MIAMI — I was rather concerned when the sound coming through a set of AirPods kept stuttering and dropping out as I attempted to listen to music wirelessly on my iPhone 7 Plus.

Apple’s new wireless $159 earbuds had been delayed for months, after all, with no real explanation as to why, and now I finally had a pair that was supposedly ready for prime time. Except, it wasn’t.

Even more mysterious was the fact that the pre-release AirPods I had used when Apple first issued me a test pair in September worked fine.

Apple made an especially huge deal about its upcoming wireless headphones back then because the company ditched the long standard 3.55mm headphone jack with the iPhone 7 in favor of its own Lightning connector. And that meant either employing the adapter that came with the phone to use your own wired headphones, using the wired EarPods with a Lightning connector that also came with the phone or relying on wireless Bluetooth headphones.

I informed Apple about my snags with the AirPods, and the company rushed out the replacement pair I’ve been using on vacation. I’m happy to say they've been working great.

Pairing them to the iPhone couldn’t be easier. I simply removed the AirPods from their compact dental-floss-like charge case, and tapped the iPhone screen when it right away recognized them. No additional pairing was required when I listened later via a Mac. It took a bit more effort but I also paired and used them with a Google Pixel phone.

The charging case holds multiple charges. Apple says you’ll get about five hours of battery life off a single charge, which appears to be about right based on my use.

The promise of wireless headphones, of course, is just that no more wires to fuss with or get all tangled. And the AirPods passed their most important test: the sound is splendid.

Moreover, the one-size-fits-all AirPods stayed in my ears, and the ears of my wife (who was equally impressed with the audio quality). I never felt the slightest bit worried that they’d fall out, though I can't vouch for ears of all sizes.

Granted beyond brisk walking, I didn’t wear them through frenetic exercise. If you do pull one or the other out of your ear, the sound pauses, then resumes when you put it back in. By double-tapping, you can summon and talk to Siri.

I do think the AirPods are somewhat dorky-looking, with longish white posts that hang from the middle of my ears to the lower lobe — no hiding these, my friends. They look like they could be worn by a space traveler.

But to me, sound and comfort matter most. And assuming no repeat of the issues I encountered with the prior pair, these AirPods have been worth the wait.