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Kylo83

macrumors 601
Apr 2, 2020
4,427
14,387
The more I use them I feel the treble and highs are way lower than they should be, the bass and midrange is good but vocals treble are to low
 
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enricoclaudio

macrumors 6502a
Jun 5, 2017
869
1,344
Thanks for sharing your comparison review, @zerolight - I'm a fellow cyclist and also have the BFP for the secure fit. 🚲

Please updated us when you've had a chance to cycle with the APP2, and let us know how they performed (stayed in-ear or not)!

I'm a runner and MTB biker. On Tuesday I ran 8 miles with my AirPods Pro 2 with COMPLY Foam tips and they stayed in the whole 8 miles run without the need to push them in not even once. Also did a 24 miles trail bike ride and again, they stayed in the whole time. I also got a pair of Beats Fit Pro just for riding and to compare the fit with the AirPods Pro 2 but after trying the AirPods Pro 2 with the COMPLY foam tips, decided to return the Beats Fit Pro and instead got a second pair of AirPods Pro 2.
 

LIVEFRMNYC

macrumors G3
Oct 27, 2009
8,881
10,990
I feel like it's balanced when listening from iPhone or iPad.

On Apple TV, it has a lot more punch. Even when I tested it on an Android phone, there was a lot more punch.
 
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skidu

macrumors regular
Sep 22, 2014
173
1,146
Think I'm going to send mine back, the initial buzz has worn off and the more I critically listen and compare them to my other iem's ( specifically, liberty 3 pro's).

I can't help to notice this 'artificial', almost metallic sound to them, the soundstage is fantastic and they're lovely and airy but I feel like the adaptive EQ is just doing too much processing for my own liking.

I'd be curious to see if anyone else notices these traits, also, spatial audio is off before anyone asks.
 
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leebroath

macrumors 65816
Jul 26, 2010
1,358
952
Scotland
From a small pair of Airpods and what they also offer, i think they're ok

Is there a way to boost more base out of these little suckers? :)

Coming from a pair of QC35's, there is a noticable difference, which I thought could be upped on the Airpods.
 
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classicaliem

macrumors newbie
Oct 5, 2022
3
3
Think I'm going to send mine back, the initial buzz has worn off and the more I critically listen and compare them to my other iem's ( specifically, liberty 3 pro's).

I can't help to notice this 'artificial', almost metallic sound to them, the soundstage is fantastic and they're lovely and airy but I feel like the adaptive EQ is just doing too much processing for my own liking.

I'd be curious to see if anyone else notices these traits, also, spatial audio is off before anyone asks.
I agree. Compared to the APP1 I find them incredibly muddy, the mids and low treble seem very veiled / pushed back and therefore lack the immediacy and punch of the 1st gen. It’s a shame, the separation is better on the app2 as well as the quality of the sub bass, but they’re just too dark sounding for me
 
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skidu

macrumors regular
Sep 22, 2014
173
1,146
I agree. Compared to the APP1 I find them incredibly muddy, the mids and low treble seem very veiled / pushed back and therefore lack the immediacy and punch of the 1st gen. It’s a shame, the separation is better on the app2 as well as the quality of the sub bass, but they’re just too dark sounding for me

I assumed you've tried playing around with the headphone accommodation settings? that really lifts up the treble but sacrifices some of the sub bass. I personally turned it off though, the whole presentation gets a bit too busy sounding.
 

classicaliem

macrumors newbie
Oct 5, 2022
3
3
I assumed you've tried playing around with the headphone accommodation settings? that really lifts up the treble but sacrifices some of the sub bass. I personally turned it off though, the whole presentation gets a bit too busy sounding.
I have, agreed it messes with the presentation too much. I hear artefacts that are artificially raised - not the solution for me
 
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Eldaerenth Faexidor

Cancelled
Original poster
Aug 30, 2022
814
3,176
I have, agreed it messes with the presentation too much. I hear artefacts that are artificially raised - not the solution for me
It’s quite interesting to read other peoples experiences in relation to the APP2 and the Headphone Accommodations settings. For me personally it works like a charm. The soundstage becomes remarkably smooth in such a way that I can easily listen all day long to music at a high volume without any signs of ear fatigue. Quite an impressive piece of engineering feat.
 

classicaliem

macrumors newbie
Oct 5, 2022
3
3
It’s quite interesting to read other peoples experiences in relation to the APP2 and the Headphone Accommodations settings. For me personally it works like a charm. The soundstage becomes remarkably smooth in such a way that I can easily listen all day long to music at a high volume without any signs of ear fatigue. Quite an impressive piece of engineering feat.
Interesting I wonder whether it's the quality of some of the recordings that account for what I'm hearing. I can see a few people have mentioned Headphone Accommodations as a solution, so it seems others feel the default sound profile is too dark
 

Eldaerenth Faexidor

Cancelled
Original poster
Aug 30, 2022
814
3,176
Interesting I wonder whether it's the quality of some of the recordings that account for what I'm hearing. I can see a few people have mentioned Headphone Accommodations as a solution, so it seems others feel the default sound profile is too dark
I vividly remember that the 1st gen APP out of the box sounded phenomenally good (especially for the classical music genre) albeit that after the second firmware update Apple altered the soundstage into a more pop-music minded sound if that makes any sense. The APP2 on the other hand were pretty terrible out of the box, as I stated in my OP. They did grow on me rapidly though after some sound tweaking. Now they are very pleasant to listen to. A couple of more dB’s and a slightly broader soundstage in the high-end would make them easily the best buds in the world to date for me. Of course as always, YMMV.
 

swandy

macrumors 6502a
Oct 27, 2012
991
323
I like them better than my original APP pair. Feel the way Apple re-balanced the highs, lows and mid is more to my liking. Always felt brands like Beats (even after Apple purchased them) were set up for the "younger generation" and their type of music (Rap and heavy bass driven music). And the ANC seems better but I was never getting great ANC on the originals (probably because I also never got the "fit test" to work on a regular basis. (And I did try the Comply foam tips but I probably didn't give them enough time as I just felt they were uncomfortable.)
 

Jutah

macrumors 65816
Mar 30, 2012
1,008
436
i initially thought the APP2 were more bass oriented than my APP1s. Thanks for the headphone accommodation settings insight. Now the 2s seem to be a lot better to me.
wht's your settings in the accomodation menu?
 

bushman4

macrumors 601
Mar 22, 2011
4,147
3,945
APP2 good sound , bass is easily distinguishable. Active Noise transparency works as intended. Only negative is adjusting the volume it takes some getting used to it and is not instantaneous
Conversations very clear both ends
Would be nice to see these come in black as well as White
 
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dmelgar

macrumors 68000
Apr 29, 2005
1,588
168
Forced to buy Airpods pro 2 because my Airpods Pro 1 failed with the known static issue and Apple refuses to replace it because I didn't report it until after 3 year limitation.

Overall I'm amazed at how improved ANC is and in particular the boominess of my own voice when speaking especially on the phone but other times as well. With Airpods Pro 2 its completely gone. I've been trying other headphones because Apple has let me down with my Airpods Pro 1, but no other headphone is anywhere near as good for ANC and especially eliminating the boominess of your own voice.

However, all is not good. I think the sound quality is unnecessarily worse than Airpods Pro 1. Apparently the Beats people took over and think nothing but bass is worth listening too. Its hideous the amount of bass this pumps out. Nothing but bass. Insert joke about needing to compensate for something. The sounds is way way to bass heavy. That fact that anyone likes this shows how fashionable and acceptable having loud booming bass has become.

If iPhone accommodation is turned on to balanced then its acceptably bass heavy. But unfortunately that setting it not available on the Mac nor when using the headphones as bluetooth headphones with other devices such as Windows or Android phones.

And its completely unnecessary. Apple should make them sound more neutral and provide an option to amp up the bass for the bass heads.
 
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