[angelom]

Not exactly the same, the APM is spatially aware as well, so you can tell where the noise is coming from, not just that there is a noise there.

By exactly the same I only meaning that with the 3 headphones you can listening to music and use ANC or transparency, not about spatial awareness or the fact that you can adjusting ANC and transparency with xm3 and xm4.

 

[Monstieur]

[/QUOTE]

I've had a strange situation where the audio will get sped up a bit when I've taken them off my head and put them back on. I'm sure it'll be resolved quickly.

I thought I was imagining things. Mine sounds like it has sped up for a second, multiple times, when I put it on and start playing music.

 

[Monstieur]

Little discovery about volume at desk setup:

Using an amp allows the headphone to go louder than through bluetooth or wired into the computer. Distortion occurs though with my Schiit at high enough setting, but the dial can be turned up enough without distortion to allow content to be played at higher volumes. I can't say that it changes quality, but I can watch my favorite shows/movies at a higher volume that I would like to.

You can also still adjust volume with the APM's crown. So it can get very loud, for anyone feeling a lack in volume at home.

With a 0 dBFS beat, mine clips at anything louder than the Bluetooth volume level. If the content isn't 0 dBFS, you can get away with a small amount of additional gain.

 

[SparkOnShore]

Same with the Bose NC700. Apple may have made setup easier, but there’s zero lag here. Connection isn’t too high quality at times.

Now the bigger question, is the quality head and shoulder better with the APM than what the NC 700 offfers?

I cannot speak about the Bose 700 because I haven’t heard them, though I own the Bose qc earbuds which are million times better, more stable and with really higher quality sound than my AirPods Pro which slide out of my ears on every step! But regarding the Sony xm4, I hear many reviewers mentioning they offer much deeper bass than the APM. Generally I guess the xm4 are punchier than the APM which to my taste is more preferable, even not that accurate.

 

[SparkOnShore]

Is LDAC really all that? The supposedly superior codec has been available for years, and till now only a handful of headphones support it. Of note, the XM4 and the Audeze Mobius. The Mobius is a gaming headset, and the XM4 just sounds atrocious. AAC works just fine...this isn’t a codec issue, it’s an audio tuning issue.

When i read comments like this it really makes me laugh! How can the best anc headphone of 2020 according to all pro reviewers be atrocious? Most probably you never heard it and you just comment without knowing. Take a look on their compensated curve on soundguys.com and then come back and tell me what is atrocious to your golden ears!

 

[Maukey]

When i read comments like this it really makes me laugh! How can the best anc headphone of 2020 according to all pro reviewers be atrocious? Most probably you never heard it and you just comment without knowing. Take a look on their compensated curve on soundguys.com and then come back and tell me what is atrocious to your golden ears!

I agree with this. I own the Max and do agree with the general consensus that they’re a tier or two higher in sound than the XM4, but I can’t agree with ‘they sound atrocious”. I’ve heard atrocious sounding headphones and the XM4s aren’t that. They are very good sounding. A little bass heavy and veiled but still good. Very good midrange. I would still proclaim them the best value in wireless anc headphones right now because of all they bring to the table for $350 ($278 right now).

 

[Ilomaenkimi]

I cannot speak about the Bose 700 because I haven’t heard them, though I own the Bose qc earbuds which are million times better, more stable and with really higher quality sound than my AirPods Pro which slide out of my ears on every step! But regarding the Sony xm4, I hear many reviewers mentioning they offer much deeper bass than the APM. Generally I guess the xm4 are punchier than the APM which to my taste is more preferable, even not that accurate.

Sony does not have deeper bass. It has more bass. Muddy and very boomy bass.
And Sonys are made of plastic, feeling like cheep toys, imo.
Very good midrange? You can't even hear midrange, bass is so loud.
But everyone has own taste. I had sony's, they are poor headphones for my taste. Not suitable for music. Music is not all that bass

 

[clerkpalmer]

So basically this will be the start of "The End" of cables. Hmm..... I think Audeze's R&D is going in the right direction with all their latest release all wireless.

I think this is a stretch and only a bunch of Apple fans would go so far as to suggest that Apple would be responsible for it. Until you can get full CD quality over wireless, it's not going to be the end of wired. Eventually the tech will get there but Apple hasn't shown any interest in improving AAC to date while many others are pushing for improvements. You can say that "AAC" is "fine" or that "LDAC" isn't "fine" but at least others are trying to innovate.

Regarding Audeze, what are you talking about? The gaming headsets? Of course they are wireless. Did I miss an all wireless Audeze release? By the way, when it comes to employing wireless, Audeze put LDAC on the Mobius. They must have thought that LDAC was worth the licensing fee.

 

[clerkpalmer]

I agree with this. I own the Max and do agree with the general consensus that they’re a tier or two higher in sound than the XM4, but I can’t agree with ‘they sound atrocious”. I’ve heard atrocious sounding headphones and the XM4s aren’t that. They are very good sounding. A little bass heavy and veiled but still good. Very good midrange. I would still proclaim them the best value in wireless anc headphones right now because of all they bring to the table for $350 ($278 right now).

This is how the Apple fanatics lose credibility with me immediately. The Bose and Sony aren't for me but comments like that show you that there is no objective lens here. Apple is God; Everyone else is horrible. The APM will be the "BEST SELLING HEADPHONE IN THE WORLD". Why can't we just say the APM is an upgrade over the current offerings and that the upgrade comes at a price and for some that price will be worth it. This is perfectly reasonable and accurate.

Instead, here, the APM is causing people to ditch their wired rigs, proclaim the end of wires, and of course, declare Bose and Sony as "trash" despite selling literally millions of units over the years.

I told myself I wouldn't get sucked into this thread again...

 

[SparkOnShore]

https://crinacle.com/2020/12/19/apple-airpods-max-review-the-audiophiles-perspective/

 

[clerkpalmer]

https://crinacle.com/2020/12/19/apple-airpods-max-review-the-audiophiles-perspective/

Right. And if you read up thread the immediate response was crinnacle is trash. Just like Bose and Sony.

 

[SparkOnShore]

I agree with this. I own the Max and do agree with the general consensus that they’re a tier or two higher in sound than the XM4, but I can’t agree with ‘they sound atrocious”. I’ve heard atrocious sounding headphones and the XM4s aren’t that. They are very good sounding. A little bass heavy and veiled but still good. Very good midrange. I would still proclaim them the best value in wireless anc headphones right now because of all they bring to the table for $350 ($278 right now).

Totally agreed. I haven’t heard the APM yet but I guess they will be more balanced than xm4, knowing Apple. The xm4 are bass heavy indeed, but this fact holds its own to some people like me who love bass. At the same time though the xm4 have a marvelous presentation of mids as well as natural highs. I agree that most probably the APM will be more articulate generally speaking, but Sony are also rather good sounding headphones in a much more reasonable price.

 

[SparkOnShore]

Sony does not have deeper bass. It has more bass. Muddy and very boomy bass.
And Sonys are made of plastic, feeling like cheep toys, imo.
Very good midrange? You can't even hear midrange, bass is so loud.
But everyone has own taste. I had sony's, they are poor headphones for my taste. Not suitable for music. Music is not all that bass

That is just your humble opinion! To me music is a lot that bass! Yes Sony has more bass, I agree. That’s nice to me. Plastic also is not bad at all. It’s durable and light! I would like to see you walking around the city with 400 gr metal on your head and then let’s comment again. Anc wireless headphones are not made for the sofa I believe. If I was about to buy something for the sofa I would rather buy cabled with much higher audio quality!

 

[nihalsharma]

This is how the Apple fanatics lose credibility with me immediately. The Bose and Sony aren't for me but comments like that show you that there is no objective lens here. Apple is God; Everyone else is horrible. The APM will be the "BEST SELLING HEADPHONE IN THE WORLD". Why can't we just say the APM is an upgrade over the current offerings and that the upgrade comes at a price and for some that price will be worth it. This is perfectly reasonable and accurate.

Instead, here, the APM is causing people to ditch their wired rigs, proclaim the end of wires, and of course, declare Bose and Sony as "trash" despite selling literally millions of units over the years.

I told myself I wouldn't get sucked into this thread again...

I think you are mostly right. But let’s accept a fact that Apple has made a better sounding ANC headphones. Whatever the market has to offer is not really of very good standard(yeah, but words like horrible and atrocious should not be used). I think there are a lot of people who’d buy APM at a higher price if the future versions are tuned better and sound anywhere close to an audiophile quality. The price should not be argued over because we have literally too many audiophile quality iems/daps priced ridiculously high. So, if the APM sets a new standard of ANC headphones so be it. It’s good for the industry and competition, isn’t it?

 

[tkddans]

I just ordered the Drop Panda for about $400, $420 off Amazon (better return policy and such).

I will be trying them out to compare against APM, since some say that APM are closer to their quality. I will report my findings. Estimated shipping date is Dec 24.

It seems like they may be the more appropriate comparison for sound quality of a wireless, closed back headphone.

(though I already have stated I like the APM well enough for them to be worth $1000, especially including the tech and portability)