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AirPods Max is here! First impressions and photos thread
- Thread starter Boardiesboi
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The Apple cable appears to have a DAC/ADC built in whereas the Anker only has a DAC
Sennheiser headphone cables are absolutely terrible and cost $29+ for a 1.5m of plain ol' wire.
Sennheiser Genuine Replacement Cable for SENNHEISER HD25 Headphones with Right Angle 1/8" 3.5mm Plug
Sennheiser 523874 cable with angled plug, 2m
www.amazon.com
I just did a comparison with the Sony MX3 (I don't have the MX4).
From an ANC point of view: compared to the AirPods Pro and Sonys.
-> I was testing the ANC in a development lab with tons of fans. It sounds like a plane or even louder as I have tons of lab equipment. Surprisingly, the Sony MX3 was the preferred ANC in the lab. Between the AirPods Pro and Max, I didn't see much of a difference.
From a sound point of view:
Sony do have a bit more bass and it is slightly muddy but it wasn't terrible. I think the sound improvements on the Sony side would be considered marginal and if you already own the XM4, I don't know if it's worth justification. Especially if you own a pair of AirPods Pro.
From a comfort point of view:
Sony wins hands down. the clamp force was better and it was a lighter headset which make it more enjoyable to wear.
Voice quality during talk/audio conference calls:
Sony is S***. I have been using the AirPods max and people said it sounded like I was on the phone regular. no headphones were used.
From an ANC point of view: compared to the AirPods Pro and Sonys.
-> I was testing the ANC in a development lab with tons of fans. It sounds like a plane or even louder as I have tons of lab equipment. Surprisingly, the Sony MX3 was the preferred ANC in the lab. Between the AirPods Pro and Max, I didn't see much of a difference.
From a sound point of view:
Sony do have a bit more bass and it is slightly muddy but it wasn't terrible. I think the sound improvements on the Sony side would be considered marginal and if you already own the XM4, I don't know if it's worth justification. Especially if you own a pair of AirPods Pro.
From a comfort point of view:
Sony wins hands down. the clamp force was better and it was a lighter headset which make it more enjoyable to wear.
Voice quality during talk/audio conference calls:
Sony is S***. I have been using the AirPods max and people said it sounded like I was on the phone regular. no headphones were used.
Got my Apple 3.5mm- lightning cable today and the Max will work using the cable and headphone dongle on my iPhone 12 Pro Max with Bluetooth turned off, also works in my PS4 and Xbox controller headphone jacks. So answers that question, with wired I did notice the Headphone Accommodations in the Accessibility settings doesn’t work, only over Bluetooth.
Im still 50/50 on these. The latest FW update seems to have helped a bit. I just need to figure out the random dropouts. Seems to happen more when I play with my phone vs letting it sit and its like it stutters for a few seconds then rock solid. Maybe a buffering issue? They do sound better to me then the Sonys MX4 I'm trying too. I just hope 3rd parties come out with a nice bi directional audio cable and case as the Apple ones are a joke. I have until Jan 8th to start a return. Im not worried bout the higher price as long as they work reliably etc.
There has been a firmware update for the APM or you mean iPhone? Waterfield Design is supposed to show their case on Christmas, I received a survey of what the consumer would want in design of the case.
The APM should be on 3C16 now... they shipped with an older firmware 3B71.
So, it seems the only way to use these wired to an iPhone is with the Lightning to 3.5 DAC adapter and the 3.5 to Lightning ADC cable, but since the iPhone only outputs digital and the AirPods only take digital as input, wouldn’t you get better sound quality if you could use a Lightning to Lightning cable so that the signal didn’t have to be converted to analog and back, which undoubtedly makes it lose fidelity? I’m not sure if such a cable exists, but if someone can find one, they should try it. Ideally Apple would make one.
edit: You might need a Lightning Audio adapter to let the iPhone know it should send audio. So maybe do something like this Lightning to Lightning audio adapter, then a Lightning to USB-C cable, then a USB-C female to female adapter, and finally another USB-C to Lightning cable. I doubt it would work, but would be interesting to try.
edit: You might need a Lightning Audio adapter to let the iPhone know it should send audio. So maybe do something like this Lightning to Lightning audio adapter, then a Lightning to USB-C cable, then a USB-C female to female adapter, and finally another USB-C to Lightning cable. I doubt it would work, but would be interesting to try.
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Well if our goal was to listen to Hi-Res stuff an article on WhatHiFi says the 3.5mm dongle limits output to 48kHz, you would need a whole separate DAC etc.
I’m not into that realm of audiophile, but I have put close to 16hrs use in the week I’ve had them and the Headphone Accommodations settings make the biggest difference for me, like night and day when turning off and on.
Haven’t watched a lot of tv with them may try to do that today and watch WW84 tonight with them on ATV after I go see it in local theatre. I did stream part of the last episode of The Mandolorian other day while waiting on a Best Buy pickup and the spatial audio from that was very good!
Well if our goal was to listen to Hi-Res stuff an article on WhatHiFi says the 3.5mm dongle limits output to 48 kHz
Okay so I just started listening to them and wow. I got the Sony XM4 and would go to bat for them all day as they’re amazing...until I met these. For me personally, I love vocals more than anything and these exceeded my expectations in that category.
I actually was able to order from target on Wednesday and will receive them next week hopefully. Didn’t wanna wait 2mos haha.
I noticed that when I have my AirPods Max on, noise canceling or not, I can make a very slight reproducable click from tapping the lower right cup. This may be my neuroticism acting up, but I wanted to see if anyone can reproduce this.
The click sounds "metallic" and it is very brief.
The click sounds "metallic" and it is very brief.
Just for clarification on the paragraph, "From a sound point of view:"...
So the bass is slightly muddy on the Sonys? And when you said "sound improvements on the Sony side", do you mean that the Airpods Max have an improved sound compared to the Sony, but that you're not sure if its worth the additional expense?
I appreciate your honest and unbiased feedback in all your posts!
Yes the bass was more muddy on the Sony, there was no level of detail nor any Sub-bass. While the bass as a whole was more impactful, it held a high db longer (which can be seen from the audio graphs) which ultimately overpower the mids. But it wasn't terrible - comparing A to B will always find things, but your mind and ears adjust. I don't think this alone is worth the extra 250 bucks.
If you are going to spend 250 extra dollars - it's because you are fully in the Apple Eco system and enjoy the spatial audio. I actually like these AirPods max for one thing - battery life and phone call audio. I speak on the phone a lot or take a lot of conference calls since working from home, having my AirPods last throughout the day while have good mic quality was something that I'm considering, but not a necessity.
Can you listen to audio wired if the Airpod Max have an empty battery?
I really wish the green ones had a darker headband, I decided to order the gray ones and will add green earcups when they become available.
I really wish the green ones had a darker headband, I decided to order the gray ones and will add green earcups when they become available.
Don't think so. The batteries need to be charged for the headphones to work. You can use the headphones while they are charging, but the audio would be coming through BT.
Got my SG ones yesterday 
LOVE LOVE LOVE them. I had the Sony MX3 before and these blow them away in every way. And the ease of having them always on is brilliant. Will get a lot more use than my old ones now! They are seamless between my apple devices. The noise cancelling is simple and super effective and the sound quality is VERY good indeed. Plus they look awesome with all my other SG apple stuff! They are a keeper!
LOVE LOVE LOVE them. I had the Sony MX3 before and these blow them away in every way. And the ease of having them always on is brilliant. Will get a lot more use than my old ones now! They are seamless between my apple devices. The noise cancelling is simple and super effective and the sound quality is VERY good indeed. Plus they look awesome with all my other SG apple stuff! They are a keeper!