Question for those who have used headphones for a while

[swandy]

I am "getting up in years" (late 60's) and have not utilized headphones (as opposed to earbuds) for many, many years (probably since in my 20's LOL). Decided - because the volume from the TV in my "man cave" disturbs my better-half when she is sitting in the family room to read - to try headphones. Liked the idea of the AirPod Max - aside from the weight complaints, the size - and no I have not tried them yet - and especially the price. Decided to get the Beats Solo Pro headphones (found a great price of $149 at Walmart which Apple would not price match) and picked them up yesterday. So still getting used to the idea of something larger than earbuds - which I have been using for many years.
My thoughts is that since I have not used any sort of headphones for many years is it might take me longer to get used to them. I will admit they are more comfortable than I expected - though wearing glasses to watch TV is a bit more annoying.
And after feeling these, sort of glad I did not go for the AirPod Max because it of the increase in size and weight.
Any thoughts or suggestions? Thanks (for helping out an old fogey).

 

[bigshot]

Just for casual listening to TV, the AirPods Max are overkill. They are for more critical listening. I have a beater set of bluetooth cans I got at Monoprice for $55. They sound decent for use at my computer and they are comfortable. A lot of times, people don't consider how they plan to use something before they buy it, and they end up buying something much more elaborate and expensive than they actually needed. If you plan to do a lot of music listening, or want spatial audio (which to be honest is kind of underwhelming) then consider the AirPods Max. It's one of the best bluetooth headphones out there, especially if you have Apple TV or iPhones or Macs.

 

[NoBoMac]

Since an "old fogey" and having the volume up to the point where the significant other is being disturbed, audio fidelity might not be a critical item, so agree with @bigshot in that a cheaper decent pair might be the answer.

I've been using these TaoTronics for a year now, and have been happy with them (got them at 38% off). Long battery life, decent noise cancelling, good audio quality re: music, more than adequate for podcasts, video playback.

 

[swandy]

Just for casual listening to TV, the AirPods Max are overkill. They are for more critical listening. I have a beater set of bluetooth cans I got at Monoprice for $55. They sound decent for use at my computer and they are comfortable. A lot of times, people don't consider how they plan to use something before they buy it, and they end up buying something much more elaborate and expensive than they actually needed. If you plan to do a lot of music listening, or want spatial audio (which to be honest is kind of underwhelming) then consider the AirPods Max. It's one of the best bluetooth headphones out there, especially if you have Apple TV or iPhones or Macs.

I was interested in the APM because I also have an iMac, iPhone and iPad that I listen to music on all three. Don't do as much air travel as we used to, but do it often enough to want something with decent noise cancellation (which with the AirPod Pro I have not been impressed, but might be the way I have them as far as fit). The APM were intriguing because of the Spatial Audio - but I can't see myself watching movies on my iOS devices just to get it since Apple TV apparently will only support Spatial Audio for music.
As far as the volume of the TV disturbing my better half - it's not when I wear headphones/earbuds, its when I use the sound system that annoyed her.

 

[swandy]

Since an "old fogey" and having the volume up to the point where the significant other is being disturbed, audio fidelity might not be a critical item, so agree with @bigshot in that a cheaper decent pair might be the answer.

I've been using these TaoTronics for a year now, and have been happy with them (got them at 38% off). Long battery life, decent noise cancelling, good audio quality re: music, more than adequate for podcasts, video playback.

Like I answered above, raising the volume to the point where my better half was annoyed was with the TV's sound system (sound bar and sub-woofer) being used. Hence the "need" for headphones, since while I love the AirPod Pros, I wanted something with better sound for both movie watching and especially when listening to music (which I do a lot of either on my iMac, iPhone or iPad).

 

[bigshot]

I have a set of an earlier version of these and they do 90% of what the AirPods do as far as functionality. https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=41232 They don't sound quite as good, but the question is... Do they sound $450 worse? No, not really. They sound pretty darn good. I'm very picky about sound quality, so I am happy with my AirPods Max. But you'll have to decide if it's worth that to you.

By the way, I wouldn't recommend getting the APMs for spacial audio. I haven't been terribly impressed with it for that.

 

[1rottenapple]

You ok ill go against the grain here. Switching automatically audio on my Mac, iPad, iPhone is awesome on my AirPod max and AirPod Pro. It literslly hands it off when one begins. And switches back when you resume playing the song. You cant get that with those cheapo headphones. I have a 1st gun AirPod as well and it doesn’t switch so I can’t say much about the AirPods 2nd gen.

However if I were you, I’d get the max. I have been listening to old songs since buying the apm and I’m finding songs have added stuff to it. Like wiz kalifa laughing in the middle of we dem boyz. It’s a faint laughing I can’t hear with other headphones. Listening to Metallica “enter the sand man” and there’s actually someone that whispers “off to never never land” along with the lead singer near the end of the song. Wtf I had no idea! My car has 15 speakers and it can’t pick up this much detail. These are sound the airpod pros couldnt pick up either! Oh and the noise cancellation is superior so those times when you need to tune out your other half lol 😂

 

[BrianBaughn]

Just a bit on the glasses mentioned: I spent a lot of time researching headphones for audio work with wearing glasses a key part of the research. There wasn't a lot of glasses-wearing user info but what was out there I used to make my choice.

 

[bigshot]

I've had problems with the automatic bluetooth switching. It doesn't play well with third party sound apps. The headphones I linked to do automatic switching too. That isn't exclusive to Apple I don't think.

 

[Htsi]

Over ear headphones will be more comfy than on ears

 

[haralds]

I am your age. I have a plethora of buds and headsets (my wife collects shoes) including all models of AirPods.
Today was the first time I tried AppleTV with AirPods Max. A perfect solution! Very immersive.

 

[1rottenapple]

The longer I’ve had the max the more i appreciate it. It’s not something I want to wear walking or working out side the yard but when I want to sit and listen or do other work and listen thr sound is fantastic. I have a Bose qc and it’s miles ahead better.

 

[colinwil]

Not just an old fogey, but a Balding old fogey…

Even though they are the heaviest headphones I’ve worn, they are by far the most comfortable- mostly because that mesh headband works really well. Other headphones tend to have a padded bar - or bars that press down on the top of my skull and give me headaches.

No problem with wearing them with my glasses either. I can wear the AirPods Max for hours - and forget that I’ve got them on.

The weight might be a problem if I wore them while jogging. But that’s not me

I use them mostly for listening to classical music, and they sound great - with the usual caveat that it depends on the source.

 

[JSteele]

AirPods Max are pretty good for casual listening, their mainly Bluetooth headphones so I disagree with the above for critical listening. Most critical listeners use external DAC's, tube amps, and balanced cables (which I also own). I mostly like the Apple Max's because it transitions well from my MacBook pro at work to my phone for calls, to my tablet for after-work media consumption without any effort. They sound pretty clean, a bit lacking in bass but they remind me of the Oppo PM-3 in that regards but more energetic. (more bass than my HD 660S tho id say).

My biggest criticism so far is the weight of the headphones get a bit old fast and the lack of hi-res support I guess.

I think the beats are ok for the money if you are looking for wireless headphones and because they have a bit more bass they would make great headphones for movie watching. The only thing is if you have an Apple TV 4k you may consider the Apple Pro Max for Dolby Audio processing onboard.