I’d like to know this too. Original AirPods were bad in this area and one of the reasons I returned them. Could I use them to watch a movie in bed at a normal volume without disturbing the other half?
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
I’d like to know this too. Original AirPods were bad in this area and one of the reasons I returned them. Could I use them to watch a movie in bed at a normal volume without disturbing the other half?
Generally from my experience of trying a range of ear buds for market research for particular company releasing a pair tomorrow as well.
There is a general overall trade off for comfort and capability versus sound quality. Overall I agree the sound quality might be marginally better than current AirPods, but the trade off is ANC, more feature rich product in the sense of capabilities.Contrasting to other products such as Sony, where the form factor is blantly obtrusive.
I would take the general trade off of a slim complete package with the feature bells and whistles. I think folks are under the impression of high caliber audio in a small form factor when that’s difficult to do at the form factor and price tag.
I find it compelling to mention when IEM such as Shure are generally neutrally tuned to support post equalization by other means. This goes to show people are expecting an unadulterated sound quality, which is not possible at this price point and sizing factor.
There is a general overall trade off for comfort and capability versus sound quality. Overall I agree the sound quality might be marginally better than current AirPods, but the trade off is ANC, more feature rich product in the sense of capabilities.Contrasting to other products such as Sony, where the form factor is blantly obtrusive.
I would take the general trade off of a slim complete package with the feature bells and whistles. I think folks are under the impression of high caliber audio in a small form factor when that’s difficult to do at the form factor and price tag.
I find it compelling to mention when IEM such as Shure are generally neutrally tuned to support post equalization by other means. This goes to show people are expecting an unadulterated sound quality, which is not possible at this price point and sizing factor.
My December 2016 AirPods now give pretty poor battery life and I’m ready to replace them.
My primary concern about the Pros is comfort. I don’t like sticking things right into my ears. I have no problem with regular AirPods.
Can you (or anyone) speak to the comfort level, especially compared with the standard model.
With the medium tips I could feel the tips exerting some pressure against my ear canals.
With the small tips, they feel almost identical to the standard AirPods and have no problems wearing them like the original AirPods.
Ok after listening to the Bonobo track from @mavis playlist (got that added BTW, thanks) there is no way these can be compared to airpod 2's there is so much more space to the sound, the bass is full and not distorted whilst the the highs are crisp. I like the sound of these a LOT. Played Dead Prez - Hip Hop and these things boom!
Which is where the main thing here is, everyone's ears are different shapes. The Airpod Pro's use similar tech to the homepod to work out the shape of your ear canal so everyones experience will be different.
I am very happy, the sound on these is awesome.
Which is where the main thing here is, everyone's ears are different shapes. The Airpod Pro's use similar tech to the homepod to work out the shape of your ear canal so everyones experience will be different.
I am very happy, the sound on these is awesome.
This was my concern too. Took delivery about 30 minutes ago so early days but I'm surprised just how comfortable they are. Currently sporting the medium tips as found large just a little too big
Keep the good news coming. I found it hard to believe the sound would be worse than gen 1/2. But as you say, everyone’s ears are different, so even with an in-ear design, various ear opening sizes are going to sound different.
Came across a review saying they’re better than even the Power Beats Pro...
Thanks for the good review. I have a pair coming on Monday, but was on the fence about them. I travel a lot and currently use the WH-1000XM3 for flights. I have the 1st gen AirPods for phone calls and general use. I only chose the AirPod pro over the in-ear Sony’s because of integration with Apple devices. I guess I’ll test them out and if I don’t like them get the in-ear XM3s.
Just done my first outdoor test and I'm quite honestly blown away. Right next to a very busy road the cars noises were reduced to nothing more than a gentle hum (WITHOUT any music playback). Couldn't hear a thing with music actually playing. Did a great job of reducing wind noises too, well beyond the passive noise cancellation available when switched off.
Transparency mode also does a great job at mimicking the sounds without the AirPods in my ears
Transparency mode also does a great job at mimicking the sounds without the AirPods in my ears
What do you mean? Airpods
You’ve just made me think how beneficial the Nose cancelling will be for my work - I’m around telecommunication equipment for much of the day. There are heaps of fans going which can be a drain on the brain....So cutting that out will be very handy.
I've had my Sony WF-1000XM3s since August 3rd or so, and I use them every day. I'm pretty familiar with them at this point, and I know what levels of sound they can/can't block. Comparing the AirPods Pro to them is pretty simple, really - I can tell right away that the AirPods Pro are letting in slightly more ambient noise than the Sonys do. That's not a knock on the AirPods Pro, btw - my WF-1000XM3s also perform slightly worse than my WH-1000XM3s do, in terms of ANC. That's not to say that the Sony buds or the AirPods Pro are bad, just that they're not quite at the same level as the WH-1000XM3.
Thanks. The Sony’s seem to me to be their direct competitor. Will be interesting to see the results from rtings.
Like mavis I know how the Sony's sound on the subway and other scenarios. But I did try them back to back in the same environment to compare as well.
[automerge]1572439394[/automerge]
The mic in the Airpods Pro are MUCH better than the Sony. However, I feel the mic on my 1 gen Airpods are better than the Pro.
The Pro mics do not seem to be at the bottom of the stalk. They look like they're built into the bulb - does that mean they aren't as beam forming as the original Airpods?
I prefer how the AirPods Pro sound compared to my Powerbeats Pro.
Got mine an hour ago (UK).
Noise cancelling is nearly as good as my Beats Studio 3 Wireless (seriously, cant hear a thing driving).
Transparency like magic lets the outside noise in so you can hear pretty much everything.
Music without ANC similar, but slightly better than APs2
Music with ANC awesome, not quote as good as my Beats but good enough to as a non audiophile probably retire my Beats.
10 minute call to the wife, both sound and microphone quality fine
Taking them out requires slight force which is very reassuring.
If you have current AirPods and they don't quite fit, these are the holy grail. Really impressed with them.
Noise cancelling is nearly as good as my Beats Studio 3 Wireless (seriously, cant hear a thing driving).
Transparency like magic lets the outside noise in so you can hear pretty much everything.
Music without ANC similar, but slightly better than APs2
Music with ANC awesome, not quote as good as my Beats but good enough to as a non audiophile probably retire my Beats.
10 minute call to the wife, both sound and microphone quality fine
Taking them out requires slight force which is very reassuring.
If you have current AirPods and they don't quite fit, these are the holy grail. Really impressed with them.