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10 Audio Improvements in Apple's New AirPods Max 2
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But that is a quite weird workaround with a pair of wireless headphones.
An article about the audio improvement and only audio improvement is more bass because of a smaller chip. Audio features are now called improvement? Yes, right.
Lossless is not about BT. It's about the codec. Those exist for a decade, but Apple is refusing to include them and sticking to AAC with a headphone that cost 550$. But hey, this headphone is not about sound, it's about being a status symbol.
Tenkaykev
macrumors 6502
Quite often I will sing quietly to myself without the use of earphones, just that days earworm or a song that I'm particularly fond of. I sing quietly but on occasion I will get a glance from a fellow shopper. I say " oh, you caught me singing " and the response is almost universally positive. Mind you, I'm in the UK so perhaps it's a societal thing🤔
Happy_John
Suspended
I see people "almost" dancing sometimes on the street / in a supermarket when they're wearing their AirPods / earbuds. It always makes me smile. It's nice to see people enjoying their music.
It beats the hell out of just seeing someone staring at their phone.
One of the major tech sites reckoned the update was "lazy" and the rest of the article was really scathing.
LouisMac90
macrumors regular
This update should have came out in 2024 with the Type C refresh, this is literally them running out of H1's and finally moving over to the H2 chipset. This is clearly the case in my opinion as they haven't even bothered updating the colour options or any design changes, happy to try them in an Apple Store they will have to be really good for me to sell my Type C ones for the APM2 only reason being I do use them a lot watching movies on my Apple TV with Dolby.
Price point should also be around £399 price range.
Price point should also be around £399 price range.
Kobayagi
macrumors 6502a
What’s wild is that they didn’t just include a normal case. A case that actually protects your expensive headphones and can hold a few cables ect. Also, why can’t you still turn them off?? 🤨
Rory76
macrumors regular
This^^^^. Hence the reason I bought four pair of new APP2’s a while back for a great deal to last me for a long time. Only used two of the pairs so far. Might update when I see what the rumored new Airpod Pros that are supposedly being released this Fall come out…
eveluvsrainbows
macrumors 6502a
The H2 chip is used in the AirPods Pro 3 as well. It is Apple's most recent H-series chip; they haven't engineered a new one yet and its more than capable enough as is. They aren't going to engineer a new chip for the sake of engineering a new chip. Ever considered that maybe H2 is more than enough already for what Apple needs in their headphones and earphones?
Gosh. People such as yourself come up with the wildest things to complain about.
Happy_John
Suspended
patjem
macrumors regular
Will be very interesting how they will stack up against the likes of B&W PX8 II etc.
The first one was good but the audio competition in the 700-1200 bracket was better in the audio department
The first one was good but the audio competition in the 700-1200 bracket was better in the audio department
Happy_John
Suspended
I'd put it the other way around. They're only putting in the H2 chips because they don't have any more H1 chips. Marketing aside, the H2 chips mightn't be much of an improvement, and any improvement is just a side-effect of streamlining chip production lines. Because the aim wasn't to improve the Air Pod Max, it was to slightly reduce production costs overall for Apple.
The reason Apple, despite the marketing, updated the iPad Air from the M3 chip to the M4 chip, or the M2 chip to the M3 chip, was not to make the iPad Air more powerful for users( these chips are already overkill for iPAdOS), it's because they don't want to have to keep making lots of different chips simultaneously. It is cheaper for Apple to put the M4 chip in the iPad Air then to keep both the M3 and M4 production lines open.
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MrRom92
macrumors 68000
Which is exactly what I was hoping they would do. Cmon. $550 for these wireless cans and the trillion dollar tech company still can’t figure this out? It was embarrassing 10 years ago! It’s 2026, lossy compressed audio has no place in this world anymore.
Credit where it’s due, this will probably provide the optimum Apple Music spatial experience when hardwired as it will be skipping another compression step, but for listening to anything else?? You can do better for less money if you’re still going to have a wire attached.
Happy_John
Suspended
You can put the "adaptive audio" to "minimum / less noise" with the slider in the AirPod settings, and you can turn off "Personalized Volume" and "Conversation Awareness" with the toggles in the AirPods settings. This effectively disables it , or at least minimizes the effect as much as possible.
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Aside from the bigger and better hardware.
Apple refreshed the AirPods Max today, and the main new addition is an H2 chip that replaces the H1 chip. The H2 chip has previously been used in the AirPods 4 and the AirPods Pro 2 and later, but it's new to the AirPods Max. It brings multiple audio improvements alongside an updated high dynamic range amplifier.
We've listed all of the audio features that are new to the AirPods Max according to Apple.
There are other features enabled by the H2 chip that aren't tied directly to audio, like Live Translation, camera remote functionality, and the option to activate Siri without using "Hey." The AirPods Max 2 also still have all of the other features from the original AirPods Max, like personalized spatial audio, quick pairing, device switching, and more.
- Active Noise Cancellation - The AirPods Max 2 have up to 1.5x more active noise cancellation because of the more powerful H2 chip and a new computational audio algorithm that detects and counters external sound.
- Adaptive Audio - The AirPods Max support Adaptive Audio, adjusting the level of ANC based on your environment.
- Transparency - Apple says it is using a new digital signal processing algorithm built for the H2 and the AirPods Max microphone array to make Transparency sound more natural. Your own voice will sound more realistic, and so will other sounds. Transparency lets you hear what's going on around you, with environmental noise filtered through the AirPods Max microphones.
- Loud Sound Reduction - Adaptive Audio includes Loud Sound Reduction and the AirPods Max will automatically reduce loud environmental sounds like lawn mowers or construction equipment.
- Personalized Volume - Another Adaptive Audio feature, Personalized Volume learns your volume preferences across different environments over time and automatically adjusts.
- Conversation Awareness - When you start to talk, Conversation Awareness kicks on and lowers the volume of what you're listening to while amplifying voices so you can hear a response. When you're done talking, the sound returns to its previous volume.
- High-fidelity audio improvements - Apple says the H2 chip and a new high dynamic range amplifier provide more headroom for the driver, resulting in richer bass, more natural vocals, and improved localization of instruments. Users can expect more accurate and consistent bass along with more natural sounding mids and highs.
- Adaptive EQ - Apple retuned Adaptive EQ for the H2 chip, and the feature now extends to higher frequencies. Adaptive EQ uses inward-facing microphones to sample what you're hearing, adjusting playback in real-time. According to Apple, users will get a more consistent listening experience across different fits, movements, and ear geometry.
- Voice Isolation - Voice Isolation isolates your voice in noisy environments so people can hear you when you're on a call. Voice Isolation also lets creators capture high-quality vocals.
- Reduced wireless audio latency - Apple says latency is lower with the H2 chip in the AirPods Max 2. The AirPods Max support Bluetooth 5.3, up from Bluetooth 5.0 in the prior model.
Apple did not make other design changes to the AirPods Max, and the overall fit and look have not been updated. Compared to the AirPods Pro 3, the main AirPods Max benefit is lossless audio. With a wired USB-C connection to a device, the AirPods Max offer 24-bit 48kHz lossless audio, which the AirPods Pro can't match.
The AirPods Max are priced at $549, and Apple plans to accept pre-orders on Wednesday, March 25. A launch will follow in early April, but Apple hasn't provided a specific date yet.
Article Link: 10 Audio Improvements in Apple's New AirPods Max 2
Most of these audio improvements are features that have been present in some form since the Airpods Pro 2.
Yes, the Airpods Max 2 will/should deliver them better.
However, Apple's biggest issue here is that they should have dropped the Airpod Max 2's three years ago.
But then again, why improve on something if people keep buying the first model...
Aptx lossless is. Ldac is arguably virtually lossless . I wasn't talking about native support
I'm going o wait until Sony removed the BPA from their latest offering and get those. Apple ****ed it.
Madonepro
macrumors 68000
I have never used a pair of these, nor do I know anyone who has them. I have a pair of Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 Active Noise Cancelling Over-Ear Headphones (McLaren Special Edition), and are more expensive than the AirPod's Max (Special edition).
Are the APM's any good? How do they compare to the BOSE ANC gold standard headphones, etc.
Are the APM's any good? How do they compare to the BOSE ANC gold standard headphones, etc.
Happy_John
Suspended
They're pretty good, but the main selling point is their integration with Apple devices, and the control system. The single button and crown/dial is a really nice, uncluttered set of controls. I hate "touch sensitive" controls on headphones.
That and the fact that they're NOT plastic. Otherwise, they're in Sony XM4 or XM6 territory ( for me, the XM5 had worse sound quality than the XM4) , but with better transparency overall.
As over-ear headphones, the B & W are probably better, but the APM are handy because they're instantly recognised and enabled across all your Apple devices. It's the convenience that's the selling point.
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spartan1967
macrumors 6502a
Got my AP4 with ANC on sale for $99. Seeing the only real technology advantage with AM2 is lossless audio and ultra‑low latency audio, should I pay $549 for them? No TY.