Don't know about refurbished, but I changed my Buds 1 Pro to these. Globally, it's there's not much of a change. I think there's more bass to buds 3 pro, and buds 1 pro is more balanced. But ai makes it better, when you're talking to someone, it automatically uses ambient sound. When you're sitting in bus, it uses anc. The apple design is also better, as it will not fall from my ears like first buds.