I first bought the AirPods Max about a year ago. I was searching for a good wireless over ear headphone. I had tried the Bose NC700, Sennheiser Momentum 3, B&O HX, and B&O H95, but they were all a little finicky. So I decided to give the APM a shot. They sounded better than all of the others save for the Sennheiser and the H95. What separated the APM from all the others was the seamless connectivity with Apple devices, transparency mode, and their comfort. The only other pair that seriously gave them a run for their money was the H95. In fact, I would have chosen the H95 had they had a better transparency mode (they hissed with it on).
Going through all these headphones took me down an expensive path. I got a taste for good quality music and wanted more! To go along with the AirPods Max, I decided I wanted to find out what a high quality wired headphone could do. So I bought a Schiit Modi/Magni stack and a pair of HIFIMAN Sundara. I instantly fell in love and that led to exploring the HIFIMAN line further. I next got the Ananda and finally landed on the Arya. I also upgraded my amp/DAC. I now have a Schiit Asgard 3 paired with a Schiit Modius for one sitting area and an Asgard 3 with a DAC module for my desk setup. During this time I actually sold the AirPods Max (in January after about 9 months of use). They were pretty large which made them a bit of a pain to transport, and while the audio quality is fun, it is not as good as a decent wired headphone. So I decided to try some IEMs, the Moondrop Starfield. I like the sound of the Starfield (especially for the cost), but began to remember why I do not like IEMs. I cannot take them for more than about 30 minutes before discomfort sets in.
About 3 weeks ago, I went ahead and rebought the APM to replace the Starfields. I really love the comfort of the APM and their ability to seamlessly jump from one Apple device to another (including Apple TV) is such a great feature. The sound is good enough and transparency is remarkable. They have settled into being my at work headphone and the headphone I will grab at home when I do not want to distract others (the Arya are open back) or I need to cancel out the noise of the house.
So for me, they are an excellent headphone if you are entrenched in the Apple ecosystem (as I am), are not doing critical listening, and can make use of the transparency and noise canceling modes, but are not interested in an IEM like the AirPods Pro (I have those as well, but they are relegated to being used when I am moving around or need something small). I would not consider them a good headphone for editing if you need something that is accurate (though I am no editor so take that for what it's worth). They do well for a wireless headphone, but most wired headphones (even mid-tier models such as the Sennheiser HD6XX or HIFIMAN Sundara) will be considerably better from a purely audio quality standpoint.
As an aside, I would not bother with the wired connection unless you need it for something specific. It will not improve audio quality in any way.
TL;DR: APM's are a great headphone for the person who is all-in on Apple devices. They are not going to give you audio quality comparable to a wired headphone, but have good comfort, fantastic ANC and transparency mode, and sound that is better than most wireless headphones. Skip the buying the analog adapter for them.
