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The AirPods Max have been incredible for music and Zoom calls. The Tesla Model 3 is an amazing car that completely ruins all other cars for me. I can't imagine

by nunez 5y ago

The AirPods Max have been incredible for music and Zoom calls. The Tesla Model 3 is an amazing car that completely ruins all other cars for me. I can't imagine driving anything else right now. The MacBook Air M1 really does live up to the hype. You can do all-day Zooms on this thing and still have battery to spare. This was impossible on my Intel MacBook Pro. The Air is also insanely fast. It's literally the perfect laptop. I bought this granite-looking coffee tumbler from Starbucks. It gets a lot of compliments and is really good at heat retention. It's also vacuum-sealed and doesn't leak, ever. It's great. I also bought a bunch of merino wool shirts from Woolly. They were about USD$60 each. I LOVE travelling with these. They don't smell, are comfortable in cold and hot weather, and are very easy to hand wash.

ricardobayes 5y ago
Solid picks but I just can't justify 650€ for headphones that are arguably worse than a midrange Sennheiser. If you want to enjoy lossless audio just grab a HD58X for 160 bucks (re-run of the mighty Sennheiser HD580 from 1995).
- mellosouls 5y ago
  Agree - the Max are an embarrassment in terms of pricing, whatever their usefulness in plugging the NC/Apple integration gap.
  - jakeva 5y ago
    Expensive? Sure. Apple products come at a premium. But embarrassing? I'm not sure what that's even supposed to mean.
    - smoldesu 5y ago
      Relative to the headphone space, the Airpods Max are a comedy routine from a different planet. For nearly 5 years now, you could buy noise cancelling headphones for ~$300, and get a relatively nice package. Certain manufacturers like Sennheiser cut corners, and they released subpar ANC headsets in the $150 range, but $300 was the standard for Good Headphones. Then Apple enters the arena at the $600 price point. Feature-wise, it's a bit on the lacking side: it basically has ANC, Bluetooth, Transparency and... that's it. Not even a power button or an AUX jack, both of which are pretty big pressure points from what I've ascertained from other owners. The aluminum enclosure was a catastrophic mistake from an aesthetic standpoint, and I can only assume it will look like a used Macbook (if not worse) after a few months of casual use. So what's the value proposition here? They don't sound any better than my wired cans, and they certainly don't look or feel any better either. Maybe it's the half-second less it takes to auto-switch to my nearby devices? I may never know what cost so damn much... So yeah, I think you do have a right to feel a little bit embarrassed if you spend $600 on headphones that is literally incompatible with analogue mediums.
      - texasbigdata 5y ago
        Come on, there’s ways to achieve that connection, even multiple, and this is coming from a CIEM user. This gearslutz level of (forgive me) elitism is a bit annoying. People seem to like them for better or worse.
      - askafriend 5y ago
        People who buy these don't care about wired usage. You're entirely missing the target audience. 1. They look great. 2. They sound great (compared to similar wireless options). 3. They're fully integrated with all my other Apple devices, switching devices is super easy (I have a mac, iphone, and ipad). 4. The noise canceling is great. 5. They have features like spatial audio and possibly other updates coming down the line. 6. A power button isn't needed because of how it's designed. 7. The microphones are great - which make this a great device for taking calls.
        Groxx 5y ago
        Having just tried them: I'd put the noise canceling at "a solid contender for second-tier". Not great, but substantially above the comparative-trash that is "everything but Sony and Bose". Like, if I had to put it on a graph, from the dozen-odd sets I've tried (most ~$300+): silent notice conversations reduces low frequencies noticeably no effect ------1--2-------------3-----------------------4------------------------------------------5--------- Sony is 1, Bose is 2, Airpod Max is 3, all decent alternatives are somewhere in 3..4, and a million others are around 5. The Max is immediately obviously nowhere near as good as Sony/Bose, but it's pretty good. Spending a premium elsewhere will usually get you 4 instead of 5, but that's about it. And a 4 is a noticeable improvement for mechanical sounds during a commute / flight / etc, but it's FAR from "silent". Airpod Max's "hear your surroundings" mode is stellar though, I'll definitely give them that. It sounds much more natural / "real".
        ricardobayes 5y ago
        Unfortunately Sony ANC depends heavily on the firmware lottery - if you get it with 4.x it's garbage. It just doesn't work. There are ways to downgrade it though. Plus the WH-1000XM is just outright uncomfortable. I couldn't wear it for more than 30 minutes whereas I can wear my Sennheiser HD580 all day. It was the first product I returned in my life.
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
- smoldesu 5y ago
  Yep. You're welcome to own anything you want, and form any kind of opinion you want on it, but defending Airpods Max is like trying to tell Mormons about the glory of God. Having tried the Max's for myself, I must have missed what justified their price point...
cgb223 5y ago
What do you like about the AirPod Max’s that stands out against other higher end headphones? I remember seeing the reviews come out as the UX was kind of strange and the audio wasn’t as high end as the price. It was the only time I wasn’t totally sold on an Apple product. Never met someone who has a pair, what do you think?
- rocketpastsix 5y ago
  not OP but so far these are the first pair of over the ear headphones that dont hurt my ears after extended use. That to me is a huge win.
  - bmitc 5y ago
    Have you ever used Beyerdynamic headphones?
colinplamondon 5y ago
Cosign on the AirPods Max. I'll easily use them daily for 4 years, and then someone else will enjoy the hell out of them. It makes music even more beautiful. The noise cancelling is absurdly good. Mic quality is great. They're incredibly comfortable for long work sessions. The little buttons and dial are a joy to click and press. The case everyone made fun of? It's awesome. By being forced to put them away, it always shuts off when not in use. The mic doesn't drain like every Bose I've ever ad. Fantastic product.
- smoldesu 5y ago
  Can I use the included cable to play lossless audio over the headset, or will it only receive audio input over Bluetooth?
neilpanchal 5y ago
I’m in need of an electric car that has no touchscreens or any displays whatsoever. Just knobs, buttons, toggles, dials, gauges and levers. Why do electric cars have to look like something out of fricking Tron?
- speedgoose 5y ago
  You can buy an used Mitsubishi i-Miev for almost nothing and it fits your criteria.
- swader999 5y ago
  Ebike!
gaws 5y ago
> The Tesla Model 3 is an amazing car that completely ruins all other cars for me. I can't imagine driving anything else right now. Imagine having the money to buy one of these.
- Sohcahtoa82 5y ago
  $40K isn't that expensive for a good portion of HN. You can usually get them used for even cheaper, though I'd always be weary about buying from a used car dealership, as they're often clueless about Teslas and will claim a car has FSD when it doesn't. I've also seen them try to sell a used Model 3 Standard Range (The $40K base model) for $60K, which is more than the Performance model.
Sohcahtoa82 5y ago
> The Tesla Model 3 is an amazing car that completely ruins all other cars for me. I can't imagine driving anything else right now. I bought a Model 3 Performance back in November 2019 and I have recalibrated what "normal" acceleration feels like. It's not that I'm flooring it at every red light, but without an engine making noise and giving me audible feedback on how much fuel I'm using, I do find I give it a little more punch than most other drivers. So then when I sit in my wife's Honda CRV, it feels so slow unless I'm giving it a lot of gas.

by nunez 5y ago

ricardobayes 5y ago

Solid picks but I just can't justify 650€ for headphones that are arguably worse than a midrange Sennheiser. If you want to enjoy lossless audio just grab a HD58X for 160 bucks (re-run of the mighty Sennheiser HD580 from 1995).

mellosouls 5y ago
Agree - the Max are an embarrassment in terms of pricing, whatever their usefulness in plugging the NC/Apple integration gap.
- jakeva 5y ago
  Expensive? Sure. Apple products come at a premium. But embarrassing? I'm not sure what that's even supposed to mean.
  - smoldesu 5y ago
    Relative to the headphone space, the Airpods Max are a comedy routine from a different planet. For nearly 5 years now, you could buy noise cancelling headphones for ~$300, and get a relatively nice package. Certain manufacturers like Sennheiser cut corners, and they released subpar ANC headsets in the $150 range, but $300 was the standard for Good Headphones. Then Apple enters the arena at the $600 price point. Feature-wise, it's a bit on the lacking side: it basically has ANC, Bluetooth, Transparency and... that's it. Not even a power button or an AUX jack, both of which are pretty big pressure points from what I've ascertained from other owners. The aluminum enclosure was a catastrophic mistake from an aesthetic standpoint, and I can only assume it will look like a used Macbook (if not worse) after a few months of casual use. So what's the value proposition here? They don't sound any better than my wired cans, and they certainly don't look or feel any better either. Maybe it's the half-second less it takes to auto-switch to my nearby devices? I may never know what cost so damn much... So yeah, I think you do have a right to feel a little bit embarrassed if you spend $600 on headphones that is literally incompatible with analogue mediums.
    - texasbigdata 5y ago
      Come on, there’s ways to achieve that connection, even multiple, and this is coming from a CIEM user. This gearslutz level of (forgive me) elitism is a bit annoying. People seem to like them for better or worse.
    - askafriend 5y ago
      People who buy these don't care about wired usage. You're entirely missing the target audience. 1. They look great. 2. They sound great (compared to similar wireless options). 3. They're fully integrated with all my other Apple devices, switching devices is super easy (I have a mac, iphone, and ipad). 4. The noise canceling is great. 5. They have features like spatial audio and possibly other updates coming down the line. 6. A power button isn't needed because of how it's designed. 7. The microphones are great - which make this a great device for taking calls.
      - Groxx 5y ago
        Having just tried them: I'd put the noise canceling at "a solid contender for second-tier". Not great, but substantially above the comparative-trash that is "everything but Sony and Bose". Like, if I had to put it on a graph, from the dozen-odd sets I've tried (most ~$300+): silent notice conversations reduces low frequencies noticeably no effect ------1--2-------------3-----------------------4------------------------------------------5--------- Sony is 1, Bose is 2, Airpod Max is 3, all decent alternatives are somewhere in 3..4, and a million others are around 5. The Max is immediately obviously nowhere near as good as Sony/Bose, but it's pretty good. Spending a premium elsewhere will usually get you 4 instead of 5, but that's about it. And a 4 is a noticeable improvement for mechanical sounds during a commute / flight / etc, but it's FAR from "silent". Airpod Max's "hear your surroundings" mode is stellar though, I'll definitely give them that. It sounds much more natural / "real".
        ricardobayes 5y ago
        Unfortunately Sony ANC depends heavily on the firmware lottery - if you get it with 4.x it's garbage. It just doesn't work. There are ways to downgrade it though. Plus the WH-1000XM is just outright uncomfortable. I couldn't wear it for more than 30 minutes whereas I can wear my Sennheiser HD580 all day. It was the first product I returned in my life.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
smoldesu 5y ago
Yep. You're welcome to own anything you want, and form any kind of opinion you want on it, but defending Airpods Max is like trying to tell Mormons about the glory of God. Having tried the Max's for myself, I must have missed what justified their price point...

cgb223 5y ago

What do you like about the AirPod Max’s that stands out against other higher end headphones? I remember seeing the reviews come out as the UX was kind of strange and the audio wasn’t as high end as the price. It was the only time I wasn’t totally sold on an Apple product. Never met someone who has a pair, what do you think?

rocketpastsix 5y ago
not OP but so far these are the first pair of over the ear headphones that dont hurt my ears after extended use. That to me is a huge win.
- bmitc 5y ago
  Have you ever used Beyerdynamic headphones?

colinplamondon 5y ago

Cosign on the AirPods Max. I'll easily use them daily for 4 years, and then someone else will enjoy the hell out of them. It makes music even more beautiful. The noise cancelling is absurdly good. Mic quality is great. They're incredibly comfortable for long work sessions. The little buttons and dial are a joy to click and press. The case everyone made fun of? It's awesome. By being forced to put them away, it always shuts off when not in use. The mic doesn't drain like every Bose I've ever ad. Fantastic product.

smoldesu 5y ago
Can I use the included cable to play lossless audio over the headset, or will it only receive audio input over Bluetooth?

neilpanchal 5y ago

I’m in need of an electric car that has no touchscreens or any displays whatsoever. Just knobs, buttons, toggles, dials, gauges and levers. Why do electric cars have to look like something out of fricking Tron?

speedgoose 5y ago
You can buy an used Mitsubishi i-Miev for almost nothing and it fits your criteria.
swader999 5y ago
Ebike!

gaws 5y ago

> The Tesla Model 3 is an amazing car that completely ruins all other cars for me. I can't imagine driving anything else right now. Imagine having the money to buy one of these.

Sohcahtoa82 5y ago
$40K isn't that expensive for a good portion of HN. You can usually get them used for even cheaper, though I'd always be weary about buying from a used car dealership, as they're often clueless about Teslas and will claim a car has FSD when it doesn't. I've also seen them try to sell a used Model 3 Standard Range (The $40K base model) for $60K, which is more than the Performance model.

Sohcahtoa82 5y ago

> The Tesla Model 3 is an amazing car that completely ruins all other cars for me. I can't imagine driving anything else right now. I bought a Model 3 Performance back in November 2019 and I have recalibrated what "normal" acceleration feels like. It's not that I'm flooring it at every red light, but without an engine making noise and giving me audible feedback on how much fuel I'm using, I do find I give it a little more punch than most other drivers. So then when I sit in my wife's Honda CRV, it feels so slow unless I'm giving it a lot of gas.