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AirPods Max 2

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Re: AirPods Max 2

#371

Post by halayli »

porphyra wrote: post #352
mvdtnz wrote: post #311

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Weird response. He said "I don't understand how a pair of headphones can be $549" and you responded "here are some headphones that are priced at $549". Yeah. We know. It's just hard to understand how anyone can value headphones at this price. It's lunacy.

It costs that much because people are willing to pay more for better sound, better noise cancelling, etc, even if the returns are diminishing. Perhaps a $500 pair of headphones only sounds 3% better than a $200 pair. But people will still shell out for better headphones. Sometimes they just think it is better even if it isn't actually measurably better. The existence of numerous successful products on the market is e…

Reading your parent comment and the responses, I feel be missing the point others are trying to make. There's much less technology, components, and material in a headphone compared to laptops. The circuitry in the headphones is closer in complexity to a charger than a laptop.

Re: AirPods Max 2

#372

Post by kevin_thibedeau »

georgespencer wrote: post #310
chihuahua wrote: post #286

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It was Beats. At first it was found in counterfeit Beats, but later the same was found in genuine Beats. And then guess who bought Beats for their exquisite metal weight technology? That's right, it was Apple.

> And then guess who bought Beats for their exquisite metal weight technology? That's right, it was Apple. It's self-evidently extremely disingenuous to claim that Apple bought Beats for their "exquisite metal weight technology", so I thought I'd double check your claim that there are "metal weights" inside Beats headphones. All of this appears to stem from two blog posts, written by the same VC.[^1] The first time t…

> Cast metal supports

Seems excessive. They should do something like forged carbon to cut weight and have removable gravity enhancement.

Re: AirPods Max 2

#373

Post by catgirlinspace »

i just bought airpods max a few months ago and i wear them constantly (autism), basically only taking them off for sleeping (sometimes i do end up laying in bed with them on). i initially found them uncomfortable after several hours due to my glasses, but it went away after a week. really love these, and my only complaint really has been the lack of adaptive mode (and the ANC was also a bit weak but less of an issue) so am glad to see both of these issues solved. am definitely going to get these and probably give this pair to my girlfriend.

Re: AirPods Max 2

#374

Post by yunwal »

skeeter2020 wrote: post #302
bayindirh wrote: post #250

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a (sane) audiophile, I happily use Apple devices for enjoyable listening. Their headphones have amazing clarity and soundstage for their size. If you keep in mind that AirPods are calibrated to your ears with your iPhone's FaceID camera, they provide nice, tailored sound. I also have nice, but not over the top equipment. Yes, some of them sound nicer and more detailed (you can't compare large, 100W/channel bookshe…

>> As a (sane) audiophile this is something you believe about yourself, but an oxymoron for everyone else.

Do you honestly not believe that there is an audible difference between audio equipment? I think that makes you the insane one

Re: AirPods Max 2

#375

Post by stego-tech »

steve1977 wrote: post #157
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…

So you're one of the few people who actually can consistently tell MP3 and lossless apart? https://abx.digitalfeed.net/

Yeah, at least for certain kinds of music. Don't get me wrong, I'm not soapboxing out here against folks who enjoy lossy music (my flatmates enjoy our local library transcoded to MP3s), nor am I going to praise-be the "high-res" audio movement. I just happened to have someone sit me down for a critical listening session on quality kit with a CD I had ripped before and my iPod with the MP3, and it was night and day to my ears.

Am I some golden-eared savant? Heck nah. I still listen to electronic mixes in shitty YouTube audio, because a lot of it isn't mastered in CD quality anyhow; I also enjoy leaning back with a good CD rip of classic rock or orchestral jams on my HD800s or my B&W 684s. I like the different experiences these setups offer, but my preference is always for lossless just as a matter of preservation regardless of whether I can hear it or not.

Let folks enjoy what they like, how they like it.

Re: AirPods Max 2

#376

Post by saltcured »

mhitza wrote: post #2

To me they look like shit. I'm sure gen Z and Alpha will love it. I'll be interested in seeing a review on specialized sites. The 20 hours of battery life is impressive.

All colors? As a Gen X graybeard I think they simultaneously look like Completely Generic Cans and Macaroons On Your Head.

Re: AirPods Max 2

#377

Post by stego-tech »

rokweom wrote: post #295
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…

but sounds objectively better to my ears Subjectively. Objectively, there's no audible difference between lossy and lossless (at usual bitrates).

While you nailed me on the subjectively vs objectively (early morning flub on my part), I'm going to respectfully push back on the "no audible difference between lossy and lossless" with a huge asterisk: it depends on the content, it depends on the mastering techniques, and it depends on the equipment, but there is a discernible difference in a lot of media between lossy and lossless audio, and that difference is easier to pick out by folks who take care of their hearing and listen on quality kit.

Which excludes 90% of the populace by default, and thus I never bought into the whole audiophile hype anyway. Let folks enjoy what they like, on the equipment they like. I ain't here to judge, just share.

Re: AirPods Max 2

#378

Post by aram99 »

kakacik wrote: post #220
porphyra wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't this pricing pretty in line with other high end ANC headphones? e.g. Bowers & Wilkins PX8 ($699), Focal Bathys ($849), Sony WH-1000XM6 ($399), Kef Mu7 ($399), Bose QC Ultra ($449)

Or Sennheiser momentum 4, 150 bucks and sound at least as good if not better, have absolutely huge battery compared to tiny apple one, more comfortable and generally work much better with non-apple ecosystem (also apparently they support multi-device pairing but I haven't used that one). Don't pay the novelty price shortly after release, these go down quite a bit after introduction, ie last year Sony are basically th…

a link?

Re: AirPods Max 2

#379

Post by tjmc »

ex-aws-dude wrote: post #114

I don't understand how a pair of headphones can be $549 meanwhile the Macbook Neo is $599 The pricing on these always seemed a bit crazy to me, like the value is way off compared to other Apple products

You should see the price of noise cancelling aviation headsets. Bose are killing it.

Re: AirPods Max 2

#380

Post by SanjayMehta »

killingtime74 wrote: post #267
jerlam wrote: post #254

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lots of people equate weight with quality. Good for selling them in store, bad for actual use.

I remember a teardown where weights were taped inside. I think it was a beats headphone.

Beats.

But my favourite hack was a Sennheiser model which had foam inserts to dampen the sound. 555 - foam = 595

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