AirPods Pro Gen 2
The AirPods Pro, Generation 2. Did I really need them? I mean, I have the AirPods Gen 3, the AirPods Max and the original AirPods Pro. What extra benefit could these possible give me? Well, It’s all down to a little chip called the H2, and a new set of silicon tips.
I’ve always liked the way the original AirPods fitted in my ears. They went in easily, sat there comfortably, and sounded pretty good. Perfect for podcasts around the house or out taking a walk with the dog. Shout out to my Cavoodle, Ebony.
If I needed something bigger and better (with noise cancellation) my go to were the AirPods Max. Big on sound, excellent noise cancellation, but also big on size. These are headphones designed for sitting and listening, allowing you to get the most out of the music you were listening to with minimal distraction. If only there was a way to get the best of both worlds. This was always meant to be the purview of the AirPods Pro, but they never quite fit right. Literally.
While sounding excellent and with decent noise cancellation, they never sat in my ears correctly. My left ear seemed to be somewhere between small and medium, and when I ran the seal test on my iPhone, I’d always have seal issues. Couple that with them wanting to work loose if I ate, or spoke, or heaven forbid, walked! So no good for day-to-day use during tasks, and fit only for sitting down stationary and listening. But I already had two sets of headphones that did that.
I tried replacement tips. I bought memory foam tips, removed the memory foam and inserted it under the original tips. Thanks for the tip (no pun intended) Federico. This was better, but hard to insert and would still work loose eventually. I found these on Kickstarter, which used the same idea. Better, closer, warmer, but still not great. But wait, they released version 2! They were better engineered than the first version, but I still wasn’t happy. I resigned myself to never being able to make decent use of them and into the Drawer Of Shame they went.
When Apple released the AirPods Pro 2, I though to myself, “these might be slightly better, but I’m still going to have fitment issues”. No thanks, not for that kind of money. But with the recent WWDC 2023 announcements, they spoke of a few of the new features coming to AirPods Pro 2 only: Adaptive Audio, Conversation Awareness, Mute on Calls, and Personalised Volume. I was intrigued, and I was in Sydney that weekend with some time, I thought I’d spend some of that time in the Apple Store.
I walked in, headed upstairs and was greeted by a lovely young lady. I explained I wanted to look at the AirPods Pro 2 to have an idea of how they fit before I’d consider a purchase. She paired me up with Michael, who was very helpful and accommodating. Unfortunately trying to find a pair of medium tips to start with proved problematic. A few smalls, a whole lot of larges, but no mediums. He ducked away and came back with a pair eventually. I put them in my ears, and oh my! They felt just like my comfortable AirPods Gen 3. It was amazing. Easy to insert and they stayed there. I did a seal test expecting it to fail, but nope, success!
I was like the Fry meme from Futurama, “shut up and take my money!”. I was completely sold, and have been very happy ever since.
The sound quality is around on par with the AirPods Pro Gen 1, but the noise cancellation is much improved. Also, the addition of Adaptive Mode on top of Noise Cancellation and Transparency Mode has been a game changer. It changes the whole world into an 85dB-limited environment, including at music concerts. Full clarity without excessive volumes.
These are my most used headphones, above all others (and I have a lot). I use them around the house, on a plane, when out for a walk, everywhere. These are by far the most versatile and best -bang-for-buck headphones I have ever owned.
Anyone want to buy a pair of AirPods Pro with a crap load of spare tips?
