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I have been enjoying my BT Bowers & Wilkins PX over the ear headphones out in public. But for ease of use I can see where BT earbuds have an advantage
 

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I haven't tried airpods, so I can't say first hand what the sound quality is but I've heard from people who have used them that they are essentially the same (or slightly better) as the Apple wired headphones that are included free with iPhones.

If that is true, then I'd have to disagree that they are the best overall. I've always replaced the included Apple headphones with much better sounding models. I only use Apple headphones as a back up.

Ease of connection is great but if the sound quality is subpar what's the point? I'd rather have a great sounding pair of truly wireless headphones that take an extra minute to set up initially and then automatically connect after that.
 
I love mine, but they're too darn slippery. They have to make them less slippery somehow, because as they are, if you're wearing a hoodie or something on a chilly day, the stalks just pull them right out of your ear with almost no effort.

I agree with you, but I think the fact that they are slippery is one of the things that allows me to wear them for hours and hours without discomfort. I’ve never been able to do that with other earbuds.
 
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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.

Hard to take the word of any "journalist" that dismisses a product before reviewing. Reviewing is their job. So now this clown finally gets around to trying them out and whoa! he likes them. Don't get me wrong, I love my AirPods. My criticism here is this guy. His word has zero credence here based on his behavior. At this point he is merely parroting everyone else. It's like he knows he made a mistake and is now trying to paper over it.
 
I think a lot of you are missing the point by not reading carefully enough. He didn't say they were audiophile quality. He also didn't say they were better than all other earbuds.

He said that he, as an audiophile, believes they are the best (not audiophile quality) sounding completely wireless earbuds on the market. Based upon the number of people I see using them on a daily basis, and the fact that I have them along with others, I have to agree. They aren't audiophile quality. However, they still sound better than other TRUE WIRELESS (that's the key) earbuds on the market. Admittedly I haven't tried the new Bang and Olufson true wireless, so they may have some magic going on in them that make them sound better.

I know we all live in different areas, but if you walk around downtown Boston on any given afternoon, of the people with earbuds in their ears, a good 70-80% of them have AirPods in their ears.
 
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Airpods: I am a waiting for them to make them cool... fashion cool. Heard so many good things about them, but people really look like as*&^%es (can I say that here without being banned?) - no, really, yes you do... and I am so tempted to buy them, but then I remember how that guy in the train looked like and I don't.
 
I’ve often wondered why Apple doesn’t make the buds out of mould, so that they would fit more accurately in anyone’s ears? Some kind of Apple magic ‘foam’ that adjusts accordingly. I’m not an expert on how any of this stuff works though so maybe it isn’t a realistic solution.
I think you should go back and watch the EarPods (the wired version) intro keynote. Apple specifically designed these to fit in the average ear testing against hundreds of ear shapes and this was the most universal shape they found, carried to the AirPods.


As for foam, Apple explicitly stated they designed this shape specifically NOT to seal (otherwise the bass stem wouldn’t work as intended).

I don’t t remember what year the EarPods were released but if you can find the video it’s a fun 10 minutes down memory lane.
 
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First paragraph from The Verge review:
As The Verge’s resident headphones obsessive, I’m not supposed to like the AirPods. My initial reaction upon first seeing them many months ago was to pour scorn on Apple’s designers for crafting a pair of expensive and easy-to-lose cigarette butts. The AirPods were the resurrection of the awful Bluetooth headsets of years past, I thought. But this year, I finally got around to testing a pair of the AirPods for myself, and I finally understand why everyone who owns them loves them.

This is why I hate The Verge so much. They hate on everything Apple before they even try it out; it's instinctual for them. The only thing that surprises me here is that the author came out and admitted it so freely.
 
I'm just an average Joe and even I can tell the sound sucks on the AirPods. I got mine at launch because everyone said they sounded like the standard EarPods but hell no! I loved the multiple charges you get with the case and W1 pairing. But the sound coming out of them were just unbearable to where the point where it just sounded like noise. I had to return them.

Fast forward 1yr later and I'm on a Note 8 with the Samsung IconX 2018 and WOW! These things are awesome! The sound and fit is SOO much better than AirPods and I get all of the controls through touch. Sure I wish the case had more charges but these poop all over AirPods. Don't sleep on the IconX 2018 guys. You will also look like less of a tool bag wearing these compared to AirPods.

Anyway, this "reviewer" don't know a damn thang.
 
Disagree. Compared to the competition, the AirPods are actually price comparably lower. When you factor in the battery life where 15 minutes of charging is equivalent to three hours of usage, simplicity of features, there’s a reason AirPods are a success and its been apparent for quite some time.

I don’t see the disagreement. As far as I could tell, the person merely stated that one only thinks AirPods are overpriced if one hasn’t seen the competition.
 
Having tried the AirPods they provide decent audio quality, have an amazing range with my iPhone 10 and are pretty darn comfortable to wear overall, being light weight and wireless. I prefer the sound isolation of my CIEMs but I'd have possibly bought the AirPods for their sheer convenience and ease of use was I in the market for a pair.
 
Lucky he didn't listen while the mic was on
Yeah, this seems a lot worse on Mac than on iOS. Unfortunate if you want to use AirPods for gaming. Lucky Macs got decent mics built in.
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I’ve often wondered why Apple doesn’t make the buds out of mould, so that they would fit more accurately in anyone’s ears? Some kind of Apple magic ‘foam’ that adjusts accordingly. I’m not an expert on how any of this stuff works though so maybe it isn’t a realistic solution.
Those would look greasy and disgusting in no time. Most people's ears are not a clean place, even if they wash them daily.
 
Going to the Verge for "audiophile" advice is like shopping for wine at Walmart.
 
Here's what I'm thinking for the iPad line going forward:

$179 ePad 9.7" with keyboard case
$279 iPad 9.7"
$649 iPad Pro 10.5"

Yeah they’ll have to drop pretty lucratively for schools to want them, and IF ios can actually get school friendly. multiple log ins, etc. Right now I doubt any school wants to fork over not just for the ipad, but a $100 stylus and $140+ keyboard cover.

Me I’m just wishing anything message/photo related and the share sheet weren’t 15 second waits and lag fests, iOS 12 can’t come soon enough. They really need to tighten stuff up.
 
Where do your wired cans and your AirPods fall in this test?


My AirPorts are squarely on zero. If yours aren't then there is something wrong with your setup. Do you run any audio plugins or stuff like that?
No I don't run any audio plugins, my audio goes from squarely on 0 to late +1.
 
It’s simple: I don’t want to be seen with this.
Maybe Tim will, but that’s why he’s not exactly my role model

And yet I see more people wearing them around me every day.

Seems more a limitation on the user’s part than the product’s.
 
Then you do not notice it because I can clearly see latency in Youtube compared to my wired headphones.
Being that all video is synced to compensate for latency, that is a clear placebo or you are not using the system video player. Please report back if you are not seeing this YouTube video in sync and what browser / OS you are using, because we all are getting perfect sync.
Where do your wired cans and your AirPods fall in this test?


My AirPorts are squarely on zero. If yours aren't then there is something wrong with your setup. Do you run any audio plugins or stuff like that?
 
Being that all video is synced to compensate for latency, that is a clear placebo or you are not using the system video player. Please report back if you are not seeing this YouTube video in sync and what browser / OS you are using, because we all are getting perfect sync.
I'm using Safari on macOS HS .
 
I’ve often wondered why Apple doesn’t make the buds out of mould, so that they would fit more accurately in anyone’s ears? Some kind of Apple magic ‘foam’ that adjusts accordingly. I’m not an expert on how any of this stuff works though so maybe it isn’t a realistic solution.

I think it would still not solve a thing as some people, like me, like the earphones ''naked'', some people have allergies, some people do not like a rubber or foam feeling in the ear, the slight pressure when the foam is adjusting to their ear.

Apple could make some ''tips'' to put on earphones.
But some people prefer silicon, some rubber, some foam tips, ...
Some people want closed earphones, some like to know what is happening around them.

If Apple, or some other company would create those ''tips'' for AirPods, and maybe there are some already, I think it would be good enough.

About the quality of Airpods.
They are decent. Most self proclaimed audiophiles would not recognize in a true blind test (not knowing the shape)
I listen to Tipper a lot. Tracks like Scapula (very bass demanding track) and Ambergris (very clarity demanding), sound great on airpods.

The thing is that any true audiophile would avoid a ''portable player experience'' by miles.
Why? Standalone components are dedicated devices to sound superior. Same as a DSLR is just for photography.
Crack a wine bottle open, get some Vriend Kaas, sit on a comfy sofa and make than symphony orchestra truly fill your room.

I love my Sennheiser cans, but even if It was possible, I would no longer want to connect them to my Apple Watch to go for a walk.
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Airpods: I am a waiting for them to make them cool... fashion cool. Heard so many good things about them, but people really look like as*&^%es (can I say that here without being banned?) - no, really, yes you do... and I am so tempted to buy them, but then I remember how that guy in the train looked like and I don't.

You mean, not having a cable on earphones, makes it look bad?
You see, the bloke who used them is ''memorable'' to you. Was he wearing skirt and long orange socks and Airpods? Come on, Think about it, earphones, in general, look bad :)
These once just don’t have a cable.

The wireless earbuds, which are connected together with a wire, look like some very low budged necklace :)

The magical thing, with the people on this forum, is, that people complain about Apple's ''form over function'' and then they say that airpods are ugly. They are amazing tech (minus the volume up and down missing)

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Remove the horrible feet, add rubber nubs, and then you got a winner Apple.

These feet were made for charging
Hiding the tech for you
For taking out of your ears
And that's what those feet were made to do

there, low budget Nancy Sinatra song just for you

Optional detachable nubs are fine
I have a rubber allergies
 
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Apple Pay on the UTA transit system is DELIGHTFUL. I hope it rolls out to more cities/services just to benefit the people that use it.

My one complaint is that if you use a proprietary UTA tap-to-pay card you get a slight discount, but no discount for the tap-to-pay Apple Watch or iPhone.
 
I'm not a wine aficionado by any means, but if you can't tell red wine from red-dyed white wine by taste (and not sight), then there isn't much else to say.

That's the point of the study. Experts can not. And you likely would not be able to either given a true blind taste test.

You, along with all the experts, only think you can.
 
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