[ubs28]

Replacement pads seem to go for $69 / 79€...

Nice. I do wonder who Apple is actually targetting, because I don’t think the regular Apple customer would pay these sort of prices for a headphone ($550) or replacement pads. And this is clearly also not an audiophile headphone, so it is not audiophiles who will buy it.

 

[noper]

I have very comfortable and light Sennheisers at home, the PS5 headset for my PS5, and normal Airpods for calls. Only way I can see these replacing anything is if I can get it to pair with my PS5 and if I can justify carrying these around to take calls. If they sound good, that's a bonus but I can't see myself getting these if they can't replace my existing devices.

 

[SilverEars]

I completely agree with you that the airpod pros blow away the Sonys in these dimensions
- way more comfortable
- is water resistant
- far superior fit

I don't think that Sony has Audiophile sound quality. I was speaking in relation to other noise cancellation earphones only. Sorry for the confusion on this point.

I used to carry both my Airpod Pros and my Sony XM3s with me. When I took phone calls, I used the Pros. When I listened to music, I used the Sony's. For me, the sound quality difference was that different. then, I got IEMs and I don't use the Sonys anymore at all. I agree that the Sonys are big and bulk and not comfortable. The airpod pros are nice and small, but they don't fit as well as my IEMs. Their tips aren't great and neither are the after market tips. I can not sustain a green rating on sound isolation for more than 5 minutes no mater what I do with the Pros. But, I don't use them to listen to music, so it doesn't matter.

Sony doesn't and people that think it does obviously has no experience with good sounding iems. I found the tuning fairly avg, bla, bass was loose and not good. I'd rather take less quantity bass that doesn't sound so boomy like the APP bass. I found APP the best TWS for activities with it's balanced sound instead of the boosted treble or bass you get with some TWS like M&D or Sennheiser MTW. Oh and the HIfiman TWS, what a piece of crap tuning.

So, at least in terms of tonality, Apple seems to know not to boost frequencies.

 

[3Putter]

That's really the big thing - "Apple is easy to use." When everything is in their ecosystem, the synergy is nearly unmatched. I'm a PC guy, but I recognize that having Apple products for work computing, home computing, phone, tablet, headphones, watch, etc. etc. makes for a seamless experience. As opposed to Android/PC, where the interplay between hardware is made orders of magnitude more complex because there's, what, a few dozen major parts that make up a device, and for each one of those there's countless options?

Apple is seamless because it is only designed as one device per category, more or less. So the equivalent of going from the XFi I mentioned to these things is kind of like the difference between trying to stitch together a tech stack - components, drivers, etc. - on a Linux box vs. just having the pretty, expensive, easy-to-use solution, if you're willing to give your techie soul to Cupertino.

And yeah, you can get a better overall experience from the more flexible, customizable solutions, but that requires knowledge, and testing, and experience, and most importantly time. And if you can't invest those, you may well get a craptacular overall experience. So the "walled garden" of iOS/iPadOS/etc. becomes inviting as it's just gonna work, and work with other products in its ecosystem, and work with them seamlessly.

It would be just fantastic if these would sound preferable to those of us who like the Apple ecosystem.

 

[SamS]

I use my Airpod Pros every day and I never noticed this feature.

It's a relatively new feature, and available on content that already has a surround codec.

Nice. I do wonder who Apple is actually targetting, because I don’t think the regular Apple customer would pay these sort of prices for a headphone ($550) or replacement pads. And this is clearly also not an audiophile headphone, so it is not audiophiles who will buy it.

I guess they're targeting me? I've spent more than this on a pair of headphones in the past, and at $549 it's a lot cheaper than the Apple computers/iPads/iPhones I would normally buy

 

[DeweyCH]

I ordered a pair for my wife. For her use, these'll be nothing short of fantastic.

 

[snapandslide]

Nice. I do wonder who Apple is actually targetting, because I don’t think the regular Apple customer would pay these sort of prices for a headphone ($550) or replacement pads. And this is clearly also not an audiophile headphone, so it is not audiophiles who will buy it.

i think part of the issue is most people in Apple land have gone for the AP or the APP - and let’s not forget the AP really we’re the first True Wireless to really mail it. How do you convince those folk to buy full cans?

 

[SilverEars]

i think part of the issue is most people in Apple land have gone for the AP or the APP - and let’s not forget the AP really we’re the first True Wireless to really mail it. How do you convince those folk to buy full cans?

Can Apple take wireless to the next level in terms of sound is big question. Are they able to pull off SQ comparable to good wired sounds? That's what I'm hoping to see from any new wireless tech.

 

[normie610]

Adaptive EQ is not new, it’s been implemented on Airpods Pro. The weakness is if the sensor is faulty and somehow it detects sub-optimal seal (when perhaps the seal is still good), the adaptive EQ won’t be applied and you‘ll get very bad sound.

I’m looking forward to get Airpods Max when it becomes available in my region. The 20-hour battery life is a big plus and I think it’ll sound good enough for casual movie streaming and listening to Apple Music. I actually like the sound of my Airpods Pro, non-fatiguing while still fun and enjoyable. Spatial audio with Airpods Pro is already amazing when watching movies, I can’t imagine how good it will be with the Max

 

[Andricop]

What codec is supported by the AirPods Max? AAC and SBC?

 

[pfurey89]

I’ve been around Head-Fi for a long enough time. I’ve bought almost every (and sold, see my Feedback) TOTL headphones and lots of mid-fi headphones and IEMs as well. The AirPods Pro isn’t the best I’ve heard, but it’s more than good enough and dead simple for me. So much so this is my first post on the forums in months / years. They’re that good for me. I immediately bought the Max. Will it be as good as my old Utopia or LCD-4 being fed from a proper amp? Absolutely not. Will it be good enough that I don’t miss them? I am almost positive. Time will tell.

 

[AppleheadMay]

I just tried out the spatial feature on my wife's Airpods Pro with (part of) an Atmos movie.
Didn't find it really special at all but I must say I can't stand IEMs.
Maybe they'll get it better with larger drivers?

 

[ciber]

This AirPods Max will be killer of head-fi, when most people spend $500 on the Max, they won't buy any other headphones.

 

[Sp12er3]

I’m actually are excited with this, You know what apple is doing? They’re increasing the ceiling on how expensive a wireless Bluetooth anc headphones can be. Remember Beats are what started to popularize 200-300 usd price as the okay price for a good pair of headphone.

Now that the AirPods max is the same price as a Sony Z7 stays, ie an upper midrange/ lower high end audiophile closed back price, and if it actually sells quite well....
I’m looking forward to what the other guys, aka Sennheiser, Sony, Bose, etc would have to compete with the Max.

Because honestly, all their 300 usd wireless anc headphones sounds crap for the price, if at double the ceiling they can design them to sound at least as good as a good 300 usd closed back headphones, I’m good.

 

[Whazzzup]

Im just happy to own apple stock, hope everyone loves em