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AirPods Pro 3 here, early impressions (vs AirPods Pro 2)

Kylo83 said:
yeah AirPods Pro 2 sound much better, with any blind test everyone would say the pro 2 are the new ones with better sound and bass
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That’s ridiculous — no one with functioning hearing would say the Pro 2 sounds better.


The Pro 3’s sound and bass are noticeably superior to the Pro 2. Period. End of story.

However, a lot of this comes down to fit.

Using smaller ear tips (due to comfort issues) affects both the sound and ANC significantly — even when the iOS seal test says the fit is good.

Also, if you have wider ear canals, using the default ear tips can have the same negative effect.

After using them for a few days now, I can confidently say the sound quality and bass are clearly better than the Pro 2.

But the comfort isn’t quite as good, and if I go with smaller ear tips, I lose some ANC.

For reference, I own eight pairs of high-quality full-sized headphones — some costing $1,000 — so I have a pretty solid idea of what good sound is.
 
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NEW UPDATE: The ANC and sound quality of the AirPods Pro 3 are clearly better than the Pro 2 (and this comes from someone who’s bought 20+ pairs of headphones in the last 2 years, currently owning 8 .Anyone denying this either hasn’t used them or doesn’t have the right fit.


The new tips go deeper into the ear canal, which can cause comfort issues. For me they’re okay, but not as comfortable as the Pro 2. I went down to size S tips — going to XS feels better, but then the ANC suffers (even if iOS shows a good seal). Comfort also seems to change with time of day: during the day they felt fine, but at night they can feel a bit tight. Not awful, but I prefer the Pro 2’s comfort.


Still, the ANC is vastly better on the Pro 3, and the bass, density, and overall sound quality are undeniably superior.
 
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Compared to my APP1 with busted ANC, my new APP3 are phenomenal. It might be a hard sell for someone with APP2b, if they’re working fine, stick with them. But USB-C Is one reason to upgrade for those with APP1 or APP2a. Extra battery life for the buds will be handy, maybe APP4 will extend the battery life of the case.

Compared to the APP2, the case is 13.4% lighter but the buds are 4.7% heavier.
 
One of the reasons I upgraded was to get the case with USBC. I considered getting just the case for the last few months, but couldn't pull the trigger on it. I'm glad I waited.
 
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After a week, I still don't like them. Not as comfy, but not terrible compared to the 2s. But I don't like the v-shaped sound with the seemingly scooped mid range. I just miss the lower mids. I've started a refund with Apple.
 
zerolight said:
After a week, I still don't like them. Not as comfy, but not terrible compared to the 2s. But I don't like the v-shaped sound with the seemingly scooped mid range. I just miss the lower mids. I've started a refund with Apple.
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They aren’t quite as comfy, but the ANC and Sound are head and shoulders above the APP 2.

Have you tried changing the EQ in settings? You can pull the bass way down, I have mine set to Rock, which is what I prefer.
 
judyg951 said:
One of the reasons I upgraded was to get the case with USBC. I considered getting just the case for the last few months, but couldn't pull the trigger on it. I'm glad I waited.
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Funny enough I have never used wired charging for airpods. I always use the apple watch charger.
 
danny1305 said:
It’s not wrong at all…it’s literally night and day. It really seems like you haven’t tried them at all, and are just trying to cope with now having the previous generation
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I was raised to say 'my opinion is different than yours and here are my thoughts/findings', not that ...
 
Kylo83 said:
I tried that and no difference and they are both on the same settings, yeah I’ll get a replacement and report back
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I signed up for this forum just to say that I’m having the exact same poor ANC performance on the APP3 as you are. I would go as far as saying it might be the worst ANC I’ve ever experienced in the last 10 years of having nice noise cancelling headphones. I’ve had the AAP2 for a number of years and get a really comfortable and solid seal using the large tips. The noise cancelling when turned on reduces all background sounds to near silence. The window in my house is currently open and the car noise from the street is almost imperceptible. If I snap my fingers in front of me I can barely hear the snap. If I talk my voice sounds muffled.

However, when I put in the new APP3 using the medium tips and turn on ANC, it feels like the noise cancelling is maybe about 30% of what the APP2 is giving me. I can still hear cars driving by outside and if I talk I can hear my own voice relatively clearly. If I snap my fingers I hear a very clear transient “snap”. I should add that I have confirmed that ANC mode is on and that conversation awareness isn’t being triggered.

At this point I’ve tried all the tips and the results are the same. It is rather disappointing given the claims of vastly improved ANC that others are experiencing. I’ve tried turning off Personalized Spatial Audio and redoing the scan. No change.

I have some custom molded musician’s earplugs and have been comparing the shape of the molds to the geometry of the AAP3 tips. The only thing I can determine is that the shape of my ear canal is like a narrow and long ellipse compared to the APP3 tips which are wider and circular. On the APP2 tips you could squeeze the front of them to be very flat since the silicone is very compliant. However, the APP3 tips are much more rigid and structured due to the infused foam. It seems like they just don’t want to conform to the shape of my ear canal. It’s nearly impossible to squeeze them into the same narrow shape because the tip doesn’t protrude very far beyond the black protrusion on the main body. The APP2 formed a seal by the tips pressing up against the tissue around the ear canal. The APP3 seems to form its seal by the protruding tips going into the ear canal. My best assessment at this time is that if our ear canal doesn’t match what Apple has designed for us then we are going to get mediocre performance. I actually think these tips would perform better if they didn’t have foam infused in them. Then they would conform more.

If I have a faulty unit that would be an easy fix. But I think the reality is that I’m now in the 5-10% of customers whose ears don’t fit their design. My only hope is that there will be aftermarket tips that work better for my ears.
 
Wizec said:
They aren’t quite as comfy, but the ANC and Sound are head and shoulders above the APP 2.

Have you tried changing the EQ in settings? You can pull the bass way down, I have mine set to Rock, which is what I prefer.
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Hate them on every profile. EQ in Music app does weird things to the sound. Like it adds or takes out too much. Rock adds even more treble and bass - if that’s the sound you like then the APP3 are right there for you with pre made V signature. As a guitarist, I hate v shaped sound signature as it sucks the warmth and fatness from guitar tones. But it also makes Teams calls too harsh for my ears.

Also EQ isn’t system wide so it doesn’t help me in YouTube or Teams calls (which I do for hours a day). And I couldn’t get something I could live with in Music. APP2 are not perfect but they don’t lack mid range and aren’t too bright.

I returned mine today. And as I’d already given my APP2 to my son I had to buy another pair of APP2.
 
After a week of using my AirPod Pro 3s I absolutely love them. All the YouTube reviewers were gushing so much about the improved sound quality, better bass, wider soundstage, magical ANC that I thought for sure I would be let down in real life.

Nope! Huge improvement over my Pro 2s. The bigger bass and better sound quality alone make this a great upgrade.
 
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I'm disappointed with the 3s. I think Apple went with a more mainstream modern brighter sound and they lost the nice warm sound of the 2s. I keep switching back and forth, with good fit on both, and the 2s sound richer and more "audiophile" to me, and WAY more comfortable. The brightness on the 3s makes them sound harsh to my ears. The only benefit I see to the 3s is the more secure fit for active endeavors... I want to return the 3s, but they do feel more secure on my bike - where I use them a lot.
 
Kylo83 said:
much worse than pro 2
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I don't understand. What is your problem? You keep on posting your hatred for the 3s! Fine, you don't like them. You say they are inferior. So return them and try to stop perseverating about them. Your inability to stop posting your hatred is very concerning from a mental point of view. See a specialist, please.
 
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Corpuscle said:
I don't understand. What is your problem? You keep on posting your hatred for the 3s! Fine, you don't like them. You say they are inferior. So return them and try to stop perseverating about them. Your inability to stop posting your hatred is very concerning from a mental point of view. See a specialist, please.
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Ha! Yeah, that guy has a screw loose. It’s as if Apple’s new Pro 3s are somehow a personal attack on him. He’s made the same post multiple times. At some point the moderator needs to step in and ban him.
 
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I instantly noticed the sound quality downgrade when first trying mine today. They will be going back and keeping the pro 2. Audio quality is important to me over gimmicks.
 
I'm thinking more and more about the V-shaped frequency response of the AirPods Pro 3. V-shaped means that the bass and treble are boosted (which is why many AirPods Pro 2 users find that the mids are missing).

I find that this V-shape varies depending on the listening volume. It's more pronounced at low volumes and less so at high volumes. This used to be called loudness correction and was integrated into amplifiers. Never in speakers and headphones.

Now the question for me is whether this is a new feature implemented in the H2 chip or whether it is version 26 of the various operating systems. Many people want an EQ for this very reason.
 
Theninjagecko said:
I instantly noticed the sound quality downgrade when first trying mine today. They will be going back and keeping the pro 2. Audio quality is important to me over gimmicks.
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The 2s are great. But I instantly noticed how much better the 3s are. A bigger sound field and more clarity. I listen to the sounds, not the reviews.
 
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I was initially disappointed with the sound of my APP#.
Here's what I did:
Reset APP3.
Set Headphone Accommodations to Balanced Tone/Moderate.
Turn off Spatialize Stereo.
Give them some time to burn-in. They seem to get better every day. They are developing great tones and layering.
Now I need to figure out the ANC.
 
FYI, my tiny partner (5'1) - thought that the smaller ear buds would be better for her. They ended up hurting a lot. She went to large and ... found them to be more comfortable. She says they have more cushioning and because of that doesn't hurt her ears, unlike the smaller buds.
 
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