[tinyman392]

For condensation to occur, the temperature of the surface has to be lower than the air temperature. With a metal body, I'd imagine these will cool off quickly if used outdoors in cold environment. In those cases, I could see condensation being a possibility more than a plastic body.

That said, I'm one of those sweaty people and, while I do find the APMs quite warm, I never noticed any condensation after hours of use.

I had a single isolated incident of it happening, and I wasn’t sweating (I don’t really sweat much unless I’m actively moving or it’s stupid hot out).

 

[tkddans]

Suddenly decided to test the APP again, comparing it to APM.

I definitely prefer the APP on metal/hard rock where male vocals need to come out more.

Try...
Ludens
By: Bring Me The Horizon

or...
Throne
By: Bring Me The Horizon

But then, for female vocals, they come out better to me on the APM?
try...
KARATE
By: BABYMETAL

I guess it's good that I have APP and APM when traveling/at home. Different tuning and feel available when needing a wireless and private listening experience.

EDIT::
It’s pretty disappointing though for these metal tracks with male vocals in them. Makes me think the APP are easier to work for more situations.

It actually really bothers me now to the point where I wonder about returning them. I just don't know though.

Even though I enjoy the APM much more than the APP on various tracks and genres, I really don’t enjoy the APM on some things like these metal tracks with male vocals.

Do I keep the APM for the things it does very well to my taste? Or do I return them and use the APP exclusively for wireless listening, for the fact that it does everything at least decently enough? Bleh

I'm genuinely torn and have to listen to more.

 

[Heyyoudvd]

Suddenly decided to test the APP again, comparing it to APM.

I definitely prefer the APP on metal/hard rock where male vocals need to come out more.

Try...
Ludens
By: Bring Me The Horizon

or...
Throne
By: Bring Me The Horizon

But then, for female vocals, they come out better to me on the APM?
try...
KARATE
By: BABYMETAL

I guess it's good that I have APP and APM when traveling/at home. Different tuning and feel available when needing a wireless and private listening experience.

EDIT::
It’s pretty disappointing though for these metal tracks with male vocals in them. Makes me think the APP are easier to work for more situations.

It actually really bothers me now to the point where I wonder about returning them. I just don't know though.

Even though I enjoy the APM much more than the APP on various tracks and genres, I really don’t enjoy the APM on some things like these metal tracks with male vocals.

Do I keep the APM for the things it does very well to my taste? Or do I return them and use the APP exclusively for wireless listening, for the fact that it does everything at least decently enough? Bleh

I'm genuinely torn and have to listen to more.

I listened to two of those tracks you listed, on both my APM and APP, and I honestly preferred the APM.

I can see how some might like the APP more, as they‘re more straight-forward and direct, with vocals right up front that govern everything else. By comparison, the APM is more opinionated. It has the vocals merely as one instrument in the mix, on equal footing to the drums and the guitar, rather than sitting in front of them.

Personally, I prefer that. The whole mix sounds more complete and intricate to me. I hear the separation, each instrument lives in its own space (including vocals), and there’s both more impact and more texture to the drums and guitars. The echoes of the vocals. The buzz of the guitars. The impact of each drum beat. I like that stuff. Those things are the song, instead of merely serving as a sort of background ambiance to the vocals.

The APP still sound good, but they’re much simpler and less intricate by comparison. I prefer the more engrossing sound of the APM. There’s so much more ‘going on’.

I suppose you can view this like beer. An award-winning craft beer is delicious, but sometimes you just want a Bud Light on a hot day. Or, I should clarify, that’s an opinion that some people have. And it’s a fine opinion. But personally, I’ll always take a craft beer over a Bud Light.

 

[tkddans]

I listened to two of those tracks you listed, on both my APM and APP, and I honestly preferred the APM.

I can see how some might like the APP more, as they‘re more straight-forward and direct, with vocals right up front that govern everything else. By comparison, the APM is more opinionated. It has the vocals merely as one instrument in the mix, on equal footing to the drums and the guitar, rather than sitting in front of them.

Personally, I prefer that. The whole mix sounds more complete and intricate to me. I hear the separation, each instrument lives in its own space (including vocals), and there’s both more impact and more texture to the drums and guitars. The echoes of the vocals. The buzz of the guitars. The impact of each drum beat. I like that stuff. Those things are the song, instead of merely serving as a sort of background ambiance to the vocals.

The APP still sound good, but they’re much simpler and less intricate by comparison. I prefer the more engrossing sound of the APM. There’s so much more ‘going on’.

I suppose you can view this like beer. An award-winning craft beer is delicious, but sometimes you just want a Bud Light on a hot day. Or, I should clarify, that’s an opinion that some people have. And it’s a fine opinion. But personally, I’ll always take a craft beer over a Bud Light.

I agree completely with your description of the two.

 

[Ilomaenkimi]

People who has listened Panda and APM; is APM brighter? Panda's really are not for me, according to this test, seems that they are really "thick" and bassy?
https://crinacle.com/2020/12/30/drop-thx-panda-review-to-be-blunt/

 

[Karnicopia]

Suddenly decided to test the APP again, comparing it to APM.

I definitely prefer the APP on metal/hard rock where male vocals need to come out more.

Try...
Ludens
By: Bring Me The Horizon

or...
Throne
By: Bring Me The Horizon

But then, for female vocals, they come out better to me on the APM?
try...
KARATE
By: BABYMETAL

I guess it's good that I have APP and APM when traveling/at home. Different tuning and feel available when needing a wireless and private listening experience.

EDIT::
It’s pretty disappointing though for these metal tracks with male vocals in them. Makes me think the APP are easier to work for more situations.

It actually really bothers me now to the point where I wonder about returning them. I just don't know though.

Even though I enjoy the APM much more than the APP on various tracks and genres, I really don’t enjoy the APM on some things like these metal tracks with male vocals.

Do I keep the APM for the things it does very well to my taste? Or do I return them and use the APP exclusively for wireless listening, for the fact that it does everything at least decently enough? Bleh

I'm genuinely torn and have to listen to more.

I was really enjoying the audiogram sound but last night I listened to some NIN and it did seem like Trent’s voice was missing a little something so I switched to vocal slight and really liked the sound of that. I seemed to still like the overall balance with that too on instrumentals so I may just switch to that but we’ll see it’s still early.

 

[tinyman392]

People who has listened Panda and APM; is APM brighter? Panda's really are not for me, according to this test, seems that they are really "thick" and bassy?
https://crinacle.com/2020/12/30/drop-thx-panda-review-to-be-blunt/

The APM does have brighter treble and a bigger bass body. The midrange is a different story though.

Edit: Keep in mind that Crinacle has his own preferences when it comes to sound. The Panda stray from that as they’re a smoother, warmer sound signature. If memory serves Crinacle prefers more of a straight neutral sound.

 

[tkddans]

Returning the APM and why the $550 price still makes sense to me
So I decided, for now, to return my APM. As much as they soundly beat my AirPods Pros in many genres, the APM was giving me issues with some of my favorite music - particularly hard rock and metal that have prominent male vocals. They still performed very strong for my taste otherwise though. In live performances of jazz, of female vocalists and acoustics, of classical, and hard/rock metal with female vocals, the APM was superb for me. But...I need my wireless headphone to answer all my questions at least decently enough for my taste. I need to feel all my music, and instead of feeling my male vocal rock/metal, I was straining to hear what I wanted there.

If I was at home with my DAC/AMP, I could try to justify the headphones better as a complement to my HD 800's - filling in the missing range of sub bass and give me another flavor to try when it's convenient to switch headphones.

However...when it comes to wireless portables, I don't want to have multiple options to choose from when exiting the house. I find myself wanting to be picky for the use case of traveling. And, because the APP are already decent across all genres (though not really excelling where the APM do in a few), I decided to return the APM for now. Just for now.

Throughout all the listening and comparing I've done and shared on the forums here, I still support them in every way that I've expressed. I still think they are well worth $550. It's the same for most every headphone. Many in this community have multiple headphones, each worth the same price or more, so they can satisfy different sonic desires. I'm simply too picky to let myself have multiple portable headphones at this time, if any one of those extra portable options fails to connect me to some of my music.

In any case, it's sad indeed because I will actually miss what the APM do very well. Maybe if Apple pushes a tuning update or tuning options for the user, I can find myself having them again. Or maybe I'll buy them again after missing them enough on my next travel! Or...maybe the APP 2 coming soon will have sound quality changes that I will like, and with the convenient in-ear form factor.

 

[angelom]

Returning the APM and why the $550 price still makes sense to me
So I decided, for now, to return my APM. As much as they soundly beat my AirPods Pros in many genres, the APM was giving me issues with some of my favorite music - particularly hard rock and metal that have prominent male vocals. They still performed very strong for my taste otherwise though. In live performances of jazz, of female vocalists and acoustics, of classical, and hard/rock metal with female vocals, the APM was superb for me. But...I need my wireless headphone to answer all my questions at least decently enough for my taste. I need to feel all my music, and instead of feeling my male vocal rock/metal, I was straining to hear what I wanted there.

If I was at home with my DAC/AMP, I could try to justify the headphones better as a complement to my HD 800's - filling in the missing range of sub bass and give me another flavor to try when it's convenient to switch headphones.

However...when it comes to wireless portables, I don't want to have multiple options to choose from when exiting the house. I find myself wanting to be picky for the use case of traveling. And, because the APP are already decent across all genres (though not really excelling where the APM do in a few), I decided to return the APM for now. Just for now.

Throughout all the listening and comparing I've done and shared on the forums here, I still support them in every way that I've expressed. I still think they are well worth $550. It's the same for most every headphone. Many in this community have multiple headphones, each worth the same price or more, so they can satisfy different sonic desires. I'm simply too picky to let myself have multiple portable headphones at this time, if any one of those extra portable options fails to connect me to some of my music.

In any case, it's sad indeed because I will actually miss what the APM do very well. Maybe if Apple pushes a tuning update or tuning options for the user, I can find myself having them again. Or maybe I'll buy them again after missing them enough on my next travel! Or...maybe the APP 2 coming soon will have sound quality changes that I will like, and with the convenient in-ear form factor.

I know maybe right now you're not thinking about buying or trying a new anc headphone, and even more if is more expensive than APM. BUT maybe you can trying the h95 sometime. B&O offering free trying for 30 days with free returning if you don't like the h95

 

[Thrifty Spender]

Maybe i should post this on my Airpods Max thread on the mobile board. But i think that one of the advantages of the Max is Apple Care+. You can really use it without damaging it. This one seems to be able to withstanding colder temperature than the Airpods Pro too.

 

[erich6]

Returning the APM and why the $550 price still makes sense to me
So I decided, for now, to return my APM. As much as they soundly beat my AirPods Pros in many genres, the APM was giving me issues with some of my favorite music - particularly hard rock and metal that have prominent male vocals. They still performed very strong for my taste otherwise though. In live performances of jazz, of female vocalists and acoustics, of classical, and hard/rock metal with female vocals, the APM was superb for me. But...I need my wireless headphone to answer all my questions at least decently enough for my taste. I need to feel all my music, and instead of feeling my male vocal rock/metal, I was straining to hear what I wanted there.

If I was at home with my DAC/AMP, I could try to justify the headphones better as a complement to my HD 800's - filling in the missing range of sub bass and give me another flavor to try when it's convenient to switch headphones.

However...when it comes to wireless portables, I don't want to have multiple options to choose from when exiting the house. I find myself wanting to be picky for the use case of traveling. And, because the APP are already decent across all genres (though not really excelling where the APM do in a few), I decided to return the APM for now. Just for now.

Throughout all the listening and comparing I've done and shared on the forums here, I still support them in every way that I've expressed. I still think they are well worth $550. It's the same for most every headphone. Many in this community have multiple headphones, each worth the same price or more, so they can satisfy different sonic desires. I'm simply too picky to let myself have multiple portable headphones at this time, if any one of those extra portable options fails to connect me to some of my music.

In any case, it's sad indeed because I will actually miss what the APM do very well. Maybe if Apple pushes a tuning update or tuning options for the user, I can find myself having them again. Or maybe I'll buy them again after missing them enough on my next travel! Or...maybe the APP 2 coming soon will have sound quality changes that I will like, and with the convenient in-ear form factor.

This will be interesting to watch...expecting to see a mob with pitchforks!

 

[Heyyoudvd]

Maybe i should post this on my Airpods Max thread on the mobile board. But i think that one of the advantages of the Max is Apple Care+. You can really use it without damaging it. This one seems to be able to withstanding colder temperature than the Airpods Pro too.

Here’s Apple’s official documentation regarding temperature:

https://support.apple.com/en-asia/HT211884

They group all three AirPods models together (regular, Pro, and Max), and they list the operating temperature as between 0º and 35º C (32º to 95º F), with a storage temperature between -20º and 45º C (-4º to 113º F).

Notably, it says that using the AirPods below the listed operating temperature could create temporary battery problems (until they warm up again), while using them above the listed operating temperature could create permanent problems.

 

[ricksastro]

This will be interesting to watch...expecting to see a mob with pitchforks!

Not sure why they would...it's not like he's trying to leave Scientology or something. Everyone makes their choices based on their needs and wants. Who are we to judge that?

 

[MRSallee]

My (too long) review of AirPods Max:

Summary: I think it's the best ANC headphone I've heard, and and it's not really close. But also the standard here is pretty low; XM3, Bose 700, B&W PX, Beats Studio are not high bars to clear. But I think AirPods Max achieves not just sounding better than those, but actually being enjoyable to listen to. APM doesn't sound the same as, but I think is comparable in enjoyment to something like AKG K371 or Meze 99 Classics.

I find the tune on APM quite warm, with surprisingly withdrawn vocals, lots of sub-bass emphasis, and a bit too much upper treble emphasis. This makes it a fun but somewhat fatiguing listen, as the bass -- while fairly well controlled -- can hit pretty hard and the treble makes some high hats, cymbals, and drum brushes a bit irritating. Macro contrast is generally strong, which gives a decent sense of stage (especially for a closed-back) and 3D sense of instrument separation, though micro contrast is not fantastic, resulting in underwhelming detail -- about what I'd expect for a Bluetooth headphone.

So generally I'm pretty happy with the sound. Won't replace wired cans, but makes the other ANC big names kinda obsolete in a way.

That said, the main reason I probably won't use AirPods Max much going forward is the passive battery drain. These things drain like 10-15% battery per day if you don't touch them. I usually have a pair of AirPods Pro in the living room that I'll pick up occasionally when I want to listen to something while my wife watches TV. Used this way, I charge the APP maybe once a month. AirPods Max, used this way, will require weekly charging. But considering I might go days between using them, it seems likely that I'm going to frequently be picking up a dead headphone for my occasional couch use.

(Disclaimer: I haven't been using the case, which seems impractical for daily use. Based on Apple's description of the power modes, the case makes a difference only after 18 hours of disuse anyway.)

 

[tinyman392]

My (too long) review of AirPods Max:

Summary: I think it's the best ANC headphone I've heard, and and it's not really close. But also the standard here is pretty low; XM3, Bose 700, B&W PX, Beats Studio are not high bars to clear. But I think AirPods Max achieves not just sounding better than those, but actually being enjoyable to listen to. APM doesn't sound the same as, but I think is comparable in enjoyment to something like AKG K371 or Meze 99 Classics.

I find the tune on APM quite warm, with surprisingly withdrawn vocals, lots of sub-bass emphasis, and a bit too much upper treble emphasis. This makes it a fun but somewhat fatiguing listen, as the bass -- while fairly well controlled -- can hit pretty hard and the treble makes some high hats, cymbals, and drum brushes a bit irritating. Macro contrast is generally strong, which gives a decent sense of stage (especially for a closed-back) and 3D sense of instrument separation, though micro contrast is not fantastic, resulting in underwhelming detail -- about what I'd expect for a Bluetooth headphone.

So generally I'm pretty happy with the sound. Won't replace wired cans, but makes the other ANC big names kinda obsolete in a way.

That said, the main reason I probably won't use AirPods Max much going forward is the passive battery drain. These things drain like 10-15% battery per day if you don't touch them. I usually have a pair of AirPods Pro in the living room that I'll pick up occasionally when I want to listen to something while my wife watches TV. Used this way, I charge the APP maybe once a month. AirPods Max, used this way, will require weekly charging. But considering I might go days between using them, it seems likely that I'm going to frequently be picking up a dead headphone for my occasional couch use.

(Disclaimer: I haven't been using the case, which seems impractical for daily use. Based on Apple's description of the power modes, the case makes a difference only after 18 hours of disuse anyway.)

10-15% is closer to how they drain if you leave them outside the case from my experiences*. If you put them inside the case, and your AirPods Max aren’t bugging out, you’ll get approximately 2x the battery life. If your APM are bugging out then in the case they’ll drain as if they’re being played during that time (so like dead by 24 hours). With mixed usage, my Maxes are currently at 47% left on the battery. I took them off the charger Tuesday morning, they saw heavy use Tuesday and light use yesterday and today; I’ve had them either sitting out of the case during the day and in the case at night. I figure I could get another 2 days out of them depending on how much I use them before needing to top off the battery.

* my personal testing had them with an 8-day battery life if left untouched outside the case (about 1% every 2 hours). After factory resetting a few times I got the in-case battery life to be about 15 days.