Anyone using Apple AirPods?*

Like 'em? Hate 'em? Know of something better? Bonus points if music actually sounds "good" on them, and by "good" I don't necessarily mean enough bass to double for CPR chest compressions.

 

Love mine. They're so convenient, and they just work. Wouldn't describe them as bass-heavy, at all. I listen to a lot of 24 bit lossless files on my iPhone 6, and these sound "good" enough for me

 

My concern is that I could never get the old wired ear buds to stay in. I hear that the Air Pods are much better.
My Motorola BT headset broke yesterday. It also was "good enough."

 

I've done the same demonstration for several people: shaking my head to try to get them to fall out. They never have!

 

I have a pair. Sound quality is adequate for the convenience they provide.

 

Apple has a pretty liberal return policy. So no risk in trying them. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

 

Using them right now on a conference call!

I actually love them for phone calls. So easy to put in and sound and mic quality is great. Fit is good, they've never fallen out on their own, only when I've knocked them out by taking off a sweater or something.

They don't have any isolation or noise reduction, so I have another solution for that (review forthcoming). But if you're in a quiet room, they actually sound decent for music.

 

I would check out Bragi's products instead for Bluetooth headphones.

 

I only use these at the gym or on trail walks. They need to not suck, but don't have to be cork sniffer audiophile grade.

 

I wear them walking on the trail and playing music low I can still hear when a bike is coming up behind me. I love em and there awesome for phone conversations also. A guy stopped me on the trail last week and asked me if they were some sort of hearing aid .... lol

 

B&O and Sony have rivals to these about to enter the market, and both should sport substantially better fidelity and isolation. I'm waiting to give those a try. I'm sick and tired of cables, so the second a decent-sounding pair of truly wireless buds hit the market, I'm there.

 

A review of the Sony wireless buds is out. Looks like they'll sell for $199, which if true is a hundred less than the B&O buds:

Sony WF-1000X – the best wireless earbuds out now | Trusted Reviews

 

How's the battery life?

 

Decent. In my experience, about 2-3 hours of continuous talk time, more if you're just listening to music. Of course you can just pop them back in the case for a quick top-off. It's kinda ridiculous how light weight they are. But if you don't plan on putting them back in the case a couple of times per day (why wouldn't you?), then these are not a good choice.

 

Thanks! As long as they don't fall out all the time and have decent battery life, I'll consider them. I'll give them a try once I have a phone without a 3.5mm plug.

 

It is very hard to go back to wired earbuds once you get a taste of AirPods.

There is also another good (or bad??) thing about the AirPods.... the charging case is a very interesting piece of industrial design. Feels good to hold, but invites you to open/close/snap the lid for no reason at all ha. Like flicking a Zippo or something. My case has developed some wear and patina, but it is perfectly functional and has survived a lot of unintended abuse.

 

Love mine on the go, perfect compliment to my Iphone and Apple Watch. Of course at home, I listen to my Audeze LCD 3.

 

Fun Fact! Apple wanted to name the product Air Buds but that name already belongs to a movie series about dogs that play basketball.

 

Both our kids have them. They seem decent for what they use them for but I have no idea why they need "wireless' buds as for the same money I could have sourced them FAR superior sounding buds for far less. One of the 2 sets already has an issue where one bud holds a charge for far less time than the other leaving my kid listening to one bud if he isn't in easy reach of their proprietory charger. Not a fan here ....

 

I finally broke down and bought a set. Sound quality is decent. Considering I have to downsample everything to 256AAC just to get it on my iPhone, I don't know that I need better quality. They seem to stay in just fine. I'll know more after the gym tomorrow.

 

Only, if you use the Apple Music app on the phone. If you use other music players, like foobar or Vox, you can play at least ALAC files (haven't tried FLAC yet).

 

My iPhone plays ALAC

 

True, but external apps are not allowed to update play counts, which is a crucial feature for me. So effectively it's "I have to."

Yes, but not at hi res. The reason I downsample is that it's the only way to get the songs on my phone. If I don't I'm constantly nagged that my hi res files didn't load.

 

Don’t know about earlier models, but my iPhone 6 handles 24/48 ALAC files just fine, using nothing but stock apps

 

Yes, but 25% of my library is 24/96 and above. I want to listen to those songs as well.

BTW, I don't believe I expressed any desire whatsoever for anyone to solve my hi-res media problem for me. But hey, I am impressed with how much you know. I knew that too.

The Air Pods fell out twice on the treadmill. They're going back now.