Beats fit pro sounding thin and “harsh” - am I doing something wrong?

[Telesmurfen]

Ok, time to bring on those “you’re wearing them wrong” or “you’re listening wrong” jokes - or preferably give me a serious answer.
After having read all the great reviews of the BFP, and seen lots of review videos on YouTube, I was thrilled when these buds were released in Europe, and I preordered a set, and received my buds on launch day.
And I must confess I wasn’t too impressed by the sound. They sounded quite tinny to me. So, they went in to my drawer for a while. I recently rediscovered them, updated them to the latest firmware and paired them to my iPhone 13 PM.
And I must say that I struggle to enjoy the sound quality.
Sure, they sound a bit clearer than my AirPods Pro, the bass is more punchy, and the highs are crystal clear. But it sounds as if they are just too “V-shaped” in their sound signature.
It’s particularly noticeable with voices. It’s like they miss depth. There are highs and lows, but the middle seems to be missing.
I’ve tried all three tips, getting a “good fit” with all three sizes, according to the fit test.
I ended up using the large ones, as they seemed to give me the best noise canceling (which I’m not too impressed with either).
Yet, I keep reading how these are so much better than the APPs.
But, nine out of ten times, I find myself grabbing the APPs, because the sound of the Beats is just too harsh/tinny (I also have to turn the volume up real high to get some decent volume outdoors) and it gets fatiguing to listen to.
For pure audio quality, and the best NC, I pick my Sony WF-1000XM4. But it’s got much worse phone quality and worse integration with my other Apple products, so it’s not optimal for my usage.
So, to my initial question… is there any way to improve the sound, do you think I have a faulty pair, or is it just the way these buds sound?

 

[NastyMatt]

Try doing a hearing test and use the audiogram (app called Hearing Test and set it up in Headphone accommodations). Not saying this will dramatically change the sound signature or “fix” the headphones if there is a problem with them but what it will do is tune the headphones to your hearing.

Obviously sound is personal and subjective, I actually found the BFP were better than the APP in the mids (and bass) very slightly. I prefer the BFP because of the presence of the very low bass, I don’t get that in the APP. They’re not over based for me, it’s just like I hear bass in some tracks I can say I was not aware of on the APP.

 

[vinegarshots]

My wife has a pair, and they absolutely sound worse than my AirPods Pro, by a considerable margin. Harsh sound, and some kind of weird audible noise floor...almost like a slight hiss or white noise while in use.

 

[NastyMatt]

My wife has a pair, and they absolutely sound worse than my AirPods Pro, by a considerable margin. Harsh sound, and some kind of weird audible noise floor...almost like a slight hiss or white noise while in use.

That sounds like there is something wrong with them, maybe worth taking them back to Apple.

 

[GrumpyCoder]

Well, the wearing wrong isn't that far fetched, but it's more the used tips. As suggested, measure your hearing, maybe you're not "compatible", which is common.

You can find measurements for the BFP here: https://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/beats/fit-pro-true-wireless
This should allow you to adjust them to your hearing or preference.

Harsh sound, and some kind of weird audible noise floor...almost like a slight hiss or white noise while in use.

While harsh sounding is very subjective and can be caused by hearing, there should be no noise floor. If that's the case, maybe they're broken/damaged.

 

[vinegarshots]

Well, the wearing wrong isn't that far fetched, but it's more the used tips. As suggested, measure your hearing, maybe you're not "compatible", which is common.

You can find measurements for the BFP here: https://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/beats/fit-pro-true-wireless
This should allow you to adjust them to your hearing or preference.


While harsh sounding is very subjective and can be caused by hearing, there should be no noise floor. If that's the case, maybe they're broken/damaged.

I think maybe the quality control on the Beats is not very good …

Beats fit pro - hiss/static sound in left… - Apple Community

discussions.apple.com

On top of that, they feel really cheap compared to the AirPods . The charging case feels like a thin, hollow happy meal toy.

 

[Telesmurfen]

Thanks for all the replies.. I’m still not quite sure whether I have a faulty pair, or if it’s just the fact that I have to get used to their sound signature. Anyway, having followed the tips suggested in this thread, I notice a slight improvement (not sure if it’s placebo or real), so I won’t give up on them yet.
I really want to like these buds. They are comfortable, has a better bass than the APPs, and integrate seamlessly with all my other Apple products.
So, thanks again for all your help.
Please keep adding to this thread if you have any more tips, or if you too find the sound a little tinny, or lacking, so I can see if it’s just me or not.

 

[GrumpyCoder]

I think maybe the quality control on the Beats is not very good …

Beats fit pro - hiss/static sound in left… - Apple Community

discussions.apple.com

On top of that, they feel really cheap compared to the AirPods . The charging case feels like a thin, hollow happy meal toy.

QC for Beats isn't good, no. I keep coming back though. I bought the Powerbeats Pro (with overear hooks) back then because the normal AirPods are falling out of my ears. The AirPod Pros are better than regular AirPods when it comes to this, but still not as good as the Beats Fit Pro with the in-ear hooks.

As for QC, my original PBP disconnected from the charging pins in the case, so it happened a lot that one would be charged and the other wouldn't. I've had massive connection problems with them, particularly when occasionally connecting to Linux devices and then back to a MBP or iPhone, they would not stay connected and I had to forget the devices and repair from scratch which then took a few tries.

And now that I think about it, with the PBP I once had massive hiss out of nowhere. I thought they were toast back then and fiddled around a few hours to reset and force to reinstall firmware. After another charging cycle, the hiss was gone and never came back.

That being said, when the PBP and BFP work as expected, they're excellent and audio quality is a notch above AirPod Pros. The charging cases for both are larger though, because otherwise they wouldn't fit.

 

[SSDGUY]

Ok, time to bring on those “you’re wearing them wrong” or “you’re listening wrong” jokes - or preferably give me a serious answer.
After having read all the great reviews of the BFP, and seen lots of review videos on YouTube, I was thrilled when these buds were released in Europe, and I preordered a set, and received my buds on launch day.
And I must confess I wasn’t too impressed by the sound. They sounded quite tinny to me. So, they went in to my drawer for a while. I recently rediscovered them, updated them to the latest firmware and paired them to my iPhone 13 PM.
And I must say that I struggle to enjoy the sound quality.
Sure, they sound a bit clearer than my AirPods Pro, the bass is more punchy, and the highs are crystal clear. But it sounds as if they are just too “V-shaped” in their sound signature.
It’s particularly noticeable with voices. It’s like they miss depth. There are highs and lows, but the middle seems to be missing.
I’ve tried all three tips, getting a “good fit” with all three sizes, according to the fit test.
I ended up using the large ones, as they seemed to give me the best noise canceling (which I’m not too impressed with either).
Yet, I keep reading how these are so much better than the APPs.
But, nine out of ten times, I find myself grabbing the APPs, because the sound of the Beats is just too harsh/tinny (I also have to turn the volume up real high to get some decent volume outdoors) and it gets fatiguing to listen to.
For pure audio quality, and the best NC, I pick my Sony WF-1000XM4. But it’s got much worse phone quality and worse integration with my other Apple products, so it’s not optimal for my usage.
So, to my initial question… is there any way to improve the sound, do you think I have a faulty pair, or is it just the way these buds sound?

I've had AAP's for a year or so and though I like the sound quite a bit, they fall out of my ears too easily. I too read good reviews of the BFP's so I ordered a set, and they arrived today. Now, I love the secure fit and the deep low end is impressive, but the rest of the audio spectrum really is quite harsh like you say … thin and "plastic". I went back and forth between the AAP an BFP and the softer warm details and dimension are greatly missing from the BFP's. Anticipating ear fatigue with these units, I've decided to return them and suffer the AAP fit issues (yes I've tried all the tips) but enjoy their better sound. Can't say I didn't try!

 

[NastyMatt]

I've had AAP's for a year or so and though I like the sound quite a bit, they fall out of my ears too easily. I too read good reviews of the BFP's so I ordered a set, and they arrived today. Now, I love the secure fit and the deep low end is impressive, but the rest of the audio spectrum really is quite harsh like you say … thin and "plastic". I went back and forth between the AAP an BFP and the softer warm details and dimension are greatly missing from the BFP's. Anticipating ear fatigue with these units, I've decided to return them and suffer the AAP fit issues (yes I've tried all the tips) but enjoy their better sound. Can't say I didn't try!

Which is surprising as the BFP have a better Mid accuracy than the APP (standard deviation is less than the APP), I do get that sound is subjective tho. An audiogram is always worth trying to understand where your hearing is currently at.

 

[SSDGUY]

Which is surprising as the BFP have a better Mid accuracy than the APP (standard deviation is less than the APP), I do get that sound is subjective tho. An audiogram is always worth trying to understand where your hearing is currently at.

The BFP is certainly is more upfront in certain mids, whether that's accurate or not, is probably debatable. For my ears, the mids were not very detailed, but instead a tad brassy, and fatiguing.