AirPods Max Pre-Order / Order / Delivery Thread

[kmanmx]

I think something that gives me hope that these are genuinely high quality listening experience is that compared to AirPods and AirPods Pro, they put a lot more effort on the product page to actually talk about the audio quality. The AirPods Pro web page spends nearly all its text talking about the noise cancellation and the EQ, the design, usability, spatial audio etc. But there is only a small section on the actual sound quality itself, just briefly mentioning "incredibly clear sound" and "powerful bass".

Contrast that to the AirPods Max page, and a lot more effort goes into discussing it's actual sound quality. Undoubtedly over hyperbolic, but it gives me hope they did a good job and focused on that quite a lot. I don't expect it to sound as good as a wired $550 Hi-Fi headphone, and to be honest, why should it ? A Hi-Fi type audiophile class headphone does not have two H1 chips, does not have 6 microphones, power and amplifier circuitry.. so on and so forth. There are a lot more components in this to pay for other than just the drivers and housing. But if it sounds as good as hi-fi headphones in the $300 band while offering the convenience and considered design that AirPods offer, then I think myself and most others here will be happy.

 

[gadgetpete]

I would have thought with some of the best engineers on the world Apple could have made these headphones more travel friendly e.g. foldable better than they are, I have B&O ones that will fold into a case half the size of these, in my home I have my B&O system so no need for headphones, I have the AirPod pros for outside use but just can't get my head around carrying these huge things about, obviously not meant for travel, more work spaces, a replaceable spare battery would have been nice as in B&O.

 

[Bluepig45]

thats the exact reason i bought them

As much of an excuse or justification to buy them over, "it's Apple, DUH." When Apple releases rolls of toilet paper with Steve Job's face on each sheet and sells them as Crapple Underworks, people will rush to the site to pay the $1,000 per roll. I don't fault anyone for what they believe, or how they chose to spend their money, but for me this one is so far over the top it pretty much defies words. If we have Sundance out here in Utah next month (looking less and less likely), I'd expect everyone of the Hollyweird elite to be sporting at least two pair. Personally, I'd take a pair of the Sony WH1000XM3's at half the price, the Bose Quiet Comfort Q3's, or the Sennheiser RS175RF's well ahead of the Apple's, largely because of track record and professional studio audio reviews. If I were going to drop $500 I'd buy the Steven Slate Audio VSX Modeling Headphones.

For Apple and those who buy them, I really do hope they are all that and worth the price. I'm also glad Apple is in the professional audio space because the Apple tax will drive other mfg's to adjust pricing down, and push technology forward.

 

[Bluepig45]

Do you really think $550 is too much for headphones? Lol, as a musician, no, it isn't, believe me.

Anyway, Apple never makes cheap electronics, why are people, even people that are acquainted with Apple always so shocked with their pricing? They've been doing that for years, decades even. They just made extremely high-quality headphones and priced them accordingly.

In any case, this opinion will change, as it always does, in a few months...

Oh no, $550 is NOT too much for headphones (in the professional space). I fronted a band in 1978, had done studio work, and now do stand alone studio mixing, so i know what studio pros use. I also know that those same people will not drop the headphones they currently use, almost all wired Sennheiser or AT. I also know production quality driven purchases are more focused on audio (vocal) effects and mic's, not headphones.

 

[macnmac]

As much of an excuse or justification to buy them over, "it's Apple, DUH." When Apple releases rolls of toilet paper with Steve Job's face on each sheet and sells them as Crapple Underworks, people will rush to the site to pay the $1,000 per roll. I don't fault anyone for what they believe, or how they chose to spend their money, but for me this one is so far over the top it pretty much defies words. If we have Sundance out here in Utah next month (looking less and less likely), I'd expect everyone of the Hollyweird elite to be sporting at least two pair. Personally, I'd take a pair of the Sony WH1000XM3's at half the price, the Bose Quiet Comfort Q3's, or the Sennheiser RS175RF's well ahead of the Apple's, largely because of track record and professional studio audio reviews. If I were going to drop $500 I'd buy the Steven Slate Audio VSX Modeling Headphones.

For Apple and those who buy them, I really do hope they are all that and worth the price. I'm also glad Apple is in the professional audio space because the Apple tax will drive other mfg's to adjust pricing down, and push technology forward.

well nobody can justify the price until they try them, what one person might deem as a reasonable price another might not depending on a myriad of reasons... overall ive been mostly positive on apple products despite the "apple tax" so im going to give them a try and wait to form my own opinion.

 

[gadgetpete]

Best get your ears syringed and bulk buy of cotton buds or these are not going to be worth the money, its like someone with poor eyesight buying a 4k TV, pointless. Will be interesting to hear the feedback, I have no need for carrying around such a large item for what, a minute difference in sound quality IF you know what good sound should sound like, I can imagine wearing them on the subway in London they wouldn't be on your head too long, be gone with your phone and Apple wart wallet attached with that pathetic magnet, you then can't get home because your credit card a and travel pass have gone with the phone and wallet, you just can't make this up, Apple are surely losing their way.

By the way that Apple HomePod mini I bought on launch day is lying in a drawer, what a waste of money that was, and they say that is superior sound, what a joke its a plastic ball with a top that is a dust and fingerprint magnet, for those with limited vision try finding the volume up and down arrow, complete design failure, sticking to Echos Alexa that is far superior in every way especially integration!

 

[ipponrg]

Contrast that to the AirPods Max page, and a lot more effort goes into discussing it's actual sound quality.

If they were serious about it, they would provide graphs and experiences. This is just Apple marketing, so take it with a grain of salt. Wait for reviews to come out from all sources.

 

[Dave245]

Best get your ears syringed and bulk buy of cotton buds or these are not going to be worth the money, its like someone with poor eyesight buying a 4k TV, pointless. Will be interesting to hear the feedback, I have no need for carrying around such a large item for what, a minute difference in sound quality IF you know what good sound should sound like, I can imagine wearing them on the subway in London they wouldn't be on your head too long, be gone with your phone and Apple wart wallet attached with that pathetic magnet, you then can't get home because your credit card a and travel pass have gone with the phone and wallet, you just can't make this up, Apple are surely losing their way.

By the way that Apple HomePod mini I bought on launch day is lying in a drawer, what a waste of money that was, and they say that is superior sound, what a joke its a plastic ball with a top that is a dust and fingerprint magnet, for those with limited vision try finding the volume up and down arrow, complete design failure, sticking to Echos Alexa that is far superior in every way especially integration!

You haven't even heard the AirPods Max, none of us have so we can't comment on them until we have. I don't know about the HomePod mini, but the original HomePod sounds great, I have one and I use it daily for music. Granted its not the best smart speaker (Siri needs improvement) but it definitely sounds great for music.

 

[kmanmx]

If they were serious about it, they would provide graphs and experiences. This is just Apple marketing, so take it with a grain of salt. Wait for reviews to come out from all sources.

I'm not so sure. Posting graphs of frequency responses and THD etc seems pretty hardcore for a company that still doesn't like to talk about RAM. We didn't get anything of the sort for HomePod, despite it offering best in class audio performance.

 

[ipponrg]

I'm not so sure. Posting graphs of frequency responses and THD etc seems pretty hardcore for a company that still doesn't like to talk about RAM. We didn't get anything of the sort for HomePod, despite it offering best in class audio performance.

Doesn’t hardcore imply it’s serious? So you’re saying they are not serious then about this initiative just like the HomePod

 

[kmanmx]

Doesn’t hardcore imply it’s serious? So you’re saying they are not serious then about this initiative just like the HomePod

I'm saying they're not a company that posts technical graphs. And if "not being serious" about AirPods leads to best in class audio like it did with the HomePod, then fine thats fine by me...

 

[Ferreal]

Looks like they have plenty of silver in stock. Still showing ship by Dec 15th.

I ordered the blue one from Apple. I hope the expected ship date of March is false.

 

[Macdude2010]

.

 

[nattK]

Engraved AirPods Max already "Preparing to Ship"! I wonder whether that means launch day delivery instead of the quoted Dec 21 delivery.

 

[Norre8]

Engraved AirPods Max already "Preparing to Ship"! I wonder whether that means launch day delivery instead of the quoted Dec 21 delivery.
View attachment 1690261

Wish I would have gotten my engraved, now there's no way I'd cancel my order to wait.

 

[its93rc]

I ordered SG on Apple and Silver on Bestbuy. I couldn't decide which color to get. I think I'll sell the one I like less. Both are scheduled to ship 12/15. (Probably here on the marketplace, for what it costs, in case anyone missed out.)

And now I'm eyeing the Blue one, lol. I am so indecisive.

 

[Phil77354]

It will be interesting to see if local Apple stores begin to have inventory on Dec 15th. If so, for those who are close enough to a store, it should be possible to quickly grab one by ordering from the Apple website and then picking it up at the store from their stock. At this point, in addition to the possibility of purchasing from Best Buy or one of the other non-Apple stores, that is probably the best way to get one by Christmas.

 

[ice.]

Space Grey with engraving, preparing to ship, Dec 21st.

 

[VermontsFinest]

Still processing here, shipping to Vermont (no engraving) -> my guess is those who are PFS with an engraving are coming right from China, whereas a bulk of non-engraved models are already in the US.

 

[gadgetpete]

I'm sure there will be a load available in stores, its their marketing game that gets people ordering up front, and yes I fall for it as well. I have my B&O H9's and want to try these before parting with my hard earned money, there is absolutely no way I would buy these at this price without listening to them first, that's just plain daft!

 

[VermontsFinest]

I'm sure there will be a load available in stores, its their marketing game that gets people ordering up front, and yes I fall for it as well. I have my B&O H9's and want to try these before parting with my hard earned money, there is absolutely no way I would buy these at this price without listening to them first, that's just plain daft!

But... as I am doing, you can buy them now, get them, try them, and return for a full refund if you don't find value in them.

 

[gadgetpete]

But... as I am doing, you can buy them now, get them, try them, and return for a full refund if you don't find value in them.

And that just great for the environment, makes a mockery of them not sending a charger out with my iPhone 12 Pro Max to be more environmentally friendly, plus this is most likely built into the price as they can never be sold as new again so we all pay for it.

 

[Pug72]

I see Currys (uk) has a place older on their site for these, but the info about charging them needs revising.

"Smart charging

Enjoy up to 20 hours of listening, movie watching or talk time, even with ANC and spatial audio enabled. Between listens, simply pop them back in their Smart Case to keep them topped up. If you're in a rush, a quick 5-minute charge gives you up to 1.5 hours of playback."

 

[gadgetpete]

Just having a play with the settings sounds great, will be very hard to beat, I just found there was a software update, all updated now ?

 

[gadgetpete]

I forgot to add that the above is the settings on the B&O App on my iPhone for my B&O H9 headphones, I changed the setting to see if it made a difference calling them Apple AirPod Max but still sound as awesome as they were before the change ?, will give the real AirPod Max's a go but they need to be super dooper to beat these ?