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AirPods Max vs. AirPods Pro: Too-soon impressions (kinda disappointed)

Mt44

Mt44

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 19, 2014
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Took the plunge with the $439 AirPods Max deal on Amazon. Thoughts, after having them on for a few hours:

• They are hot. I live in Florida, and it’s not hot right now. Can’t quite imagine these in July.
• Noise cancelling is really excellent.

And here’s the one where I get skewered:

• I can’t tell much difference in sound between the Max and the Pros. They both sound great to me ?

Not 100% decided yet, but I think these are going back. They’re very good. Just not $300 better than the AirPods Pro.

At least to my apparently untrained ear.
 
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Mt44 said:
Took the plunge with the $439 AirPods Max deal on Amazon. Thoughts, after having them on for a few hours:

• They are hot. I live in Florida, and it’s not hot right now. Can’t quite imagine these in July.
• Noise cancelling is really excellent.

And here’s the one where I get skewered:

• I can’t tell much difference in sound between the Max and the Pros. They both sound great to me ?

Not 100% decided yet, but I think these are going back. They’re very good. Just not $300 better than the AirPods Pro.

At least to my apparently untrained ear.
Click to expand...
I live in Florida. I’ve been using my AirPods Max since January. Hot? No. Blissful? Yes. But they aren’t for everyone. If you don’t love them it’s good that you’re returning them.
 
If you guys don't ear the difference between the Max and the Pro, clearly you aren't "audio sensitive" people (I don't want to say audiophile because that's another level and I ain't no audiophile myself). The Pro are great, but the step up is real with the Max.
I own a pair of Max since a year ago, and just bought the Pro today for a more casual and sport use.

But speaking about the Max, yesterday I was on a flight to my vacations and I used them for the first time in a real world noisy environment to watch some Netflix during the flight. And gosh I was blown away, this thing is superb. With noise cancellation ON I couldn't ear anything around me, not even the airplane engines. Just a baby crying louder behind me once in a while.
 
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I don't even know what to say - the pro and max are in completely different universes, sound quality-wise. Not so much on noise canceling though. But if you think that they sound even remotely similar, I wonder if you got a fake pair of maxes or something, because it's not even close.
 
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Welp, Amazon says I cannot return them, so I guess I’m stuck. ?
 
BTW in no way is this a thread saying that people who love the headphones should not, or whatever.

Just sharing my personal thoughts.
 
Mt44 said:
BTW in no way is this a thread saying that people who love the headphones should not, or whatever.

Just sharing my personal thoughts.
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If your intention is returning them because "they're not that much better than the Pros", just reconsider. Take the time to do a real and deep test before judging. Because they clearly are better.
 
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I agree with @Squillace. Give them some time.

Also, if you use them with an iOS device, experiment a bit with the "Hearing" settings in Accessibility. You can tweak the sound in ways that really make them outstanding. There's even a way to load audiogram to tailor them precisely to your hearing. (I wish we could do the same on MacOS.)
 
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japanime said:
I agree with @Squillace. Give them some time.

Also, if you use them with an iOS device, experiment a bit with the "Hearing" settings in Accessibility. You can tweak the sound in ways that really make them outstanding. There's even a way to load audiogram to tailor them precisely to your hearing. (I wish we could do the same on MacOS.)
Click to expand...
I am using a custom audiogram. The sound before was great; now, it’s sublime.
 
I'd say you'd need at least 100 hours on them to start finding out how they perform.
All gear pretty much requires a break in period. With decent wired headphones I've always left them running steady for a few days before any critical listening. S
 
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Sometimes you need the "right" type of track to really appreciate the difference in headphones. My go to track is Eulogy by Tool when testing headphones, the opening 2 minutes really have a lot of layers to them. Lesser quality headphones will muddy them, you will hear the separation.

Fire up Apple Music and play it, now switch headphones and see if you now hear the breathing, the swapping of channels on different parts etc Once the track gets past 2 minutes then you'll start to appreciate the bass, interludes.

If both APP and APM still sound the same to you then defo return them!

Maybe we should have a "Go To Track" list for headphone testing!!
 
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Yeah it should be a night and day difference.... I don't own the Max but do own the Sony WH-1000XM4 and the AirPods Pro. Sound quality difference is huge between them, and the AirPods Max are supposed to sound even better than the Sonys.

Playing a song as basic as "Enter Sandman" from the clean intro, then the drums and bass and distorted guitar come in - shoud reveal significant differences between the Pros and Max.
 
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bsamcash said:
In my opinion the Max does sound better than the XM4. It has a more neutral signature. I find the Sony to be too bassy.
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That seems to be the general consensus. Oh well guess in a couple of years when I’m looking for a successor for my XM4’s it will between both future models, I really have no reason to replace them right now - love them
 
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I have both the pros and the max. There is a significant difference in sound quality between them. The pros are great for out and about. The maxes are for more focused listening.
 
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Did you buy them from Amazon or a third party seller? If it was third party, maybe they're fakes.
 
Could not return them because Amazon designated them as “hazardous materials” for return shipping. Oh well. I got them on sale.

Anyway, they are growing on me. The tip to go through the sound customization on iOS makes a difference. I’m getting used to the size. And the battery life, relative to AirPods Pro, is great.
 
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Mt44 said:
Could not return them because Amazon designated them as “hazardous materials” for return shipping. Oh well. I got them on sale.

Anyway, they are growing on me. The tip to go through the sound customization on iOS makes a difference. I’m getting used to the size. And the battery life, relative to AirPods Pro, is great.
Click to expand...

Strange. I though it was only in-ear headphones that couldn't be returned because of hygienic issues.
 
Mt44 said:
Could not return them because Amazon designated them as “hazardous materials” for return shipping. Oh well. I got them on sale.

Anyway, they are growing on me. The tip to go through the sound customization on iOS makes a difference. I’m getting used to the size. And the battery life, relative to AirPods Pro, is great.
Click to expand...
I would fight that. Did you apply for the return on your "Orders " page on the Amazon website? I returned an item with a nicad battery installed and the only thing I had to do was put a label saying the package contained a nicad. Having bought on sale is irrelevant. Did you buy direct from Amazon or a third party seller. Either way I believe they have to adopt Amazon's return policy. Give us some more information and maybe we can help you get your money back.
 
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NastyMatt said:
Sometimes you need the "right" type of track to really appreciate the difference in headphones. My go to track is Eulogy by Tool when testing headphones, the opening 2 minutes really have a lot of layers to them. Lesser quality headphones will muddy them, you will hear the separation.

Fire up Apple Music and play it, now switch headphones and see if you now hear the breathing, the swapping of channels on different parts etc Once the track gets past 2 minutes then you'll start to appreciate the bass, interludes.

If both APP and APM still sound the same to you then defo return them!

Maybe we should have a "Go To Track" list for headphone testing!!
Click to expand...

If you have to listen to only 1 song to tell the difference or quality. Then what’s the point? You should be able to hear the quality difference in everything that comes through the headphones. Or it isn’t worth it. Just my opinion. I myself have never tried them.
 
EddieKeyton1 said:
If you have to listen to only 1 song to tell the difference or quality. Then what’s the point? You should be able to hear the quality difference in everything that comes through the headphones. Or it isn’t worth it. Just my opinion. I myself have never tried them.
Click to expand...

Lots of songs have "flat" recording that even the best headphones or audio speakers won't change that much the experience. I'm thinking about songs from the early 70s and before. If you listen to some Ariana Grande of course you'll hear the difference from one equipment to another right away, but I have a few songs in my library that are actually very flat and not the best example to judge the equipment quality.

So, I agree him. I wouldn't limit to 1 song but when I try new equipment there are a couple I play first.
 
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