Live data from Hacker News

AirPods Max

apple.com

271–280 of 1001 posts

Re: AirPods Max

#271
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.

(paraphrased) "I know nothing about the subject..." "Not gonna learn about other options..." "Apple doesn't disappoint me..." "I'll buy the overpriced stuff because I can afford it..." This Apple-blinkers comment is telling, and refreshingly honest. I'm sure there are other brands with that sort of attachment, but none that exemplify the phenomenon more.

What you're calling "attachment", others would call "trust". Like the sibling comment, my wife and I got a Bosch dishwasher when we needed one because we didn't want to spend a couple days becoming dishwasher experts to save a couple hundred dollars and obtain some criterial best that we wouldn't even appreciate in practice. We went on the consensus around the brand and the experience of people we know who got one.

I'm not sure why Apple receives this kind of contempt for having built a brand people trust for valid reasons (i.e., "I've had a consistently good experience trusting this brand"), going by the comment that's gotten so many bothered here.

Re: AirPods Max

#273
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.

I can get behind this mentality. It's not mine, the only Apple products I owned were iPod nanos, and compared to what was on the market back then, they were really good.

Always trying to get the best for the smallest possible price starts to drain you. You get to a point where you say "I trust them and I can afford it" and that is ok. I wish I could do that.

Re: AirPods Max

#274
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.

I've been using my pairs of Grados and Sennheisers for 20 years each. The Grados were $200 and the Sennheisers were $150. Apple has never been known for hitting audiophile quality, so even though we don't have reviews yet, they likely don't sound as good. Your Apple headphones will be in the trash in a few years and mine will still be delivering wonderful sound.

Been using my Grado RS2 headphones for around 18 years. Their repair service is excellent! Also I expect each Grado headphone to have a overall lower carbon footprint.

I did notice the Apple website does not list the Frequency Response specs.

Re: AirPods Max

#275
post #162

Oh, I find it fascinating how the audio gear industry has taught the consumers on how much money you are supposed to spend to have audio experience at certain level. Pay attention on audiophile arguments, they will talk in terms of money(i.e. 150$ headphones vs 500$ headphones) when talking about audio quality. I always find the audiophile market to be borderline fraud. They sell CD demagnetisers, ceramic cable lifte…

I think it is rather naive view. Audio market is an industry with professionals. You can buy spare parts for 30-years old studio headphones. Apple with their "no repair allowed" business model and 500ms latency is a joke.

Are you guessing on the 500ms? Looks like the most recent AirPods Pro can achieve 144ms [0], so I'd imagine the Max to be slightly less.

Not great, but should allow phone conversations without too much fatigue.

[0] https://9to5mac.com/2019/12/22/airpods-latency-test/

Re: AirPods Max

#276

$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…

[deleted]

Re: AirPods Max

#278

Including the Digital Crown from the Apple Watch demonstrates the power of Apple designing their hardware in house and amortizing new components over many products.

So... a volume knob?

It’s not that it’s innovative in its function. It’s innovative in the speed of design and ability to leverage parts in their supply chain they already have.

Re: AirPods Max

#280
post #269

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> bullet-proof pairing, keeping a connection, audio quality That'll be because Apple products use a custom protocol to iPhones, whereas all other brands have to use basic bluetooth, which has crappy sound quality, arbitrary restrictions, poor handling of weak signals, lots of delay, and is hard to pair. Apples walled garden doesn't allow third parties to design or use their own protocols, or use apples protocols, so…

Irregardless of the platform, is there any other brand with better Bluetooth UX than Apple?

The industrial wireless microphones and headsets used in TV production are exceptional for sound quality and delay.

They require a special license to use, and require dedicated hardware (ie. they won't connect to a phone). Shows whats possible if walled garden and regulatory constraints are lifted though.

Post reply on HN