• Technology

#SoITriedIt: Testing Apple AirPods Pro 2nd Gen Spatial Audio

Apr 10, 2023 by Louigi Balao

3 min read

When you think of audio devices, you think of brands like Sony, Bose, JBL, and more of the sort. For phones, the mind immediately places Apple and Samsung—two of the biggest names in the phone universe—into thought. Because of that, Apple normally doesn’t normally enter the conversation when talking about audio. However, their 2nd generation AirPods Pro has left a crater-sized impression on both regular users and audiophiles.

With great audio comes great responsibility!

Here are my thoughts about these little bangers, especially with their Spatial Audio!

In regular Apple fashion, the pairing process was clean and simple. You pop open the device, the prompt immediately shows up, and BAM! Your AirPods are now accessible to all devices connected under the same cloud. But I am not here to discuss its pairing process but its audio experience!

As we move forward in this article, please be aware that whenever the AirPods Pro is mentioned, I am referring to the 2nd generation variant.

From Apple Official Website

Alright audio! Right out of the box, the AirPods Pro sat perfectly in my ear, providing a good seal for audio. I am not an audiophile in any shape or form, but I have my share of audio peripherals catered specifically to gaming, editing, and even casual listening. So in terms of audio quality, I would say the AirPods Pro was well-balanced, giving me clear highs and very audible lows. In terms of the kick from the bass, it is cleaner when compared to Hyper X Cloud II.

I loved how comfortable it was and how great its noise-canceling worked.

From Wrexham AFC Official GIPHY

However, that isn’t the zinger. Apple’s spatial audio feature is designed to deliver surround sound and 3D audio in an optimized fashion through its specific products that extend to Beats products. I initially thought it was a gimmick, but I gave it a shot.

After a few pictures, I was set up, and holy moly, it was different.  Whenever I turned my head toward the right, the audio would remain in front, meaning most of the audio would be on my left ear. It even worked when I would turn around, making the music sound as if it was behind me—mind-boggling. The audio device was portraying an accurate sound location based on where I was looking. This feature works best, of course, in a quiet environment, from my experience to maximize this experience.

From Mimi Health Official Website

While digging around to improve the audio experience, I stumbled across the Mimi Hearing Test app. This app tests your hearing on both your left and right ear through a series of frequency audio tests. Once accomplished, they provide an audiogram that can be uploaded into your AirPods accessibility setting, adjusting audio perfectly catered to your sense of hearing.

If you want to try it out for yourself,  here are the steps:

  • Download the Mimi App
  • Follow the provided instructions, but make sure your environment is quiet enough to increase overall accuracy
  • Discover how great or terrible your hearing is
  • Upload the audiogram into one of your Apple audio device accessibility settings
  • Enjoy the difference

 

This game-changer has improved my overall listening experience when commuting, working, and streaming content. Not in gaming, at least not yet. Stay tuned for that.

Speaking of awesome devices with their own features, you may want to check out PLDT Home’s WiFi 6! With high-speed internet and an awesome router like the ASUS ROG Rapture GT-AX11000, you are guaranteed an uninterrupted experience whenever you game, work, or chillax!


EDITOR'S NOTE

This article is part of our social experiment on nextupgrade.ph. We call it: "So I Tried It" (stylized via hashtag as #SoITriedIt).

#SoITriedIt is a special series featuring the personal experiences of the Next Upgrade Editorial Team as we embrace the smart home lifestyle ourselves. As we take that first step to do things better and smarter, we hope we will inspire all of you to jumpstart your smart home journey.

 

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