I have many sets of headphones, some very nice ones, and these stand alone in terms of being something different - there is so much tech jammed into these, it makes them very different than anything else on the market.
Sound - Sound quality on these is very good, very clean. Personally I'd like a lot more bass, but even someone who isn't a basshead would still probably like more bass. They're not weak or anything on the low end side, and booming bass is there, it's just too much in the background for my tastes. If stupid iOS just gave you an EQ, you could probably easily fix this, and some of the sound profiles you do get can hep, but for the love of everything, just give me a stupid EQ so I can choose the sound I want. In any case, again, the sound is very good, very clean. I'd say it's pretty easily better than my Bose QC25 but not on-par with my Beyerdynamic DT 990 open backed headphones (which I still think are the best headphones I've heard and I've compared them against sets costing well over $1k). But these headphones are about a lot more than sound, and that's why they go up to 5-stars...
Sound Field/Stage - The sound stage on these, the openness of the sound, is amazing for closed back headphones. When you're playing music that supports Apples spatial sound (everything in Apple Music for example) it's incredible, it really feels/sounds natural a lot of the time. I've used other 'virtual surround' garbage, and it's terrible, but whatever Apple is doing, it works. My favorite thing is that you can set your phone in front of you, then walk around, and it sounds like the sound is coming from the direction of the iPhone, so it gives you this incredible sense of space (and it does not hurt the sound quality - for most music it sounds better in my opinion). This is something you really have to experience to understand as I don't know of anyone else that does this - and it's really impressive in person.
Noise Cancelling - Absolutely top notch. Between the good fit of the headphones and the actual tech, you can block out a ton of stuff, they work better than my Bose QC25's, that still were best in class as of a year ago. Also, for the cry babies, I do not notice the pressure effect - it might be there still, but it's not nearly as noticeable as the Bose.
Battery Life - Seems to be excellent. Only downside is it uses an iPhone plug, not USB C. I still have and need an iPhone plug so it's not a huge deal at the moment, but for the future, when it's all USB C, this is going to become a pain.
Comfort - It's pretty comfortable. I heard lots of people say these are big and heavy and uncomfortable, and while they are big and heavy, for me at least they're pretty comfortable. Those Beyerdynamic DT 990 are amazingly comfortable, can wear them for hours, that's not the case here. But compared to my Bose QC25, I can wear the AirPods Max for longer without any issues. Still, it's not like the comfort of earbuds, which I can wear all day, but for big over the ear headphones, the Max's are pretty good.
Build Quality - Top notch in my opinion, make everything else I've ever used, anything else I've ever even tried, feel plasticky and cheap.
Wireless - No lag, no drops, works great. I wish they had upped the bandwidth so you could carry stuff like fully uncompressed audio, like blu-ray audio, but probably have to wait for V2 for that. With that said, I've never really noticed anything, everything sounds full with no compression. Obviously that isn't the case, but just saying, I do not notice any negatives as far as wireless goes.
Overall, 5-stars. The sound, with less bass than I'd like and with no EQ in iOS, only gets 4-stars, but the other features make these unique and quite amazing. The spatial sound is what makes these special, and you can't get that with any other over the ear headphones, and it works remarkably well. I think it uses actual head movement for tracking, so it's not just a software gimmick they can do on any other headphones (I think that's the case), but it' something you need to hear in person to appreciate.
| Headphones Jack | Lightning |
|---|---|
| Model Name | AirPods Max |
| Connectivity Technology | Wireless, Wired |
| Wireless Communication Technology | Bluetooth, NFC |
| Included Components | Smart Case, Documentation, AirPods Max, Lightning to USB-C Cable |
| Age Range (Description) | Adult |
| Material | memory foam |
| Specific Uses For Product | Music |
| Recommended Uses For Product | Calling, Recording, Exercising, Gaming, Disc Jockey Use |
| Compatible Devices | Cellphones, Tablets, Music Production Equipment, Laptops, Desktops |
| Theme | TV Series |
| Control Type | Call Control, Media Control, Volume Control, Voice Control, Noise Control |
| Cable Feature | Detachable |
| Item Weight | 1.9 Pounds |
| Water Resistance Level | Not Water Resistant |
| Unit Count | 1.0 Count |
| Style | Lightning |
| Control Method | Touch |
| Number of Items | 1 |
| Battery Life | 20 Hours |
| UPC | 194252245095 |
| Global Trade Identification Number | 00194252245095 |
| Manufacturer | Apple |
| Product Dimensions | 3.15 x 9.57 x 3.15 inches |
| Item Weight | 1.85 pounds |
| ASIN | B08PZDSP2Z |
| Country of Origin | Vietnam |
| Item model number | MGYN3AM/A |
| Batteries | 3 Lithium Ion batteries required. (included) |
| Date First Available | December 8, 2020 |
