I know my Bose ANC headphones have more than one setting for cancellation. I leave them at 10 (highest) when traveling. Most noise is blocked out, especially on airplanes/in airports.
What intrigues me about the AirPods Pro is the possibility that some good in-ear canal tips may become available from a third party. The AirPods do not fit in my ears well at all—they fall out quite easily. Most “ear hooks” don’t help too much because they are too slick. I found one set that has a more grippy exterior surface that at least keeps the darn things in, even when out for a run. (I can’t recall the brand, so heaven help me if I lose one of these things!) But, my left ear is still not a good fit with these hooks, and I’m constantly having to adjust it.
I recognize that I’m on the long tail of the bell curve when it comes to earbud fit. But it’d be nice for once to find a set that would work perfectly for me so that I can be like the rest of the cool kids.
i think it’s probably going to come down to either the new Airpods Pro or the Beats Pro just released. I don’t need them for sport–I need them for office noise. I don’t know if either would be better for ANC, and it’s hard to know which would be more comfortable, as that’s individual preference.
I went into the Apple store and they offered to let me try the Airpods, but when they handed me one with a blob of unknown ear wax on it I thought better of it. I think I’ll sit on it a little longer and see which one comes up better suited to me.
If you don’t need the battery life (or hold-on-for-dear-life grip) of the PowerBeats Pro, then get the Airpods Pro. I have the Beats and they’re less comfortable but I am keeping them because of the extended battery life.
Thank you very much for your thoughts. I think I mislead you though. I was talking about the Beats Solo Pro Wireless headphones. If I got anything in-ear, it’d be the Airpods.
I actually forget I have them in sometimes when the podcast has finished. That happened several times, in one case I was just alerted by the battery bloops.
So I think I am an interesting case study on this topic. The AirPods never fit me in my left ear. I have always had to use a hook or sleeve of some type to get the left AirPod to hold in my ear. The right side held perfectly but because of the left ear issue, I only used them in specific instances. My wife walks around all day with hers in her ears but I never could relate because the left would fall out all the time on me.
So when the AirPods Pro were announced I was ready to order. My wife actually ordered them for me and they arrived 11/5/19. I have had them a total of 1 day. I now understand the AirPods phenomenon. I sat with them comfortably in my ears all afternoon. I worked out with them this morning and had NO issues with them staying in while on the treadmill. These things are awesome for me. I am not saying they are a must for everyone, but for anyone that had issues with the originals holding in their ears, these are huge. I do love the noise cancellation. I do love the transparency feature, and I have already learned the stem controls. These are the kind of polished product Apple should be releasing. If you are in the market for AirPods and/or think you might enjoy the upgrade, save your shekels and make the buy.
After having tried mine for a week, I’m returning them.
They are good, but the noise cancellation is inferior to the Bose QC 30 in noisy environments. I changed the tips and achieved a good seal, but the QC30 are better. The Pro have transparency mode, which is nice, but it does not outweigh the lesser noise cancellation.
Lastly, I could never get them to work on my iPad Pro running iPadOS 13.2 and Apple could not help me, unless I brought them to the Genius bar, which was not an option for me.
I’ll replace my aging and pretty much run-down AirPods 1 with AirPods 2.
It’s interesting. ANC perception seems to be vary quite a bit from person to person. Here’s a couple of the opposite take specific to Bose vs AirPods Pro ANC:
The Airpods pro noise cancellation is very impressive the fit and feel is comfortable for me. Transparency mode is pretty amazing. The eartip fit test and changing silicone tips was simple and easy. I’ve owned all versions of the Airpods. I’m keeping my Airpods 2 for audio sharing while watching movies or listening to music.
I understand the comparison result to QC 35’s, since they are over the ear. QC 30 are in-ear, so more similar to AirPods Pro. And yes, perception certainly varies. I can only judge for myself and for my ears, I prefer the QC 30’s.
