Some reviewers out there are just wrong about the AirPods Max.
In my opinion, the AirPods.
Max are one of the best products to come out of Apple in several years.
And after a year and a half of using them, I'm gonna tell you why I think they're brilliant,
and what I think some people get wrong about them.
So let's revisit the AirPods Max and the first thing I think people get wrong when looking
at the AirPods Max is their smart case.
It seems like every reviewer out there who just reviewed the AirPods Max for a week or
two panned the smart case.
But they’re just wrong.
If you're like me and you use headphones 95% of the time, either at home or you keep them
at an office, this case design is actually great.The smart case makes it easier to pull
out the headphones by their headband and I don’t constantly have to deal with a stupid
zipper and bluky case like with WXM5s or Bose 700s, and sure you can put your headphones
back in the case without zipping them up but then if they tumble off the table you set
them down on, they could fall out and not be protected at all.
And even worse, every time you put headphones like the WXM5s in their case you have to re-adjust
them to fit in the case, Which means, every time you take them out of their case, you’ll
need to readjust them again as well.
The smart case for the AirPods Max solves this problem, You just take them out of the
smart case and you’re good to go.
The adjustments you already made stay in place.
And they’re easy to put back in the smart case.
About the only time I think I'd want a headphone's case like the XM5s is for the scenario when
I'm traveling and I just want to throw my headphones case into a bag with a bunch of
other loose stuff and I want my headphones to be completely protected.
And for this specific scenario, there are cases you can find on sites like Amazon that
are relatively cheap, that will protect the entirety of the AirPods Max for this scenario.
The next thing I think people overlook with the AirPods Max is their overall aesthetic
and comfort and just how much better they are in those two categories versus the competition.
Even though these headphones weigh more than my Bose 700s and Sony WXM5s at 386 g, they’re
more comfortable to me.
One of the worst parts with even pretty comfortable headphones like those made by Bose and Sony
is after wearing them for about an hour or two, your ears can still feel a bit warm and
maybe even a bit sweaty, especially in situations like a long flight.
Apple solved this problem by using a mesh fabric material in the ear cushions as well
as with the mesh canopy at the top of the headphones and because of this design, I found
over the past year and a half I can wear these headphones all day with no discomfort.
Another thing Apple did that helps achieve this is they made the ear cups deeper and
I think a bit wider than many competitors, which makes them more comfortable.
So they're more comfortable, but what about how they look?
I think the AirPods Max win here as well.
Now, in my opinion, no set of headphones are gonna look ideal on a video call.
The AirPods Max just look more sleek with their stainless steel wrapped frame, telescoping
arms, and anodized aluminum ear cups, even though their ear cups are a bit deeper and
wider, the headphones look less bulky than my Sony XM5s.
Look at how much more bulky they look on my head versus the AirPods Max.
So not only do I find them more comfortable and I think they look better than the competition.
But Apple just did some really interesting things with the design of the AirPods Max
that I think are really smart.
Like the stainless steel telescoping arms that stay put with your adjustments.
Or the earcups, they’re magnetically attached and incredibly easy to remove.
The digital crown gives you precise control over the volume level of the headphones compared
to touch controls a lot of other headphones use which make less precise adjustments.
Though I will say for playback controls like skip forward and skip backward on headphones.
I think touch controls are a bit faster and more intuitive nowadays.
Another huge change Apple made to the way you use headphones with the AirPods Max is
by not including a power button.
At the time when these came out this decision was derided by a lot of reviewers and the
general public.
But after a year and a half I can say this was absolutely the right decision by Apple.It’s
a simpler experience not having to remember to turn on and off the AirPods Max, having
them automatically enter low power mode when you put them back in the smart case and when
you put them on again, they’ll automatically connect to the Apple device you’re using.
Now, one of, if not, the most important part of a headphone's design is how they sound
and here, the AirPods Max do not disappoint.
They sound better than any other pair of headphones I've previously owned from companies like
Bose and Sony, especially when you pair them with a service like Apple Music, which is
weird since they can’t do lossless audio playback wirelessly and don’t support LDAC
like my Sony WXM5s do.
But when you listen to them with Apple Music, Apple Music still lights up the lossless icon.
I’m not exactly sure what Apple is doing here, maybe they’re compressing their lossless
music over Bluetooth and using the chips in the headphones to still, somehow, make up
for the compression.
But even over a wireless connection, there's still able to produce very detailed sound,
a wide soundstage, and produce tight bass, which really helps out their sound profile.
Apple also uses what it calls adaptive EQ tech that uses internal mics to measure the
seal created by the ear cushions and will adjust how the headphones sound accordingly,
which might be part of why they sound so good.
Listening to some of my favorite tracks on these headphones, it sounds like I'm listening
to them for the first time.
I pick up a lot of different details in the songs that I didn't really notice before.
For example, The Very First Night by Taylor Swift, the guitar strums in that song, just
sounds so crystal clear, and like they're right outside of my ears.
Or the song: That's what I Want by Lil Nas X.
The base in that song is perfect.
It's just so tight and punchy as hell.
It sounds great on these or a track, like As It Was by Harry Styles.
The drum hits in that song sound crystal clear.
And they sound like they're right behind my ears.
It sounds very good.
Next, let's talk noise cancellation.
The noise cancellation offered by the AirPods Max, it's some of the best I've heard on any
set of headphones, pretty comparable to what you get on Bose and Sony, if not, maybe I'd
say a little bit better.
But what really sets these headphones apart from their competition for me has been transparency
mode.
It is one of the best transparency modes actually, it's not one of the best.
It is the best transparency mode I have experienced on any set of headphones or earbuds.
I'm actually using transparency mode right now to record this video, which normally I
would never do with any other set of earbuds or headphones because typically transparency
mode on other sets of devices, doesn't give me a good gauge of how loud my voice actually
is.
And if I'm likely gonna blow out my mic which with these I’m not.
And that's because the transparency mode on the AirPods Max makes it sound like I'm not
even wearing headphones, That's how good it is.
Next, mic quality on the AirPods Max, it's actually pretty decent for phone calls and
video calls.
And here's how they sound compared to some other headphones in earbuds that we own.
All right?
And this is how the AirPods Max microphone sound, and I made sure that recording this
through QuickTime and their mics are selected.
So we're not using the Studio display’s microphones, and that's why the video looks
so bad.
If you're interested in all of my long-term thoughts on these Apple Studio Display, make
sure you subscribe to the channel to see that long-term review coming out this fall.
But yeah, that's the AirPods Max mic quality.
Let me know what you think.
All right.
And these are the Bose 700s, this is how they're mic sound.
We've already done a review of them, and if you're interested, I'll link that below down
in the channel.
But yeah, Bose 700s mic quality.
These are the brand new Sony XM5s, I shortened the name, the product names are too long.
Anyways.
These are how their mics sound, let me know in the comments, what do you think?
Which do you think sounds better?
How do they sound?
Another feature that most other headphones out there can’t compete with that the AirPods
Max have is spatial audio.
Services like Apple Music and Tidal have music that support Dolby Atmos Music,
But my experience with spatial audio music has been a bit mixed, what’s been far more
impressive is spatial audio for movies and TV shows.
The AirPods Max can decode a 5.1 surround sound or a Dolby Atmos signal and that paired
with the head tracking of the headphones, makes it sound like you’re watching something
in surround sound.
This feature is well worth it to me because I don't have to sacrifice any sound quality
when I'm staying up late and want to watch something, either on my Apple TV, Studio Display,
iPad or even my iPhone.
Spatial audio works on all of these devices.
So those are some of the overlooked things and features I've really liked about the AirPods
Max over the past year and a half.
But what about issues and downsides?
For me, the main downside with these over the past year and a half is still been battery
life.
I just wish it was better.
Now maybe its because these headphones are so good that I’m using them way more than
previous headphones which is pretty accurate, but I find I’m having to charge them every
3-4 days which is more than I typically need for my other headphones.
Another downside I've encountered with the AirPods Max is with their automatic device
switching.
Sometimes I'll get a music interruption, when the headphones are trying to connect to another
Apple device that I’m not actually trying to play any media or music from, and my music
just kind of gets interrupted for a second.
So that can be slightly annoying.
And Apple’s automatic headphones switching feature isn’t always as quick as I wish
it would be, especially when trying to pick up a phone call on the headphones.
The headphones also don’t have multi-point bluetooth connectivity, which could solve
some of these issues.
Also as I’ve stated before, theres no wireless support for higher resolution audio like Sony’s
LDAC, which is a bummer given Apple Music’s great lossless audio quality.
And the last downside a lot of people talk about with the AirPods Max is their price.
When these first came out, they retailed for $549 US dollars which…yeah, that is steep
compared to the competing headphones from Bose and Sony.
But in 2022, I’ve noticed here in the US at least, the headphones are typically on
sale, for $479 dollars, which in my opinion is much more reasonable and in general, I
don’t actually think they’re overpriced.
The AirPods Max in a lot of respects is a complete rethink over what a pair of headphones
should be and they're doing a lot of interesting things in terms of adjustments, how they sound,
and of course, their case, which for 99% of the time, for me, it's been great.
After a year and a half of ownership, the AirPods Max remain my favorite pair of headphones
I’ve ever used and if you’re in the Apple hardware ecosystem and looking for a great
set of headphones, I think you should go for the Max and if you’re interesting purchasing
a pair, check out the purchase links in this video and in the description below.
If you have any further questions about the AirPods Max want to share your experience
with them or just give a comment on Apple and Apple's headphones in general, leave all
that stuff in the comments below.
And while you're down there, smash that like button if you found this video interesting
and/or helpful, and subscribe to the channel to see more long-term reviews of home and
tech products.
And if you're looking for what to watch next, check out some of our other long-term reviews
on other headphones, earbuds, and smart speakers.
And you can see a lot of those reviews by clicking on the playlist to the right or checking
out the links we posted in the description below For 6 Months Later, I'm Josh Teder,
thanks for watching.