recently received some private messages, and several of them asked the new generation of AirPods Pro. The appeal of Apple is indeed invincible, spreading to the fever circle, and still becoming the undisputed "top trend".
Single from the perspective of product strength, the new APP has upgraded active noise reduction capability (upgrade 2 times), enhanced adaptive transparency mode, and sound quality levels are generally reflected in the low frequency and resolution power that are better than the first generation.
In addition, there are also humanized space audio that supports dynamic head tracking, better-use earbud handle touch operation, standard magsafe magnetic box with lanyard holes, longer battery life, and richer size ear cups... The above upgrades are all-round, and the price is reduced by 100. No wonder some people say that the only thing worth buying at this Apple launch conference is the APP.
Of course, the manufacturer has never been a philanthropist. Behind the glamorous PPT, there are also people who are talking about it to the point - what about the promised apples?
As early as 2020, Bluetooth technology alliance SIG launched a new generation of audio technology LE Audio at the Fruit Machinery Consumer Electronics Exhibition. It supports the delivery of audio in the low-power state of Bluetooth , thereby extending battery life, and introducing the new era Bluetooth audio codec LC3 (Low Complexity Communication Codec), which can achieve low latency and high sound quality while maintaining low power consumption. This is definitely the biggest breakthrough in the 20-year history of Bluetooth technology development. Developers expressed confidence that LE Audio will become the Bluetooth standard for the next 20 years.
You should know that LE Audio low-power technology and LC3 Bluetooth audio encoding are inseparable. As long as Bluetooth headset supports the former, it will naturally be equipped with the latter's encoding technology. Last year, SIG launched the Bluetooth 5.3 protocol based on LE Audio technology. Many people think that the new generation of Apple's flagship true wireless headphones will be equipped with this latest technology, which can help AirPods achieve longer battery life, reduce 70% latency and higher sound quality.
Judging from the actual performance of the new generation of AirPods Pro, the battery life and sound quality have indeed improved, and the delay performance is excellent even for the first generation. However, the key to achieving the above is not SIG's LE Audio, but Apple's own H2 chip. The processing of digital signals, including various new adaptive algorithms, is all handled by the small and powerful H2. The benefits of
are that Apple's core technology is still in its own hands, and the Apple ecosystem composed of iOS and macOS devices can still bring a silky and comfortable experience. But monopoly means closure. In the eyes of audiophiles who focus on sound quality, it is still a big regret not to launch a Bluetooth protocol that truly supports high-bit rate lossless audio like Sony LDAC.
Last June, Apple Music launched a new high-resolution lossless audio, giving music lovers and headphone enthusiasts a shot of heart-warming agent. Apple finally has its own streaming media lossless! In the "Music"-"Audio Quality" options, there are two options "Lossless" and "High resolution lossless" that are marked with ALAC audio formats up to 24bit/48KHz and 24bit/192KHz respectively.
If you are a player who has heard about it all the way from the iPod era, you will definitely be familiar with ALAC. It is the abbreviation of Apple lossless audio codec. It is a lossless audio format developed by . Apple . It was launched as early as 2004. It was originally only played in iPods. In 2011, Apple announced that ALAC is open source. Although
is not as mainstream as FLAC and APE, ALAC still has become the first choice lossless solution for Apple users with the strong influence and exclusiveness of iPod. Back in the physical CD era, many enthusiasts were accustomed to using iTunes to grasp the track into the ALAC format. In today's era of pure digital music, iTunes has become a footnote to the times, but ALAC has once again returned to the public's ears.
More Apple audios are used to, and are the famous AAC. AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) is the full name "Advanced Audio Coding", invented by Dolby Labs , and is universal to Apple. Like ALAC, AAC is also packaged in m4a containers with a maximum code rate of 512kpbs. In addition to looking at the file size, ALAC and AAC can only be distinguished by viewing the source file encoding information.As the mainstream lossy encoding, the AAC compression rate is higher than that of MP3, and the theoretical sound quality at the same code rate is better. However, compared with true lossless ALAC, the amount of information of AAC is still significantly worse. Referring to Apple Music's "high quality" audio option, the format is 256kbps AAC, which is the same quality as the paid songs in the iTune store, and only supports 16bit/44.1KHz.
Apple's AirPods true wireless series released in 2016, in addition to the most basic and relatively poor sound quality SBC protocol, another support is the AAC protocol. However, until 2022, Apple still stood still. In fact, for most people, listening to AAC songs with Apple Music can basically meet daily listening needs. For headphone enthusiasts, the sound quality problems of AirPods will be amplified, especially for the 2000-priced Pro series, the overall requirements will be higher.
does not support lossless protocol, which means that the ALAC audio in the Apple library cannot completely restore the original digital signal to the H2 chip of the APP, that is, the digital signal will be lost and lost during transmission, and thus irreparable distortion occurs at the source. In the amplifier and speaker units, although Apple claims to use customized amplifiers and driver units to achieve low distortion sound effects, too small volume is destined to be unable to use high-quality independent fever components. The so-called "deeper bass and crisper treble" reference object is only the APP generation, and compared with real fever earplugs, it is still only the "entry level" level.
Therefore, many enthusiasts with a budget of around 2,000 will choose a plan with a 1,000-yuan small tail + a 1,000-yuan earplug after weighing the trade-offs. Apple's audio chip solution usually cooperates with Lingyun Logic (Cirrus Logic) and has a dedicated supply factory in California . The 67-yuan Lightning to 3.5mm audio cable solution uses Cirrus' CODEC. When Apple launched lossless audio last year, it was also emphasized that it is recommended to use such a wired solution that supports UAC protocol to truly experience the lossless version of Apple Music.
Nowadays, the popular little tail of hifi circles can be regarded as a fever version of Apple audio cable. The flagship decoding chips can already be used for the 1,000-yuan level small tail products, and the addition of independent crystal oscillator , op amp head amp and full balance circuit can provide lower distortion and higher output power. There are both "professional small head amps" such as Shanling UA5, and "Dali mini-machines" with thrust that are comparable to the Hifi player. Now, there are even W1-131 with more than 1,000 tunings, Qianlongsheng MC01SE, and Kaiyin RU6 designed with separate R2R.
If you already have fever earplugs, you can still buy a flagship small tail like Lepi W2-131 with the money from AirPods Pro. The actual thrust is close to 280mW and the signal-to-noise ratio is the highest. With a special digital cable, you can also bypass Apple's 100mA current limit. In terms of simple signal fidelity and hifiness, Apple Music's lossless potential can be fully released.
If we look at the speaker unit, the core driving unit of AirPods Pro2 is still the "ancestor transmission coil". The actual quality is not compared with hifi earbuds. Even in the true wireless category - Samsung buds pro's coaxial double dynamic coil, Baohua PI7's 9.2mm custom braking coil + dynamic iron hybrid, Sony noise-reducing bean's higher flexible diaphragm 6mm dynamic coil, etc., Apple will not take any advantage.
Therefore, dialectically speaking, the AirPods Pro2 generation has indeed been upgraded to a price compared to the previous generation. For Apple users, it is still the best choice for comprehensive experience and live up to the name of "out-of-the-street artifact". At the user level who pursues the demand for sound quality and function, it is a big regret that AirPods Pro2 did not launch a lossless protocol compatible with its own ALAC like Sony LDAC, and the actual sound quality is not exaggerated to the level of 1,000-2,000 Hifi earbuds.
In our actual comparison, whether it is low-frequency hierarchy, high-frequency extension, dynamic or full-frequency density, the APP is still just an excellent TWS true wireless headphone, with the core skill point lies in its extremely powerful noise reduction ability (intelligent algorithm). If you have to be serious about the sound quality, the conclusion is very simple: there is still audible gap between it and real HiFi.Of course, there must be a reason for the front-end matching (APP2 includes the front-end part, and wired earbuds need to be connected to a small tail to make a sound). If the high-quality indoor listening is the main focus, Apple Music+ small tail+ wired earbuds still have its place to use. Before Apple launches the lossless audio protocol and upgrades chips and units, the wired hifi system can still breathe a sigh of relief.
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