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

[MecPro]

I know what you're trying to say but you really cannot put a dollar amount on something as subjective as sound quality. It's a slippery slope going that route where you'll get all sorts of arguments on what "sound quality" even means. Ultimately the value of any headphone (and speaker, etc) is one's own value and enjoyment extracted from it.

But there is a limit to how good something can sound over BT and not even lossless. That's my point, I don't think it will be that ground breaking.

I tried to order but back ordered until January, so I'd wait for the reviews then jump if I want to next year. Really need to see how they perform with Windows too

 

[MecPro]

There are high end BT headphones they cost over 400 yes. Hifiman, Audeze, Beyerdynamic make high end BT headphones. The Ananda BT details for 1000.

And they support APTX-HD, HWA and LDAC lossless which helps with the audio - which these headphones/iOS do not.

 

[hide0502]

 

[iGüey]

These can be also named as the Edsel headphones! 🤣

 

[clerkpalmer]

And they support APTX-HD, HWA and LDAC lossless which helps with the audio - which these headphones/iOS do not

Amen. Just offering LDAC would improve the value proposition but Apple is too arrogant and stubborn to do so.

 

[raccoontail]

Only at apple can you spend $2,247 and get a pair of headphones, a monitor stand and 4 shiny casters for your tower computer.

 

[Phil77354]

I will be very interested to see actual reviews, with reports on both comfort and sound quality. And I am in no rush to buy until I've seen how actual users feel about these headphones after using them in the real world.

The price is a bit breathtaking, still. I had to really convince myself to spend $100 on Sony headphones some years ago. They are excellent headphones but I do not find them comfortable enough to wear for any significant period of time. If the Apple headphones are really that comfortable, it will be tempting . . .

 

[Stridr69]

OK, you’re exaggerating quite a bit.
First of all, the wheels are not $8000, they’re $400 pre-installed, and $700 not pre-installed.
The Mac Pro starts at $5999, not 60,000.
You even got the price of these wrong, they’re not $560, they’re $550. Yeah, that’s just a $10 difference, but still.

Here in the PRK(Peoples Republic of Kalifornia) adding 8.5% to that $550 price comes to....596.75. Have a nice day.

 

[falainber]

I’m guessing most users aren’t audiophiles. If you were, this kind of price wouldn’t have surprised you. Also, if the claims about the sound quality and fidelity are correct, they might just be well priced.

Obviously, most people aren't audiophiles. I suspect that audiophile headphones sell in very low volumes. That might justify the price (but probably not the value). Apple does not do low volume products hence the questions about the price. These headphones may sell as well as the latest Mac Pro. It's not even clear who Apple is targeting with these headphones but the super fans. Wireless/noise canceling and audiophile usually don't go together.

 

[christophermdia]

$350 was my Ceiling on these ... I am not an audiophile ... I won't hear the difference from my current Bose and Sony headphones enough to justify $550 ... Apple may sell a bunch of these, but you won't see everyone on the street wearing them at this price. Give me the features they put into them at $350 and make some gold plated ones at $550 for those who could do so ... I could afford them, I am usually not practical, but not at this price ...

 

[OriginalAppleGuy]

Because the frequency response range is an idiotic metric that tells you nothing. Knowing that a pair of headphones supposedly goes up to 44000hz instead or 32000 doesn't matter because your own ear taps out at 20000 or so if you're young and lower than that if you're past your prime (audition-wise).
Same with driver size. It's pointless.
What you want to ideally know is frequency response curve at your own eardrum - as it varies from person to person even if the headphones are outputting the same FR curve (something that's not possible to do for laymen people like you and I) and in the absence of that a set of measurements from several independent sources with published methodologies - something that Apple obviously can't put in a spec sheet.
Even better is to hear them though and form your own opinion .

Um, yes it does matter if the speakers are capable of reproducing frequencies outside the normal hearing range. Those frequencies impact those you can hear. It's been proven. It's not as pointless as you imply. Secondly, yes, you do want to see the curve - is the response flat at the speaker. If it's producing a flat line in the frequency range you are listening for, the speaker won't be the influence on the reproduced sound. You can then control, or taylor the sound beyond that. Simple. And yes, they can put it on a spec sheet. All of this they can put on a spec sheet. To argue otherwise is just...ignorant. You know a company who doesn't do this? Bose. They sell cheap crap to consumers at a premium. Won't provide the stats and let anyone publish them with their own tests. Go after them if they do. It's BS - you work at Bose? Could explain your idiotic argument.

 

[Kabeyun]

Objectively greater
“Better” is a description of value, not technical performance.

Semantics aside, there will be a 120hz screen when adding its PERCEIVED value does not detract from the value to consumer of the entire product, but Instead adds more to the total value than the additional cost.

Apple is a product company. It doesn’t sell specs. It doesn’t sell features. It sells items designed to maximize the customers willingness to pay, for the lowest cost. Each item is comprised of features that maximize that value, are part of a lineup that increases the value as more products are purchased.

the headphones aren't the marvel. The product development is.

Apple Will make more from this item because they believe this combination of features, as a component of their product lineup, is more valuable to enough people than a device that is “better” in one way or another to most people. They know their customer, they know their market size. They know the technical ability of the components. Knowing this, they estimate the price point. It’s 549. They’re not perfect, they make errors, but Apple has a good track record.

Apple cans have a perceived value. Apple thinks it’s 549. Whatever I or anyone thinks, They appear to have underestimated.

Lmao! I made a joke and you put tl;dr school in session. S’okay, new dude. Lol!

 

[kahkityoong]

550$ wait what? For a headphone? WAIT WHAT !?

Just bought Focal’s Utopias which are 4000 usd. These might be good for a throw around pair.

 

[bloodbuzz_ohio]

In Portugal this are selling on apple's website for 629 euros. Have a good day.

 

[OriginalAppleGuy]

The Sony XM4 were recently on sale for $274 which makes them an absolute steal in comparison. No they don’t have the fancy AI powered features, but the NC and comfort is second to none.

I have the WH-1000XM2's - they are awesome! Noise cancelling was some of the best out there at the time I bought them. I can only imagine the XM4's are even better. The rest of the stuff is fancy processing that can color the music. I'd have to hear the Apple headphones to compare. If I want real audiophile headphones, which I still have hearing for, I'd have to go wired.

 

[MacCurry]

If you were serious about your music through headphones, you would probably buy wired studio headphones plugged into a headphone amplifier. This is in the price range of audiophile DAC type equipment. Maybe it will be good with with 24-bit and 96 KHz sampling rates. Until more details come out, I'm willing to give Apple the benefit of the doubt on this one. The Airpod Max may offer audiophile DAC performance with noise cancelling headphones that have very good frequency response. It may be for the audiophile market, which is very small, but perhaps there are people willing to pay for the Apple catche. If Apple release frequency spins demonstrating flatness and sound isolation would be a good start.


The AudioQuest Dragonfly Cobalt DAC is very popular for $300.

AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt USB Digital-to-Analog Converter

DragonFly Cobalt, the latest and most sophisticated member of the award-winning DragonFly franchise, is a USB DAC (digital-to-analog converter), preamplifier, and headphone amplifier. It bypasses the audio circuitry in laptops, computers, and smartphones to deliver cleaner, clearer, more...

www.audioquest.com

 

[Yojimbo007]

Gorgeous... but its latecny will be very important as with airpod and airpod pros it is impossible to compose music conveniently.. as there is a latancy between striking a note/playing music and hearing the sound.
For me the solution has been to use wired headphones which require an additional adaptor which offers both the audio plug port for the headphone and the usb-c power connection..other wise iPad can easily runs out of power in the middle of a composition session.
Imo removing the headpobe plug on ipads .. specially the pro modles was a big mistake... Unless latency issues with blue tooth connections can be fully addressed.

 

[Yojimbo007]

A lot of Apple products seem overpriced but this one definitely takes the cake for me. Wow.

Overprice to the tune of being soldout till March of 2021 on first day of release!

 

[incoherent_1]

We shouldn't be surprised. It's a fairly typical Apple strategy to price first-round model on the extreme high end, then lower the price after 6-12 months. I'm happy to wait since my #1 use case is for transoceanic flights, which I clearly won't need to worry about any time soon.

But that said $550 is just laughable. That makes Bose QC headphones look like an impulse buy by comparison.

 

[clerkpalmer]

Overprice to the tune of being soldout till March of 2021 on first day of release!

Why do people keep referring to this as evidence of success? We have no idea what the supply chain looks like on these. They could have very little inventory ready. Let me know in 6 months when the Apple fanatics have theirs and then we will see how successful they are.

 

[anson42]

I'm happy to wait since my #1 use case is for transoceanic flights, which I clearly won't need to worry about any time soon.

I use my AirPod Pros on those long flights to great effect. The only issue is battery life, so I recharge them briefly while eating and then back in. Actually, I usually carry backup wired earphones for watching inflight entertainment while the AirPods charge up for the remainder of the flight. If only the AirPod Pros could last 12+ hours on a single charge

 

[Stephen.R]

Why do people keep referring to this as evidence of success? We have no idea what the supply chain looks like on these. They could have very little inventory ready. Let me know in 6 months when the Apple fanatics have theirs and then we will see how successful they are.

We don’t know their supply chain or what stock is ready to ship, no.

But let’s say they had essentially zero stock and all orders after the first 10 per country will become a back order.

With a ship time of March, either each headphone is assembled by blind nuns without assistance to find the right parts and thus they reject 99% on QC issues, or a lot of people have ordered them, causing a large backlog waiting to be assembled.

 

[cmaier]

These can be also named as the Edsel headphones! 🤣

Yes, absolutely nobody is buying them.

Because they are sold out until March.

 

[Stephen.R]

Yes, absolutely nobody is buying them.

Because they are sold out until March.

Schrödinger's headphones. Nobody has bought them but they're also sold out.

 

[JFerrari]

Apple today introduced new wireless over-ear headphones called AirPods Max, with key features including high-fidelity audio, Adaptive EQ, Active Noise Cancellation, and spatial audio. Priced at $549, the headphones can be ordered starting today on Apple.com and in the Apple Store app, with availability beginning December 15.

AirPods Max come in five colors, including space gray, silver, sky blue, green, and pink. Apple says the headphones feature a "breathable knit mesh" spanning the stainless steel headband that distributes weight to reduce on-head pressure.

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Apple says the ear cups have acoustically engineered memory foam to create an effective seal, and the telescoping headband arms smoothly extend and then stay in place to maintain the desired fit on your head.

AirPods Max feature a 40-mm Apple-designed dynamic driver that is said to provide "rich, deep bass, accurate mid-ranges, and crisp, clean high-frequency extension." Each ear cup is equipped with Apple's H1 chip for "computational audio" to deliver the "highest quality listening experience possible," according to Apple.

Similar to the Apple Watch, AirPods Max feature a Digital Crown on one ear cup for precise volume control and the ability to play or pause audio, skip tracks, answer or end phone calls, and activate Siri voice control. There's also a noise control button for switching between Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency mode, which lets some outside sound in so you can interact naturally with your surroundings.

AirPods Max feature up to 20 hours of battery life with Active Noise Cancellation and spatial audio enabled — fine print reveals that Apple had volume set to 50% during its testing. Apple says a five-minute charge delivers 1.5 hours of listening time.

As with other AirPods models, AirPods Max have one-tap setup and automatic pairing with all the devices signed in to a user's iCloud account, including the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV. AirPods Max have built-in optical and position sensors that automatically detect when the headphones are on someone's head. Once in place, AirPods Max play audio and can pause once removed, or when the user lifts one ear cup.

Apple's announcement provides more details on audio features:For phone calls and Siri commands, beam-forming microphones help to block out ambient noise and focus on the user's voice.

AirPods Max come with a carrying case called the "Smart Case" and a Lightning to USB-C cable in the box. Apple says the Smart Case puts the AirPods Max in an ultra-low power state that helps to preserve battery charge when not in use.

AirPods Max are launching in the United States and more than 25 other countries and regions, with shipments set to begin arriving to customers on Tuesday, December 15. AirPods Max can be ordered on Apple.com starting today.

More Coverage

• AppleCare+ Coverage for AirPods Max Headphones Costs $59
• Apple's AirPods Max Weigh 384 Grams, Heavier Than Most Competing Over-Ear Headphones
• Apple to Charge $79 for AirPods Max Out-of-Warranty Battery Service
• AirPods Max Missing Rumored Features: $350 'Sport' Model, Swappable Bands, Touch Controls
• AirPods Max Ear Cushions Attach Magnetically, Replacement Cushions 'Coming Soon' for $69
• PSA: AirPods Max Ship Faster With Engraving
• AirPods Max Don't Contain U1 Chip for Ultra Wideband
• Track your AirPods Max Pre-orders on the forums

Article Link: Apple Announces AirPods Max Over-Ear Headphones With Noise Cancellation, Priced at

Is the price real?