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Apple's first high-end headphones

timblocktoom

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I got a pair for a song and am loving them so far.
They are heavy indeed, but the head band design makes it nearly disappear (nearly, not totally).
Very impressive. I hope more copy the general headband design.

I hope they make a “sport” version with high quality plastics and less weight.
 

Darwin

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What makes them "high end"?

You are taking it out of context. Apple's first high end. Apple. Meanwhile they are being favorably comported by audiophiles to $700-1000 planars. Which should enrage the to off my lawn types that frequent here.
 

Darwin

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The Sonys have a terrible sound signature out of the box but after using the eq that comes with their app, you can make it sound somewhat neutral. I have no doubt that AirPods max blow them away completely though. I have AirPods Pro and I prefer it to Sony in pretty much every way (sound wise). Sony's have a bit more bass but it's not really the best bass quality. The AirPods immediately felt more balanced and more melodic. So, I'm actually looking to demo the AirPods max.

The Sonys really are awful. Takes a lot of eq'ing to make them remotely decent even then they sound off. Like dsp gone wrong.
 

watchnerd

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You are taking it out of context. Apple's first high end. Apple. Meanwhile they are being favorably comported by audiophiles to $700-1000 planars. Which should enrage the to off my lawn types that frequent here.

Does that make them high end?
 

garageband

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The Airpods Max is just as detailed as my Hifiman Sundara while at the same time being Wireless, ANC headphones.

I feel like audiophiles who discredit the Max aren’t looking at the big picture. An open back audiophile headphone is useless the moment there are others living with you or when you are outside your home. The fact that Apple managed to reach the performance of a mid-fi audiophile headphone in a ANC headphone is something to be celebrated.

The sound quality and engineering gap between the AirPods Max and the rest of the audiophile world is monstrous. Just ask Sennheiser how hard it is to create a good sounding ANC headphone.
 

Taddpole

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So have they just made these outdated with their lossless Apple music upgrade?
 

thunderchicken

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The Airpods Max is just as detailed as my Hifiman Sundara while at the same time being Wireless, ANC headphones.

I feel like audiophiles who discredit the Max aren’t looking at the big picture. An open back audiophile headphone is useless the moment there are others living with you or when you are outside your home. The fact that Apple managed to reach the performance of a mid-fi audiophile headphone in a ANC headphone is something to be celebrated.

The sound quality and engineering gap between the AirPods Max and the rest of the audiophile world is monstrous. Just ask Sennheiser how hard it is to create a good sounding ANC headphone.

That's a great point.
 

A Surfer

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The Sonys really are awful. Takes a lot of eq'ing to make them remotely decent even then they sound off. Like dsp gone wrong.
I don't agree with you at all. I have owned many very well regarded headphones and while not perfect, the Sony XM3 sounds fantastic once a little bass bloat is trimmed away. It took me about 10 minutes at most to find an equalization setting using Onkyo HF Player which has a pretty nice, user friendly FIR. It has only three eq points which hardly constitutes a lot of eq'ing. The XM3 are extremely comfortable, have extremely competent NC and in my opinion sound very nice with very modest effort equalizing. Yes, without trimming the bass bloat the stock signature is not flattering, but once liberated from that ridiculous tuning the XM3 is very competent sounding.
 

A Surfer

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The Airpods Max is just as detailed as my Hifiman Sundara while at the same time being Wireless, ANC headphones.

I feel like audiophiles who discredit the Max aren’t looking at the big picture. An open back audiophile headphone is useless the moment there are others living with you or when you are outside your home. The fact that Apple managed to reach the performance of a mid-fi audiophile headphone in a ANC headphone is something to be celebrated.

The sound quality and engineering gap between the AirPods Max and the rest of the audiophile world is monstrous. Just ask Sennheiser how hard it is to create a good sounding ANC headphone.
They are not the first, arguably we have had at least a few examples of both good sound combined with ANC. Being trapped in the Apple Ecosystem to get the most features from a very expensive headphone is also something to consider. Now for fans of Apple who don't mind the gilded cage that the Apple ecosystem is, not a problem, nor is the price, but for many others who do not wish to be trapped in the Apple tractor beam, there are already options.
 

A Surfer

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You are taking it out of context. Apple's first high end. Apple. Meanwhile they are being favorably comported by audiophiles to $700-1000 planars. Which should enrage the to off my lawn types that frequent here.
To be fair, around here the term audiophile isn't necessarily the compliment it may be on the major subjectivist audio headphone sites where such untestable statements as "these sound as good as a $1000 planar headphone" may hold meaning. I have zero doubt that these sound fantastic, but I wait until the new toy syndrome is over and the next "best" thing comes along and you'll see people talking about the new thing revealing things their Airpod Max just didn't. Wait for it, I promise you it is coming.
 

617

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I don't think you can compare corded and cordless headphones. Or rather, cordless headphones are just so wonderful to use. Being able to go for a walk or pull weeds in the garden or exercise while listening to high quality music is an immense luxury as is noise cancelling. The experience products like the apm provide is just not in the same class as a corded headphone.

It used to be that for great sound we endured the cables but there's less and less reason to be leashed. Yes I am aware there are portable players but it's just not as nice as a cordless set up.

It's not really useful to compare the air pod max to corded headphones. I don't think many consumers are weighing these against a pair of hifimans or Beyerdynamics.
 

Saidera

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Most people are still leashed, for they know that wireless has its demerits and a higher price generally. I think the only time music is necessary is during commuting or some other mass gathering of people. If you're by yourself, the luxury is to not need to wear any audio devices on yourself and be able to enjoy nature.
 

Frank Dernie

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Most people are still leashed, for they know that wireless has its demerits and a higher price generally. I think the only time music is necessary is during commuting or some other mass gathering of people. If you're by yourself, the luxury is to not need to wear any audio devices on yourself and be able to enjoy nature.
That is me! I only wear headphones whilst on bus, plane or mowing the lawn.
For serious listening at home I use loudspeakers so my fancy wired 'phones only get used if I fancy playing about.
 

Victoria

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Hey everyone! Is there anyone here who owns the AirPods Max who also has experience with the Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H95?

I’m looking for a new pair of wireless ANC headphones and my choice is strictly limited to these two headphones only; reason being I’m on an iPhone and because I already own a bunch of B&O products I also already have the B&O app installed and I really don’t want yet another app to manage the headphones from another brand. At least with the AirPods Max it can be managed natively with an iPhone so I’m open to giving them a try.

My number one priority is comfort followed by sound quality. I don’t really care too much about ANC since I’ll be using these at home.

Also how much of a dirt magnet is the headband of the AirPods Max? I’m a little bit skeptical that they’ll last especially since my experience with these kind of rubbery surfaces isn’t very good. I find that over time they start to get a little sticky and become huge dust and dirt magnets, which is especially concerning for something that’s going to be on your head a fair bit; so any input on its quality is also welcome.

Thanksies!~
 

A Surfer

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Most people are still leashed, for they know that wireless has its demerits and a higher price generally. I think the only time music is necessary is during commuting or some other mass gathering of people. If you're by yourself, the luxury is to not need to wear any audio devices on yourself and be able to enjoy nature.
I'm trying to make sure that I understand your point. I think you are saying that music, for you, is only for when you need to block out noise around you or to facilitate a social gathering, but when alone you don't turn to listen to music and are a proponent of enjoying nature instead. So time alone best not spent listening to music with either speakers or headphones. That is how what you said reads to me, is this correct?
 

Beershaun

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Hey everyone! Is there anyone here who owns the AirPods Max who also has experience with the Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H95?

I’m looking for a new pair of wireless ANC headphones and my choice is strictly limited to these two headphones only; reason being I’m on an iPhone and because I already own a bunch of B&O products I also already have the B&O app installed and I really don’t want yet another app to manage the headphones from another brand. At least with the AirPods Max it can be managed natively with an iPhone so I’m open to giving them a try.

My number one priority is comfort followed by sound quality. I don’t really care too much about ANC since I’ll be using these at home.

Also how much of a dirt magnet is the headband of the AirPods Max? I’m a little bit skeptical that they’ll last especially since my experience with these kind of rubbery surfaces isn’t very good. I find that over time they start to get a little sticky and become huge dust and dirt magnets, which is especially concerning for something that’s going to be on your head a fair bit; so any input on its quality is also welcome.

Thanksies!~
I can't speak to the sound quality comparison or comfort, but regarding dirt magnet, I think the airpods max knit mesh headband will not have the problem you describe with getting sticky and attracting dirt. Since it's a fabric mesh. It likely will be different to clean and you'd treat it more like a scarf or other delicate fabric.

edit: RE ANC, I don't know if this is the case for the two you are considering since Amir hasn't measured them, but ANC on the Bose QC35II greatly improved the frequency response performance of those headphones. So ANC phones, if taking good advantage of the DSP system, can sound better than their non-ANC bluetooth counterpart.
 
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Saidera

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I'm trying to make sure that I understand your point. I think you are saying that music, for you, is only for when you need to block out noise around you or to facilitate a social gathering, but when alone you don't turn to listen to music and are a proponent of enjoying nature instead. So time alone best not spent listening to music with either speakers or headphones. That is how what you said reads to me, is this correct?

I was replying to 671's post directly above mine, and trying (unsuccessfully) to justify comparing corded and cordless headphones. Users of wireless headphones place importance on the lack of annoying cables. Wired users tend to prefer its sound quality. Sony JP did a social media campaign last year to see which side wins.

To add the necessary detail - music on wireless headphones are generally recommended to block out noise in a workplace (if allowed), during commuting or flights, where it gets repetitive or dull, but not social gatherings - unless you choose to!

I went wrong here: the only time music is necessary (implies that at other times it is optional, but then some people don't need to block out noise so this is wrong) is during commuting or some other mass gathering of people (this language was meant to cover living rooms, workplaces and so on where concentration is required but it is a poor choice of words). If you're by yourself, the luxury is to not need to wear any audio devices on yourself and be able to enjoy nature (one can be alone indoors or outdoors, here it is referring to outdoors but this isn't made explicit; who determines what luxury is - it could be silence or it could be enjoying music free from cables).

As a matter of personal opinion, there is no sound better than 'silence'. This doesn't mean one shouldn't choose to listen to music because it wouldn't constitute the best use of time. The words used probably reflect the fact that I live right next to a very busy road - it's like living on a seashore but way worse! I know some Japanese people who live 1-2 metres from a railway track, but that sound is intermittent, not constant. So, I assumed that people who can only get 'silence' at a time past midnight will really appreciate being outdoors to tend to a garden, go for walks and exercise, while listening to the sound of the wind, or birds. I also tend to think that headphones and earphones will cause damage to hearing anyway, since they tend to get turned louder in order to get that high quality detailed sound, or when you're outdoors to drown out ambient noise.

Frank Dernie replied saying that he uses speakers and so he bypasses the wired vs wireless issue. I also find the real deal is always with speakers. That said, my speakers are average and being in a unit, one can only use them rarely to avoid affecting others' right to peaceful enjoyment.

Being a supporter of wired, the wireless market just doesn't seem to make sense. Or perhaps it's the frequent attitude and the way wireless users are seen as disengaged and unaware risk takers - prone to aeroplanes crashing on top of them or pedestrian traffic accidents? Or that there is less public transport commuting these days so the need for wireless is diminishing?
 

Victoria

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Being a supporter of wired, the wireless market just doesn't seem to make sense.

Eh even at home wireless headphones make perfect sense to me; and I’m a huge speaker nut to the point where I have speakers installed in every single room in my house, including my bathroom. I’ve been sufficiently privileged to enjoy speakers long before I even considered headphones, and despite having owned the Sennheiser HD600, HD650, HD800 and HD800S; I always return to wireless headphones.

The first reason for this is that I’m a strong proponent for all-in-one solutions. I’ve said it before in another thread: but once I’m spending this amount of money — and it doesn’t even matter if we’re talking about speakers or headphones — I expect a product delivered to me where the engineers have done their homework to deliver to me the most optimal out-of-the-box performance experience to the best of their ability. This means to me that it shouldn’t be my job to mix and match amplifiers and the like (this is all just money-wasting audiofool bullshit to me) and active speakers and wireless headphones with built-in amplification are thus the ideal products in my opinion.

The second reason is that if for whatever reason I prefer to use headphones over speakers, I still want to experience the key benefit of speakers which is to not be shackled down to a specific location. I like to listen to music while doing laundry and other household chores for instance, or sometimes I just like to get up and momentarily enjoy the greenery outside my window.

I’m a huge music-lover first and foremost, and my equipment exists purely to deliver that love to me. I listen to the vast majority of my music outside of what everyone would consider the “optimal listening position,” but that’s fine by me. And likewise I place a much bigger emphasis on my comfort and flexibility to go where I please over minuscule and barely noticeable differences in frequency response and the like. Trust me, when you’re doing laundry you really don’t care about losing — or even gaining in the LF regions — several decibels here and there, you just want your music to keep you company while you’re going about your day.

And likewise I will sooner own a Bose QC 35 II over a Sennheiser HD800S for precisely these reasons, and I did in fact do exactly that: I sold my HD800S and went wireless to never look back (though I have since sold my Bose but only because I’ve been moving my entire life to USB-C and hence why I am looking to get either the Apple AirPods Max or Bang & Olufsen Beoplay H95).

At the end of the day everyone has their preferences, and look I get why many prefer wired headphones. I absolutely enjoyed my time with my HD800S and its siblings (I still maintain that the HD800S is the most comfortable pair of headphones to ever grace our lands), but ultimately I had other priorities. As long as you’re happy, you do you.

Also don’t forget that in our current climate with “Work From Home” having become a lot more accepted than in the past headphones of all kinds have become a lot more important for a lot more people; in my case my partner is around a lot more often these days and thus wireless headphones allow me the flexibility of enjoying my hobby without sacrificing what’s important to me.
 
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