Are the Max worth it compared to the Pros?

[Sami13496]

Hi! Does anyone own both the Max and the Pro? Are the Max worth it compared to the Pro? The Max are more than twice the price. I’m most interested in sound quality and the quality of the ANC.

I’m planning to buy new headphones by the fall at the latest, and I’m choosing between these two.

 

[Mackilroy]

I have both. The Maxes are better in both sound quality and ANC, but the Pros are quite good; if you plan to use them while active or outdoors, I’d buy the Pros. If mostly at home sitting around, the Maxes, though the Pros are still very nice. For me, the primary differences are battery life and comfort, with the Max winning by far in both. If you don’t mind earbuds, and you’re fine with more frequent charges, the Pros are good enough that you could stick with them alone. Or, try them out for a period and then return them if you don’t like them.

 

[sparksd]

I have both and while the Max are superior in sound & ANC, the Pro 2's are really quite good. I find the comfort of the Pro 2's to be better - the Max headphones are fairly heavy and I use them only at home. I'd say I get more use out of the Pro 2's and if I had to give one up, I'd keep the earbuds. And the earbuds have the benefit of being charged (quickly) from the case on the go while the Max always require a wired charge.

 

[ignatius345]

100% agree with the above: AirPods Max at home, and Pro while I'm out and about. (Except plane trips, where I bring the Max for battery life and better noise cancellation.) My incredibly subjective impression is that the Pros have 80% of the sound quality and noise cancelling of the Max.

If I had to pick one pair only I'd have to go with the Pro for convenience, though.

I've been seeing people walking (and even running!) with AirPods Max in the middle of hot, muggy days and I just can't imagine why anyone would put themselves and their headphones through that. My hunch is that they're seen as a status symbol, I guess.

 

[Mackilroy]

My incredibly subjective impression is that the Pros have 80% of the sound quality and noise cancelling of the Max.

I'd have said 85%, but as you say, it's all subjective anyway. The main point is that for their size, they're great.

I've been seeing people walking (and even running!) with AirPods Max in the middle of hot, muggy days and I just can't imagine why anyone would put themselves and their headphones through that. My hunch is that they're seen as a status symbol, I guess.

I've seen that too. It's gotta be uncomfortable, and the Maxes aren't really rated to take moisture, as the Pros are.

 

[Macalway]

A rather large difference now is that you can use the Max wired, and without BT latency. This was a recent addition, but it makes them into regular headphones.

I bought them after they announced this, as missing that feature was a bit surprising for something that expensive.

 

[avro707]

100% agree with the above: AirPods Max at home, and Pro while I'm out and about. (Except plane trips, where I bring the Max for battery life and better noise cancellation.) My incredibly subjective impression is that the Pros have 80% of the sound quality and noise cancelling of the Max.

If I had to pick one pair only I'd have to go with the Pro for convenience, though.

I've been seeing people walking (and even running!) with AirPods Max in the middle of hot, muggy days and I just can't imagine why anyone would put themselves and their headphones through that. My hunch is that they're seen as a status symbol, I guess.

The main thing with the Max is the noise cancelling quality.

They stop my neighbours drums completely! They also cut out noisy tuned cars.

I don’t wear them while walking however - and I cannot run because of long term effects of a bad injury.

 

[Shanghaichica]

I own the maxes (lightning) and the AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 2 are more convenient, can wear them anywhere and they are easier to carry. However, the maxes sound better and have better ANC. Can also use them wired.

 

[Shanghaichica]

A rather large difference now is that you can use the Max wired, and without BT latency. This was a recent addition, but it makes them into regular headphones.

I bought them after they announced this, as missing that feature was a bit surprising for something that expensive.

I guess that was missing from the USB C version but the lightning version always had the option for wired audio.