I think headphones are one of the most culturally iconic inventions. They’re big, bulky devices that physically intimidate you out of talking to the user in question, with a passive aggressive grunt as you have to pull them down for the incredibly persistent.

Apple’s 2nd Gen Airpods Pro are a surprisingly fun departure from that. They exist on the opposite end of this spectrum, instead letting you live a life where you have your favorite soundtracks constantly playing yet still maintain the ability to connect with your fellow human. They’re a boon to ambiverts- you can choose when you want the world to shut up or welcome the warmth of other people into your life.

So Let’s Talk About Sound Profiles

Far and away, the Airpod Pro 2nd Gen’s standout feature is the different listening profiles you can set. Between a conversation-focused Transparency setting and a “shun-the-world” noise canceling profile, it’s incredible how many use cases you can get out of these wireless earbuds.

The transparency mode is surprisingly the hardest to describe to anyone who’s not tried it themselves. Imagine, if you will, that you were at a cafe playing on your phone. The waiter, having seen you nurse a single iced coffee for the past hour, comes to ask if there’s anything you can help with.

It’s here that Transparency mode really shines- the waiter’s voice in this scenario is incredibly clear, without you having to do the “takes off my earphones” gesture of universal passive aggression. As long as you’re facing someone, the Airpods do a great job of amplifying their voices so you never have to fumble and run the risk of dropping them.

At the same time, they’re also incredibly good at keeping out the less-wanted noise. Nuisances like noisy fans or someone typing up a storm at the next table are reduced- so if you wanted to focus on grinding out materials in Honkai Star Rail or finishing up Pluto, you won’t have to worry about the sounds of someone furiously finishing their essay before class ruining your zen.

As someone who walks the path of fighting games it’s a huge boon to help at locals- I’m easily distracted by background noise, and I can’t tell you how many overheads I’ve eaten because something just outside my periphery made a noise and I turned my focus there instead of my opponent’s sick mix. It’s not enough that I can’t feel the energy of the scene itself, but just good enough that I can keep focused on it and not something else happening in the venue.

Meanwhile, Noise Cancelling feels like getting hit by the Domain Expansion of someone with a hangover. It’s scary how good the airpods get when you really decide the rest of the world doesn’t matter- my own rickety fan was suddenly turned into an ultra-silent air conditioner, while the rest of my family were reduced to mimes pantomiming a warning about the dangers of male spinsterhood.

As someone who’s used many a noise-cancelling set of headphones in the past, its really great to know that you don’t feel that same aquarium sensation you get when you put them on- instead it’s just an absence of the usual sounds, but you don’t feel the pressure on your ears as much, so to speak. You also have the option to have the audio duck whenever you speak, so you’re once again spared the social embarassment of looking too angry about having to pause your tunes to speak to someone.

It should be noted that you don’t need to constantly toggle between the two either- there’s an Adaptive mode that also chooses a profile based on your surroundings, so you can quite literally just shut the world out the moment things get too rowdy.

High Quality Music

But now that you’ve created your world without rickety fans and nosy parents, what do you fill it with? Good music, of course. It’s impressive just how clear the Airpods Pro 2nd Gen really are. Live recordings of performances sound especially good, since the Lossless quality on Apple Music is clear enough to make you feel like Dairo Suga was in the room with you right now as he furiously elbows a piano that costs more than you’ve ever owned.

That’s not to say that’s all they’re for, either- even studio recordings of songs like the Guilty Gear Strive OST come to life, letting you spot everything from the bassline to the over-the-top vocals of songs like The Gravity.

Considering Apple pretty much nailed audio quality in previous models of Airpods, it’s no surprise the new Airpod Pros sound so good. There’s a big library of things to listen to on Apple Music, and it makes sense first-party accessories would show them off well. I’m glad Apple has even kept the head tracking feature- having the audio balance reflect your position relative to the screen is a surreal but fun experience.

There’s also something to be said about just how long the show can go on for- a single charge for the Airpods can last anywhere between four to six hours, with an hour-long session of Oshi No Ko seeing the airpods hit about 75% battery life the same time Ai hits the floor. Considering the case can store extra charges for the earphones, you’re looking at a great accessory for someone who needs to travel- no longer will you be the person who needs a whole power outlet just to charge their earphones ahead of their next transfer.

Closing Thoughts

There’s a general rule when you’re looking at Apple products, and that’s that the Pro series should always be viewed as a luxury. That’s very much true with the Airpods Pro 2nd Gen, which has plenty of bells and whistles like built in speakers on the case and touch controls to help you control your playback devices. Are they necessary? Not really, but the point is to give you an experience normal audio devices can’t.

In that sense, you really feel the value on the Airpods Pro 2nd Gen. Admittedly, RM1099 is a bit steep of an asking price. But it has enough going for it that you’re gonna be using it a lot- and that does rationalize itself, in a way.