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

SpringKid said:
Yes, and it sure is not a problem with headphones with a proper headband. You make it sound like it's the same thing as balancing a brick on your head.
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No, but I do have long experience with decades of headphones and have literally *always* found a correlation with my usage and enjoyment of them and their weight being lower.

I'm glad you don't find it to be a problem.
I will be very surprised if mainstream users are not ultimately a bit conflicted on it however.

There are very good reasons that headphone makers spend a lot of time and R&D money trying to cut weight while still retaining features. Apple hasn't invented some way for that not be a relevant metric for a large swath of people.
 
I was going to buy Sennheiser Momentum 3 Wireless.
I tried Bose but they sounded poor compared to the Sony which sounded poor compared to Sennheiser.
That was purely with music listening in mind.

Now, I am considering the APM purely for the Spatial Audio (home cinema headphones).
The only true alternative for home cinema to APM Spatial Audio is JVC Exofield headphones that cost more ($999).

If APM are good for both home cinema and regular music listening then I might be in (need Spatial Audio on AppleTV and ideally any 5.1, 7.1 or 9.1 source though). They will never leave the house of course and be on charge when not on my head. Wish they were leather though :(

Hope one day we see a comparison between Airpods Max and JVC Exofield.
 
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WT_ said:
Early reviews signal that they compete in the same range as the Sony XM4 which cost half the price of these, not against the $1000+ headphones so yes, people are rightfully angry about that unreasonable price.

Moreover according to the early reviews they are less confortable than the XM4, less transportable because of the case and they use lightning instead of USB-C for charging.
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Show those “reviews.” I have not seen any detailed, scientific, audiophile approved review.

Lots of reviews for headphones say “they sound great” or “have good bass.”
 
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ader42 said:
Now, I am considering the APM purely for the Spatial Audio (home cinema headphones).
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Spatial Audio and Home Cinema?

Spatial Audio doesn't work with current Apple TV's and will require a new purchase...and we also have no idea if/when that might be coming.
 
These are really nice. After testing my pair, they sound good and I can easily forget that they are on. Weight is not a problem to me. What I am concerned about this this junky case. It does not protect the headphones and this fabric at the top looks like it can be easily penetrated in my backpack. I hope iFixit finds out that the fabric can be replaced in a single piece with a bracket or something
 
laptech said:
The major sticking point for me with regards those that have bought the $550 APM is why? These owners have headphones that are in the $200 - $300 price bracket thus having ignored the $500 - $600 range of headphones that are out there. So why take the leap now for a $550 pair from Apple?. There are already very very good $500 - $600 headphones that have been out in the marketplace for years and years way before Apple even thought of making a pair but yet when looking for a decent pair of headphones, they opted for a $200 - $300 pair of headphones, knowing $500 priced headphones were out there. Why not spend the $500 on an already existing pair of $500 headphones? or save up for a $500 pair of headphones?.

If these APM owners wanted to spend $500 - $600 on a pair of headphones, why has it taken for Apple to build a pair for them to spend that amount of money?
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I have to totally agree with this - it seems almost no one this forum has heard of anything apart from Bose and Sony's £200-£300 offerings. All i've heard is Bose and Sony since these were announced, they clearly think these are the most premium headphones you can buy.
 
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turbineseaplane said:
No, but I do have long experience with decades of headphones and have literally *always* found a correlation with my usage and enjoyment of them and their weight being lower.

I'm glad you don't find it to be a problem.
I will be very surprised if mainstream users are not ultimately a bit conflicted on it however.

There are very good reasons that headphone makers spend a lot of time and R&D money trying to cut weight while still retaining features. Apple hasn't invented some way for that not be a relevant metric for a large swath of people.
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My decades of wearing a large number of headphones tells me something different, though. I currently own two pair of headphones, weighing in at 450g and 390g, and the heavier ones are for sure more comfortable and doesn't create any kind of pressure on my head. To me the enjoyment comes from the sound they produce, so we obviously have different views here.
 
AnthonyHarris said:
Not all Bluetooth headphones fold into a small package like the Sony headphones the person I responded to was talking about and not all Bluetooth headphones are made of plastic, e.g. light materials.
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You still stated they weren't designed to be portable. Apple's marketing material with people wearing them outdoors indicates that they were. I was simply not understanding your statement.
 
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These do look great, but the 2nd gen needs to be foldable and just have the headphones go into standby when they're folded.

No need for a pointless case, and they can come with a "dumb" travel case that you can use when throwing them in a backpack or suitcase.
 
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RamGuy said:
I've been using my pair for a little while and it's too early to tell. But I find the comment "I'm a little shocked if I'm honest that the Sony's have a much more pleasing sound" rather funny but it just goes to show how personal audio and sound truly is.

The soundstage of the Apple AirPods Max is leaps beyond the Sony WH-1000XM4. They feel so wide and spacious and vocals have a true spark to them. The XM4 have a very V-shape sound profile. Meaning they are more upfront and "in-your-face" which emphasis bass. I find them to be rather muddy like most headphones with a v-shaped profile as it puts the lower frequencies more upfront which ends up sacrificing width, separation and clarity.

This has pretty much been confirmed and verified by rtings.com in their excellent and in-depth review of the XM4's.


The AirPods Max are very different from the XM4's. They try to be wide and spacious providing a great soundstage with crystal clear sounds that you can easily pinpoint. If you are one that prefers the sound to feel like they are coming from within your head and for the bass to be in focus you won't like the AirPods Max at all.

But like most high-end headphones it's all about making the audio feel like it's coming from all around you. This is why most high-end headphones tend to be open-back as it's much easier to achieve a very wide soundstage when the headphones are open-back. The AirPods Max are best closed-back ANC headphones I've ever heard in terms of bringing an extremely wide and spacious soundstage. If you are not one that enjoys or appreciate width in your audio and music then you are pretty much waisting your money with the AirPods Max.

V-shaped audio is much easier to achieve and you'll get a much better "in-your-head" kind of audio signature from way cheaper options.


I can't really comment on the ANC as of yet as I've been using mine inside and there isn't much noise here for me to really test the ANC.
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This is helpful. I have the XM3's (so not quite the same, but similar) and mostly agree that they don't offer an even presentation of the midrange, or a huge soundstage. I'm mostly a classical listener (lots of acoustic instruments and challenging for headphones to present well), and I overall would characterize the Sony's as good but not outstanding. That ordinarily would put me very much in the target market for Apple's offering.

Some of the details are problematic, though. As I've mentioned elsewhere, the case seems like a big deal to me, since nice headphones are still fragile and subject to lots of in-bag abuse. Worse, the fact that you need to put the AirPods Max in their case to effectively turn them off seems completely insane and runs counter to the way many people in the target market actually use headphones. I keep my favorite cans on a headphone stand in my listening area. I have a second headphone stand on my desk, and a third by my bedside. Many serious listeners I know have similar setups. Even if I could put the case issue aside, I still want to be able to be able to easily turn off the headphones anytime I want to leave them out. This seems to be an awful decision by Apple, if it works the way I've heard.

The net result seems to be that Apple went after people who value great sound and are willing to spend money for it, but omitted key features that many such people expect. I *love* the look and idea of these, but they nevertheless sound like a pass overall.
 
mnsportsgeek said:
These do look great, but the 2nd gen needs to be foldable and just have the headphones go into standby when they're folded.

No need for a pointless case, and they can come with a "dumb" travel case that you can use when throwing them in a backpack or suitcase.
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I'd like to see an "SE" or "Mini" or "Air" version with high quality plastics to get the weight and price way down.
 
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