Sony's New WH-1000XM5 Headphones vs. Apple's AirPods Max

[44267547]

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.

Bolded:

So true. I thought I was the only one who experienced this. And it’s literally how tight they really are, is where they create such a firm seal, that you literally can hear your own heartbeat. Even though that’s kind of the goal to really create ‘noise isolation’, it’s also very uncomfortable after about 30 minutes.

 

[psiddle]

I really cannot believe that we live in a world where people are happy paying half a thousand dollars for headphones. It’s…not normal? Who is buying these? People with limitless expendable income? Seriously. Half a thousand dollars for headphones. Doesn’t anyone question what the mark-up is on these? What the margins are? Doesn’t anyone value the power of the dollar anymore?

There have always been headphones on the market costing "half a thousand dollars" or more. Do you question mark-ups on cars, homes or even clothes you buy? And, I'm not sure you want get into a discussion of "the power of the dollar."

 

[psiddle]

Bolded:

So true. I thought I was the only one who experienced this. And it’s literally how tight they really are, is where they create such a firm seal, that you literally can hear your own heartbeat. Even though that’s kind of the goal to really create ‘noise isolation’, it’s also very uncomfortable after about 30 minutes.

Users have reported the "tightness" disappears in a relatively short period of time. If that's so, it seems the "grip" eventually relaxes to the level of a snug fit which should be desirable.

 

[rp2011]

Neither for me. I have grown to hate both.
The Max are heavy, buggy and worst of all, all little vibration wakens up all of the nearby iOS devices asking to connect and making it hard to keep a constant connection. Also no shut off button when you want to have them go away and not want to keep wanting them to connect to something.
The Sony's have the annoying touch controls that make me want to fling against a wall I. accidentally touch it.

I want to put on my headphones and forget them. Turn on and off when I want to. Connect only when I want to. No sensitive touch controls that are prone to accidental touches.

I hate them both. But at the moment I hate the Sony ones less.

 

[Haust]

You laugh, but the sole reason I don’t own the AirPods Max is because they are too heavy. That is the main reason. No joke! I travel with the XM4’s. No plans to upgrade to the 5’s though.

 

[JulesK]

As much as I love the sound, clarity and (yes) comfort of the APMs, they just strike me as the "Apple" device ever (with the possible exception of the Magic Mouse) in their impracticality. Someone had a vision of what they wanted them to be, and nobody was going to dissuade their vision. They are great around the house where you can baby them, but I would never take them on a trip. There is no power button, the mesh feels too delicate (although perhaps early fears of it tearing were overblown), third-party cases that completely enclose the headphones (I have one) are large, they are heavy, etc. But they sound better than any wireless headphones I've owned previously, and I've had quite a few. The controls are great once you get used to them, but make the omission of a power button all the more glaring. I still have a pair of Bose QC15s that are still going and are great for travel if I want to carry headphones and have something to plug them in - compact, light and comfortable, and still decent NR. But my AirPods Pros are my choice for travel, because size and weight matter most to me then. And I really dislike wires.

 

[turbineseaplane]

Users have reported the "tightness" disappears in a relatively short period of time. If that's so, it seems the "grip" eventually relaxes to the level of a snug fit which should be desirable.

That was a huge problem for me on my first pair

It really was solved though, by being pretty aggressive at stretch/twist when I put it on for a few weeks...
My APMs have now settled in to being quite comfy

They could still stand to lose some weight though, as they are prone to shift based upon body position/leaning over, etc

 

[dandrewk]

I currently have APMs, XM5 (coming from XM3) and Focal Elegia. Comparing sound, the Focals are by far the best, true audiophile quality when paired with Dragonfly Cobalt headphone app and listening to Tidal's Master tracks. I use them for critical listening.

But they are not for normal usage - way too uncomfortable and cumbersome to walk around, and no ANC. So, comparing the AQ of APM vs. XM5 - both quite good, but in very different ways. They both sport good sound staging and deliver highs/lows, but sound different. I will probably use the XMs for music, and APM for video to take advantage of Dolby Atmos.

XM3 vs XM5 - big leap in AQ here. The XM3s sound a lot smaller and have that muddy bass issue. I am very pleased with the XM5s.

 

[dandrewk]

I’m kinda possibly interested in upgrading my X3s after watching this, and seeing the comments about muddy sounding music.

Until recently I really loved my X3s, but since I invested in a new hifi set up with decent turntable, amp and speakers, I’ve noticed a real difference in the X3s in comparison. And ‘muddy’ is a pretty bang on description.

So if the X5s and APM are both significantly better in that regard, I may need to check them both out.

As mentioned above, I have both and the XM5s are clearly the winner.

Once you attain a more critical ear by listening to a good AQ setup, you are spoiled for life! Often that means $$$. In this case, XM5s are a worthy upgrade.

 

[dandrewk]

I really cannot believe that we live in a world where people are happy paying half a thousand dollars for headphones. It’s…not normal? Who is buying these? People with limitless expendable income? Seriously. Half a thousand dollars for headphones. Doesn’t anyone question what the mark-up is on these? What the margins are? Doesn’t anyone value the power of the dollar anymore?

So what's the issue? Is this more economic shaming? Or are you railing against perceived consumerism? In either case, check the forum(s) you are posting too, as you won't get any love from an Apple fanboy site.

But to answer your question. Yes, I can afford to spend a "half thousand dollars" for headphones. Sue me.

 

[I7guy]

I really cannot believe that we live in a world where people are happy paying half a thousand dollars for headphones. It’s…not normal? Who is buying these? People with limitless expendable income? Seriously. Half a thousand dollars for headphones. Doesn’t anyone question what the mark-up is on these? What the margins are? Doesn’t anyone value the power of the dollar anymore?

What do margins have to do with the gravity from the moon? The price is the price. Don’t people buy mass produced consumer oriented electronic products on their perceived value? Which is entirely subjective. And clearly people have different spending limits and different perceived values for the same product.

 

[I7guy]

I think some people's priorities are like this:

1. Name
2. Are they made of metal?
3. Will people who see me be able to tell I'm using a premium product?
4. Are they Apple?
5. ...
.
.
83. What do they sound like?

Brand awareness is usually factored into name. Lots of subjective bias goes into what one thinks about the “name.”

 

[Tim Cook's Pool Boy]

Just picked up my first pair of APMs and I love them. Tiger Direct has them for $449.00 ($100 off) and I love them. They are heavy compare to my studio monitor headphone (AT M40x) but the build quality is much better. Granted I'm comparing a cheap(ish) plastic wired set to these but so far I'm happy with them. They are light (to me) on my head and do not heat my ears up as much as my M40s. I even have aftermarket cups on my ATs and the stock Apple solution is better to me.

 

[Bawstun]

So what's the issue? Is this more economic shaming? Or are you railing against perceived consumerism? In either case, check the forum(s) you are posting too, as you won't get any love from an Apple fanboy site.

But to answer your question. Yes, I can afford to spend a "half thousand dollars" for headphones. Sue me.

The issue is greed and inflated brand value to due to unwarranted high prices.

The value of the dollar has been entirely misconstrued and lost, on millions.

Regardless of how much money you have, half a thousand dollars for a throwaway consumer product that will last a few years, *is* crazy.

 

[christophermdia]

For pure travelability (not a word but I’m making it one). Just got my XM5’s and just like the 4’s before it, it is insanely amazing. I am a big headphone fan and have Bose and apple headphones. Apple headphones have figured out Audio quality. However I need neck surgery and wearing these on long flights makes it very heavy on your head. These XM5’s are light and comfortable on the ears.

 

[dogface1956]

I really cannot believe that we live in a world where people are happy paying half a thousand dollars for headphones. It’s…not normal? Who is buying these? People with limitless expendable income? Seriously. Half a thousand dollars for headphones. Doesn’t anyone question what the mark-up is on these? What the margins are? Doesn’t anyone value the power of the dollar anymore?

Then you would really find it hard to believe spending $1,900 for Sennheiser HD 820 headphones which I use at home (and there are much more expensive headphones not to mention regular speakers which cost 250K plus). Some of us place a real value in hi-quality sound, for myself I listen to far more music then watch TV or Movies. Music is my prime entertainment so no spending $500 to get good sound when traveling or at work or relaxing at the beach to me is money well spent. It's all in the value that the user feels they are getting for what they are spending and if I like the sound of a product I will spend whatever it takes to purchase it (within my budget or course, it's just my budget for music is most likely higher than yours, which is fine, you might spend your entertainment dollars on rare books or paintings whatever turns you on).

 

[r98266]

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[r98266]

Bolded:

So true. I thought I was the only one who experienced this. And it’s literally how tight they really are, is where they create such a firm seal, that you literally can hear your own heartbeat. Even though that’s kind of the goal to really create ‘noise isolation’, it’s also very uncomfortable after about 30 minutes.

You weren’t alone. Very same experience here, sadly. I wanted to like them.

 

[r98266]

Did you use them for long? The clamp was way too strong initially but quite quickly they loosened up.

I think a little over a week. I purchased the AirPods Max at launch and wanted to be able to return them within Apple’s window.

 

[r98266]

Users have reported the "tightness" disappears in a relatively short period of time. If that's so, it seems the "grip" eventually relaxes to the level of a snug fit which should be desirable.

I’ll give the AirPods Max 2’s another try and test them longer (assuming Apple continues the line). I just went from XM4’s to XM5’s, so I’m set for now. Although, seamless device switching/spatial audio would be nice at some point.

 

[JulesK]

I really cannot believe that we live in a world where people are happy paying half a thousand dollars for headphones. It’s…not normal? Who is buying these? People with limitless expendable income? Seriously. Half a thousand dollars for headphones. Doesn’t anyone question what the mark-up is on these? What the margins are? Doesn’t anyone value the power of the dollar anymore?

Headphone fanatics have been paying THOUSANDS for their setups well before AirPods were a thing. And still are. And that’s a pittance compared to stereophiles. I’m glad Apple offers a nice set of headphones even if the market may be small. For those who love music but hate wires, and are in the Apple ecosystem already, they are great. No doubt also expensive, but worth it to many. And not to others, which is fine.

 

[LonderJan]

With all XM headphone models, I found the cups not deep enough so my earlobes are a bit squeezed. If found this to be very uncomfortable after an hour or so.

 

[joecomo]

Tbf, if it weren’t for the AirPods Max to be the first iteration, they’d be named something like „AirPods Max (2. Generation)“ which also sounds a bit bulky.

Without the generational indicators it’s WH-1000X versus AirPods Max.


I agree, the necessary re-pairing to switch devices was very cumbersome - and in some use cases still is since even the M4’s multi-device pairing supports only two simultaneous connections.

But mostly you’ve got to blame Apple for that inconvenience as the WH-1000X has featured ‘one touch listening’ since the first generation.

If Apple had incorporated the standard for Bluetooth pairing via NFC into iOS, all you’d have to do is tap the headphones with your phone to switch the active device.

This is a good showcase of why Apple arbitrarily limits the iPhone’s NFC capabilities: Here it is to make the pairing process of their own accessories seem far superior (‘magical’) when it is actually just somewhat more comfortable.

Morally you might be right - practically the convenience of the AirPod Max wins.
And Sony itself also has a history of morally doubtful behavior (see rootkits and DRM)

 

[joecomo]

Bolded:

So true. I thought I was the only one who experienced this. And it’s literally how tight they really are, is where they create such a firm seal, that you literally can hear your own heartbeat. Even though that’s kind of the goal to really create ‘noise isolation’, it’s also very uncomfortable after about 30 minutes.

Great that I am not that sensitive - I was concerned about the weight of the AirPod Max (actually that stopped me from buying them upon release).
I might get a stiff neck from the weight - but no creepy heartbeat sensation …

 

[Abazigal]

Brian Tong believes the AirPods max sound better than the M5 headphones.