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Apple Announces AirPods Max Over-Ear Headphones With Noise Cancellation, Priced at $549

jlc1978 said:
I wonder how good the noise cancellation is relative to the Bose/Sony/Sennheisers top of the line models? Unless it is significantly better the price is way out of line for how I use headphones; which is for NC when on a plane. Comfort is important as well, because after 6+ hours my Bose 700's get uncomfortable.

Now for audiophiles, assuming their performance is comparable to the better ones, the priuce is not out of line.
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There's more to the AirPods Max than just ANC

https://twitter.com/x/status/1336357673533665282
 
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Bose is going to be tough to beat and they are cheaper. Apple, you dummies. That's way too expensive. Getting really tired of Apple thinking they can price things however they want to get away with it.
 
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magbarn said:
Audiophiles who buy expensive headphones use their own DACs and headphone amps. This headphone prevents that due to lack of an analog connection. That $35 jack converts the analog back to digital as Lightning is a digital only interface. Then from there it’s converted back to analog before being sent to the headphone’s built in amp.

So it’s bad As you’re going from Digital source—->DAC——>Analog amp—->3.5mm to lightning analog to digital—->AirPods Max DAC—->> Amp—->speakers

That’s less than ideal....
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The fact that there is no direct analog connection isn't necesseraly an issue. I'm a musician, and all today's equipement is digital and we're constantly going D to A back and forth, and even some high-end mixing speakers/monitors ( which all begin in 4 digit prices and up, no less ) come with their own built-in DAC input from the digital output of mixing consoles and audio interfaces.
I'm more worried about whether other companies will be able to build better Lighning to Audio Jack converters than the cheapo Apple ones. I don't think Apple prevents that, so Im' sure we will see quality Lightning to Analog converters soon, as many musicians might be interested in picking these if they sound good.
 
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I own the $799 Audeze EL-8 Titanium headphones Apple used to sell so I can’t complain too much about the price, although I purchased those at $200 refurbished from the manufacturer.

I do have to admit that I was surprised to see $549 since I was prepared to order and was expecting $349.

Still, I’d wait till these are released before passing judgement since the sound quality is probably excellent and could possibly rival headphones that cost quite a bit more. Apple has plenty of great “budget” options with the Beats line.
 
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Carac said:
These are next level "A single HomePod is $350" territory. Both were $150-200 too expensive at launch. I haven't cringed at the way Apple prices a product since the HomePod. More than halfway to a M1 Macbook Air, iPad Pro, more expensive than a PS5 or Xbox Series X, etc. Should have been $350-450
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Although I love how it uses similar design to the Apple Watch with stainless steel materials, have to say their video on the website for this product looks so epic.
 
smulji said:
It is aimed at the ultra-end high creator, audiophile, target audience
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Professional Audio Engineers won't touch them. We use Studio Flat [non-colored/amped] Reference Headphones like the Beyerdynamic 1990 Pro/1770 Pro for either Open Ear or Closed Ear Neutral Sound for mixing, restoration and mastering audio and/or music.
 
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Carac said:
These are next level "A single HomePod is $350" territory. Both were $150-200 too expensive at launch.
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I’m sure we’ll see retailers discounting these eventually, as I doubt a $549 price point is sustainable in the consumer headphone market.

Audiophiles on the other hand are willing to spend hundreds if not thousands to get the best sound possible. These are wireless with ANC so I’m not sure yet that they fall into that category, but once Apple enthusiasts and audiophiles (a small niche of the overall headphone market) purchase AirPods Max then I don’t think they’ll be able to maintain $549.
 
FHoff said:
Yep. I actually prefer the sound on my H9i more true. The sound on the H95 seems over processed if that makes sense.
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Haha, I’d say the opposite - I prefer the H95 to the H9i and H9 3rd generation I had too. The sound to me feels fuller and slightly more forward than the H9 series did.
 
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smulji said:
It is aimed at the ultra-end high creator, audiophile, target audience
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These are not aimed at audiophiles. Checkout headfi sometime. These are aimed at the direct opposite of an audiophile and that's the problem. They are priced like an audiophile grade headphone but the target buyer won't spend that much on headphones.
 
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clerkpalmer said:
These are not aimed at audiophiles. Checkout headfi sometime. These are aimed at the direct opposite of an audiophile and that's the problem. They are priced like an audiophile grade headphone but the target buyer won't spend that much on headphones.
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Normally I'm not a naysayer or an Apple hater... but I have to say these are a swing and a miss.

The price is way too high. This isn't an "audiophile" level product, its a consumer level product.
Also the aesthetics are, in my opinion... questionable.

Obviously to each their own.
 
clerkpalmer said:
These are not aimed at audiophiles. Checkout headfi sometime. These are aimed at the direct opposite of an audiophile and that's the problem. They are priced like an audiophile grade headphone but the target buyer won't spend that much on headphones.
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These are aimed at people like this

forums.macrumors.com

Apple Announces AirPods Max Over-Ear Headphones With Noise Cancellation, Priced at $549

I’m just gonna leave this here for people who think this is too expensive... And screenshot for people too lazy to open the link $500-$600 is a very common mid range price for high quality head phones. I have two sets of focal earphones (in ear, not head phones) that are wired, the Spark and...
forums.macrumors.com forums.macrumors.com
 
Macrumors forums:
"Holy crap too expensive!"
"What a ripoff!"
"Ridiculous pricing!"

Also Macrumors forums:
"Airpods Max Pre-Order and Delivery Thread"
"What color Airpods Max are you ordering?"
"Why haven't my Airpods Max Shipped!?"
 
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clerkpalmer said:
These are not aimed at audiophiles. Checkout headfi sometime. These are aimed at the direct opposite of an audiophile and that's the problem. They are priced like an audiophile grade headphone but the target buyer won't spend that much on headphones.
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I agree with what you say except that the target buyer won't buy them - Apple are very successful with Prosumer products and there's a lot of people that won't think twice about grabbing a pair just because, even if in terms of audio quality they're more comparable to a set of $2-300 wireless headphones (and frankly I think if these really did push the boat out on wireless sound quality Apple would be selling themselves short with this pricing). Lots of people with lots of disposable income are easy pickings for Apple's marketing team :)
 
Apple really showing how detached from society and reality tech has become here in the Bay Area.
Maybe Apple should start a luxury brand spin off for the Tesla and tasting menu crowd.

Headphones nearly the price of a computer? Would Job's have released the iPod for $800 as a luxury product?

There are professionals and audiophiles using headphones like Beats, and maybe they would use these too, but they shouldn't be. Why? Because you can't reference the actual sound, it's filtered, so you don't know what your hearing will match. It's why pro studios test on Radio Shack speakers.
 
whtrbt7 said:
How are these any different from other neodymium mid-market over-ear headphones? Are the drivers in these larger/better? I just really question if the sound out of these is really that good to justify the large price gap.
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The answer to your last question won't come from answering the first ones. This should only be of concern to the engineers actually designing the product. The driver anyway is one but of the many components at play in determining how headphones sound.
Your only concern should be about the frequency response curve they reach at your own eardrum.
 
clerkpalmer said:
These are not aimed at audiophiles. Checkout headfi sometime. These are aimed at the direct opposite of an audiophile and that's the problem. They are priced like an audiophile grade headphone but the target buyer won't spend that much on headphones.
Click to expand...
Apple has not said who they’re aimed at. We’ve seen no reviews yet so we have no idea who Apple is targeting.
 
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