I agree with Tim Cook who said that the AirPod Pro’s aren’t meant to be a replacement for the regular AirPods but are an essential accessory alongside them.
The AirPod 3s are much more comfortable and don’t make you feel like you’ve stuffed foam earplugs in your ears. I use my AirPod 3s almost all of the time except for when I’m out running or operating power equipment.
The AirPod Pros are wonderful for those situations where the lawnmower would drown out whatever you’re trying to listen too. The noise cancellation is a modern marvel that I appreciate much more than I ever thought I would. But until recently, I always had one problem with the AirPod Pros.
The silicone ear tips that come with the AirPod Pros get real slippery if you break a good sweat. That isn’t necessarily a problem for everyone. But for me, it is. The medium ear tips are slightly too small for me to get a good seal. But the large tips are slightly too large so they tend to work themselves loose when I’m out running. On a hot day, it is quite irritating to have to push them back in every 5 minutes.
I was able to solve this problem by getting some foam ear tips. I tried three different brands, Dekoni, Charjen, and Comply. They all sounded about the same but I liked the Comply the best of the three. The Comply tips seemed to have a more robust attachment mechanism. They were all quite effective at preventing the AirPods from falling out. But it came at a cost. Sound quality.
The sound quality with the foam ear tips wasn’t as good as with the stock Apple tips. The music was a little flatter and bass response was more muted. Having used foam tips in the past, I definitely didn’t see that coming. My previous experience with foam tips was always the opposite. Sound quality was improved and bass was increased.
But here’s the problem with foam tips when it comes to AirPods. The charging case limits the size of the uncompressed foam. If there is no charging case, the foam tip makers can make nice big tips that you compress with your fingers and then insert. You’ll get an excellent seal which improves every aspect of music quality. But due to the AirPod charging case, the foam tips can’t really fill your ear with dense foam because they are too small. If they were made any larger, they woudn’t fit in the case.
The only negative I’ve found with foam tips in the past is that they get pretty gross pretty quick and they are hard to clean. I’m guessing that’s why manufacturers don’t use foam tips.
After trying three different brands, I had kind of given up on ever finding that perfect pair of AirPod Pro ear tips. Until I stumbled upon someone’s recommendation in a YouTube comment section for the Azla Xelastec ear tips. The comment was from someone who seemed to have all my same gripes with the silicone or foam tips that I tried and was quite happy with the Azla’s. They were $24 for two pairs so I figured I’d give them a try.
Boy am I glad I did. These ear tips are about as close to perfect as you can get. They have significantly better sound quality than any of the foam tips I’ve tried and are nearly as good as the stock Apple tips. But they stay in my ears as well as any foam tips. It’s the best of both worlds.
The AirPod Pros are wonderful for those situations where the lawnmower would drown out whatever you’re trying to listen too. The noise cancellation is a modern marvel that I appreciate much more than I ever thought I would. But until recently, I always had one problem with the AirPod Pros.
The silicone ear tips that come with the AirPod Pros get real slippery if you break a good sweat. That isn’t necessarily a problem for everyone. But for me, it is. The medium ear tips are slightly too small for me to get a good seal. But the large tips are slightly too large so they tend to work themselves loose when I’m out running. On a hot day, it is quite irritating to have to push them back in every 5 minutes.
I was able to solve this problem by getting some foam ear tips. I tried three different brands, Dekoni, Charjen, and Comply. They all sounded about the same but I liked the Comply the best of the three. The Comply tips seemed to have a more robust attachment mechanism. They were all quite effective at preventing the AirPods from falling out. But it came at a cost. Sound quality.
The sound quality with the foam ear tips wasn’t as good as with the stock Apple tips. The music was a little flatter and bass response was more muted. Having used foam tips in the past, I definitely didn’t see that coming. My previous experience with foam tips was always the opposite. Sound quality was improved and bass was increased.
But here’s the problem with foam tips when it comes to AirPods. The charging case limits the size of the uncompressed foam. If there is no charging case, the foam tip makers can make nice big tips that you compress with your fingers and then insert. You’ll get an excellent seal which improves every aspect of music quality. But due to the AirPod charging case, the foam tips can’t really fill your ear with dense foam because they are too small. If they were made any larger, they woudn’t fit in the case.
The only negative I’ve found with foam tips in the past is that they get pretty gross pretty quick and they are hard to clean. I’m guessing that’s why manufacturers don’t use foam tips.
After trying three different brands, I had kind of given up on ever finding that perfect pair of AirPod Pro ear tips. Until I stumbled upon someone’s recommendation in a YouTube comment section for the Azla Xelastec ear tips. The comment was from someone who seemed to have all my same gripes with the silicone or foam tips that I tried and was quite happy with the Azla’s. They were $24 for two pairs so I figured I’d give them a try.
Boy am I glad I did. These ear tips are about as close to perfect as you can get. They have significantly better sound quality than any of the foam tips I’ve tried and are nearly as good as the stock Apple tips. But they stay in my ears as well as any foam tips. It’s the best of both worlds.
They are made out of a grippy silicone that does a good job of sealing your ear. They grip so well that they often turn inside out when I pull them out of my ear. The downside of the grippiness is that any gunk in your ears will stick to them. I’m guessing that is why Apple doesn’t make their silicone ear tips more grippy.
But this hasn’t been an issue for me. Now when I take a shower, I’ve started washing in my ears where my AirPods would touch. I made it a part of my routine when I wash my hair. If you do it every day it pretty much eliminates your AirPods from getting gunked up.
As I was running today in the 91 degree heat and enjoying some great sounding music, I knew I had to finally write a blog post about these Azlas. They have made me so happy that I had to share the news. I’m sure now that it’s going to be getting hot pretty soon, there are going to be lots of runners out there who are pushing their AirPods back in their ears every 5 minutes. If that’s you, you don’t have to live like that. There is hope.
But this hasn’t been an issue for me. Now when I take a shower, I’ve started washing in my ears where my AirPods would touch. I made it a part of my routine when I wash my hair. If you do it every day it pretty much eliminates your AirPods from getting gunked up.
As I was running today in the 91 degree heat and enjoying some great sounding music, I knew I had to finally write a blog post about these Azlas. They have made me so happy that I had to share the news. I’m sure now that it’s going to be getting hot pretty soon, there are going to be lots of runners out there who are pushing their AirPods back in their ears every 5 minutes. If that’s you, you don’t have to live like that. There is hope.
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