[normie610]

And that's perfectly reasonable. But there are people here declaring that these are better than their wired rigs. That is a step (or five) too far. I just think this discussion needs rome perspective. We are talking about wireless BT headphones with serious hardware and software limitations.

If a person really feels that he/she prefers the sound of APM over their existing wired rigs, I don’t see anything wrong with that. People hear things differently and we all know that.

 

[angelom]

Once again, according to those people that designed that headband (including material selection and build process) it does not need protection. I'm not going to test that, but I would also never consider carrying a bulky case around.

My bags tend to not include knifes or scissors, so I guess they could survive.

One of the things UNIVERSALLY praising about the Bose and Sony ANC headphones is the cases, because many, MANY people using this for travelling and a case is very important. Is certainly very important for me when travelling. Denying this aspect is going into APM is perfect in every category territory, I'm sorry saying this.

it really stuck out in the actual product. The headphone is not actually that big but the hole is not small.

Yes, is looking awful and a good reason for not buying this headphone.

 

[mainguy]

One of the things UNIVERSALLY praising about the Bose and Sony ANC headphones is the cases, because many, MANY people using this for travelling and a case is very important. Is certainly very important for me when travelling. Denying this aspect is going into APM is perfect in every category territory, I'm sorry saying this.

I don't know about everyone, my travel headphones (Sennheiser Momentum 3 and b&w P9) never get put in their cases. I just pop them in a seperate compartment of my bag. They're sturdy enough.

I think the problem with the case is the not being able to turn them off without it. That's sheer lunacy. But I dont think most people will care about le case

 

[Bigtime Audiophile]

As a Bigtime audiophile I was really curious to see if the AirPods Max were better than my other cans. So I did a test which I think proves pretty conclusive and hard to argue with.

I have my Sennheiser HD 820’s coming out of my Linear Tube Audio microZOTL MZ3 then I placed a TLM 103 microphone between the cups of the Sens which I fed into my MacBook Pro via my Universal Audio Apollo Twin MKII Duo, and the MacBook is connected to the AirPods Max via Bluetooth.

I can tell you for sure that the AirPods Max sound WAY better than the Senns. It’s partly because it’s difficult to get the Senns on my ears with the TLM 103 in the way but I think it’s mostly just the higher quality of the AirPods Max which are excellent.

 

[angelom]

I don't know about everyone, my travel headphones (Sennheiser Momentum 3 and b&w P9) never get put in their cases. I just pop them in a seperate compartment of my bag. They're sturdy enough.

I think the problem with the case is the not being able to turn them off without it. That's sheer lunacy. But I dont think most people will care about le case

Yes, people treating their headphones differently, even if very expensive. BUT is a fact that many, MANY people preferring a good sturdy case. Look at EVERY momentum 3 review and EVERYBODY criticising the case. Lacking on/off button or a feature of this with a combination of the 2 buttons available in the APM is important too, yes, VERY.

 

[Amrit-R]

One of the things UNIVERSALLY praising about the Bose and Sony ANC headphones is the cases, because many, MANY people using this for travelling and a case is very important. Is certainly very important for me when travelling. Denying this aspect is going into APM is perfect in every category territory, I'm sorry saying this.



Yes, is looking awful and a good reason for not buying this headphone.

but what’s the percentage of buyers who use a case. People assume a lot, but I think it’s very likely Apple will have quantified this.

and about alternatives:

 

[angelom]

but what’s the percentage of buyers who use a case.

A significant percentage of the population, sufficient that the case quality is mentioning in every review of every ANC headphone.

People assume a lot, but I think it’s very likely Apple will have quantified this.

I think Apple deciding giving minimal protection and 'smart feature' for battery saving in the ugly case (on/off problem). BUT, like with many Apple products, Apple is possibly thinking 'If people wanting a case, they must paying for it, made by Apple or third party, our product (APM) is already high quality construction'. I have many Apple products in many years so I know this very well, and this is why I mentioning before the price differences of APM and h95 and the complete package where the APM can be even more expensive than the h95 that costing $800 / €800 / £700 GBP vs $550 / €630 / £550 GBP.

 

[Duncan]

Whilst I’m in my honeymoon period, I’m fairly convinced about the tuning with music, hopefully will be happier still when I get the 3.5 cable, however - one thing these seem to excel at is movies, vocals come across super cleanly and overall soundtrack is spacious, rich and powerful - I’m very very impressed, and regardless of the outcome I think I’ve just found myself a brilliant pair of nighttime movie cans.

 

[Thrifty Spender]

One of the things UNIVERSALLY praising about the Bose and Sony ANC headphones is the cases, because many, MANY people using this for travelling and a case is very important. Is certainly very important for me when travelling. Denying this aspect is going into APM is perfect in every category territory, I'm sorry saying this.



Yes, is looking awful and a good reason for not buying this headphone.

Just picked up my h9i to look at the port. For some reason the H95 cutout really is larger.

 

[angelom]

Just picked up my h9i to look at the port. For some reason the H95 cutout really is larger.

If this is very important for you, maybe is a good idea you keeping the h9i and selling the h95. Or maybe b&o having a reason for making this different in the premium h95, specially when b&o is famous, like Apple, for attention to detail in design and quality of materials.

 

[Amrit-R]

A significant percentage of the population, sufficient that the case quality is mentioning in every review of every ANC headphone.



I think Apple deciding giving minimal protection and 'smart feature' for battery saving in the ugly case (on/off problem). BUT, like with many Apple products, Apple is possibly thinking 'If people wanting a case, they must paying for it, made by Apple or third party, our product (APM) is already high quality construction'. I have many Apple products in many years so I know this very well, and this is why I mentioning before the price differences of APM and h95 and the complete package where the APM can be even more expensive than the h95 that costing $800 / €800 / £700 GBP vs $550 / €630 / £550 GBP.

agree on the second part. And I don’t actually want to be defending Apple, they can sort that out themselves

I actually decided today not to buy a APM. It’s the kind of headphone which I would use at home, not for travel or office. For travel I have a very nice cabled in-ear set. And even a powerbeats pro which is turning out to be extremely practical, and surprisingly good.
And I live in a rather quite home. No kids running around, my better half and I have our own studie etc. Working at home seems become the new normal for me, even when corona has passed. So when I thought it through, I don’t need or want a closed headphone, or noice cancelling. No issue in using an open headphone. Cooler on the ears as well.

So today I actually ordered a AKG 712 Pro for 225,- euro’s (including vat and shipping). A very neutral tuned headphone compared to my Audioquest Nighthawk. The AKG is also in stock, and should arrive beginning of next week

 

[jhoelter]

Whilst I’m in my honeymoon period, I’m fairly convinced about the tuning with music, hopefully will be happier still when I get the 3.5 cable, however - one thing these seem to excel at is movies, vocals come across super cleanly and overall soundtrack is spacious, rich and powerful - I’m very very impressed, and regardless of the outcome I think I’ve just found myself a brilliant pair of nighttime movie cans.

Yes, I think the 5.1+ Spatial Audio sounds really nice. And in general I like the sound a lot, it's fun but maybe a little tiring (or is that the ANC?). However, they hurt my head when I wear them for a while, and I feel weird microphonics in the pads in ANC/Transparency mode. I also can't really seem to find a great spot in my life for these (at this price), so I will stick with my 6XXs and Magni/Modi 2 stack for my desk/office and AP/APPs otherwise. The portability and "always on my body" nature of the AP/APP is tough to beat.

Great thread by the way. And I do think Apple will fill in their pricing gaps in the $200-400 range at some point in the future - hopefully a "sport" model. Not sure about a higher end though -- do we really need an AirPods Max Max?

 

[tkddans]

2 Day Update

So far...here's how my impressions have changed....

Comfort
I was starting to question if the comfort was good enough when I first tried these on. However, after trying them over the last couple nights, for at least a couple hours straight a time, I've found them to feel more comfortable than when I first tried them on. This could certainly be due to me getting used to how they feel. Maybe...maybe it's due to headrest stretching or cups having less pressure. But I have to be honest, it's probably just me getting used to it. In either case, they do feel more comfortable than initial impressions might give. I find myself adjusting their position on my head less than I did the first night of trying them.

Time will tell, but the weight of them may yet prove to be something I could do without. For now anyway, comfort isn't the make or break decision in owning these. They fit just fine.

Tech Features
The ANC and transparency in day to day use are indeed nice. It's sometimes the little things you appreciate. Getting up from your chair to get something in the kitchen, not having to worry about wires, being able to click transparency quickly and easily to talk to people or to feel the room around you after a listening session - it's a nice, fluid experience taking breaks from the music/video. Sometimes it's the little things that make us happy.

Sound Quality
I still can't say if these are "objectively" better than other closed back wireless. I humbly admit I just don't know how enough closed back wireless sound to truly determine if these are worth $550 when less and more expensive options exist that I haven't had experience with. All I can say for sure is that I enjoy them greatly and am happy to pay $550 for them. I still find myself watching YouTube videos, mostly APM review videos ironically, and hearing little sounds picked up in their audio that I simply do not hear with AirPods Pro. Not a good comparison? Sure. I'm sure other headphones pick up those rustling papers, sloppy mouth noises, and whatnot too. But the point is worth mentioning that the APM do too. Details are there, IMO. Enough detail anyway that I really enjoy what I have on my head.

I don't want to get lost in over analyzing. I love hearing all the things on the track. The APM seem to show me as much as the 800's do. Quality isn't the same obviously, the 800 S is better at $1500, wired, open back, with external AMP/DAC. But let's be real...a wireless headphone having the privacy of a closed back, with portable AMP/DAC built in, still being able to retrieve details and be enjoyable?

Overall Keepingness
I don't have a good sounding wireless pair of headphones. I could keep these to have that category taken care of. Your mileage will vary from me. Maybe you have closed back wireless already. Maybe you love them. I can't promise you these are better or worse for you. What I can say is that these are very enjoyable and high enough in fidelity for you not to feel like you're missing something out from the tracks. The frequency response may not be your thing, and you can try to adjust that with accessibility or EQ presets on the phone, but I can't say if it'll replace what you already have and love in the wireless department.

When you take the enjoyability of the fidelity that is present, along with the convenience factor of the tech (ANC, transparency, pairing, etc.)...it's still a good choice after a couple days of use.

I'm going to keep trying stuff until the last second I am allowed to return, but so far it seems like something worth keeping unless it doesn't fit my use cases in life. Mileage and preferences vary people. But this is worth the price and then some, depending on your situation and taste.

 

[Trager]

Great thread by the way. And I do think Apple will fill in their pricing gaps in the $200-400 range at some point in the future - hopefully a "sport" model. Not sure about a higher end though -- do we really need an AirPods Max Max?

There’s a reason they didn’t offer these in gold. Coming in 2021, AirPods Max Gold Edition at $1300 with a touch interface and enough titanium/liquidmetal to bring the weight to 40% of the APM.

On day 2, I think my overwhelming impression is that these are not the cans I would reach for if I want to do critical listening. But just like APP are good enough for podcasts and calls and suuuuuper convenient, these are good enough for music and they’re significantly better than APP for isolation, with a couple of other features that are quite nice. The volume dial really is a nice improvement.

They’re a little heavy (although that’s historically been one reason I prefer IEMs over full size cans and these don’t bother me after using them for hours), and they’re a couple hundred dollars more expensive than I would have liked, but you do get some value for that money.

 

[angelom]

The portability and "always on my body" nature of the AP/APP is tough to beat.

I think the original AirPods are still the #1 AirPods product in general, the only headphone/earphone I need in my life. I have them from the first day of releasing, and this is my third pair. I using this model (now the second generation) every single day, in different times of the day. The convenience, 150% comfort (you forgetting you're using it), the good mics for calls, the portability, is beautiful. And even when so many people saying they don't sounding good, they are in fact very decent in SQ, even for music. I returning the APP eventually, and yes, is very, very good, but the original AP is genius.