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New AirPods Sound Quality Debated as Orders Begin to Arrive Around the World
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A new idea for subscription service. AirPods, just $9.99, after a year and half you receive a new pair.
just bought one here from another user, 8 months of apple warranty left on it.
The Airpod's 'Hey Siri' works independently of your left/right earphone settings. I don't believe it's a settable Airpod option.
There's nothing subjective about tiny small speakers not being able to deliver proper audio quality because there's less space to air go through it and how Bluetooth compresses audio to send it wirelessly.
When speakers are that small you can only get so much sound out of them. I would rather they be a little bigger similar to the upcoming beats but have more sound coming out of three so if one is out in the open one can actually hear. Try walking in downtown Tokyo,Bangkok,Beijing or Hong Kong and hearing anything
In response to your post: The subjective part is whether any given person can hear whatever difference there may be between the first/second gen.
General comment: It’s no surprise opinions from actual customers vary, and it’s equally unsurprising that the Apple-hate crowd are so sure that any perceived improvement of gen 2 must be due to ear wax or some other problem with a gen 1.
As is typical with those who believe every opinion is equally valid, they are ok with just making stuff up. News flash: some opinions are 100% wrong.
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"higher quality sound" in comparison to the general headphone populous. This is Apple playing with words and your head as they always did with their promotional. It's how business is.
Let's wait for scientific comparisons to the old AirPods before we get excited.
Not being able to hear the world around you in a busy city can be very dangerous. And just cranking up the volume is not the answer unless you’re not concerned with damaging your hearing. A sealed design and/or noise canceling is the preferred solution.
But your comment is well taken, and if someone needs/wants to block out high levels of ambient noise, AirPods are likely a poor choice.
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According the Marques Brownlee’s video review of the New AirPods, Apple confirmed to him that the sound was the same. And I’m pretty sure he gets the correct info from Apple when he has a question about something.
So I still don’t know about sound quality, but these Gen 2s activate and switch between devices like a dream. Barely any delay at all.
Please explain why anyone would consider your opinion to have value, rather than, say, the 35 million customers who actually bought AirPods last year?
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Fine but on this page: https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MR8U2/wireless-charging-case-for-airpods
The charging case is available for store pickup tomorrow and I'm guessing a lot of people have already received the case in the mail. I want MacRumors or someone to prove that back of the case AirPower logo was actually real and not just some photoshop job.
Better sound quality? Yes, YES!
Except that I have the original pair. Someone who has gen 1 pair too mentioned better sound quality with the latest firmware 6.2.3. I definitely confirm that (when streaming from Apple music):
- better stereo resolution
- less compression artifacts
- less muddiness and listening fatigue
- more dynamics, i.e. less compression (not bitrate related but, well, the other compression)
- snappier attack
- completely new nuances found in some pieces of music
- more balanced listening experience in general
- a new compression artifact here and there (doesn't really bother me)
Last time I used Airpods to stream from Apple Music was before gen 2 release and FW 6.2.3 update. I doubt that all the improvements I’ve found with gen 1 would be due to firwware only. I bet Apple improved quality of incoming data (Increased bitrate? Improved codec? Dunno, “X”) too. They clearly have timed improvements with the release of the gen 2 pods. Why would them have not? A good business decision.
My Airpods found a new life. Thanks Apple.
Except that I have the original pair. Someone who has gen 1 pair too mentioned better sound quality with the latest firmware 6.2.3. I definitely confirm that (when streaming from Apple music):
- better stereo resolution
- less compression artifacts
- less muddiness and listening fatigue
- more dynamics, i.e. less compression (not bitrate related but, well, the other compression)
- snappier attack
- completely new nuances found in some pieces of music
- more balanced listening experience in general
- a new compression artifact here and there (doesn't really bother me)
Last time I used Airpods to stream from Apple Music was before gen 2 release and FW 6.2.3 update. I doubt that all the improvements I’ve found with gen 1 would be due to firwware only. I bet Apple improved quality of incoming data (Increased bitrate? Improved codec? Dunno, “X”) too. They clearly have timed improvements with the release of the gen 2 pods. Why would them have not? A good business decision.
My Airpods found a new life. Thanks Apple.
You have a point but sometimes at a Starbucks,metro,train,restaurant, etc.. Can be quite noisy in Asia
You rate them a solid **** star product then. Let me give you my review:
Sound ***1/2
Fit *****
Look like ***1/2
Battery as new ****
Battery wear **
Overpriced *** (more starts means more less too expensive?)
Utility ****
We sometimes have the same problem here in the states
Unfortunately it’s easy to reach harmful sound levels with headphones, either from over-amplification and/or highly efficient drivers. Damage is cumulative and can be debilitating. 
And my review
Sound: 4 stars. It’s good enough. It’s clear and not muddy. I am not an audiophile and I’m aware there are better sounding headphones out there but I think it’s solid.
Fit: 5 stars. For me the AirPods and the EarPods fit perfectly in my ear. I can use them for hours without feeling any pain.
Looks: 3.5. They are ok.
Battery as new: 5 stars. 5 hours on a charge and quick 4 subsequent charges is very good.
Battery wear: 2 stars. My gen 1 AirPods while are 2 years and 2 months old are getting about 1 hour 45 - 2 hours on a charge and I’m having inconsistent charging levels between the pods. This is the biggest pain point of the AirPods. They wear out fast.
Overpriced: 3.5 stars. The price itself isn’t bad I would have given it 4 stars on the price alone. However the fact that you will need to replace them after 2 years isn’t great.
Utility: 5 stars. They are comfortable and easy to use between all my Apple devices. Accurate charging info on my iPhone or iPad/ Mac. Charge quickly so ready to go if depleted as well as the case charging up quickly.
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Then again, there are people who think that they hear an improvement in sound quality from using a higher quality USB cable to transfer their music files. The "audiophile" community is steeped in delusions and placebo effects, and supplied by legions of eager snake oil salesmen. Even assuming people sincerely believe what they claim to hear, it would be naive to just accept their claim unless they are able to back it up with double-blind ABX testing.
All true, but ABX is almost impossible to do with headphones. Results from testing with a dummy head is the best way to compare gen 1 vs. gen 2.