So I was in the market for new earbuds to replace my original AirPods – I just didn’t like the SQ with the open ear design and I wanted something with NC so I didn’t always have to carry my large Bose QC35II’s. The new AirPod Pros looked great and fit the bill for what I wanted. I ordered a set but my order just sat in processing for days with delivery into next week so I cancelled out and got the Sony WF1000MX3 (cheaper and same day Amazon delivery) after reading so many positive reviews on them. For me, they’re great; excellent sound quality, fit is perfect, and very good NC (though not as good as the Bose headphones – to be expected). Battery life seems very good so far and they work well with my XS Max and 2018 12.9 iPad Pro. No regrets on cancelling out the AirPod Pros after reading a lot of new buyer reviews.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
AirPods Pro - Pictures and first impressions
- Thread starter Boardiesboi
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
It feels like the bass is even less pronounced than the regular AirPods. It might be due to the Ambient EQ or something... it just feels lacking.
Also the highs are so sharp when the volume is loud that it feels like they can cut through my eardrums. Even at 80% the highs are painfully sharp.
I‘ve owned the Powerbeats 3 then upgraded to the Powerbeats Pro, and back then I noticed the bass was reduced too with the new pro model. When compared to the Powerbeats Pro to the AirPods Pro, the bass on the AirPods Pro are even less present than the Powerbeats Pro.
Other than that, the noise cancellation and transparency mode is amazing. The design aesthetics and water resistant is also amazing. Don’t like that horizontal design of the charging case though. But thinking about how the audio can be altered by the Ambient EQ makes it similar to HomePods doing sound calibrations, and that makes me appreciate the headphones a lot more.
I also wish the volume can be even louder, because watching videos is not as loud as music playback.
But yeah, the sound isn’t that great in my opinion. It’s lacking with bass.
Also the highs are so sharp when the volume is loud that it feels like they can cut through my eardrums. Even at 80% the highs are painfully sharp.
I‘ve owned the Powerbeats 3 then upgraded to the Powerbeats Pro, and back then I noticed the bass was reduced too with the new pro model. When compared to the Powerbeats Pro to the AirPods Pro, the bass on the AirPods Pro are even less present than the Powerbeats Pro.
Other than that, the noise cancellation and transparency mode is amazing. The design aesthetics and water resistant is also amazing. Don’t like that horizontal design of the charging case though. But thinking about how the audio can be altered by the Ambient EQ makes it similar to HomePods doing sound calibrations, and that makes me appreciate the headphones a lot more.
I also wish the volume can be even louder, because watching videos is not as loud as music playback.
But yeah, the sound isn’t that great in my opinion. It’s lacking with bass.
Your experience is the kind of thing that many said about the AirPods (1 & 2). The dichotomy of music listening expectations versus reality of the product showcase.
Pretty amazing experience, I have literally every kind of headphones totaling 6 different pairs. These replaced them all for all my needs. Now onto selling 3 of other brands I have.
Give them some time people with quality, let them break in a bit.
Give them some time people with quality, let them break in a bit.
I went to the Apple Store today, tried them on, and hated them right away. The design is VERY different from the original Airpods. Thay are much bigger and the added silicon tip is as stupid as all the other companies that use this type of fitting - and it does not fit comfortably into my ears because it goes much deeper into the canal, and because of the weight, they just don't stay in place. I understand all the great technical and sound improvements Apple put into these Airpods Pro, but the comfort went down the drain. I won't buy this version. I'll continue using the Airpods 1,2 and wait until the designers come to their senses.
I'm the other way around. Returned the PBP because the APP sound much better in office, at the gym and during my walk. That's not to say the PBP don't sound good, they sound awesome. But I feel like the APP give just a little more kick.
Very balanced. HomePods for your ears.
I have a feeling all these varying opinions may have a lot to do with individual seals.
Fit tends to be the biggest issue with all brands of earbuds. If they're uncomfortable, every other feature, regardless how well implemented, is meaningless.
The noise cancellation feature rocks! I really didn't think I'd care about this feature but was absolutely blown away by how well the buds muffle noise with this turned on. What is the difference between off and transparency mode? Is there any particular reason one would choose between those two?
Lol for me the transparency mode I need for example when I walk through business lab at my university and have friends greeting me that helps instead of just ignoring them.
otherwise I don’t think I’ll wear them when I order food, drinks or something
You’ve posted this in three threads already...
It’s clear your ears are the problem, not the AirPods Pro. It’s unfortunate, but it happens.
Exactly. So when you see people saying they’re crap (or the other extreme), you can’t take them seriously, as their own ear canals are a major, if not THE reason why.
I’m not sure about this either. Does OFF allow more or less external noise in compared to Transparency mode??
I'm VERY happy you appreciate this song as much as I have. I get chills listening to this with great headphones. Yes it's super cheesy because it's been used so much for wedding songs when it debuted ... but JT had lyrics and vocals and the creativity in this song shows with great headphones or earcans!!
Cheers.
Since we can take out the silcon tips, i wonder if there will be custom silicon tips and molds in the future by 3rd party companies
Reading some of these negative reviews I have to wonder if they got defective units because it's like they are talking about a different product.
Returning mine after trying them out in a bus. Didn’t seem to cancel out all the road noise and rattle. Also, didn’t like stuffing them into my ears. Sticking with the 2nd p gen AirPods. I would keep them if I didn’t have over the ear headphones with noise cancellation and 10 hour battery life.
So, I’ve had the AirPods Pro for a couple of days now and unfortunately I will be returning them. I am a relatively heavy AirPods user and have had my Gen 1 set since release day. They still work perfectly albeit the battery life has got worse over the last few years, but I was mainly interested in ANC and what I hoped would be better sound quality. They deliver on one of those fronts, but sadly they fail on a number of others. A few of my thoughts on this product:
- The ANC is quite good in most circumstances. It does well to take away some ambient noise, but is nowhere near as good as some over ear ANC headphones I have used/owned. They work as I expected, but you will be disappointed if you expect the effect to be mind blowing
- They are noticeably heavier in the ear and do become uncomfortable after a significantly shorter period of time than the Gen 1/2. The discomfort is a mix of the shape and weight, but I just can’t wear these for an extended period
- Running is a disaster. I run everyday and that is my main use for AirPods. I have set them up as best I can and stationary they stay in no problem, but they do not feel secure while running and I had to stop to adjust multiple times. I never had this problem with the originals. If I shake my head with them in they fall out. This does not happen with the originals
- The volume is noticeably less than my Gen 1 pair at any given volume. The max volume on the AirPods Pro is the level I had set for my run. On my original AirPods I would set the volume at around 80% for reference
- Sound quality appears to be slightly better in some circumstances, but I feel that in bass-heavy music the sound quality is worse. Electric guitar was a weak point in the original AirPods and I feel this is the biggest area of improvement
- telephone calls sound a lot better than my Gen 1s
- transparency is a very cool effect. I personally have no use for it, but it works extremely well
I’m pretty happy and I’m coming from major brands I used before.
Also, don’t forget about “braking in” part or in other words burn in, it takes about 40-100 of listening hours approximately to break in the headphones, so as other speakers.
Also, don’t forget about “braking in” part or in other words burn in, it takes about 40-100 of listening hours approximately to break in the headphones, so as other speakers.
I’m hoping that’s a thing. But I can’t imagine it can make the bass more pronounced.
The bass is very weak compared to my Powerbeats Pro, and even weaker than my AirPods 2.
I never understood why people like the sound of AirPods. They are not good sounding at all. All they do well is the wireless thing. The sound quality is average at best in my opinion.
I don’t like the sound of AirPods. I like the sound of my Powerbeats Pro.
I’m mentioning the regular AirPods because I’m saying the bass on it is disappointingly superior than the AirPods Pro.
I hear you. I remember times when I told people about my favorite Shure SE215 in ears for $80 and people couldn't understand why I paid "so much" for headphones. Nowadays, I look at the same people spending $250 for a pair from Apple. I guess they just follow the hype.
I think people are buying it for the Apple ecosystem, only Apple can do things that other companies can’t because they have full control.
Plus these headphones pack a lot of tech nowadays.
You just sound resentful.