I know this is a strange comparison. I currently have the 1st gen Airpods Pro. They are ok but I never was able to get a great seal with them which has limited sound quality and ANC effectiveness. The silicone also caused some itching although this is usually tolerable. I did try other tips like the comply foam but it wasn't much better in terms of seal. I use them for exercising and plane travel. For exercising doesn't matter so much but for plane travel I often have to put on subtitles defeating the purpose of ANC. So I looked at over the ear headphones and purchased the Bose QuietComfort Ultra. The Airpods Max are just too pricey and was concerned about long term comfort. The Bose are great. Comfy, terrific sound quality, and fantastic ANC. From a convivence standpoint it's hard to beat the Airpods though. The size plus the seamless integration with my Apple devices is nice. I also do find the Atmos/Spatial audio on my Airpods better which is fun for movies. I starting looking at reviews of the Airpods Pro 2 and some seem to report they do fit better than prior gen (maybe different material for tips?) and the ANC seems to be much better. The Bose were on sale and got them for $300 but the Airpods Pro 2 are quite inexpensive right now. Any reason to think the Airpods Pro 2 will work much better for me compared with the first gen? If so I may just order today and try them out and return one of them.
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Airpods Pro 2 vs Bose QuietComfort Ultra
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If you mean the QC Ultra earbuds, I can’t comment on those, but the headphones are definitely superior to the APP2s. They’re very good, I enjoy my AirPods quite a bit, but aside from convenience and size the Ultras win in battery life, ANC, and sound quality. Still worth a shot, the AirPods might be ‘good enough’ for you, and you’d save money returning the Boses.
Thanks. I meant the over ear headphones. They really are excellent so far with great sound quality, comfort, and ANC. I went ahead and ordered the APP2 at the Black Friday/Cyber Monday price and will see how they do. I suspect I will keep the Bose but if the APPP2s surprise me and get a good seal I would consider them instead.
I haven't tried the latest Bose over ear headphones, but the ones I've used in the past have been great. I can guarantee the APP won't sound as good as the over ear headsets. It's just a totally different use case. They have decent sound, and is very convenient and unobtrusive to carry and put on/off. But you just aren't going to get the depth of sound you get from over ears.