Apple AirPods Max Review, Price, Design, Performance
Apple AirPods Max. Best Headphone Right Now
The Apple AirPods Max are among the best-sounding headphones we've ever tested, they're easy to use, and their noise cancellation can easily stand up to the likes of the Sony WH-1000XM4 and the Bose Noise Canceling Headphones 700. Is. However, their high price, limitations for Android users, and lack of a 3.5mm audio port mean we'd only recommend them for a lot of money for iOS users—and those not interested in Hi-Res Audio.
Pros
- Unbelievable audio performance
- Fantastic user experience
- Brilliant extra features for iOS
- Great noise cancellation
- Dependable and foolproof controls
Cons
- Very expensive
- No 3.5mm audio port
- Limited features for Android
Apple AirPods Max Review
Apple AirPods Max was the most awaited headphone of 2020, which has been the subject of rumor and speculation for over two years.
As the first Apple over-ear headphones, expectations were high, especially given the success of the Apple AirPods and AirPods Pro, which have become the most easily recognizable wireless earbuds available today.
Since 2018, we've heard rumors that the AirPods Max will be the most advanced wireless headphones ever, with speculation that they'll come with future features like air gestures that won't require you to touch the headphones to control. Them.
If the AirPods Max had come with those game-changing specs, their $549 / £549 / AU$899 price tag might be justified - unfortunately, it isn't.
The Apple AirPods Max is more common than many expected; With exceptional audio quality and great quality of life for those already dedicated to the Apple ecosystem.
Let's take a look at the positives first; The best thing about AirPods Max is their sound, which is nothing short of excellent. They can easily compete with the Sony WH-1000XM4 in this regard, with a wide, immersive soundstage and carefully balanced profile, with crisp trebles, smooth mids, and powerful bass frequencies.
With a high level of detail and clarity, the AirPods Max reveals elements in your favorite songs that you might not have noticed before – and that's the mark of a pair of great-sounding headphones, indeed.
Active noise cancellation is also class-leading, sitting side by side with the Bose Noise Canceling Headphones 700 – and Transparency Mode is undeniably handy when you need to quickly tap into your surroundings.
The design, though divisive, is another victory for Apple. With large, flat earcups crafted from a piece of stainless steel, the AirPods Max looks 'Apple', focusing on simplicity and functionality.
They feel more premium than the Sony WH-1000XM4, which is largely made of plastic, though the stainless steel construction means the AirPods Max is rather bulky. Apple has included a mesh headband that's designed to reduce the pressure on your head during use, but there's no escape from their density; If you're particularly sensitive to pressure on the head, the AirPods Max might not be the right headphones for you.
Having said that we found them quite comfortable during our tests, and we appreciate the use of physical controls, as opposed to the voguish swipe controls that favor most wireless headphones nowadays. We especially liked the vengeance of the Apple Watch's Digital Crown, which allows you to precisely adjust volume and control your music playback with ease.
That's what the AirPods Max and Apple products have in common: they just work. Pairing is incredibly easy, we didn't experience any annoying connection dropouts, and Apple has abandoned technology like swipe controls that it's not good enough for its products to keep up with the competition.
A major design problem is the lack of a 3.5mm audio port; If you want to listen to music with a wired connection, or connect the AirPods Max to an amp or DAC, you'll need to pay for a USB-C to 3.5mm audio port adapter. That sounds bad when you consider the price—and if Apple wants to market these as a pair of premium headphones, the inability to use them with an amp straight out of the box is unfortunate.
Another thing that will turn the audiophile crowd away is the lack of support for the Hi-Res Audio codec, which is limited to Apple's own Apple Digital Masters.
This begs the question: Who is the Apple AirPods Max for? Despite their premium price and great sound quality, they certainly aren't marketed to audiophiles who want to get every last drop of audio fidelity out of their headphones with the use of hi-res audio codecs and amplifiers.
Still, their price means the AirPods Max is hardly a mass-market product, as many casual music listeners won't be willing to spend that much for a pair of noise-canceling headphones.
The conclusion we've come to is that the AirPods Max is aimed solely at Apple devotees; Those who already have an iPhone use Siri regularly and have probably already invested in a pair of AirPods.
There are so many benefits open to Apple users that Android users aren't private, including immersive spatial audio, the ability to automatically switch between iOS devices, one-tap setup, hands-free Siri activation, and audio sharing.
For Android users, the AirPods Max is a high-performance pair of noise-canceling headphones with an unusual design, as luxurious as they may sound — and for these users, we can't see how the high price tag is. cool Beans.
But, if you're a card-carrying member of the wider Apple ecosystem, have a lot of money to burn, and don't care about Hi-Res Audio, you won't find headphones that sound better or easier than the AirPods Max. then to use.
[Update: The AirPods Max received several upgrades, including Conversation Boost, the ability to announce notifications with Siri, and integration with Apple's Find My feature.]
| Apple AirPods Max Specification | |
|---|---|
| Price | $549 |
| Colors | Space gray, silver, sky blue, green, pink |
| Size | 7.4 x 6.6 x 3.3 inches |
| Weight | 13.6 ounces |
| Battery life | 20 hours |
| Speakers | 40mm dynamic drivers |
| Features | ANC, spatial audio, audio sharing, Siri |
Apple AirPods Max Price And Release Date
Apple AirPods Max is priced at $549 / £549 / AU$899 and was officially released on December 15, 2020.
However, a lack of stock means you'll struggle to get AirPods Max before the end of 2020, whether you're buying from an Apple Store or third-party retailers.
This price makes the AirPods Max far more expensive than many of the best over-ear headphones on the market, including our current favorite cans, the Sony WH-1000XM4; Anyone expecting a budget-friendly price tag, as we saw with the recently launched HomePod Mini, will be disappointed.
There are rumors that Apple is planning to release a cheaper, sport-friendly version of the AirPods Max, but you can still expect them to cost a lot of money.
Apple AirPods Max: Design
After price, the next biggest controversy surrounding the Apple AirPods Max is their design; They look unlike any other headphone on the market right now, with large flat earcups crafted from stainless steel and a carrying case that's instantly recognizable.
There's an unmistakable 'Apple' quality to the earcups; Some might describe them as stylishly minimalist, while others might say they are featureless. Those looking for a little more impact out of their headphones may want to try the AirPods Max in one of their bright color options, which include Silver, Sky Blue, Green, and Pink.
We weren't sure about the overall design at first, but we must say it evolved on us; They look special compared to the competition, with a build quality that feels aptly premium for the price.
Special though they may be, those stainless steel earcups mean the AirPods Max is quite heavy, coming in at 385g – for comparison, the Sony WH-1000XM4 weighs in at 254g. Sure, that extra weight makes the AirPods Max feel like they're sturdy and well made, but that's a lot of weight to carry around on your head all day.
To offset that extra weight, the Apple AirPods Max comes with a headband made of a woven mesh fabric that's designed to reduce pressure on the head. The headband's look is new, but after spending time with the AirPods Max, we're beginning to appreciate it—they're very comfortable to wear despite their relative heaviness.
Are they as comfortable as the Sony WH-1000XM4? We don't think they measure up to the best headphones of 2020 in that regard, but the AirPods Max doesn't come with that uncomfortable clamping feeling that some over-ear headphones cause.
The headband frame itself is made of stainless steel, with telescoping arms that you can adjust to find a good fit—they'll stay in place once you've adjusted them, so you won't be constantly fiddling with the fit. The frame feels sturdy and well made, but it's not heavy enough to put pressure on your head.
The memory foam earcups also feel comfortable and can pivot freely to fit your head. The earrings are easily removable, snapped into place via a magnet; You'll be able to buy the earcups from the Apple Store for $69/£75/$99 instead of the AirPods Max, although they're still listed as 'coming soon at the time of writing.
The on-ear controls on the AirPods Max are minimal; Interestingly, Apple has repurposed the Apple Watch's Digital Crown dial, which it says enables precise volume control, as well as letting you play or pause audio, skip tracks, answer or end a phone call, and activate Siri. allows doing.
You can simply turn the dial on the top of the right earcup to adjust volume, or press once to play/pause your music, press to answer,, and end a phone call, to skip to the next track. Press twice for, and press thrice to skip back.
We liked the tact offered by a dial, and it feels like a more accurate way of adjusting volume, as opposed to a button or swipe controls. We're quite happy that Apple hasn't opted for touch-sensitive housings; In our experience, they can be temperamental, and it's hard to remember all those different gestures.
The right earcup also houses a noise control button that allows you to switch between active noise cancellation and transparency modes, which allow some environmental noise to pass through the headphones, while the bottom of the earcup has an Apple Lightning for charging port occurs.
What's not included in the 3.5mm audio port. So, if you want to listen with a wired connection, you'll have to fork out for the Lightning to 3.5mm audio adapter for an additional $35 / £35 (about AU$45).
It's disappointing that it doesn't come included with the headphones when you consider how expensive they are – if you're paying $549 / £549 / AU$899 for a pair of headphones, you can (quite a lot). reasonably) plug them into an amplifier or DAC right out of the box to squeeze out every last drop of fidelity.
Interestingly, the lack of an audio port isn't the most divisive design aspect of the AirPods Max; That prize goes to the unusual-looking Smart Case, which puts the headphones in an 'ultralow-power state' while conserving battery when the headphones are not in use.
So far, Smart Cases have been compared to bras, sleeping masks, and handbags by Twitter users, and we can't say we blame them.
That design won't be so overpowering if the case does what it's supposed to do: protect your headphones. Instead, the Smart Case completely exposes the AirPods Max's headband, and an opening at the bottom of the case makes it easy to charge the headphones without removing them, leaving them vulnerable to debris to get inside. Is.
The rubberized material is also a magnet for smudges and scrapes, and simply putting the Smart Case in a bag is enough to ruin the pristine look you took straight out of the box. Again, we'd expect more from Apple on the price; While lightweight and compact, a hard case with a zip will offer far more protection and peace of mind.
Apple AirPods Max: Audio performance
The audio quality offered by the Apple AirPods Max is simply excellent. They also come with a wide, well-balanced soundstage that leaves plenty of room for each instrument to sing – pair that automatically pauses your music when you remove the headphones and spatial audio, and you'll be able to listen to your music. Make you a very special pair of cans.
Listening to Phoebe Bridgers' Garden Song, and her soft voice sounded smooth and clear, with every detail meticulously told by the AirPods Max. The guitars chosen from the glitch had a lovely rich virtuosity, with a superb sense of rhythm and stereo separation.
Moving on to Love My Way by Psychedelic Furs, the Glockenspiel sounded bright and vivid, while the tightly controlled bass provided a solid foundation for the guitar and vocals. We didn't experience any problems with distortion as we turned up the volume, partly thanks to the neodymium ring magnet motor inside the headphone that powers its 40mm drivers.
The AirPods Max is great for listening to any style of music, whether you're into sparkly pop with strong vocals or hip-hop with a punchy bassline - and unlike the AirPods Pro, they can handle classical music as well. As we listened to Mozart's Jupiter, the raucous opening sounded expansive and decadent, while the quiet flute passage was delicately handled with precision and precision.
Despite the AirPods Max's high price, support for Hi-Res audio files is limited to Apple's own Apple Digital Masters tracks, which are only available through Apple Music. Again, this makes it feel like we're being cut short, as we'd expect at this price to have widespread codec support.
Apple AirPods Max: Spatial audio
Like the AirPods and AirPods Pro, the AirPods Max comes with an Apple H1 chip in each earcup, which has adaptive EQ, active noise cancellation, transparency mode, and no less than 10 audio cores to allow for spatial audio.
Released as part of iOS 14, the Spatial Audio feature first came to AirPods Pro and works for content in 5.1, 7.1, and Dolby Atmos, positioning the sound around you in a virtual area — that means That, for example, if you are watching the movie 'Dolby Atmos' which depicts a plane flying overhead, it will look as if the plane is passing over you.
Something unique to spatial audio is the fact that the AirPods Max can track your head movement using the inbuilt accelerometer and gyroscope, as well as the position of your iOS device; This means that as soon as you move your head, the audio will always sound like it is coming from the screen.
To try it for yourself, you just need to find content available in the above surround formats — Apple TV Plus, Disney Plus, and HBO Max all allow spatial audio, though the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime Video follow. have yet to do and add surround sound support to their iOS apps.
Happily, stereo content can be converted to spatial audio using AirPods Max or AirPods Pro by opening the Headphones settings on your device.
We tested the Spatial Audio feature on the AirPods Max with content from the Apple TV Plus, and we must say it's very effective. No, it's not as convincing as a true Dolby Atmos surround setup, but it does make movie watching feel more immersive—and it's a great extra feature for those who want a lot of TV shows and movies on their iPhone or iPad. let's see.
Apple AirPods Max: Noise cancellation
The noise cancellation provided by the Apple AirPods Max is pretty strong, and we'd say it's on par with the Sony WH-1000XM4 and the Bose Noise Canceling Headphones 700.
Each ear cup has three external microphones to detect environmental noise, while a microphone inside the ear cup monitors the sound reaching your ear.
Apple says the AirPods Max uses computational audio to continuously optimize its noise cancellation performance based on "headphone fit and movement in real-time." It certainly seemed effective when we tested them in a range of situations.
During one trip, most of the thunder from the train was blocked, and with our music playing, we couldn't hear it at all. You feel at peace when using AirPods Max in noisy environments, whether you're working in your kitchen and the washing machine roaring in the background or trying to steal a few moments of solitude on a busy trip. Have been
Transparency mode is also useful; All you need to do is press the noise cancellation button on the right earcup to let environmental noise pass through the headphones, allowing you to tap into your surroundings.
It's certainly handy if you need to have a quick conversation with someone without turning off your music, and it worked well in our tests, making it feel like you're not wearing headphones at all.
Apple AirPods Max: Battery life and connectivity
Apple says the AirPods Max provides up to 20 hours of high-fidelity audio, talk time, or movie playback, which typically won't be a huge amount; However, given that it has active noise cancellation enabled, this is a pretty respectable figure.
The best over-ear headphones will usually hit about 30 hours of battery life, though many very good models only make it to around 20 — either way enough for a full day or two of use, that's it. Depends on how married they will be with your ear.
Said battery life sounds about right to us, and we like the fact that the Smart Case puts the headphones into low power mode; However, the inability to turn off AirPods Max is puzzling. Still, after leaving them overnight in the Smart Case several times, we didn't notice any significant drop in battery life.
Connectivity comes courtesy of Bluetooth 5, and as such, pairing is fast and stable, and you shouldn't lose your connection when you move away from your source device (as long as you don't go beyond 800 feet / 420 meters). , or put several thick walls between the AirPods Max and your phone).
Apple says AirPods Max will be compatible with Apple devices running iOS 14.3 or later, iPadOS 14.3 or later, macOS Big Sur 11.1 or later, watchOS 7.2 or later, or tvOS 14.3 or later. Required – While they will work with both Android and Windows devices, you won't be able to use spatial audio or automatic switching without one of the above Apple devices.
The automatic switching feature means you can easily switch between iPhone, iPad, and Mac while jumping between listening to music and taking calls, while a one-tap setup will mean you can be up and running with your new cans. Can walk very fast. We found setup incredibly easy using both an Android device and an iOS device, though iPhone users benefit from the ability to toggle spatial audio and other control settings.
You can share audio between two sets of AirPods from any Apple source device — even an Apple TV 4K or iPod Touch — so you and a friend can listen to the same music together.
As always, Apple has also included support for its smart assistant Siri, which means you can use voice commands to play music, make phone calls, adjust volume, and more when you're on the go. If so, you can get directions. Siri can also read your incoming messages, which is useful when you don't want to dig your phone out of your pocket, bag, or wherever you left it.
Again, these features are limited to iOS devices, which means that many of the things that separate the AirPods Max from the competition won't be available to Android users.
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