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Condensation in AirPods Max after long usage
- Thread starter ssong
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Is this condensation or ear sweat? For everyone rushing to return them, you could probably sell them locally to an impatient sucker who wants them desperately. I'd bet you could sell them for more than $549.
I wonder why I bought Sennheiser Open Aire headphones back in the mid-1970s. Oh, yes. I remember why. They didn't become wet.
That said, I have a set of studio headphones from Beyerdynamic that are amazing, for short use.
It's both.
Air between the ears and headphones is somewhere around body temperature. Sweat evaporates and saturates the air up to 100% humidity, when the moisture starts to condensate. It will always condensate on the coolest and most heat conductive surface, which is - metal parts of the headphones. This is also why the mesh remains dry.
For now it really, really seems like another totally failed design by Apple, not unlike butterfly keyboard (design first, real world usability second).
Just cancelled my order, will wait and see, not going to be a tester for $900AUD lol.
This is true. This may be a little off topic but I wear earmolds for extra security to make sure my cochlear implants doesn’t fall off of my head when I’m active. My earmolds has a plastic tube that goes through the mold and then it’s connected to the hook that overhangs the upper top of my ear and where my processor sits on the ear. My earmold’s tube gets condensation quite a bit to the point where I would have to replace the plastic tube by my audiologist at least every few months because the plastic tube can harden with the condensation from the ear, environment, and daily usage. So this wouldn’t surprise me if this happens with headphones. Especially with wireless headphones that goes into your ear.
Okay, I'm totally confused right now. I've ordered a space gray, estimated shipping in the middle of February. IDK what to do now, cancel the order or just wait if they did something in the making to resolve the issue... 😫
I think the problem is insufficient ventilation, exacerbated by the metal construction.
I feel like the AirPods Max have worse ventilation than the Bose QC35, which feel much less hot and humid for my ears.
I noticed this while taking the AirPods Max off my head: there’s a noticeable feeling of suction as the earpads decompress. If I push the QC35 earcups against my head and then take them off, I feel less change in pressure and I can hear air whistling through a vent somewhere.
So it seems that despite the “mesh fabric” earpads, there is not enough ventilation to keep the humidity inside the earcups in check.
Even plastic headphones would eventually have condensation problems (or sweaty earpads) if they have no ventilation, but the metal construction will make condensation occur more easily.
Don't get confused about some people shouting on their soapboxes.
never base your decision from a posting on Macrumors, they are the biggest sensation mongers, and every small detail gets blown out of proportion, because they love it
All headphones get warm and you will have some sweat in the headphones, the only difference is, in the Max you can actually see it
if you wear a watch, you also get sweat under the band.
I get this on my Sony WH1000XM3. I've had them for a long time and it's no big deal. Have none of you owned over the head cans before? Your ears are gonna a sweat and there will be some condensation. I think it's pretty common for this type of headphones.
I wore my B&O H95's for 3 hours this morning and took off the magnetic cup to see if there was any condensation. There was not. This isn't to say that there wouldn't be if I wore them longer, but I did see that some people are seeing condensation after an hour or so with the APM. I just wonder if it has to do with the amount of clamp the APM have that causes this to occur.
What worked for me was using my Dremel to drill a small hole in the base of the metal ear cup to provide a channel for the condensation to escape. 😉
Thank you for trying it out.
Now, i’m more confused...
maybe i’m gonna jump to the h95, but tbh im craving for the airpods max 🥲
It is absolutely insane, but this is typically what happens with any Apple product that is flawed, you will get fanboys who don’t want to hear about it and they deny people’s experience.
At this price, having these headphones functions fail this quickly is pure madness and needs to be rectified quickly.
What is the average lifespan going to be for a pair of APMs, like 3 months? Quite worrying. Down here in South Africa they are going for the equivalent of $719.
So you are saying it’s normal for the drivers to be affected and for functions to work erratically due to it?
It’s one thing for them to get wet but for it to affect the functionality is worrisome.
"The typical ear canal is a warm, humid environment. Add a little perspiration and the result is a lot of water vapor floating around inside the earphones. When the ambient air temperature changes, that water vapor condenses"
So is the AirPods max generating more condensation than other headphones by some faulty design?
So is the AirPods max generating more condensation than other headphones by some faulty design?
It’s extremely disappointing but I did buy Apple Care, I have until the 8th to decide if I want to return. I love them but this issue is pretty crappy.
And the dude in this thread saying people are shouting on soapboxes is ridiculous. Hopefully karma doesn’t bite him when he buys an expensive product and there is a flaw that affects functionality.
Over 4 years of development and no one thought condensation, how can this be? 🤦♂️
You do get some of these fanatics but even more so they’re worried about what the internet thinks of them. This is why they spend hours pouring over reviews. Wait til all the youtubers that they worship are pouring water out of their AirPods. Right now they’re in denial stage. This can’t be happening. But return window looms and they spent two weeks pay on these.
That really sucks, even with AppleCare though, you get them fixed or replaced and then how much longer until you run into the issue again? Hopefully Apple find a way to fix this without a recall.
Funny enough I had just purchased a pair of Sennheiser HD350BTs in late 2020 mainly to use for working here at home for another year and I was now looking to buy a high end pair for my personal use (Music, Movies etc...) so I have been keeping a close eye on pricing locally of APMs and nearly fell off my chair when I saw how they are priced here and now with this issue I am definitely going to wait or may be get the Sony’s or Sennheiser PXC550-II.
Waiting to see how Apple address this though before I make a move. 1st Gen always gets the nasty stuff I guess.
I've been checking every morning, and have not observed even the slightest hint of this problem... indoors, but cold ambient temperatures, and no condensation after several hours of use.
Don't get confused about some people shouting on their soapboxes.
never base your decision from a posting on Macrumors, they are the biggest sensation mongers, and every small detail gets blown out of proportion, because they love it
All headphones get warm and you will have some sweat in the headphones, the only difference is, in the Max you can actually see it
if you wear a watch, you also get sweat under the band.
The only nuisance is, that other headphones and Apple Watch are... water resistant. APMs are not. And any malfunction can and surely will be attributed to "water damage".
I just returned mine today. Sadly. I really liked them. Same as I liked the butterfly keyboards...
I've been using mine pretty much non-stop since launch day. I have not noticed this issue at all. To be fair, I use them very carefully and the house is kept pretty warm. I do not use them outside and don;'t plan on using them in any other environment aside from home/office/airplane.
I will be checking thoroughly now though. Interesting to see what Apple says about this. It seems like a design oversight
I will be checking thoroughly now though. Interesting to see what Apple says about this. It seems like a design oversight
I plan to use them during flight, but the air temperature on planes is pretty low, so im afraid that circumstance may cause this condensation issue... 😒