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What do you guys think of the new AirPods Pro audio quality?
- Thread starter Eldaerenth Faexidor
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the sound is AMAZING the bass is so nice, wow huge upgrade
I‘m impressed with the clarity and separation. It’s almost as if they went from one driver to separate speakers for the lows, mids, and highs. Of course, they didn’t.
It sounds more like my AirPods Max now.
It sounds more like my AirPods Max now.
Noticeable improvement from the previous generation, well done Apple, especially for the other features
Next thing on my wish list is louder volume. For music, it gets pretty loud. But TV shows and movies on some downloads and streaming sites are quite quiet for my taste.
Next thing on my wish list is louder volume. For music, it gets pretty loud. But TV shows and movies on some downloads and streaming sites are quite quiet for my taste.
These sound so much cleaner than the already good AirPods Pro 1st gen I was really shocked. Instrumental separation is so much improved.
Just picked them up. They sounds pretty good. A noticeable amount better than the old APPs I had. Noise cancellation is better, but not nearly as good as the APPs were before a software update made them much less effective.
Out of my AP3s and my Max, I actually prefer the audio quality of my APP2... I'm no audio expert but the audio sounds better to me lol. I really enjoy the audio quality (been wearing them for the last few hours).
I recently switched to JBL‘s since I was tired of the flat sound of the APP. The Gen2? I am in love! Deep bass, crisp trebles and balanced mods. Perfect for electronic music. I find the personalized spatial audio focus on the bass and takes the high tones down a bit. Not sure if I „measured“ my ears correctly 
I just unboxed mine and listening to them now. Absolutely phenomenal! I have first gen Pro’s as well and these wipe the floor. Totally worth the upgrade with zero regrets! ANC is much improved as well.
The sound is fantastic but I use these for hours of calls each day and my biggest gripe about the first gen APP was how terrible the sound was for folks on the other end...
If these solve that problem they are the ultimate ear bang.
If these solve that problem they are the ultimate ear bang.
I have a pretty big collection of headphones and IEMs. I bought the APP1 for transparency mode. It works great for doing chores, walking the dog, errands and so forth. The sound was pretty vanilla with a distinct lack of bass and sub-bass. They were basically lackluster across the whole frequency range. Not bad, just not exciting at all.
The APP2 is similar. The sound signature is absolutely improved. These are tuned better across the range. They have a fair amount of bass and some noticeable sub-bass as well. The mids are reasonably saturated and the highs are bright without being too cutting.
My primary problem with them remains from the APP1: the fit. These fit better, but I still struggle to get a decent seal on my left ear. The L tips are about 1/2mm too small to work reliably in my ear(s.) It appears that Apple very slightly altered the case so that they feel more secure, so that’s a bonus.
The ANC and transparency modes are great. This is what I come to AirPods Pro for and the 2.0 version doesn’t disappoint. They are significantly better at eliminating ambient noise, do a fair job of stifling moderately loud noises and a pretty good job of dulling down loud sounds, particularly with active transparency.
So I’d characterize these as a definite upgrade from the originals. They fit better, sound better, reject noise better and (from specs, not experience yet) have a more robust battery. Apple still has a ways to go before these compete with wired IEMS at a fraction of the price (and some of the TWS buds as well) but these are a serious step in the right direction.
Oh, and spatial audio seems like a gimmick to me. I’ve only come across a handful of tracks that sound good with it. It sounds better on these but I still think it’s way over processed.
The APP2 is similar. The sound signature is absolutely improved. These are tuned better across the range. They have a fair amount of bass and some noticeable sub-bass as well. The mids are reasonably saturated and the highs are bright without being too cutting.
My primary problem with them remains from the APP1: the fit. These fit better, but I still struggle to get a decent seal on my left ear. The L tips are about 1/2mm too small to work reliably in my ear(s.) It appears that Apple very slightly altered the case so that they feel more secure, so that’s a bonus.
The ANC and transparency modes are great. This is what I come to AirPods Pro for and the 2.0 version doesn’t disappoint. They are significantly better at eliminating ambient noise, do a fair job of stifling moderately loud noises and a pretty good job of dulling down loud sounds, particularly with active transparency.
So I’d characterize these as a definite upgrade from the originals. They fit better, sound better, reject noise better and (from specs, not experience yet) have a more robust battery. Apple still has a ways to go before these compete with wired IEMS at a fraction of the price (and some of the TWS buds as well) but these are a serious step in the right direction.
Oh, and spatial audio seems like a gimmick to me. I’ve only come across a handful of tracks that sound good with it. It sounds better on these but I still think it’s way over processed.
They do have a significant soundstage. It’s wide and open sounding. Probably has something to do with the shallow fit. They can almost sound like open back headphones.
Must be nice. Ups delayed mine until Monday,
Definitely sad when the have plenty for in store pickup.
I've gotten burned a lot on the shipping. So I do in store pickup or courier delivery. Got really tired of seeing people pick stuff up in store while I waited a week+ for (an iPhone I believe it was).
Exactly dude. That’s what made me upset when I picked up my Apple Watch earlier.
Same here. In Japan, I've never seen iPhones available for in-store pickup, but Apple Watches and the AirPods - no problem. I ordered my AirPods Pro from Apple, and they're coming tomorrow, but if I had ordered from Amazon, I'd have them already. 🙄
They definitely sound better than the gen1, but they fall short compared to the MAX. An apt comparison would be HomePod vs HomePod mini. The really deep tones vanish, like the subwoofer got unplugged.
Mids and Lows can get muddy at higher volumes. As with the MAX neither pair gets LOUD. Which is unfortunate for some tracks that were mastered at lower volumes. Also as with the MAX, neither pair is particularly bright and highs are a bit recessed.
I do find that putting on the “Fake Spatial” mode definitely makes the APP2 feel more alive and louder.
NC is also better on the MAX but I have giant ear holes. YMMV with how well the tips seal.
Mids and Lows can get muddy at higher volumes. As with the MAX neither pair gets LOUD. Which is unfortunate for some tracks that were mastered at lower volumes. Also as with the MAX, neither pair is particularly bright and highs are a bit recessed.
I do find that putting on the “Fake Spatial” mode definitely makes the APP2 feel more alive and louder.
NC is also better on the MAX but I have giant ear holes. YMMV with how well the tips seal.
I'd agree with others that these are closer to the Max, but not quite there - that said, I didn't expect $250 earbuds to match $550 cans.
I'd gotten to the point with the first gens that I really didn't care to use them for music unless I absolutely couldn't use the Max's. These are improved enough that I won't feel like I'm shortchanging myself by going with the buds.
I'd gotten to the point with the first gens that I really didn't care to use them for music unless I absolutely couldn't use the Max's. These are improved enough that I won't feel like I'm shortchanging myself by going with the buds.
Sound is way better than first gen. You can hear it immediately. Hard to imagine they're better sounding than the Max's. I use APMs at my desk and frankly they are heavy for extended wear and look pretty hokey on conference calls.
Noise cancellation is super impressive, and it was not bad before.
The APP's work in so many situations APMs don't that simply an improved version on the originals is a big deal.
Non-sound related: My favorite unexpected feature so far is the magsafe charging. The APP first gen do wireless charging but normal orientations of the magsafe charger (angled) they slip off. Now they stick, and charge. Awesome.
Noise cancellation is super impressive, and it was not bad before.
The APP's work in so many situations APMs don't that simply an improved version on the originals is a big deal.
Non-sound related: My favorite unexpected feature so far is the magsafe charging. The APP first gen do wireless charging but normal orientations of the magsafe charger (angled) they slip off. Now they stick, and charge. Awesome.
I completely agree with everything you said your. Thanks for sharing your experience. Spatial sound seems to open the soundstage slightly imo.