Airpods Pro 2

[staticV3]

@mkawa what codec did you experience that with and have you tried a different one? You can change Bluetooth audio codecs in the Developer Settings.

 

[MayaTlab]

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?

You're not the first to report connection issues (https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/airpods-pro-2-audio-issues.2362962/?post=31568242#post-31568242), I've already seen a few people / samples affected by it, and it occurred to me as well (from iDevices). In my case it's been solved for now by a reset (until when ?) but I'm expecting a firmware update to address the problem.

 

[MayaTlab]

52audio's teardown : https://www.52audio.com/archives/133055.html

 

[Peluvius]

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?

Sounds like an Apple software feature

 

[Peluvius]

52audio's teardown : https://www.52audio.com/archives/133055.html

When they said teardown they weren't joking! They have ripped these things to bits....

 

[charleski]

52audio's teardown : https://www.52audio.com/archives/133055.html

That’s … extremely thorough. Probably quite useful if you were thinking of making a clone .

 

[Firefly00]

Don't the headphones have some gentle EQ settings like the Apod Max?

Yeah, you get to select balanced, vocal range, or brightness. But we don't have measurements. On AirPods Max, "vocal range" basically repairs the treble deficiencies. I think they were aiming to have the stock sound as inoffensive as possible.

Also there's an option to import an audiogram, which I THINK might allow us to do system wide EQ on iOS, which would be huge.

 

[Dimifoot]

Got mine yesterday. I am using an IPhone 7, so no ear scanning, but I am very happy with tonal balance/sound quality.

Comparing them with AirPods pro 1 the noise cancellation is clearly improved:
Sitting on my sofa, and playing pink noise from L-R speakers, there is about 5dBs difference between them until it gets inaudible.

I only use earphones on the move and at the gym, so NC is very important both for sound quality and for my hearing health long term. I don’t have to turn those up too much to cover and gym music and noise.

 

[D00M]

I have APP v1. It was a gift. The tonal balance is Ok, but not my preferred tuning. I find it mid focused; vocals are good. But treble is lacking; lack of openness or airiness. Bass is decent, but not as good as others with boosted bass. However, surprisingly APP has good soundstage for earphones/IEMs (with spatial audio off), despite the fact that it doesn't sound open.

I just don't get spatial audio. I don't find that it adds any benefit or improvement to music. It does makes tv shows and movies a bit more immersive.

Also, I hate cabin pressure on ANC. I can handle ANC on most headphones. But I cannot handle the cabin pressure on APP and Airpods Max. I definitely prefer the passive isolation of IEMs. No cabin pressure. No change to sound.

I now use $55 IEM (Tin HiFi T3 Plus) for music; APP v1 for phone calls only in Normal mode.

I do not use or appreciate APP features: spatial audio, ANC, transparency (passthru or environmental) mode. In a vacuum, APP v1 sound is not bad. But considering its sound quality, price, and that I don't appreciate its electronic features, APP is not worth it for me. I definitely will not be getting APP v2. And this is coming from an Apple fanboy and former employee.

 

[MayaTlab]

Yeah, you get to select balanced, vocal range, or brightness. But we don't have measurements. On AirPods Max, "vocal range" basically repairs the treble deficiencies. I think they were aiming to have the stock sound as inoffensive as possible.

These presets probably introduce compression as well, not just a change in FR.

Also there's an option to import an audiogram, which I THINK might allow us to do system wide EQ on iOS, which would be huge.

Oratory shared on Discord some tests of that feature and it didn't do what you'd straightforwardly think it would do.

Personally I wouldn't use either of these features as a way to try to EQ Airpods.

 

[staticV3]

I have APP v1. It was a gift. The tonal balance is Ok, but not my preferred tuning. I find it mid focused;

Apple kept the mid-focused tuning for the APP2:

Target is IEF mids and treble with Monarch II -style bass.
Frequency response is from Crinacle.

 

[Peluvius]

I have APP v1. It was a gift. The tonal balance is Ok, but not my preferred tuning. I find it mid focused; vocals are good. But treble is lacking; lack of openness or airiness. Bass is decent, but not as good as others with boosted bass. However, surprisingly APP has good soundstage for earphones/IEMs (with spatial audio off), despite the fact that it doesn't sound open.

I just don't get spatial audio. I don't find that it adds any benefit or improvement to music. It does makes tv shows and movies a bit more immersive.

Also, I hate cabin pressure on ANC. I can handle ANC on most headphones. But I cannot handle the cabin pressure on APP and Airpods Max. I definitely prefer the passive isolation of IEMs. No cabin pressure. No change to sound.

I now use $55 IEM (Tin HiFi T3 Plus) for music; APP v1 for phone calls only in Normal mode.

I do not use or appreciate APP features: spatial audio, ANC, transparency (passthru or environmental) mode. In a vacuum, APP v1 sound is not bad. But considering its sound quality, price, and that I don't appreciate its electronic features, APP is not worth it for me. I definitely will not be getting APP v2. And this is coming from an Apple fanboy and former employee.

The H2 chip in the APP2 makes them a different proposition. I have both. The Tin HiFi T3 are excellent and better than either version in terms of sound quality but it is wired and has no ANC.

 

[MayaTlab]

More squigs : https://www.0db.co.kr/REVIEW_0DB/2561421

More video :

More... sex :/ ? :

 

[Peen]

You're not the first to report connection issues (https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/airpods-pro-2-audio-issues.2362962/?post=31568242#post-31568242), I've already seen a few people / samples affected by it, and it occurred to me as well (from iDevices). In my case it's been solved for now by a reset (until when ?) but I'm expecting a firmware update to address the problem.

Can confirm. APP2's work great on Apple devices, but only last a max of about 2 minutes on my Pixel 6A before they fizzle out. Tried another Android phone with same issue. My old APP1's work no problem on both Androids I tried.

 

[MayaTlab]

I’ve reproduced a peculiar phenomenon with three samples so far and I’m curious if others could do the same.

If you play pink noise with the APP2 with ANC turned off, and while still playing pink noise, turn ANC on, have you noticed that

1. It occasionally shifts left / right some parts of the spectrum and / or changes the FR in an asymmetrical way
2. The shift may correct itself - or at least re-balance itself - after a while (a few seconds) ?

You may need to switch back and forth between ANC off and on several times for the phenomenon to occur and give enough time when switching to ANC on to let the system adjust for several seconds.
This may also occur occasionally with music.

I’m not quite certain but it could be related to this issue : https://9to5mac.com/2022/10/12/airpods-pro-2-sync-audio-drift/

I’m wondering if that could simply be a straightforward bug, or either an attempt from Apple to do something quite clever for which they still need to iron out a few wrinkles (I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that Apple is doing something in the vein of what Bose tries to do with their new CustomTune feature but with music as a signal and continuously updated).

EDIT : just to make it clear : this is with Spatial Audio turned off obviously.

 

[Peluvius]

Here is an interesting comparison between the 1st gen and 2nd gen.

 

[staticV3]

If that person knew enough about measuring IEMs to make his content worthwhile, he wouldn't be doing sound demos. Just saying

 

[Madlop26]

I got mine few days ago, wanted to try spatial audio in the AirPods Pro 2, but meh, it can not compare with astonishing soundstage experience that Atmos songs get in my 5.2.4 system which includes 4 revel speakers, anyway I have to say… I am quite impressed!; I do have some great IEMs, but since I started using IEMs 15 years ago, it is rare I can use them more than one hour before needing a rest, my ear canals get sore easily. I’ve using my AirPods for more than 2 hours today and no pain, no pain?, wow this is unprecedented. Ok the sound is not at the level of my Monarch MkII, but AirPods pro 2 are not slouch in tonality, added with the many features, no cord, so easy to connect and the CONFORT! Oh boy, Easy to become my most used IEM

 

[Jeromeof]

Crinnacle AirPods Pro 2 review is up on YouTube

considering he uses Android only and therefore gets frustrated Apple's mostly IOS only setup for the AirPods Pro 2 - this long and rambling review is very good.

 

[staticV3]

considering he uses Android only and therefore gets frustrated Apple's mostly IOS only setup for the AirPods Pro 2

It's been 15 months since the release of the Samsung Buds2 and it still doesn't connect to the Samsung Galaxy Buds app for iOS.
I would've appreciated if Crin mentined that the whole walled garden thing goes both ways.