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AirPods Pro 3
- Thread starter Bandream
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I wasn’t talking about trading in with Apple. I sold them to a second-hand electronics retailer for around $100.
It makes sense for me because I want better ANC and sound quality (especially bass), which is what Apple is promising.
I did the same thing when upgrading from AirPods Pro 1 to 2, and it was worth it. This time, the upgrade should be even more noticeable.
Dave2D said the sound was less preferable for him and provides rough coupler plots of the EQ profile... so if you're getting these primarily for sound improvements, might be worth waiting a bit more for the dust to settle on that aspect.
Based on the FQ measured though, it's a substantial difference in sound signature. Saying it's 8.8 vs 9 kinda obscures that fact - it's more like, he can't really say which one is better, but it's clear he preferred the AP2 by quite a bit.
I have a feeling the bass improvements will be close to unanimous. I'm a bit more concerned with the treble though.
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The higher end differences went both ways in the chart. Different frequencies higher and lower. Still, the differences were statically insignificant. And hearing isn't linear. We'll all know Friday.
With all due respect, I've been in the headphone game for over 25 years, both as an early member of head-fi and audiosciencereview since it launched. These are in the realm of easily audible results and the cumulative effect will be a treble lift.
My original point stands - for those w/ the AP2 already and looking for a sonic upgrade, you should give these a listen first as it might not work for you, esp. if you're sensitive to treble.
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I guess it matters how the response curve matches "normal" hearing and subjective preferences. Friday reveals all.
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CNET’s review included making a test call next to a busy New York street and it did seem to block out pretty much all of the background noise (you can see this just after the 7 minute mark here CNET review).
What is surprising is how accurate the heart rate monitoring is compared to the Powerbeats pro 2 (see this video from DC Rainmaker for fitness testing).
If, as apple said, the APP 3 and Powerbeats Pro 2 share the same heart rate sensing technology, the Apple Watch will be prioritized. It would be great if they worked together. but I doubt it.
The sensors are different with the Powerbeats Pro 2 using green LEDs and the AirPods Pro 3 using infra red, which from early testing does seem to be more accurate. In terms of the Apple Watch getting priority, that isn’t the case according to Apples’s own support document where it picks the most accurate between APP3 and Watch over the last five minutes (see How AirPods measure your heart rate). I think this dynamic tracking is different to how Powerbeats work where the Apple Watch data is used if being worn at the same time.
Interesting video from YouTube channel The Headphone Show saying how you can’t necessarily trust a lot of frequency curves for AirPods Pro headphones as, among other things, the frequency shape changes with volume as humans hear the same frequency differently depending on the volume. The video is here The Headphones Show
I don’t know. I was super excited and pre-ordered them immediately (currently own the Pro 2), but after listening to some reviews with binaural mic recordings, I can only sense a marginal improvement in sound quality.
The ANC improvement seems almost entirely due to the new foam-filled ear tips, since it’s still using the same old chip.
All of that is “fine” (though not exactly exciting), but what really concerns me is reviewers mentioning a tighter in-ear canal feel compared to the Pro 2. That’s exactly what I hated about many other wireless earbuds, including Sony.
The Pro 2 fit me very comfortably, and if the Pro 3 are any less comfortable, then they won’t be any good for me.
The ANC improvement seems almost entirely due to the new foam-filled ear tips, since it’s still using the same old chip.
All of that is “fine” (though not exactly exciting), but what really concerns me is reviewers mentioning a tighter in-ear canal feel compared to the Pro 2. That’s exactly what I hated about many other wireless earbuds, including Sony.
The Pro 2 fit me very comfortably, and if the Pro 3 are any less comfortable, then they won’t be any good for me.
They don't have to be excited, if they don't like them, just send the Airpods back and buy something else nice
No and that likely won’t come until Apple develops their own networking stack. BT (AP3s are still BT 5.3) just can’t do gaming level latency.
@ultratiem So apparently they are much better, or at least can be. The new SPR AVS protocol works with iPhone 17 and likely upcoming apple stuff. Under 10ms is pretty amazing for a wireless headphone.