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In my experience, the AirPods Max have been fantastic, greatly exceeding my expectations. The noise cancellation and sound isolation is excellent. While they ar

In my experience, the AirPods Max have been fantastic, greatly exceeding my expectations. The noise cancellation and sound isolation is excellent. While they are heavier than some of my other headphones, they are at least as comfortable because the pressure is so evenly distributed by the mesh design. I find myself using these a lot, and able to wear them longer. I also have high-end professional wired headphones and amplifiers, as well as regular AirPods.

aksss 6y ago
How would you rate the sound quality relative to your high-end professional wired headphones? Aside from potential latency, is there any reason you couldn't use the former in place of the latter?
- threeseed 6y ago
  It largely depends on your taste. APM is considered to have one of the best sub-bass representations of any wired or wireless on-ear headphones. It's seriously that good. But for the other aspects: mid-range, treble, detail, separation, sound-stage they are comparable to a $200 headphone e.g. from AKG. Something like a Hifiman Sundara or Sennheiser HD650S which you can pick up for 1/2 the price are easily 2x as good. So if you like fun, bass-heavy tracks you will love APM. Otherwise probably not so much. But you don't buy APM for sound quality alone it's the convenience, integration, spatial audio etc.
- jandrewrogers 6y ago
  Frequency response is great, relatively flat over a wide range and the bass is tight without being boomy. Sound stage is quite good. Certainly better than most inexpensive headphones. However, it isn't as articulate as more expensive wired headphones, which may be a function of practical power constraints in a battery-powered device (there is a reason you need an external amplifier for some of those). It could definitely be used for real audio work, with caveats. I think it would be similar to mixing with the venerable (and uncomfortable) Sony MDR-7506, which significantly outperforms its price range and also has a pretty flat frequency response but suffers from reduced articulation. If you are accustomed to using expensive high-impedance headphones you would notice the difference in detail but, like with the MDR-7506, it is good enough for most purposes. tl;dr: great for casual use, even for people picky about audio quality, and quite usable for most professional purposes though not up to the same standard. That aside, very comfortable and you can use them for conference call marathons that greatly exceed the battery life of normal AirPods.
shinycode 6y ago
I bought at least 20 pairs of, sometimes expensive, headphones over the past years. I settled with the Sony XM2 for their sound signature and price point a few years back. I bought the AirPods Max out of curiosity and I can attest that most comments on internet are from clueless people that like to bash products. The sound signature is nowhere near any Sony or Bose headphone. They just destroy them. The build is exceptional, my Sony or Bose look like toys in comparison. But like many other things, sound for people is not that important, meaning not 200$ important enough. Just like, the latest TV technology is not that important for me to update to the 4K latest OLED TV. My old one LED is enough. AirPods Max compare to the Beoplay H95 which are 200$ more expensive. So in this case, why buying anything over the Bose or Sony price range ? The AirPods Max are a pleasure to use like all high end overpriced headphones out there. And please don’t tell me that most of the times you are not paying the brand on any high end product.

aksss 6y ago

How would you rate the sound quality relative to your high-end professional wired headphones? Aside from potential latency, is there any reason you couldn't use the former in place of the latter?

threeseed 6y ago
It largely depends on your taste. APM is considered to have one of the best sub-bass representations of any wired or wireless on-ear headphones. It's seriously that good. But for the other aspects: mid-range, treble, detail, separation, sound-stage they are comparable to a $200 headphone e.g. from AKG. Something like a Hifiman Sundara or Sennheiser HD650S which you can pick up for 1/2 the price are easily 2x as good. So if you like fun, bass-heavy tracks you will love APM. Otherwise probably not so much. But you don't buy APM for sound quality alone it's the convenience, integration, spatial audio etc.
jandrewrogers 6y ago
Frequency response is great, relatively flat over a wide range and the bass is tight without being boomy. Sound stage is quite good. Certainly better than most inexpensive headphones. However, it isn't as articulate as more expensive wired headphones, which may be a function of practical power constraints in a battery-powered device (there is a reason you need an external amplifier for some of those). It could definitely be used for real audio work, with caveats. I think it would be similar to mixing with the venerable (and uncomfortable) Sony MDR-7506, which significantly outperforms its price range and also has a pretty flat frequency response but suffers from reduced articulation. If you are accustomed to using expensive high-impedance headphones you would notice the difference in detail but, like with the MDR-7506, it is good enough for most purposes. tl;dr: great for casual use, even for people picky about audio quality, and quite usable for most professional purposes though not up to the same standard. That aside, very comfortable and you can use them for conference call marathons that greatly exceed the battery life of normal AirPods.

shinycode 6y ago

I bought at least 20 pairs of, sometimes expensive, headphones over the past years. I settled with the Sony XM2 for their sound signature and price point a few years back. I bought the AirPods Max out of curiosity and I can attest that most comments on internet are from clueless people that like to bash products. The sound signature is nowhere near any Sony or Bose headphone. They just destroy them. The build is exceptional, my Sony or Bose look like toys in comparison. But like many other things, sound for people is not that important, meaning not 200$ important enough. Just like, the latest TV technology is not that important for me to update to the 4K latest OLED TV. My old one LED is enough. AirPods Max compare to the Beoplay H95 which are 200$ more expensive. So in this case, why buying anything over the Bose or Sony price range ? The AirPods Max are a pleasure to use like all high end overpriced headphones out there. And please don’t tell me that most of the times you are not paying the brand on any high end product.