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weather34

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 30, 2022
130
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10 days with Airpod Pro 3 (Music)

After reading many comments on this forum i was somewhat skeptical ,I waded through the noise to find the useful constructive detail .

APP2 I had been using since the initial release and replaced them last year with the newer USB-C compatible release due to losing one also had the original Airpod Pro release version which developed a sound fault after 3 years.

So I took the chance on the new APP3 , I was not disappointed with the APP2 I was enjoying them but the curiosity got the better of me and expecting some disappointment after digesting this forum and other forums.

Day 1.. almost identical in appearance and side by side the minor changes in shape design is apparent on closer inspection but not a drastic change . Setup was a breeze as always with the apple ecosystem it works out the box in a matter of seconds.

First thing I did was disable the heart sensor I have a Ultra2 for that and Im under the assumption could preserve battery use (sure that debate will arise)?

Sound .. having spent some 30 minutes going through various songs from Chill Music to Pink Floyd and my always goto the audiophile albums from the Closer to the Music series. No question the bass is much improved over the APP2 much more flowing and not being someone who listens to music at maximum levels it was pleasing to hear the deeper bass at lower volume levels based on the type of music I listen too frequently.


The mid range was somewhat recessed but later I was able to resolve that with the use of a fine tuned audiogram ,the higher frequency tones were much improved creating a more dynamic spacious feel and no high frequency distortion was apparent . Overall after spending the day I found the bass to be somewhat overwhelming after a long period when listening to FSOE(future sound of egypt..electronic dance etc) this again I resolved by fine tuning an audiogram now Im on the path of appreciating the sound overall its much more richer than the APP2 which in comparison is neutral not worse just the APP2 never delivered this quality of rhythmic bass and having spent the time tuning an audiogram I feel the days of listening with overhead cans have returned.


Comfort(Discomfort Solution) .. after thirty minutes I felt some discomfort in the right ear and pressure which wasn’t ever felt on the APP2 ,using the default out of the packaging medium size ,tried other size tips but the discomfort was still there so back to medium size I basically got one of the tips and sat there squeezing between my thumb and finger for 5 minutes not aggressively just normal and voila !! the discomfort disappeared and 10 days on I have NOT experienced the discomfort.trying the smaller sizes the bass sound shape changed to a more compressed muffled sound.this may be critical to find your preferred sound.medium was my optimum size for comfort and sound.


Noise cancellation.. no brainer here i threw all our household noise at em , dyson hoover on turbo ,coffee bean grinder , loud tv in all comparisons to the APP2 the APP3 had the better noise suppression not substantially but noticeably especially with the coffee bean grinder in front of me .Outside in the traffic noise and daily noise of living in a city again APP3 performed exceptionally well almost to the feel of your in your own isolated world rather rare feel when living in a city like here in Istanbul .sitting in a busy coffee bar i really have to say outright the APP3 ANC is more effective.Having said all that I always use the adaptive mode has I like to be aware of surrounding especially popularity of E-scooters and electric vehicles again city life where you need eyes in the back of your head.


Day 10 ..

Now having used for 10 days and spent a bit of time fine tuning the audiogram I have these sounding to my preference of sound .I found this essential if music is your priority ,i don’t use the translation, heart sensor i see the benefits but Im just interested having a good sound nothing else. The audiogram takes time to build there is a-lot of trial and error but eventually you can find the sound that suits your music preference and taste.


I don’t use the music app eq sound options like acoustic, rock, increase bass etc, i just use an audiogram but when I used the APP2 the music app sound eq options helped but with APP3 i don’t feel the need to use those.


Outside walking noticeably on windy days the APP2 suffered from the wind noise regardless wether ANC or adaptive mode was being used just got used to it , APP3 a pleasant surprise does a better job reducing the annoyance of wind noise has I was walking along the sea front this morning its still there but NOT overwhelmingly louder than the music and voice calls .Pleasantly surprised my wife wasn’t complaining of the wind noise also when she called me so that side of things is a convenient plus .


Its worth noting when listening to old or poorly recorded songs these really reveal the worse and can sound like a $10 wired low cost earphone..So they’re revealing and not disguising the sound.But with good recordings they do reveal quality.


Overall for me a better pleasant music experience , slight concern initially over comfort resolved as mentioned , spending a bit of time compiling a suitable audiogram via the Health App ..If I hadn’t owned a previous generation the wow factor might be there , coming from the APP2 the improvements are small but noticeable based on music is my sole interest in using these.Very satisfied and experienced no whistling sounds or anomalies reported on this forum ,highly recommend them but if coming from APP2 your not going to get the wow factor may take time to appreciate the subtle differences.


Go back 20 years ago I was into high end HIFI spending thousands on it over the years ,yes its an obsession and addictive to find the perfect sounding combination (yes i used kilims/carpets on walls to dampen the outside world ,directional cables,mains filters,stands filled with fine metal chips the list goes on then you get married :) it all ends and becomes a dream to the day you retire and can do it all again but technology changed . Now its time to just enjoy them and stop analysing if you constantly sit there analysing you will never be satisfied or enjoy.. please note its a personal experience not a right or wrong or disagreement if your unfortunate to not like the APP3 or experience issues I'm not here to disagree just posting my own experience ..have a good day and if you got to this point crack open a beer or whatever your fuel is ...brian
 
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Hey, thanks for your really helpful review!
You mentioned doing “fine-tuning on an audiogram” — could you explain a bit more about how you did that? I mean, did you try to somehow manipulate the response times to achieve the desired frequencies? Or did you just try to make the test as accurate as possible?
 
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Hey, thanks for your really helpful review!
You mentioned doing “fine-tuning on an audiogram” — could you explain a bit more about how you did that? I mean, did you try to somehow manipulate the response times to achieve the desired frequencies? Or did you just try to make the test as accurate as possible?
if i get time i will , its not a one minute wow solution it took time approximately 7-8 days 10-15 minutes each time of adjusting the audiogram sliders, required a bit of patience flicking between health app and accessibility audio section then play a track.you could take a screenshot and dump
it on a laptop screen for easier convenient viewing ,as above if i get time ill try to do something without being soaked in endless terminology which often bores the pants off users 😀
 
Revised 14 days on (Discomfort)


Discomfort being the focus, 14 days on I thought i had a simple solution to comfort by simply squeezing the
tip gently this in fact is a terrible idea ! don’t do it full stop !!
squeeze it too hard and the insert of the tip the harder solid area that clips onto the AirPods Pro 3 cracks .

14 days on I began to experience the right ear discomfort again whilst out for a long walk in fact it was pretty much
irritable and disturbing after a 4 hour walk to the point I cant wear them anymore for a period of an hour or more .
Really disappointed I love the sound really do far richer and balanced than my APP2 but the discomfort in the right ear regardless of which tip size I use has ruined a good product for me .Sound is perfect but the discomfort made them unusable !

Im now back on with the APP2 which i enjoyed and in comparison still do thankfully, the purchase of the Airpods Pro 3 was a curiosity moment getting the better of me . Learn by mistakes this time it’s a major disappointment .

If you’re fortunate to not suffer the discomfort you’re lucky and enjoy the sound, I don’t think APPLE are true to their event words anymore its pure marketing ,lack of thorough real world Quality Control testing and being a product that is completely unserviceable really deems it has a disposable piece of plastic or a mistaken purchase.

I am going to attempt to return them to the Apple store today but I am not too hopeful of a solution other than a refund at best but I don’t hold out much hope for that either has there not broken(apart from the cracked tip XS my fault) so could be a case of sell privately at a loss or give em to the cat to chase around :) .

you live and learn and first Apple product in decades I have been disappointed with due to this discomfort , its like buying a pair of shoes or sneakers and they just look perfect but cripples you. . brian
 
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I also returned the APP3 after 5 weeks of use for the following reasons:
  • Worse comfort compared to the APP2. In my case, they’re not painful, but I can feel them in my ears. When I switch back to the APP2, it feels like a relief. The APP2 also fit perfectly and never have any fit issues.
  • Inferior sound, lacking body compared to the APP2. I never expected audiophile quality from the AirPods Pro anyway, I use other IEMs for that (Xenns Mangird and Fiio FH9), but the APP2 sound more than acceptable for true wireless earbuds.
  • No support for iOS 17. I find it outrageous that they chose to do this. I use an iPhone 13 Mini and tried iOS 26, but I don’t like the design, and it also slows down the system, causing lag when opening apps or running animations.
Basically, the only things that kept me trying for so long and wanted to keep them were the improved noise cancellation and transparency mode.

So I returned them. In fact, I bought another pair of APP2, since the ones I’ve been using are from the original lightning version, preordered when they first came out.
 
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