[Hemlocke]

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.

Knowing the limitations of Bluetooth, and with the expanded R&D and expertise purchases in ultra wideband (UWB), I wonder if Apple is considering moving things like the APM over to UWB eventually? I would have to go back and look at the iFixit teardown, but half of the components in the teardown were just educated guesses.

 

[rael67]

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.

Do I understand you right, that the improvement is only noticeable, when you use a better source? If you listen to Apple Music for example, there is no difference between Bluetooth and using the cable and the dongle from the iPhone? And when I will listen for example to the Tool Lateralus Album, I bought from Quobuz in HiRes (ALAC, 192 kHz), I can hear a noticeable difference between Bluetooth and using the cable and the dongle from the iphone?

 

[shuttleboi]

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.

I also noticed this improvement when using the dongle from the iPhone - BT is the real bottleneck here!

If you're using the wire to plug the AirPods Max into the headphone output of the RME DAC, then the other unit's amplifier is in the path. That's why it sounds better.

 

[Hemlocke]

Mistake reply.

 

[HuoYuanJia]

Do I understand you right, that the improvement is only noticeable, when you use a better source? If you listen to Apple Music for example, there is no difference between Bluetooth and using the cable and the dongle from the iPhone? And when I will listen for example to the Tool Lateralus Album, I bought from Quobuz in HiRes (ALAC, 192 kHz), I can hear a noticeable difference between Bluetooth and using the cable and the dongle from the iphone?

No. I’m saying it will sound better with cable no matter what. I also use Apple Music, the APM have a smoother and more refined treble via Dongle + Cable than over Bluetooth. However, smooth is not the right word here, the treble is still the second worst part about the APM. First being that annoying noise floor.

ANC and especially Transparency also have a noticeably negative impact on the resolution.

I was also using the hidden headphone correction. It improves the tonality (I prefer balanced) but you can also hear it clip. I can’t recommend it.
Same for 3D Audio, what a mess. Sounds terrible with artificial echo and smearing.

Cable and everything set to off sounds considerably better. Now we are inching towards the 150 EUR range - K371 or P55V3.

At the desk, RME does the job. Otherwise I can recommend PAW S1 with Nearfield Preset.

Overall, still a good portable product. But sound-wise... not for me!

 

[MayaTlab]

First being that annoying noise floor.

You mean even with ANC off and with Bluetooth ? By noise floor you mean something akin to white noise ?

 

[Heyyoudvd]

Anyone have small nits or sandpaper like surface on the aluminiumcups? Like you feel with your fingers and nails?

Yeah.

People haven’t really been commenting on this because it’s such a minor issue and most people don’t even notice it, but there is an inconsistency to the smoothness.

I’m guessing it’s the result of imperfections in the anodization process, but the result is that the cups aren’t perfectly smooth. There are some rough patches, particularly on the edges.

 

[justanut]

Aptx is a Qualcomm compression tech if I’m not wrong. And I’m assuming you’re talking about Aptx HD which offers a more measurable improvement.
It’s unlikely to ever come to APM seeing how Qualcomm has soured the relationship with Apple.

AAC is not an Apple codec btw.. I’ve always wondered why it performs worse on Android *cough Qualcomm*cough Snapdragon*

LDAC is so poorly implemented u can’t even get it reliably working with Sony products.

I was hoping for some form of Airplay btw the APM and I-devices but until Apple Music offers lossless files, it’s kind of wishful thinking that they would offer that to benefit Tidal. (But I still switched to Tidal thanks to APM enabling me to hear a significant difference even via Bluetooth)

USB C.. well..yeah kinda wish they had future proofed it like the iPad Pros.. oh well..

My point was that the APM is closed off to the majority of smartphone users because it is part of Apple's walled garden. I fail to see what profit share has to do with that. I would have liked to see them ditch the lightning port and offer Aptx, AptxHD or LDAC. That would have at least opened up the APM to Android users and would have been a nice way to broaden the appeal of the APM. Someone over in macrumors claimed that LDAC is embedded in iphones and could be activated via software. I have no idea whether it's true. Since it has been established that AAC over Android suffers in terms of SQ, if Apple had just offered a different slate of Codecs, the product wouldn't feel so closed off.

 

[AlwaysForward]

If you're using the wire to plug the AirPods Max into the headphone output of the RME DAC, then the other unit's amplifier is in the path. That's why it sounds better.

Incorrect. The sound improvements would come from the signal carrying more information. They are not taking power in via the cable.

 

[LithosZA]

If you're using the wire to plug the AirPods Max into the headphone output of the RME DAC, then the other unit's amplifier is in the path. That's why it sounds better.

Yes, an amplifier will be pointless since the amplified analogue output from the amplifier just gets converted back to a digital signal through the cable's built-in ADC. The high-quality analogue signal that the DAC produces also probably doesn't matter that much either since it gets negated by the quality of the ADC built into the cable. It really all depends on how good the ADC is in the cable.
I don't really see the point of the cable, except for a convenience factor.
Why doesn't Apple just release a pure digital cable for the audiophiles?

 

[justanut]

I’m here reading past posts to see how others compare and hear their APMs in comparison to my own experiences. But dude all I see from u so far is bashing of others sharing and casting doubt on everyone who has anything nice to say about them. I wonder if I’m another 50 pages I’ll actually see you get a pair of APMs to try, or just continue being like many Android users who bash iPhone lovers just because 

There is nothing wrong with that, but take this and add it too all the apple/apm promoting posts this user has produced, there is clearly some bias and promotion going on.

Plus there is an element of hypocrisy in that he is happy to write off panda and k361 specifically purchase to compare and review, after only a bunch of tracks. Yet he didn't apply this "take your time" approach, nor did he suggest the "take your time" approach for the k371 and panda. This approach was only suggested to be applied for the APM in his conclusion. Nor did he "burn in" his k361 and panda to have them on an even playing field for the review. He just ordered them, received them, and quickly made the review and case was closed.

 

[Jackalton]

Yes, an amplifier will be pointless since the amplified analogue output from the amplifier just gets converted back to a digital signal through the cable's built-in ADC. The high-quality analogue signal that the DAC produces also probably doesn't matter that much either since it gets negated by the quality of the ADC built into the cable. It really all depends on how good the ADC is in the cable.
I don't really see the point of the cable, except for a convenience factor.
Why doesn't Apple just release a pure digital cable for the audiophiles?

The cable is to reduce latency for video editors, music producers, etc. For those users, it's essential.

 

[LithosZA]

The cable is to reduce latency for video editors, music producers, etc. For those users, it's essential.

Sure, but a Lightning to USB cable would of made more sense in those cases in my opinion.

 

[tinyman392]

Incorrect. The sound improvements would come from the signal carrying more information. They are not taking power in via the cable.

You’re increasing distortion for a higher quality input which is arguably transparent enough to lossless already.

 

[shuttleboi]

Incorrect. The sound improvements would come from the signal carrying more information. They are not taking power in via the cable.

The cable is analog, not digital. Someone correct me if this pathway is wrong:

Digital source --> RME DAC/headphone amp --> amplified analog signal --> Apple cable analog input through 3.5mm -->
Apple cable digital output through Lightning --> Airpods Max DAC and amp --> analog sound

So the phenomenon that "the music sounds better from the RME" is likely due to the analog signal being amplified before it enters the cable.