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AirPods Pro

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231–240 of 391 posts

Re: AirPods Pro

#231

I really struggled to take the plunge on the original AirPods and it has been one of my top 10 purchases ever in my life without a doubt. I stood there holding the little $200 box in my hand and really danced back and forth in my mind about whether or not they would really be necessary. If they broke, I would go buy a new pair immediately. For what they are, the sound is amazing. I can't really do a phone call anymor…

I've demoed my $25 Anker or mpow earbuds (the Airpod-likes) to many coworkers sporting Airpods and they're universally astounded by the quality of the cheaper buds. I've converted quite a few people who lost their Airpods. The chead buds don't sound quite as good as Airpods, but they're 85% of the way there, fit better, can actually handle the rain and sweat without breaking down, can be used during exercise without…

I think most of the magic is Bluetooth 5. After years and years of trying Bluetooth headphones I only found them acceptable under very specific circumstances (only certain types of exercising). AirPods really seemed to fix most of the long standing issues.

But the cost, even for people who would immediately go buy another pair, does suck. When I used Not as a counter to your story, but I know someone who was gifted knockoff AirPods and didn't know it. They were really confused why people liked them so much and returned them within a week.

Re: AirPods Pro

#232

I really struggled to take the plunge on the original AirPods and it has been one of my top 10 purchases ever in my life without a doubt. I stood there holding the little $200 box in my hand and really danced back and forth in my mind about whether or not they would really be necessary. If they broke, I would go buy a new pair immediately. For what they are, the sound is amazing. I can't really do a phone call anymor…

I've demoed my $25 Anker or mpow earbuds (the Airpod-likes) to many coworkers sporting Airpods and they're universally astounded by the quality of the cheaper buds. I've converted quite a few people who lost their Airpods. The chead buds don't sound quite as good as Airpods, but they're 85% of the way there, fit better, can actually handle the rain and sweat without breaking down, can be used during exercise without…

I, too, have a pair of Anker's airpod-clones that I've sampled next to a family member's AirPods (as well as a comparably-priced set of Samsung's premium wireless buds), and I feel like the 85% quality to 12.5% cost really makes it a no-brainer.

To boot, the fact that these things only cost me about 20 bucks just makes it so much easier to carry around with me every day. People have reported having anxiety/panic attacks over fear of misplacing their AirPods because they're so damn expensive. I don't really have to worry about that with the Anker ones--I'd be bummed if I lost them, but they're just another pair of earbuds, at the end of the day.

Re: AirPods Pro

#233

I really struggled to take the plunge on the original AirPods and it has been one of my top 10 purchases ever in my life without a doubt. I stood there holding the little $200 box in my hand and really danced back and forth in my mind about whether or not they would really be necessary. If they broke, I would go buy a new pair immediately. For what they are, the sound is amazing. I can't really do a phone call anymor…

I've demoed my $25 Anker or mpow earbuds (the Airpod-likes) to many coworkers sporting Airpods and they're universally astounded by the quality of the cheaper buds. I've converted quite a few people who lost their Airpods. The chead buds don't sound quite as good as Airpods, but they're 85% of the way there, fit better, can actually handle the rain and sweat without breaking down, can be used during exercise without…

>can actually handle the rain and sweat without breaking down

That is my biggest issue, as a distance runner I have never had a pair of headphones last >6 months before they stop work (likely due to salt from my sweat). Its one thing to buy a pair of earpods for $29.99 every 6 months (and Apple usually gives me a pair free under the warranty), but I don't want to spend $150 every 6 months. I've been considering the bone conduction headphones, but haven't been able to test a pair yet.

Re: AirPods Pro

#234

Been using the Beats Pro's since I lost my Airpods (later found them) and they are considerably better sound and far more comfortable to use and for workouts. I no longer have to have the volume cranked up to 11. The original Airpods are amazing only because they work well at least 90% of the time, unlike just about every bluetooth headphone out there. I have found the Beats Pro's generally as reliable and convenient…

Beats pro are over the ear cans - do you mean powerbeats pro?

Re: AirPods Pro

#235
post #49

The customizable fit is all I was looking for. I bought the originals but gifted them to my parents, because my ear is messed up from years of high school wrestling without wearing headgear. I know I'm an edge case, but there have been plenty of other great earbuds (wireless and traditional) that use soft flexible tips over the past decade.

Even without wrestling injuries, my ears have never properly fit apple's in-ear headphones.

It's quite odd, for a company with so much ahead-of-the-competition accessibility work, that they've completely left out "people whose ear holes are slightly different" from what could be a profit center.

I bought a pair of apple airpods on launch, and after a week of them falling out every ten seconds, I returned them. They could have kept the money if there were different sizes, or some sort of non-hideous-third-party way to make them fit.

Re: AirPods Pro

#236

I started getting severe ear issues with my normal AirPods. Due to a lack of cushioning, my ear canals started getting damaged. It got very painful eventually (swimmers ear levels of pain). I stopped using them and went back to my Bose in ear headphones (that never gave me problems). These new AirPods seem to have cushioning. I might consider them.

The new shape of these makes me not want them. I seem to have the exact same ears as whoever Apple has modeled their earbuds for and they're super comfortable. Every other in-ear headphone I've tried has been super painful and falls out at the slightest bump.

Might be my middle eastern ear shape...

Re: AirPods Pro

#237
post #100

What’s the word on active noise cancellation and hearing protection? I currently avoid using headphones in loud environments, and my quick test is if I can hear myself talk over the music. This page says the active cancellation uses “anti-noise”, which iirc is noise, at frequencies that drown out the outside noise. But I’m not really sure about this. So, if we were in say a 85 db environment, would music with these b…

These headphones do two things: 1) block external noise passively and 2 actively cancel the sound pressure of external noise by producing an out-of-phase pressure wave. This means that your eardrum doesn't experience the pressure from the external noise, so you should be better protected.

My guess is that even the passive noise reduction of using closed earbuds helps considerably. When I'm in the NYC subway with $8 headphones I don't experience the painfully loud sounds from squealing trains/etc. 15-20 Db of reduction goes a long way towards protecting your hearing.

Re: AirPods Pro

#238
post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I am not in the market for anything like this, since I have the high-end spectrum covered w/ some Sony over the ear noise cancelling cans but if I was I would give these a shot in a new york minute. Like the first-gen AirPods, I think having noise-cancelling in this form factor is a game-changer. All other noise-cancelling headphones, as far as I know, are either bulky on-ears or earbuds with a brick that dangles a…

Do you have a recommendation for sleep headphones that don't hurt your ears or fall out? I'm a side sleeper, so I've always found the ear I'm sleeping on to get irritated.

Search "Sleep phones" on Amazon. However, these don't offer active noise cancellation.

Re: AirPods Pro

#239
post #51

I love AirPods. I wear then 10+hrs a day (cycling between two due to charge). It isnt fair to judge before I've tried this, but I've never quite felt comfortable with the rubber seals 1. It feels like you are underwater 2. I want ambient sound coming thru, esp when i'm walking outside/etc.

These have a transparency setting to let through ambient sounds

They also have venting to equalize pressure.

Re: AirPods Pro

#240
I wonder if Bluetooth multipoint pairing works between iPhone and Mac on these. If it does, noise cancellation, wireless charging and form factor of airpods these would replace QC35 as my favorite.
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