Apple's first high-end headphones

[KeithPhantom]

It’s not by song. To my knowledge, it literally analyzes your ear and adjusts the EQ based on that.

The same as my AirPods Pro and they never sounded better than the Buds+ I am rocking now. I remember using the stock tips and aftermarket ones, the iPhone I used to have always said I had a good seal, but they never sounded good enough to justify the $250 I paid for them a year ago.

 

[Frank Dernie]

It’s not by song. It literally acoustically analyzes your ear and adjusts the EQ based on that.

So, basically what Nuraphone does, without looking ridiculous.

It‘s the same concept how their HomePods work by adjusting the sound based on its distance from the walls.

That is what the AKG N90Q is purported to do.
It certainly seems to work well.

 

[M00ndancer]

I have these headphones and not sure If I'm remember correctly. (not the subjective part) Just skip to the last part if you you're bored for the conclusion. I really, really, really dislike a lot about Apple. (I could probably fill a book or two)


Ranked while listen to music, subjective quality with mods / eq (if I could make it work and deemed necessary)

Sony MDR-1A am1 (first gen) (I do listen to them with or with out EQ depending on music)
Tin Hifi T2 Modded
Sony MDR-1000x NC on
CoolerMaster MH752 USB

Ranked while listen to music, subjective quality

Sony MDR-1A am1
CoolerMaster MH752 USB
Sony MDR-1000x
Tin Hifi T2
CoolerMaster MH752 3.5 mm as regular headphones
Tin Hifi T2
Sony MDR-1000x 3.5 mm no amping/DSP

Measured w/o EQ (RTing.com data Neutral scores)

Sony MDR-1A am1
Sony MDR-1000x
Tin Hifi T2

Have no idea how they measure up with EQing.

Conclusion
If Apple can do what my different headphones does offer combined as a standalone headseat without any "Sit down little friend. Do as apple says. We know what's best for you.", at the price of 6695 SEK ($630 excl tax) incl TAX
"You live in Sweden and have infinite funds"

I would by them in a heart beat (even with non-removable battery), even if they are expensive as **** for me, I would sell all the others except the T2 for commuting.

What I would like them to have and If I'm to believe the marketing fluff, they have everything I dreamed of.

EQ/DSP adjustments for the shape of my ear to have a perfect starting point for the rest of the DSP magic.

Not overly optimistic.... But a man can dream. If Apple pull this off, then we might have an Ipod moment again.

 

[ElNino]

Exactly. So many people here are talking about this with their Apple "script" as if thi sis about looks alone and avoiding stating the fact that the feature set on offer here is bloody impressive. As is the manufacturing. And it would be impressive at twice the price.

I agree with this. The closest thing to these tech-wise was the AKG N90q, which had a clunky push-button ear equalization and half the number of microphones per ear, and still cost three times what these cost.

 

[bobbooo]

It’s not by song. It literally acoustically analyzes your ear and adjusts the EQ based on that.

So, basically what Nuraphone does, without looking ridiculous.

It‘s the same concept how their HomePods work by adjusting the sound based on its distance from the walls.

As this post a few above yours showed, when Oratory measured the Airpods Pro he found their frequency response does also depend on input stimulus, not only on ear canal anatomy.

 

[3125b]

and yet ... they damn work day in and day out ...

Mine last about 1.5 years on average due to ... abuse related reasons
I wouldn't want to replace my headphones that often. I want to be able to keep and collect them.

But then again, who, in the grand scheme of things, collects headphones? Very few people, ASR is not at all a representative place for consumer buying decisions.
The majority of casual listeners still won't buy 550$ Apple over-ear headphones, but I guess they will sell well enough.

The automatic ear correction thing is nice, we'll see how well it works.
However the far simpler and long overdue thing would be to implement a proper EQ in iOS (and any other operationg system for that matter, they are all so useless). There's nothing to it and that would make a big difference.

 

[Beershaun]

"A unique dual neodymium ring magnet motor allows AirPods Max to maintain total harmonic distortion of less than 1 percent across the entire audible range, even at maximum volume."

Would like to see Amir measure these to see if this proves out...

 

[Beershaun]

"Adaptive EQ: AirPods Max use Adaptive EQ to adjust the sound to the fit and seal of the ear cushions by measuring the sound signal delivered to a user and adjusting the low and mid-frequencies in real time — bringing rich audio that captures every detail."

I think this is the killer feature Apple has brought to the speaker market. I first saw it in the homepod and glad to see it making it's way to this headphone. I am hoping to see more speaker manufacturers start applying this technology to their active speakers. It really is a way to leap forward in speaker performance.

 

[wemist01]

Does it even work as advertised?
That is the question. Also, there are other issues to consider with these headphones and Apple products in general such as general reliability and durability.

Does it even work as advertised?
That is the question. Also, there are other issues to consider with these headphones and Apple products in general such as general reliability and durability.

Absolutely. But even if they aren't everything that has been initially promised at first, the feature set here and the resources of this company to develop these into something that really does work over time means that Apple has a huge advantage over competitors in delivering value. Will they take the capabilities far enough so that discerning listeners also recognize a product that really does work and sound great? That's up to them. But the potential here basically has no parallel in the headphones market. You can b#$%h about Apple's closed ecosystem, fixation on aesthetics and pricing, but I only see one of those as alien to the interests of people here. And the price here is a winner already.

 

[watchnerd]

As for the price... Come on people!! $550 and you are complaining? Perhaps it should come free with an iPhone... Seriously??? I mean how inexpensive things must be ?

ASR fans will wait for Topping to make a clone for $99.

 

[sweetchaos]

Wow...CDN$ 779?
That's only 20% cheaper than an iPhone 12 mini.
Tough choice...iPhone or these pebble looking headphones!

It reminded me of...

I can see the rock jokes incoming...

What did the rock say to the ruler? What did the ruler respond to the rock?
--
Rock: You rule!
Ruler: You rock!

 

[MZKM]

As this post a few above yours showed, when Oratory measured the Airpods Pro he found their frequency response does also depend on input stimulus, not only on ear canal anatomy.

How would that work, and why would it be a thing?

The only things I can see happening is bass compression for protection as well as treble reduction to get rid of recording errors (no material should have a -3dBFS 15kHz signal) .

 

[abdo123]

I think a lot of people here are out of date with performance / price ratio of Apple in the last couple of years.

The latest iPhone generation is a steal, and the new Apple silicon are shaking the industry. I have high hopes for this, the AirPods Pro were also a great product (in their own mediocre sense).

 

[direstraitsfan98]

I was tempted to impulse buy these but then I saw the delivery date of Janurary 7th... it’s better I get winter tires put on my car or get some new winter boots instead. If they could have delivered before Christmas I think I would have gotten them though. Oh well...

 

[FrantzM]

Mine last about 1.5 years on average due to ... abuse related reasons
I wouldn't want to replace my headphones that often. I want to be able to keep and collect them.

But then again, who, in the grand scheme of things, collects headphones? Very few people, ASR is not at all a representative place for consumer buying decisions.
The majority of casual listeners still won't buy 550$ Apple over-ear headphones, but I guess they will sell well enough.

The automatic ear correction thing is nice, we'll see how well it works.
However the far simpler and long overdue thing would be to implement a proper EQ in iOS (and any other operationg system for that matter, they are all so useless). There's nothing to it and that would make a big difference.

Agreed on the EQ in IOS.
but and this is anecdotal, it seems that college and high students routinely buy the rather expensive Beats Solo Pro at $400 ... a stretch to go $550 but not one they wouldn't make ...

We need to take a pause and realize how truly extraordinary smartphones are:
Lets take 2 TOL smartphones, an iPhone12 Max or a Galaxy S20 ... these are:
High Performance 4K cameras capable of replacing single purpose appliances. I’ve seen people doing entire professional broadcast with these. I believe this to be more pervasive than I tended to think. Even for some of us , hobbyist photographers, we are forced
to accept that these smartphone cameras for the vast majority of cases are equivalent to ev n DSLR costing much more... the mind boggles.
These are powerful computers in their own rights quite capable of, if we were to bother, of tackling complex computing tasks...
These are transparent music playing devices with DACs and ACDs...
Even their microphones can surprise the unsuspecting
Incredible displays with excellent color fidelity and accuracy.
Superlative measuring devices, with the right apps. Taking an example dear to my engineer’s heart. You can have the iPhone 12 with the LIDAR, scan a room and produce rather accurate floor plans, even volumetric drawings. Such devices were out of reach for most people and professionals, on;ly 5 years ago... With an App it has become relatively easy.
These are telephones with HD Voice
These are Bluetooth hubs/devices...
They can measure, light intensity and sound level with a degree of accuracy, professionals had to pay thousands of dollars for not even 10 years ago...
Did I say they take video @ 4K and HDR and ...
the iPhone 12 has a LIDAR, a marvel to make it so small, accurate and able to fit in a small case ...

So let give it a rest. If you don't need it, don't buy it . As for myself I remain in awe of those machines

 

[abdo123]

Agreed on the EQ in IOS.
but and this is anecdotal, it seems that college and high students routinely buy the rather expensive Beats Solo Pro at $400 ... a stretch to go $550 but not one they wouldn't make ...

We need to take a pause and realize how truly extraordinary smartphones are:
Lets take 2 TOL smartphones, an iPhone12 Max or a Galaxy S20 ... these are:
High Performance 4K cameras capable of replacing single purpose appliances. I’ve seen people doing entire professional broadcast with these. I believe this to be more pervasive than I tended to think. Even for some of us , hobbyist photographers, we are forced
to accept that these smartphone cameras for the vast majority of cases are equivalent to ev n DSLR costing much more... the mind boggles.
These are powerful computers in their own rights quite capable of we were to bother, to tackle many computing asks...
These are transparent music playing devices and DACs and ACDs...
Even their microphones can surprise the unsuspecting
Incedible display with excellent color fidelity and accuracy.
Superlative measuring devices, with the right apps. Taking an example dear to my engineer’s heart. You can have the iPhone 12 with the LiDSR to scan a room and produce rather accurate floor plan. Such devices are out of reach for most people and professionals... With an App it has become relatively easy.
These are telephones with HD Voice
These are Bluetooth hubs/devices...
They can measure, light intensity and sound level with a degree of accuracy, professionals had to pay thousands of dollar for.
Did I say they take video @ 4K and HDR and ...
Camcordrs

Honestly it baffles me that Audio is not ‘fixed’ yet, that research hasn’t figured out the best target curve and every speaker just performs it. And you pick based on features and looks.

Like if you ask someone what is the fastest phone on the market they say the iPhone 12. If you ask an expert what’s the best TV in 2020 for the playstation 5 / Xbox series X they will say the LG CX series.

Why the fuck is Audio not solved yet and people are buying fucking vinyls in 2020????

 

[Thomas savage]

ASR fans will wait for Topping to make a clone for $99.

... and still moan about the price while claiming they could make them for less.

 

[mSpot]

I hope they support a lossless Bluetooth codec for these.

There is no such thing. All of the Bluetooth audio codecs are lossy, even the higher rate ones like LDAC and aptX HD.

 

[bobbooo]

I think a lot of people here are out of date with performance / price ratio of Apple in the last couple of years.

The latest iPhone generation is a steal, and the new Apple silicon are shaking the industry. I have high hopes for this, the AirPods Pro were also a great product (in their own mediocre sense).

In what world is a heavy, unwieldy phone costing $1000 with no expandable storage, no headphone jack, no USB-C port, no fingerprint reader (Face ID is useless in these current times of mask-wearing), no high (>60 Hz) refresh rate, no aptX or LDAC Bluetooth, no charger or headphones (or 3.5mm adapter to connect some) included, few meaningful upgrades on last year's models (yet again) and a huge, dated notch covering the top of the display 'a steal' in 2020 (almost 2021)?

 

[watchnerd]

Why the fuck is Audio not solved yet and people are buying fucking vinyls in 2020????

Half the fun of buying vinyl is these kinds of reactions.