AirPods 3 degrading?

[videojanitor]

I've been using AirPods 3 for a couple of years and had the need for an additional set so I just picked up the AirPods 4 -- I wasn't prepared for the HUGE difference in audio quality between them. The new 4s sound pretty great, while the old 3s sound dreadful, with almost no bass. I mostly use them for spoken word content so the lack of low-frequencies wasn't all that evident, but with music, what a difference.

I can't believe they were like this when new, so wondering if they've degraded over time? Anyone else had this experience? Tried cleaning them but that didn't help at all. I'm getting ready to chuck these and order another pair of 4s.

 

[dumastudetto]

If you don't clean them on a regular basis, your AirPods will get gunged up with human filth that in turn affects the composition of the sound orchestra in your ears. The filth will eventually get pushed into the innards of the device and more sound turns into a muffled mess.

 

[videojanitor]

Human filth — that’s me! I’ve never given much thought to cleaning these things, other a superficial wipe-down every once in a while. They aren’t so much muffled as lacking in lows, which would be indicative of a driver that’s unable to move.

I made an appt. at the Apple Store tomorrow to see what they think about it. If they’re hosed, I’ll pick up some new ones.

 

[scrane]

I'm probably one of the few people in the world the 3's fit really well. Not so much the 4's, which felt very insecure and seemed to misdirect output away from the ear canal. This made anc ineffective and decreased sound resolution and fidelity. Tones were very blocky, lacking texture. "Spatial Audio" sounded shrill.
Although the 3's are light on bass, what bass is there is very tight and the general sound articulation is precise, for me. Sound field is wide open and airy. They're like the Etymotics of wireless earbuds.
One thing I notice with the 3's is they sound better to me with "Headphones Accommodations" turned off.
I ended up returning the 4's.

 

[videojanitor]

My AirPod 3’s were tested at the Apple Store and failed. I left with a new pair of 4’s.

 

[MasterControlProgram]

I regularly clean my AP3s using a blob of blue tack to pull anything out of the speaker grilles so I don’t think mine have lost much of their range. The AP3s are lighter on bass anyway I think, but it’s a more balanced sound than the AP4s which I think are a bit too bass heavy, I’ve ended up using the EQ settings to make music a bit less bass heavy on the AP4s.

 

[videojanitor]

Today I opened one of the AP3s to see if could determine what caused it to fail, but came away with no conclusion. There was no visible "filth" in the grill or on the surface of the driver.

As for the AP4s being a bit bass-heavy, I did an unscientific comparison with a pair of Grado SR80 headphones and concur with that sentiment. The Grados sounded more natural in every respect, with the AP4s coming across as definitely a bit boomy. I was able to improve the situation considerably by using the Headphone Accommodations settings and going through the Custom Audio Setup.

 

[MasterControlProgram]

Today I opened one of the AP3s to see if could determine what caused it to fail, but came away with no conclusion. There was no visible "filth" in the grill or on the surface of the driver.

As for the AP4s being a bit bass-heavy, I did an unscientific comparison with a pair of Grado SR80 headphones and concur with that sentiment. The Grados sounded more natural in every respect, with the AP4s coming across as definitely a bit boomy. I was able to improve the situation considerably by using the Headphone Accommodations settings and going through the Custom Audio Setup.

When I first had my AirPods 3 the right one went sort of muffled and tinny and Apple replaced it without question. Not long after the same thing happened again and in both cases the grille didn’t look blocked or that there was anything there. I didn’t think Apple would replace it for free again so I tried the blue tack thing and all the sound came back.

So I have a weekly reminder now to clean both my AP3s and AP4s with blue tack. I also put some IPA on a cotton bud and clean the charging contacts on the buds and at the bottom of the case. Since I’ve been doing that I’ve never had an instance of opening the case and finding one of them hasn’t charged.

For the bass thing, I’m just using the EQ settings for the Music app. Unfortunately I believe that only applies to the Music app, so if you’re on Spotify/YouTube/Amazon etc it doesn’t help. Hopefully one day Apple will add an equaliser so people can tune them for all apps.

 

[videojanitor]

Thanks for tip on using Blu Tack — I’m going to pick some up. As for EQ, I agree that a system-wide setting would be a nice thing to have.