That wasn't the point. You had said that when you get into high end audiophile headphones that they get heavier than the AirPods Max. That is not the case.
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AirPods Max is here! First impressions and photos thread
- Thread starter Boardiesboi
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I wasn't suggesting there is a direct correlation meaning all high end headphones are heavy. I was just saying that *some* high end headphones are heavy, and that they can still be comfortable. All my point is, is that heavy headphones can be comfortable. That's it. Whether they are comfortable for you or not is another question entirely, and whether you like heavy headphones is a different question again.
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I only use extreme, but when a track features bad artefacts on the high end and distorts badly on the low, you can really tell.
But it depends on the track, new releases and re-masters fare pretty well and alot of new stuff was mastered with the limitations of streaming in mind.
But I have a ton of stuff on playlists that does sound absolutely horrible. I figure there alot of stuff on there that were originally old low bitrate mp3's that were just re-encoded to 320 Ogg. I have someold skool house and trance tracks on playlists that are obviously ripped from badly scratched vinyl, which kinda pissed me off as there was cd's available of the same tracks so it makes no sense to distribute them like that.
I'm unfortunately stuck with Spotify, but I certainly would not put my trust in it for rating headphones objectively. I'd give tidal a go but they only have about 25% of my playlists available (And I need to VPN it as its not available here yet), Apple Music doesn't fare much better either.
Heres two examples of really offensive Spotify rips off the top of my head:
Older tracks, but they were both available as CD's when they were released, why dump them on Spotify like this!
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I love the physical buttons! So much better than touch controls. My old Bose QC35 II’s are better than my XM4’s in this regard too.
They are heavy, but they feel light on my head so far. I’ve got a big head, I have them almost at the largest setting.
They are heavy, but they feel light on my head so far. I’ve got a big head, I have them almost at the largest setting.
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You'r probably one of those blokes that don't look better with a pinch of femininity, good of you to realise that and steer far away from them.
Hahaha. I like decent sound quality, I have pretty decent ears, but no, I'm not a true audiophile.
I like cheap decent sounding headphones as much (if not more) as expensive ones. My go-to out and about in-ears is a $20 set of KZ ZS6's paired with a $10 bluetooth adaptor.
Agreed about the use of Siri in any language other than English. But local settings are still so device specific: e.g. I can't use Siri in any language on my 4K AppleTV here in Switzerland, whereas on an iPhone or Mac it's ok. What gives?
And in the end, that's mice nuts. Apple manufacturers, on the average, 600,000 iPhones per day, every day of the year.
If, for example, 1% of iPhone customers had every intention of returning their phones, that would be 6,000 customers. PER DAY. Or roughly 2 million per year.
I suspect the number of customers engaging in that would be far less.
If you‘re a true audiophile, then Apple Music (max. 256kb AAC bitrate) and the AirPods Max (who can only use AAC) are probably not the best choice either.
Mine arrived a couple of hours ago and although it's too early to make a final call - on initial impressions I'm not sure I like them over my Sony XM3's. The sound signature is no doubt very pleasing to some but to me it lacks warmth and depth compared to the Sony's. The Sony's are also a lot comfier, you forget you're wearing them where as the AirPods Max really have a weighty presence that feels like pressure on your head and ears.
I'm a little shocked if I'm honest that the Sony's have a much more pleasing sound. The AirPods Max probably have a little more detail in the mids and highs but being able to EQ the Sony's means I can get a much more custom sound that suits me.
Max volume is also higher on the Sony's which helps with the quieter recordings. Both have no distortion at high volumes.
Build quality and looks go hands down to Apple, the crown to control the volume is brilliant but sound and comfort is surely the number one priority and that is where I'm afraid the Sony's win - so far.
I'm a little shocked if I'm honest that the Sony's have a much more pleasing sound. The AirPods Max probably have a little more detail in the mids and highs but being able to EQ the Sony's means I can get a much more custom sound that suits me.
Max volume is also higher on the Sony's which helps with the quieter recordings. Both have no distortion at high volumes.
Build quality and looks go hands down to Apple, the crown to control the volume is brilliant but sound and comfort is surely the number one priority and that is where I'm afraid the Sony's win - so far.
I'm glad you prefer the sound of the XM3s as I plan to buy the XM4s once they reduce even further in price.
My main reason for prefering them over the Max's is portability (folding, weight, case). However, like all speakers, the Max's may well start to sound better in a few days' time as the speakers loosen up. The issue about how they feel clamping on your ears might also improve with time. With the extended holiday returns on Apple products, now is a great time to buy and try.
I would suspect that the Sonys are more bassy and have a more tailored, "mainstream" or "fun" sound. I would also suspect that the APM are more neutral, just like the APP are. But these are only guesses of course. I like neutral sound - that's what I love about my APP.
I do worry about the weight of the APM. I use over-ears for longer listening mainly around the house. Too weighty is not good for long sessions. But it will depend on the user of course - I'll probably buy mine at the Apple Store so I can use Apple's return policy if needed.
Since my launch day order is still processing (really clueless as to why it hasn’t budged) I woke up at 6 and managed to nab an in store pickup. ☺️ Heading in at 11:15 to pick up a Space Gray set from the Lincoln Park Chicago store! Thanks for the heads up!
It's interesting that Apple doesn't "get" that... different people have different tastes, and having the option adjusting the sound signature with an EQ solves that problem (and, of course, the automatic EQ that they boast about, doesn't). Now, I suppose part of the rationale would be that you can adjust the EQ on your device, but although Macs have a graphic EQ in the Music app, iOS devices just have presets. And if you use a different app and it doesn't have EQ, there's nothing you can do about it. Lastly, even though I do use the Music app now, I don't necessarily want the same EQ that I've tweaked for my headphones applied to my speakers, so that's something I have to change each time.
Just used mine for the first time.. for those who have received theirs, can you confirm:
- Was there a small sticker on the outside of the earcups (on the aluminium) with "designed by apple in California" (or something to that effect). I've not seen this is any unboxing videos yet, so just wondering if this is supposed to be there?
- the button next to the Digital Crown - how click is it? I'm finding sometimes the button presses (but not properly clicks) and sometimes when I press it, the settings change, but the button doesn't move. It feels like the button is pressed in already.
I don’t sense sarcasm here, so I am genuinely curious if I’ve overlooked the 3.5mm to lightning adaptor... what makes it a wonder at $9?
Yep, sticker on them. Weird.
The button depresses quite a lot but it doesn't really click in the same way the volume buttons do on my iPhone 11. It feels nice and definitely moves quite a lot, but it really doesn't have that tactile click of iPhone buttons. Hope that helps ?
I guess it really depends on your point of reference. The last quality headphones I had were my Audio Technica AD700s. They were a superbly airy and open sound, but they were very bass anaemic. I've had my AirPods Max for about half and hour and the bass is so much stronger it's taking a bit of getting used too. It sounds great, don't get me wrong - but there is definitely a lot more bass than I am used too.
I got mine. I really wanted some good sounding wireless headphones with all the convenience of the AirPods. I also appreciate the really nice build quality of most Apple products.
My main headphone for listening to music has been for a long time a wired AKG K701. It’s I think a decent neutral headphone with airy highs and a tight but slightly shy bass compared to most modern headphones.
Compared to the AKG the soundstage of the max is more constrained. This is to be expected because the AKG’s are an open design. I think the tone is similar good without any distortion on both. The biggest drawback for me is that the max's highs are a little less pronounced and the bass a bit more. To my ageing ears the resulting sound is still very good but less open and violins loose some of their sparkle.
The weight does not bother me. The closed off feeling does. Also after a while I am aware while listening that the cups are pressing against my head. With the AKG’s I always forget that I have them on.
So yes as AirPods they work great for me. The look and feel of them are even better than I expected. I am not sure though I will get used to its sound signature and the fit of the ear-cups.
My main headphone for listening to music has been for a long time a wired AKG K701. It’s I think a decent neutral headphone with airy highs and a tight but slightly shy bass compared to most modern headphones.
Compared to the AKG the soundstage of the max is more constrained. This is to be expected because the AKG’s are an open design. I think the tone is similar good without any distortion on both. The biggest drawback for me is that the max's highs are a little less pronounced and the bass a bit more. To my ageing ears the resulting sound is still very good but less open and violins loose some of their sparkle.
The weight does not bother me. The closed off feeling does. Also after a while I am aware while listening that the cups are pressing against my head. With the AKG’s I always forget that I have them on.
So yes as AirPods they work great for me. The look and feel of them are even better than I expected. I am not sure though I will get used to its sound signature and the fit of the ear-cups.