Apple Airpods Pro 3

[Andreas007]

I really like my APP2. They have the best comfort of any in ears I have tried.
There may be better options sound wise but this does not matter on a 13 hour flight to Japan for which I initially bought them.
And they are the best in terms of no occlusion effect.

I also think you can tweak the sound a lot with the internal settings under "Settings > Accessibility > Audio & Visual". This option is missed by many.
Although it's not a highly sophisticated EQ (and you don't exactly know what it does) but for me it greatly improves the sound signature of the APP2 (cross-checking with an Zero:2 and a DT880 Pro).

Currently I feel no need to check out the APP3.

 

[MayaTlab]

I also think you can tweak the sound a lot with the internal settings under "Settings > Accessibility > Audio & Visual". This option is missed by many.
Although it's not a highly sophisticated EQ (and you don't exactly know what it does) but for me it greatly improves the sound signature of the APP2 (cross-checking with an Zero:2 and a DT880 Pro).

It also compresses the dynamic range, but I'm not certain exactly how and I have not taken the time to try to find a way to measure the effect. So not just an EQ.

 

[Bizznesssox]

Was pleasantly surprised by the AirPodsPro1, given to me as a gift.

Was assuming I would sell the gift, later on, when they wouldn’t notice lol … but genuinely enjoyed the 1st gen’s sound signature almost as much as my Technics AZ-70’s, and was very surprised by such a sensibly curved frequency response.

The sub-bass and bass were plentiful, but not excessive. The upper bass was tapered down slowly and perfectly, bottoming out at 200hz (chef’s kiss) to avoid any muddiness, and give perfect seperation. 1st gen slowly tapered back up into a truly beautifully-neutral midrange, that didn’t shy away from a nearly perfect 1k-3k climb. The 1st gen treble was a little shy/veiled for my taste in places, but great for some Senn HD6__ lovers. On the reserved side of neutral, but still an acceptably tasteful treble presence.

The 2nd gen AirPodsPro, retained the overall shape/impression, but recessed the upper mids, and added a little too much bass, but corrected the treble nicely, other than a small peak. So 2nd gen was slightly more V-Shaped than 1st gen, but not distastefully so.

Was hoping they could mix the FR from 20hz-3kz from the 1st gen, with the improved treble presence of the 2nd gen from 3khz-20khz, while also addressing the slight 2nd gen treble peak. Would have been a perfect “3rd times a charm” case …

…But no.

3rd gen AirPods Pro, is insultingly V-shaped IMHO. It’s following “bad data” low end consumer trends, maybe due to the beats acquisition, IDK.

It’s Apple …. It’s supposed to be a tastefully minimalist, timeless, premium product. Obviously with the limitations of wireless, sound quality has a ceiling. So any “PRO” branding is at least partially in jest. BUT, they should at least have a frequency response professionals can respect somewhat, instead of laugh at dismissivley.

The ANC improvements are great, and translation tech shows promise eventually, but they missed the most important aspect … it should sound universally pleasing, not catering to bad data, low end trends sponsored by energy drinks, aftermarket exhaust systems, and the X-Games.

SO, Apple is using "bad data" low-end consumer trends? Apple is a consumer maximalist company; the only "bad data" would be from us on forums talking about mid-range and saying stuff like "treble spikes". WE ARE THE "bad data" haha. APP3 are fine, APP2 were fine, any differences are whatever, they are bluetooth, they serve a purpose, we just arent there yet with BT, but they sound fine. I bought the HDB 630, a great-sounding FOR Bluetooth headphone, but I would never choose it over my 490 Pro or even my 6XX. It is what it is. APP3 is a better overall product than APP2 and close enough to its sound to be just as useful. FINALLY have a pair of TW headphones that don't fall out at the gym!! That alone is worth it.

 

[Terrapin]

For more than a year now AirPods Pro 2 were my favourite headphones for streaming music, so I decided to upgrade to the AirPods Pro 3.

Everything is better with the AirPods Pro 3s: the in-ear fit, ANC, battery life in the earbuds, additional features.

Everything!

Except for the sound quality. For my taste at least.

The softness and warmth of the previous model's midrange is gone, replaced by a V-shaped sound with miscular bass and tiring detail. Maybe it's nice for other genres, but for me, listening mostly to classical music, the stars of a recording should be the instrumental sections, not the rustle of turning score pages and creaking chairs.

And there’s no reliable EQ for iPhone in 2025 :-(

I'm relieved to return to the AirPods Pro 2s; what fantastic headphones!

 

[GoMrPickles]

I'm relieved to return to the AirPods Pro 2s; what fantastic headphones!

I have my 2s at work and the 3s at home; and I have to say, I'm always a little excited to go back to the 2s. They just disappear (I EQ the bass down, FWIW); the 3s always kinda remind me that they're there. I might buy another pair of 2s before they disappear, and before batteries on mine completely go.

 

[Power Pop 23]

I have my 2s at work and the 3s at home; and I have to say, I'm always a little excited to go back to the 2s. They just disappear (I EQ the bass down, FWIW); the 3s always kinda remind me that they're there. I might buy another pair of 2s before they disappear, and before batteries on mine completely go.

Amazon's Woot! is currently offering the 2nd gen AirPods Pro for a net price of about $108 after digital coupon at checkout with free shipping for Prime members.

https://electronics.woot.com/plus/apple-airpods-pro-2nd-gen-wireless-earbuds-3

 

[propaganda1]

When I first got these I was very disappointed, they sounded worse than $20 IEMs. But after setting up the 'Personalised Spatial Audio', setting the spatial audio to 'Fixed' and turning OFF Dolby Atmos, they have become my favourite pair of earphones I've ever owned, and I've owned IEMs up to the $1000 range.

People call the spatial audio a gimmick, and I agree in the head-tracked mode (which is for some reason the default) where it tries to (very badly) simulate audio coming from an anchored point. But in fixed mode, it becomes a whole new earphone.

They increase the subbass without effecting the mid-bass so it becomes more thumpy/dynamic without mud, this (with some DSP magic) also results in the bass 'surrounding' you sort of like a subwoofer, without the physical part of course. But the biggest change is it raises the upper mids and treble, fixing that incredibly dull stock sound. What they have done with the treble is magic, it is by far the best treble I've heard in an earphone, sparkly but zero sibilance. I am not a beginner when it comes to EQ, and even when manually EQing my IEMs, I failed to reach this level of treble quality. I'm guessing they do this using the ear scan + Adaptive EQ using the inward facing mics. It is as close as I have gotten to my studio monitors in an earphone/headphone.

This adaptive EQ also means that the sound will not be effected by fit issues, as it automatically adjusts itself to ensure the same sound every time. I've tested this by using different sized ear tips on each side yet the sound remained balanced and the same, this is great for people that have fit issues.

The reason I turn Dolby Atmos off is that on Dolby Atmos supported songs, it will use the default stock EQ (non-spatial) and apply whatever Atmos does resulting in a duller, and funnily less immersive (my opinion, YMMV) sound than what the fixed spatial offers.

Also, the sound cancellation is amazing, better than the Bose QC Ultra Gen 2 overears (you would think an over ear would do better here), but thats the only other ANC headphone I can compare them to.

My complaints are that you are forced to use Apple Music, as I do not think other services/local files are supported when using spatial audio. Also, no options to EQ them yourself in any way which is a big let down. If you are into a flat measuring speaker type sound, I believe you'll like these. But for people with more extreme tastes, these are not gonna let you add a 15dB bass shelf unfortunately.

I am no Apple fan, I only as of a few months ago purchased my first every Apple product (which was an iPhone) but I must give them credit, I am very impressed by them.

 

[Dennis_FL]

I got the original pro's when I bought an iMac. Then I bought the Pro 2's and Pro 3's..... I was not able to pass the ear insert test with the 1 and 2 but the 3 works fine.

 

[scotchrocks]

Finally, AirPods (seemingly across the board Pro/Max/etc.) will now have a custom EQ option starting in iOS 27. It's only three bands (low/mid/high) but better than nothing. Users have been asking for this for years, so it's great it's finally available!

 

[Petrushka]

I just got the threes to use as hearing aids. My old aids were traditional over the ear.

These are miles ahead in sound quality. Also, they haven’t plugged up with wax.

None of the eartips fit me properly. Im hoping to receive some foam tips today.

Although not ideal, you can listen to music with speech enhancement turned on.

 

[Petrushka]

Fun experience. When i tried to do a hearing test using the most comfortable tips, the app refused to acknowledge that the airpods were in my ears. The seal was not perfect.

But the larger ones are uncomfortable and fall out.

So i took the test with the largest tips, and after several bad days, switched to the next smaller size. They seem to work well. I am not getting feedback.

 

[middlemarch]

I have the same issue as you where the default tips don't quite fit, but pass all the tests and bass is great, but the next size down is too small and I lose the bass. Where have you found alternative foam tips, if I may ask?

 

[Peluvius]

Stingy of them to not give us full EQ but very apple. I guess better than nothing. I probably won't use the feature anyway as I like the Spatial Audio feature.

 

[Somafunk]

Stingy of them to not give us full EQ but very apple. I guess better than nothing. I probably won't use the feature anyway as I like the Spatial Audio feature.

Good breakdown of the EQ and its capabilities below

 

[somebodyelse]

I wonder how long it'll take the librepods community to reverse engineer this one, and whether it'll be gated by VendorID like some of the other capabilities.