I tried these in the Apple store the other day when picking up my M1 iPP, and I thought they sounded great, but I agree with many others that these are not worth over $400, compared to the Sonys and Boses of the world. Sure, you do get some more bells and whistles of the H1 chip and spatial audio and the integration with the ecosystem, but unless you use these all the time and get the max utility out of them, for majority of the people, it's just not a feasible purchase. If you want to be in the ecosystem with most of the features, Airpods Pro are maybe 80% as good, with a way more attractive price.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Deals: AirPods Max Hit $499.00 for the First Time ($50 Off) [Updated]
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Alright. I ordered a pair. I was waiting for $400 but now that Apple has added Atmos + Spatial audio with some less lossy codecs to their offering and I'm traveling more and I'm going back to an office soon and my AirPods Pro are going on 2 years old..fine I ordered them.
My AirPods Pro will need battery service soon anyway and I don't use them for traveling..well I shouldn't make this a blog post but basically I have a collection of headphones and it's fine but the wireless chip in these is very good so I'll grab them and use them on my flight to and from Montana next week and if they're not worth $499, I'll return them.
My AirPods Pro will need battery service soon anyway and I don't use them for traveling..well I shouldn't make this a blog post but basically I have a collection of headphones and it's fine but the wireless chip in these is very good so I'll grab them and use them on my flight to and from Montana next week and if they're not worth $499, I'll return them.
Go look into anything high end audio, there are $8k headphones out there for people with seriously great systems and for audio engineers. High end audio is expensive because it is usually hand made out of the best possible materials.
I’ve tried many over ear headphones but they were never comfortable for longer than 10-20 minutes for me for some reason. Yesterday I tried AirPods Max for the first time in a store. Awesome to finally see them IRL. Sadly with the weight I just wanted to put them down after 10 minutes of listening. Putting back my “weightless” AirPods Pro after was a blessing.
Also I did expect to be blown away by sound quality, but to my ears I couldn’t hear anything I didn’t already have with AirPods Pro. Noise cancelling felt the same as well. I liked the volume dial although I got the direction wrong every time. A bit of a letdown in this particular demo, although it was only 10 minutes.
Also I did expect to be blown away by sound quality, but to my ears I couldn’t hear anything I didn’t already have with AirPods Pro. Noise cancelling felt the same as well. I liked the volume dial although I got the direction wrong every time. A bit of a letdown in this particular demo, although it was only 10 minutes.
No plastic stuff ages well. Particularly cushions are wearing out quickly, so the use of pure "plastic" like Apple does, might be a wise choice regarding durability. Metal gets scratched, yes but this can be called "well aged". And everything plastic looks cheap.
And: we are talking about headphones, not the british Queens Crown...
Anywhere south of $400 and maybe these have a chance of going more mainstream
Ridiculously priced by Apple, just like the HomePod originally was.
I would be shocked to see them get anywhere near $400 - there is still room in the product space for a whole new line between $250 and $550 that they will surely fill. My bet is that in 2022 we see a $550 headphone from Apple that has both wired and wireless where they both support lossless via the use of WiFi and Bluetooth via some sort of AirPlay type tech.
"Wireless Lossless" - compatible with any AirPlay 2 compatible device + wired lossess via the cable - would totally sell at the $550 price point.
I assume you're talking about MSRP - I'm more talking about street price.
I agree re: MSRP never getting there, but I very much suspect there will be a retailer somewhere online hawking these at (or very close) to $400 at some point.
LOL, same here. I've been enjoying the hell out of mine for months now, when I can pry them away from my wife who also loves them. We live in a small apartment with plenty of noise, and it's been well worth it to put on a beautifully made pair of headphones that offer instant silence and pair perfectly with the Apple stuff I already own. No janky touch surface controls, much finer volume control than any other bluetooth headphones I've ever used, excellent transparency mode, and spatial audio sounds frickin' awesome. They're a little heavy, that's my only beef. Otherwise they're one of the most beautifully made objects I've ever been able to buy. Sorry haters, but I forgot about the $550 a long time ago.
"But I can buy [cheaper pair of headphones with janky touch surface controls] for $200 less!" << literally nobody is stopping you! Enjoy!
Last edited:
Spatial audio is what catches my attention. But at this time, my priority is a new iMac / MacBook Pro.
If I have money to spare I wouldn't mind getting the Max.
I like my AirPods Max even more than I expected after watching every review on YouTube. I expected they would be decent, but I didn't expect to like them so much. I have Sony XM3s as well and the AirPods Max are so much better in every way. They are just a delight to use every time I put them on, which is hard put a value on for someone like me that has very picky standards. It's the same way I feel about Android devices. I have them and they are fine, but Apple has a secret sauce and pleasure to how their devices work on their own and with other devices in their eco system. They are just so comfortable and I love the transparency mode working at home where I don't need noise cancelling but want to hear everything around me. The noise cancelling kills the Sony's as well. I don't care what the reviewers say, noise cancelling is fantastic on these cans.
Haha ok dude. I own both and they both sound great and I'm very glad I own them. Your "ridiculous" is my "it's a splurge but they sound, look and feel awesome and I anticipate enjoying them for years to come".
Last edited:
I am talking about street price as well - I doubt that Apple is letting these out of their warehouse at wholesale for much less than $375 - most online retailers will want more than $25 for the hassle of maintaining inventory etc - I see street on these getting no lower than $450-475 - they are priced at a premium price and there is almost no reason to drop the price below that unless you don't like to make money. Its not like the inventory on these is huge, most of the bigger online retailers probably only have a few in each color anyway due to the just-in-time inventory that many of them do.
Beats cost 350, no way that price is realistic. 450 I can see but no way 350.
I would respond to rest of your post, but it all hinges on the quoted piece of conjecture -- which we can't know the truth about, so we sort have to agree to "see what happens".
I stand by my assertion that there will at some point be some street/sale prices that get these to $400.
At MSRP, not street/sale
Thats' the pricing I'm referring to
Sorry for not being more clear
I see many, many comments about weight. And it’s true these headphones are noticeably heavier than average. Wear them regularly for a few days, though, and you’ve trained your muscles. They no longer seem as heavy - or even heavy at all. Everyone is different, but generally speaking, these are considered supremely comfortable headphones. There are forums dedicated to audiophiles and headphone aficionados with much more informed opinions than what can generally be found in this forum.