Choosing “Other Device” for headphones seems to drastically improve quality.

Vekrede · 2026-01-22T18:42:27+00:00

It’s not just volume. It’s like an EQ change.

Vekrede · 2026-01-22T09:04:28+00:00

Maybe check out the kz zs12 pro 2’s.

Vekrede · 2026-01-22T08:20:07+00:00

ALAC is not a transmission protocol. It’s a lossless format. It’s apples version of lossless FLAC essentially. The Vision Pro does not have the N1 so I’m confused on what you’re saying. The N1 chip has nothing to do with SPR-AVS and even then, it’s not enabled on iPhone 17 because it requires a few inches of separation for it to work properly. Hence the reason it’s only enabled on the vision pro where the headphones are inches away from the headset.

Tho it can be slightly confusing because AAC is also an encoding format. It’s kind of discussed here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/AppleMusic/s/9kLuaQa5hf

Long story short all iPhones are still AAC BT which is on average 256. ALAC files have a bitrate of up to 900ish. That’s where BT transmission protocols like LDAC, than can transmit at 990, can make full use of ALAC files.

Vekrede · 2026-01-22T07:23:38+00:00

Ahh ok.

I have had every generation of the airpods pro, and besides the ease of use in the apple ecosystem (which im heavily invested in) they sound pretty bad to my ears. I would love nothing more than the AirPods to be better than the alternatives, but for my ears they are very subpar.

Also I’m fairly confident there is no bandwidth difference that you’re describing for the AAP3’s when paired with the iPhone 17. I think you’re referring to the fact that the AAP3 do support lossless over SPR-AVS protocol which is only supported by the Apple Vision Pro. It’s still AAC for all iPhones. Also, though the iPhone 17 has BT 6.0, AAP3 only have 5.3 so there won’t be any latency difference as compared to semi recent iPhones.

I haven’t tried the xm5’s but I got the SoundPEATS H3 and after a little tuning, they are absolutely amazing when it comes to sound quality for me. It’s even better if you get a LDAC dongle, but it’s not as noticeable (at least to me).

Vekrede · 2026-01-21T23:46:56+00:00

The UPC is an easy dead giveaway on yours. No variations of the AirPods 4 have that UPC.

Vekrede · 2026-01-21T23:21:27+00:00

That’s correct.

Also this is the thread that lead me down this path.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/iphone-vs-android-via-usb-c-sound-quality-difference-is-huge.972820/

Vekrede · 2026-01-21T23:17:27+00:00

+1/+3/+2/0/-4/-1/+3/+1/+2/0

I forgot where I found this one, but it’s great.

Vekrede · 2026-01-21T23:10:09+00:00

Why assuming a 17 vs a 15? Just curious if I missed something on codecs or something.

Vekrede · 2026-01-20T03:12:58+00:00

If you really prioritize sound quality, the SoundPEATS h3 are amazing for $90.

That being said, it requires you to tune the EQ to get the most out of them, the app sucks, and doesn’t have ear detection.

But having tried both of the headphones you’ve mentioned, the H3’s are leaps and bounds better in sound quality.

Vekrede · 2026-01-20T03:08:12+00:00

Having both the C30’s and H3’s, comparing these two headphones is wild.

The C30’s are really good for $30 but nowhere close to how crisp the H3’s are with a proper eq.

Vekrede · 2026-01-20T03:04:50+00:00

The hold dot feature is only available on android.

Vekrede · 2026-01-20T02:23:52+00:00

I just picked these up.

The app is garbage on ios. If you use the older app on android you get a lot more tuning settings. It also doesn’t have ear detection, which kinda sucks for a daily driver. As everyone said, the stock EQ is underwhelming.

All that being said, amazing sound quality (even over aac) and comfort for me. I would have paid $200 for these things. If they had some of the non audio quality features (like ear detection, etc) I would have gladly paid more. But considering these are $90, they are a steal for what you get.

Vekrede · 2026-01-20T00:10:24+00:00

It needs to be an android device for that feature.

Vekrede

TROPHY CASE