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AirPods Max 2

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Re: AirPods Max 2

#231

Post by theYipster »

I'm looking to replace my worn-out Sony XM-3s and am wondering if the AirPods Max 2 could be a better option than the XM-6s. I've always liked Sony's audio quality and ANC, but felt the headphones were not as comfortable to wear while sleeping on airplanes than older Bose models I had prior (like the QC-2s and QC-3s.)

Can anyone with experience with either the AirPods Max 1s or XM-6s tell me what they feel like to sleep with on an airplane (business class with a lie flat bed?) Plane travel is my primary use-case for these type of headphones.

Re: AirPods Max 2

#232

Post by tombot »

xxpor wrote: post #180
femiagbabiaka wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's still extremely odd that they don't just... turn off.. ever? Even the case marketing copy notes this: > When stored in the soft, slim Smart Case, AirPods Max enter an ultra‑low‑power state.

Perhaps for Find My/UWB support?

Find my works fine on a coin cell battery on AirTag, hard to imagine they need to power up the headphones to do the same.

Re: AirPods Max 2

#233

Post by LorenDB »

flakiness wrote: post #174

A tangential question: What are the best bang per buck headphones these days (preferably wireless)? Not earbuds, but over-the-head headphones. Tell me your favorites. (The internet is so polluted that I cannot find any reliable recommendation today so I'm doing a mini "ask HN" here.)

I have had a pair of the Tozo HT3 for a few months now. Not the most comfortable cans ever, but as low as $30 for wireless + low latency mode + decent ANC is a pretty good deal IMO.

Re: AirPods Max 2

#234

Post by frizlab »

santiagobasulto wrote: post #192
StefanKarpinski wrote: post #145

Wild. I have been eagerly awaiting this refresh, but this doesn't address either of the main issues with the original AirPods Max: 1. Still just as heavy. The AirPods Max sound quite good, but they are very heavy, to the point of being fairly uncomfortable after listening for any longer amount of time. This release as the exact same weight as the originals (13.6 oz). 2. Still no off button/position. They stay partial…

I’ve been using my AirPod Max for hours for the past 2 years and never noticed they were “heavy”. I’m wondering now as I’ve never researched on headphones (I just buy simplicity from Apple, I’m not an audio sophisticated costumer) that was never brought out to me, so I haven’t even noticed.

The AirPods Max are excessively comfortable, even though they are heavy. Some (most?) lighter headphones are actually less comfortable because they do not “fit the head” so well (at least for me).

Caveat: after a while the mesh at the top starts to stretch, and then you get the two metal bands going straight into the head, and that hurts. And the worst part is: this mesh is not replaceable :( There are silicone band-aids that can be bought, but I would have very much preferred for a possibility of repair to exist…

Re: AirPods Max 2

#235

Post by steve1977 »

ruszki wrote: post #182
steve1977 wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, in the market segment of Bluetooth ANC headphones, there's not that much. Bowers & Wilkins and Focal come to mind, both audiophile luxury brands and similarily overpriced. On the other hand, the flagship Sony is quite a bit less than AirPods Max.

Doesn’t Sony have the best codec on Bluetooth? It definitely has worse noise cancellation than my AirPod, but afaik it should have better audio quality on paper.

At least the WH-1000XM6 also has better noise cancellation (on paper).

Re: AirPods Max 2

#236

Post by 46493168 »

F7F7F7 wrote: post #59
stego-tech wrote: post #34

No wireless lossless audio means these are a hard pass for me. I really expected Apple of all folks to figure that out since they engineer their entire stack, hardware to software, but they’re still just pushing the same bluetooth audio that my Airpods Pro 2’s consume (which are half the price and incredibly excellent). Sony’s LDAC is niche, but sounds objectively better to my ears than the AAC used on Apple’s kit wh…

The H2 enables lossless audio over wireless. So this reads like a temporary limitation that software might solve down the road. But knowing Apple's track record for enabling features in partially dormant hardware ... I wouldn't buy these expecting that.

Could you point to where Apple claims that H2 enables lossless audio over wireless for the AirPods Max 2? I don’t see that claim on the spec sheet. What I see is this note:

“Ultra-low latency audio and Lossless Audio listening requires a wired USB‑C connection and compatible content from supported apps and services.”

So it doesn’t appear that lossless wireless is supported at all, even with Vision Pro.

Re: AirPods Max 2

#237

Post by pradn »

StefanKarpinski wrote: post #145

Wild. I have been eagerly awaiting this refresh, but this doesn't address either of the main issues with the original AirPods Max: 1. Still just as heavy. The AirPods Max sound quite good, but they are very heavy, to the point of being fairly uncomfortable after listening for any longer amount of time. This release as the exact same weight as the originals (13.6 oz). 2. Still no off button/position. They stay partial…

They have direct feedback that many people return them bc they’re too heavy, and yet… It’s just Apple being stubborn. I guess it’s not a big enough problem for them, and they don’t care about losing the market. One must laugh.

Re: AirPods Max 2

#238

Post by sashank_1509 »

I absolutely hate noise. And so I loved AirPods Max. It was, I think the best noise cancelling money could buy and I’ve tried several of the Sony and Bose Headphones. Then funnily enough my AirPods Pro 3 completely smokes my AirPods Max. There are times when I literally can’t notice someone calling out my name, when I wear my pro 3 with ambient sounds, this never happened even with over the ear noise cancelling phones in the past. I have no idea what magic Apple used to pull this off and so my usage of AirPods Max has fallen to nil.

Now I wonder if AirPods Max 2 is even better than AirPods Pro 3 but we are soon reaching the point of diminishing returns. So to all kindred souls who hate noise, Pro 3 is probably good enough for your use cases!

Re: AirPods Max 2

#239

Post by Dangeranger »

theYipster wrote: post #231

I'm looking to replace my worn-out Sony XM-3s and am wondering if the AirPods Max 2 could be a better option than the XM-6s. I've always liked Sony's audio quality and ANC, but felt the headphones were not as comfortable to wear while sleeping on airplanes than older Bose models I had prior (like the QC-2s and QC-3s.) Can anyone with experience with either the AirPods Max 1s or XM-6s tell me what they feel like to sl…

I've been using the AirPods Max 1s for the last five years and you should get the Sony XM-6s. The Apple AirPod Max sound great, bur are heavy and fairly uncomfortable on the head when worn for more than an hour or two. Furthermore, I experienced persistent wireless connectivity problems and eventually sent them back to Apple under warranty. They were replaced successfully, but with a different pair of the same model which had a worn out headband. Overall it's been a bad experience and I wish that I purchased the Sony XM-6s insead.

Re: AirPods Max 2

#240

Post by squidsoup »

BowBun wrote: post #109

Truly the Beats of our generation. Buy headphones from audio specialists, not Apple.

If you have multiple apple devices, the seamless switching is the killer feature, for me anyway. My Bose headphones were absolutely abysmal at this, and it drove me mad.
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