this post was submitted on 25 Nov 2023
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Headphones

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Like what? I didn't know they were this good, the definition even with crappy aac is super good and you can hear every single instrument clearly, I knew people said they were good but I'm surprised apple cared so much about sound quality

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[–] szakee@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago (6 children)

and you can get the same sound for 70-80$ with wired iems

[–] ClaptonOnH@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

True, I've had my fair share of wired iems but they are wired xd

[–] Virtual_Still6428@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

I have KZ As16 Pro and I still think Airpods Pro 2 beat them in some areas... I guess I should invest more than 100$ in Iems to beat the Pro 2s completly

[–] LuffyDoofy2@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

IEMs are the most uncomfortable pieces of audio equipment

[–] weauxbreaux@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

I find them significantly more comfortable than any other type of headphones

[–] zhephyx@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

I would rather not listen to music at all than work out with wired headphones again

[–] BigLorry@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

And you can get none of the convenience for $70-80 with wired IEMs

People consistently making this apples to orange comparison is the dumbest thing.

Do you also point out you can drive faster in a 2 door sports car than you can a giant SUB? Probably would be a dumb comparison to make wouldn’t it?

[–] LessLevel5415@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

But then you are using wired iems with no anc.

[–] ehuud@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Apple hate mindset is unreal

[–] Cyberspace242@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I had APP ver. 1 and then got ver. 2. It is incredible how much better Apple made the ver. 2. It is a surprisingly good Bluetooth tws.

[–] BigLorry@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Yep.

If the Max 2 (if/when) that happens takes a similar leap things are gonna get really interesting

[–] 7stringjazz@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

We can dream. Cause that’s what it’s gonna take to get me off Bathys. APP2s are class leading and my daily driver. The APM2 will need to beat Bathys.

[–] BigLorry@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

The Celestee is my main headphone (APP2 as the convenient daily) so I’ve been very curious to try the Bathys, also love the aesthetics on the sand/brown model, hopefully I’ll get to try them one day.

[–] 7stringjazz@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

My main headphone rig consists of the closed back Stellias driven by a Bryston BHA-1 with a BDA-2 & a Bluesound Node as DAC and Source. I love the setup! Coming from sennheiser misc HD Models up to the 800s. The Stellias were better in all but open wide soundstage Where it was still close. I also have a pair of Clear Mgs open back. If you love the Celestee, I can almost guarantee you’ll love the Bathys. Very recognizable family signature and satisfies my audiophile tastes like no other. Would love to give the H95s, 5909 and T&A Solitaire a good audition as the 3 most expensive BT options. They are way outside of my budget considerations so it’s just as well. As mentioned I’m really hoping Apple fixes the APM failures to match or exceed the Bathys. I love how Apple products work together and we are a Apple household.

[–] Choice-Counter-1166@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Xm4 (the wf one) is quite good but airpods pro is one of the few greatest TWSes you can get along with Samsung Buds Pro.

[–] DJ_Firth@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago (2 children)

My Galaxy buds pro I find fatiguing after not too long given the treble, thinking of moving to the AirPod pro 2 for this very reason

[–] mohoji@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Tried all of the Samsung tws buds until I decided to try the OnePlus buds 2 pro and they have been incredible, I would like to try the Apple AirPods Pro as well though as an area where the op2 are lacking is in noise cancellation

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[–] Choice-Counter-1166@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Yeah, I don't use them for long periods, just on the commute to work in the mornings.

[–] weauxbreaux@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

The WF XM4 sound fine but the battery issues are a complete deal breaker. Even the xm5 seems to be presenting with the same problem

[–] darhan604@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I had a pair of sennies IE300 and now the first gern timeless. Does anyone know how the apple pros compare to these? I only heard their first wireless buds some years ago and I was like.. Meehhh :)

[–] billy_nelson@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

They are nowhere as detailed as the Timeless. That said, it's a very pleasant DD sound that you can hear for hours, the Timeless can get just a tad bit too bright in some tracks, imo. The AP Pro 2 have an improved sound, specially the bass when compared to Gen 1, both of these are on a different league compared to original AP.

[–] perfumed_scorpion@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

I had the exact same feeling. Was debating upgrading to the xm5s but was really impressed when I tried the APP2s

[–] coppersocks@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago (12 children)

The APP2’s are good and all, they’re my daily driver ahead of the likes of the B&O H95 simply because of ease of use and lack of connectivity issues.

I think the real issue though is that the XM line has simply been greatly overstated in terms of sound quality. They’re just not that good but they’ve been marketed and hyped over the past 5 years by influencers and YT reviews as in and around the top tier in BT earphones for the average person’s when they’re simply not.

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[–] katotaka@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

They’re at least okay to decent in every department I could think of, instantly became the daily driver.

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[–] __nullptr_t@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Apple has always cared about sound quality and done a good job. They are usually competitive at their price point and far more convenient than the alternatives. The homepod and Airpod maxes are also surprisingly good.

[–] Risino15@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

"Crappy AAC" lol

[–] Icy_Ad4813@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

I was also pleasantly impressed with Bose QCII earbuds. Just tilt the treble and bass towards brightness by about 3db's and you'll get amazing detail and left-right imaging. Doesn't beat my Fh3 with EQ but it's really good for convenience with the best ANC on the market.

[–] rodaphilia@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

We been here telling you theyre good…

[–] Martin_the_Cuber@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

tbf after using XM4s everything is gonna sound better

just kidding, im glad you enjoy the APP2s, I absolutely love them - convenience, great ANC, and good audio all in a tiny package

[–] its_mardybum_430@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago (2 children)

WF’s? Do you like having battery life? LOL

[–] Martin_the_Cuber@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

don't have them, how bad is it?

[–] its_mardybum_430@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Check out the Sony headphones subreddit and how the top pinned post to their audience of 30k is about severe, critical battery issues with the whole WF line. They’re junk.

[–] Martin_the_Cuber@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

damn that sucks, i hoped there was at least one xm4 that wasn't trash for its price. nevermind.

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[–] Phreedom1@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

You need to use the app to get the best sound out of the XM4s...did you?

[–] Kiurin@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

A pair of $50 wired IEMs will sound even better if quality is what you value over convenience. Airpods are not as good as they're praised to be and not worth the price at all imo

[–] PaintingKind@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

I had some Bowers & Wilkins in-ear. They were great, but broke down, so I bought AirPods Pro 2. Same – amazing 😂 integrate really well with everything too, of course.

[–] theRealNilz02@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago (5 children)

Nice to see another person brainwashed by apple into thinking their headphones are in any way good or enjoyable to listen to.

Wireless earbuds are the epitome of disposable electronics. You have them two years, boom, the battery is toast and you throw them away for a new pair.

Get some real IEMs and enjoy headphones that sound a heck of a lot better than the wireless crap apple is selling.

[–] ClaptonOnH@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Chill bro wtf

[–] EvilSynths@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Although I agree IEMs are vastly better you're wrong about throwing away AirPods.

With AppleCare+ they'll send you a new pair for free when the battery health drops below 80%.

[–] theRealNilz02@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago (2 children)

And then apple will throw them away for you. Not really good for the environment either.

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[–] LessLevel5415@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

AirPods last quite a bit longer than that, but people who buy the cheap crappy ones realize why they are so cheap eventually.

[–] Doomblaze@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

had my true wireless for 3, battery is fine. not sure what youre buying, but ive never had a wired headphone last for longer than 18 months because wear and tear of every day use is extreme

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[–] EvilSynths@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Unfortunately, they're only good on Apple products.

I enjoyed them on my iPhone 14 Pro Max. Then I switched to a Samsung S23 Ultra and holy fuck, the drop in quality was immediately noticeable. So much so, I sold them. They became useless and my £20 Chi-Fi IEMs sounded better.

For the price you pay for them, you can get vastly better audio quality elsewhere.

[–] Lettuce-Normal@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

(Don’t quote me on this, I may be incorrect) I think the AAC used on android is worse and that may be it, it could also be Apple doing eq on Apple devices only, or both

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[–] LessLevel5415@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago (2 children)

AAC is far from crappy, welcome to reality. The xm4s simply don’t sound that great, I don’t care what codec or stupid marketing Sony comes out with.

[–] Pfafflewaffle@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Yeah it’s more about the tuning, even sbc has come a long way. I think bt 5.0 made a big upgrade for aac and sbc.

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[–] Smugsie@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Yeah they're pretty nice. The portability of TWS are also fantastic, I just slide them into my pocket if I don't want to wear them anymore, transparency mode is better than the XM4's. Albeit a small step down regarding ANC, since the WF-1000XM4's have thicker eartips that do better for passive noise isolation. The APP2 also have slight better bass kick, at the expense of treble definition and midrange smoothness that the XM4's have.

The design of the APP2 are also better IMO, easier to handle as there are more places to grip them. The WF-1000XM4's are slippery everywhere else.

As for phone calls, APP2's do better.

I don't think I can go back to wired, no more snagging my wires on anything as I walk around, these were a huge pain (literally) when I was using my ER4XR's on the go.

[–] Snoo52211@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

I mean there are lots of better earphones, but they are all less comfortable. That makes the airpods really great. They just feel so light in you ear.

I was very confused on my first day, because i thought they would fall out.

[–] florinandrei@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

even with crappy aac

The importance of the codec is vastly, vastly overrated. It's just a marketing thing.

Frequency response is what matters.

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[–] Pfafflewaffle@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Yeah they are pretty good, I just wish it had better separation with busy music….also a bit more midbass. They are fantastic for asmr and general content consumption, i connect them to my tv a lot.

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