[Hemlocke]

Personally I think the APM are more muddy than 6xx. And they are FAR less muddled across the entire frequency range than the XM3. Never heard the Solo 3, but I think the general consensus is that the APM is better.

Why even compare them to the 6XX? The only thing the 6XX do better is sound good tied to a quiet, home environment. You are sacrificing some sound quality with the APM for flexibility, versatility, and build/general quality.

 

[Author]

Why even compare them to the 6XX? The only thing the 6XX do better is sound good tied to a quiet, home environment. You are sacrificing some sound quality with the APM for flexibility, versatility, and build/general quality.

I’m a little confused by those comments, but that’s ok. I own the APM and the 650, and I’m quite happy with both.

 

[nunomeneses]

How about apm compares to shure aonic 50? Just bought one and think their sound is brilliant, but I’m having hard time with fit and comfort...

 

[Hemlocke]

How about apm compares to shure aonic 50? Just bought one and think their sound is brilliant, but I’m having hard time with fit and comfort...

Sure, that’s apples to apples, no pun intended. The Aonic 50 have definitely been on my list, and I even had a pair in the Shure site shopping cart this week, but I just can’t pull the trigger. I’m also worried about fit and comfort (giant melon), as well as the poor ANC.

Judging something that is built with portability and technological mitigation (ANC) in mind against something that is mostly useless outside of a specific, controlled environment just strikes me as incongruous. I doubt many people are doing comparison shopping between Yeti coolers and refrigerators.

 

[garethr]

Hi, just curious will the APM benefits when im using an external DAC and play it via wired connection?
I know for wireless it doesn’t
But wired ? Using apple lightning to usb c cable?

Highly unlikely. The required Apple cable actually has a (pretty good) ADC built in because lightning is an digital only connector, so you'd be going through additional conversions along the signal path. These things are firmly designed to be used wirelessly.

 

[tinyman392]

Hi, just curious will the APM benefits when im using an external DAC and play it via wired connection?
I know for wireless it doesn’t
But wired ? Using apple lightning to usb c cable?

Lightning to USB-C won't allow you to play them wired. You'd need the Lightning to 3.5mm jack. In which case you end up double amping, but do get the added benefit of not needing to adhere to the AAC or SBC codec.

 

[garethr]

One comparison I've not seen with the APM is against the Beyerdynamic Amiron Wireless/Copper - appreciate the lack of ANC on the Beyer, but they're a similar price bracket and the Beyer has Mosayc which in some ways is similar to AdaptiveEQ combined with the Headphone accommodations and audiogram.

 

[shuttleboi]

The Airpods Max are outstanding headphones. Super comfortable. Bass is good, definitely not overwhelming. I've been listening to more music than usual.

Build quality is great. When you hold it in your hand, you can feel its heft. The steel arms on the headband are unlike anything I've used before. There are no detentes or notches when you slide them up and down. It's all just one smooth pull, and the friction is just right.

The mesh at the top of the headband is so good that I've never felt the headphones' weight on my head. It's like: yes, I know they have heft, but it doesn't bother me because there are no pressure points.

Apple builds mass-market devices, so they've tuned the sound to be appealing to 90% of the population. If you're not satisfied, then you're probably being too picky. There is nothing wrong with the quality of the sound. I find it great.

Here are responses to earlier posts from the first page:

They don't sound $549 good, I'm sure of it, lol.

Really, from December 8 when they hadn't been released yet?

Bulbous, hideous ear blobs.

You mean, like every other pair of headphones?

Yep way overpriced for something in the ganing/mobile-bluetooth market.

These headphones are definitely not in the gaming / mobile bluetooth market along with the Sony or Bose models. These are in an upscale market, which is right where Apple wants to be. If you think they're expensive, then you're not in the target demographic.

 

[AlwaysForward]

Hi, just curious will the APM benefits when im using an external DAC and play it via wired connection?
I know for wireless it doesn’t
But wired ? Using apple lightning to usb c cable?

Kindasortayesansno

I bought the cable and have tested it with a few sources. Some things to consider:

You have to turn your headphones volume up on the Digital Crown to provide headroom. They are not getting power from the line, but line-level gain increases are audibly heard.

So with the apple headphone adapter, you have to crank up the headphones and then the volume from the iPhone is honestly kind of meh.

If you want a closer approximate of a traditional headphone, turn the ANC/Transparency to “OFF” from an iOS device -BEFORE- you plug in.

All in all, for me, it was a fun experiment but these succeed so hard as wireless headphones that the process of using a wire feels self defeating when I have passive cans waiting for me on headphone stands.

If I were mastering and checking my mix against consumer products after studio tuning, I’d honestly probably just do it wireless because that’s what most people will be hearing. It really is puzzling why anyone would use these for mastering.

I think I might play around with using the transparency mode and the wire for DJ Mixes where I can press the button for silence and then hit transparency when I live-mix the song into the mains. It sounds fun but also not very practical and I don’t expect it to be part of my workflow.

For me, I’m happy letting these succeed as the wireless over-ears in my collection. I think, for me, this really simplifies how I approach the hobby with a newfound focus on any future non AirPods cans being either for TOTL pleasure, DJ Mixing or Recoding Mastering... and sometimes just because I like the product

 

[MayaTlab]

Apple builds mass-market devices, so they've tuned the sound to be appealing to 90% of the population. If you're not satisfied, then you're probably being too picky. There is nothing wrong with the quality of the sound. I find it great.

If Harman's research is to be believed (Three parts article here : https://www.headphonesty.com/2020/04/harman-target-curves-part-1/) then I think that we can assert that the response in the upper mids is too conservative to fully please most people given all the measurements we've seen so far.
In other words, if we gave people the possibility to EQ up or down the response around 2000-4000hz or so, most people would at best leave it where it is or EQ it up - if only slightly, while the probability that some people would EQ it down is nearly non-existent.
Now personally I tend to find most headphones that shoot past the Harman curve above 1000hz to be too bright, but I'd certainly welcome a slightly more elevated response in the upper mids on the APM. Something that lands half-way between the APM and the K371 at 3000hz or so would be my preference I think - I'm not sure.

 

[10DeeQ]

Kindasortayesansno

I bought the cable and have tested it with a few sources. Some things to consider:

You have to turn your headphones volume up on the Digital Crown to provide headroom. They are not getting power from the line, but line-level gain increases are audibly heard.

So with the apple headphone adapter, you have to crank up the headphones and then the volume from the iPhone is honestly kind of meh.

If you want a closer approximate of a traditional headphone, turn the ANC/Transparency to “OFF” from an iOS device -BEFORE- you plug in.

All in all, for me, it was a fun experiment but these succeed so hard as wireless headphones that the process of using a wire feels self defeating when I have passive cans waiting for me on headphone stands.

If I were mastering and checking my mix against consumer products after studio tuning, I’d honestly probably just do it wireless because that’s what most people will be hearing. It really is puzzling why anyone would use these for mastering.

I think I might play around with using the transparency mode and the wire for DJ Mixes where I can press the button for silence and then hit transparency when I live-mix the song into the mains. It sounds fun but also not very practical and I don’t expect it to be part of my workflow.

For me, I’m happy letting these succeed as the wireless over-ears in my collection. I think, for me, this really simplifies how I approach the hobby with a newfound focus on any future non AirPods cans being either for TOTL pleasure, DJ Mixing or Recoding Mastering... and sometimes just because I like the product

but overall do you noticed any improvement when usingit wired mode with better source ?

 

[Jackalton]

Interesting if unsurprising observations from the mixing angle:

https://www.pro-tools-expert.com/production-expert-1/apple-airpods-max-review

 

[Hemlocke]

One comparison I've not seen with the APM is against the Beyerdynamic Amiron Wireless/Copper - appreciate the lack of ANC on the Beyer, but they're a similar price bracket and the Beyer has Mosayc which in some ways is similar to AdaptiveEQ combined with the Headphone accommodations and audiogram.

Interesting if unsurprising observations from the mixing angle:

https://www.pro-tools-expert.com/production-expert-1/apple-airpods-max-review

That was quite the review. I think one of the points he made about “computational“ music is something that keeps getting lost in comparisons. The APM are without peer in that area, and are likely to remain that way due to Apple’s silicon capability, and general lack of it from competitors, in the industry. I would love to see Apple make some APIs available for developers to take advantage of the computational abilities of the APM.

 

[AlwaysForward]

but overall do you noticed any improvement when usingit wired mode with better source ?

Dubiously framed question:

Do I hear the lossless line quality audio? Yes.

Is the iPhone dongle a good experience? No.

Can they sound better at your desk with a bigger rig? Probably.

For me, the improvements that the APM provides have a lot to do with seamless wireless integration across devices. As such, adding a wire into that flow is effectively added usability friction. The cable lives near my passive cans. If I’m going to walk over there and grab a wired listening experience, I’ll just grab a headphone that is simple and awesome to use passively.

A $30 experiment isn’t much, I certainly have spent much more money on tip rolling.

 

[HuoYuanJia]

but overall do you noticed any improvement when usingit wired mode with better source ?

I finally received the cable today and I have to say it's a big YES. It's a noticeable difference when plugged into the RME or when being fed per Bluetooth from iPhone or iMac. The highs are still sizzling but not also crackling like they do wirelessly. I also noticed this improvement when using the dongle from the iPhone - BT is the real bottleneck here!

The APM still uses the internal amp and you cannot get rid of noise completely, so keep that in mind. (A huge bummer and ultimately a no-go for an audiophile in this price range. Not severe on-the-go, but annoying at home.)

If you get the AirPods Max, you might as well get the cable.