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People up in arms with the power button. I'm not worried about the lack of power button. I don't turn off my phone. I just hang my AirPods Max on my V-Moda stand. I never even touched the case it came with and left it in the box from day 1. I'm waiting for a proper case from Apple or third-party manufacturers.
 
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How are they for phone calls? How is your audio quality for the person at the other end? I like a lot of Apple’s wireless audio products of late, but I think this may be one of the weaker aspects. I love my Powerbeats Pro, but the mics are only so-so I’d say.
 
How are they for phone calls? How is your audio quality for the person at the other end? I like a lot of Apple’s wireless audio products of late, but I think this may be one of the weaker aspects. I love my Powerbeats Pro, but the mics are only so-so I’d say.

There's new posting by Max Yurev about his update with the APM on YouTube. He said he was whispering to his wife and she could hear him loud and clear. Check out his video.
 
Spatial Audio by Sony? I am not aware that Sony headphones have the hardware (accelerometers and gyros) to implement the head tracking necessary to implement what Apple refers to as Spatial Audio (with the exception of the PSVR headset, which implements head tracking by using lights on the headset that are detected by a camera). Confusingly, Sony markets a feature called 360 Reality Audio which is not the same feature as Spatial Audio by Apple.
Sony has something called Tempest 3d audio that they implemented in the PS5. They're working on bringing it to all their products. But it's more 3d audio than spatial audio.
 
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Remember 3D TV? not sure 3D audio will fare any better
3d audio is amazing. It's basically just better surround sound, which has been around for decades. So, 3d tv and 3d audio couldn't be further from each other.

The important thing about 3d audio is it works with any headphones. The ones you have in your house right now, 3d audio works with those. Put on a pair of headphones and try this

3d audio example that works with any headphones
 
AirPods Pro are the only headphones I need. They work quite well for calls, working out, and general listening. They are super portable and last easily long enough for my purposes. The ANC is terrific for such small buds. I’d buy the pros over the Max even if the price was the same for both.
 
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That's a very sexist comment. Anybody can wear headphones. Lordy
Do women wear heavy headphones?
What I don't understand is why people don't stop reading right at this point. Who cares what else they do if they can be blown away by a pair of $100 wired headphones (yes, any common pro-audio studio headphone is better.)

Apple must know its target market better than I do.

The problem with all wireless headphones is that even if I own $2,000 worth of end-end audio gear all of this gear is by-passed and the little chip and battery inside the headphone are used in place of whatever else I own. And because they have to be battery powered they are designed for power efficiency over just about everything else.

This trade-off is fine for a convenience headphone but not if the goal is high-end audio.

At least the reviewer was honest and came right out and said "AirPods Max won't match high-quality wired headphones".
I am in the same camp, after getting used to high quality wired headphones, I only use bluetooth headphones for zoom calls. While comfort is the most important factor, the sound quality very second as it is pretty much limited by the sources, a.k.a, the microphones at the other end. i would never listen to music over a pair of bluetooth cans.
 

Five Reasons Why You Might Want to Consider AirPods Max​

1. You want to spend a few bucks so Jeff Bezos can catch up.
2. Your garage is already filled with this year's MacLarens.
3. The Rolling Stones are tired of playing private concerts at your winery.
4. You're giving up hookers and blow for Lent and need the distraction.
5. The AirPods Max kind of match the decor of the vault in the castle basement.
 
I really want to like these, I really do. But I do think it’s gonna be a hard pass for me and these were on my radar for quite some time. And I think the reason being, is not the price, I just think that there’s relative competition that’s equally on par with what Apple is offering here. I don’t have a problem with the design, [even though they are a bit generic looking], overall, I doubt these trump might Sony XM’s, I don’t know that Max would ultimately rival them in every category.

Another key component when you’re discussing ‘over the ear headphones’, and that’s the weight. When you factor in the weight and overall how long you’re wearing them, that can become uncomfortable very quick. That’s what I like about the XM’s, extremely lightweight, but they don’t fatigue your head/ears when you’re wearing them.
 
Ah thanks for this. For a moment there I thought MacRumors decided to give a fair review rather than looking for constant reasons to trash Apple's products. You brought everything back to "normal" now. 🙄👎
"it's only fair if everyone just said all Apple products are 11/10!!! 😭😭😭"
 
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This new review by Billy Steele from Engadget has several good points.
AirPods Max review: Expensive headphones with untapped potential

Despite how good they sound, Apple doesn’t offer any access to high-res streaming. From Apple Music, you get the same AAC (256kbps) you’ve been listening to there. The service doesn’t have a high-res or lossless tier like Amazon Music or Tidal. Those pricier services can be limited too, but they unlock things like Dolby Atmos Music and Sony 360 Reality audio. Sony offers LDAC wireless technology on its headphones that upscales audio to CD quality. Apple could do something like that with the AirPods Max if it doesn’t want to add more content, and a more expensive subscription, to its service. That’s if these headphones are capable of it, of course. For now though, these new headphones have some untapped potential when it comes to high-res music. You can certainly use them for those services and formats, but officially the AirPods Max only supports Dolby Atmos when it comes to anything beyond standard listening.
I call marketing bull$hit. You can't "upscale" music just like you can't upscale an image - You can blur the artifacts, but at best you just get a fuzzy version of the crap version, nothing close to CD quality.

However if you are using a Sony device with LDAC capable can's you can get "close" to CD quality under ideal conditions (the codec is extremely on good signal and is easily disrupted).

The only way high res "might" happen with the Airpods is if a new type of cable is added that has a high res DAC / ADAC built in ... currently any high-res DAC's are pretty big boxes though.
Apple debuted spatial audio on the AirPods Pro in September and, unsurprisingly, you’ll also find it on the AirPods Max. Basically, accelerometers in the headphones work with your iPhone or iPad to track head movement to keep the sound stationary while you move about. It’s meant to mimic the experience of a home theater for content recorded in 5.1, 7.1 and Dolby Atmos. However, it only works with Apple’s mobile devices right now. AirPods Max can be used with Apple TV, but spatial audio isn’t available on the set-top box, so the sound will only be so good. If the company can manage a level of immersive audio that Dolby creates with its Dimension headphones, the AirPods Max would be a compelling living room addition.
I'd imagine this is only an OS update away on Apple devices, but cannot see how other devices would do it as it would require the playback device to process the 5.1 signal to 2.0 or 2.1 to give the proper spacial effect.

Another infuriating thing about the AirPods Max is Apple doesn’t include a 3.5mm cable in the box. Of course, the headphones don’t have a 3.5mm jack so you have to use one with a Lighting connection on the other end. Which means you’ll have to shell out another $35. So to use the AirPods Max for in-flight entertainment (whenever you fly again), you’ll need to spend $584. Most of the competition includes a cable in the box, and if I pay nearly $550 for a set of headphones I expect to be able to use them when travelling -- one of the times I need noise-cancelling the most.
It's expensive, but most other cables are only using a plain copper cable, which is extremely cheap, whereas the the Apple one has a DAC/ADC built in.
 
Most video playback devices delay the video when using bluetooth so the audio is in sync.

Latency is only ever an issue with gaming and production as it requires close to zero latency. The same with all other bluetooth headphones.
Thanks for answering. I’ve been wondering about this, and haven’t seen any clear explanations like this before👍

Been doing some research on Bluetooth headsets lately and seen people complain about latency on video. But I guess producers of devices and services are aware now that more and more people are transitioning to wireless so they do as you explained and build in mechanisms for syncing video and audio.

...but if low latency isn’t a bigger advantage on the APM I’ll go for the XM4 instead🙄 And then probably get APM when it’s “matured” a couple of generations. Bluetooth 5.2 seems nice...
 
The Sony XM4: 6 reasons to consider:

1. Build/ Comfort: nice and light, build seems fine for the weight savings
2.Audio Quality: Sound very good to my ears
3.Noise Cancellation: it works and is adjustable several ways
4.H1 Chip: Sony's chip does fine in Apple's Ecosystem, I can switch between two Apple devices quickly with no problems
5.Spatial Audio: Sony has this too, I think they invented it, works good too!

6. Savings of $275, very happy I did not dump another pile of cash into Apple for marginal gains in sound
7. Comes with a case?
 
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I wrote a little myself after spending two days with the Airpods Max Review:

Great build design. Mainly the headphones do not feel as heavy like what other people say. I would say the weight is similar to that of a beats studio. Head adjustment hinge feels premium. Ear cushions are meh, they are similar to the ear cushions to that of the Logitech G headsets, in my experience this material will get dirty and pill before it rips.
Strong noise cancelling with very-very mild pressure to the ears, and light on the head. Super good transparency mode. Sound stage is up front and close. Strong mids, good highs, adequate bass no unique sound signature like Bose's extra bass. The sound curve is very-very neutral like Airpods. This is a $399 set of headphones, $450 tops because of the Apple brand.

The case is everything you read from the reviews: bad, the only two things I want to add is when you pull the headphones out of the case the metal cans may flex and snap into other so they may scratch themselves. And there are cutouts for the mesh cushion exposing them. While its very chic is not very practical. I end up carrying the headphones by the case itself rather than the headband.

Oh and I'll be returning them, price is the major factor. It's on par with the Sony XM4's, Bose NC 700's don't believe the reviews where people the Airpods Max are much better/25% better etc. it's all subjective. There is also this pull these headphones have, the quality and build behind it really makes you want to wish you could keep it. But not for $549

waiting for the next iteration better firmware, better case, better connection, more features will be the smartest move you make.
 
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I love my AirPod Max. I was sure I would return them, but they won me over, easily. My old Sony were due an upgrade (had them for six years), and these AirPod max are exactly what I wanted: fantastic sound, ANC, transparency (sooo much better than my old Sony), eternal battery. They’re also way more comfortable than my old ones, which has leather ear cups that make you sweat. Looking forward to handsome leather cases by the likes of Pad & Quill and Waterfield.
I see lots of people who seem irritated by these headphones. But why? There are so many other excellent options out there (including by Apple/Beats). Surely you can find something to like, rather than spend time hating on these ones?
Exactly my experience.
Here they cost a whopping total close to $1000 CAD: base price + AppleCare+ then with the 15% tax it gets there. Not to mention that income tax is insane high, $100K CAD hits 40+% (that salary would be $75K USD) and salaries are overall a lot lower than the US. So the cost is really really high (like with anything really).
I hunted down in-store pickup availability, went for them, felt a bit of remorse and wished to have to return them... no more... every hour I use them is an hour I end up liking them more.
The ecosystem integration is as excellent as it is with the AirPods Pro (which are also excellent but have been relegated to doing sport-y things), ANC and transparency are mind blowing, quality is there with sounds that I didn’t hear before (I’m no audiophile though). I don’t know, I find myself wanting to get back from a situation/place/work where I can swap the AirPods Pro back to the Max.

I really don’t know why people seem irritated, I thought it was because they got it and felt scammed... but with the around March delivery windows it’s not possible that it was the case for all of them. I would argue that most complainers don’t have them and are just bashing them for free.

The main thing to look out for is head fit, at the beginning I had them at the smallest length but since my ears would get inside no problems it seemed fine until I got some side pains (like when chewing gum for a lot of time)... until I extended it to proper fit. Some sadly just won’t be able to fit it 😞

For those that say that it’s for fashion and status statement only, no freaking way, why people say this... me personally never go outside with them in a visible state and because of the price and bashing going on I even don’t use them during meeting calls where video is required as they make me highly self conscious (however I did a small experiment, by swapping from AirPods Pro to Max on a non video call, where “I was fixing some audio issues” and the swapping went from “we hear you good” to “oh wow! that’s better, crystal clear”).
 
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