Reasons to go with AirPods instead of AirPods Pro?

[trevpimp]

Am I missing any personal experiences between the two?

I know the pros have noise cancelling but the AirPods looks so simple to use

looking for personal tips

 

[mystery hill]

Price.

 

[profmjh]

The AirPods Pro are amazing. And kept falling out of my ears. The regular AirPods never do that.

 

[doolar]

The AirPods Pro are amazing. And kept falling out of my ears. The regular AirPods never do that.

And for me the other way around. The original Airpods (and Earpods) never stayed in my ears for more than two minutes, I threw or gave away every pair of Earpods shipped with all devices I bought through the years. When the APP's came along, they turned out to be the solution for me.

 

[profmjh]

for me the other way around

One of us has weird ears 🤣

 

[contacos]

I have both. The Pro hurt my ears after a while. With the regular ones it seems like there is nothing even close to my ears. I remember using them for the first time (coming from wired headphones) it was like magic, it seemed like the music is coming out of nowhere. Also the bass seems better to be honest. I do like noise cancellation though

 

[doolar]

One of us has weird ears ?

Or both of us since most ppl I know can easily use any of them. ?

 

[casperes1996]

I have both. The Pro hurt my ears after a while. With the regular ones it seems like there is nothing even close to my ears. I remember using them for the first time (coming from wired headphones) it was like magic, it seemed like the music is coming out of nowhere. Also the bass seems better to be honest. I do like noise cancellation though

Yeah - I generally prefer over-ear headphones and have a pair of AirPods Max, but I think the way the Pros create a seal in your ear canal is the biggest thing that might push people away from them, towards the regular AirPods - other than price perhaps.

 

[JCCL]

AirPods Pro, keep falling of my ears, I am on my third replacement do to the rattling issue - didn't have any of those issues with regular Airpods.

 

[Wando64]

I prefer the open design of the standard AirPro.
I would consider the Pro only if my main use case was to drown external noise.

 

[srbNYC]

It's funny re fit: I remember being jealous of seeing folks in the gym with (regular) AirPods staying in their ears. Mine were falling out all the time, so had to return them even though I liked them otherwise (and loved the friction-free Apple integration), and went on to try many different brands.

Now with the Pros, I don't have that secure-fit problem, especially with (overpriced, but what can you do?) Comply tips. That combo makes them the best overall earbud experience, for me, ever.

 

[JCCL]

It's funny re fit: I remember being jealous of seeing folks in the gym with (regular) AirPods staying in their ears. Mine were falling out all the time, so had to return them even though I liked them otherwise (and loved the friction-free Apple integration), and went on to try many different brands.

Now with the Pros, I don't have that secure-fit problem, especially with (overpriced, but what can you do?) Comply tips. That combo makes them the best overall earbud experience, for me, ever.

I would buy expensive tips, but then the AirPods Pro will rattle soon again and Apple will stop replacing them for free, so why both spending more on a flawed product

 

[NastyMatt]

Spatial audio. No way I'll go for any Apple IEMs with out it.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

Price. I don't think I'll ever use the extra features in the pros, and I was able to snag a pair of regular ones for $99 from Best Buy, last Christmas season. It was really an impulse purchase. I can't imagine paying more than that for Apple headphones. For my use cases, they don't do anything that any other bluetooth headphones can't do without the proprietary charging cables that Apple uses.

 

[Analog Kid]

I prefer the non-pros for calls. My own voice comes back to me more naturally. I have a hard time talking with the pros in because I sound weird to myself.

I prefer the pros for music and out on the street. The original tips don’t fit me, so I had to put aftermarket foam tips on them, which I’m kind of annoyed about, but they’re great now. For shorter flights I’ll prefer them to my Bose QC-35s for noise canceling— they’re easier to carry and more comfortable, but they just lack battery to cross an ocean.

 

[JCCL]

Spatial audio. No way I'll go for any Apple IEMs with out it.

Funny that’s the first thing I disable. It actually makes music sound worse in my opinion.

 

[Zanton68]

Am I missing any personal experiences between the two?

I know the pros have noise cancelling but the AirPods looks so simple to use

looking for personal tips

Both are great. I personally prefer the AirPods but love the ANC and transparency mode of the AirPods Pro. The AirPods are no good for blocking out noise, but I personally find them a better fit. I think they are also better for phone calls too. If noise cancelling isn’t important to you I’d definitely go with the AirPods. I use ANC so tend only to use the AirPods when I’m not going to need that.

 

[NastyMatt]

Funny that’s the first thing I disable. It actually makes music sound worse in my opinion.

What about watching films? I find the soundstage is just so much wider and immersive with SA. Plus, I like the head tracking, generally you stare at the screen so that is not a huge benefit but a nice touch.

 

[turbineseaplane]

They really should be marketed a little differently.

It isn't that one is "Pro" or "better" -- but rather that they are both actually just different.

Both the normal AirPods and the Pro's should exist in perpetuity as they are very different in ideal usage contexts and fit and experience.

I have always prefer normal AirPods because I specifically want and love the semi-open design. Additionally, being a non-plug style allows them to *truly* disappear in my ears. I've had them in for hours before and totally forgotten they were in -- they are that transparently comfortable for me.

 

[curdy]

Yeah - I generally prefer over-ear headphones and have a pair of AirPods Max, but I think the way the Pros create a seal in your ear canal is the biggest thing that might push people away from them, towards the regular AirPods - other than price perhaps.

Isn’t that the whole point of how the noise cancellation works?

 

[sunapple]

Am I missing any personal experiences between the two?

I know the pros have noise cancelling but the AirPods looks so simple to use

looking for personal tips

If you want personal tips, perhaps you can explain what you are looking for? Price, comfort, features?

 

[NastyMatt]

Isn’t that the whole point of how the noise cancellation works?

Sealing your ears is noise isolation i.e. you let as little noise in, from the outside world, as possible. This means the ear canal is quieter and you do not need to turn your volume up. Noise cancellation listens to that outside noise as sends the opposite wave (sound) to your ear (canal/drum) and 'cancels' the outside noise.

Noise isolation is far better for your hearing health as you do not need such high volumes, where as cancellation still sends a high volume.

If you really want to 'experience' the effect get custom sleeves (which create great isolation). I did this, put on my custom sleeves, played the music at the volume it was previously with just rubber tips and it was ear splitting. With custom sleeves I listen to it at probably 50% less volume.

 

[casperes1996]

Isn’t that the whole point of how the noise cancellation works?

The two things are slightly orthogonal. The seal creates a natural noise cancelling effect, but the noise cancelling feature is separate and uses the microphones to pick up the noise patterns around you and produce corresponding anti-noise; i.e. sound waves of equal frequency but with the waves out of phase with each other such that they cancel out.

Both effects can be "felt" in different ways, and to some people one or the other (or both) can feel uncomfortable

 

[curdy]

The two things are slightly orthogonal. The seal creates a natural noise cancelling effect, but the noise cancelling feature is separate and uses the microphones to pick up the noise patterns around you and produce corresponding anti-noise; i.e. sound waves of equal frequency but with the waves out of phase with each other such that they cancel out.

Both effects can be "felt" in different ways, and to some people one or the other (or both) can feel uncomfortable

Appreciate the clarification from someone with much more background in this than myself!

 

[Phwoar]

@trevpimp you should read the reviews of AirPods Pro on Apple's own support forums, then make up your own mind about whether it's a good purchase:

AirPod Pro Microphone Call Quality - Apple Community

discussions.apple.com