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Is anyone else a bit disappointed by AirPods Max?
- Thread starter Brookzy
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Well they haven't dissappointed me yet because my expectations were on the floor going in.
The case though, for myself, was a wasted thing that Apple put in my box. It did not serve a purpose. I wasn't going to keep and store it so it got tossed out.
I find it fascinating that you'd feel the need to spread your disappointment about this specific thread that says exactly what it is in the title. Read it, don't read it, but your personal judgement is completely irrelevant to anyone here.
I mean... it is a message board. Discussions like this will take place.
After a little more than a week of use, I have to say that all of these criticisms are valid but the main reason I will be returning mine is the price. At $350-400, these would be worth every penny. At $550 they are asking twice as much as their competitors for similar sound quality, comparable ANC, worse battery life, borderline too heavy, and an inexcusable/laughable "case". If they priced these to compete with the XM4 and gave them a real case? Buy them all day long. I'll pick up a pair again if they ever go on sale for $399 or less. Same thing I did with the HomePod where I bought it in a heartbeat at $199 after returning a launch model I bought for $350.
I just don't see the price going down on these, perhaps I am the only one.....maybe in a year or so?
Apple won’t be able to drop the price of these even in a years time. Once they have milked the consumer and initial sales of the Max start to drop off in two or three months time then they will release the AirPods Max Sport or whatever they’re going to be called at the rumoured £400 price tag to attract consumers who didn’t want to pay £550. So they won’t be able to drop the price of the Max as it will kill sales of the Sport if there is only £50 or so price difference.
What we will see is 3rd parties discounting the max by £50-£70 in a couple of months time.
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yeah for me, its not worth waiting to save $70... i am really enjoying these things... sounds amazing!
FYI.
www.head-fi.org
AirPods Max
Hi-fi Insider with a new video. He seems to approve the sound quality and price. Some interesting info on wired quality and source importance as well, based on his experience trying. Honeymoon is over! Audiophile’s Thoughts on AirPods Max EDIT (summarized sound quality and verdict): "The...
www.head-fi.org
OK, so, it's been about a week at this point and I'm going to keep mine. I've become somewhat accustomed to the weight -- it's still substantial but I'm a little less surprised when I put them on vs when I first got them. I was coming from feather-weight Grado GW100s and Bose, so it was a bit of a shock to plunk these monsters on.
One big deciding factor is probably the goodies like instant pairing and spatial audio (which I sincerely hope finds its way to Apple TV) which I just don't think I'd be able to replicate on any non-Apple headphones. I also assume there will be enhancements with future Apple products down the road.
One big deciding factor is probably the goodies like instant pairing and spatial audio (which I sincerely hope finds its way to Apple TV) which I just don't think I'd be able to replicate on any non-Apple headphones. I also assume there will be enhancements with future Apple products down the road.
Bought the first generation AirPods and loved them. Bought the AirPods Pro and love them. Have had the AirPods Max since Tuesday and they have been awesome. have not had any issues with any of them.
Thanks for the excellent and spot on review @Brookzy - I tried very hard to make the AirPods Max work for me, but the weight and painfully tight fit resulted in my returning them. I am bummed because the ACN worked so well for me. I did not have to crank the music in order to shut out annoying noises.
I hope Apple makes a Sports version with an adjustable band at a lower price.
I hope Apple makes a Sports version with an adjustable band at a lower price.
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Honestly, the more I use mine, the more I'm impressed, I see them as more for home use than for outside but wow I love them
I bought the first series of AirPods pro and had to buy another pair because they were making noise
And even for the first generation of MacBook pro with retina display
Lets be honest here, the AirPods Max, or any other wireless/built in DAC headphone for that matter, will never gain wide audiophile acceptance. They inherently bypass all the cables/DACs/Amps and their accumulated placebo inducing fairy dust, which is unacceptable to any subjectivist.
Potentially, AirPods Max type headphones could outperform any traditional setup. Not only can they match amplification to drivers, but they can digitally correct not only for the native frequency response aberrations of the system, compensate for driver non-linearity, adjust for local effects of headphone cavity resonances, and differences in sealing due to hair, glasses et cetera.
Potentially.
And actually the better products in the category already do a very decent job although they target different preferences. For instance, the well known Bose QC35 are pretty much neutral, while the Sony XM4s have a bass lift that some prefer in and of itself, and helps compensate a bit for the lack of body sensation of headphone bass.
It is unfortunate that Apple doesn't supply 1/3 octave digital EQ or similar for precise tailoring to individual sonic signature preferences, their very coarse facilities for adjustments are nigh on useless.
For the poster that felt that the AirPods Max didn't sound particularly special, well that's the general idea with good headphones that aim for tonally neutral reproduction. All such headphones should sound quite similar, any other result would simply indicate that they failed grossly at their design goal.
I have an assortment of very good headphones (and dedicated amplifiers), the consequence of a long love affair with headphone music listening so the above is written from a position of personal experience. But a lot of that experience involved significant cost that could have been avoided with some ABX blind testing. (Base result - all competently designed, non-defective electronics sound the same when used within their design parameters. Which inherently is the case with these types of headphones. Note the three conditionals though.)
These comments about price are redundant. Apple has always been more expensive than the competition. And you can almost always get similar performance from a competitor and less the cost. That is true for AirPods, MacBooks, iPhones, iPads etc Apple are more expensive in most cases. So I’m not quite sure at the outrage of these being more expensive than other equally good headphones.
it’s nothing new for Apple.
it’s nothing new for Apple.
The Airpods Max is pretty bad actually due to:
- no water resistance (Bose NC 700 is water resistant)
- cannot be used like a traditional wired headphone (Bose and Sony can do it, they scale with external DAC + amp).
- lacks features (no custom EQ, different ANC levels)
- no cable included and Apple makes you pay $35 extra (comes for free with Bose and Sony)
- no case so that you have to buy a 3rd party case (comes for free with Sony and Bosy).
- lack of bluetooth Codecs (Sony supports alot more Codecs).
- Airpods Max is only fully functional with an iPhone or iPad (Bose and Sony are fully functioning across many different devices)
- Comfort is quite bad (Bose QC35II is far superior).
So it is a typical Apple product where you pay more for less. It sounds better than the Sony WH-1000XM3 and Bose NC 700, but the differences is not that big if you adjust the EQ.
I only asked for 2 things of the Apple Airpods Max:
1. Be a comfortable headphone like the Bose QC35II
2. Have water resistance like the Airpods Pro.
However I am keeping it as the ANC, call quality and sound quality is better than Bose and Sony. But it is an additional headphone, not a replacement of my wireless ANC headphone collection (Bose QC35II, Bose NC 700 and Sony WH-1000XM3).
If I could only have 1 wireless ANC headphone, it would still be the old Bose QC35 II as I can wear these 10+ hours for office work no problem.
- no water resistance (Bose NC 700 is water resistant)
- cannot be used like a traditional wired headphone (Bose and Sony can do it, they scale with external DAC + amp).
- lacks features (no custom EQ, different ANC levels)
- no cable included and Apple makes you pay $35 extra (comes for free with Bose and Sony)
- no case so that you have to buy a 3rd party case (comes for free with Sony and Bosy).
- lack of bluetooth Codecs (Sony supports alot more Codecs).
- Airpods Max is only fully functional with an iPhone or iPad (Bose and Sony are fully functioning across many different devices)
- Comfort is quite bad (Bose QC35II is far superior).
So it is a typical Apple product where you pay more for less. It sounds better than the Sony WH-1000XM3 and Bose NC 700, but the differences is not that big if you adjust the EQ.
I only asked for 2 things of the Apple Airpods Max:
1. Be a comfortable headphone like the Bose QC35II
2. Have water resistance like the Airpods Pro.
However I am keeping it as the ANC, call quality and sound quality is better than Bose and Sony. But it is an additional headphone, not a replacement of my wireless ANC headphone collection (Bose QC35II, Bose NC 700 and Sony WH-1000XM3).
If I could only have 1 wireless ANC headphone, it would still be the old Bose QC35 II as I can wear these 10+ hours for office work no problem.
I have zero problem with the comfort level of the APM.
The sound quality is just as good if not better than any other wireless headphones on the market now (I have many and returning some now before the window closes).
Most aren’t going to buy the $35 cable, they will use them wireless as I will.
The build quality is exceptional. I like the crown which I prefer, better than buttons or rotating the earcups.
The noise cancelling is also exceptional, would be nice to adjust the level but don’t feel the need to.
The Bose NC 300 is one of those I am returning, water resistance makes little difference to me. Maybe with earbuds it would mean more but not with headphones. The sound ain’t as good as the APM either.
Many headphones I have come with a better and nice case, I don’t use any of them. Glad to pay less if the manufacturer would lower the cost and dumps the case.
Are the APMs worth $550? All I can say especially with the allure of Apple products if they were priced at $399 most people would not even consider the others on the market. Yep, the APMs are that good regardless of things you mentioned cause none of what the APM does not have are show stoppers for me and probably most others.
The sound quality is just as good if not better than any other wireless headphones on the market now (I have many and returning some now before the window closes).
Most aren’t going to buy the $35 cable, they will use them wireless as I will.
The build quality is exceptional. I like the crown which I prefer, better than buttons or rotating the earcups.
The noise cancelling is also exceptional, would be nice to adjust the level but don’t feel the need to.
The Bose NC 300 is one of those I am returning, water resistance makes little difference to me. Maybe with earbuds it would mean more but not with headphones. The sound ain’t as good as the APM either.
Many headphones I have come with a better and nice case, I don’t use any of them. Glad to pay less if the manufacturer would lower the cost and dumps the case.
Are the APMs worth $550? All I can say especially with the allure of Apple products if they were priced at $399 most people would not even consider the others on the market. Yep, the APMs are that good regardless of things you mentioned cause none of what the APM does not have are show stoppers for me and probably most others.
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Apple is always trying to play a different game. Only those who have accepted the new rules get the benefit. It doesn't mean the game they play will always succeed. Vote with your wallet.
I so far have been accepting the Apple ecosystem's convenience factor. And for products of theirs that I don't like, I don't buy. No need to force others to love or hate it or the brand. Simple.
I so far have been accepting the Apple ecosystem's convenience factor. And for products of theirs that I don't like, I don't buy. No need to force others to love or hate it or the brand. Simple.
Yeah, but for $550 I expected the APM to replace my entire wireless ANC headphone collection. But it looks to be simply an additional headphone. Good to hear that the comfort level is excellent for you. On my head, the Bose QC35II is on a whole different level. My main office headphones will still be the Bose QC35II as I can wear it 10+ hours without any problems.
The AirPods Pro (IEM) did replace my entire set of Wireless ANC IEM’s, so that is probably why my expectations of the APM was so high.
For $50,000 I expected the Sennheiser HE-1 to replace my entire headphone and DAC/amp collection in both headphone construction, sound quality, and comfort, but it still isn't the pinnacle of what a headphone should be. Shocker.
And yet Apple gets flack for not being the end-all, be-all of a wireless headphone at $550. Interesting.
And yet Apple gets flack for not being the end-all, be-all of a wireless headphone at $550. Interesting.
The Sennheiser HE-1 doesn’t lack features that the competition offers. It actually offers more than the competition as it is a complete system where the DAC + amplifier and headphones are carefully designed to work with one an other without zero compromise.
I have heard many different headphones (including from Abyss, Susvara, SR-009, Utopia, ....), and the HE-1 is the best so far. And despite this, the Sennheiser HE-1 gets flack also.
Problem with the Airpods Max, it does not offer more than the competition at the higher price it offers, it offers less. I actually find it embarrasing for Apple that my $100 Sony WH-1000XM3 (black friday deal) supports higher quality codecs than my $550 Airpods Max. It is time that Apple starts to support better bluetooth codecs if they want to charge premium prices as an example.