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Sony's New WH-1000XM5 Headphones vs. Apple's AirPods Max
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I'd say the Sony phones are fare more basic looking - no color contrast and no stainless steel.
Except that's a totally subjective evaluation. Maybe YOU'D be paying more for less in your opinion, but others are paying for MORE (or at least comparable) in their opinion.
It looks like it was partly inspired by the Bose 700 - the case, the non foldability, some modern design motifs that are 700-ish, etc.
Do those consoles not support Bluetooth??? If they don't, then a Bluetooth adapter is cheap and effective. And as others have pointed out, you can use a Lightning to 3.5mm Audio Cable with the APM.
Absolutely. There are excellent ANC headphones under $100, like Anker Soundcore Life Q30 or Monoprice BT-600ANC. Those models can even be found for $50 or less on eBay.
The only reason I use headphones like the XM5 is that they have the unique combination of:
1) Call mics that allow you to be heard clearly despite loud background noises.
2) Good enough noise blocking to hear others in calls despite loud background noises.
3) Comfortable enough to wear for 8+ hours every day at work.
Many headphones meet criteria 2 and 3, but very few meet criteria 1 while being "comfortable" (in my subjective opinion).
For me, being "comfortable enough" means not causing pain, low "clamping" force, and no boom mic in front of my face. That's hard to accomplish without ANC and a very good "beam forming" array of call mics that work together to pick up your voice, hence why the XM5 and Bose 700 are the only ones that fit the bill for me now.
I suspect that in a few years, much cheaper headphones will do all that as well or better. I look forward to that day!
Is this still an issue on the XM4 and XM5? Because I have XM3s and that feature is a complete joke. The limitation isn't just because it's a non-Apple device. Bluetooth devices should be able to switch easily. I use AirPods with non Apple devices and you can easily switch around without having to disable Bluetooth like on devices to get your XM3 to switch.
It's almost as bad as a 2022 phone lacking multi-touch or copy paste or multitasking. Some basic stuff.
That would be akin to all the smart phones generally looking like each other. There’s only so much these manufacturers can do in terms of separating hardware aspects to distinguish them from over the other brand/competition.
Do consumers really care about that? No, they don’t. What they care about, is comfort, price and sound quality. I would say price being the first priority, and then they have to be comfortable, which overrules even the sound quality.
I prefer my in-ear headphones since I don't find myself in too many settings where I need to block the whole world around me out.
So how long can you wear either of these before your head starts hurting?
So how long can you wear either of these before your head starts hurting?
I find it interesting that Macrumors spends its intro on naming-who the bleep cares what the name is, "look" and seem to downplay the significant price differential. What matters in headphones is SOUND! With noise cancelling phones the noise cancelling is important as well, but the most important thing is SOUND, not the name, not whether they look like a bar of soap 
. Most of the reviews seem to indicate that the Sony's sound a bit better and have better noise cancellation. Is Macrumors just shilling for Apple?
. Most of the reviews seem to indicate that the Sony's sound a bit better and have better noise cancellation. Is Macrumors just shilling for Apple?
Nope xm5 is fine. I have it paired to iPhone, android tablet, iPad Pro. I go to Bluetooth and hit connect and it switches over. No muss no fuss.
I could do dual connection but I wanted more than 2 devices so I do it this way.
And also, the "bra"?!! I like my headphones to have an on/off button. Started a three here (if this is allowed?)
The AirPods Max weren't too heavy, they squeeze my head too hard (probably because of the weight though). Painful and I could hear my own pulse.
AirPods Max audio quality is great, but their form/materials need a rework.
AirPods Max: A Parent’s Point of View – The Sweet Setup
In one short swoop, the AirPods Max have nicely fixed my Madhouse distraction-maximalist home and my late evening television entertainment needs. I can now drown out most of the chaos swirling around when it’s time to work and I can enjoy a new level of audio when watching my favorite Disney+ shows.
thesweetsetup.com
Here’s a parent’s perspective of what they like about their AirPods max. They like the features that make AirPods unique (transparency mode, spatial audio, sound quality is right up their alley).
I am not sure how much of these can be replicated by a cheaper pair of headphones elsewhere though. Comments would be appreciated.
Did you use them for long? The clamp was way too strong initially but quite quickly they loosened up.
Eddie Van Halen’s music teacher supposedly once told him “If it sounds good, it is good”. What sounds good? It’s all subjective.
A little question: When you connect the XM5's to Apple TV or an iPhone/Ipad/MBP2021 - does Spatial Audio (surround 5.1 "simulation") work like on the APM (Netflix, Apple TV+...)? I would like to switch and this feature is important to me. The APM are too heavy and not comfy for my head (too much clamp force)...
