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darksoul78644

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 10, 2017
476
250
how is the sound quality and are they worth it. Never had AirPods. Pros and cons please guys
 

dotzero123

macrumors 6502a
Sep 3, 2018
528
498
Philadelphia Suburbs
I just bought my first pair. I’ve used and use all kinds of buds but am really enjoying them. The Siri feature is really nice - really responsive and great if you walk or run outdoors with gloves (no fumbling with buds or Watch). The only negative I’ve found is that these are not waterproof. Sound quality is very good (not excellent) to me. I’m not an audiophile and don’t think they are as good as others if this is your bend. Great for calls, everyday use and workouts. Some people who sweat a lot find them slippery. I purchased earbuddyz just to feel extra secure when I run with them. Try them out - Apples return policy is generous and you might not want to part with them anyway.
 

darksoul78644

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 10, 2017
476
250
I just bought my first pair. I’ve used and use all kinds of buds but am really enjoying them. The Siri feature is really nice - really responsive and great if you walk or run outdoors with gloves (no fumbling with buds or Watch). The only negative I’ve found is that these are not waterproof. Sound quality is very good (not excellent) to me. I’m not an audiophile and don’t think they are as good as others if this is your bend. Great for calls, everyday use and workouts. Some people who sweat a lot find them slippery. I purchased earbuddyz just to feel extra secure when I run with them. Try them out - Apples return policy is generous and you might not want to part with them anyway.
Thank u n do they sound the same as earbuds that come with I-hones cuz thpose are pretty good themselves
 
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twanj

macrumors 65816
Sep 10, 2015
1,229
1,694
Pompano Beach, FL
I've been waiting a few years to get them...didn't want to get a v1 product.

Sound quality is fine but I'm kinda underwhelmed. Nothing amazing, but probably good for the small package.

Not sure what other wireless buds cost, seems fair-ish.

I thought the switching between Apple devices was automatic. I don't see that.

Wireless charging, kinda pointless.

It is nice to not have wires when you're on the phone, or only have them in 1 ear when you're around people/at work etc.
 
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dotzero123

macrumors 6502a
Sep 3, 2018
528
498
Philadelphia Suburbs
Thank u n do they sound the same as earbuds that come with I-hones cuz thpose are pretty good themselves
I will admit that I never used apple wired earbuds. I've always had 3rd party earbuds so can't compare. Nothing to lose by giving them a try. No matter what recommendations we have they have to feel right to you. If they don't fit your ears properly you'll know to move on.
 

TorontoSS

macrumors 65816
Nov 9, 2009
1,087
395
I just got these too and I sold a pair of Bose SoundSport Wireless (the ones with the wires attaching the bud).
In terms of sound, the Bose sounded better - there's no question about this.

But in terms of usability Apple wins. The reason I got these is usability though. They connect super easily, great for calls, and it's just much more seamless.

It's basically easier to use.

the one thing I do not like is the lack of seal. All noise comes in.

I have two other pairs of headphones. A wired pair from Bose (sound excellent) and noise cancelling by Sony over ears. If the airpods were my only pair, I'd be unhappy. But for regular use, they will be great.
 

MrGimper

macrumors G3
Sep 22, 2012
8,998
12,899
Andover, UK
I just got these too and I sold a pair of Bose SoundSport Wireless (the ones with the wires attaching the bud).
In terms of sound, the Bose sounded better - there's no question about this.

But in terms of usability Apple wins. The reason I got these is usability though. They connect super easily, great for calls, and it's just much more seamless.

It's basically easier to use.

the one thing I do not like is the lack of seal. All noise comes in.

I have two other pairs of headphones. A wired pair from Bose (sound excellent) and noise cancelling by Sony over ears. If the airpods were my only pair, I'd be unhappy. But for regular use, they will be great.

This sums up my reason for jumping in too. The seamless experience is great, I can switch between phone, watch and iPad near instantly without having to disconnect one, reconnect the other etc. They don't sound as good as my Jaybird X2's, but they have comply tips and cut all noise out. However I'd say it's only the bass that is slightly lacking.

Convenience is brilliant and I bought without wireless charging case. An extra 40 made a difference between purchasing or not, and I have a decent chunk of disposable income
 

TorontoSS

macrumors 65816
Nov 9, 2009
1,087
395
This sums up my reason for jumping in too. The seamless experience is great, I can switch between phone, watch and iPad near instantly without having to disconnect one, reconnect the other etc. They don't sound as good as my Jaybird X2's, but they have comply tips and cut all noise out. However I'd say it's only the bass that is slightly lacking.

Convenience is brilliant and I bought without wireless charging case. An extra 40 made a difference between purchasing or not, and I have a decent chunk of disposable income

My husband has the Jaybirds X2 as well. He LOVES them. I don't think he'd switch to AirPods. I would imagine Jaybirds sound better for sure. I'm with you on the wireless charging.
 

MrGimper

macrumors G3
Sep 22, 2012
8,998
12,899
Andover, UK
My husband has the Jaybirds X2 as well. He LOVES them. I don't think he'd switch to AirPods. I would imagine Jaybirds sound better for sure. I'm with you on the wireless charging.

I've not switched from them, just complimented them with AirPods :) The Jaybirds are something else!
 

parker5011

macrumors regular
May 17, 2018
198
194
I love them and I was someone that waited as well for V2.

I’ve had the Beats workout Bluetooth headphones and the Beats X.

The Beats sound better (slightly) but the wires were always getting in the way. I didn’t care for them at all.

The AirPods have been one of the best purchases I’ve made in a while. Convenient doesn’t even begin to describe them.

They easily switch between  products fairly easily and when paired to my phone they work effortlessly.

I bought the wireless case with them because I have so many wireless chargers around the house and in the office that I can just drop them and not worry. Finding a cord to plug them in would take more work for me than wireless dropping.

They are a little pricy but that’s . I feel the same way about the charging phone case.

Hope this helps.
 

Derek87

macrumors 6502a
Jan 29, 2009
690
159
i too waited until Gen2 to take the plunge, but even then was skeptical. i finally made the jump not really because of Gen2 coming out (although that gave me the final shove), but it was the rave reviews from friends of how "game changing" it was to have wireless earphones and how well they worked within the Apple ecosystem. also, as silly as it sounds, i didn't want to be the one of the weird guys with cigarette butts hanging out of my ears during my train commute. now that they are more common, i am less self conscious. :)

In practice, i think the Airpods sound very similar to the EarPods (which i use while hiking because i don't care if they get destroyed by sweat and i want to be able to hear things around me), but that is faint praise because they don't hold a candle sonically to my beloved Etymotic 4P for the past 20 years (and they aren't a fair comparison, considering the Eytmotics are wired and retail at $300 and isolate ~25db of sound), nor do they sound as good as my Sennheiser M30i earbuds which are modestly isolating and cost me only ~$30.

for me, comfort/fit were initially an issue with Airpods (which surprised me since the EarPods, while not super comfy, were never an issue fitwise for me). but i inspected how i wore the EarPods and realized that i needed to make sure the tails of the Airpods are closer to vertical than i was initially wearing them to replicate the fit of the EarPods (and hence comfort level). after this adjustment, i find i can wear the Airpods comfortable for a few hours in a row.

so at $159, am i keeping them? in short, yes. i am for several reasons:
  • as much as i like the sound (for music) of my other earphones better, i actually like the fact that the Airpods aren't sound isolating since i want to be aware of my surroundings when i am walking during my commute (25 minute walk to train station in the evening).
  • the sound quality of the AirPods is good enough especially for listening to podcasts and making phone calls.
  • for phone calls, i can easily transfer over the AirPods which is something i would never do with a wired headset. this will save some radiation dose and discomfort of holding my phone to my ear.
  • having no wires is a revelation to me. nothing to detangle or unwind or get caught in my clothes or messenger bag strap
  • the integration with my iPhone is phenomenal. it connects fast and "just works" (which has not be the case of most apple products, IMHO, in the last several years)
i didn't buy the wireless case version because i think i will be a pretty light user, and so it shouldn't be too hard to charge the case once a week using a lightning cable for an hour. i have an iPhone XS, and still haven't invested in a wireless charger for it yet as i can get buy each day on one full charge, so it isn't much an effort to continue with my habit of plugging the phone in once every night to charge. maybe a few years down the road, i'll end up with a wireless charging case for my next earphones.

that being said, i think it would be nice to have a few improvements:
  • sweat proof/water proof (might not be possible in the existing form)
  • noise cancelling mode (again might not be possible to do this and keep the size and battery endurance of the AirPods the same)
  • black color (unlikely to happen since the white is the iconic Apple color way back from the days of the original iPod)
  • some way to control volume from the AirPods themselves
they are pretty pricy if one considers the sound quality coming from them, but due to the technology that makes them work so well with Apple devices, i think they were a reasonable expense if you can afford them. with my lighter use, i do hope i can get 4 years out of them before the battery degrades appreciably. that being said, my biggest concern is losing them!
 

gnortenjones

macrumors regular
Jan 16, 2008
122
2
I just got these too and I sold a pair of Bose SoundSport Wireless (the ones with the wires attaching the bud).
In terms of sound, the Bose sounded better - there's no question about this.

But in terms of usability Apple wins. The reason I got these is usability though. They connect super easily, great for calls, and it's just much more seamless.

It's basically easier to use.

the one thing I do not like is the lack of seal. All noise comes in.

I have two other pairs of headphones. A wired pair from Bose (sound excellent) and noise cancelling by Sony over ears. If the airpods were my only pair, I'd be unhappy. But for regular use, they will be great.

I'm coming from your exact same situation.

I've had Bose wireless soundsport (with the wire), but just bought a pair of Airpods.

The Bose do sound better with more base, and the noise isolation was very nice, but I could never get a comfortable fit for them. I think I'm just one of those people who don't like the in-ear canal type headphones. I could only wear them for about 10-20 minutes before they just got too uncomfortable. Also when I walked and/or turned my head, the connecting wire always seemed to snag and pull the headphone our of the "perfect" fit.

The airpods are as comfortable as can be. I just listed to a 3hr Joe Rogan podcast without any problems. I've only had them for a day, so the jury is still out, but for now I have to join the choir. The airpods sound ok, but not great. There are better sound quality options, but in terms of comfort, and convenience they are wonderful. It's sad there has to be a trade-off, but first world problems and all that. :)

I also have Bose QC25 which are my absolute favorite, but don't lend themselves to walking around/exercising.
 

Nismo73

macrumors 65816
Jan 4, 2013
1,205
1,041
I just got my first pair of them since I was waiting for this second version and I like them.
They fit pretty well for me, sound fine, like the quick connection, nice to just throw them in when I want to listen to something just for me.
I have the BeatsX earphones and they’re a pain connecting and just dealing with turning the on sometimes.
 

dotzero123

macrumors 6502a
Sep 3, 2018
528
498
Philadelphia Suburbs
I'm coming from your exact same situation.

I've had Bose wireless soundsport (with the wire), but just bought a pair of Airpods.

The Bose do sound better with more base, and the noise isolation was very nice, but I could never get a comfortable fit for them. I think I'm just one of those people who don't like the in-ear canal type headphones. I could only wear them for about 10-20 minutes before they just got too uncomfortable. Also when I walked and/or turned my head, the connecting wire always seemed to snag and pull the headphone our of the "perfect" fit.

The airpods are as comfortable as can be. I just listed to a 3hr Joe Rogan podcast without any problems. I've only had them for a day, so the jury is still out, but for now I have to join the choir. The airpods sound ok, but not great. There are better sound quality options, but in terms of comfort, and convenience they are wonderful. It's sad there has to be a trade-off, but first world problems and all that. :)

I also have Bose QC25 which are my absolute favorite, but don't lend themselves to walking around/exercising.
[doublepost=1554319196][/doublepost]I have the bose sound sport and love the sound. I hate the wire and constantly losing the little clip that holds them on. They also get caught on my hood or hat when I’m outdoors. With AirPods the Watch/ phone integration is exceptional - I’m still puzzling out the best way to switch between phone/Mac/iPad. I’ve heard there are apps that can simplify handoffs but haven’t researched this yet.
 
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radiologyman

macrumors 6502a
Jul 23, 2011
755
271
Had gen 1 and now got gen 2 for me and wife. Had several dozens headphones before, will not need anything else. Amazing usability.
 

Ralfi

macrumors 601
Dec 22, 2016
4,373
3,101
Australia
Thank u n do they sound the same as earbuds that come with I-hones cuz thpose are pretty good themselves

Airpods v1 have noticeably improved sound over the EarPods. If they fit you perfectly & you’re hearing’s fine, you’ll notice this.

So I’d say v2 would follow suite here.
 
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