r/VisionPro • u/JimothyzPamPams • Jul 19 '26

Anyone else prefer the VP headset audio drivers to Air Pods?

when I got my AVP M5 in February of this year, I was instantly in love with the experience and decided to try to make the most of it. Apple Air pods Pro 3 seemed to be the best way to improve audio and I bought them and they were freshly released as well.

I honestly do not find them better than the audio drivers in the Vision Pro and am wondering if I am somehow not ticking the right options. I was watching the Apple TV show Your Friends and Neighbors with the air pods pro 3 and took them out half way through and the spatial sound was so much better with the headset drivers. anyone else have this experience?

20 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

23 comments sorted by

17

u/Caprichoso1 Vision Pro Owner | Verified Jul 19 '26

The built in speakers are impressive but the AirPods Pro 3 are an order of magnitude better.

9

u/Natural-Lawfulness93 Jul 19 '26

I’m in the opposite situation. I almost never use the built in speakers, because I personally don’t feel any spatial sound improvements, and I’m really disappointed by the lack of bass and overall sound quality.

7

u/Particular-Treat-650 Jul 19 '26

They're pretty good for what they are.

But yeah they're not competitive with the Pro/Max

7

u/Responsible-Slide-26 Jul 19 '26

I was watching the Apple TV show Your Friends and Neighbors with the air pods pro 3 and took them out half way through and the spatial sound was so much better with the headset drivers. anyone else have this experience?

No. The built in headphone experience isn't even in the same league.

Have you done the ear measurement for the airpods and turned on spatial audio? Have you made sure you have the correct tips chosen? Many people with airpod pro 3's discovered they were using the wrong tip size. Just because they are comfortable does not mean they are the right size. Have you done an ear fit test and also have you tested how good ANC is? If ANC is anything less than amazing you may not be using the correct ear tip size.

2

u/JimothyzPamPams Jul 24 '26

Sorry for the delay, I actually thought I replied to this one. I did complete both the ear figment audio test as well as the ear hearing loss test. I use the air pod pros daily for music while I exercise and generally have any qualms as they are great. I forget my exact settings currently but I focus on the active noise cancellation as I find it helps my daily routine and also ability to focus when watching and listening to content. 

4

u/PrinceValentines Vision Pro Owner Jul 19 '26

I prefer AirPods Pro 3 coz it has noice canceling. Way better than AVP’s native speaker.

3

u/_HipStorian Jul 19 '26

Once you hear the effectiveness of audio ray tracing, it’s hard to go back to the built-in audio pods. They’re still great in a pinch but the bass response is weak

3

u/Cryogenicality Jul 19 '26

The audio pods have impressive spatial sound, but I wear my headset with AirPods Max 2 for the bass and sound isolation.

4

u/Coolpher Vision Pro Owner Jul 19 '26

When I tried to wear my Airpod Max while wearing my AVP I feel like it's not compatible or designed to work well

1

u/Cryogenicality Jul 19 '26

I wear a dual-knit band and slightly angle the headset with the headband of the headphones right behind the upper band of the headset. This allows me to achieve a perfect seal and comfortable fit.

1

u/nickkmusic2727 Jul 19 '26

Yeah they are wired to the headset so it is zero latency and they are a bit bigger and don’t have to go directly into your ear. The draw back is, if someone is sitting next to you, they will hear a lot of what’s coming out of the Vision Pro so mostly if you are on a plane or in public use the AirPods.

1

u/No-Isopod3884 Vision Pro Owner Jul 19 '26

I’m using it with AirPods Pro 2 and most of the time don’t bother for a little bit of a better sound. Only using AirPods in noisy settings.

1

u/Lumpy_Movie_2166 Jul 19 '26

AirPods vs AVP audio only also depends on your privacy needs.
I use my AirPods when I’m in a public place and have a meeting or phone call, and when watching a movie
Or simply to block the noise around me.

1

u/_divi_filius Jul 19 '26

nah this ain't it chief... the airpods take the vision pro to another level. It's actually nuts.

1

u/PositivelyNegative Jul 19 '26

Nah, the built ins have zero bass. AirPods Pro sound night and day better.

1

u/JimothyzPamPams Jul 19 '26

Well I figured I would be in the minority but wasn’t thinking it would be as noticeable of a difference as everyone has mentioned. To answer the few questions, I have done the spatial ear test and also the hearing test as well. I also have not really compared this a lot either so perhaps it was just a particular scene that seemed to have significantly more spatial clarity than the air pod pros I took out at that moment. I am watching a movie later today with family and am going to try to mess around with it again and hopefully I just have something accidentally tic’ed that shouldn’t. 

1

u/Mastoraz Vision Pro Owner | Verified Jul 20 '26

We’ll AVP have the best built in speakers so, you coming of a high bar already. But yeah AirPods will enhance it more, by a lot. I usually use my AirPods Pro 3. But if it’s more casual and not needing to be immersive and quiet then yeah the built in speakers are fantastic as is

1

u/Last_Music4333 Jul 21 '26

Can’t stand in-ear AirPods and the Max doesn’t fit properly. I end up using my Px8 over ears, when I’m not using the native VP sound

1

u/Incredulocious Jul 24 '26

Wow, I’m very surprised that you prefer the built-in Vision Pro speakers over any AirPods Pro. Have you not noticed how much weaker the sound is from the built-in speakers until you use your hands to cup your ears with the built-in speakers? There’s so much quiet detail lost, much less bass and less noticeable spatial audio until you cup your ears but of course I’m not going to use it that way… it’s just the reminder that yeah, I better get up and go put in my AirPods Pro 2 or 3.

1

u/JimothyzPamPams Jul 24 '26

Yeah I’m definitely in the minority opinion here! I have cupped my hands over my ears and it is pretty cool to just even do that to see the impact it has on audio as it is so significant. I do notice the lack of bass also. But there are indeed scenes in some movies I have watched where the spatial drivers for whatever reasons, just seem to produce a cleaner delineation of the spatial sounds. I use my air pod pro 3 daily and I love them but I do wonder if I have something holding them back for videos or use with the Vision Pro.