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Is anyone else a bit disappointed by AirPods Max?
- Thread starter Brookzy
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I love mine. Have to say that I disagree with most of what you said. The sound is amazing, they're comfortable to wear, etc. Are they worth $550? That's a personal decision. For me, yeah. The case is dumb though, I'll give you that.
I cancelled my order because of the off button issue but I got to try a friend's set and the weight problem is significant. Obviously everyone is different but my god they are just too heavy for my taste. I tend to move a lot when I'm listening to music at home and I can't see these working out for me. While SQ is better than the Sonys I don't think the difference is huge in my experience. NC is on par with the XM4. Voice call quality is way way better than the XM4. Still 550 is too much for too little return compared to much cheaper alternatives. I'm a little disappointed in Apple's and I hope V2 will be much better.
Good to hear have you tested them out and about walking? Would like some thoughts on them in that department.
I'll bite and push back a bit on some of the negative comments based on my own experience:
Design and comfort:
Design and comfort:
- I too felt some initial discomfort and tightness from the APMs. I have an unusually big head (7-8 in hats) and so the tightness for me was probably worse than most. However, after stretching out the headphones a bit (both hands on ear cups and pulling out) they feel significantly better. I also happen to prefer the larger ear cups than the XM4s (I have both a big head and big ears). I do concede that I also prefer the weight of the XM4s. But I'm not planning to move around in these. In terms of mobility, I will always pick my AirPod Pros when going out.
- I happen to really like the button and wheel placement. Their position near the headband make them easy to find and reaching with my right hand to adjust the volume feels very natural. I also like the rate at which the wheel adjusts the volume. The XM4s have two physical buttons and they're placed in a way with no nearby reference points so you have to feel around or guess which one to press.
- They're simply better than the XM4s and QCs. To my ear, significantly so. Audiophiles like Crinacle seem to agree. Yes, you can get better sound quality with wired/non-ANC setups, but so what? People in the market for APMs specifically value the ANC and wireless capabilities.
- This is where the OP loses me. ANC quality is something that can be precisely measured and tested, and it's clear that the APMs beat out the QCs and XM4s here. Maybe the OP wants a level of ANC that doesn't exist yet?
- Agree with OP here. I've had a few drops with the APMs and it's annoying. However, I will say that these are much easier to pair than my XM4s, especially across multiple devices, which I think falls into the reliability category as well.
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I bought these on a whim when I happened to be up early last Tuesday, and I'm literally blown away by them. My major issues are the case (or rather lack thereof), having to buy the cable separately, and the fact that I couldn't find Blue and settled for SG. I wish they had more punchy bass, but I can't complain too much. I feel the price is totally justified, and reading what the real headphone nerds... ahem... audiophiles... on Head-Fi say (for instance favorably comparing the sound to $2500 planar magnetic headphone and amp combos)I can't fault the audio quality.
I ended up returning mine, sadly. I love the look of them, low profile really clean. The build quality is excellent and I think the sound is freaking great. The ANC is also fantastic. But I returned mine because:
1. They are too heavy to travel with. Someone sitting home/office at a desk listening to music or watching movies would probably do fine with these. Walking and sometimes running through airports with these is a miserable experience. I'm 6'6 220lbs and train daily but find the weight really irritating as its not just smaller people that this might affect.
2. I find them extremely uncomfortable. In addition to the weight, the clamp force was really annoying for me and uncomfortable after wearing them for longer periods of time. I wear a size 7 1/4 fitted hat so don't think I have a massive melon head or anything but who knows maybe that plays a part in it.
3. For whatever reason, I can hear my heartbeat in these every time I put them on. With both ANC on and off I can hear it. I guess it has something to do with pressure and I can hear it more with the ANC on but its not pleasant and almost gets painful after a while.
4. One other reason is Audio leak. These leak a pretty significant amount of audio out of them when the volume is up to around 70% or more. I'm sure this is due to the ear cup design but I'm not a fan of it.
Case is garbage and accessories are garbage but oh well, that's Apple. I did order a pair of B&O H95's based on a friends recommendation. They will be here Tuesday and I'm looking forward to getting them to see how they perform.
1. They are too heavy to travel with. Someone sitting home/office at a desk listening to music or watching movies would probably do fine with these. Walking and sometimes running through airports with these is a miserable experience. I'm 6'6 220lbs and train daily but find the weight really irritating as its not just smaller people that this might affect.
2. I find them extremely uncomfortable. In addition to the weight, the clamp force was really annoying for me and uncomfortable after wearing them for longer periods of time. I wear a size 7 1/4 fitted hat so don't think I have a massive melon head or anything but who knows maybe that plays a part in it.
3. For whatever reason, I can hear my heartbeat in these every time I put them on. With both ANC on and off I can hear it. I guess it has something to do with pressure and I can hear it more with the ANC on but its not pleasant and almost gets painful after a while.
4. One other reason is Audio leak. These leak a pretty significant amount of audio out of them when the volume is up to around 70% or more. I'm sure this is due to the ear cup design but I'm not a fan of it.
Case is garbage and accessories are garbage but oh well, that's Apple. I did order a pair of B&O H95's based on a friends recommendation. They will be here Tuesday and I'm looking forward to getting them to see how they perform.
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I’m disappointed because they are too heavy and don’t fit very well in my head, too much clamping pressure.
You definitely will feel them when walking around. They don’t hurt....it’s more like a slight tugging with each step.
Fair enough. Then what are they designed for?
This is my one worry.
As soon as the lock down ends and everyone is back travelling, then I’d be using this on the move everyday and doing hour long walk during lunch and on weekends.
I’m a big powerlifter, so I can take a bunch of strain, but hearing conflicting views here.
Yeah the cable is the shocking part of this product. For one it’s not included in the already high retail price and it’s a whopping £35 extra! I’ve seen a few reviewers say it’s a poor quality cable too (not even braided) and too short for use. It should have been USB-C too, not lightning. Even my £80 headphones use USB-C and have a 3.5mm jack port.
Apple seem to shamelessly take the mick with their accessory quality and pricing and it’s about time they had more pressure from the tech world. They are known for it but continue to do it. Frustrating.
Just stop! Nobody is trying to rip anybody off. You sound ridiculous. Apple makes a product and sets a price. You can either buy it or not. Because something is expensive doesn't mean it's a rip off. Some people have more disposable income than othesr and have other priorities. Maybe they don't smoke or drink alcohol and spend their money on other things?
Do you also think Tesla, Prime quality steak or Zwilling kitchen knives are a rip off?
Just listen to yourself:
"OMG this Chef's knife from Zwilling is a total rip off. It cost $100 but I can buy a knife on amazon which ALSO cuts meat for only $20. What a rip off. If I want to put it away I have to pay extra for a knife block. AND when it gets dull, I need to buy a sharpening kit or pay someone to make it work again. Greedy bastards. Such a ripoff"
Now tell me. How does that sound? It sounds to me that you probably are NOT the target audience for this product. But luckily for you there are alternatives on ther market. Bose QCII probably only cost $150 and are probably 80% as good.
The cop out answer would be that the AirPods max are for people who desire an audio experience beyond what the AirPods Pro can offer, which is pushing intelligent sound via features such as active noise cancellation, transparency mode and spatial audio.
To put it another way, the AirPods Pro is currently the only model which supports the aforementioned features. If you like them, but also want better sound quality, and don’t mind the added bulk (eg: you are watching a movie at home on your desk), there’s the airpods max for that.
Currently, I think the support for such features is still pretty limited, but I am willing to wager that in the future, app developers can strengthen the platform by building experiences that take advantage of these feature.
But until that day comes, AirPods max are pretty much just an expensive pair of wireless headphones, and it’s not unreasonable for people to evaluate them alone these lines.
Just a bit. If you want Spacial Audio, which appears to include Dolby Atmos, then you're limited to iOS devices. So, at the time of writing, you can't really say that the Max are great for watching a movie at home.
Yeah, it seems a bit overkill to be wearing AirPods max just to watch a movie on your iPhone. Here's hoping the next Apple TV comes with support for spatial audio (and fitness+).
APMs are not for commuting or exercising - that is what APPs are for.
APMs are perfect for a great listening experience or conference calls - for video calls I still prefer APP since you look a bit funny with the cans on.
If this is not your use case, don’t buy them and you won’t be disappointed.
Case closed.
APMs are perfect for a great listening experience or conference calls - for video calls I still prefer APP since you look a bit funny with the cans on.
If this is not your use case, don’t buy them and you won’t be disappointed.
Case closed.
Do you really enjoy using naturally isolating earphones or headphones with voice? I know there's transparency mode.
Prior to acquiring the APM I am using APP for 100% of my calls / video meetings with ANC on. Their limitation is battery life. I have only used the APM for a few calls, will put them through a bunch of meetings now before the holidays to test them out. I don't think the ANC is an issue. Their looks are a different story, i.e. prefer to not wear these cans in a video call.
Having said that, I truly enjoy their sound quality, build and ANC capabilities. Spatial Audio is great, but currently only my phone is capable of it - hence, not a valid movie watching option. Once that gets expanded to Apple TV it will be much more exciting.
The APM are a first generation device - not for everyone. They will be great for air travel IF you buy a separate case. They will not replace my APP for "on the go" usage and only complement them for business calls. I am fully in the Apple eco system. Hence, the easy switching between Mac and iOS devices is another pro for me.
Bottomline: great for a niche use case. Not an all-rounder.
I have until January 8 to decide, if I will keep them or return them and wait for the next generation.
I've been watching a ton of movies at home. I'm kicking back in my lounge chair with my iPad Pro and the Airpod Max and it's been great.
Give me a lightweight edition. Plastic cans, same internals. I couldn’t care less about premium build quality. Comfort trumps that for me (and quite a few others I’m sure).