I bought the APM and have had them for a short time. First impressions only so far, but I felt the desire to share since reading so much said from others. I'll keep it really simple for now for an overview of my feelings.
My background as an audiophile and what I like in my sound
I've personally tried many high end wired, open back headphones at stores, gatherings of enthusiasts, and even once in Japan when I visited an audio shop there.
After many trying headphones out throughout this time, buying and selling/trading pairs, I now sit on only two pairs I couldn't want to do without: Sennheiser HD 800 S and 650.
While other headphones made strong impressions for their own special qualities, I've never liked them enough to keep them for the cost. Very personal and subjective of course. I'm in love with soundstage, clarity, separation. Without these qualities, even if a headphone does very well in punchy mids, strong bass, or unsibilant trebles, I just don't find myself appreciating them. I have quite my own bias here. 800 S is my ultimate pair for reference and for what I find the most joy in. Clarity is king, IMO.
Apple Fanboy
I am one. Oops? I get flack for it from a friend, but hey...if they make nice things, and I want nice things, why is that bad? Good design is a bias I have, and Apple has good aesthetic sense, from the Mac OS to everything else IMO. I'm saying this because I am aware of confirmation bias. As much as an Apple fan as I am, I've had a separate hobby altogether within this audiophile world. I want to approach an audio product Apple makes with skepticism and objective listening, as I have tried hard to do with any audio product.
AirPods Max: My impressions and verdict for their place in my life
Like most people on this forum, as an enthusiast in audio, I bought these headphones with skepticism. I entirely counted on these to sound only as good as any true wireless headphones (like everyone else, I expected these to compare to the Sony and Bose offerings near the $250-350 price points).
Unboxing
Great, sure. That cardboard opened pretty. The APM box was inside, with the APM waiting to simply be picked up. Simple. Clean. Nice. Does that matter for audio? No. Moving on.
"Case"
This isn't a case. But I'm going to say something very debatable...I think the headphones will stand up to being thrown in bags just fine. The cover that comes with the headphones may actually be the only level of protection it needs, and it's just because the metal can scratch, so it protects scratching. The headrest, if you actually try bending and pushing on it, is actually very pliable and resistant to any kind of breaking or wear that other portable headphones might be more prone to when thrown in a bag. I could be wrong. I'm ready to eat my words as we see people use these over time, but I think this may POSSIBLY be a situation where a hard carrying case wouldn't be needed.
What's more because of this minimal covering, or lack of hard case altogether, is that the APM will take up a similar space to even the smallest case designs of wireless headphone competitors, such as the Sony's (I love that case, simply the best I've seen IMO). So traveling with these will be easy to do, as easy as bringing any completely encased wireless competitors. Just bag it and stop worrying with these.
What I don't see anyone mentioning either is how easy it now is to actually take out and use the headphones. The covering being so easy to open with a magnetic flap means you can skip the usual steps of unzipping and zipping. You don't need to think as much about where to put the case away either. Stick it in the seat compartment ahead of you on the plane if you want, it'll fit. Same can't be said about hard cases where you have to put it back into a backpack. Apple has always tried to remove steps of work from the user experience, and that's kind of what they are doing here.
Does it affect sound quality? No. Moving on.
Comfort and Form Factor
They are heavy. Wired headphones weigh less.
They are smaller though than many high end wired headphones.
Try comparing them side by side to HD 800's or 600/650/6xx. The APM have shorter ear cups, but still enough space to completely go around the ears without sitting on them at any point. I have big ears, I think, and the cups just barely make their way around my ears comfortably. People who say these are big...they are not comparing these to high end wired headphones. They're on the smaller end for the full sized category.
The heavy weight of the headphones doesn't bother me too much, but maybe a little, just a little. I mean, how can you go from the light but beautiful, spacious HD 800's to anything else? The APM are simply not comparable to those kings of comfort IMO. BUT, the APM are still comfortable enough to wear for hours without feeling any pain anywhere.
- You won't feel abrasion from the cushion material, the mesh (unless you move them around a lot and your skin would feel that friction).
- You won't feel neck pain or pain on the top of your head where the mesh canopy sits, unless you set the headphones low enough. There's a kind of sweet spot of adjusting these where you can allow the canopy to sit on your head, but not too far that you don't let the cup pressure take some of the weight away. The cups do squeeze well enough on the sides of the head that you can let it carry some of the weight away from the headrest. I suspect some people complaining about the headrest or cups may not be finding the balance between the two. Spend some time adjusting the telescoping arms and you'll find a comfortable spot for you.
After years of keeping my HD 800's on a wooden headphone stand, with a bag covering them for dust protecting, and with the thick and long wires dangling out around my desk and into the AMP/DAC....it's quite freeing to have not only a wireless headphone, but a headphone that doesn't need to be packed up all the time. When I finish using them, I can just slip them into their purse looking sleeve and set them down next to me. I could even imagine putting them right into a backpack or luggage and not truly worrying about what will happen to them.
I'm overall very pleased with the size and the impact the materials/design have on the durability and ease of use those factors bring to real world situations. Everyone's downplaying these things but I think it'll become more and more apparent as people use these over time.
Do these affect sound? No. Moving on.
Tech Features
Great ANC, transparency, hard button controls I prefer over touch controls, and spatial audio is really really great for watching movies and feeling like you are in a surround sound home theater on the go. Simply fantastic implementations across the board without compromising sound quality. I can hardly tell a difference, if there is any at all, between the quality of sound between the ANC, transparency, and off modes. That's fairly special.
Now to talk about sound quality itself...
Sound Quality Impressions
These match high end, open back, wired headphone audiophile expectations. For the $550 price, these are downright affordable.
When you consider the fact that these are cheaper high end headphones that also have portability, durability, terrifically implemented tech features...how could you NOT decide to own these? Seriously, these may take over for many buyers both laymen and audiophile alike.
HOWEVER....high end audiophile gear is very subjective. I can see these competing with many pairs, subjectively anyway, above $1000. Objectively though, they do not reach the same degree of raw performance as my HD 800 S. But...it's just...so subjective.
It is very likely that many people in this community will pick these APM up and have a meh impression. It's hard to imagine them denying the objective qualities of performance: the impressive clarity of every part of the frequency response; the clear separation of instruments and vocals; the up front vocals and clean and present bass. However, opinions can set in that change your decision to actually own these or not.
Personally, despite everything positive I've stated, I'm just not sure if I enjoy them enough to keep when I already have the HD 800 S. While the APM do have more bass (good bass, not muddy at all!), I'm actually finding myself still biased at this time for the more analytical high mids and treble of the HD 800 S. This is such a situation of opinion, again. I can't stress that enough.
You may find yourself keeping APM for what it offers, while keeping the rest of your collection or your other favorite headphones. You may find yourself selling off many others because the APM covers what you want out of most of your listening. It's just fun! It's fun while not sacrificing clarity. Heck, if I could have EQ control to simply lower the bass just a couple dB, I might find the balance I personally want, and I would find myself listening to the APM almost exclusively. I don't think I can bring myself to sell my HD 800 S, because it just nails my preferences so well, but I can see selling my HD 650's and not feeling bad about it. The APM have a comfortable sound to them, which was a big reason for having the 650's. Relaxed listening has never been better for my taste, while also maintaining the clarity I've enjoyed on the often overly analytical 800. Don't get me wrong, it's not AS clear as the 800's. But it's a fantastic, just a fantastic balance of comfort, joy, and clarity, that I haven't had in any other headphone in my first-hand experience.
But hey, this is a community of very strong tastes. We may try the same pair of headphones and have different aspects we each enjoy. One man's trashed big bass or harsh treble may be another's treasured trait.
My Verdict. Keep or return?
Despite all of the praise, for which I think the APM deserves, I may actually return them! It hurts to even type that after saying all this. Why the heck would I do that?
Use cases. That's what it is for me.
When do I use over ear headphones? Would I want to take any over ears on the plane when I already have a super convenient pair of AirPods Pros? I can put those in my pocket! They come off easy, they're nimble, you just can't beat their convenience factor. Ok, so then maybe I can still keep the APM and use them at home only! Ah...but I have the HD 800's for home. Yes, they have the inconvenience of turning on my Schiit amps/dac. Yes, the 800's need to be uncovered from their dust protection and taken off the headrest. Yes, I have to put those items back together and switch off my hardware after every use. But...if I'm home and really want to enjoy music on my computer, I'll bother to do these steps anyway, right?
You know, when I look back on how much I honestly end up using my 800's, I realize I don't use them all that much. I get home from work around 5, I eat dinner, and I try to spend some time with my family. In my situation, my computer is shared with my family too. So my setup isn't always accessed.
So...maybe I keep the APM and find a new routine can be made. They are wireless after all, and lose no quality pairing with my phone at the couch compared to pairing at my desk with my computer. I got a PS5 recently too. I could buy a BT dongle and connect the APM to it, or wire it straight into my controller using a lightning to audio cable. They have built in mics, so I can use them to chat if I want as well.
I can see myself appreciating good audio more often than ever if I keep these. Or will they recede back into disuse like my other gear, due to life getting in the way?
Hmmm...
Everyone's situation is different. Everyone's use cases are different, their preferences too. As it is with every wired, open back headphones, you have to try these out to see how YOU like them compared to other options. To me, they perform on that high end, even though they are wireless and closed back. After that, it's your opinion and taste.
