December 8th Surprise: AirPods Max (1 Viewer)

[Ronald Epstein]

Initial reviews are starting to appear

AirPods Max hands-on roundup: ‘Crisp and bright’ sound, comfortable design help justify $549 price - 9to5Mac

AirPods Max officially launched this week and initial hands-on coverage is now out giving us a first look at the...

9to5mac.com

 

[JohnRice]

I suppose I might buy the current ATV4K if my 3-yo Roku Premiere+ suddenly dies, but otherwise, I'm not sure I see enough gain in that either...

_Man_

I know we kind of went around in circles regarding this, but if you have something now, even if it's less than stellar, you should probably wait for a new ATV. If you have nothing and want an excellent streaming device, then I'd probably recommend just going ahead and getting the current ATV 4K now, with the knowledge that something new is coming... one.. of... these... days.

 

[DavidJ]

Initial reviews are starting to appear

AirPods Max hands-on roundup: ‘Crisp and bright’ sound, comfortable design help justify $549 price - 9to5Mac

AirPods Max officially launched this week and initial hands-on coverage is now out giving us a first look at the...

9to5mac.com

“Pretty much all of the early reviews mention how weird the AirPods Max case is and that’s it doesn’t offer much functionality.”

I don’t understand what they were thinking with the case. It’s by far my biggest issue with the product—much more so than the price.

 

[Nelson Au]

iJustine likes them in her usual enthusiastic way.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

iJustine likes them in her usual enthusiastic way.

Which is usually over-the-top.

She's a great journalist but her constant screaming and over-reacting makes her come across as insencere.

I have become more of a Marquees Brownlee follower when it comes to YouTube Apple reviews.

 

[Ted Todorov]

Gruber's review: https://daringfireball.net/2020/12/heavy_is_the_head_that_wears_the_airpods_max

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Gruber's review: https://daringfireball.net/2020/12/heavy_is_the_head_that_wears_the_airpods_max

One of the big takeaways is that Apple TV does not support spatial audio output for these headphones.

I don't know if that is something that can be fixed with a software update or not.

However, the review does put the headphones above the Bose, which has pretty much set the bar where travel noise-canceling headphones should be.

 

[Nelson Au]

Ron, agreed that Justine just goes over the top. Though to me it does seem her reactions are real.

I like Brownlee’s videos too.

 

[Ted Todorov]

One of the big takeaways is that Apple TV does not support spatial audio output for these headphones.

I don't know if that is something that can be fixed with a software update or not.

However, the review does put the headphones above the Bose, which has pretty much set the bar where travel noise-canceling headphones should be.

I’m a Bose user of their regular wireless headphones (NOT noise-canceling) and would switch to the Apple ones if they fit my fat head as well as the Bose ones do. No way to test in the COVID era, my only comparison point is that none of the Beats headphones fit me, nor did high end Sennheisers

 

[DaveF]

After much early frustration and buying a $10 silicone wraps, I've completely switched to Airpods Pro from Bose QC35. But if I were traveling like normal, I'd give a serious look at the new Bose earbuds.

I see people flying with the big cans. And I get it -- best noise blocking and canceling, best sound, and they visibly tell people "don't bother me". But the past couple years, I'd been working to shrink my carry-on, and those full size headphones are a hassle. The new Apple AIrpods Pro Max 12 Max look like everything I didn't want to fly with. And additionally, they've got a ridiculous garbage "case".

The price -- meh. It's a big price tag. But if they fit my travel needs, and I was traveling like I should have been this year, that kinda price tag is not a real obstacle when I'm working on minimizing the stress of being stuck in a claustrophic cylinder for five hours at a time.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Marques does a further in-depth review of noise cancelation and audio quality. Pretty spot on to what I would expect...



More reviews as units get into more hands...



Comparing to the Sony MX4 (top-rated headset in this budget range):



Excellent review from zollotech:

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Been checking the Apple Store hourly hoping stock suddenly becomes available on AirPods Max.

There were pink ones I could have reserved to pick up tomorrow, but I don't think I would want to be caught with that color on my head.

I currently have Space Grey and Sky Blue models on preorder. I haven't decided which color I like best and with 12 weeks to go, I can easily cancel the one I don't want.

However, I am still hoping for stock to suddenly show up at my semi-local store over the next few days. Just a matter of being on the app at the right time to snag one.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

An audiophile's perspective....

Apple AirPods Max Review: The Audiophile's Perspective – In-Ear Fidelity

An in-depth, audio-focused review of Apple's newest flagship headphone, the AirPods Max.

crinacle.com

And this podcaster says that the Airpods Max destroys the Sony MX4

 

[Ronald Epstein]

For those of you still reading this thread.

Want to hear something really, really remarkable, and have fun while doing it?

Grab a pair of headphones for this review. I am using the Airpods Pro to listen to it...

 

[Ted Todorov]

The latest episode of the Accidental Tech Podcast has an excellent review by Marco Arment:

ATP 409: Midrange Snob — Accidental Tech Podcast

Three nerds discussing tech, Apple, programming, and loosely related matters.

atp.fm

TL; Didn't Listen: The sound is fantastic, but it does not feel comfortable for long listening. The most comfortable over the ear headphones are...Bose (apparently I'm not the only one that has discovered that) followed by Sony.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

So, nabbing one of these took a lot of work. I didn't order them on the preorder day because I wanted to wait for reviews.

By the time rave reviews came out, there was a 12-14 week delivery wait.

Meanwhile, stock slowly trickled into Apple stores on a daily basis. However, to even attempt to get the very few that were making their way into inventory, you had to check the Apple store app often. How often? I literally checked the app every 15 minutes for three days straight from the moment I woke up to the moment I went to bed. Sometimes stock would appear and by the time I checked out, it was gone.

I finally nabbed this through the app two days ago and scheduled an Express pickup. Of course, it wasn't at my closest Apple store 30 minutes away so I had to go an hour up north to pick it up. Still worth it under the circumstances and Apple did an excellent job making the entire pickup a breeze of an experience with no contact.

In Apple tradition, these headphones are built very well. No issues fitting my head and they don't feel overly heavy as other reviewers have suggested. They feel very comfortable.

Now, as for sound, I think I was rightfully pissed off when I saw vloggers like iJustine making all these over-the-top exuberant faces when listening to content for the first time. It was certainly not like that at all in my case.

The first song I listened to was AFRICA by Toto. One of my favorite 80s songs. It sounded quite good. However, as I sat and listened, I didn't think it sounded $550 good. I'm no audiophile, so I can only say that my initial reaction was not screaming OH, MY GOD!

The noise-canceling is actually the most impressive part of this headset. It does a very good job tuning out ambient noise. However, secluded in those "cones of silence" I can't yet say that I feel lost in the music. I have been listening for an hour now and I find myself slowly liking the sound more and more so I think my opinion may change more favorably as time goes on.

Now, I did have a sort of OMG moment when I started watching THE MANDALORIAN with spatial audio. Here is where the Airpods Max earns their wings. The audio is very pronounced and natural sounding. The scene with the dark droids produced some nice boomy bass that I had not heard in the musical selections I had previously listened to. This is absolutely the most satisfying way to watch a supported film or TV show. I felt that way with the Airpods Pro, but that level of audio has just been completely elevated here.

Have lots more listening to do. These things take time to wear in and I hope to have more thoughts later.


Edit: These do very well with classical music. Listening to FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING in Hi-Rez (Qobuz) and it has a nice enveloping sound complete with some nice boomy bass. It's the first time I have actually felt lost in the moment with these on my head.

 

[Sam Posten]

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Thank you for posting this, Sam. Saw just the photos on 9to5 yesterday but not this video.

Waterfield is an excellent company. I have bought many of their laptop cases and they are very durable.

These are expensive at $100, but after traveling with my AirPods Max yesterday, I think I am going to be forced to buy these. I really couldn't find a safe method of packing the headphones in my suitcase. I had to throw them in my laptop bag and that made it bulky.

Meanwhile, I just gave my brother my old Sony MX2 headphones and was reminded of how nicely they fit into the carry case that comes with it (which looks like this Waterfield case).

So, no doubt, I am going to be buying these very soon.