I think you mean *$200 more. And please inform us on how you know there is less performance? I'd love to see your review.
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AirPods Max Market Segment Too Niche to Boost Sales, Say Apple Suppliers
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But Airpods have the advantage they don't switch to SBC when using Siri like other brands do when their mic is enabled for a voice command. Which gives the illusion of much higher mic quality because the quality of Siri's voice is kept on the high quality AAC codec rather than sounding worse than a phone call on other brands. SBC only shows its ugly head on Airpods during voice calls and sadly on TV broadcast home interviews but I think once people understand it they switch to wired for important video calls or podcast/youtube recordings.
Is it a niche segment today? Absolutely. But what I see happening is that Apple entering this segment will take it from being something for a 0.01% market segment to being a 2-5% market segment in within 2 or 3 years, and then owning the majority of this new market. I expect Bose and Sony too to follow with 'higher end' offerings.
In a sense it is a niche market segment, but then also considering the fact that there are audiophiles that are willing to spend that kind of money, it doesn't really trouble me at all tbh.
Very curious how it sounds in real life once it's out though. It'll be very very interesting to see how it stands up to competitions like Sennheiser and other brands' offerings.
Very curious how it sounds in real life once it's out though. It'll be very very interesting to see how it stands up to competitions like Sennheiser and other brands' offerings.
AAC still has worse bitrate than aptx HD/Adaptive and LDAC. AirPod Max is using basic codec and charging a premium. Like I said , for me the key is the sound quality, which is what a so called “audiophiles “ will be focusing on. The H95 sound as good or better than my AirPods Pro’s in phonecalls and podcasts. As for music, the AirPods Pro cannot compete with my Shure A50 or H95. To be fair, both are headphones and not earphones.
Agreed, I don't want them to only build products that have to be a massive success - it's also strange that people on this forum seem to class anything that isn't the best selling thing a "flop" or a "disaster" too. I want them to see value in choice and vision and also making the occasional esoteric and niche product - a thousand pound monitor stand as if they're a small bespoke company.
I got a steel plate from carrying bags of cement on my head. Best of both worlds!
They only "quickly sold out" because they manufactured a small batch of them. It's pure marketing.
By this logic, Apple shouldn't sell the Mac Pro either, since that a niche of a niche market.
Some commentators never learn.
I doubt it. Apple’s strategy is to hope the financially comfortable, a segment where the Apple ecosystem is already prevalent, realize that spending $550 instead of $300 for top quality headphones is no big deal. And they will, because the truth of it is that $250 is nothing to the target market.
Maybe, y’know, wear them before deciding how heavy they feel.
Never understood people who wear big over ear headphones or AirPods in the street.
Walking about these days requires complete attention. Cutting off one of your senses is just you asking to be mugged.
The only time I wear big headphones is at home. When I’m travelling I use AirPods but only when I’m sat for long periods on a train or flight.
"Transparency mode". Nothing is cut off. You hear all your surroundings. Good at work as well. And I absolutely hate sticking anything into my ears.
They're backorded through March 2021, so it seems like there are a few reasons.
You and your friends are in the minority. Earbuds sell better and have for a while. Even if margins are better for the Airpods Max, they can still be a niche product.
Even then, these things cost almost twice what comparable Sony and Bose do with some distinct disadvantages like higher weight, no hard case and worse battery life.
I own a pair of WH1000XM3s. They were expensive and are good, but in my country the Airpods Max are literally over twice the price of XM4s. I think only Apple diehards will be able to justify them.
They said the same thing about the iPod, iPhone, AirPods, ......
I'm curious about these. I've had Bose QC 35's for four years now and I use them as a way to isolate myself from the noise at home or in the office (no need for that at the moment since working from home). They're pricey, sure, but the Bose headphones weren't cheap either.
No way of knowing until I either get my own hands on them or honest reviews come in instead of iJustine's self-loving and other tripe.
No way of knowing until I either get my own hands on them or honest reviews come in instead of iJustine's self-loving and other tripe.
Whats with all the muggings phobia , never in my life I witnessed or experienced one , pushing 4 decades now .... who is going to mug you for your headphones .... its like stealing TV`s , it isnt a thing anymore , its not worth the risk.
Walking in some deserted alley at 2 in the morning , sure maybe you get mug , but it wont be because you are walking about with your headphones on.
Walking in some deserted alley at 2 in the morning , sure maybe you get mug , but it wont be because you are walking about with your headphones on.
Bitrate is pointless when comparing different codecs. AAC is FAR more dynamic and better in every way than AptX. It comes at a cost of latency, but at the benefit that there’s no re-encoding of the signal. And to reiterate, sounds better and is completely transparent at 256 kbps.
I would take a middle-ground assumption. Apple was extremely conservative with initial production run. It's new. It's $$. Best case tons of people order it and will wait, that creates a buzz and possibly manufactures demand and eliminates any risk for Apple (even though in this case it's not even a drop in the bucket for Apple). So it's not that they're artificially controlling the numbers per se, they are just not aggressively ensuring the numbers could be interpreted as weak.
Sure they could have converted or built additional production lines with the #1 company goal to make sure anyone that wants one of these on day 1 has them (so make iPhone-caliber production #s just in case) but they have no reason whatsoever to do that. Thus far, people seem very happy to wait (like good little boys and girls) while Apple works on getting the latest and greatest to them weeks/months after purchase request. The only way this would ever end is if people start cancelling orders and impulse buying competitors' products...or through tracking Apple sees people getting to the page where it shows backorder time and bailing on the purchase. It would appear they're not seeing enough signs of that to change their initial run strategies. (Or all of my theories are wrong which is certainly very likely since I've no idea what I'm talking about.)
I wouldn’t say excellent no,but yes they are decent sound quality after Solo 3.no longer that bass heavy hiphop only cans.
the whole package,battery life,easily connection,good design and good enough sound.
For excellent sound,you need to look elsewhere.
wireless: Sennheiser,Sony (only XM3,XM4),B&W,B&O,Bose(decent sound not excellent ,but great noise cancelling,and excellent comfort).
absolute best sound quality (wired): Beyerdynamic,Grado,etc
I have a pair of these on order. I like the ease of use of the AirPods, but I just cannot do earbuds. After about 20 minutes they hurt my ears too much. Even the AirPods Pro.
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.