If you’re thinking about upgrading then keep an eye on the blog as our 1st vs 2nd generation comparison review will be arriving next week. You can also subscribe on YouTube.

What are Apple AirPods Pro?

The AirPods Pro 2nd generation are the 2nd generation (unsurprisingly!) of the Apple AirPods Pro which are Apple’s premium in-ear earphones. They were announced in October 2022 and have a lot of improvements over the 1st generation and a few new features.

Wireless earbuds allow you to easily stream music form your devices without using a cable and with no trailing cable between your ears and have become the go-to type of earbuds for many people over the last few years.

What’s new with the AirPods Pro 2nd Generation?

On the surface not a lot looks new, in fact, sit them next to the 1st generation and you’d barely tell the different but there are a few key differences.

An improved case

The new case for the AirPods Pro now has a built-in speaker which allows it to make a noise when you charge it or if you lose it and need to use a ‘Find My’ mode. The case also has a new magnetic port on the side for lanyard attachments.

The improved battery life of both the case and AirPods gives you up to 30 hours use with noise cancellation equating to 6 hours from one charge on the AirPods pro and 24 hours worth of charging from the case. This means, even when using these every day I’m only charging them about once a fortnight.

The new ‘Find My’ mode on the case gives you the same features as Apple’s AirTags. This allows you to find your AirPods with precision if you lose them or just the case.

The new H2 Chip

The new H2 chip inside the AirPods Pro allows for improved audio quality, better battery life, improved transparency mode and 2x better noise cancellation.

How much do the 2nd Generation AirPods Pro cost?

At £250 the 2nd Generation AirPods Pro aren’t cheap but with earphones the phrase ‘you get what you pay for’ is very true and my first generation Apple AirPods Pro are still going strong after a few years and, given that they get used at least 5 out of 7 days a week this is pretty good!

AirPods Pro 2nd Generation Review – Setting Up

Over the last few years Apple have perfected the art of setting up a device and setting these up is as simple as opening them near your phone (or Mac/iPad). A little window pops up and you click ‘Connect’. You can then name them and you’re done!

From that point they’re available on all the Apple devices linked to your Apple ID allowing for easy switching between devices.

So, let’s talk about using these and talk about transparency mode, noise cancellation and sound quality

Transparency Mode becomes Adaptive Transparency

The H2 chip allows for the all new adaptive transparency mode which replaces the existing transparency mode. For those who don’t know, transparency mode uses the built in microphones to relay what’s going on around you in real time allowing you to hear your surroundings…this is great for avoiding the ‘goldfish bowl’ effect you get with in-ear earphones and allows you to have conversations and be aware of your surroundings without removing your AirPods.

As a runner, this is essential for me so that I know what’s going on around me when running near/on roads.

The new adaptive transparency mode is absolutely incredible and a massive step up! The H2 chip allows your surroundings to be analysed 24,000 times per second and the volume of your surroundings is effectively balanced out. This means, if you’re using transparency mode and walk past a building site with lots of drilling that noise is made quieter in real time, allowing you to hear what’s going on without it being a massive disturbance.

Noise Cancellation

On their website Apple claim the 2nd Generation AirPod’s Pro noise cancellation is 2 times better. Whether the noise cancellation is actually 2 times better is difficult to gauge is tricky but it’s certainly better.

I’ve tested this out on flights and when I just need some quiet space and whether you’re listening to music, a podcast or just using the noise cancellation without any audio playing it does a great job at blocking out the noise around you.

What’s the sound quality of the Apple AirPods Pro 2nd Generation like?

The sound quality on these is excellent offering plenty of volume, a great balance of lows, mids and highs and is certainly (and audibly) better than the already great-sounding 1st generation of AirPods Pro.

Apple offer several modes for audio. A normal mode, spacial audio and head-tracked spacial audio. All 3 modes sound great although, personally, I dislike head-tracked spacial audio.

It’s also worth mentioning the new personalised spacial audio profile which you can set up via the AirPod settings. This allows you to use your phone cameras to build up a picture of your head and process spacial audio based on your head.

All in all, when it comes to sound quality these are incredible and I notice parts of songs that I’ve been listening to for years that I’ve never noticed before.

AirPods Pro 2nd Generation Review: Everything Else

There are also are few other things worth talking about:

Making and receiving phone calls on the new AirPods is a clearer experience with an improved microphone.

The new swipe feature on the AirPods to adjust volume is a nice extra but a bit fiddly to get used to. The click to activate Siri, play/pause, answer/end calls is still there!

They now come with new extra-small silicone tips. This gives you a choice of 4 tip shapes to cover most ear sizes.

Finally, they are still IPX4 sweat and water resistant which is great for exercising with them.

AirPods Pro 2nd Generation – Our Verdict

Whilst Apple’s keynote didn’t make it sound like there was much of an upgrade with the 2nd generation AirPod Pros they actually pack in a huge amount with improved sound quality, incredible transparency mode and a nicely updated noise cancellation mode.

The ‘Find My’, speaker and improved battery life of the case are also very welcome additions and we think the AirPods Pro 2nd Generation are a great pair of wireless earbuds.

You can pick some up here.

The post Apple AirPods Pro 2nd Generation Review appeared first on Mark's Tech Blogs.

The Riwbox XBT-880’s are a budget set of wireless over ear headphones that also support wired use. They cost around £25 on Amazon and come in a whole variety of colours including black and grey (which is what I went for), black and gold, white and gold and blue and gold.

Their design is pretty simple. The headphones are mostly made of plastic and are adjustable and foldable. Each earpiece has a patterned edge and centre and the right hand earphone has a power button, play button and skip forward and back track buttons. This earphone also has a microUSB port for charging and 3.5mm jack for a wired connection (they come with a 3.5mm jack to jack cable with a microphone).

When wearing these I’ve found that they’re a bit looser than other headphones and so are comfortable for longer periods of time but there is some movement and noise loss.

They connect via bluetooth 4.2 which works easily and gives a decent enough range and their battery life is (they say) 13 hours use. I’ve found this is about right and a pretty decent length of time.

But how do they sound…

Firstly, in terms of overall sound I think they sound pretty good. I’ve tried them with everything from metal to dance-pop and you get a good range of frequencies and plenty of bass and I like the way my music sounds.

Secondly, they are really loud…and I mean REALLY loud.

I’ve had them around half volume and haven’t needed to take them above that even when wanting to really blast my ears. There’s no distortion either.

The only downside is that there’s lag when watching videos and so the video doesn’t sync up with the audio…this is a shame.

Finally, there’s a few extras to mention:

The earphone buttons let you skip, play, pause and adjust volume and these work pretty well. A short press on up or down adjusts volume and longer presses skip tracks back and forth…it does take a little practice to get the right button when you’re wearing them!

If you go for a wired connection you can make calls as the wire has a microphone built in. Calls are nice and clear at both ends. There is also a microphone built into the headphones themselves which has a slight delay and isn’t quite as clear.

So, what’s the verdict?

For £25 you can’t really go wrong!

They look decent, sound good and pack in way more volume than I was expecting!

The post Riwbox XBT-880 Wireless Bluetooth Headphones Review appeared first on Mark's Tech Blogs.

Videos
Watch my unboxing video here
Watch my video review here

Design
These headphones come with a matt-black finish all over apart from the sides of the headphones which have a glossy effect that looks like a vinyl record. They have physical buttons for switching on the ANC, play/pause/power and volume up/down. In my opinion, they look pretty good, sit comfortably on your head even for long periods of time and at 270g they’re pretty light too.

Specification
Inside these headphones you’ll find bluetooth 4 which gives a reasonable range (although not great through walls), a microphone for making calls, a 3.5mm jack port to enable you to use them as wired headphones and a microUSB port for charging. They also have indicator lights for when they’re charging and when the ANC is switched on.

Finally, for spec, they have a 500MaH battery which gives you (Mixcder say) 30 hours wireless running time (going down to 24 hours if you use ANC) and, if you use them as wired headphones they work for up to 80 hours. After using them for a week I was blown away by the battery life…it’s incredible!

Day to Day Use
As I said, I’ve been using these every day for a week for everything from commuting to working at the desk to running and I really like them. They sit really comfortably and have a pretty good sound.

I listen to lots of music (there’s literally everything from Taylor Swift to Slipknot in my collection) and overall the sound from these is really good. I personally found them quite bass-y (probably because I usually use AirPods) but you can adjust things like this to suit your preference in your devices audio settings.

In terms of volume they’re not the loudest headphones around but I’ve found 3/4’s volume is about the right level for me (and they don’t distort). I did try making a call with them and found that speaking with your ears covered feels really unnatural but also that the microphone was particularly effective meaning I repeated a lot of what I’d said!

I also found that they have relatively little lag so I’ve even been able to use them wirelessly to edit some video and watch some YouTube.

Finally, let’s talk about the noise cancelling. You can use this feature with or without music playing and it’s not the strongest ANC out there but for a budget pair of wireless ANC headphones it’s pretty good and it does make a noticeable difference, allowing you to listen to music at a quieter level whilst travelling without hearing loads of background noise.

Verdict?
Here are my pro’s and con’s…

If you’re considering some wireless headphones these are certainly worth checking out!

Purchase Links

US: https://www.amazon.com/Mixcder-E9-Can…
UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mixcder-E9-C…
CA: https://www.amazon.ca/Mixcder-E9-Canc…

The post Mixcder E9 Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones Review appeared first on Mark's Tech Blogs.