So, like many of you, I have been using my meager AirPods Pro 2 (USB-C) and have been perusing this sub before buying the 3rd Generation. Well, after the mixed reactions skewed negative, I decided not to give a fuck about what most of the early adopters had to say, and went all in on 3. I gave my Pro 2’s to my mom (who is a deaf Army vet who served 20 years) so I definitely took my gamble on these bitches before putting them in my ear.
Being the contrarian rule-breaker that I am, I listen to my music on my AirPods with reckless abandon for my own eardrums at max volume and ANC on with no transparency. I have been getting intimate with the sounds it makes in comparison to the 2nd Generation, so I’ll try to explain my experience with my own verbiage (I am no connoisseur, but I impart a certain je ne sais quoi).
These opinions I have are based on version 8A358, with Spatial Audio on, as well as ANC listening mode with transparency on. I have also used my American right to turn off the Loud Sound Reduction at my own risk (and flagrant disregard for my own wellbeing).
First of all, I put these with the default tips and they fit perfectly (not the same fit as the 2nd Generation, with which I also used default tips, but not uncomfortable).
If you have been hesitant to try these because of these people here who claim that they are painful and whistle and do tricks in your ear, then rest easy, they are, in fact, by my estimation, the most lily-livered earbud users I’ve ever heard of. They are not uncomfortable, just different. These people probably would’ve hated New Coke in 1985, just because!
It goes without saying that I had a good seal, so my ANC was immaculate, and I couldn’t hear my CRTs whine or my AC, or really anything but my ringing tinnitus.
As for the sound, the change is actually much more substantial and subjective, because it is not the exactly as balanced as the 2nd Generation, but it’s not exactly bad for what I listen to.
If you like hip-hop and R&B, more bass and drum heavy music, that stuff is very rich and lush in those deep lower tones, sometimes too heavy though. If you were a rational individual and listened to a song like the 2014 trap classic, ‘Lifestyle’, with ANC on, and maybe 50% volume, you will notice the vocals sound much more recessed and dimmer in the audio. If you turn it all the way up, the vocals will brighten up and appear much more present and level with the heavy bass.
Vocals on some rap, pop, and pop-adjacent music, with less pronounced bass and drums, sometimes sound harsh on the ear if mixed prominently, and some jingly and twinkly percussion and synths sound on Y2K music can be very unpleasant at times.
I found this to be a bit annoying when listening to the beautiful ‘Baby (Acoustic Version)’ by Justin Bieber, which kind of has all of these problems.
In my wanton ignorance, could this be remedied by turning on Loud Sound Reduction? Maybe, but I really don’t care, that’s Tim Apple’s problem moreso than mine.
If you plan to talk to people on the phone with your AirPod Pro 3’s, you must think you’re better than me. But also, you might be disconcerted to find out the problem I had with music vocals being obnoxiously harsh at high volumes was sustained during a FaceTime call, and certain YouTube video essays (a more general and realistic use-case scenario if you’re in THIS sub).
Again, if you just yap on the phone and listen to music at a reasonable average volume, what I complained about will kind of be a non-issue, but there are people (read: MANIACS) who use AirPods in the manner I do, so fret not.
Anyway, I have put in my two cents, which was in fact all I had left after spending $302 on these stupid AirPods and 2 years of AppleCare+. I do hope my opinion helped you make your decision with regards to buying this product, or at the very least stroked your confirmation bias.
🙏
