Keep my AirPods Max or get the Pros and a soundbar?

[dba415]

I got my AirPods Max intending to use it to listen to music at home, I know full well that for calls and outside listening while moving the Pros are better due to the form factor. I currently don't have any AirPods. I live by myself so blasting music is not an issue really if that matters.

Option 1: Keep my Max

Option 2: Get the Pros ($200) and spend $350 on the best soundbar I can get for inside listening, such as these Sony's that have Atmos which is a major upgrade over my current soundbar

Sony HT-X8500 2.1ch Dolby Atmos®/DTS:X® Soundbar with built-in subwoofer - Walmart.com

Buy Sony HT-X8500 2.1ch Dolby Atmos®/DTS:X® Soundbar with built-in subwoofer at Walmart.com

www.walmart.com

From a practical standpoint it seems like Option 2 is way better but of course if all decisions were made on practicality I wouldn't have half the stuff I do.

 

[jettie1767]

I think you can go with either of these options. It’s just a matter of what is important to you and what makes more sense with your use case.

 

[Tdevilsg]

Really depends on your end goal here. I will say nothing can beat a high quality sound bar. I'm talking from experience something like a Sonos Arc soundbar (and paired with some surround speakers if you can get them). I can't really attest to the quality of this sound bar. But I wouldn't' trade my Sonos arc for anything in the world, its that spectacular.

Anyways the Pros are of course more versatile, if you are for example looking to walk around in them, workout etc they are much more versatile than the Max. The max I find more overall comfortable (thats preference) and better sound quality. The sound bar is my default for watching movies and shows. Dolby atmos sounds amazing. And if you invest in surround rear speakers, it makes a huge difference in your sound setup. So at least in my opinion, if you have a terrible or no sound bar, I might recommend going that route plus the pros.

 

[dba415]

Really depends on your end goal here. I will say nothing can beat a high quality sound bar. I'm talking from experience something like a Sonos Arc soundbar. I can't really attest to the quality of this sound bar. But I wouldn't' trade my Sonos arc for anything in the world, its that spectacular.

Anyways the Pros are of course more versatile, if you are for example looking to walk around in them, workout etc they are much more versatile than the Max. The max I find more overall comfortable (thats preference) and better sound quality. The sound bar is my default for watching movies and shows. Dolby atmos sounds amazing. And if you invest in surround rear speakers, it makes a huge difference in your sound setup. So at least in my opinion, if you have a terrible or no sound bar, I might recommend going that route plus the pros.

Thanks for the advice. I’m not sure that my budget is enough for a quality sound bar. Those sonys I linked don’t seem that great, would love the Sonos Arc but of course that is more expensive. If I view the APMs as a long term investment, I'd rather just wait until I get enough money to get the Sonos Arc rather than spend $300 on a soundbar where I am not going to be fully satisfied with. Instead of a half measure, I'll just wait and go full measure with the Sonos Arc. This logic tells me I should just wait so I have the best of both worlds, eventually.

 

[Tdevilsg]

Thanks for the advice. I’m not sure that my budget is enough for a quality sound bar. Those sonys I linked don’t seem that great, would love the Sonos Arc but of course that is more expensive. If I view the APMs as a long term investment, I'd rather just wait until I get enough money to get the Sonos Arc rather than spend $300 on a soundbar where I am not going to be fully satisfied with. Instead of a half measure, I'll just wait and go full measure with the Sonos Arc. This logic tells me I should just wait so I have the best of both worlds, eventually.

No problem! I can atest that the Sonos Arc is absolutely amazing. But one thing you can do is try the Sony out and if you really don't like them, return them. Making things work within your budget, and also having the extra money to get the Airpod Pros, is a beautiful thing.

 

[breezyf808]

I bought the app during Black Friday ($169) and I’d rather have these than the max because its light weight and still have amazing sound. I have a $175 sound bar and a Bose sound link and don’t even use those anymore.
If you do watch a lot on tv than a sound bar would be necessary, unless you can connect the max to your tv.

 

[doolar]

For me, if I had to choose between APM and APP I’d pick the APP. They’re universally great and useful. The APM is of narrower use. Luckily I have both, but if I couldn’t, APP all the way.

 

[AppleZombie]

Pros and Soundbar.

 

[jterp7]

Main benefit of the pros are the pocketability. Id do max and save for decent speakers (at least some powered bookshelves).

 

[Paninnguaq]

Get the pros and the soundbar. Unless one lives in a neighbourhood where they can’t make full use of a soundbar, or they travel a lot, the soundbar makes more sense than the APM.

 

[dba415]

No problem! I can atest that the Sonos Arc is absolutely amazing. But one thing you can do is try the Sony out and if you really don't like them, return them. Making things work within your budget, and also having the extra money to get the Airpod Pros, is a beautiful thing.

Question for you then (and everyone else)

for in home music listening which is better the Arc (paired with a sub) or the Maxes?

I have a old wireless sub that came with my cheap Vizio soundbar. Would that be compatible with the Arc?

 

[Tdevilsg]

Question for you then (and everyone else)

for in home music listening which is better the Arc (paired with a sub) or the Maxes?

I have a old wireless sub that came with my cheap Vizio soundbar. Would that be compatible with the Arc?

This one again really comes down to personal preference. So I'll describe my own. I live somewhere where people are below me, so I usually only listen to my sonos arc and surrounds when watching TV, movies or video games. The sonos system was originally designed for music. They sound exceptional in any situation. I lower the bass down on mine to not disturb the downstairs neighbors. When I listen to music, it's usually laying down on my bed or working on my computer. In those situations its always with headphones on. And of course when I'm working out, I'll be using my headphones. All of this is to say in my situation I'm going with headphones for music listening 9/10. Sonos is an expensive investment especially if you want to do it the right way and get the surrounds or even the sub. You can only pair the Sonos with other sonos devices (sonos one or sonos move), all of it is controlled via an app which you can get adjust the EQ.

So my main takeaway is this is a personal choice, 9 out of 10 times I'm either listening to music at the gym or laying down/on the computer, and thus I listen to music on my headphones mostly and TV/Movies/Gaming through the sonos sound system.

 

[Jordan921]

Atmos soundbar is sick! We only have a 2.1 which sounds ok but when I heard my BIL atmos sound bar I was like daaammmnnn that thing sounds good.

 

[dba415]

This one again really comes down to personal preference. So I'll describe my own. I live somewhere where people are below me, so I usually only listen to my sonos arc and surrounds when watching TV, movies or video games. The sonos system was originally designed for music. They sound exceptional in any situation. I lower the bass down on mine to not disturb the downstairs neighbors. When I listen to music, it's usually laying down on my bed or working on my computer. In those situations its always with headphones on. And of course when I'm working out, I'll be using my headphones. All of this is to say in my situation I'm going with headphones for music listening 9/10. Sonos is an expensive investment especially if you want to do it the right way and get the surrounds or even the sub. You can only pair the Sonos with other sonos devices (sonos one or sonos move), all of it is controlled via an app which you can get adjust the EQ.

So my main takeaway is this is a personal choice, 9 out of 10 times I'm either listening to music at the gym or laying down/on the computer, and thus I listen to music on my headphones mostly and TV/Movies/Gaming through the sonos sound system.

I live in a Studio with no one below me so no matter where I am in my apartment, I would have the soundbar available to listen to music. I do typically listen to music when in bed but given that my bed is in the same room as my sound bar I think I should be okay. If you had both options available in the same room, would you listen to music on the Arc or the APM?

 

[Tdevilsg]

I live in a Studio with no one below me so no matter where I am in my apartment, I would have the soundbar available to listen to music. I do typically listen to music when in bed but given that my bed is in the same room as my sound bar I think I should be okay. If you had both options available in the same room, would you listen to music on the Arc or the APM?

The arc is the highest quality sound device I own. The Airpod Max is more convenient to me because I listen to headphones through my Iphone X. The Arc is overall a better investment for me because I can hypothetically use it for everything - TV, music, gaming, netflix, whatever. Dolby atmos is amazing on the arc. Netflix and Disney plus take advantage of dolby vision and dolby atmos and the Arc projects the sound off your ceiling creating a spacial sound. I do highly recommend getting the surrounds with it. It is an expensive proposition overall especially if factoring in the surround speakers. But its an investment since you really don't ever need anything more than this in the future. You are in effect creating a home theater. The Arc does run through an hdmi EARC slot. Hope that helps.