I’ve had the AAP3 for several months now, and while I have appreciated them I really didn’t hear a big difference in the audio… in fact, I’ve been a little underwhelmed by the lack of treble compared to the AAP2, which I got a few good years out of before the they wouldn’t hold a full charge anymore.
So on a whim I decided to redo the Personalized Spatial Audio setup, which I hadn’t done since I got my AAP2s 3 years ago, with my iPhone 11 Pro. Having recently upgraded to a 16 Pro and the AAP3s I was curious if there would be a difference… and whoa!… was there ever!
Because I had stopped an ambient Atmos track mid-playback right before redoing the PSA setup, the difference was noticeable immediately. Everything I thought was missing was there, and blowing away anything I expected to hear from the AAP3s. Huge soundstage… depth, localization… actual treble… It like what my AAP2s sounded like, only much fuller, more engaging. And instead of how the bass seemed to overwhelm the high end before the reset, now it seems more integrated, with a smoother transition from low end to high end.
I think it’s the combination of a better phone, better AirPods, and Apple possibly tweaking PSA algorithm since I last ran it. But I think maybe a lot of folks probably haven’t done the PSA setup since they first got their AAP2s either, so I recommend maybe running it again if you haven’t for awhile. Of course ymmv…
“one more thing…” I was getting “leaky” ANC, with sibilance from tv narrators and other random background noises coming through. While I was in the AAP3 settings I turned the Customize Adaptive Audio slider all the way down, and that seems to have solved it.
So on a whim I decided to redo the Personalized Spatial Audio setup, which I hadn’t done since I got my AAP2s 3 years ago, with my iPhone 11 Pro. Having recently upgraded to a 16 Pro and the AAP3s I was curious if there would be a difference… and whoa!… was there ever!
Because I had stopped an ambient Atmos track mid-playback right before redoing the PSA setup, the difference was noticeable immediately. Everything I thought was missing was there, and blowing away anything I expected to hear from the AAP3s. Huge soundstage… depth, localization… actual treble… It like what my AAP2s sounded like, only much fuller, more engaging. And instead of how the bass seemed to overwhelm the high end before the reset, now it seems more integrated, with a smoother transition from low end to high end.
I think it’s the combination of a better phone, better AirPods, and Apple possibly tweaking PSA algorithm since I last ran it. But I think maybe a lot of folks probably haven’t done the PSA setup since they first got their AAP2s either, so I recommend maybe running it again if you haven’t for awhile. Of course ymmv…
“one more thing…” I was getting “leaky” ANC, with sibilance from tv narrators and other random background noises coming through. While I was in the AAP3 settings I turned the Customize Adaptive Audio slider all the way down, and that seems to have solved it.
