Distorted sound at full volume on AirPods Pro?

[rmoliv]

Thought the "Pros" would perform better but lately I've noticed that in certain songs the sound gets some distortion at full volume, especially low-frequency sound. For instance, in Billie Eilish's "bad guy", it's even worse in "bury a friend". Is it happening on your AirPods Pro too? I'm wondering whether the drivers are partially blown out. Let me know how yours sound at full volume. Thanks.

 

[rmoliv]

Anyone? I think it sounds like a faint crackling.

 

[hesoba]

If you listen at full volume any longer, you will have a whole other problem than just a cracking noise.
Just saying

 

[BODYBUILDERPAUL]

Being honest it's the way that the track is mastered / compressed by iTunes.

I used to notice this a lot in 2009 with iTunes tracks where they'd pushed up the limiters too much. If I have the EQ on, on my MacBook Pro, I still notice it on some tracks.

I really wish that Apple would build an equaliser into the Music app or at least a bass & treble control rather than the presets for which I don't like any apart from 'electronic'.

 

[rmoliv]

If you listen at full volume any longer, you will have a whole other problem than just a cracking noise.
Just saying

Do you mean hear loss? I am aware of that risk but it's the way I like it and have been listening like that for years now and my hearing abilities are as perfect as they could be.

Being honest it's the way that the track is mastered / compressed by iTunes.

I used to notice this a lot in 2009 with iTunes tracks where they'd pushed up the limiters too much. If I have the EQ on, on my MacBook Pro, I still notice it on some tracks.

I really wish that Apple would build an equaliser into the Music app or at least a bass & treble control rather than the presets for which I don't like any apart from 'electronic'.

I also suspected it could be that (mastering/compression issue). It's very annoying on some tracks if I'm listening to them at full volume.

 

[icloudUser]

The genre i listen uses distortion and I generally am near the max volume on the APP and they sound good to me

 

[rmoliv]

The genre i listen uses distortion and I generally am near the max volume on the APP and they sound good to me

What genre is that? Try listening to Billie Elish's "bad guy" or any of her songs actually at full volume. Tell me whether that sounds good or is it distorted.

 

[bbeagle]

Do you mean hear loss? I am aware of that risk but it's the way I like it and have been listening like that for years now and my hearing abilities are as perfect as they could be.

They won't be in 10 years.

It's just like smoking or drinking or tons of other things. You don't see any effects until 10-20 years down the road. It's like bending a stick back and forth. Yeah, you can do that a hundred times. Time number 101, the stick will all of a sudden break. The stick looked fine on bend 99, but got weaker internally on every bend.

I'd rather be a 40 year old who doesn't need a hearing aid. But, you do you.

 

[Pug72]

As a tinnitus sufferer, PLEASE don't listen at high volumes for long.
I have moments when I struggle to cope with it and wouldn't wish it on anyone.

 

[rmoliv]

I like to feel the bass in my eardrums. I understand it's wrong and am aware of the risks. One day I might regret it, or not. It's like smoking, some get cancer and die from it, others live a healthy and long life.

By the way, I just subscribed to TIDAL HiFi and the sound quality is incomparably superior to Apple Music's! No crackling at full volume and so much more sound clarity! What's keeping Apple from doing the same?

 

[Lurker251]

Have also noticed this at 3/4 max volume. Low frequency bass has some crackling on some songs. Noise cancelling was on. Switch off noice cancelling reduced crackling.

I was listening to Post-Malone , Circles. Cracking happens towards end of the song. Amazon Music.

 

[rmoliv]

Have also noticed this at 3/4 max volume. Low frequency bass has some crackling on some songs. Noise cancelling was on. Switch off noice cancelling reduced crackling.

I was listening to Post-Malone , Circles. Cracking happens towards end of the song. Amazon Music.

When I started this post I though the AirPods were the problem but after a few experiments today I concluded that it actually may be mostly - or even solely -related to the encoding/compression of the tracks. By the way, in a second analysis using TIDAL I noticed that the HiFi-quality tracks sounded better (no crackling) than the Master-quality ones even though the Master encoding is supposedly superior...

 

[Lurker251]

@rmoliv

I tried the same audio source (Amazon Music) with my Powerbeats3 (which is what I use/d before buying the Airpods Pros) , same crackle at 2:55. So, yep, I agree. In my case the audio source does play a factor.

 

[rmoliv]

@rmoliv

I tried the same audio source (Amazon Music) with my Powerbeats3 (which is what I use/d before buying the Airpods Pros) , same crackle at 2:55. So, yep, I agree. In my case the audio source does play a factor.

Thanks for sharing. Disabled ANC on the AirPods and it fixed the crackles. Billie Eilish’s “bad guy” would just sound awful (on Apple Music and TIDAL with master encoding). Still find TIDAL provides more sound detail than Apple Music but that’s a whole different story.

 

[Adashiii]

Thought the "Pros" would perform better but lately I've noticed that in certain songs the sound gets some distortion at full volume, especially low-frequency sound. For instance, in Billie Eilish's "bad guy", it's even worse in "bury a friend". Is it happening on your AirPods Pro too? I'm wondering whether the drivers are partially blown out. Let me know how yours sound at full volume. Thanks.

Registered for this forum just so i could agree with this comment - my right pod distorts at full volume. I actually took them back to the iStore. They replaced everything (right, left and case), couple days later the right one is back at it. Crackles on the base.

I listen to mostly techno, in my motorcycle helmet, super annoying i can't play my pods at full volume.

Anyone got an actual solution?
About this actual problem?

NOTE
Am not interested in your opinions about loud music F*CKin hell...

 

[Ralfi]

I listen to mostly techno, in my motorcycle helmet, super annoying i can't play my pods at full volume.

Are you sure your helmet isn’t rubbing against the outer microphone?

 

[Schranke]

listen to mostly techno, in my motorcycle helmet, super annoying i can't play my pods at full volume.

Are you able to hear any of the traffic with that mixture? and wouldn't it be considered wildly irresponsible?
(knows nothing about noise lvl in regards to motorcycles and local law, just wondering)

 

[Adashiii]

this reminds me why i don't bother looking at forums to get any real advice on a problem..

 

[Ralfi]

this reminds me why i don't bother looking at forums to get any real advice on a problem..

So you don’t appreciate people trying to help you out, & you don’t make yourself clear on where this supposed bad advice came from, making anyone who responded to you think they’ve wasted their time? Got it.

 

[SaSaSushi]

NOTE
Am not interested in your opinions about loud music F*CKin hell...

Good thing you're not my editor.

The sound of a motorcycle is usually around 70-80 decibels. Listening to music adds additional decibels to that. Listening to anything over 100 decibels for more than 30 minutes could potentially cause hearing damage.

That's not to mention the dangers of operating a motor vehicle with music so loud it blocks out all other sounds.

 

[V_Man]

Do you mean hear loss? I am aware of that risk but it's the way I like it and have been listening like that for years now and my hearing abilities are as perfect as they could be.



I also suspected it could be that (mastering/compression issue). It's very annoying on some tracks if I'm listening to them at full volume.

Dont you love how everyone tells you how to listen to music. I usually listen at 85-90% myself. Rock out

 

[V_Man]

Hi I’ll

Good thing you're not my editor.

The sound of a motorcycle is usually around 70-80 decibels. Listening to music adds additional decibels to that. Listening to anything over 100 decibels for more than 30 minutes could potentially cause hearing damage.

That's not to mention the dangers of operating a motor vehicle with music so loud it blocks out all other sounds.

hell my car stereo pushes out over a 110db. Usually up around there too. Crank it up

 

[SaSaSushi]

hell my car stereo pushes out over a 110db. Usually up around there too. Crank it up

More power to you. It's only your own hearing at risk and I've got no problems with that.

 

[ManicMarc]

As a tinnitus sufferer, PLEASE don't listen at high volumes for long.
I have moments when I struggle to cope with it and wouldn't wish it on anyone.

Same. How do you find AirPods Pro with tinnitus? Weirdly, I find the noise cancellation and lack of background noise can sometimes make it more audible. I try to never have the volume over 60%, and this is easily achievable with the AirPods Pro.

 

[Pug72]

Yeah, noise cancellation is fine with music playing but without it makes the tinnitus prominent.

How wonderful it would be to be able to 'hear' silence for a moment. ?