[jhoelter]

Well, I also regret returning mine. I really did enjoy them - even more than my HD6XX/Schiit2 stack, and came to like it set on on Accommodations-Vocal-Slight. But the pressure on my head drove me bonkers. I do have a big head apparently.

Anyway, maybe the $300-400 model they come out with sooner or later will be the ticket for me. For now I’ll stick with my APPs with aftermarket grippy tips for portable use, and my trusty ER-4Ps for proper noise isolation.

Does ANY other headphone do sub-bass like the APMs? I really enjoyed it.

 

[clerkpalmer]

I’m so glad someone else hears the fantastic live performance quality of the APM. To me, these headphones do it such justice, with a fuller experience on the bass end and authentic sounding vocals than others that are even more expensive.

The whole pricing argument seems odd at times to me when there are things the APM unapologetically excels at. If it wasn’t Apple, and if the issues found on these weren’t highlighted so readily by critics, I feel that the headphones would have high regard for their strengths - and at $550, not bad at all!

I have sellers remorse typing this. I can’t wait to have my live performance headphones back, this March.

So did you prefer the APM to Panda? I like the Panda but they are bit too warm for my preference.

 

[buzzlulu]

Well, I also regret returning mine. I really did enjoy them - But the pressure on my head drove me bonkers. I do have a big head apparently.

I don’t have a big head however for me the clamping pressure is enough to return them. After 1 hour I have circular indentations on both sides of my head.
With that said these are in another league compared to Bose and Sony

 

[tkddans]

So did you prefer the APM to Panda? I like the Panda but they are bit too warm for my preference.

I preferred the APM for my taste. The Panda appeared blunted at moments compared to the APM for me. Though, they were warmer in sound, cozier for comfort, and not fatiguing on tracks where APM were. The Panda's mids were also more forward in the balance than the APM (the APM are known to have somewhat recessed mids, particularly with male vocal ranges - to my ear at least).

But...and this is a big BUT....the APM had greater clarity to me. I'm a sucker for clarity though, even if it means some sacrifices when compared to the Panda (e.g. lower mids, somewhat sibilant treble in some recordings). Plus, the APM has a fantastic sub-bass in quality and quantity you can't get in the Panda. Though, the Panda has higher bass (not sub-bass, but just above it). The Panda has more apparent percussion hits, for example. But I love the deeper sense of the music that the APM gives with its sub-bass carrying underneath everything. It brings liveliness, authenticity, engagement.

I prefer the APM above the Panda. Some people prefer the Panda. I think it'll come down to which strengths you prefer.

See Crinacle's article on the Panda for another view/breakdown.

 

[clerkpalmer]

I preferred the APM for my taste. The Panda appeared blunted at moments compared to the APM for me. Though, they were warmer in sound, cozier for comfort, and not fatiguing on tracks where APM were. The Panda's mids were also more forward in the balance than the APM (the APM are known to have somewhat recessed mids, particularly with male vocal ranges - to my ear at least).

But...and this is a big BUT....the APM had greater clarity to me. I'm a sucker for clarity though, even if it means some sacrifices when compared to the Panda (e.g. lower mids, somewhat sibilant treble in some recordings). Plus, the APM has a fantastic sub-bass in quality and quantity you can't get in the Panda. Though, the Panda has higher bass (not sub-bass, but just above it). The Panda has more apparent percussion hits, for example. But I love the deeper sense of the music that the APM gives with its sub-bass carrying underneath everything. It brings liveliness, authenticity, engagement.

I prefer the APM above the Panda. Some people prefer the Panda. I think it'll come down to which strengths you prefer.

See Crinacle's article on the Panda for another view/breakdown.

Sounds like I might prefer the APM as well. At least worth a try.

 

[CharlesL]

I finally got my APM in several days ago. Apple still claimed delivery was going to be in late February, but suddenly my doorbell rang and they were here. I was hoping Apple would be a little more accurate in their shipping estimate as I was planning to cancel the, but... here they are. The only decent headphones I still have are the Beyerdynamic DT250s I've had for years. I've never had any desire for open back headphones. At first I was comparing them both from a Macbook pro, and I understand now. The APM sound different from the laptop. I hope Apple fixes this. I preferred the DT250. Listening to the APMs from the phone I was a lot happier with the sound. Different, but not as much as I feared. The vocals seem recessed, or muddy from the laptop in comparison. I won't embarrass myself trying to describe the differences in the more detail.

I've had some very long listening sessions on them though. A lot of time on the train has given me a chance to wear them a lot. One listening session at over 10 hours. Music, a movie, audio books and a phone call. I find them quite comfortable. Audible sounds great on them. The band on top is really nice and super comfortable. Maybe my head is a bit more skinny than others, but running through a train station I could feel them move a bit more than I wanted to. I wouldn't wear them jogging, but who I am kidding? I wouldn't be jogging anyway. Granted it's only been a few days, but I've just thrown them in my bag with and without their case and they've been fine so far, no marks. They've worked great switching between two phones, a laptop, iPad, Apple TV and Apple watch. Noise cancelling works great on the train. I know i've listened to headphones too loud. I've set a cap on my iPhone recently, and using noise cancelling it's a lot easier to stick to. Transparency is great as as the Airpod pros. Makes it a lot easier walking around the stations and listening for announcements. Sometimes I do wish I could turn down the levels in transparency mode a bit.

Yeah, they are expensive. I probably could get away with the Airpod Pros, but I do run into their battery life limitations more often than I'd like, and I really appreciate the long life with the Airpod Max. I'm happy with the sound. It's got a lot of the detail I like the DT250s. I wasn't sure I'd be keeping them just due to the cost. (I could get two iPod pros if mine were lost/died), but I just organized two months working remotely in an apartment off a ski resort with a couple friends. I think they'll come in quite useful there.

This is probably no song to judge headphones on, but I really liked it on the Washmachine Sk8tronics remix. (https://music.apple.com/jp/album/wa...by-eye-yamatsuka/1001681176?i=1001681383&l=en) Careful with the volume around 4min.

 

[Heyyoudvd]

One thing I haven’t seen anyone comment on with regards to APM vs APP is that it’s much nicer to eat will wearing APM.

I really dislike eating with something in my ear canal because the motions of my jaw really affect it and mess around with motion and pressure.

Listening to a circumaural headphone is much nicer, especially one like the APM, which is pretty good about dealing with pressure.

 

[aohus]

i was banned from a discord headphones server for speaking highly of the APM's. theres a lot of snootiness within the audiophile community, thought it would have improved over time but guess not.

have used the APM's for some weeks now and absolutely impressed by them.

 

[SmOgER]

Looking at the graph that sound signature re-assembles fun sounding headphones, except a bit more flat with that curve changing rather gradually throughout the bass and mid-range. That low-end peak and then sloping down till around 250Hz for more clarity until it picks up again in the mids is very reminiscent. The differences are which parts of bass exactly are more pronounced as well as mids (highs are generally smooth sounding in "fun" headphones). Those are sub-bass and 3khz vocals orientated, but the smooth curve in idea shouldn't let you know that that easily.

Me being a basshead I would use some EQ with that
but I really do love their build materials. Was always a big fan of alumi HPs.

 

[Carolina Pitbull]

Have any of you experienced any issues with condensation inside the head phones actually getting into the drivers? I read some posts last night claiming that even without any physical exertion the aluminum cups do not enough air flow and depending on your environment the cups build up some condensation. Sounds like this could be a pretty serious problem if true as it's not like a simple software fix can take care of it.

 

[Heyyoudvd]

Have any of you experienced any issues with condensation inside the head phones actually getting into the drivers? I read some posts last night claiming that even without any physical exertion the aluminum cups do not enough air flow and depending on your environment the cups build up some condensation. Sounds like this could be a pretty serious problem if true as it's not like a simple software fix can take care of it.

I’ve seen this story reported a lot, but every time I see it, it links back to the same guy with the same photos.

So I have no idea whether this is widespread, but I personally haven’t experienced it at all with my pair. And given Apple’s sales volume, if this were a huge issue, I’d expect to see tons of reports on it. But all the reports I’ve seen seem to link back to the same guy. That leaves me skeptical that this is any sort of common issue.

 

[Bompah]

I’ve seen this story reported a lot, but every time I see it, it links back to the same guy with the same photos.

So I have no idea whether this is widespread, but I personally haven’t experienced it at all with my pair. And given Apple’s sales volume, if this were a huge issue, I’d expect to see tons of reports on it. But all the reports I’ve seen seem to link back to the same guy. That leaves me skeptical that this is any sort of common issue.

I have worn them in cold weather whilst out walking, so I work up a sweat (and noticably so around my ears) and the headphones are ice-cold, and despite these reasonably ideal conditions for condensation I have not seen a single drop on my pair. I'm not quite sure what this person did to get that level of condensation in their headphones but it does not appear to be a common issue.

 

[Zimmy68]

i was banned from a discord headphones server for speaking highly of the APM's. theres a lot of snootiness within the audiophile community, thought it would have improved over time but guess not.

have used the APM's for some weeks now and absolutely impressed by them.

The reddit Headphones sub is similar. I was going to post a thread with a picture of my APMs with the title, So excited to be part of the club!
Just to see what they would write.
On there, if it doesn't have a wire, it don't count.

 

[SmOgER]

Does anybody know at what bandwidth do they negotiate to iOS device? Last time I checked Apple used AAC instead of aptX for wireless.

 

[MSA1133]

These have been my go to cans for my weekly trips. I just throw them in my bag with my iPad air and enjoy the $@&^# out of them!

Just finished listening to some Nightwish on Tidal and they were fantastic!

They even sound good with chiptune & electronic music like this cool album on Spotify:

Enjoying music is the most important thing for me.

If the cans are not making me move or have a stupid grin on my face they're not worth my time no matter how expensive they are or the gear they're plugged into

The ease of use, spatial audio, noise cancelation and transparency mode sealed the deal for me.