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

[sorgo †]

Could you maybe elaborate on that? Did you tweak the settings? And in what way does it affect the soundstage? Thanks in advance.

Yes, I enabled and adjusted the settings under Accessibility > AirPods > Headphone Accommodations. Right now I am using the “vocal range” emphasis with the moderate strength. It quite elevates the soundstage in my opinion, lifting it out of the muddy “round” default.

 

[Dealmans]

bluetooth range is not as good as the max
also sound tinny v the max

 

[dubvulture]

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.

Best. Review. Ever.

 

[Shh]

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.

I’m glad I can now finally listen to Whitney Houston without my pesky pee stream ruining the moment. Honestly, even if the sound quality didn’t improve, the ANC and transparency improvements are worth the cost of upgrading alone. Thanks for the laughs.

 

[w00dy81]

I was considering an upgrade from app1 to gen 2 due to wanting the upgrade in sound quality but thought what if I went up to the AirPods Max?

Has anyone got both AirPods Pro 2 and the max and can give a sound comparison?

 

[alee]

Could you maybe elaborate on that? Did you tweak the settings? And in what way does it affect the soundstage? Thanks in advance.

Settings > Accessibility > Audio/Visual > Headphone Audio > Headphone Accommodations

From here, you can fine tune the audio output through headphones. Custom Audio Setup will basically conduct a hearing test which will shape the audio to match your ability to hear.

Customize headphone audio levels on your iPhone or iPad - Apple Support

Amplify soft sounds and tune audio for your hearing needs.

support.apple.com

 

[sorgo †]

Settings > Accessibility > Audio/Visual > Headphone Audio

From here, you can fine tune the audio output through headphones. Custom Audio Setup will basically conduct a hearing test which will shape the audio to match your ability to hear.

Customize headphone audio levels on your iPhone or iPad - Apple Support

Amplify soft sounds and tune audio for your hearing needs.

support.apple.com

Yes, that.

Anyway this **** sounds amazing on the Pro 2s with the way I’ve set Headphone Accommodations 🤩

And before anyone yells at me: Yes, I know this is a cover and yes, I know the volume is turned all the way up—I have Reduce Loud Sounds enabled.

 

[dubvulture]

Yes, that.

Anyway this **** sounds amazing on the Pro 2s with the way I’ve set Headphone Accommodations 🤩

View attachment 2079283

Yes it does! Love Chromatics!

 

[sorgo †]

Yes it does! Love Chromatics!

I’m still crushed they broke up it feels like Dear Tommy won’t ever come out

 

[sorgo †]

By the by @dubvulture or anyone else: Have you gotten your Pro 2s to update to 5A377 yet? I’ve tried every trick that worked for my gen 1s and no luck so far…

I know this is off-topic I’m just kinda desperate lol

 

[dubvulture]

Yes, that.

Anyway this **** sounds amazing on the Pro 2s with the way I’ve set Headphone Accommodations 🤩

View attachment 2079283

And before anyone yells at me: Yes, I know this is a cover and yes, I know the volume is turned all the way up—I have Reduce Loud Sounds turned

I’m still crushed they broke up it feels like Dear Tommy won’t ever come out

Need to crank Psychocandy with the APP2s now.

 

[sorgo †]

Need to crank Psychocandy with the APP2s now.

YESS my thoughts exactly 🤓😝

 

[dubvulture]

By the by @dubvulture or anyone else: Have you gotten your Pro 2s to update to 5A377 yet? I’ve tried every trick that worked for my gen 1s and no luck so far…

I know this is off-topic I’m just kinda desperate lol

Just checked and mine are on 5A377. No idea when they updated. I just picked mine up this morning.

 

[sorgo †]

Just checked and mine are on 5A377. No idea when they updated. I just picked mine up this morning.

Thank you! I will just have to hope and pray they set themselves straight within the next 24 hours, then.

 

[dubvulture]

YESS my thoughts exactly 🤓😝

The Living End just melted my brain. 🤯

 

[sorgo †]

The Living End just melted my brain. 🤯

I skipped ahead to Darklands—sounding incredible.

 

[Tagbert]

is the mic now finally fixed with the AirPods Pro 2 ?

What do you mean by “fixed”?

I just did a back to back test using voice message. The APP2 handled background TV noise, water running in a sink, and chip back rustling. It fully suppressed the TV and chip bag and mostly suppressed the water in the sink.

 

[Eldaerenth Faexidor]

Yes, I enabled and adjusted the settings under Accessibility > AirPods > Headphone Accommodations. Right now I am using the ”vocal range” emphasis with the moderate strength. It quite elevates the soundstage in my opinion, lifting it out of the muddy “round” default.

Thanks for your reply. Does the change also applies to when you’re listening to music? Or only during transparency mode?

 

[sorgo †]

Thanks for your reply. Does the change also applies to when you’re listening to music? Or only during transparency mode?

I believe unless specified by the user the change applies during phone calls and when playing content with Noise Cancellation turned on. Transparency-specific Accommodations may be separately set, although I don’t use them; I seem to remember hearing strange “artifacts” like pronounced static while experimenting with AirPods Pro gen 1.

What about you, @dubvulture ? Do you use Headphone Accommodations with Transparency Mode?

 

[Eldaerenth Faexidor]

I believe unless specified by the user the change applies during phone calls and when playing content with Noise Cancellation turned on. Transparency-specific Accommodations may be separately set, although I don’t use them; I seem to remember hearing strange “artifacts” like pronounced static while experimenting with AirPods Pro gen 1.

What about you, @dubvulture ? Do you use Headphone Accommodations with Transparency Mode?

You are a lifesaver! Thank you so much! Never knew this feature was there. They sounded a bit too muddy out of the box as I stated in my OP. Very centered and closed off soundstage (imo). But Headphone Accommodations opened them up nicely by disconnecting and raising the highs ever so slightly. Now they sound crisp and clear and the vocals sound pure and pleasant.

It’s like night and day. Still can’t believe it. Lol. Thanks again @sorgo!

 

[sorgo †]

You are a lifesaver! Thank you so much! Never knew this feature was there. They sounded a bit too muddy out of the box as I stated in my OP. Very centered and closed off soundstage (imo). But Headphone Accommodations opened them up nicely by disconnecting and raising the highs ever so slightly. Now they sound crisp and clear and the vocals sound pure and pleasant.

It’s like night and day. Still can’t believe it. Lol. Thanks again @sorgo!

Glad you could get it more to your liking. Headphone Accommodations are a blast to fiddle with (once you know they’re there)!

 

[teh_hunterer]

Mine come tomorrow. I found my original AirPods Pro sound quality and noice cancellation would fade over time. Eventually they would develop the infamous crackling with noise cancellation and transparency mode, Apple would replace them, and the new pair would sound mind blowingly good in comparison.

I'm on my fourth pair of original AirPods Pro (all replacements from the service program) for what it's worth, and it has been the same thing every time.

I wonder how much of this difference is from the better tech in the APP 2 and how much is just from people's APP 1 being somewhat degraded without people realising...

I really hope Apple has fixed those issues for this second generation.

 

[Jutah]

Yes, I enabled and adjusted the settings under Accessibility > AirPods > Headphone Accommodations. Right now I am using the “vocal range” emphasis with the moderate strength. It quite elevates the soundstage in my opinion, lifting it out of the muddy “round” default.

By default it is set on “balanced” right? I tried the other 2 option but I like more the default preset

 

[teh_hunterer]

Double post, whoops. On a train with shoddy reception

 

[sorgo †]

By default it is set on “balanced” right? I tried the other 2 option but I like more the default preset

Yeah, I actually went back to Balanced (with moderate strength) as well. Technically the default is whatever settings are there upon completing the Custom Audio Setup, but I think it’s still good to play with them on-the-fly afterward so you have a better idea of how the sound signature changes.