[tkddans]

Hi-fi Insider with a new video. He seems to approve the sound quality and price. Some interesting info on wired quality and source importance as well, based on his experience trying.

Honeymoon is over! Audiophile’s Thoughts on AirPods Max​

EDIT (summarized sound quality and verdict):
"The sound quality is very good. [...] Playing from a CD track [...] it gave me that hit, that dynamic range, that a high end headphone delivers. [...] These are worth owning [...] I think they are underpriced for what you get [including tech features as well]."

I've also updated my comparison posts' "Critical Consensus" section to include the above summary.

 

[KeithPhantom]

To whoever has their APM and do not feel satisfied with the sound, if you have an iOS or iPadOS device, go to Accessibility-Audio/Visual-Headphone Accommodation. Please turn on this option and you will have two options: you can use the stock presets to fix anything you want depending on what you don’t really like or you can do the custom settings route (highly recommended), pay attention to the short music sections and be honest with yourself so you can answer with whichever you like the most. After that, it will give you a custom setting that it’s not quite the presets. It completely changed my opinion of these headphones, they because from bassy and distant to more present and technically capable just by doing that. Holly Molly, what a change this single setting had made to my opinion of these headphones. Seriously, give it a try. (In the pic mine seems to be in a preset even though I set it up to custom, but the selected preset and my custom sound different).

 

[AeroSatan]

Can someone do me a favor?

Listen to these 2 versions of willow (yes, a Taylor Swift song. I am kind of in love with folklore/evermore. Sue me!)

Apple Music version

Spotify version

They sound so different to me with my APM. I have a very strong preference for one over the other. I’m curious what others hear.

I’m not gonna sue you, but apple releasing these for folks who love Taylor Swift music was my first thought when I saw their design. As long as you’re enjoying them , that’s all that matters.

 

[tombrisbane]

Who knows, I dont have them yet. The fact people are making the comparison says something at least. Nobody was comparing focal clears and Z1Rs to any 500 dollar headphone previously, so even if they dont match the 1k class (lets be honest, they almost certainly wont) they seem to be incredibly impressive

I have the Z1R, and the Z7M2, and the APM really aren’t in the same ballpark of either, especially not the Z1R. Maybe from a crappy source but with decent equipment there is a vast space between them. They sound around the 3-400 AUD mark to my ears, and with the tech and construction I think the price is ok, maybe 10-20% too high.

 

[SilverEars]

I’m not gonna sue you, but apple releasing these for folks who love Taylor Swift music was my first thought when I saw their design. As long as you’re enjoying them , that’s all that matters.

You shall not expect anything less sir!

iJustine moment for you.

 

[Jonathan268]

Well, there are reasons why the ANC headphone have a certain design to them, like with a case, and being foldable (although NC 700 isn't). The analog cable and the airplane adapter. What does Apple even provide? We have to pay additional $35 for 3.5mm to lightening cable? Convenience matters while traveling. Quickly being able to pack them up, the weight. I prefer to use my APP if I can get away with it if flights are within the time frame the battery of APP can last, due to how convenient they are. I can't wait for the day the battery life gets up to 20 hrs for TWS with ANC.

So the instrustry has been established to cater to the frequent flying travelers, the business class. I always wondered why I saw so many Bose headphones on flights, and I found out one day when I actually got to try out what ANC headphones were capable of.

If you look at Ety isolation measurements, they isolate well in the highs, but aircraft noises are very high in the cyclic low frequencies, hence, ANC rids noise better in aircraft cabins. Also, due to this cyclic noise being in the lows, I see your point about the more bass maybe beneficial for flights. I haven't thought about that one.

A caveat of iems is sensitivity, some older planes may blast the volume level into your ears.

Now I wonder if in the future if the aircraft itself can cancel out the low frequency noise?

Aircrafts must not implement any Noise Cancel technology. For safety purpose, strange noise alert flight attendants as well as crews to find out what happening to have action if need.

 

[spinspin]

I guess you haven't heard of the new plane. A collaboration between Boeing and Apple. iPlane pro max plus. Full noise cancelling and 3d surround sound.

The wings are anodised aluminium painted in space grey. The seats are made from the ear cushion breathable material( replaceable after 5 flights) And when the plane is sleeping in the hanger after a long flight they wrap it up in a bra. Just cos.

Aircrafts must not implement any Noise Cancel technology. For safety purpose, strange noise alert flight attendants as well as crews to find out what happening to have action if need.

 

[WDitters]

Well here's at least a third party case for the APM that makes sense...

https://www.engadget.com/waterfield-designs-airpods-max-shield-case-080101773.html?guccounter=1

 

[fly1171]

Can someone do me a favor?

Listen to these 2 versions of willow (yes, a Taylor Swift song. I am kind of in love with folklore/evermore. Sue me!)

Apple Music version

Spotify version

They sound so different to me with my APM. I have a very strong preference for one over the other. I’m curious what others hear.

Hi Apple Music superior quality vs Spotify
Andrea

 

[WilcoRoger]

I guess you haven't heard of the new plane. A collaboration between Boeing and Apple. iPlane pro max plus. Full noise cancelling and 3d surround sound.

Obviously marketing wasn't at its best. After the DeathMax fiasco no Boeing product may have "max" in their name

PS - even on a DC3 you get full 3D surround sound of the engines. You can pinpoint each engine with your eyes closed and you can feel the sub bass in your guts!

 

[Higaida]

Hello guys. Check this review of Airpod max. This is a really cool audiophile from EISA team: (you can switch on and translate subtitles).

 

[Heyyoudvd]

It’s been a few days now since I received my AirPods Max and I just want to chime in and say how much I love them.

These really are fantastic. The build quality is excellent, the computational features are industry-leading (wireless, auto-switching, ANC, transparency, spatial, etc...), they’re comfortable enough for me to wear them for several hours with no issue, and of course, most importantly, they sound great.

I think the controversy in audiophile circles was with the notion that this multi-trillion dollar company is just going to walk in, stomp all over their industry, and kill this passionate hobby so many of us have, only to replace it with a one-size-fits-all Silicon Valley product.

The idea was that many would be under the impression that Apple just killed the audiophile industry with a mass-market computational device that stomps all over Orpheus and Shangri-La and Utopia and AB-1266, and so naturally, audiophiles scoffed at that idea and pushed back. But they overcompensated with the pushback.

Is the AirPods Max going to be a giant killer? Of course not. You can hang on to your SR-007 and your Stellia and your DAVE. That market isn’t going away. Apple is not obviating that market. But on the flip side, people who say that APM don’t sound good or that they’re merely an overpriced Sony XM4 / Bose 700 competitor - are simply wrong. The APM are audiophile headphones. Full stop. These genuinely sound good. They’re not on the level of the kind of high end gear that we frequently see in this community, but these are absolutely audiophile grade headphones.

That’s been Apple’s MO in recent years. They enter a new market, release a product that is far better than anything consumers are used to, and they pull the whole market up closer to the high end. They don’t compete with the very best, but they exist at a price point and quality level that is well above the consumer technology world and is well into ‘enthusiast’ territory. And then they bolster that with their industry-leading computational features, which puts them in a unique spot that no one else can really compete with.

They did that with Apple Watch, they did that with HomePod, and now they’re doing it with AirPods Max. The Apple Watch is a far nicer and more luxurious device than a Timex. But it’s no Patek Philippe. The HomePod is a far better speaker than the vast majority of speakers that people own. But it’s no B&W 802. Same deal with the AirPods Max.

That’s how Apple operates and I love them for it because it means they’re elevating the entire state of consumer technology and getting the mainstream to use much better products than they were before. It benefits the whole industry and should be cheered by those of us who love audio.


That’s my rant for the day.

 

[tombrisbane]

Still amazed by transparency mode every time I turn it on, it’s really like you’re not wearing anything when it’s activated and you stop the music playing.

 

[Ilomaenkimi]

Well here's at least a third party case for the APM that makes sense...

https://www.engadget.com/waterfield-designs-airpods-max-shield-case-080101773.html?guccounter=1

That's nice

 

[angelom]

Well here's at least a third party case for the APM that makes sense...

https://www.engadget.com/waterfield-designs-airpods-max-shield-case-080101773.html?guccounter=1

9.50” (l) (at widest point) x 2.25 ” (w) x 9” (h)
24 cm (l) (at widest point) x 6 cm (w) x 23 cm (h)

Ballistic: 11 oz; 317 gm
Canvas: 14 oz; 408 gm