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What do you guys think of the new AirPods Pro audio quality?

E

Eldaerenth Faexidor

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Original poster
Aug 30, 2022
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Like many of you I received the new APP today. Very happy with them. The noise cancellation is superb imo.

The audio however is a total different story. I remember how crisp and clean the first gen sounded to me. The new APP’s sound a bit closed and muffled to me. Especially in the high range. Maybe it’s just a matter of preference.

What is your opinion about the APP’s audio? Do you like it? Dislike it?

Edit: thanks to a comment from @sorgo I was able to run the Headphones Accommodations setup and now they sound absolutely bonkers good! Almost returned them. So glad I didn’t. Lol. Many thanks to @sorgo!
 
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I'm just done comparing the APP2 vs APP vs BFP.

ANC - no question that the APP2 are a lot better than both the APP and BFP. The difference was quite dramatic, at home, with someone showering in the room next door, PC fans running next to me, and kids playing on consoles.

Sound - I like the APP2 the best. Could be buyer affirmation, but I only got the BFP this time last week as I need something a bit more secure when cycling. The APP2 are fuller, more mids, more bass than the APP or BFP. The BFP sound great but can have a touch of sibilance to them - especially with Spatial Audio switched on when listening to music.

Spatial Audio - I'm not a huge fan with Music, but the APP2 do it better - it's less bright, tinny, reverb-y with the APP2. With movies, I'm happy with either, but the fuller midrange and lower end help the APP2 here too.

Comfort / Fit - APP2 all day. They fit a tiny bit better and more secure than the APP - that could be a slight tweak to the shape or just fresher tips. I use Large with all three. I expect when cycling at speed downhill they will still have a tendency to loosen and potentially fall (hasn't happened with the APP but I do find I need to secure them every so often), but that's why I have the BFP. BFP hurt after 30 mins to an hour in normal use, but seems to be less of an issue cycling, perhaps the wind cooling my ears helps.

Practicality - APP2. Like all previous APs they fit in the coin pocket of my jeans, are all day comfortable to wear for conference calls and personal listening, and now, at last, the vent that was previous in the skin sensor soaking up wax has been moved to the top. When this clogs, the bass goes away, the fit test fails, they sound rubbish, and I find I clean mine weekly, but no more, with the APP2.
 
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zerolight said:
I'm just done comparing the APP2 vs APP vs BFP.

ANC - no question that the APP2 are a lot better than both the APP and BFP. The difference was quite dramatic, at home, with someone showering in the room next door, PC fans running next to me, and kids playing on consoles.

Sound - I like the APP2 the best. Could be buyer affirmation, but I only got the BFP this time last week as I need something a bit more secure when cycling. The APP2 are fuller, more mids, more bass than the APP or BFP. The BFP sound great but can have a touch of sibilance to them - especially with Spatial Audio switched on when listening to music.

Spatial Audio - I'm not a huge fan with Music, but the APP2 do it better - it's less bright, tinny, reverb-y with the APP2. With movies, I'm happy with either, but the fuller midrange and lower end help the APP2 here too.

Comfort / Fit - APP2 all day. They fit a tiny bit better and more secure than the APP - that could be a slight tweak to the shape or just fresher tips. I use Large with all three. I expect when cycling at speed downhill they will still have a tendency to loosen and potentially fall (hasn't happened with the APP but I do find I need to secure them every so often), but that's why I have the BFP. BFP hurt after 30 mins to an hour in normal use, but seems to be less of an issue cycling, perhaps the wind cooling my ears helps.

Practicality - APP2. Like all previous APs they fit in the coin pocket of my jeans, are all day comfortable to wear for conference calls and personal listening, and now, at last, the vent that was previous in the skin sensor soaking up wax has been moved to the top. When this clogs, the bass goes away, the fit test fails, they sound rubbish, and I find I clean mine weekly, but no more, with the APP2.
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Thanks for your comprehensive reply. I agree with you on the better fit of the APP2. They seem to sit slightly more secure in my ears in comparison to the APP. I also love the ecosystem and continuity, I just opened my ATV4K and it already sensed my APP2. Connecting them went very smooth. Can’t wait for tonight to try them when watching a movie. I hope Apple tweaks them a little more and making them a little more bright.
 
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First listen I found them very bass heavy tbh with the mids and highs being recessed as a result. However, over the last couple hours im starting to enjoy them more than my AirPods gen 1. The major issue I have now is that im on iOS 14 still and non of the features work anymore, its opperates a standard bluetooth headset now.
 
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Rocketpaul said:
First listen I found them very bass heavy tbh with the mids and highs being recessed as a result. However, over the last couple hours im starting to enjoy them more than my AirPods gen 1. The major issue I have now is that im on iOS 14 still and non of the features work anymore, its opperates a standard bluetooth headset now.
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Recessed is the right word. Maybe it’s a matter of breaking them in or just for your brain to adjust to the new sound profile.
 
Just got mine this morning, previous owned Sennheiser ie8's + ie80's, shure 530s, bunch of soundmagic iem's and most recently soundcore liberty 3 pro's.

Wasn't really expecting much, my wife has a pair of standard airpods and they honestly sound awful compared to what I'm used to listening ( granted they're not iem's so that probably doesn't help)

Anyways, I'm honestly quite shocked and surprised with how good they sound - I loved the sound of the L3P's, they compared well to the dark sounding ie8's. The APP2 manages to deliver really decent bass yet still remain airy and balanced. They lack a bit in the treble but it's a comfortable non-fatiguing sound I could easily listen to for hours.

Just first impressions anyway, will do some more a-b comparisons this weekend.
 
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Rocketpaul said:
First listen I found them very bass heavy tbh with the mids and highs being recessed as a result. However, over the last couple hours im starting to enjoy them more than my AirPods gen 1. The major issue I have now is that im on iOS 14 still and non of the features work anymore, its opperates a standard bluetooth headset now.
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What features are you missing on 14?
 
skidu said:
Just got mine this morning, previous owned Sennheiser ie8's + ie80's, shure 530s, bunch of soundmagic iem's and most recently soundcore liberty 3 pro's.

Wasn't really expecting much, my wife has a pair of standard airpods and they honestly sound awful compared to what I'm used to listening ( granted they're not iem's so that probably doesn't help)

Anyways, I'm honestly quite shocked and surprised with how good they sound - I loved the sound of the L3P's, they compared well to the dark sounding ie8's. The APP2 manages to deliver really decent bass yet still remain airy and balanced. They lack a bit in the treble but it's a comfortable non-fatiguing sound I could easily listen to for hours.

Just first impressions anyway, will do some more a-b comparisons this weekend.
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I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks they lack a little bit in the highs. Overall the APP2 are pretty epic!
 
spatial audio (personalized or not) sounds very off to me. It’s not balanced at all with vocals and highs sounding very far away and flat. The second I turn it off, the sound from these buds are great to my ears. Very full and enjoyable. Coming from AirPods 2, so much bigger difference than APP1.
 
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Just picked these up. My initial sound quality impressions with ANC ON are that the 2nd gen have in comparison to the 1st gen:
- a warmer sound signature with boosted bass
- much better (wider) soundstage
- higher output i.e. they sound louder at the same volume clicks
- not as crisp with the lower treble (sounds like a 3-5k cut, electric guitars don't have that edge/sparkle)
 
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Eldaerenth Faexidor said:
I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks they lack a little bit in the highs. Overall the APP2 are pretty epic!
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I think its probably a more pleasing sound overall - I guess people would more likely complain about sibilance than too much bass. Plus it's only really noticeable when you compared them a/b. Just out of interest what your daily drivers in regards to hp/speakers?
 
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skidu said:
I think its probably a more pleasing sound overall - I guess people would more likely complain about sibilance than too much bass. Plus it's only really noticeable when you compared them a/b. Just out of interest what your daily drivers in regards to hp/speakers?
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Yeah it’s definitely a pleasing sound. I remember from the first generation APP back in 2019 that Apple tweaked the soundstage early on with firmware updates. So we’ll see what happens.

Regarding my daily drivers, I rocked the AirPods Pro for quite a while. I also frequently use the wired Sennheiser Momentum in-ears. For speakers I use a pair of KEF LS50 Wireless II and a pair of OG HomePods. All of them excellent sounding speakers. Really love them!
 
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Eldaerenth Faexidor said:
Yeah it’s definitely a pleasing sound. I remember from the first generation APP back in 2019 that Apple tweaked the soundstage early on with firmware updates. So we’ll see what happens.

Regarding my daily drivers, I rocked the AirPods Pro for quite a while. I also frequently use the wired Sennheiser Momentum in-ears. For speakers I use a pair of KEF LS50 Wireless II and a pair of OG HomePods. All of them excellent sounding speakers. Really love them!
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Oh nice, always wanted to audition the KEF’s, beautiful looking speakers too. Very much fit with the apple aesthetic. Interesting point re the firmware, this is my first pair of apple earphones. I read they butchered the ANC with an update on the APP1 so will be interested to see how these progress with time.
 
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I don't have good enough ears (well, a good enough brain maybe) to easily discern and describe differences in sound when A/Bing two difference devices, especially when the differences are subtle... in the time that I take one off and put the other on, I "forget" what the first one sounded like. But even I can tell a difference between these.

I'd say the APP2 moves a bit in the direction of the APM (which is a good thing to me)... a warmer, more comforting sound.
 
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Just picked mine up from Best Buy and have tested them side by side with the APP.

ANC - it's very apparent that it is better than the original AirPods Pro. No question that there's improvement there. I did the bathroom test by peeing twice with the same volume setting while listening to Whitney Houston's How Will I know.
Original APP, I can still hear my pee hit the water along with the toilet flushing. APP 2022, can't hear a thing.

Transparency Mode - there is noticeable improvement. I can hear my wife yell at me a lot better when the baby is crying while I am playing around and comparing the headphones a lot more clearly. With the original APP, Transparency is a bit muffled while listening to Usher's "Let it Burn" at mid volumes

Overall Sound Quality - APP2 has punchier bass it was the first thing I noticed right when I fired up No You Girls from Franz Ferdinand. The first AirPods Pro already sounds very good for a pair of earbuds but the APP2 sounds better on music in general I think they are just tuned better.

Now whether or not you want to spend $249 if you have existing AirPods is up to you, but it was definitely a much worthier upgrade than going from the iPhone 13 Pro to the iPhone 14 Pro.
 
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I tried spatial audio on my Pro 1’s and did not like it.

I got the 2’s a bit ago, deleted the profile, redid it, and wow. I don’t know if it’s the hardware difference, a bad setup, but I am super impressed with fixed spatial audio now. Toggling it off and on in Spotify has been a fun test and I’ve preferred spatial every time so far.
 
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Eldaerenth Faexidor said:
Like many of you I received the new APP today. Very happy with them. The noise cancellation is superb imo.

The audio however is a total different story. I remember how crisp and clean the first gen sounded to me. The new APP’s sound a bit closed and muffled to me. Especially in the high range. Maybe it’s just a matter of preference.

What is your opinion about the APP’s audio? Do you like it? Dislike it?

*Edit: after 8 hours of listening they starting to sound really great. Still a bit lacking in the high tones, but that’s just my personal taste. I also prefer to listen to music with spatial sound turned off.
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Did you turn on spatial audio? The difference is amazing. I actually never knew about it with the original AirPods Pro (I know). After setting up the APP2 and starting some music, I found the option when pressing on the volume slider in the control panel (thanks to the quick tutorial during setup). Turned it on and was blown away at how much better it sounded. Turned it off and it was all muffled in comparison. Back on and loving it.
 
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AppleUser2 said:
Have the APP1 and now the 2s. It’s night and day for me. The bass is a big jump. Highs are punchier as well. Overall the SQ is exactly what I was looking for - I’m really impressed. Selling the APP1s to help fund the 2s.
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Excited to get mine in tomorrow! If you don't mind me asking, are you eBaying the old pair or going with some kind of trade-in service?
 
DDustiNN said:
Did you turn on spatial audio? The difference is amazing. I actually never knew about it with the original AirPods Pro (I know). After setting up the APP2 and starting some music, I found the option when pressing on the volume slider in the control panel (thanks to the quick tutorial during setup). Turned it on and was blown away at how much better it sounded. Turned it off and it was all muffled in comparison. Back on and loving it.
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Special Audio is a hit or miss imo. With some songs it works great but with others it sounds horrible. I prefer it toggled off. It should sound clear and balanced without the spacial feature though.
 
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