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Background: I typically travel with AirPods gen 1 and Bose QuietComfort 35s. I use the AirPods in the gym and day-to-day for calls, music, podcasts, etc. The Bose are used predominantly for flights, and occasionally for conference calls in loud environments. I wanted to try the AirPods Pro because I'd love to get the QC35s out of my bag and free up that space by just using one device. I also find it hard to nap on super early/late flights when wearing the QC35s since you're not able to lean against the bulkhead wearing large over-ear headphones. I'm a musician and I have reference speakers in my apartment, so while I'm not sure I'd consider myself and audiophile, I think I am more perceptive than the average person.
Overall/TLDR: I'm impressed. The noise cancelling is good and will at least rival Bose. I feel like I could sit through my normal 4-5 hour flight with these on. Sound quality is good for what they are - tiny wireless earbuds - but it's certainly tolerable. The fit seems pretty comfortable, though I think the ear tip fit test feature is kind of a gimmick. These apparently have a vent that allows air from the outside into your ear, and it seems to work well. They don't build up pressure in your ears, and I think they reduce slightly one of my annoyances with in-ear headphones, where the sound of eating/drinking is amplified due to the ear seal. It's still present but not as bad. I wore them when going for a quick run, and I'm happy with them for working out. It's convenient to be able to switch from "transparent" to "noise cancelling" mode simply by holding down the stem - this is I think a Sony feature but not something that I've experienced. Obviously the battery life of 4.5 hours with NC on will make them not as well-suited to long flights. This said, I'll plan to give them a shot for the next couple weeks and leaving my Bose QC35s at home.
Competition: I own the Bose QuietComfort 35s as mentioned, and also the Bose QuietControl 30s. These are the Bose in-ear version of the QC35s that are bluetooth noise cancelling in-ear buds. Unfortunately, they aren't fully wireless since they're connected to a kind of a collar that goes around your neck. I don't generally wear them due to in-ear comfort and a distaste for the collar. However, I think they're a good competitor for the new AirPods. I'll compare the AirPods to each of these.
Sound Quality (tested in quiet room with NC on):
- Overall: It's pretty good. The bass is present, the rest of the sound relatively balanced. Everything is a bit too crisp to be realistic, particularly with some of the highs sounding a bit tinny. The soundstage isn't quite as wide as a larger headphone but I'm overall impressed for an earbud.
- Compared to QC35: As expected, QC just sounds fuller throughout the range - the highs are a bit more fuller, the mids have more body, and the bass benefits from the much larger drivers on the over-ear headphones. It's a much more lifelike soundstage (for a headphone - obviously neither will compare to, for example, decent speakers). For overall sound quality, the QC35 are still the winners for me.
- Compared to QC30: I think the AirPods are as good as the Bose entrant here, which is a huge feat in and of itself. The two are comparable - perhaps the Bose is a bit better balanced and has a more realistic reproduction of complex orchestral passages, but it's not a big difference.
Noise Cancelling:
Tested in my apartment (5.1 setup) with a YouTube recording of cabin noise from a plane. I turned this up pretty loud - definitely louder than cruising speed in a 737.
- Overall: I'm quite impressed. When you put one earbud in, it turns on and plays the welcome noise, but the noise cancelling doesn't kick in until you put in the second bud. What's particularly impressive is how quiet the background hiss of the noise cancelling is - it's less pronounced than the QC35 and way better than the QC30.
- Compared to QC35: AirPods have lower overall noise - this is just due to their seal in the ear, so was a little inevitable. The AirPods don't cancel some of the higher hiss noise (think the sound of air coming out of the airplane vent), but the bass rumble is gone (I can feel it but not hear it), and the mids are effectively reduced.
- Compared to QC30: AirPods are better. I think the AirPods keep a bit more of the super high noise, while the QCs kill that leaving a bit more of the mids. With NC on in a quiet room, the QC30s have a much more noticeable hiss than the AirPods.
Excellent review OP - have you surveyed the people on the other end of the line? I find that some headphones pick up a lot more background noise than others. Having to mute and unmute during calls in loud environments is rather annoying. Thanks!
Thanks! I’ve not tried them on the phone. My experience with normal AirPods is that they do a pretty good job in these environments.
For whatever it’s worth, I wouldn’t consider myself an Apple fanboy, and truthfully I didn’t have the highest expectations for this product. Obviously I’ve only had them for a day but out of the gate they have performed better than I expected.
Super helpful. This post is making me consider APP upgrade from my APv1, main driver being ANC to replace my wired QC20s
Thanks for this OP. I will buy the APP tomorrow
Sony XM3>Bose and Jabra earbuds>airpods. better combo all around.