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As a Bose 700 owner, this was interesting to me. I'll be honest, it doesn't sound like there is an absolute clear KO blow between these two.

I wish he listened to some hip-hop though, that's my main genre - it was interesting that he said the APM lack bass compared to the NC700's

I suggest you watch it again. You got it reversed. He clearly states that the Bose are the ones lacking bass compared to the APM.
 
I suggest you watch it again. You got it reversed. He clearly states that the Bose are the ones lacking bass compared to the APM.

Actually yeah, I think I got it confused with the full volume. I'll edit

I wonder if he EQ'ed the NC700 though, otherwise it's a fruitless comparison
 
I tried the Sony XM and Bose 700 as I was looking to upgrde from my Parrot Zik 2 which I’ve had about 6 years. They cost me £349 I think.

The Sony XM felt like cheap plastic and sounded dreadful. The Bose were not much better, certainly not better than my Parrot Zik 2 for audio quality. Yes both would have been an ANC and battery life upgrade, but I won’t sacrifice audio or build quality. So I was going to test and likely buy the Sennheiser Momentum 3 until the APM rumours started.

So, question is, should I buy another pair of Zik 3 - I think I can get them for £100 now!
I don’t need long battery life (have multiple batteries and chargers fro them).
ANC on Zik is good enough for me, I don’t travel or commute now and will not entertain wired again.
I won’t buy cheap plastic Sony, but I maybe I should try Master and Dynamic or Bayer Dynamic as build quality is very important to me, as is a neutral sound profile, none of this fake bass for me.
 
My Max's arrived over the weekend. A decent set of cans at best. Nowhere near as good as my wife's $7,000 aftermarket cans, that's for sure ;) I am rich though so I will keep them to make the phleebs at Starbucks jealous for a couple of months and then I will give them to my nephew to chew on. "Excuse me peasant barista, I cannot hear you through my overpriced $600 headphones. Let me take them off and put them in this Apple bra so I can hear you."
 
I know the Apple headphones are overpriced, but I've tried the other ones and they don't fit me properly, so I'm giving the AirPods Max a chance!
 
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Sound is subjective. I went into the Sony MX4 app and set a custom EQ for what I like and am blown away. Sounds bit better the the APM IMHO.
I use the MX4 with Wavelet and it sounds pretty awesome. It also makes a huge difference when using the Galaxy Buds Plus.
 
A sad list of all the tech we barely touched in 2020 - CNN 12/21

Sony noise-canceling headphones​

My over-ear headphones are still sitting in my office desk, where they've been for roughly nine months. I have two primary uses for them: drowning out coworkers when I need to concentrate and reducing ambient noise when I'm flying. So, for me, they've essentially been useless in 2020.

I still use my wireless earbuds, but not for commutes since I'm working from home. Instead, they're mostly for making work calls when I get sick of Slack and emails. — Matt Quinn, Senior Tech Editor
 
SO disappointed with this release. The APP's were a game changer for me.

The MAX has worse ANC than the APP's per an industry dummy head:

Also poor sound quality that doesn't track the Harman target.

I thought by magic Apple's engineering would delver a light, breathable ANC over ear headphone that felt like an open back but could turn into a closed back with crazy ANC. That's basically what the APP's are - an open feeling earbud that turns into the best isolating IEM.
 
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Interesting. My Bose QC 35 II got the most use in the day of aircraft travel and riding public transporation. I don't think I've used them except to check the charge in literally a year. My OG airpods have become the workhorse. Same with my anker 26,000 mah battery. Used it for travel. No more travel, no more use for it.

Maybe in the future, when this current environment is in the rearview mirror and life gets back to normal, I will check out the APM and see if it has a place in my use cases for over the ear headphones. But immediately I think my OG Airpods after 3+ years may need to be replaced so the next logical thing, for me, would be the airpods pro.
 
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I tried the Sony XM and Bose 700 as I was looking to upgrde from my Parrot Zik 2 which I’ve had about 6 years. They cost me £349 I think.

The Sony XM felt like cheap plastic and sounded dreadful. The Bose were not much better, certainly not better than my Parrot Zik 2 for audio quality. Yes both would have been an ANC and battery life upgrade, but I won’t sacrifice audio or build quality. So I was going to test and likely buy the Sennheiser Momentum 3 until the APM rumours started.

So, question is, should I buy another pair of Zik 3 - I think I can get them for £100 now!
I don’t need long battery life (have multiple batteries and chargers fro them).
ANC on Zik is good enough for me, I don’t travel or commute now and will not entertain wired again.
I won’t buy cheap plastic Sony, but I maybe I should try Master and Dynamic or Bayer Dynamic as build quality is very important to me, as is a neutral sound profile, none of this fake bass for me.
If neutral sound and built quality are important to you, besides Master&Dynamic, Beyer Dynamics, I also suggest Bowers&Wlikins PX7 and Bang&Olufsen (beoplay BH9 or if you can afford BH95) though they will all be way over £100...
 
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Interesting. My Bose QC 35 II got the most use in the day of aircraft travel and riding public transporation. I don't think I've used them except to check the charge in literally a year. My OG airpods have become the workhorse. Same with my anker 26,000 mah battery. Used it for travel. No more travel, no more use for it.

Maybe in the future, when this current environment is in the rearview mirror and life gets back to normal, I will check out the APM and see if it has a place in my use cases for over the ear headphones. But immediately I think my OG Airpods after 3+ years may need to be replaced so the next logical thing, for me, would be the airpods pro.

This image from a AirPod Pro vs AirPod Max signifies multiple impressions

00XOlR1cza2TR4nYvn2jze4-1.fit_lim.size_1536x.jpg


As you stated your OG AirPods have become a workhorse, where as I doubt anyone casually will use either in the same manner. I cannot realistically see someone at home and work using the AirPod Max because of what it conveys when someone wants to talk to you. Where as the OG AirPods and AirPod Pro don't project that. Please note I see people at work, Starbucks, travel, stores. I don't know how Apple expects to be able to sell a lot of these for many situations. Its kinds why that CNN comment about least used technology is fairly accurate with our daily usages.

The above image coveys a lot to anyone thinking of walking around town doing most things these days with either. It doesn't matter the positives or negatives of either. AirPods are for people doing all kinds of things, but the AirPod Max is not something really fitting in well with all a person's needs, activities, and plans. Hey it a over the ear headphone, get that. It's not even something I would say might works with all your bluetooth activities at home.

The above image shows how selling these requires convincing Apple Fans that there is something beyond their usual needs and activities ;)
 
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This image from a AirPod Pro vs AirPod Max signifies multiple impressions

00XOlR1cza2TR4nYvn2jze4-1.fit_lim.size_1536x.jpg


As you stated your OG AirPods have become a workhorse, where as I doubt anyone casually will use either in the same manner. I cannot realistically see someone at home and work using the AirPod Max because of what it conveys when someone wants to talk to you. Where as the OG AirPods and AirPod Pro don't project that. Please note I see people at work, Starbucks, travel, stores. I don't know how Apple expects to be able to sell a lot of these for many situations. Its kinds why that CNN comment about least used technology is fairly accurate with our daily usages.

The above image coveys a lot to anyone thinking of walking around town doing most things these days with either. It doesn't matter the positives or negatives of either. AirPods are for people doing all kinds of things, but the AirPod Max is not something really fitting in well with all a person's needs, activities, and plans. Hey it a over the ear headphone, get that. It's not even something I would say might works with all your bluetooth activities at home.

The above image shows how selling these requires convincing Apple Fans that there is something beyond their usual needs and activities ;)

I use over ear noise cancelling headphones at home. They are great when cooking with a noisy extractor fan and I often sit listening to music in the evenings when my wife is busy doing other things. The AirPod Max headphones lack certain features I use on over ear headphones unfortunately. They are also 9X more expensive than the headphones I already use which are excellent quality. That’s the hard sell for me to be honest but then there is no rule to say Apple users have to like everything Apple releases. Some products just don’t appeal :)
 
According to people who never heard them and would never buy them (mostly because they’re made by Apple), you’re wrong.
If I am wrong, then I have no hearing lol, since I have all 3 sitting right here on my desk. I also own a pair of Westone W40's that I haven't compared them to yet (tho I plan to do so soon). 😁😁

To me, the major diff is the PX7's have deeper lows and sound full. The V-Moda's sound kinda flat (except when listening to aptX and Hi-Res audio) and the Airpod Max has a wider sound, specially in the mids. Thats what I hear from all three. I have a variety of headphones each for different types of listening and different activities. Some are closed cans, some are open back, and I have some buds too (such as Westone's).
 
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If I am wrong, then I have no hearing lol, since I have all 3 sitting right here on my desk. I also own a pair of Westone W40's that I haven't compared them to yet (tho I plan to do so soon). 😁😁
lol my joke didn’t come across well: I was poking fun at people here (who have never heard them) telling people such as yourself (who actually have them) how crappy they sound. 🙂

As the son of a professional musician, I’ve had the chance to hear a ton of live music (and quite a bit in the recording studio as well) and I know good sound when I hear it. They sound great.
 
lol my joke didn’t come across well: I was poking fun at people here (who have never heard them) telling people such as yourself (who actually have them) how crappy they sound. 🙂

As the son of a professional musician, I’ve had the chance to hear a ton of live music (and quite a bit in the recording studio as well) and I know good sound when I hear it. They sound great.
Lol I gotcha hehehe
 
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Lol I gotcha hehehe

lol my joke didn’t come across well: I was poking fun at people here (who have never heard them) telling people such as yourself (who actually have them) how crappy they sound. 🙂

As the son of a professional musician, I’ve had the chance to hear a ton of live music (and quite a bit in the recording studio as well) and I know good sound when I hear it. They sound great.
So awesome :) I too know it when I hear it. My best friend was an Engineer @ Legacy Audio. He worked on the Whisper series. Those things are freaking nuts... Of course for $60-$80k they better be :) Lol if you live near Charlotte look me up, we should hang out lol. You'll die seeing my headset collection.. hehehe
 
The above image shows how selling these requires convincing Apple Fans
There are enough folks in the world that Apple Fans could buy zero of them and they’d still sell enough to make a profit. There was a time, long ago, when Apple was selling to the same small group of folks over and over again. That’s no longer the case to the chagrin of many.
 
This image from a AirPod Pro vs AirPod Max signifies multiple impressions

00XOlR1cza2TR4nYvn2jze4-1.fit_lim.size_1536x.jpg


As you stated your OG AirPods have become a workhorse, where as I doubt anyone casually will use either in the same manner. I cannot realistically see someone at home and work using the AirPod Max because of what it conveys when someone wants to talk to you. Where as the OG AirPods and AirPod Pro don't project that. Please note I see people at work, Starbucks, travel, stores. I don't know how Apple expects to be able to sell a lot of these for many situations. Its kinds why that CNN comment about least used technology is fairly accurate with our daily usages.

The above image coveys a lot to anyone thinking of walking around town doing most things these days with either. It doesn't matter the positives or negatives of either. AirPods are for people doing all kinds of things, but the AirPod Max is not something really fitting in well with all a person's needs, activities, and plans. Hey it a over the ear headphone, get that. It's not even something I would say might works with all your bluetooth activities at home.

The above image shows how selling these requires convincing Apple Fans that there is something beyond their usual needs and activities ;)
I agree. However, prior to lockdown, people riding the rails, subway, buses, and walking around the city have all manner of over the ear headsets. I don't know how the masses use headsets, I only know what I do. I'm sure the APM are going to appeal to some demographic and maybe more when the lockdown is over...who knows?
 
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