AirPods Pro 2 review - worth the upgrade? | Mark Ellis Reviews

Are you going to buy the new AirPods Pro 2?

Got these on Saturday.. noise cancellation upgrade from my Pro 1 is noticeable. Used on the train for commute today and they did a fantastic job with train and other passenger noise. Sound is really opening up after a couple of days use and it’s a fuller more balanced sound supported by good levels of base.. I tried it out on Hans Zimmers Dune soundtrack and it was really good.

I have the original AirPods and only have 1 left. I think now is the perfect time for an upgrade 🤭

I work in a very noisy environment and they take the decibel level down 30 , totally awesome for me . I do have the first gen to see the difference. Thanks for an excellent review

You got me there! Very curious about it. Gonna be a good Christmas present for myself

The most surprising thing to me is they changed the shape of them. The original AirPods Pro would fall out my ears running while sweating or laying on a bench. These are more rounded and larger at the bottom to hold in my ears. These fit sooo much better! They literally slot in and point the right way way different than my Pros. Plus they sound incredible at the Apple store I bought them immediately.

Awesome video as always! Thank you for this review.

Thanks for the review, Mark. I fully agree with you on the improvement in sound. I have the 1st gen Airpods Pro since release and was satisfied with them for almost a year. Mostly listened to podcast, audiobooks and audioplays and had phone calls or WebEx meetings with them. They were fine for me ... unless I dared to buy different TWS and tried listening to music on them. The Oppo Enco X, mentioned by you, beat the Airpods Pro first gen in sound quality. More bass, better heights and mids. Than I started to buy more and more TWS from different manufactures, including 1More, Soundcore, EarFun and Edifier - even TWS like the Nothing Ear (1) or the Pixel Buds A sounded much better than the AirPods Pro 1st gen and I couldn't figure out, why there were so many enthusiasts for the AirPods Pro. Now, the AirPods pro 2nd gen seems to have a similar "issue". There a people who say there is no or just a slight difference and others that say there is a way better sound quality then on the first gen. I just got mine today and I am impressed. As you said in your review: More bass, more space, crisp heights. Than might bring me to a conclusion that Apple's AirPods Pro 1st gen are not all the same. Maybe there were some batches that had issues and no one talked about them? Maybe all who state the first gen sounds superb and they hear no difference to the second gen have gotten a good batch of the first gen while all who are complaing about bad sound on the first gen did get a bad batch? I don't know. Just an assumption. I am glad, I upgraded. In the meantime I collected a nice little arsenal of around 28 different TWS, but I am sure the new AirPods Pro will be the ones I will listen to mostly (besides to the 1More EVO, the Edifier Neo Buds Pro, the Lypertek PurePlay Z5 and the Soundcore Space A40 ... oh my, there are a lot more that I really, really like - and I have just two ears ...) :-)

Didn't expect this, great review and ordered, gah!

I totally agree, I ordered the AirPods Pro 2 just to try them out and I was pleasantly surprised at the improvements. With my original AirPods Pro, I had stopped using them in favor of the Beats Fit Pro, but they cause ear fatigue relatively quickly. Though they look the same, I’m able to get a better fit and seal with the AirPods Pro 2, even with the same size ear tips. I’m not sure why, but it’s a welcome change 😊

The new AirPods Pro 2 sound incredible. Every component of it sounds great. The spatial audio. The adaptive equalizer. Even spatialize stereo makes songs so lively. But most importantly, they’ve got a great quality DAC/AMP and driver design. Incredible quality for the comfort and size.

Got these as well- really amazing improvements. Definitely the ones to beat.

Just updated from my airpod pro gen 1. And I love the airpod pro 2nd gen. The music and soundstage sound way more better!!! Absolutely love it.

Great review ! Thanks mate

I’m totally in love with my AirPods Pro 2. The smaller tips make them fit my ears much better than before (previously, they would always slip out of my ears). Apple’s website says that the ear tips for the gen 2 aren’t compatible with the gen 1, but my new ear tips fit my old Pros just fine. I think maybe Apple just doesn’t want people buying the extra small tips for the old ones instead of buying the new Pros. But they shouldn’t worry; I think the new Pros sound noticeably better than the originals and are worth the upgrade. I think the feature that I am most in love with is the new volume controls.

When I tried these next to my AirPods Pro 1, it was night and day. They sound so much better. I have a small issue with the Adaptive noise cancellation where it lets through external singing thinking it’s chat. I’m sure it will get smarter at detecting real chat from a radio or other music over time though. What would be next level is if it used the bionic processor on iPhone to learn & recognise external sounds and then let you pick and choose which sounds you want to hear.

Be interesting to see you compare sound quality and noise cancellation between AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Max. I have the AirPods Pro 1 and use these for listening to podcasts and YouTube and the Max for phone calls (due to better transparency mode and other upgrades you cover) and music/movie consumption. Could it be that Pro 2 are all someone would need or am I comparing apples with oranges?

I’m finally upgrading from my gen 2 AirPods. I don’t generally like in-ear silicone tips but with reviews like yours and Max Tech’s saying the uncomfortable seal is just non existent, I’m finally pulling the trigger on a product I think will be so good and future proof for their entire lifespan.

Great review. You mentioned so much I think you forgot the volume control on the earbuds now. I have subscribed!

Great review and totally surprised myself by how good these pro 2 are.