Airpods Pro 2

[mkawa]

i just got in a pair of these and the bose qc earbuds II last week and am baking them off against each other. first impressions are that the bose have a _much_ better seal, as they have a seal both on the ear canal and the outer ear. experience in the office with ANC is that the QC EB II beat out my wh-1000XM4, across the board, but were especially more effective at higher frequencies (!). just got the airpods on friday so haven't been in the office with them yet, but i suspect they won't beat the QC II ANC.

my rough tonal impressions are that the new airpods are much more neutral than the old airpods, while the QC II have a boosted low end. i'm not exactly doing critical listening on a pair of bluetooth earbuds with ANC on, so i appreciate the low end of the bose. however, i expect that when crinacle's airpod measurements hit autoeq, that could change. crinacle notably has not been measuring the bose qc earbuds.

the seller for me for bt earbuds with portability and ANC (although I am considering custom IEMs for the office, the wireless and built-in mic are much more convenient, so if I can find some wireless that approach the same isolation, i likely won't bother..)

 

[jae]

Been using both the Samsung Buds2 Pro and the new Airpods Pro over the last week, some of my initial impressions in no particular order:

- Airpods Pro 2 cost ~20-25% more
- Airpods Pro 2 stem controls more finnicky to use than Samsung touch controls, but can't accidentally trigger them (could be a good thing)
- Samsung touch controls easier to use and more versatile to navigate through options, but can trigger them accidentally when adjusting buds in ear (could be a bad thing)
- Samsung Wear app not friendly with older Android versions, had to download an .apk manually on my aging Pixel 2 but worked fine
- Don't get lossless/near lossless codec unless you are on a modern Samsung phone
- Samsung app has a seal check feature to ensure you're getting proper low-end response checked by the mics, more EQ options (passive/ANC only good sounding options)
- Samsung buds look better/more understated (opinion), more colour options. Apple really needs to make their earbuds in matte black.
- Airpods Pro 2 more comfortable overall, design probably better for a larger variety of conchae. Feels more secure/easier to forget it's in your ear
- Samsung buds smaller
- Airpods Pro 2 case is slimmer but wider compared to samsung, both are nice
- Airpods Pro 2 ANC is better
- Airpods Pro 2 have minor female vocal sibilance, but not a dealbreaking
- Both sound great, Samsung FR probably better for most people because of the bass and better ear gain compliance, although all things considered found the Airpods to be less fatiguing for longer listening sessions.
- Samsung has better treble extension and handles EQ gain better both high and low (I assume due to dual driver design)
- Airpods Pro 2 have better imaging/spatial characteristics out of the box due to the falloff at 10k (which is going to be more accurate for most people) as opposed to 8k on the Buds2 Pro, and also because of the ear gain falloff

I generally hate IEMs but have been warming up to them, found Airpod Pro 2 FR easier to listen to for more elapsed periods of time. I am a big Apple hater after getting frustrated after using their operating system for the better part of 2008-2018 (although I recently caved and bought an M1/M2 laptop because of the performance) but honestly I think for most people, the Airpods Pro 2 is the better buy despite the better FR/SQ on the Buds2 Pro, especially if you already have sold your soul to apple for your phone and other devices. Have not been able to try the ear photo/HRTF thing yet and probably will never as I don't have an apple phone, but if their algorithms are good it can only make the Apple product better.

 

[mkawa]

FYI airpods have a seal check as well (so does bose app)

 

[jae]

FYI airpods have a seal check as well (so does bose app)

I assume iphone only?

 

[mkawa]

iphone/ipad. i don't see the option on my laptop.

 

[Music1969]

I assume iphone only?

Yes

Probably the same feature for the Samsung buds is Android only

 

[MayaTlab]

Interesting : the noise app on the Apple Watch tells you in real time the level of noise you're experiencing while wearing the APP2. This applies whether you're in ANC ON or transparency mode, and it even tells you the difference when you've enabled "adaptive transparency".

Is that a new feature ? It doesn't seem to appear when using my Airpods Max.

 

[brandall10]

my rough tonal impressions are that the new airpods are much more neutral than the old airpods, while the QC II have a boosted low end.

From initial FQ measurements the Bose are actually quite neutral, or at least they hit Harman quite well. Their issues seem more in treble consistency. The new pros are better than the last but a bit more recessed here. Of course that's hard to say for sure as it seems they have adaptive EQ tailored to volume or environment.

 

[goat76]

Is there anyone here with experience with both the Apple Airpod Pro 2 and the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 2?

I bought the Sennheiser's last year but I'm not completely satisfied with the sound, there's something in the treble region I don't like, and the bass is a little on the bloated side and lacks texture (if that description is okay to use here at ASR). And volume-wise they are too quiet with the most dynamic recordings. How does the new Airpod Pro compare both in sound quality and volume compare to the Senn's?

 

[MayaTlab]

From initial FQ measurements the Bose are actually quite neutral, or at least they hit Harman quite well.

Have the Bose QC Earbuds II already been measured ? I haven't found any measurements so far for them.

Soundguys' review for the APP2 : https://www.soundguys.com/apple-airpods-pro-2nd-generation-review-78938/
Not much is known on the exact methodology used for the measurements (which is something I very much want to know when Airpods are involved).

 

[staticV3]

there's something in the treble region I don't like, and the bass is a little on the bloated side

Enabling the High-End Sound Tuning mode on your TWS2 should help with both of these issues:

 

[oleg87]

If Apple can get something lossless going here it would be outstanding.

Anyone else been having fun with theirs today?

Would be nice, but it's hard to imagine lossless being on the table for tiny earbuds like this. The BT radio uses quite a bit of power when either transmitting or receiving, so having to blast ~4x the amount of data over BT vs 256kb AAC would be brutal for battery life.

I wonder if Apple has made any reliability improvements. My 1st generation airpod pros and their warranty replacements lasted on average less than a year of daily use before developing this really annoying crackling/buzzing in response to external noise. They are nice when they work, but I did not get the impression they're built to last.

 

[goat76]

Enabling the High-End Sound Tuning mode on your TWS2 should help with both of these issues:
View attachment 233624

I already use the High-end Tuning mode. Maybe it's the lack of energy in the upper mid/presence area (2-6k) that makes the treble stand out in a way I don't like about the TWS2?

 

[Peluvius]

Would be nice, but it's hard to imagine lossless being on the table for tiny earbuds like this. The BT radio uses quite a bit of power when either transmitting or receiving, so having to blast ~4x the amount of data over BT vs 256kb AAC would be brutal for battery life.

I wonder if Apple has made any reliability improvements. My 1st generation airpod pros and their warranty replacements lasted on average less than a year of daily use before developing this really annoying crackling/buzzing in response to external noise. They are nice when they work, but I did not get the impression they're built to last.

Is Qualcomm’s New ‘aptX Lossless’ Technology The Holy Grail of Bluetooth?

Qualcomm Technologies announced the first truly lossless Bluetooth audio codec. aptX Lossless can deliver CD-quality audio with zero loss of information. Will audiophiles finally embrace Bluetooth?

www.audioholics.com

Fortunately for us there are some very compelling commercial reasons for Apple to introduce a lossless capability for their BT buds and headphones.

The battery issue is challenging I agree but the lossless part I would say we will see within a year or two, I would be happy to put a beer down on that one so I win either way .

Reliability I have no idea on. All of my airpods are still going strong after many years including the gen 1 originals that get used most days by one of my kids although the battery is starting to fade.

 

[MayaTlab]

I wonder if Apple has made any reliability improvements. My 1st generation airpod pros and their warranty replacements lasted on average less than a year of daily use before developing this really annoying crackling/buzzing in response to external noise. They are nice when they work, but I did not get the impression they're built to last.

For a start they relocated the vent facing the user's concha to a place where it's going to be less susceptible to get clogged up or blocked. Some users' ANC and SQ issues were related to that problem .

 

[mkawa]

From initial FQ measurements the Bose are actually quite neutral, or at least they hit Harman quite well. Their issues seem more in treble consistency. The new pros are better than the last but a bit more recessed here. Of course that's hard to say for sure as it seems they have adaptive EQ tailored to volume or environment.

yah, i'm not sure how successful measurements of the app2 are going to be. my partner is now test driving the app2s and she says she can actually hear the adaptive eq changing modes in response to external sound etc. the algorithm may not have that many parameters, but unless we know how to drive it into each mode, we can't really trust the fr we see in a static measurement is what we'll get in practice.

also, the app2 seems to eat its battery for lunch. that said, the app2 case is much improved over the app1. the noise it makes for find my-- and the little loop for a lanyard connection is HUGE for QOL

another note: the bose music app on android seems to have connectivity issues? the ipad app seems more reliable. that said, you don't really need the app for anything at the moment except for software updates on the actual buds and the fit test function, and app-based input switching if you don't just use the bluetooth panel on each device to force a connect. the anc tuning it does happens almost every time the earbuds go into your ears and turn on.

 

[Peen]

Have had Airpods Pro 1 since launch day. Used every day, no issues. Picked up some Airpods Pro 2 on launch day as well. I don't really hear too much difference between the two, and I guess the graphs on the first page sort of confirm that.

First time hearing about the headphone accommodations. Tried a few of them and I think I prefer Balanced with Slight Boost. Has anyone else tried this and have a setting they like?

 

[MayaTlab]

First time hearing about the headphone accommodations. Tried a few of them and I think I prefer Balanced with Slight Boost. Has anyone else tried this and have a setting they like?

I personally don't like any of them with all Airpods, since I believe they also introduce compression.

 

[Peluvius]

Have had Airpods Pro 1 since launch day. Used every day, no issues. Picked up some Airpods Pro 2 on launch day as well. I don't really hear too much difference between the two, and I guess the graphs on the first page sort of confirm that.

First time hearing about the headphone accommodations. Tried a few of them and I think I prefer Balanced with Slight Boost. Has anyone else tried this and have a setting they like?

I prefer the balanced tone set to slight using the fixed personal spatial audio. I don't know what the accommodation does (I just prefer it). The personalised spatial improves the focus and soundstage for stereo listening, substantially for my ears.

 

[mkawa]

i'm having some trouble with connectivity between my pixel 7 and the APP2. audio will cut out after 5m or so of playback. android thinks it is outputting audio, but the buds are silent. if I disconnect and reconnect, I get another 5m. anyone experiencing similar with android 12?