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AirPods Max Customer Impressions: Premium Design and Competitive Sound Quality, Can Feel Heavy on Ears and Smart Case is Useless

buckwheet said:
Hmm... I would assume it would just be sending data along the cable (so no need for a ADC in the cable) to avoid the bluetooth codec, but not really sure.
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I do not know the details but I read here on MR that the cable has a bidirectional DAC/ADC in it. That's why it costs $35. If this is the case, the signal actually goes through DAC (player), ADC (cable) then DAC again (headphones). It does not make sense for audiophiles but it does make sense for convenience of the travelers (in flight entertainment)
 

Apparently it's not using an ADC. He can clearly hear the sound signature of an external player.
 
seen on twitter somebody did a test and it drained 6% over 9 hour period being out the case...that seems fine to me
 
nicolas_s said:

Apparently it's not using an ADC. He can clearly hear the sound signature of an external player.
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Oh, duh... Seeing the box in that video, I hadn't realized (or it just didn't register) that we're talking about an 1/8th-inch cable, but of course it is—for plugging directly into 1/8th-inch headphone jacks. So obviously not just sending data... haha... I had been thinking it was USB-C to Lightning, which could just send data directly... gulp...
 
buckwheet said:
Oh, duh... Seeing the box in that video, I hadn't realized (or it just didn't register) that we're talking about an 1/8th-inch cable, but of course it is—for plugging directly into 1/8th-inch headphone jacks. So obviously not just sending data... haha... I had been thinking it was USB-C to Lightning, which could just send data directly... gulp...
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Yeah it looks like it's just like a regular headphones jack cable but because of Apple's obsession for having less ports, they wired it into the Lightning port and built a specific cable for that.

The headphones doesn't seem to react when you use the USB cable and plug it into a Mac, they just get the power delivery for charging.
 
G5isAlive said:
Thanks for the encouragement. As you know from the thoroughness of your research, numbers can take you only so far. In the end, comfort and sound experience is going to be very subjective and personal. Pre-Covid I travelled a lot for work, 30 trips a year, often for up to 15 hours at a time. So earphones were a big part of that ever since 2000. I would keep a pair until i broke it. I found the versions to be more iterative than revolutionary so the specifics didnt matter. All of them made my ears feel warm and hence not terribly comfortable. All of them had so so sound quality compared to my wired cans or surround sound systems. But all of them were reasonable with noise cancellation. They fit the role for use on airplanes, but only airplanes. In the last couple of years I had been using AirPods more for convenience and comfort (can walk on and off the plane with them on), but would swap over in flight for noise cancellation until the AirPod Pro..and then would only swap when i was going to sleep (didnt trust the AirPods to stay in my ear). I share all that so you know where i am coming from. Convenience and noise cancellation.

The MX4 was the best of that genre, but never used them off the plane. They just didnt give me the convenient experience or sound quality i wanted.

To your specific questions:

1) I have only worn the Max for 4 hours. In that time my ears never felt warm or pressured, so that was better than the MX4. But they were heavy obviously and if i focused on it, i would be aware of that weight. Most of the time the sound quality held my attention tbough. So in this short trial, comfort wise, those things balance out for me. So your instincts were right. I dont think people will buy the Max solely for comfort. It certainly was not twice as comfortable per se than the MX4.

2) Call quality, hands down, I will be using the Max on conference calls, but did not use the MX4 because sound and convenience wise they didnt measure up compared to my AirPod Pros. I tested the Max on a couple of calls before risking them on a conference call today. The worked automatically, noise cancellation improved my listening experience, and likewise, people on the other hand said i came in tack sharp. Overall better than the AirPod Pros, which worked well for me. So yeah, noticeable difference for me compared to the MX4.

3) Packing. Yep, I have concerns. But then again I wouldnt carry my MX4 sans case. I need to get a travel case for the Max And have no doubt the marketplace will come up with one. In the meantime, my overhead bag (eBag Pro Slim Laptop professional) has a separate pocket up front that I will put only the Max in (with its scratch resistant case). I dont worry about crushing it per se, but i would not want to test pushing something on the mesh at the top. Just like i dont put keys in my pocket with my phone. I take precautions naturally with my gear. Clearly this is not ideal, but I weigh the negatives against the positives and in this case have decided to travel with the Max, mostly because of the sound quality. Blows me away. But the convenience of connecting with my devices plays a big part too.
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This is exactly the type of feedback I was looking for! I plan on visiting the Apple Store to try them out. Thank you again!
 
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Baymowe335 said:
I have the QC 35 also...they aren’t great besides the ANC, which I’d say is matched about 90% by the airpods pro. The only difference is likely the Bose are over ear and block more sound physically.

Bottom line is you will pay a lot for that last 10%. It’s true in TVs, cars, speakers, etc.

I challenge the average person to discern the difference in a world world picture of an OLED TV, QLED, and LED. Some people can tell, most can’t.

On the other hand, A Kia is 90% of a BMW in that it has 4 wheels and gets you from point A to point B. The Kia even has air conditioning, leather seats, Bluetooth and navigation...buts it’s still a Kia and I don’t want it. Others won’t care.
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<<<I challenge the average person to discern the difference in a world world picture of an OLED TV, QLED, and LED. Some people can tell, most can’t.>>>>

R U Serious?! I own a 3 year old LG OLED(B7). OLED blows LED/LCD out of the water. Samy's QLED is close, but not enough. Amazon's "The Expanse" is an excillent example for viewing star fields. Once you watch an episode in 4K with an OLED, you WILL be hooked.
 
Stridr69 said:
<<<I challenge the average person to discern the difference in a world world picture of an OLED TV, QLED, and LED. Some people can tell, most can’t.>>>>

R U Serious?! I own a 3 year old LG OLED(B7). OLED blows LED/LCD out of the water. Samy's QLED is close, but not enough. Amazon's "The Expanse" is an excillent example for viewing star fields. Once you watch an episode in 4K with an OLED, you WILL be hooked.
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I have watched tons of oled content on many oled TVs...in dark scenes...yes. Bright scenes, QLED is better.

Most people can’t tell the difference.
 
nicolas_s said:

Apparently it's not using an ADC. He can clearly hear the sound signature of an external player.
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That doesn't mean that there isn't an ADC, It may just mean its transparent enough that the players sig shows through.
 
deevey said:
That doesn't mean that there isn't an ADC, It may just mean its transparent enough that the players sig shows through.
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Yes totally possible but I would be surprised if an ADC embedded into a $35 cable could do such a good job at making it transparent, it would mean that the cable is actually a pretty good deal.

For that price I would expect it to sound trash tbh. Some people that are into audio even say it sounds "better" with the cable. Just saying "sounds better" doesn't mean anything though. Can't wait to try them out.
 
nicolas_s said:
Yes totally possible but I would be surprised if an ADC embedded into a $35 cable could do such a good job at making it transparent, it would mean that the cable is actually a pretty good deal.

For that price I would expect it to sound trash tbh. Some people that are into audio even say it sounds "better" with the cable. Just saying "sounds better" doesn't mean anything though. Can't wait to try them out.
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The dac they use on their $9.99 lightning 3.5 dongle is sonically amazing and actually IS a good deal. I would 100% expect this cable to perform equally as well.

www.audioreviews.org

Apple Audio Adapter Review - The One To Beat • Music For The Masses

A thorough review of the Apple audio adapter (both Lightning and USB-C versions) by Jürgen Kraus.
www.audioreviews.org www.audioreviews.org
 
deevey said:
The dac they use on their $9.99 lightning 3.5 dongle is sonically amazing and actually IS a good deal. I would 100% expect this cable to perform equally as well.

www.audioreviews.org

Apple Audio Adapter Review - The One To Beat • Music For The Masses

A thorough review of the Apple audio adapter (both Lightning and USB-C versions) by Jürgen Kraus.
www.audioreviews.org www.audioreviews.org
Click to expand...
Impressive indeed!

If the audio input of the headphones relies on a ADC, it means that there must be a way to connect the headphones to a digital audio source and play hi-res files.

Considering how well they sound with low-res audio, I'm really looking forward to hear how they sound with truly hi-res audio.
 
Baymowe335 said:
I have the QC 35 also...they aren’t great besides the ANC, which I’d say is matched about 90% by the airpods pro. The only difference is likely the Bose are over ear and block more sound physically.

Bottom line is you will pay a lot for that last 10%. It’s true in TVs, cars, speakers, etc.

I challenge the average person to discern the difference in a world world picture of an OLED TV, QLED, and LED. Some people can tell, most can’t.

On the other hand, A Kia is 90% of a BMW in that it has 4 wheels and gets you from point A to point B. The Kia even has air conditioning, leather seats, Bluetooth and navigation...buts it’s still a Kia and I don’t want it. Others won’t care.
Click to expand...
I bought the QC 35 II for long plane flights. To me, they were better at the time than the XM3, which was the main competitor. More comfortable on my head was the biggest factor. Other than long plan flights, I use my OG airpods for everything else. But now I'm thinking about the APM.
 
nicolas_s said:
Yes totally possible but I would be surprised if an ADC embedded into a $35 cable could do such a good job at making it transparent, it would mean that the cable is actually a pretty good deal.
Click to expand...
Internet, get to it... tear down of that cable. Sure, I have one... but I don’t have a YouTube channel to make the money back to pay for destroying it :)
 
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nicolas_s said:
Impressive indeed!

If the audio input of the headphones relies on a ADC, it means that there must be a way to connect the headphones to a digital audio source and play hi-res files.

Considering how well they sound with low-res audio, I'm really looking forward to hear how they sound with truly hi-res audio.
Click to expand...
A USB-C to Lightning audio cable would make the most sense for them to release next as folk could plug the Max's directly into their Ipad Pro's without any additional dongle. In theory, they could potentially do high-res audio.

However I reckon that the DAC in the headphones themselves might be limited to 24/48 like the existing dongle.

Maybe they'll surprise us, but wouldn't hold my breath on it.
 
spicy_tonkotsu said:
Yes, fantastic. This is another thing that nobody buying expensive headphones would use. A lightning cable to 3.5mm adapter WITH a DAC inside of it. Absurd, since the quality of that DAC is terrible, assuming it's the same one used in this.
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I apologize in advance for this not being a link to a YouTuber’s video with their face plastered over it, so some reading is required. However, I CAN add:
“THIS GUY MEASURED THE PERFORMANCE OF THE APPLE AUDIO ADAPTER AND THIS HAPPENED!” :)
www.audioreviews.org

Apple Audio Adapter Review - The One To Beat • Music For The Masses

A thorough review of the Apple audio adapter (both Lightning and USB-C versions) by Jürgen Kraus.
www.audioreviews.org www.audioreviews.org
 
Unregistered 4U said:
I apologize in advance for this not being a link to a YouTuber’s video with their face plastered over it, so some reading is required. However, I CAN add:
“THIS GUY MEASURED THE PERFORMANCE OF THE APPLE AUDIO ADAPTER AND THIS HAPPENED!” :)
www.audioreviews.org

Apple Audio Adapter Review - The One To Beat • Music For The Masses

A thorough review of the Apple audio adapter (both Lightning and USB-C versions) by Jürgen Kraus.
www.audioreviews.org www.audioreviews.org
Click to expand...
🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣



tenor.gif
 
I had a chance to listen to them compared to my Grado SR325e headphones. Put plainly, the Airpods Max suck musically/sonically compared to a $295 set of dedicated headphones. The Grados are dramatically clearer, punchier, easier to listen, more dynamic, and have more extension in both the bass and treble, without the annoying electronic haze that the Airpods Max coat music with.

So on sound quality grounds, save your money.

However - if you really want what the Airpods Max do, sound quality is probably not your first priority, so if you have to have them for whatever reason, go for them. On second thought, perhaps get a different pair that costs half of what they do, and donate the rest to a relief organization - there are a LOT of people who need the help WAY more than anyone needs AP Max, let alone Apple needing more money.
 
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