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Besides assuming that Apple can’t match those other (very small, likely undercapitalized) audio companies in terms of sounds quality— something I sort of doubt

Besides assuming that Apple can’t match those other (very small, likely undercapitalized) audio companies in terms of sounds quality— something I sort of doubt considering that Apple probably spent more in R&D on these than those companies have had in total cumulative revenues combined— it also assumes that it’s all about the sound quality. As someone who just ordered these, I wear noise canceling headphones (currently Bose QC from nearly 5 years ago) for several hours a day while I work, and I can tell you that I care much more about comfort and noise canceling performance. I just assume great sound since that has been available for decades now in decent headphones. I remember buying Grado SR80s back in 2002, and they sounded great. Unfortunately, they hurt my ears after 30 minutes and everyone around me could hear my music. Also, they had a thick, heavy cable. Sound quality isn’t everything. Considering that Apple just made Intel look like a bunch of fools despite Intel making more processors for longer than just about anyone, at this point it’s silly to be so skeptical of Apple when they introduce a product like this after years of effort.

bsagdiyev 6y ago
When Sennheiser is very small and/or undercapitalized and therefore must know nothing about audio... I really hope you’re either joking or just uninformed.
- eigenvalue 6y ago
  That's true, I was more thinking of the smaller, boutique companies he mentioned. Sennheiser had $916mm in 2019 revenues. But consider that Apple is estimated to have close to $18b in total AirPods revenues in 2020. And my point isn't that they "must know nothing about audio," it is that they do not have some kind of monopoly on audio engineering. There is absolutely no reason why a company like Apple can't hire the very best people and give them insane amounts of resources to produce a better product. Also, it's important to remember that Sennheiser has dozens of products (I count 26 over-ear headphones alone on their website) and must spread R&D resources much thinner. Apple focuses all their energy and spend into just a couple of key products.
- sib 6y ago
  By comparison to Apple, Sennheiser is both small and undercapitalized. And the more "boutique" suppliers are much more so. In Apple's fiscal 4th quarter alone: 4Q 2020 revenue: $64.7B 4Q 2020 capital returned to shareholders: $22B And for Apple's fiscal year: 2020 revenue: $274.5B 2020 R&D: $18.8B So Apple spent more than 19x Sennheiser's 2019 revenue in R&D this year.
mnw21cam 6y ago
I personally would be very interested in hearing your opinion on how good the noise cancellation is with these headphones, compared to Bose QC (which I am wearing right now). When you have them, could you comment? I have never owned anything from Apple. However, that new CPU suddenly sounds interesting, and it may be that these headphone are suddenly interesting too, although they are double the price of the Bose ones.
- eigenvalue 6y ago
  After using the AirPods Max for around a week so far, I really like them. They are super comfortable, the noise canceling is really solid and seems better than my Bose QC35, and the microphone sounds really good in calls.
callmejorge 6y ago
Have you tried the 700 or MX4s? In terms of comfort, is QC better?
hart_russell 6y ago
I'm in the same boat. I like my Sony MX3's but the experience hasn't been polished: >The touch controls aren't reliable >My bluetooth connection disconnects randomly every couple hours I ordered the airpods pro and expect a polished experience because Apple has a track record of just that

bsagdiyev 6y ago

When Sennheiser is very small and/or undercapitalized and therefore must know nothing about audio... I really hope you’re either joking or just uninformed.

eigenvalue 6y ago
That's true, I was more thinking of the smaller, boutique companies he mentioned. Sennheiser had $916mm in 2019 revenues. But consider that Apple is estimated to have close to $18b in total AirPods revenues in 2020. And my point isn't that they "must know nothing about audio," it is that they do not have some kind of monopoly on audio engineering. There is absolutely no reason why a company like Apple can't hire the very best people and give them insane amounts of resources to produce a better product. Also, it's important to remember that Sennheiser has dozens of products (I count 26 over-ear headphones alone on their website) and must spread R&D resources much thinner. Apple focuses all their energy and spend into just a couple of key products.
sib 6y ago
By comparison to Apple, Sennheiser is both small and undercapitalized. And the more "boutique" suppliers are much more so. In Apple's fiscal 4th quarter alone: 4Q 2020 revenue: $64.7B 4Q 2020 capital returned to shareholders: $22B And for Apple's fiscal year: 2020 revenue: $274.5B 2020 R&D: $18.8B So Apple spent more than 19x Sennheiser's 2019 revenue in R&D this year.

mnw21cam 6y ago

I personally would be very interested in hearing your opinion on how good the noise cancellation is with these headphones, compared to Bose QC (which I am wearing right now). When you have them, could you comment? I have never owned anything from Apple. However, that new CPU suddenly sounds interesting, and it may be that these headphone are suddenly interesting too, although they are double the price of the Bose ones.

eigenvalue 6y ago
After using the AirPods Max for around a week so far, I really like them. They are super comfortable, the noise canceling is really solid and seems better than my Bose QC35, and the microphone sounds really good in calls.

callmejorge 6y ago

Have you tried the 700 or MX4s? In terms of comfort, is QC better?

hart_russell 6y ago

I'm in the same boat. I like my Sony MX3's but the experience hasn't been polished: >The touch controls aren't reliable >My bluetooth connection disconnects randomly every couple hours I ordered the airpods pro and expect a polished experience because Apple has a track record of just that