Apple AirPods Max - new over-the-ear headphones from Apple

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by SamS, Dec 8, 2020.

  1. wavethatflag

    wavethatflag God is love, but get it in writing.

    Location:
    SF Bay Area
    I have the AirPods Pro, and I consider them an huge step forward towards audiophile sound quality. The AirPods Pro are very neutral and flat without EQ. That alone is a huge leap forward for Apple, if you ask me. I really didn't like the bass bloom they installed in all their early wired sets.
     
    coffeetime likes this.
  2. eetu

    eetu Forum Resident

    I got a pair of AirPods Max to test this morning. Very positive first impression for a number of reasons. They're super comfortable to wear and sound quality is outstanding. Bass is rich and detailed, without being boomy. However, mids are are kinda harsh, so sound quality is not entirely satisfying.

    I'll need to test further before I decide to keep. I'll be comparing to my B&W PX7, which I've used for the last couple of years.
     
    ex_mixer, mikeyt and Boomy like this.
  3. Sevoflurane

    Sevoflurane Forum Resident

    The AirPods Max look interesting, but as I have AirPods Pro and some B&W PX (more versatile with non Apple sources as they support AptX HD) I think my wireless headphone needs are satisfied. The AirPods Pro are pretty impressive, and having spent a lot of time doing Zoom / Webex / Teams meetings the noise cancelling and voice quality are excellent. If the Max headphones match or surpass that they’ll be very good indeed (though the B&Ws are far from shabby in this role).
     
  4. eetu

    eetu Forum Resident

    I also have the PX, not the PX7 as I wrote earlier. So, yes, your needs are well satisfied. After a few hours of use, it's not night and day between the AirPods Max and the PX when it comes to sound quality. They're actually very similar. It's the additional features what makes a big difference and might (partly) justify the higher price. Noise cancellation, spatial audio, connectivity, build quality, and comfort are clear advantage for the AirPods.
     
    Sevoflurane likes this.
  5. Sevoflurane

    Sevoflurane Forum Resident

    Advantage of the PX for me is the AptX HD support. I also use a Sony DAP with 400GB of FLAC files on it, which sounds better over AptX HD than other Bluetooth codecs. Sadly, even though the player is capable of supporting AAC, if I pair it with my AirPods Pro I only get the SBC Bluetooth codec, which is noticeably worse in SQ than AptX HD or AAC. It would be interesting to see how the Max headphones work with non Apple players.

    If I was staying entirely within the Apple ecosystem I’d be much more tempted by the AirPods Max. Can’t have too many sets of headphones [my wife may not agree with that].
     
    mikeyt likes this.
  6. David67

    David67 Forum Resident

    Location:
    England
    If you haven't already, try the following:

    Go into Settings -> Accessibility -> Audio/Visual -> Headphone Accommodations
    Turn it on and you can play with the “Tune Audio For:” options.
     
  7. Joint Attention

    Joint Attention Forum Resident

    Location:
    Gig Harbor, WA
    Estimated delivery for my order from Target is now Sep 9 - Sep 14.

    LOL
     
    Galley and SamS like this.
  8. Denaz

    Denaz Forum Resident

    Location:
    Asheville NC
    Mine was set for delivery 2/4/2021 and got a notification from UPS it is arriving Monday
     
    ronbow likes this.
  9. Denaz

    Denaz Forum Resident

    Location:
    Asheville NC
    Just got mine in, blue color, initial impressions are positive. Nice beefy sound, bass is full but not over bearing, fairly decent sound stage, they are comfortable, hardly notice they are on, they switch easy from iPhone to iMac to iPad, too easy in fact, doesn't give me the full range my other wired, open back cans give me, but not bad, giving them a heavy workout, list played thru my iPhone, VOX app,
    1. Steely Dan, Aja (24/96)
    2. Rush, Limelight (24/192)
    3. Cannonball Adderley, Autumn Leaves (24/192)
    3. Grateful Dead, Friend of the Devil (50th anniversary 24/96)

    Will see if I get the dreaded condensation inside the drivers after a few hours
     
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  10. ronbow

    ronbow Senior Member

    Location:
    St. Louis MO
    W
    Will be most interested to hear re condensation issue. Any comments re listening to FOD?
     
  11. mikeyt

    mikeyt Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Woah, I hadn't heard about that issue. Strange, I didn't think a person's head would give off that much heat into headphones.
     
  12. molinari

    molinari Forum Resident

    Location:
    new york city
    mikeyt likes this.
  13. Denaz

    Denaz Forum Resident

    Location:
    Asheville NC
    It was fun listening to this track FOD, though it sounds so much better running through my home system, it was satisfying listening on these cans, I am guessing the depth of the headphone itself adds to the sound stage, each instrument, Grisman's mandolin, Jerry, the drums all have their space, Phils bass and the vocals are crystal clear, plus that little echo at the end, crisp.
     
    ronbow likes this.
  14. Denaz

    Denaz Forum Resident

    Location:
    Asheville NC
    Been three to four hours on these cans doing stuff around the house, no condensation yet, but the house is dry from the heater, might have to give them a run outside.

     
  15. Denaz

    Denaz Forum Resident

    Location:
    Asheville NC
    Also discovered a neat trick, I can run my apple TV through the AirPods max,
     
    Billy Infinity and wgb113 like this.
  16. Denaz

    Denaz Forum Resident

    Location:
    Asheville NC
    Nice trick, thanks for that tip!! Def helped some of my dead soundboard shows!!
     
    David67 likes this.
  17. ronbow

    ronbow Senior Member

    Location:
    St. Louis MO
    I’ve been waiting for these to appear on the Chase Ultimate Rewards site, but now wondering if it may make more sense to wait to see how Apple addresses the condensation issue. Some folks are thinking the aluminum cups are the cause, so looking for more info on the issue.
     
  18. Kray

    Kray Sleuthing

    Location:
    Sarasota
  19. eetu

    eetu Forum Resident

    FWIW, I used the AirPods Max (space gray) yesterday for five, six hours while working and kept checking for the condensation. I didn’t see a single drop. My apartment is dry, though.
     
    DML71, wgb113 and mikeyt like this.
  20. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    looking forward to the comments on these...: )
     
  21. Joint Attention

    Joint Attention Forum Resident

    Location:
    Gig Harbor, WA
    Target pre-order finally shipped today via UPS. UPS tracking hasn't updated yet, but the Target site is still telling me they will arrive on September 14. :rolleyes:
     
  22. DML71

    DML71 Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    Cult of Mac did a story on this. The user was in a cold room for 12 hrs using the headphones pretty much non stop.

    Supposedly a combination of the metal/cold/heat from the users ears/head combined to form the condensation. Can’t see this being an issue for 99.9% of users. To replicate the same circumstances would take some real effort.
     
    eetu, wgb113, mikeyt and 4 others like this.
  23. David67

    David67 Forum Resident

    Location:
    England
    side frommusic and films, I'm looking forward to hearing Naturespace in spacial audio.

    Naturespace
     
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  24. ronbow

    ronbow Senior Member

    Location:
    St. Louis MO
    That could be very interesting!

    Report back please!
     
  25. Denaz

    Denaz Forum Resident

    Location:
    Asheville NC
    Just downloaded app, I’ll give it a try after football
     
    ronbow likes this.

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