Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

AirPods Max

apple.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

571–580 of 1001 posts

Re: AirPods Max

#571

Post by ogre_codes »

theNJR wrote: post #369
cactus2093 wrote: post #299

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having paid $350 for Bose QC3 headphones 4 years ago, that I use every day but sometimes have to fight with when e.g. my MacBook Pro keeps trying to steal focus even though i shut it and am trying to use the headphones with my phone now, etc. I completely agree. Paying a bit more for something that just works as well as my airpods do, assuming that this delivers, is totally worth it. On top of that, I expect the soun…

I see you’ve never used AirPods between multiple devises. It’s become a lot better in the last year, but that’s only because it started out infuriating. QC3s were much better than AirPods at multi device up until a recent update.

> I see you’ve never used AirPods between multiple devises. It’s become a lot better in the last year, but that’s only because it started out infuriating.

Not the OP, but I've used AirPods since day one, switching between my iPad, iPhone, and Mac and they've been fine. I honestly have no idea what you are talking about. It's one of the things I loved about them from go, in fact a lot of people loved the way they switched between devices from the start. It was one of their most praised features.

Re: AirPods Max

#572

Post by wait_a_minute »

Etheryte wrote: post #39
headmelted wrote: post #7

$549 a pair. Yikes. I'm fairly confident I've reached my own personal peak for Apple pricing. As a spectator I've no doubt these will sell massive numbers but I'm curious to learn what the market will bear for Apple's products.

For comparison, Sony's WH-1000XM4 which are currently widely considered the state of the art in the active noise cancelling over-ears, will cost you anywhere between $300-$400 depending on where you are. (I was very surprised the price can vary that widely, actually. On Sony's US page they're $279, while in the EU they're €380 which is about $460.)

My experience with the WH-1000XM3 was awful. Sound cancel feature wasn't that great, couldn't pair with multiple devices at the same time and have the audio switch seamlessly between the two, and I also didn't want to have to trust Sony with my listening data. Call me paranoid if you'd like, but smart headphones are basically pumping out information about what we're listening to or hearing around us, and if I was going to trust any corporation to be user-centric on privacy in this regard it'd be Apple.

If Apple's headphones have high audio quality and a seamless experience across multiple devices and cool features prepping the way for VR/AR (the way other comments have suggested) then I'd buy a pair.

Re: AirPods Max

#573

Post by jasonlotito »

eertami wrote: post #113

$549!? That puts it in the same price category as: Sennheiser HD660S, Audeze LCD-1, Beyerdynamic DT1770/1990, Grado RS2e, among many many others. Honestly, I don't understand why you would buy these when there are a lot of established professional audio companies offering better sound at a cheaper price. At least airpods have a unique selling point in their portability and ux but I don't see how this benefits over-ea…

> audio companies offering better sound at a cheaper price.

It's not just sound though, right? Can you point me to an offering that offers the same features that Apple is offering here? Wireless, with a high battery life, automatic switching, Siri, noise cancellation, spatial mode, etc.

> At least airpods have a unique selling point in their portability and ux but I don't see how this benefits over-ear cans.

I don't see why portability and a good UX are somehow not needed for over-ear headphones.

Re: AirPods Max

#574

Post by bitcharmer »

NationalPark wrote: post #414
kishinmanglani wrote: post #132

I'm a sucker. I just bought them. I love being able to switch between my iPhone and my Mac on my AirPods. I have the Sony MX3's, and they are great. I don't like toggling between devices and having it automatically connect to my last used device, have to disconnect it from one, blah, blah. This is what Apple does. They raise prices. People are stunned initially. Others follow, then those prices are the norm. iPhone w…

Same boat here. I've already spent thousands of dollars on fancy audiophile stuff. Can you guess what I use to listen to music most? My Airpods, because everything about them is so damn convenient. Can't wait to get these, even if they don't sound quite as good as the ideal set.

I'm not an audiophile myself, but if you yourself claim to be one and then state you settled for Airpods something here rings very untrue.

Re: AirPods Max

#575

Post by friday99 »

zcw100 wrote: post #240

I think this is actually a fantastic place for Apple. I'm happy to trash Apple where appropriate and I've got plenty of complaints. I think Apple does it's best when the integration of hardware and software is really important and there is a very low tolerance for, I won't say bugs, but issues. They're headphones. I want to put them on and they need to make noise. I'm not dealing with connectivity issues, battery iss…

Thanks for pointing out the spatial audio. It amazes me all the comments about price but not discussing what features these actually have. Dynamic head tracking for spatial audio could be really amazing and is not cheap to implement. These aren't just some "dumb" headphones with speakers in them. I'm really interested in trying these out on the Xbox X which has Dolby Atmos on a big screen and hearing the sounds move as you look around. Also, imagine silent discos with the DJ streaming in Atmos as you move around. Now if only there was a widely adopted open spatial audio standard instead of Atmos...

Re: AirPods Max

#576

Post by asdffdsa »

eertami wrote: post #113

$549!? That puts it in the same price category as: Sennheiser HD660S, Audeze LCD-1, Beyerdynamic DT1770/1990, Grado RS2e, among many many others. Honestly, I don't understand why you would buy these when there are a lot of established professional audio companies offering better sound at a cheaper price. At least airpods have a unique selling point in their portability and ux but I don't see how this benefits over-ea…

Did you see the notes?

- adaptive EQ - noise cancelling - transparent-mode - 3D spatial awareness

If Apple nails those, then it's worth the money in my book.

Re: AirPods Max

#577

Post by ogre_codes »

jayd16 wrote: post #494
blantonl wrote: post #308

For all the complaining about the pricing here, just set a reminder to yourself for 1 year later, when the pandemic has waned and some workplaces begin to return to normal. Then take a visual survey of how many people are wearing these in those hip open office development workspaces. You'll see the pricing didn't matter at all. You'll probably be wearing a pair yourself when you do that visual survey.

Are you saying they're popular or good? AirPods are popular but I don't think they're very good at all. At least the pros have the rubber tips.

This whole "People just buy them because they are popular" thing is trite. AirPods were tremendously mocked when they were launched and became popular in spite of that.

You don't like them. Millions of people do. Lots of people don't value the things you (or I!) value.

Re: AirPods Max

#578

Post by Zarel »

untog wrote: post #222
r0fl wrote: post #122

I know nothing about headphones, nor do I want to invest any time learning about headphones. I’ve had a bunch of Apple products that have never disappointed me in the last 10+ years. I’ll buy these overpriced headphones because an extra $200 for a product I’ll probably use for 5 years will not break my bank account.

> nor do I want to invest any time learning about headphones https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-over-ear-hea... ~ 5 minutes of reading time and done.

I used that guide a few months ago and bought the Bose NC 700, Wirecutter's recommended high-end option.

I've had a huge list of problems with it:

- The noise cancellation sets itself to maximum power every time you put it on and there's no way to completely turn off noise cancellation when using a computer; here's a thread of people complaining about it: https://community.bose.com/t5/Around-On-Ear-Headphones/NC-70...

- The only way to use it with no noise cancellation is to pair it with your phone, install the Bose app (there are three, make sure you use the right one), open the Bose app, find the settings which are not easy to find, and turn it off, and repeat this process EVERY TIME you use the headphones (there's plenty of lag in every step in this process, of course)

- It requires a Bluetooth connection to use the mic (the cable only supports speakers), which means I can't use it in Boot Camp because Boot Camp Bluetooth is currently broken

- It mispronounces my name every time I put it on, with no way to fix it, which gets very aggravating

- There's sometimes some weird static noise when connected to my Android phone, and they also automatically reconnect to my phone every time I turn it on, even after I manually disconnect it every time (my AirPods Pro don't do this so it's not just a problem all headphones share)

It's otherwise pretty good, but these flaws are really frustrating considering how much I paid for it.

The reason people are willing to pay more for Apple is because Apple products usually don't have problems like these.

Re: AirPods Max

#579

Post by fastball »

ziml77 wrote: post #338
king_magic wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I paid $349 (I think) for my Bose quiet comfort headphones, and they are good - but there are flaws that I wouldn’t be opposed to seeing corrected for a higher price. To each their own I suppose.

I think most people here have their doubts that they will actually be an upgrade over the QC35 or the WH1000XM4. They'll undoubtedly have a better pairing experience and the head tracked spatial audio is unique among over-ears, but there's a chance of losing in sound quality, noise cancellation ability (active & passive), comfort, and battery life. Also based on phrasing at the bottom of the page it's possible that t…

- What makes you think these would be less comfortable than QC35s? People love the comfort of their existing AirPods.

- Battery life will be the same (20 hrs).

- Given my experience with HomePod sound quality and the quality of my Macbook Pro speakers, I expect the sound quality of these to be better than QC35s.

- Not sure about noise cancelling.

Post reply on HN