Airpods are good for what they are, but the author (Vlad) is infamous for reviewing many audio devices as a casual listener which is worthless to audiophiles. He rarely if ever however analyzes meticulously the soundstage and frequency responses. He is the epitome of an audiophile poser.
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Quick Takes: Audiophile Calls AirPods Best Truly Wireless Earbuds He's Ever Heard in Year-Later Review
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I really would like to see an in-ear style Airpods. Interchangeable tips, secure fit, physical noise-isolation that doesn't use battery. Apple is still selling their dual-drivers earbuds, what about an Airpods version of that.
In addition to our standalone articles covering the latest Apple news and rumors at MacRumors, this Quick Takes column provides a bite-sized recap of other headlines about Apple and its competitors on weekdays.
Monday, March 19
Highlights
1. AirPods: the audiophile review: The Verge's Vlad Savov finally got around to testing a pair of AirPods, over a year after they launched, and now understands why so many people are fans of Apple's wireless earphones. Once dismissive of them, he now thinks AirPods are the best truly wireless earbuds he's heard.Commentary: AirPods are easily one of Apple's best new products in the past few years. They're easy to set up, easy to use, easy to carry around, and more than likely sound "good enough" for the majority of customers.
2. The case for an ePad: Drawing inspiration from the education-only eMac, released in 2002, 512 Pixels' Stephen Hackett envisions what an education-only iPad or so-called "ePad" could be. His suggestions include a more rugged design, Apple Pencil and external keyboard support, and more competitive pricing.
3. HQ Trivia had a weird night: The smartphone-based live trivia show offered a winner-takes-all $25,000 prize on Sunday night, but the would-be winner was ejected from the game for violating the rules, according to HQ. The company hasn't explained what the rule-breaking behavior was.
Then, on early Monday, HQ Trivia was briefly removed from the App Store. TechCrunch confirmed that the game was briefly unavailable due to an unrelated clerical error. More specifically, someone forgot to update HQ Trivia's expired credit card info in Apple's developer portal, according to the report.
Commentary: It sounds like HQ Trivia caught a cheater on its hands, but we may never know for sure. The good news is that the amount now rolls over, meaning next Sunday's winner-takes-all prize will be $50,000, its largest jackpot ever. The game is scheduled to begin at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
Other Links
People are accidentally setting off Apple's Emergency SOS alert: While we don't recommend it, the auto-calling feature can be disabled in Settings > Emergency SOS. When turned off, users must swipe their finger across the Emergency SOS slider to call emergency services.
Google Pay now supports transit, starting with the Las Vegas Monorail: Apple Pay also works with select transit systems, including Transport for London, Utah Transit Authority in Salt Lake City, TriMet in Portland, all forms of transit that accept Suica in Japan, and others.For more Apple news and rumors coverage, visit our Front Page, Mac Blog, and iOS Blog. Also visit our forums to join in the discussion.
Article Link: Quick Takes: Audiophile Calls AirPods Best Truly Wireless Earbuds He's Ever Heard in Year-Later Review
Just asking a question, If I like the sound of some headphones, but an audiophile says they sound terrible, who is correct?
Agree with your comments, but AirPods should not be compared by EarPods experience. From a sound perspective they are not going to compete with any type of isolating headphones. However from a convenience AND sound perspective they can’t be beat. As had been said before, they are the “Appliest” product in a number of years.
Everyone thinks they’re an audiophile these days.
[doublepost=1521494775][/doublepost]Well I’ll never know the experience of AirPods if they aren’t comfortable so it’s a mute point, pun intended
You’re correct. If they sound good to you that’s all that matters.
And that's why "audiophile" was not referred to airpods in the sentence. Read again.
If I say "My uncle says Tom Cruise is the best actor ever", I'm not claiming Tom Cruise is my uncle.
It is definitely not a realistic solution. Molded buds need to be ‘molded’ for that specific person’s ear. Right now the AirPods have a definite shape to fit in 80% of the population’s ears and that still doesn’t account for how snug or loose it ‘needs’ to be for certain people to comfortably keep them in or the angle at which their trying to fit them in.
I’ve haven’t seen anyone not be able to actually put the Apple’s earphones but people will complain about something nontheless.
FYI, Translink in Vancouver (and surrounding areas) is going to accept mobile payments very soon for transit.
Right now they only take a Compass card (a transit specific card). They have an education program on right now advising people to tap their Compass card and not your wallet (or cell phone case) that “contains” your Compass card. This is to avoid the reader accidentally picking a different card from your wallet (like a credit card) instead of your Compass card.
The whole reason for this campaign is so when they turn on the ability to take tap & pay cards/mobile payments that people are aware so they ensure the card they want to use is the one charged.
Right now they only take a Compass card (a transit specific card). They have an education program on right now advising people to tap their Compass card and not your wallet (or cell phone case) that “contains” your Compass card. This is to avoid the reader accidentally picking a different card from your wallet (like a credit card) instead of your Compass card.
The whole reason for this campaign is so when they turn on the ability to take tap & pay cards/mobile payments that people are aware so they ensure the card they want to use is the one charged.
I would consider this brand truly audiophile headphones:
http://www.zmfheadphones.com/zmf-originals/
Sennheiser is also very good.
http://www.zmfheadphones.com/zmf-originals/
Sennheiser is also very good.
I've had good luck with ear hooks on EarPods, which are even more prone to falling out because of the wires getting tugged. Personally, I have the ones called Earhoox, but there are many other makes of the same thing. Since they're made of silicone, they also help with creating a better seal. They sound a lot better with the ear hooks on.
Audiophiles will frequently scoff that no headphone could possibly meet their insurmountable standards — unless of course it’s their own custom 3 grand hand-crafted over-ear stereo experience with an external analogue pre-amp — and therefore anything released by anybody sounds like trash.
However most people wouldn’t cart around all that equipment. A lot of audiophiles don’t have the pride to admit that for convenience and for the additional functionality, the sound of Airpods aren’t bad.
It’s like these insufferable pro photographers, gloating that an iPhone’s picture could never match up to their DLSR which boasts a lens the size of a fold-up bed. They can’t accept that you get the convenience and a damned lot of quality with a phone you carry in your pocket.
These people want to be better than everybody else and refuse to let themselves appreciate that people are able to enjoy music in their own way, or enjoy photography in their own way, without going through all the money and effort that they did.
I like mine but my ears do not. Just yesterday I had to crawl under a parked truck to retrieve one of them after it fell out of my ear for no reason. Another time I was looking for them in the middle of a crosswalk (it was actually caught on my hoody). Priorities in check!
The left one actually broke once before, maybe from falling out one too many times. They replaced it under warranty
The left one actually broke once before, maybe from falling out one too many times. They replaced it under warranty
It’s all subjective, but all I was saying is that some headphones have more advanced hardware than others. That’s all I meant.
I have AirPods and love them btw
AirPods is indeed the best product in the earphone market and one of the best Apple innovation. Fortunate for me who have more than two for many purposes and occasions, and others who are able to appreciate, have and enjoy it since its launch date.
In addition to our standalone articles covering the latest Apple news and rumors at MacRumors, this Quick Takes column provides a bite-sized recap of other headlines about Apple and its competitors on weekdays.
Monday, March 19
Highlights
1. AirPods: the audiophile review: The Verge's Vlad Savov finally got around to testing a pair of AirPods, over a year after they launched, and now understands why so many people are fans of Apple's wireless earphones. Once dismissive of them, he now thinks AirPods are the best truly wireless earbuds he's heard.Commentary: AirPods are easily one of Apple's best new products in the past few years. They're easy to set up, easy to use, easy to carry around, and more than likely sound "good enough" for the majority of customers.
2. The case for an ePad: Drawing inspiration from the education-only eMac, released in 2002, 512 Pixels' Stephen Hackett envisions what an education-only iPad or so-called "ePad" could be. His suggestions include a more rugged design, Apple Pencil and external keyboard support, and more competitive pricing.
3. HQ Trivia had a weird night: The smartphone-based live trivia show offered a winner-takes-all $25,000 prize on Sunday night, but the would-be winner was ejected from the game for violating the rules, according to HQ. The company hasn't explained what the rule-breaking behavior was.
Then, on early Monday, HQ Trivia was briefly removed from the App Store. TechCrunch confirmed that the game was briefly unavailable due to an unrelated clerical error. More specifically, someone forgot to update HQ Trivia's expired credit card info in Apple's developer portal, according to the report.
Commentary: It sounds like HQ Trivia caught a cheater on its hands, but we may never know for sure. The good news is that the amount now rolls over, meaning next Sunday's winner-takes-all prize will be $50,000, its largest jackpot ever. The game is scheduled to begin at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
Other Links
People are accidentally setting off Apple's Emergency SOS alert: While we don't recommend it, the auto-calling feature can be disabled in Settings > Emergency SOS. When turned off, users must swipe their finger across the Emergency SOS slider to call emergency services.
Google Pay now supports transit, starting with the Las Vegas Monorail: Apple Pay also works with select transit systems, including Transport for London, Utah Transit Authority in Salt Lake City, TriMet in Portland, all forms of transit that accept Suica in Japan, and others.For more Apple news and rumors coverage, visit our Front Page, Mac Blog, and iOS Blog. Also visit our forums to join in the discussion.
Article Link: Quick Takes: Audiophile Calls AirPods Best Truly Wireless Earbuds He's Ever Heard in Year-Later Review
Everyone can be an audiophile, its just that the definition of what is good "audio" which is the point of contention. Unlike most other arts or talents, no one can understand another's level of "audiophilia"
how can you cheat at HQ Trivia? Know someone at the company and have advanced access to the questions?
Not a follower of his, but in the case of the AirPods, I would say that he's spot on with his review. They weren't designed to be audiophile-spec headsets. Sure, it would be great if Apple could design the AirPods to have THE best sound (subjective as that statement is), while also providing 6 hours of listening time, a form that is small and mostly unobtrusive and can also function for phone calls - and cost just $170. Instead, Apple designed them with all the features except being audiophile-spec and that seems to be just about right imho.