Hope to soon see a comparison of other similar headphones from other manufacturers.
To me, the Grado Labs headphones are the best for the money.
To me, the Grado Labs headphones are the best for the money.
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Apple Announces AirPods Max Over-Ear Headphones With Noise Cancellation, Priced at $549
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Anything bluetooth and ANC automatically disqualify as audiophile. I am not sure what AirPods Max targets, almost all its competition are priced at $200-400 level, I expect its price drops to $350 sooner than later.
It’s up to Apple to drive the narrative. Right now everyone is comparing them to cheaper Sony and Bose products. I’m a little surprised it’s just a press release and no reviews.
That sure seems expensive, but I'm not a high end audio person. I'm guessing in a few months third party places will have them on sale for $479.
Just like the HomePod, they'll probably eventually realize they overpriced this and come out with an AirPods Max mini.
When I saw that early leak, not official....it reminded me of the Ciabatta rolls I get at Sams Club.
Anyway, 20 hours playback?? (Probably less with ANC on constantly..no idea I haven't looked at the details) The price...like many of us here, I can't get over. (*Add state sales tax for many of us, well over $600)
I've listened to those Sony's ("WH1000XM4" - NOW 278.00 on sale), Bose 700 series also on sale at Best Buy. Amazing sound and superb ANC.
What do I know. I mocked the AirPods "toothbrush replacement 'sticks'" when they first came out, expensive back then for those. Became big sellers. I got Gen 2's (no pros), These Max's will sell.
I'd be fearful to wear these in public though...downtown, heck anywhere now a days. The soon to be popular Apple signature design screams "I'm 1/2 Grand, please steal me" - and you won't hear the thief coming as he/she rips them off your head.
Anyway, 20 hours playback?? (Probably less with ANC on constantly..no idea I haven't looked at the details) The price...like many of us here, I can't get over. (*Add state sales tax for many of us, well over $600)
I've listened to those Sony's ("WH1000XM4" - NOW 278.00 on sale), Bose 700 series also on sale at Best Buy. Amazing sound and superb ANC.
What do I know. I mocked the AirPods "toothbrush replacement 'sticks'" when they first came out, expensive back then for those. Became big sellers. I got Gen 2's (no pros), These Max's will sell.
I'd be fearful to wear these in public though...downtown, heck anywhere now a days. The soon to be popular Apple signature design screams "I'm 1/2 Grand, please steal me" - and you won't hear the thief coming as he/she rips them off your head.
Apple must think the economy is blooming and we are all rich.
Or anticipating another Stimulus with that price.
OUCH!
This is an interesting bet they're making here. This isnt like a new class of product (watch/air pods etc..) this is coming up against some very established competition. Its the same issue they had with the homepod. People's ears are really not that good enough to listen in a show room without comparison with another product. People end up just getting whats recommended when it comes to sound or vision.
So Apple are saying they know how to make better sounding headphones than Sony (who make pro-equipment and have been the industry standard for decades) or Bose. It's such a subjective judgement because thats how sound generally is.
But at 550 vs 350 etc.. You've really got to believe its a lot better. And Apple don't have that pedigree in sound for anyone to really believe them here. Is there really a 50% difference in sound quality and usability between a 250 and a 550 headphone?
The reviews needs to be stellar... I feel like the product's success depends on a single review from MKBHD..
So Apple are saying they know how to make better sounding headphones than Sony (who make pro-equipment and have been the industry standard for decades) or Bose. It's such a subjective judgement because thats how sound generally is.
But at 550 vs 350 etc.. You've really got to believe its a lot better. And Apple don't have that pedigree in sound for anyone to really believe them here. Is there really a 50% difference in sound quality and usability between a 250 and a 550 headphone?
The reviews needs to be stellar... I feel like the product's success depends on a single review from MKBHD..
It's always a race to the bottom with juvenile snark. I understand a trophy will be awarded this afternoon to the one who can muster up the longest duration and largest high school eye-roll.
A 35$ cord that should have been included in the box. Wow. But its probably “good for the environment”
For those who don’t know how to do the Apple dance, just follow these steps...
1. when the product in announced, complain incessantly about the price and/or design
2. See someone you know who in no way is better than you using the product
3. Realize that even though you have been listening to AirPods or wired buds for 10 years, you are probably an audiophile after all
4. Buy
5. Post on internet about how the price is a touch high but totally worth it.
6. Repeat indefinitely
1. when the product in announced, complain incessantly about the price and/or design
2. See someone you know who in no way is better than you using the product
3. Realize that even though you have been listening to AirPods or wired buds for 10 years, you are probably an audiophile after all
4. Buy
5. Post on internet about how the price is a touch high but totally worth it.
6. Repeat indefinitely
It’s funny how nobody understands what high end cans actually cost. These don’t crack the top 30, and probably not the top 100. It’s like all the whining about the price of the Pro Display XDR, showing off ignorance about the actual going rate of reference monitors. More than my college sophomore holiday budget?? That’s outrageous!! Lmao! You think Apple randomly chose an arbitrarily high price without knowing what real high-end headphones cost? These aren’t for “us” any more than a Mac Pro is for “us.” The only problem with these headphones, assuming they’re good as I anticipate, is the name, which puts them in the same mental category as AirPods.
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or you can just buy the 3.5 to lightening that came with iphones....if you dont already have one
So let's get one thing straight on connectivity...the Apple page lists Bluetooth 5.0 as the sole connectivity option. Given that there are no jacks on the headphone, I assume you can only feed AAC files to the headphone. We can discuss the merits of AAC high fidelity, but there is no doubt that the lack of the ability to feed lossless audio/pure PCM audio to the headphones is a major setback, especially for 549 British pounds...
Serious question for audiophiles converting to Digital means though, if you come to find out Apple Music in the next few months will be offering HiFi (like Tidal does) does this change anything for you?
I totally get it the "audiophiles will hate this" as I have a Technics 1200M Record player and pre-amp installed. I just find that digital media is catching up in sound quality and convenience since most albums nowadays are over compressed in production anyways.
The issue with HomePod compared to these is that with HomePod you can only use one music service. These allow you to use any music service available on your Mac, iPad, iPhone, Watch. For some I think this will make them feel better about the price if you will.
True, but you can feel a high quality, lossless audio signal to any high-end headphone in this price of above. Nearly have detachable cables and balanced connectors. I have never seen headphones at this price point with only compressed Bluetooth audio as input.