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

[I7guy]

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.

Wired headphones vs wireless? Same sound source?

 

[deevey]

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.

Isn't that a little like telling someone to buy a Go-kart rather than a Tesla because its faster on the bends ?

 

[Zen_Arcade]

Isn't that a little like telling someone to buy a Go-kart rather than a Tesla because its faster on the bends ?

Way to miss the point . . . well done!

 

[coachingguy]

I'll weigh in now... I ordered from Target, received the Space Grey in 2 days. I've owned the Sony WH-1000's since xm2, which now belong to my niece, and the wife has the wife has the xm3's, while I've been using the xm4's since October. Prior to buying the Airpods Max, I bought and used the Bose 700's for two weeks before returning them because I only got, maybe 10 hours per charge.

I've got a rather large dome, and after about an hour or two, I'm really aware of the Sony's, especially on my ears lobes. I thought the Bose fit a little more comfortably. With the Max's, I'm hardly aware of them being on my head. Granted, holding them in my hands I am keenly aware of their greater weight over the Sony and Bose.

Last night I tried the NC with both the Max's and xm4's... based on the testing I did last night, I came away thinking the Max had better NC, for the first time I was aware of a...very slight... hiss(?) when the Sony's NC was maxed out... I didn't notice that with the Max's and actually they did a better job blocking out the TV and the Microwave.

Soundwise: The Sony's and Max's have different sound signatures... I think this one is the most subjective... But I played the same 5 songs from different genre's through each pair of headphones, and on 4 of the 5 preferred the Max signature. There were songs I've been listening to for years that I heard more clearly, more defined through the Max's, sounds I never heard through the Sony's...

Again, all of this is subjective other than the weight of the Max's which is clearly heavier than either the Bose or Sony's. I've seen a great deal of conversation about the Max's compared to wired headphones. I'd like to say this about that... Are we really expecting ANY Bluetooth/cordless headphones to compete with even an average set of wired headphones? I don't. I picked up a pair of JVC cans about 11-15 years ago... 10' thick wire, big thick leather ears... The whole thing is HUGE (lighter than the Max's...) but my students still fight over listening to them because they sound amazing. I know they sound better than either the Max's, Sony's or Bose. We buy these bluetooth headphones to provide the best sound experience while NOT Being Tethered to a device by a cable/cord/wire...

Anyways, in closing, while the Max's are expensive... easily the most I've ever spent on headphones or even stereo equipment... As MKBHD put it, they are a luxury listening experience.

YMMV...

Coachingguy

PS - Yes, the case is stupid! And it's also stupid you need to buy the $35 cable that Apple Makes to "audio in"

 

[honglong1976]

Only one reason I would buy a pair, spacial audio.