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Customer Review
Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 2023
I bought these buds to replace my (1st gen) Powerbeats Pros. What I was looking for in an upgrade was better sound, better fit, and sound cancellation. The Beats Fit Pros largely delivered.
I had the Powerbeats for almost 4 years, and they were fine. The sound was okay. The fit was secure, and comfortable on their own but not when wearing glasses. They were a little hard to put on, and they had a tendency for one of the buds to fail to charge that drove me crazy. So - the price reduction on the Beats Fit Pros convinced me that it was time to try something else.
The Beats Fit Pros are easy to put in my ears, and plenty secure for everything I do. I have no trouble with either my long hair nor my glasses. They snap into the charging case and seem to solve the failure to charge problem.
Sound and software features
They paired with my Apple devices flawlessly. The ear fit test was easy and helpful. Right out of the box, the sound was much like the Powerbeats. But running the quick ear scan for the adaptive eq and enabling spatial audio, set to fixed, made a huge difference. Highs sparkle, mids are clear and well separated, and it really gives a sense of soundstage that is hard to describe. Definitely keeping these.
Sound Cancellation
I really don't have anything to compare the degree of sound cancellation to. The Powerbeats didn't have any, and my last attempt was with the original implementation by Bose, which really did not work for me. I heard a distinct buzz or hiss that degraded sound quality and I felt a headache-inducing pressure, so I stopped buying the tech. Since that was literally decades ago, I decided to try out the new tech. So, the caveats to this section are that I cannot compare them to the AirPods Pro 2 (supposedly better than the Beats) or the AirPods Pro 1 (supposedly not as good). Also, I live in a cabin in the woods and don't have a lot of noise to cancel. My overall impression was that the effect of the noise cancellation was - subtle. I ran two tests. First, I used the buds with some kind of power tool being used on a construction site about 100 yards away. It was loud enough to be annoying with the buds out. Just putting them in my ears accomplished some passive isolation. As you would expect, turning on ANC made the volume lower, and Transparency made the volume louder. With no music playing, I could hear the noise in all three modes. Playing music, the noise completely disappeared. The second test was in my living room with the tv on. The results were the same. I am satisfied with the sound cancellation on these buds. They don't hiss or buzz, they don't produce a sensation of pressure, and they remain comfortable after a few hours of use. I think whether the sound cancellation is good enough for you will depend on what sound you are trying to cancel and what other products you have tried.
The one glaring flaw that prevented my giving them 5 stars is the way volume control works. First, the physical buttons can be used for EITHER volume control or changing noise cancellation modes. Whichever one is not chosen can be controlled by the phone or by Siri. I think the whole purpose of these bud is for activities where you don't want to be carrying/looking at your phone. Siri works (sometimes) but there is an annoying lag. Also, using Siri to move volume up and down is slow, hard to predict the amount of change, and requires spoken commands, often repeated ones. Not ideal in many situations. Also, if you set the button to control volume, they are "fiddley". There is a lag before adjustment begins, and it is then hard to stop it where you want it. Seriously, the one control I most use when listening to music is volume control. It needs to be done right. The Beats Fit Pro implementation is a big step down from the physical controls on the Powerbeats.
Overall, I like these buds and am going to keep them. Should you buy them? Speculation is that the second generation is coming late 2023 or early 2024. Speculation is that they will get the superior sound cancellation currently available on the AirPods Pro 2. Will they get the upgraded "Find My" capability? Will they finally fix the volume control issue? No one knows. So, as always with tech, the decision to buy or wait depends on what you have now, how important potential improvements are to you, and how confident you are with feature and timing predictions.
I had the Powerbeats for almost 4 years, and they were fine. The sound was okay. The fit was secure, and comfortable on their own but not when wearing glasses. They were a little hard to put on, and they had a tendency for one of the buds to fail to charge that drove me crazy. So - the price reduction on the Beats Fit Pros convinced me that it was time to try something else.
The Beats Fit Pros are easy to put in my ears, and plenty secure for everything I do. I have no trouble with either my long hair nor my glasses. They snap into the charging case and seem to solve the failure to charge problem.
Sound and software features
They paired with my Apple devices flawlessly. The ear fit test was easy and helpful. Right out of the box, the sound was much like the Powerbeats. But running the quick ear scan for the adaptive eq and enabling spatial audio, set to fixed, made a huge difference. Highs sparkle, mids are clear and well separated, and it really gives a sense of soundstage that is hard to describe. Definitely keeping these.
Sound Cancellation
I really don't have anything to compare the degree of sound cancellation to. The Powerbeats didn't have any, and my last attempt was with the original implementation by Bose, which really did not work for me. I heard a distinct buzz or hiss that degraded sound quality and I felt a headache-inducing pressure, so I stopped buying the tech. Since that was literally decades ago, I decided to try out the new tech. So, the caveats to this section are that I cannot compare them to the AirPods Pro 2 (supposedly better than the Beats) or the AirPods Pro 1 (supposedly not as good). Also, I live in a cabin in the woods and don't have a lot of noise to cancel. My overall impression was that the effect of the noise cancellation was - subtle. I ran two tests. First, I used the buds with some kind of power tool being used on a construction site about 100 yards away. It was loud enough to be annoying with the buds out. Just putting them in my ears accomplished some passive isolation. As you would expect, turning on ANC made the volume lower, and Transparency made the volume louder. With no music playing, I could hear the noise in all three modes. Playing music, the noise completely disappeared. The second test was in my living room with the tv on. The results were the same. I am satisfied with the sound cancellation on these buds. They don't hiss or buzz, they don't produce a sensation of pressure, and they remain comfortable after a few hours of use. I think whether the sound cancellation is good enough for you will depend on what sound you are trying to cancel and what other products you have tried.
The one glaring flaw that prevented my giving them 5 stars is the way volume control works. First, the physical buttons can be used for EITHER volume control or changing noise cancellation modes. Whichever one is not chosen can be controlled by the phone or by Siri. I think the whole purpose of these bud is for activities where you don't want to be carrying/looking at your phone. Siri works (sometimes) but there is an annoying lag. Also, using Siri to move volume up and down is slow, hard to predict the amount of change, and requires spoken commands, often repeated ones. Not ideal in many situations. Also, if you set the button to control volume, they are "fiddley". There is a lag before adjustment begins, and it is then hard to stop it where you want it. Seriously, the one control I most use when listening to music is volume control. It needs to be done right. The Beats Fit Pro implementation is a big step down from the physical controls on the Powerbeats.
Overall, I like these buds and am going to keep them. Should you buy them? Speculation is that the second generation is coming late 2023 or early 2024. Speculation is that they will get the superior sound cancellation currently available on the AirPods Pro 2. Will they get the upgraded "Find My" capability? Will they finally fix the volume control issue? No one knows. So, as always with tech, the decision to buy or wait depends on what you have now, how important potential improvements are to you, and how confident you are with feature and timing predictions.
