AirPods Max, Why the Hype? (Old Dude Review)

[Sheepish-Lord]

After 20yrs+ of various setups I've weeded out a lot of the BS audio products so I wouldn't categorize myself as an over the top audiophile with $1K speaker cables or whatever but I do enjoy a lot of mid to upper mid tier audio equipment with minimal fuss (e.g. I don't run external DAC's, AudioQuest cables, etc). I didn't order the APM on release due to the questionable price and my love/hate for banded headphones. Recently though I got them on sale+tax free so I thought I would give them a shot and can honestly say I don't understand why anyone would buy these over the AirPods Pro or Beats Fit Pro unless you hate in-ear products.

Sound: I have a list of "audiophile" tracks that I demo with new headphones and the APM missed the mark on just about everything regardless of settings (I always run EQ off btw). I don't know why but every headphone from Apple requires you to turn up the volume quite a bit to get any kind of detail which I thought was just a trait of all my AirPods and Beats Fit Pros due to their size but Apple's heavy duty cans would be louder right!? Nope, I could easily max the APM and still be comfortable which sucks because there's a lot of detail Apple leaves out below 90% of max volume which is insane. Songs I was very familiar with I would have to go full volume to get anywhere near the detail as a pair of $200 wired IEMs running at 50% volume on the same system (iMac 24"). This also begs the question why Apple makes their headphone lineup so quiet, is it a codec or hardware limitation??? This is for sure a mids lover headphone so hip-hop/dance and if you want to listen to it loud when the mood sparks these aren't for you.

ANC: It's alright but nothing the AirPods Pro or Beats Fit Pro couldn't get close to as long as you have a good seal. Take it further will some foam tips and you would be surprised what a good seal+ANC can do vs full sized headphones.

Connection: I didn't want to use the headphone pouch so I just sat them on my desk and they stayed connected to my iMac the whole time even when I wasn't using the source. I disconnected them in the Bluetooth menu and they connected back a few minutes later so I thought it was the automatic head detection but it still did it with that off. I always read you couldn't turn them off but automatically connecting regardless of what settings I picked made no sense to me. I assumed staying on was different than staying on AND connected to a source. I'm sure there's a solution, use the case maybe, but that's not what I want.

Comfort: They are heavier than plastic options obviously but tolerable yet the mesh still hurts my head after about an hour so I can only imagine what it's like during extended use. The ear cups are nice and I dig that they're replaceable, great feature.

Conclusion: Even if you don't factor in price ($450 sale/$550 MSRP) these are the quietest over the ear headphones I've ever used and with their focus on mids when you do turn them up to hear vocals the mids turn into lows and vibrate the ear cups ha. So while I can forgive everything else or chalk it up to personnel preference these were designed for Bluetooth sound and on that front they fail spectacularly so unless someone can tell me how to make them louder you might as well just buy AirPods Pro or Beats Fit Pro cause you'll get similar performance in all the same categories as the APM at over half the price.

Thanks for reading.

 

[usagora]

I own both the AirPods Pro and AirPods Max. I love music but am no audiophile. I find that without EQ, the AirPods Max are WAY too bass- and mid-heavy for my musical tastes, but I primarily bought them for TV/movies, and for that I find them great. I think the ANC is more that just "alright". It's definitely better than my AirPods Pro, but maybe the seal isn't perfect on those (though the iPhone setting that tests the seal says it's a good seal). It's always a bit surreal to take the AirPods Max off and suddenly hear all the white noise I was deaf too a second ago (refrigerator, HVAC system, dehumidifier, bathroom fan, etc.). I also find them far more comfortable than in-ear phones and have worn them for hours with no discomfort.

 

[Diskutant]

the mesh still hurts my head after about an hour so I can only imagine what it's like during extended use.

For some reason I had no problem with that for about a year, but now it hurts very much. Well not the mesh, but the two round steel poles where the mesh is attached to. It's so bad that I get a dent in the head from it. It goes away after a while, but damn it's really bad.

 

[Htsi]

I own both, there’s no comparison. Sound is much more tinnier on the pros, Have barely used mine since i got the max last year. They are heavy sure, but way more comfortable as long as it isn’t too hot outside. If its too hot neither are comfortable. Ear wax cleanup is also a process that isn’t required on the max. I just wash the cushions once a week.

For some reason I had no problem with that for about a year, but now it hurts very much. Well not the mesh, but the two round steel poles where the mesh is attached to. It's so bad that I get a dent in the head from it. It goes away after a while, but damn it's really bad.

Could be due to silicone wearing out and exposing more of the metal.

 

[Fravin]

You can't use In Ear Monitors as a standard for comparing Over the Ear Headphones.

They sound different, work different and have different purposes.

 

[BIGSHOTT]

I like the Max. My preference is for close to the Harman Curve, and other than the bass boost in the Max, it comes very close to my ideal. I'm sure there are less expensive ways of getting the same sound, but the Max are well made and convenient in the way they interface with my Apple products, so it's worth it to me. No problems with comfort at all. I'm used to heavy cans, so it doesn't bother me.