Poll: AirPods Max

  • Thread starter Thread starter LiE
  • Start date Start date

Will you buy/have you bought AirPods Max?

  • Yes

    Votes: 26 11.6%

  • No

    Votes: 198 88.4%
  • Total voters
    224
Somnambulist said:
If I was blind-buying a pair myself I'd just look at the overall body of evidence; for the few bad reviews, the general opinion of the majority including Head-Fi posters - who are a hard-to-please lot - is that they're now the wireless headphone to beat, taking into account the crap case/power management until 3rd party solutions appear, and the Apple pricing.

Also something I just learned: you can tweak the default sound a bit via the following, if you wish to tune them slightly differently to your taste.

Settings > Accessibility > AirPods > (Select AirPods Model) > Audio Accessibility Settings > Headphone Accommodations (On) then go from from there

You can do custom audio setup which has you A/B test a sound clip or you can select your own tuning preferences (fine print explains what you're modifying).

The APM are using DSP to get the sound to your ears in the first place, so any alterations are simply adjusting the DSP rather than some sort of destructive EQ'ing.
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So you’d ignore the fact that apple have never managed to produce a pair of quality headphones before, let alone produce the best available?
 
Lakeland said:
So you’d ignore the fact that apple have never managed to produce a pair of quality headphones before, let alone produce the best available?
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Ignoring the fact that you've never produced a quality post in this thread... Plenty of reviews saying they are a good quality pair of headphones, although completely overpriced.
 
Lakeland said:
So you’d ignore the fact that apple have never managed to produce a pair of quality headphones before, let alone produce the best available?
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They seem to have done so this time round. Seen quite a few reviews that say they are very good, how good compared to my Sony xm3’s is something that I’d have to test myself. I still think they are over priced, if they were closer to the £300-350 mark I’d be interested myself as they are seamless between Apple devices.
I have a pair of Sony xm3’s and I find them absolutely brilliant but my only negative on them is that they are not as seamless as the AirPods Max. Even my AirPod pros are seamless, open case...wait for it to say connected and play music/movies through them. The Sony has its own app which makes it a bit more cumbersome to connect etc. But then the app itself gives me plenty of options to tune the sound to my liking. Whereas with the AirPod pros I have to go into Spotify and tune the sound to how I like it.
So for me both pros and cons.

Maybe the next gen of AirPod max will be improved with an on/off switch and able to fold up like my xm3’s do in their case.
 
My take from the reviews is that it's very very good, better than the usual suspects from Bose and Sony, and more expensive. Apart from the price, being too heavy and the bra-case seem to be the downside.

I won't be buying it because it's just too expensive, regardless of how good it is.
 
Lakeland said:
So you’d ignore the fact that apple have never managed to produce a pair of quality headphones before, let alone produce the best available?
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For one, Apple have never really produced their own branded headphones before - they acquired Beats in 2014 and have only released a limited number of products under that name since, which have stayed true to their original aesthetic as far as sound-signature is concerned.

Secondly, as I've mentioned several times now, over the last few years Apple have recruited or poached a large number of individuals, including now-former heads of engineering at B&W (who know a thing or two about quality audio) to form their acoustic engineering department and it's no surprise that more recent product releases like the APPs, HomePods and even the external speakers on iOS devices and the various MacBooks have now gotten very good (for what they are).

You're never going to get top-tier audio from mass market stuff, but like a Netflix login vs. that 4K BluRay player you've got in that one room at home, as long as it gets close enough whilst offering a whole lot more flexibility and convenience, sign me up.
 
Somnambulist said:
For one, Apple have never really produced their own branded headphones before - they acquired Beats in 2014 and have only released a limited number of products under that name since, which have stayed true to their original aesthetic as far as sound-signature is concerned.

Secondly, as I've mentioned several times now, over the last few years Apple have recruited or poached a large number of individuals, including now-former heads of engineering at B&W (who know a thing or two about quality audio) to form their acoustic engineering department and it's no surprise that more recent product releases like the APPs, HomePods and even the external speakers on iOS devices and the various MacBooks have now gotten very good (for what they are).

You're never going to get top-tier audio from mass market stuff, but like a Netflix login vs. that 4K BluRay player you've got in that one room at home, as long as it gets close enough whilst offering a whole lot more flexibility and convenience, sign me up.
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Thats not how it works! Apple have never produced the best headphones therefore they can't possibly know anything about it!

Quite baffling isn't it. This is how all the top firms work. They poach talent from each other in order to make their products the best the can possibly be. Some people will always find a way to bash Apple. Usually the people who know the least about tech as well. "I mean, how can Apple be the best when my Android phone has a bigger battery and I can change ANYTHING I WANT on it". Apple have clearly lucked their way to being one of the most valuable companies in the world. Nothing to do with making great products that fulfull customers needs and expectations consistently over a long period of time.
 
After seeing a bunch of reviews and such (mostly from non-american, non-apple biased sheep) it seems that the APM have slightly better sound quality than the XM4's, however worse bass.

Still not 100% sure on the ANC, but they seem about the same.

So for me, the main benefit of the APM is the seamless connectivity for iOS devices and for audiophiles it would be the slightly better sound quality. However there are just too many downsides (the price, the case, no power off, lightning, weight) for me to pick these over the XM4's or Bose.

But on the plus side, Apple clearly have all the minerals to creating a good audio experience, and for a 1st gen product they seem impressive in certain areas. I would be very interested in a gen2 product thats cheaper and solves some of the issues that are present in this model.
 
ZP9 said:
After seeing a bunch of reviews and such (mostly from non-american, non-apple biased sheep) it seems that the APM have slightly better sound quality than the XM4's, however worse bass.

Still not 100% sure on the ANC, but they seem about the same.

So for me, the main benefit of the APM is the seamless connectivity for iOS devices and for audiophiles it would be the slightly better sound quality. However there are just too many downsides (the price, the case, no power off, lightning, weight) for me to pick these over the XM4's or Bose.

But on the plus side, Apple clearly have all the minerals to creating a good audio experience, and for a 1st gen product they seem impressive in certain areas. I would be very interested in a gen2 product thats cheaper and solves some of the issues that are present in this model.
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So any American reviewer that is positive about the headphones are biased Apple Sheep? Ridiculous. Have a word with yourself.

Not in any of your posts in this thread did I ever expect you to buy a pair of these headphones but I’m glad you confirmed this to everyone...
 
BMox81 said:
So any American reviewer that is positive about the headphones are biased Apple Sheep? Ridiculous. Have a word with yourself.

Not in any of your posts in this thread did I ever expect you to buy a pair of these headphones but I’m glad you confirmed this to everyone...
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Not any, but a lot of americans are very apple bias. All you have to do is visit america and you'll see it haha.

I was actually tempted to buy these , but like Ive already mentioned there are quite a few downsides to them that I hope will be looked at or fixed for the gen2 model, and they'll definitely be one of the top choices, but for me they currently sit behind bose and sony.

Im just glad they have very good sound quality and ANC, which are really the 2 main features a pair of headphones like these need, but the other factors are just too annoying to look past.

Also FYI, I can clearly give an unbiased fair opinion, whereas many other sheep just jump on anything apple released and are they kind of customers Apple pray on, looks like you fit that mould.
 
ZP9 said:
Not any, but a lot of americans are very apple bias. All you have to do is visit america and you'll see it haha.

I was actually tempted to buy these , but like Ive already mentioned there are quite a few downsides to them that I hope will be looked at or fixed for the gen2 model, and they'll definitely be one of the top choices, but for me they currently sit behind bose and sony.

Im just glad they have very good sound quality and ANC, which are really the 2 main features a pair of headphones like these need, but the other factors are just too annoying to look past.

Also FYI, I can clearly give an unbiased fair opinion, whereas many other sheep just jump on anything apple released and are they kind of customers Apple pray on, looks like you fit that mould.
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Not at all-I’ve voiced my displeasure at Apple charging £300 for a keyboard so I’ll happily call them out when I see the need to.

But unlike you, I didn’t go around saying every American that reviewed and liked the keyboard a biased Apple Sheep.
 
JUMPURS said:
You know they hadn't made a good Phone or PDA and then along came iPhone and changed the world.
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This example doesn’t work at all. There are already plenty of decent headphones available. When the iPhone came, there wasn’t anything quite like it on the market.
 
BMox81 said:
Not at all-I’ve voiced my displeasure at Apple charging £300 for a keyboard so I’ll happily call them out when I see the need to.

But unlike you, I didn’t go around saying every American that reviewed and liked the keyboard a biased Apple Sheep.
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I didnt say everyone, I just said a lot/most.

There are plenty of muricans I do like, MKBHD and Linus being some of the best in terms of being non-bias.
 
The thing is, they definitely are on the level of the XM4's and Bose in terms of sound quality and ANC (if not even slightly better) but the general downsides and price is just so off putting.

Just hope they fix the little issues and offer a more reasonable price for Gen2.

I would happily pay upto £350-400 if they got a proper case, usb-c charging, maybe a little lighter weight and actually added an off button. Everything else seems great about them in all honesty.
 
ZP9 said:
The thing is, they definitely are on the level of the XM4's and Bose in terms of sound quality and ANC (if not even slightly better) but the general downsides and price is just so off putting.

Just hope they fix the little issues and offer a more reasonable price for Gen2.

I would happily pay upto £350-400 if they got a proper case, usb-c charging, maybe a little lighter weight and actually added an off button. Everything else seems great about them in all honesty.
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Its true that from the reviews that the case seemingly hasn’t been well thought out and clearly the most disappointing part of the package, but if they were to make a better case and do USB-C (which they never will), then you certainly won’t be paying any less for those additions-you’d probably pay more.

But you’re literally describing the XM4’s in what you’re wanting so just get those?
 
BMox81 said:
Its true that from the reviews that the case seemingly hasn’t been well thought out and clearly the most disappointing part of the package, but if they were to make a better case and do USB-C (which they never will), then you certainly won’t be paying any less for those additions-you’d probably pay more.

But you’re literally describing the XM4’s in what you’re wanting so just get those?
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Im not buying any atm due to not being able to fly anywhere or travel publicly much due to covid. I was initially going to get the XM4's but because of the pandemic, im more than happy to just carry on using the AirPods Pro for the time being.

Now that Apple have released decent competition, I can wait for the XM5's or N800's to see what they're going to offer and see how it compares, maybe even wait for the Gen2's of the APM
 
ZP9 said:
After seeing a bunch of reviews and such (mostly from non-american, non-apple biased sheep) it seems that the APM have slightly better sound quality than the XM4's, however worse bass.

Still not 100% sure on the ANC, but they seem about the same.

So for me, the main benefit of the APM is the seamless connectivity for iOS devices and for audiophiles it would be the slightly better sound quality. However there are just too many downsides (the price, the case, no power off, lightning, weight) for me to pick these over the XM4's or Bose.

But on the plus side, Apple clearly have all the minerals to creating a good audio experience, and for a 1st gen product they seem impressive in certain areas. I would be very interested in a gen2 product thats cheaper and solves some of the issues that are present in this model.
Click to expand...

From reading it sounds like they’re more accurate with bass than it being the case they’re lacking - so if a track goes deep it’s there, and if it’s not then what bass there is doesn’t get artificially inflated to make it more thump-y - where as if the mid-bass is artificially raised (as I thought the XM’s did) then every song gets a boost that wasn’t there on the recording and while some might find that more ‘fun’ I prefer hearing what the producer intended... if I get the chance I’ll try and listen to one in an Apple store to give some personal impressions...
 
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