[musicisthekey]

Even if it's the case, I can see how APM's could cannibalize sales of mid-fi gear. The likes of Sennheiser, IBasso, Sony and even Astell&Kern should be on the lookout.

 

[trellus]

Is obvious from my previous posts, the b&o h95 is the best, in my opinion. But I think too the shure aonic 50 and sennheiser m3 are the only anc headphones I considering buying if sound quality is your main priority. The factory sound of the aonic 50 is better than sennheiser m3, but the m3 is having now (not before) a better eq and having other advantages than aonic 50 (very better construction definitely).

I've listened to the H95, a friend of mine has those, and man, I really liked those -- expensive for me, though, for what they are. I crapped on the style of the APM earlier in this thread, but being fickle as I am, I've changed my mind, lol -- I dig the look of the mint green ones, and it's good to finally start reading sound impressions from people here, as I trust Head-Fi'ers more than typical consumers, when it comes to judging SQ of headphones.

 

[vkenz]

Will this have the same wide and expansive soundspace as the airpods pro? I hope it will not be as bass anemic as the airpods pro. It was a present to my wife but she return it me and kept using her old airpods as she also find it lacking in bass. But after trying it, it has a bass just a tiny amount of it.

 

[lowrider007]

I’m my opinion they are better than the cascades and on par with the LCD2C through an E30 and atom - getting fed the same Apple Music files.
Can’t comment on the AFC2

wow, if this is true I'll be completely blown away, may even save myself some cash and sell my headphone rig, this would be an Apple meteorite hitting right smack in the middle of the headphone audio community, I'm not sure how some people will handle it, I guess apple did it with the iPhone back in the day, perhaps this is the headphone equivalent, I need to audition these asap.

 

[pfurey89]

The APM is not that good really. Mid-fi headphones like the AFC 2 are alot better (atleast from the Hugo 2)

A $900 headphone connected to a $2500 DAC/amp one would think to be better than a wireless $550 headphone. Are they 6x better? Absolutely not.

The laws of diminishing returns with headphones is a game often played by those with deep pockets who need that dopamine rush, or to justify any slight nuance between gear. I’ve played that game for years. It’s fun and there’s nothing wrong with it.

The APM is ‘that good’, really, for the price. $550 doesn’t really get you anything more compelling as a complete package when you have to factor in amp + headphone. Once you move into the $1500 realm is where I would find that money is likely worth the 3x premium over the APM, but not before then.

 

[mangamonster]

Got mine in and first off, in a nutshell, these are a wireless marvel and achievement for headphones.

I'm mainly posting to share my thoughts on wireless SQ vs wired SQ. I have the Apple lightning to 3.5 adapter cable as well. Listening to Blinding Lights and In Your Eyes by The Weeknd.

Wireless - as many others posted, good...no, great soundstage. Highs have good sparkle and sonics are very clean. Mids are a bit recessed. Lows are very clean and more accurate than boomy, but still fairly bassy. There is a definite digital formula to the sound overall, but it's so well done and I am having a hard time realizing this is wireless audio. So damn well done.

Wired to a Dragonfly, Tidal MQA - More sparkle, crispier sibilance, and more separation. Dare I say even wider soundstage? Highs and lows have a tad more attack and are a bit tighter. Now here's the interesting part. The mids have come out of hiding and have joined the highs/lows, although still standing a tad behind the highs and lows. Overall, the sound signature sounds more balanced, is a little brighter and clarity steps up a couple of levels. Wired makes the wireless sound sig seem darker and smoother, while wired is more analytical with cleaner separation and mids more present.

Negs: for what they are, SQ is incredible overall, yet lows and bass punch could be a little tighter (though very very very good still!).

Overall, on this first impression, I'm lovestruck. Get them if you still can if you want the best wireless experience, imo

 

[Sebastien Chiu]

Our meng Marques also back with a longer review!

 

[XERO1]

Been listening to these for about an hour or so. Very fun sound with quite a boomy bass though some of the female vocals sound a bit too artificial at times. I was curious to see if the aux made any difference and was rather surprised. I hear some of the DMP sound through these so very happy about that.

Talk about overkill !!

 

[noper]

Wonder if Audio46 got their hands on a pair to review. Actually now that I think about it I guess it depends on whether they will sell it or not?

 

[MICHAELSD]

I’m still of the camp that believes that the price is too high unless AirPods Max has revelatory high-end sound.

First impressions are certainly promising. I’d probably love these if I tried them, but I can’t find a justification just yet other than it being a shiny new Apple product.

 

[Maukey]

 

[MICHAELSD]

Even if it's the case, I can see how APM's could cannibalize sales of mid-fi gear. The likes of Sennheiser, IBasso, Sony and even Astell&Kern should be on the lookout.

My hope was that if Apple were to ever release an over-ear headphone that it would have a level of sound quality that would cannibalize even high-end gear, in a beautifully-designed wireless package that would change the audio industry.

Not that I hope for other audio brands to go out of business as a result, but “every once in a while a product comes along that changes everything.” I’m not quite sure yet this is that product, and that’s disappointing.

 

[SilverEars]

I’m still of the camp that believes that the price is too high unless AirPods Max has revelatory high-end sound.

First impressions are certainly promising. I’d probably love these if I tried them, but I can’t find a justification just yet other than it being a shiny new Apple product.

I'm getting impression it's not so far. I was hoping wireless can be demonstrated to go to the higher level than what's out there.

Our meng Marques also back with a longer review!

It's always interesting to see his straightforward reviews. He's not the high-end audio type, but he is quite knowledgeable in tech, and has good opinions (common sensical) on things (although here, we can only expect more of consumer opinion of audio unfortunately). It's funny to see how he's annoyed with the case. lol I imagine he's got to have some sort of OCD.

Yall see all those PS5's around the Christmas tree? And I'm struggling to get a single PS5.

I've heard two microphone tests, and Marques's one is the worse sounding. I assume his is more accurate. lol

 

[BoardC3]

My hope was that if Apple were to ever release an over-ear headphone that it would have a level of sound quality that would cannibalize even high-end gear, in a beautifully-designed wireless package that would change the audio industry.

Not that I hope for other audio brands to go out of business as a result, but “every once in a while a product comes along that changes everything.” I’m not quite sure yet this is that product, and that’s disappointing.

This is the case. The convenience is amazing and it's tuned to be an incredible first impression. I'm warming up to them so much that I'm about to sell my trusty Senn 6xx's. The sounds from these is better than my imac->peachtree->Senns. Once you add in the seamless iPhone integration (still getting bad quality from my imac) and incredible noise cancellation, and even better transparency mode**, I'm starting to think that these are going to be killers. They remind me of a way way way better version of the Audeze iSines that I loved years ago, but better in every way.

**Transparency mode -- The most overlooked feature of these headphones. I feel like I have superhuman hearing when on this mode. Every tiny noise is brought to attention in a way that I can't describe. But the swooshing of my pants, or typing on my keyboard, are all very clear and obvious without being intrusive. It's really really impressive and totally different than Transparency mode on the Airpod Pros.

 

[Maukey]

I’m still of the camp that believes that the price is too high unless AirPods Max has revelatory high-end sound.

First impressions are certainly promising. I’d probably love these if I tried them, but I can’t find a justification just yet other than it being a shiny new Apple product.

Wow! I'm shocked to hear this from you. MICHAELSD you've been waiting on Apples Wireless ANC Over Ear Headphones for a while. I remember you saying you were riding the Momentums and Solo 3 until Apple released theirs. I'm not sure what your portable headphone lineup is today, but I think you will REALLY like these. I picked them up today and my early impressions are amazement to say the least. Excellent build and to my surprise, comfort. Features are top notch if you have Apple products. Sound is very clear, detailed, and open. Noise cancelling is at the very least right up there with Sony and Bose. I feel it may even be better but since I'm not flying right now I can't fully test this. The mic for calls is top notch just like the AirPods Pro. And the Transparency mode is by far the best I've heard on a set of over ears and it's not close. The Spatial Audio on iPhone and iPads is nuts. You can take the Max plus an iPad on the go and have a convenient portable movie theatre setup with you. I believe these headphones are going to shock a lot of people. Especially the "overpriced" camp