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AirPods Max is here! First impressions and photos thread
- Thread starter Boardiesboi
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I owned the XM4's just before getting APM's this morning. APM noise cancelling is better, but TBH I think it comes down to how well headphones seal over ones ears in many cases, even the smallest gap will negate a lot of noise cancelling on any brand.
On almost every other point though there isn't much to compare, AirPods Max wins. Most of the XM4 features seem really good on paper, but in practice they're mostly marketing guff. If I still owned the XM4's I would try and return or sell them and trade up. But I'm a pretty heavy over-ear user. If you use your headphones every day across more than one device just pay the max price(see what I did) and be happy.
You don't need the latest macOS or iOS btw, you just won't get some software controls but can still do everything via the hardware buttons.
I had the Bose QC35 and both the XM3 and XM4.
To my ears they are better. I'm just offering my opinion and impressions and I'm not a technical expert and never claimed to be. You might want to wait for real testing by audiophiles and audio technical websites.
Could you test listening to music with discord or zoom with the mic on?
If Apple has not solved the Bluetooth profile problem, an over-ear Bluetooth headphone might not be worth it for me. Require the usage of the mic too often.
Even I have a dedicated microphone, macOS is still dumb at times to switch the profile for my AirPods pro.
If Apple has not solved the Bluetooth profile problem, an over-ear Bluetooth headphone might not be worth it for me. Require the usage of the mic too often.
Even I have a dedicated microphone, macOS is still dumb at times to switch the profile for my AirPods pro.
I cannot believe Apple with that “case”. Need an alternative solution ASAP.
Can’t wait to try them out for myself.
Can’t wait to try them out for myself.
I haven't updated by Macbook to 11.1 yet but I thought spatial audio only works with iOS and iPadOS?
Control Spatial Audio and head tracking
Turn on or off the immersive Spatial Audio surround sound experience available on AirPods 3, AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max.
support.apple.com
I too picked up space grey AirPods Max this morning here in Sydney (from the Broadway Apple Store). I have my own pair of Sony WH-1000XM4 and my wife's Bose NC700 that I did a quick comparison with for noise cancelling and audio (I also own a pair of Beyer Dynamic DT770 Pro).
In terms of audio reproduction, while both the Sony and Bose sound nice, they're not very defined, especially when compared to my DT770 Pros. The AirPods Max are a lot closer in audio to the DT770 Pros, where individual instruments can be clearly distinguished (for example, you can clearly hear fingers sliding on a fret of a guitar on the AirPods Max, where it's hard to pick up on both the Sony and Bose).
With noise-cancelling, I compared by sitting in front of a cheap floor fan turned on to full. The AirPods Max were noticeably better at cutting that noise out (I could hardly hear the fan) compared to the Sony (noticeable), which were better than the Bose. I'm not sure how the AirPods Max will deal with the low and constant engine rumble of a flight, but I'll get to test that later this week on a quick flight to Melbourne and back.
A few further thoughts...
While the AirPods Max are noticeably heavier than the Sony or Bose, they sit quite comfortably, and the weight difference is not that noticeably for me in use.
The case sucks.
I bought these to try, and if I didn't like them, I was going to return them. At this point, looks like they're keepers, and I'll be offloading my WH-1000XM4s.
In terms of audio reproduction, while both the Sony and Bose sound nice, they're not very defined, especially when compared to my DT770 Pros. The AirPods Max are a lot closer in audio to the DT770 Pros, where individual instruments can be clearly distinguished (for example, you can clearly hear fingers sliding on a fret of a guitar on the AirPods Max, where it's hard to pick up on both the Sony and Bose).
With noise-cancelling, I compared by sitting in front of a cheap floor fan turned on to full. The AirPods Max were noticeably better at cutting that noise out (I could hardly hear the fan) compared to the Sony (noticeable), which were better than the Bose. I'm not sure how the AirPods Max will deal with the low and constant engine rumble of a flight, but I'll get to test that later this week on a quick flight to Melbourne and back.
A few further thoughts...
While the AirPods Max are noticeably heavier than the Sony or Bose, they sit quite comfortably, and the weight difference is not that noticeably for me in use.
The case sucks.
I bought these to try, and if I didn't like them, I was going to return them. At this point, looks like they're keepers, and I'll be offloading my WH-1000XM4s.
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No worries, appreciate the feedback. Not going to compare them to my Nectar's or HD650's with a ADI 2 dac. Apple tuning curve sounds very pleasing, hence so much love for the Pro's but the Sony's take EQ VERY WELL (close to the Harman Target curve). I also have the 35's sitting right here (not as big of a fan as I am the XM4's). I hope the Max's surprise me. Glad you are enjoying yours and at the end of the day, that all that matters!
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It's a bit of an exaggeration. No other reviewer has made a similar claim and I'd be hard pressed to think of what technology could make them sound "miles" better.
I'm pretty excited for tomorrow. One thing I'm not so psyched for is that "Case". What a joke. It looks absolutely terrible. I'll probably just use it around the house, but I will be getting a real case for when I leave.
For typical volume levels definitely not miles better, but for very high volume(which I would never recommend on any headphones due to guaranteed hearing damage in the long-term.) "miles better" isn't that much of a stretch tbh. Apples marketing is usually super over-exaggerated, but AirPods Max really do maintain full clarity at high or even max volume. The Sony's or even Bose definitely didn't come close in that regard.
There seems to be a waxy texture to the ear muffs but I think if exposed to excessive sweat and rain for a long period of time they won’t last.
They were thinking, “If we include a stupid case that scares people into not leaving the house with the headphones, we can then later sell them a case that actually does protect them.”
Are you all using Apple Music with your AirPods Max? In my opinion (after trying this out) switching to Tidal HiFi/Master has a greater effect on sound than switching from my $200 NC headphones to more expensive ones. Didn‘t test the AirPods Max though.
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TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️
Suspended
We really need AirPods Max in Product RED!!!
Come on Apple
Come on Apple
I bought the PS5 headphones , now they really are badly designed - black buttons on a black background with black lettering - great fun in the dark..not
Compared to those this looks well designed and easy to use
Shame there's no Apple logo on them though
Compared to those this looks well designed and easy to use
Shame there's no Apple logo on them though
How did you check noise cancellation?
In my experience - having owned a lot of noise cancelling headphones since some Bose headphones more than a decade ago - the acid test is flight travel. Things like local trains are also demanding.
Most of them - even the crappest I've had (Beats studio wireless 2) - handled things like ventilation/office environment pretty well. Where the Sony and Bose high end really shine is in tough conditions.
No need for technology, just a frequency response curve that isn’t rubbish, something which a competent team of acousticians and software engineers such as Apple’s can certainly achieve if they care for it.
The XM4 or most of the current crop of ANC BT over-ears sound awful, but that’s just because of a lack of care and not a lack of available technology, since SQ isn’t important to sell headphones anyway. There are plenty of cheaper headphones with a better sound quality than the XM4.
The Sony's sound is incredibly average - even eq'ed (flat and joyless - unfortunate from a company who previously gave us wonders like the R10 and CD3000) - so given Apple's long track record with excellent audio - from the first AirPort Express that was doing lossless wireless transmission in 2006, to the iPod with flat output and basically zero output impedence, to the wonder that is the $9 Lightning to 3.5mm amp/DAC, to the HomePod and Airpods Pro - we have good reason to give Apple the benefit of the doubt here.
I'm recommending your post just because you called them ear puffs.
Please report back! My only current noise cancelling headphones are the AirPods Pro, but I will probably spring for the Pods Max, at some point with a sale, if the consensus is they sound better than the XM4, which appears to be people's favorite for wireless over ear NC cans. Or even if it's too close to call between the XM4 and Max, because, dang, these new AirPods seem so nice.
What are/were they, what codecs do they support and what device is the source.
Whatever the format, it'll be converted to AAC on the Apple cans, with an Apple device .. Other headphones / phones will convert to whatever they use, LDAC / APT-x etc ...
In theory there should be no difference between Apple Music and Tidal on Apple earphones AAC > AAC. But you might notice sound quality drop if you were going FLAC to AAC for example due to re-encoding.