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AirPods Max teardown makes Sony and Bose headphones look ‘like toys’

31 points by evo_9 6y ago

mikestew 6y ago
Next up, build quality of Mercedes is superior to cars costing half as much. I kid just a bit, but it does make that price tag go down a little easier. The question for me becomes: will they sound better and last longer as a result?
- olliej 6y ago
  Right? There are other $500 headphones, why not compare those?
  - zepto 6y ago
    They don’t have comparable feature sets.
    - olliej 6y ago
      What feature sets are missing? are the similarly priced headphones missing noise cancellation and terrible cases ( :D :D :D )? I am genuinely curious what the mismatch is, and even if there isn't comparing cheaper to more expensive isn't useful - do other $500 headphones have more or less features? what are the feature differences, etc
      - zepto 6y ago
        “are the similarly priced headphones missing noise cancellation” Yes. The rest you can search for yourself easily enough.
        olliej 6y ago
        I think you missed the point of what I was asking - what are the features that similarly priced headphones do/don’t have?
        zepto 6y ago
        No - I answered the direct question about noise cancellation. As to other feature comparisons - those really are well documented in public reviews.
oehtXRwMkIs 6y ago
The Verge is a joke. They compared the Max to headphones that are ranked C and C- by crinacle while calling them their favorites. Not even similar prices or even quality (Max is B-), so what's the point? Combined with their PC building guide I honestly don't think they're worth reading at all.
olliej 6y ago
Kind of a meh article, especially given they're comparing $350 headphones to >$500 headphones. That's a >30% increase in price so I would hope for some improvement in quality (I'm not dumb enough to expect it :D ).
rasz 6y ago
Good thing you use headphones to Listen, and not look inside.
vsskanth 6y ago
Does anything in the design indicate the Sony and Bose headphones are more prone to breaking ? Sure, you can get better build quality with a metal chassis but plastic headphones are much lighter on the head than metal, which make them more comfortable.
- alias_neo 6y ago
  I still have a pair of Sony MDR-1RBT; in their prime they were £400. I've had them going on 8 years now, they still work perfectly after daily use outdoors, in the rain, thrown in bags etc for ~7 of those years. Battery still lasts 2-3 weeks with ~2 hours use per day and the only "damage" is the faux leather on the headband and ear cups peeling. I replaced the latter and it's like having a brand new pair of headphones. Now granted that the codecs are old and audio quality will be better on something more modern, but I'd love to see if the air-pods last as long, particularly if given the same abuse my Sony's have had.
signaru 6y ago
I'd rather just got a device with a headphone jack and splurge on proper high-end studio headphones.

31 points by evo_9 6y ago

Next up, build quality of Mercedes is superior to cars costing half as much. I kid just a bit, but it does make that price tag go down a little easier. The question for me becomes: will they sound better and last longer as a result?

olliej 6y ago
Right? There are other $500 headphones, why not compare those?
- zepto 6y ago
  They don’t have comparable feature sets.
  - olliej 6y ago
    What feature sets are missing? are the similarly priced headphones missing noise cancellation and terrible cases ( :D :D :D )? I am genuinely curious what the mismatch is, and even if there isn't comparing cheaper to more expensive isn't useful - do other $500 headphones have more or less features? what are the feature differences, etc
    - zepto 6y ago
      “are the similarly priced headphones missing noise cancellation” Yes. The rest you can search for yourself easily enough.
      - olliej 6y ago
        I think you missed the point of what I was asking - what are the features that similarly priced headphones do/don’t have?
        zepto 6y ago
        No - I answered the direct question about noise cancellation. As to other feature comparisons - those really are well documented in public reviews.

oehtXRwMkIs 6y ago

The Verge is a joke. They compared the Max to headphones that are ranked C and C- by crinacle while calling them their favorites. Not even similar prices or even quality (Max is B-), so what's the point? Combined with their PC building guide I honestly don't think they're worth reading at all.

olliej 6y ago

Kind of a meh article, especially given they're comparing $350 headphones to >$500 headphones. That's a >30% increase in price so I would hope for some improvement in quality (I'm not dumb enough to expect it :D ).

rasz 6y ago

Good thing you use headphones to Listen, and not look inside.

vsskanth 6y ago

Does anything in the design indicate the Sony and Bose headphones are more prone to breaking ? Sure, you can get better build quality with a metal chassis but plastic headphones are much lighter on the head than metal, which make them more comfortable.

alias_neo 6y ago
I still have a pair of Sony MDR-1RBT; in their prime they were £400. I've had them going on 8 years now, they still work perfectly after daily use outdoors, in the rain, thrown in bags etc for ~7 of those years. Battery still lasts 2-3 weeks with ~2 hours use per day and the only "damage" is the faux leather on the headband and ear cups peeling. I replaced the latter and it's like having a brand new pair of headphones. Now granted that the codecs are old and audio quality will be better on something more modern, but I'd love to see if the air-pods last as long, particularly if given the same abuse my Sony's have had.

signaru 6y ago

I'd rather just got a device with a headphone jack and splurge on proper high-end studio headphones.