weeks and so far they are the best ones for me. They provide enough isolation so the bass stays rich throughout my workouts. I still feel the fit on my right ear is not quite as good as the left though....

​

This was the main problem with my Powerbeats 3 as well. The lack of isolation is secondary compared to the completely wrong imaging and presentation. Since tips get really shallow and of course ear anatomy in most humans is slightly different between left and right, my right ear canal’s entrance was touching the tip less than the left one. As a result the bass was ALL wrong, presented more and be much punchier on left than on right! So much for 300 eur headphones! Some ignorants say that since tips get shallow and do not enter deeply the headphone is comfier! But what is this comfort all about if you listen wrong and unbalanced bass??

Now regarding Comply, as I have written here many times, they are not a solution. You need to find silicon tips or be prepared to pay and change tips every 3-4 months since they are foam and do not expand properly in the ear after a certain period of time, as well as losing their elasticity.

 

[Medikill]

How is the sound quality on these? there are a lot of conflicting reviews and i could only place a pre-order as literally all the apple stores are out of stock.

I was thinking this vs the Jaybrid Tarah pro - i'm mainly looking for good sound quality and good fit.

Any input would be much appreciated.



EDIT:

Managed to buy a pair from Apple to test out.

Very impressed so far going to compare against my jaybird X3 and beyerdyamic xelento

 

[SparkOnShore]

How is the sound quality on these? there are a lot of conflicting reviews and i could only place a pre-order as literally all the apple stores are out of stock.

I was thinking this vs the Jaybrid Tarah pro - i'm mainly looking for good sound quality and good fit.

Any input would be much appreciated.



EDIT:

Managed to buy a pair from Apple to test out.

Very impressed so far going to compare against my jaybird X3 and beyerdyamic xelento

Jabra Elite active are the best true wireless iems right now. Check all the reviews to find out by yourself. They offer it all in a very tiny and comfy form. There is no reason for someone to buy the non isolating Powerbeats instead of Jabra. Check rtings comparison for that too. They are Bluetooth 5 so no reason to mention the mockery W1/H1 anymore, since the only thing that Apple did was to implement Bluetooth 5 before others and sell it cleverly. Now that we have Bluetooth 5 everything like fast pairing, distance, reduced latency etc is same.