New Apple Airpods Pro and The State of Bluetooth Sound

I don't have AirPods (any Apple earbuds don't fit in my ears properly), but I can definitely say that Bluetooth sound won't match wired sound for a long time. If we can get to where we can use normal, lossy Bluetooth codecs without draining phone's batteries, and then HiRes formats without much battery drain, then maybe Bluetooth audio will match wired. But since average people don't need lossless Bluetooth audio, I doubt it'll ever happen. They'll just keep optimizing the lower quality codecs they have now.

 

Haven’t had mine long enough to be able to make the comparison, but 2D27 installed yesterday and all is fine. I’m impressed by the active noise cancellation. Did a fine job of reducing the noise of my lawnmower while I listened to Lawnmower by Sparks yesterday. Good ANC allows me to listen at much lower volumes which I prefer.

 

I'm super impressed with these. I've been using RHA wireless earbuds, which I still really like. But the ANC and transparency modes on these are amazing. You can talk to anyone whenever you need to w/o removing them. Almost worth the hefty price.

 

Yes, but actually, no. The transfer rate is capped at 250 kbps. But when I made the change from wired to wireless earbuds a couple years ago, I didn't care because all my lossless music files onboard my iPhone at 256 AAC. Also, I've read that there are many ways AAC Bluetooth can be implemented, so there's more to the story than just bit rate. Supposedly Apple does a great job at implementation.

So far, no "true wireless" set even beats an audiophile "sort of wireless" set, where you wear the battery unit around your neck and the buds are connected by wires, but the AirPods Pro come very close to my ears.

I have a dongle I can plug into my headphone amp that uses aptX, which broadcasts at 352 kbps, and I have earbuds that pick up aptX. I can't say the difference between that and the AirPods Pro is anything to write home about. And the AirPods Pro are so much more convenient with ANC and transparency mode, and work so seamlessly with iPhone and my MacBook.

I've had a lot of wireless earbuds, and still do, and these are my favorite right now. I only got them on Friday, so I'm sure newness is a factor. But I did not expect these to sound as good as they do. I've traditionally not liked the wired sets that come with iPhone, the way they goose the bass and all that. But I don't find that with these.

 

I'm still using first-generation AirPods and I love them for listening to audiobooks and podcasts, or watching video on my iPad in bed.

But for music, almost never. Decent, but anemic. Maybe the Pros are significantly better, but I hate the way those longer stems look.

Worrying about bit-rates and codecs seem pointless to me when you're talking about a form factor that pretty much guarantees seriously compromised sound quality.

 

I have both the original AirPods and AirPods Pro - the Pro's are significantly better. BTW - the stems on the Pros are actually shorter by about ¼" and are curved so they don't stick out as obviously.

 

Thanks, my mistake! Must have been trying to convince myself the originals look less dorky....

 

1 B == 8 b, therefore 2 MBps == 16 Mbps
There is no "m", it stands for "milli", and no one measures data rate in milli-anything.
There is no confusion to write "k" as "K", but technically it is incorrect, must be lowercase.

 

They also have replaceable silicon tips (3 sizes) so you can get a good fit. They are a bit pricey but you can catch them on sale for around $200 these days.

 

Apple pushed firmware update 3A283 for Airpods Pro yesterday that unlocks Spatial Audio features with the release of iOS 14 tomorrow..can’t wait to try it!

 

That should be cool, but I always wait at least a couple weeks before installing an update so as to avoid any bugs or whatever. But that’s me.

 

Hard to control whether or not you update firmware with these. If you recharge the case, the firmware usually updates on its own. You can unpair the phones from your i devices each time you charge and it might not update

 

So it doesn't make sense to pair digital audio files more than, what, 256 kbps with these? Is there any point to using lossless files with these?

 

In terms of how the iPhone handles audio, I believe that if you start with a lossy file with the intention of listening via Bluetooth, the phone converts the original lossy file to PCM, which is then converted to 256K AAC for transmission via Bluetooth. A native 256K AAC is still decoded and re encoded. You could argue, therefore, that there is less quality loss if you start with a lossless or uncompressed file.

 

Screw Apple. I upgraded my iPhone 6S IOS to the latest and now my headphone jack is "Not Supported"

 

absolutely- using lossless gives it the best source to compress down from. using a lossy source just makes the eventual output that much worse. (oh yeah, like @Sevoflurane said)

 

Try a hard reset should fix it.

 

I take this statement back. I have the RHA MA750 wireless, and the sound quality of those blows the AirPods Pro out of the water. But what saves the Apple product is the convenience, namely the way they work seamlessly with iPhone, and the different listening modes--esp. ANC and transparency. I really like these, but I wouldn't call them "audiophile" at all. But that's not really a dig against Apple--RHA's true wireless buds aren't really audiophile sound either.

 

the sound is actually good after some break in. yes it lacks some air up top and the mids are not the most detailled. but Im not sure they are worst then the EDC3 iem. Decent everywhre (bass, mids, attack, treble, never piercing and relatively detailed).
the only con I ca find is pricy for the SQ, but the portability, no wire and noise cancelling compensate for the price.

The noise cancelling is so effective that it render anything, even etymotic er-4 for me not worth the "pain". the noise cancelling option is the first time I experience this technology and its a game changer for me in terms of portable audio. in the bus, car, or even talking a walk, noise cancelling bring so much clarity by reducing ambient sounds: mid fi, and musical. you just listen to the music.

very happy with these. the sounds is comparable t0 100 to 150$ wired iem, but with the noise cancelling, bluetooth and ease of use (no more god damn wire) make me forget the premium price I paid.
tbh, even with jazz, these are detailed enough, musical, with a agreable FR, nothing sticks out, smooth, decent bass and attack. so happy with these. they are not the most comfortable in the sense after 1 hours I start to feel them but due to my job I never listen to ore then multiples hours in. a row.

good enough SQ: check (definitely a upgrade vs the wired apple pods)
noise cancelling: omg wow game changer check
ease of use, no more god damn wire on the run: check

I feel these are good mid fi bluetooth portable audio devices. If you cant enjoy music threw these, find better music, its not the gear fault.

 

The AirPods Pro are frequently available in the $170-200 range. Unless you need a pair immediately you should wait for such a sale.

 

Does anyone seriously expect these to match or beat wired headphones via DAC and external amp? Some SHMF members seem to be deaf to the actual intended use of these wireless headphones. That is crucial in determining if these are a good purchase.