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If they’re noise cancelling those over ear will be very interesting!

This will be the BIG push ... and most likely sound stage fine tuning in iOS or ATV and in MacOS.

I'm glad and yet saddened I sold my Beats Studio3 Wireless headphones. They worked perfectly for me at home for my AppleTV4 and now that I have a stationary used MBA it would've worked nicely. Yet outdoors voice call quality was not worth having handsfree calls with (not speakerphone) and the headband kept falling back from my bald head and hat to my neck while walking. These also made my tiny ears sweat like crazy during workouts at the gym and I could not do squats at the gym with these on.

AirPods it is then but ordering them from Colorware.
 
Finally—some high quality, beautifully designed headphones from Apple. Sign me up!
 
I just want AirPods that aren't "one size fits all". If Apple go for in-ear form factor with flexible seals I'll gladly drop my better quality wired earphones for them.

I'm not holding my breath.
Yes. I’d like it to stay on during a motorcycle ride as well.
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Announcement MAYBE 2018 with delays till 2019.
And is this bait for me not to buy any other headphones and wait.
Could be bait to lower Apple’s quarterlies.
 
That is the thing though, these "Pro Series" headphones could be like the Apple TV. Apple does not make a lot of money on the Apple TV, remember they always say it is more of a hobbyist product. Now, that may be changing a little bit now since cord-cutting is becoming a bigger thing. I have had every Apple TV generation made, except for the 4k because I do not have a 4k tv..but I love my 4th Gen. ATV. I cut the cord over a year ago and went with a continue to go with DirecTV NOW. Love it, and has helped me save almost $85.00 a month that Time Warner/Spectrum was robbing me of. Anyway...back to the topic at hand...

Now Apple can keep Beats and AirPods as their mainstream headphones, aimed at the non-pro consumer. With the Apple branded "Pro Series" headphones, they can market them at people who want the best headphones that Apple makes, and (my guess) with hi-fi support in iTunes and other services like Tidal possibly. I think these will start off like the Apple TV did, being a hobbyist type product and Apple will see where it goes. They may fly off the store shelves or be a niche product that takes a while to catch on with people. It is not like Apple will be taking a huge chance here, if these were to flop (which I do not think they will) Apple will just fall back on Beats and AirPods. I would most likely buy a pair of these if they are in fact a "Pro Series" type of headphone, especially if they can play hi-fi music and have tap/touch gesture controls like the AirPods, and also always on "Hey Siri" support. I would even make a prediction that if these are pro series type headphones they will probably come with a custom W series chip that only these headphones will have, or maybe a whole new type of chip that only these will support.

Just my best guess...

:apple:

I just don't get the hangup over the word "Pro." Depending on the person and the topic, either "Pro" is not pro enough, or "Pro" is perfect for their self-image.

What you're describing isn't "pro" in my book, it's audiophile. You're describing end-user concerns, not the needs of content producers. As a former audio content producer, I certainly appreciated when my audience could hear my work under the best conditions, but I'd much rather "best conditions" extended to the kind of affordable gear the masses might buy. What good is all our hard work if only a handful of consumers ever hear it at its best?

I was a professional user of headphones for many years. When I was out in the field recording/broadcasting concerts, I almost never had the luxury of an isolated control room with monitor speakers - I was out in the hall or back stage with a pair of headphones clamped over my ears. Sound isolation was at least as important as sound quality, and durability was equally important - the last thing I'd want is my "ears" crapping out on me in the middle of a show. I also appreciated having efficient 'phones - capable of pumping out the dB SPL with a minimum of input wattage, since a lot of gear came with fairly weak headphone amps (or simply bridged across the +4 dBm line out, like the classic Shure M-67 mixer).

When back in the studios, where there were dozens of pairs of cans in use/abuse by air talent, on-air guests, and session musicians, the staffs I supervised were responsible for making sure everything was working reliably - we were constantly repairing 'phones. A jock might jump up from his chair to cue-up a disk, CD, or tape and promptly separate the cable from the plug. Even without catastrophes, the pivoting/flexing of the ear cups would eventually break the internal connections. Some members of the string section, anxious to get to the next session, might drop their cans to the floor, to be trampled in the stampede... We bought replacement cable assemblies in cartons of 50 or more. If you added up the minutes, we probably spent several weeks out of the year testing the cans we deployed prior to a session, to ensure a minimum of interruptions during the show/session, when someone might shake their head or draw a finger across their throat while pointing to the left or right ear cup. And sound isolation was always a factor - while jocks loved open-ear headphones for the comfort and light weight, they were also highly prone to feedback (especially at the volume levels demanded by the jocks' progressive hearing loss).

So you see, I have my own, personal definition of "pro" that has little to do with audiophile quality. And other pros will have different definitions, based on their particular experience (including as an audiophile-quality reference for evaluating mixes). It's little different than any other subjective matter like fine wines, fine art, or Olympic ice skating performances, one person's "pro" will be another's "crap."
 
^ Yup, it’s unlikely they’ll carry a Pro moniker as that has a very different meaning when it comes to audio.

They’ll probably just be “HeadPods” and Apple’s marketing will dictate exactly what that means.
 
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They recently came out with new MacBooks, new iMac, new iMac Pro, and are working on the new Mac Pro. Other than Mac mini, what exactly would you consider "focusing" on the Mac?

You mean MacBooks with bad keyboard, iMacs with 5400 RPM HDD and almost non-upgradable iMac Pro? We don't even know when we will see that so called modular MP.
 
If they have plans to make a pair of great headphones they probably have plans to go hi-res with Apple Music too. Doesn't make much sense otherwise.
 
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KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has issued a new research note outlining his expectations for Apple's "acoustic accessories" pipeline, claiming the company is working on both updated AirPods and "own-brand, high-end over-ear headphones" with an "all-new design."

Will it leave white rings around my ears?
 
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I would expect Apple to come up wih Airbods so simplistic/comfortable that you'd never take them off (instead of another Beats or Oral-B variant)
 
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We’d be lucky if these things sound as good as the current Beats Studio 3 or Solo 3 headphones. I don’t own them, but they’re very good products.

Name ideas:

iEars
eyeEars
AirPods Plus
AirPods Max
Maxi Pods
Beaten to Dreath
Head iPhones

AirHeads.

Or let’s go all the way silly and call them “AirHead Retina”.

Called it.

(Would gladly post links to a few posts I created on this very subject when Apple first announced its acquisition of Beats. If anyone knows how to search old posts on this site, do tell. Thanks.)

Did you want a pat on the back or something?

Oh wait, no need. You’re already patting yourself on the back!!

There used to be a good search site devoted to Macrumors, if I recall correctly it was called Mroogle, sadly this doesn't work anymore, it was vastly superior to MR built-in search which is in my opinion horrible.

I think edesignUK created it, and he probably hasn’t posted here in 10 years, so it’s probably done. ;)
 
interesting to say the least.. I wonder what they will do with beats, and how they will position it against beat headphones. Any chance they will discontinue them? Or just never update them and let them die off like they do with products Tim doesn't want to focus on.... Mac Mini, Mac Pro (cheap shot I know),....

Before Apple bought beats, Beats was heavily advertising, especially with pro athletes. I don't see them doing that anymore since Apple's acquisition. I wonder if their sales are down or if the acquisition was just a bridge to enter a market, and remove a powerful competitor in Apple's quest for world dominance.

No chance of Beats being dropped. It is a super popular brand and Apple sells lots of them. But it will be interesting how they make claims of great audio from both lines. The main issue is that Beats has a stigma and design cues that mean that many people won't take them seriously or consider buying them. So Apple needs something else if they are going to grow into the "cans" space. And they need great wireless "cans" since their phones don't have headphone jacks.
 
I'm interested. W1/W2 convenience with the audio lab that put out the Macbook/2016rMBP/Homepod, that has a lot of appeal.

Though I'd also be split with that and an Earpods 2 that improved the sound quality too.
 
Lol.... why do you feel the need to validate yourself on an internet forum about consumer electronics?

Why does ANYONE post anything on these forums? Every single one of us is “validating” our opinions. Almost every topic on this website is subjective. Besides, you don’t see pages of test data followed by critical analysis here or on most public forums. And a website that did require verified data to back up a persons post would have very few posters and even fewer readers.

And when market success or failure seem to validate someone’s opinion I think most of us, me included, like to say so.
 
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I welcome a new over-ear headphone with AirPod capabilities and noise cancellation (and maybe a few more tricks - which is possible simply due to physical size)... Two caveats: They sure as heck need to sound better than Beats offerings - some actual audio accuracy is a must, instead of the muddy bass-heavy Beats sound beloved by dough-head teenagers. The 2nd thing is to stop neglecting the Mac in pursuit of another friggin i-Device.
 
If you want mid range high quality with deep Bass. Look at VModa- wired. Superb sound and made of military grare materials.
 
I can't wait for more "audiophile" complaints. How dare they call something high end if it doesn't cost more than $10,000

Be careful what you wish for ;)

Given that Apple still has to compete with B&W, B&O, Bose, Sony and others (if we are talking Bluetooth and noise cancelling) I think they are going to have to compete price wise. As a somewhat reformed audiophile I would have to say Bluetooth, as it is, is not going to be considered high end sound vs. cabled to a DAC/Amp. So, I hope that Apple somehow improves BT and/or allows for an optional cable connect. I guess my point of reference right now is the B&W PX regarding BT. Heck, Apple has surprised me before. So I look forward to seeing what they come up with.
 
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