3 ms·

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 "e

by 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.
- Groxx 5y ago
  Odd that the ANC would get worse... but yea, I do totally believe it. Especially situationally, I imagine it goes up and down. Comfort-wise I found them fine, but the ear-cups are definitely small compared to giant audiophile over-ear ones :) I love the giant ones, I have no idea why companies make these tiny things (e.g. M&D MW65 is absurdly narrow, V-Moda is absurdly shallow). I can only guess it's some weird sense of fashion. If you don't mind noticeably worse microphone and ANC, the Shure Aonic 50 pads are quite a bit larger and very comfy.

by Groxx 5y ago

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.

Groxx 5y ago
Odd that the ANC would get worse... but yea, I do totally believe it. Especially situationally, I imagine it goes up and down. Comfort-wise I found them fine, but the ear-cups are definitely small compared to giant audiophile over-ear ones :) I love the giant ones, I have no idea why companies make these tiny things (e.g. M&D MW65 is absurdly narrow, V-Moda is absurdly shallow). I can only guess it's some weird sense of fashion. If you don't mind noticeably worse microphone and ANC, the Shure Aonic 50 pads are quite a bit larger and very comfy.