Imagine their shock, though, when they find out there’s to Apple logo on them!! They are aluminum, though, so laser etching is an option.
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AirPods Max Market Segment Too Niche to Boost Sales, Say Apple Suppliers
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This was the only review I could find when shopping for the PX7. What it misses is the B and O, B and W, etc buyer is looking for sound quality + more. Design, fit and finish, etc matter just as much. Apple gets it, and is playing in a different league. I bought the H95s and wouldn’t even consider the Sony’s for that reason + the Sony’s sound signature. The H9s replaced the PX7s in part for comfort, and again, the Bose and Sony were not even a consideration. I bought the Maxes for the same reason. If they compete across all aspects, then they stay. At a significant discount to the H95s and with the increase in ease of use (I switch devices frequently) they may quite literally be the best balance of everything this type of buyer is looking for. Apple isn’t selling to the masses, and that’s okay.
For me the most important aspect of a headphone is ANC. I wear ANC headphones day and nigh and most of the time, they are not playing anything.
I just can't help but think about the Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro, when I see the shortages these are facing already.
The thing is, the Magic Keyboard never faced 4 month long delays until shipment.
Either Apple underestimated the initial demand, or they're creating a fake scarcity to boost sales.
The thing is, the Magic Keyboard never faced 4 month long delays until shipment.
Either Apple underestimated the initial demand, or they're creating a fake scarcity to boost sales.
I understand and get that. Finish, design, and more so for me, fit matters as well. But so does Sound, Features, ANC quality, and Value. So I stand by my point that it’s not silly to compare mid tier priced wireless ANC headphones to the higher tier priced headphones. Especially when the market leaders are mid tier. I’m a consumer who likes to weigh the value and what each headphone brings to the table. I don’t only buy headphones because their expensive and the finish and design is better. If others do that’s great. And for the record, I’ve owned the B&O H95 as well and I would say for me, the H95 is not worth $800 compared to the Sony or Bose from a practicality standpoint. If your main focus is Design, build, finish, and a neutral sound signature, it definitely tops the Bose and Sony in those factors. The H95 also has better ANC than Bose and Sony but it’s sound signature takes a pretty big hit when activated. Sony has nailed that in my opinion. ANC doesn’t alter it’s sonic signature. The best sound quality I’ve heard in a wireless ANC headphone is the Dali iO6. Those are $499 and have the most natural, pleasing, neutral sound signature out right now. However, they have little to no features and their ANC is very mediocre. If the Airpods Max can come close to the Dali for sound quality, have a Bose and Sony level comfort and ANC, combined with their seamless integration with my Apple devices and what I’m sure will be an excellent build quality and design, they in my opinion would be the best value on the market despite their $549 price tag.
Having products for sale boosts the sales of that product. NOT having products for sale does not boost sales.
For me at least, I can't see a use case for the AirPods Max. Currently:
When at home, I want the best sound quality and that will be from one of my wired headphones (including a pair of Meze Empyreans widely considered to be pretty good sound wise and quite expensive at $3,000 but still nowhere near the most expensive "normal" headphones available - e.g. Abyss AB-1266 Phi TC, Sennheiser Orpheus HE90 etc - or even higher for headphones/jewellery with gold/diamonds/etc).
When generally out and about, I will use my AirPods Pro. The Max will be too heavy and also attractive for thieves (having had a pair of Beats Solo snatched off my head by a bike thief here in London before).
When travelling on a plane, I'll stick to my Beats Studio 3 Wireless (for noise cancellation) or (for excellent but painful noise isolation) Etymotic ER4-SR in-ear monitors. The Sony H-1000X-M4 probably have better noise cancellation than the Beats but not enough to justify me upgrading. The Max seems too heavy (I can imagine they will easily slip off if wearing them and lying down on a plane), bulky because it doesn't fold up and the Max Smart Case is a joke and totally unsuitable for travel. Yes, I could buy a third party case but I expect that to come with the headphones, e.g. the Meze Empyrean mentioned above comes in a metal briefcase with both leather and alcantara ear pads as standard.
When at home, I want the best sound quality and that will be from one of my wired headphones (including a pair of Meze Empyreans widely considered to be pretty good sound wise and quite expensive at $3,000 but still nowhere near the most expensive "normal" headphones available - e.g. Abyss AB-1266 Phi TC, Sennheiser Orpheus HE90 etc - or even higher for headphones/jewellery with gold/diamonds/etc).
When generally out and about, I will use my AirPods Pro. The Max will be too heavy and also attractive for thieves (having had a pair of Beats Solo snatched off my head by a bike thief here in London before).
When travelling on a plane, I'll stick to my Beats Studio 3 Wireless (for noise cancellation) or (for excellent but painful noise isolation) Etymotic ER4-SR in-ear monitors. The Sony H-1000X-M4 probably have better noise cancellation than the Beats but not enough to justify me upgrading. The Max seems too heavy (I can imagine they will easily slip off if wearing them and lying down on a plane), bulky because it doesn't fold up and the Max Smart Case is a joke and totally unsuitable for travel. Yes, I could buy a third party case but I expect that to come with the headphones, e.g. the Meze Empyrean mentioned above comes in a metal briefcase with both leather and alcantara ear pads as standard.
I think this is spot on. Remember what Apple did to the smartphone market. Before the iPhone “smartphones” were (as I remember anyway...) only advertised in Newsweek and serious business magazines, and they seemed kinda geeky even for the VIP’s I saw using them. Niche segment all right! Then came iPhone and made tech sexy and suddenly everyone wants smartphones (which cost a ton anyway!).
Okay, AirPod Max don’t seem sexy (in my opinion) but Apple have a way of making people getting into product categories they never thought about before (wrist-worn watches, q-tips-like earbuds...
).So I believe Apple will not only take market share, they’ll even increase that market. I think one of the main reasons these can be a success are the hints that the AirPod Max works flawlessly with movies. I’ve done some research lately planning to buy ANC headphones. Aiming at getting the XM4, but was disappointed when I saw the test numbers for latency. Turns out if you want the best wireless headphones for either music, gaming, TV or ANC you have to get a set for each category as no one does it all. But with everything getting wireless nowadays I think more and more people will automatically assume (and expect) that their wireless headset will flawlessly connect to everything else and deliver on level with wired. From Apples site and the CNET review it seems like Apple actually made them work without latency for movies. If corrrect (HOW DID THEY DO THAT?!) I think this single feat will drive sales out of the niche.
Another thing that bugs me about getting the XM4 is that I won’t be able to change the cups if the leather padding wears. And Apple solved this too. Yeah it’s pricey but at least you don’t have to get new headphones every 2-3 years. I think they’ll win A LOT of customers on this one. Namely those who want quality headphones and can afford them, but can’t afford buying new ones that often.
So I believe the price can actually be justified (if they’re as good as they say) and people will get used to the thought of spending a lot just like they did with iPhones and the original AirPods. But with Apple’s track history I don’t see it happen until gen. 2 minimum.
...what shocks me the most anyway is that people actually buy these without trying them on first. There’s no telling how they will actually fit your ears and head (or glasses), how you will experience the weight and pressure, if you prefer physical buttons or touch and all these details you have to experience yourself. Makes me wonder if most people that ordered already just did it for reselling...
If they don't work out, the AirPods max can always be returned to the apple store within the return window (which has been extended to the first week of next year).
I am using Bose for the last 2 years. Why not buy something multiple of price? Why would I? When I listen to music at home I don't use headphones, I use headphones primarily when I travel (which I can't do due to the pandemic right now). I am not an audiophile so hearing an "extra note" in middle of a song is not my priority. The reason I bought the Bose ones is because I prioritized their ANC at the time.
I will wait for majority of reviews to see how Airpods Max ANC is and how durable they are before I consider purchasing them. I just can't justify buying them right now because they're very heavy, case is comical, and I don't know how the ANC is. Will need to see them in Apple store.
Who are you? Who asked you to justify anything let alone your opinion? You don't seem to even have any reading comprehension
Beats are/were as every bit much a fashion accessory as a tech product. Even if they didn’t produce sound kids would still have wanted them - and parents would have obliged.
It's not just that noise cancellation is turned off. If you put _any_ headphones on without noise cancellation, the outside sound is dampened. "Transparency" mode amplifies the outside sound so it sounds exactly like you are wearing no headphones at all.
Excellent for you who haven’t used anything better maybe,but I have the resources and chance to try and own many higher quality headphones.Nope. Excellent, key word, since Solo2. Especially at the On-Ear ≈200 dollar market. Better than Sennheiser, and Sony isn’t even part of the discussion.
Time to Rethink Beats, the Solo2 is Excellent Page 2
Sound Quality The sound quality of the Beats Solo2 is very good indeed for an on-ear, sealed headphone and, to my ears, makes a hearty attempt at best-in-class sound in a number of ways. In the end, however, the niggly details have it meeting, but not exceeding, the best performers in the field.www.stereophile.com
Sony and Sennheiser also make wireless headphones so they are part of the discussion it’s not up to you to say this.
I'll Try em out in the store one day when i see them on display, but don't think at the moment that the price tag is justifiable.. I have studio headphones when in the music studio, but also own many other high end wireless headsets.. For the price point these things better stand up and do something profound that my existing headphones don't have (besides the fact they weren't built by apple lol).
Why did they call these AirPod maxes? the name in my opinion doesn't really fit.Maybe like Air Pads, Air Cups or Air Slabs with a gucci inspired carrying case? lol (I Know thank God im not in marketing lol)
Don't get me wrong im curious to try them out, but just feel the price isn't really spot on nor what i would expect from Apple. it almost feels rushed.
Why did they call these AirPod maxes? the name in my opinion doesn't really fit.Maybe like Air Pads, Air Cups or Air Slabs with a gucci inspired carrying case? lol (I Know thank God im not in marketing lol)
Don't get me wrong im curious to try them out, but just feel the price isn't really spot on nor what i would expect from Apple. it almost feels rushed.
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I have an M1 MacBook Pro and its by far the best computer I've ever owned (and best value/performance). Why is buying first gen not a good buying decision again?
First gen intel MacBook - Core Duo 32bit, year that later they used Core2Duo 64bit and double ram capacity
First gen Apple Watches - not waterproof.
First gen iPad - no camera that actually faces you.
First gen iPhone - only 2g, no front facing camera.
First gen Unibody MacBook Pro - Exactly the same as previous gen MacBook unibody, errr without a replaceable battery.
First gen iPod - Firewire rather than USB
First gen Macbook 12" ... slow as hell, keyboard issues
I'm sure your M1 won't fall into the above category, but you see there has been a trend from time to time
First gen intel MacBook - Core Duo 32bit, year that later they used Core2Duo 64bit and double ram capacity
First gen Apple Watches - not waterproof.
First gen iPad - no camera that actually faces you.
First gen iPhone - only 2g, no front facing camera.
First gen Unibody MacBook Pro - Exactly the same as previous gen MacBook unibody, errr without a replaceable battery.
First gen iPod - Firewire rather than USB
First gen Macbook 12" ... slow as hell, keyboard issues
I'm sure your M1 won't fall into the above category, but you see there has been a trend from time to time
actually, I don’t. I’ve owned almost every 1st gen product you’ve listed and they all worked fine. I enjoyed the time and excitement of learning something new while others sat on the sidelines waiting for perfection that never comes. Maybe you think waiting is the better bargain but I think it’s missing out on a lot.
Most people have music stored as AAC, and that gets sent to Apple earphones / headphones unchanged, which is the best. Anything else is converted and sent with the Apple Lossless codec, which is lossless, therefore no quality loss at all. I don't know what Sony does, it may be lossless as well, no idea, but it can't be better than Apple Lossless.
I wonder if these people realise that Apple doesn’t just play in the high end segment of the market; they often end up creating a parallel market which they end up dominating.
It’s the same story with the AirPods. More expensive than regular wireless earbuds, while sounding worse, but what Apple was actually doing (in hindsight) was creating a whole new paradigm of consuming music. One centred around convenience and ease of use.
So Apple didn’t just dominate the wireless headphone market - they expanded it by bringing in additional consumers who may previously never have bothered with them due to one problem or another.
To all the self-styled audiophiles trying too hard to compare the AirPods max to existing headphones, I think they will realise that while their opinions may not technically be wrong in the short run, it will ultimately not matter in the long run. Not when Apple ends up creating a new headphone market which completely upends the value proposition that the current headphone market seems to hold so dear.
It will be fun to watch.
It’s the same story with the AirPods. More expensive than regular wireless earbuds, while sounding worse, but what Apple was actually doing (in hindsight) was creating a whole new paradigm of consuming music. One centred around convenience and ease of use.
So Apple didn’t just dominate the wireless headphone market - they expanded it by bringing in additional consumers who may previously never have bothered with them due to one problem or another.
To all the self-styled audiophiles trying too hard to compare the AirPods max to existing headphones, I think they will realise that while their opinions may not technically be wrong in the short run, it will ultimately not matter in the long run. Not when Apple ends up creating a new headphone market which completely upends the value proposition that the current headphone market seems to hold so dear.
It will be fun to watch.
Yeah, no. Stop trying to pretend. You're wrong.
Excellent for people that have used them, as evidenced by the linked review from THE NAME (now retired) in high-fi headphones. You can't argue with the graphed performance lines. Your subjective, zero experience opinion, loses to objective measurements. You're trying to argue against the guy that literally developed the way to review headphones objectively, and the most respected name in the game.
Sony is not in any discussion for ANY on-ear headphone. They're only in a discussion for over-ear headphones in the noise cancelling market against Bose. And only for the quality of the noise cancelling, not for the sound quality otherwise.
You are sorely mistaken on virtually all counts. And you seem to be confused as to what lossless is.
Firstly AAC is NOT lossless. AIFF / WAV or FLAC are lossless formats.
Sony's LDAC is capable of close to lossless, but range/stability is limited and also can only be used on a handful of devices.
AptX HD is also not lossless.
There is NO BT wireless headphones on the market that use lossless from source to cans.
The only reasonable way to get lossless audio into a set of these is to use the lightning to 3.5mm adaptor.