AirPods Max vs. Beats

[Silly John Fatty]

Apple is selling comparable Beats headphones for a little less in its (online) store.

The AirPods are very expensive in my eyes.

Which ones would you recommend?

I like to have good sound and wear them for longer periods too.

I also love make music on GarageBand or Logic Pro, usually combined on my iPad and Mac.

I also wonder if both of these models are comfortable when lying in bed, on a pillow for example? Are they not too big for that?

I need to see if it’s possible to test these at an Apple Store, but I think it’s not.

 

[Mackilroy]

The AirPod Maxes, yes. I don’t know about the Beats but you can always ask. I have a pair of Maxes and audio/noise canceling are both excellent. They can be used in bed, though it depends on the size of your head and what angle you’re laying at.

 

[Silly John Fatty]

The AirPod Maxes, yes. I don’t know about the Beats but you can always ask. I have a pair of Maxes and audio/noise canceling are both excellent. They can be used in bed, though it depends on the size of your head and what angle you’re laying at.

Thanks! Do you produce music by any chance? If yes, would you recommend them for that?

 

[Mackilroy]

I don't; for music production I'd go with neutral-sounding wired headphones.

 

[DaveyVigs]

One thing I’ve noticed between the two is when I am next to others wearing an AirPod Max I can hear their songs or conversations very easily. I don’t hear the audio from the Beats headsets.

So if you don’t want calls or music to be heard by people right next to you I wouldn’t get the AP Max. One reason I’ve held off on buying by a pair, other than price, for this long. Maybe the second gen will address that issue.

Yeah I know that it depends on volume they are each playing at but Beats seem to have more isolation to the listener versus music “loss” that others can hear. If that makes sense.

 

[Silly John Fatty]

One thing I’ve noticed between the two is when I am next to others wearing an AirPod Max I can hear their songs or conversations very easily. I don’t hear the audio from the Beats headsets.

So if you don’t want calls or music to be heard by people right next to you I wouldn’t get the AP Max. One reason I’ve held off on buying by a pair, other than price, for this long. Maybe the second gen will address that issue.

Yeah I know that it depends on volume they are each playing at but Beats seem to have more isolation to the listener versus music “loss” that others can hear. If that makes sense.

Thanks, that was something I didn't think about.

I don't; for music production I'd go with neutral-sounding wired headphones.

I had such until recently (Sennheiser), but if you think about it, it would be best to mix music on the headphones most people use. In reality I should get normal Air Pods and make my music on them, that's what most people use to listen to music.

 

[Mackilroy]

One thing I’ve noticed between the two is when I am next to others wearing an AirPod Max I can hear their songs or conversations very easily. I don’t hear the audio from the Beats headsets.

Yeah I know that it depends on volume they are each playing at but Beats seem to have more isolation to the listener versus music “loss” that others can hear. If that makes sense.

I'd be curious to know how loudly people are playing audio that you can hear it that easily - at a comfortable volume (27/100 in Windows 11) listening to this, I cannot hear my AirPod Maxes at all once they're about 18 inches from my head (and that's without someone's head to help block the sound). I have go up to about 45 for me to make it out, and 75 for it to be easily followed. For a bit more precision, playing Beethoven's Eroica symphony as performed by the Berlin Philharmonic under Herbert von Karajan, a comfortable volume is about 32-40 dB based on what part of the song I can hear. I can still hear that but can't pick out much when they're still on my head but off my ears, and I have to max out the volume to get it at about 80 dB to hear it reasonably well at all when about two feet away and against a surface with normal pressure. I'm interested in reading more details, because your experience is completely contrary to mine.

 

[DaveyVigs]

They must be playing them above 60 dB because I can only hear it at the office (one dude sits in a nearby cubicle while I hear others by just walking the floor). The worst thing is when someone is wearing theirs listening at high volume while in the bathroom 🤢

I am sure it is harder to hear the leakage when outside in the city or in noisier environments.

That said some music or voices on a call are easier to discern than classical music. One was listening to Katy Perry another was getting “talked to” presumably by their spouse.

 

[Mackilroy]

I tried mine in a very quiet (home office) environment with rock music and a podcast just now, and the result is much the same. I'd have to deafen myself for you to hear the audio coming from my headphones. Do many of your coworkers wear glasses? To me it seems like they have to be listening at uncomfortably high volumes and damaging their hearing.

 

[DaveyVigs]

None of the Max users wear glasses in the office. Perhaps they had them since launch and need new ear cups or have to raise the volume due to it not being as loud as it was when first bought. Or maybe they have bigger ears which cause the fit to be poor. I don’t know, never see them without the maxes on their head lol.

I have only ever used the regular in ear AirPods and Pros since I wear glasses I could never find a good over the ear headset that doesn’t cause pain or sound leakage.

But this is a known problem too as quick google search has a lot of threads about from users.

Not sure if Apple released an update and perhaps the people here didn’t update to the latest firmware.

 

[Mackilroy]

My guess is that a lot of it is PEBKAC. AirPod Maxes are closed-back headphones, so they shouldn't leak a lot of noise. Do you have any coworkers using wired and/or open-back headphones as a point of comparison?