AirPods Pro • Hacker News Board

Re: AirPods Pro

#321

Post by p1esk » Mon, Oct 28, 2019, 8:16 PM UTC

petra wrote: post #120

graeme wrote: 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…

Noise cancelling earphones really do cancel the noise before you hear it - when they're fast enough. When they work you feel like you're at a quiet room, weirdly hearing only the high-frequency sounds. But yes, you can listen to music at a much lower volume, Safely.

* Noise cancelling earphones really do cancel the noise before you hear it - when they're fast enough.*

No. They can only start cancel ing it after they build the predictive model of it, and only if the model is accurate. Basically this only works for repetitive regular types of noise (e.g. engine hum).

Re: AirPods Pro

#322

Post by TheOperator » Mon, Oct 28, 2019, 8:17 PM UTC

bsamuels wrote: post #3

I will personally love to see someone justify spending $250 on wireless earphones whose batteries cannot be replaced. I'm a year and a half into my normal airpods and they already need new batteries.

TCO is pretty brutal for anybody who bothers to do the back of the napkin math on how long the batteries will hold out (IF you don't lose or break them first) but the experience is pretty good. The aesthetic appeal, the sound quality bump from the elimination of cable knock, and practicality are nice.

I would go as far as to call wired IEMs inherently inferior if price is no object and I don't care if you're buying a $1000 pair with an amp. You're buying a less practical product with a sound quality improvement only in SOME situations. The only reasons to go that road now are running time (if you listen to music ALL day) or cost.

Still either lifespan needs to improve or price needs to drop or both these to be a non-stupid purchase for the vast majority of the market. Most people really don't have the disposible income for these including half the people who buy them.

Re: AirPods Pro

#323

Post by atomi » Mon, Oct 28, 2019, 8:19 PM UTC

imgabe wrote: post #249

partiallypro wrote: post #221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why? Airpods work with Android.

Not very well in my experience. I did try Airpods for a while and the volume control doesn't work properly. It was impossible to turn them down below a level that was still too loud. The microphone also apparently sounded horrible.

You can voice control volume on Android.

Re: AirPods Pro

#324

Post by MuffinFlavored » Mon, Oct 28, 2019, 8:24 PM UTC

seanhandley wrote: post #90

MuffinFlavored wrote: post #27

I'd buy them if they did a buyback program on the previous generation AirPods like they do for iPhones.

Would you buy a second hand pair of headphones with someone else's earwax on them?

You think they can't be sanitized + cleaned?

Re: AirPods Pro

#325

Post by crooked-v » Mon, Oct 28, 2019, 8:25 PM UTC

colonwqbang wrote: post #202

rollinDyno wrote: post #107

Can we talk about how smooth and beautiful the website is? I know, it's Apple and their websites are always the same, but there's always a tiny increment. This time it's the woman adjusting the ANC by holding her Airpods. The way she fades in and the scroll controls her every movement and then fades out is just so smooth.

I had the exact opposite reaction. I wanted to see how much the headphones cost. It took me what felt like 100 space bar presses to get to the purchase link, almost like the page didn't really want me to order and was stalling for time.

It looks like you overlooked the "Buy" link at the upper right.

Re: AirPods Pro

#326

Post by andrepd » Mon, Oct 28, 2019, 8:26 PM UTC

rovr138 wrote: post #246

andrepd wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Especially when you can get the same thing, sans the apple logo, for 30$. EDIT: You can downvote, but it's still the truth :p

Considering they’re not out and they use Apple custom hardware, how can you make this claim? And if you still want to make it, prove it.

I was talking about the previous generation airpods.

Re: AirPods Pro

#327

Post by Apocryphon » Mon, Oct 28, 2019, 8:27 PM UTC

AdmiralAsshat wrote: post #232

gamblor956 wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 atta…

What's their model?

Re: AirPods Pro

#328

Post by drivers99 » Mon, Oct 28, 2019, 8:27 PM UTC

gnicholas wrote: post #253

Bummer that this requires Catalina on the Mac. I'm not ready to take that plunge, so I guess I won't be getting Airpods Pro soon either!

Similarly, it's not compatible with iPhone 6, which is what I have. Oh well. I really want these but I'm probably better off not paying $250 for something like this.

edit: wait a minute... they say the same thing for the regular AirPods, but I use them all the time.

Re: AirPods Pro

#329

Post by carlob » Mon, Oct 28, 2019, 8:28 PM UTC

askafriend wrote: post #260

Waterluvian wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm speaking more generally, not just about battery replacement. I cannot be in the mindset of disposable merchandise because I would be thinking about this stuff all the time.

To put this into perspective, you produce more waste with a grocery trip or a takeout order than you do with owning AirPods. So let's start with the more impactful stuff before we get down to headphones that are used several hours a day every single day for a couple years. Not to mention Apple has an extensive recycling program for most of their products.

> To put this into perspective, you produce more waste with a grocery trip or a takeout order than you do with owning AirPods.

That is probably only true in the US given the amount of regulation on compostable bags and boxes we have now in the EU.

Secondly, e-waste is orders of magnitude more difficult to dispose of and it often contains some rare minerals that got mined in some war zone in Africa: that should give you more of an incentive to recycle than some random styrofoam container.

Re: AirPods Pro

#330

Post by stunt » Mon, Oct 28, 2019, 8:29 PM UTC

whalesalad wrote: post #8

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…

AirPods (and earbuds in general) just don't deliver the sound quality unless you make it loud enough that probably hurts your hearing on long run due to nature of their design.

They are comfortable and very useful to have phone calls but nothing more unless you are in quiet environment most of your time.