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AirPods Max 2

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Re: AirPods Max 2

#51

Post by smallmancontrov »

wincy wrote: post #3

There’s been a lot of grumbling about RTO at my work, and if it happens, these will be a day one purchase. I used to have some Bowers and Wilkins PX headphones that I liked, and my wife really loves her Bose QuietComfort, but the weird thing I detested about both of those is how seemingly every headphone manufacturer except Apple feels the needs to add voice feedback to your device? “Headphones connected” and whatnot…

We are in the hell dimension. Headphone manufacturers are sent to punish us. It's the only explanation that makes sense: these are not the headphones we need, but they are the headphones we deserve.

After removing buttons and switches with physical semantics, extending response latency, and decreasing reliability, they were running out of ways to torment us. The slow, obnoxious voices gave them a bit more runway. They even deal bonus combo damage when the headphones try and fail to connect to devices you told them to forget with their app (which made you sign up for an account, of course) and the slow, obnoxious voices agonizingly narrate the saga of failure before you are allowed to listen to your music.

I am currently on Bose QC Ultra 1 specifically because it allowed disabling the voice whereas WH-1000XM5 didn't (it had a setting, but it only applied to a subset). Did they get rid of that on QCU 2?

Re: AirPods Max 2

#52

Post by wavemode »

alstonite wrote: post #31
gottagocode wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A literal dent in your skull?

Yeah. My bone grew around the two plastic pieces of the band because the mesh in the middle lost all of its springiness. One day I felt my head and decided that I was switching as soon as a competitor refreshed.

That... doesn't happen. More likely it's an indentation in your scalp.

Re: AirPods Max 2

#53

Post by mhitza »

simonklitj wrote: post #13
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.

I don’t know that it should be a generation specific thing. I’m a millennial, and I like their look.

For me its the first product that caused a sensation of instant repulsion. Which made me think I'm falling outside the target audience.

Strongly assume most tech marketing is focusing on the newer generations of impresionables.

Re: AirPods Max 2

#54

Post by zamadatix »

9Mfhf34U wrote: post #6
wincy wrote: post #3

There’s been a lot of grumbling about RTO at my work, and if it happens, these will be a day one purchase. I used to have some Bowers and Wilkins PX headphones that I liked, and my wife really loves her Bose QuietComfort, but the weird thing I detested about both of those is how seemingly every headphone manufacturer except Apple feels the needs to add voice feedback to your device? “Headphones connected” and whatnot…

I have a couple of versions of the sony equivalent, and am very happy with them. You can turn off the voice feedback in the app.

As a note for others looking at the Bose side:

On the Bose Quiet Comfort Ultra 2 I've found you can disable voice prompts for "Connections & Calls" and "Battery Level on Startup" but not for everything e.g. "USB Audio" and "Bluetooth Audio" will play each time you switch the source.

Re: AirPods Max 2

#55

Post by mattas »

owlbynight wrote: post #12

https://github.com/jstilwell/MacAudioInputLocker I maintain a fork of this app, which allows you to quickly set and lock your audio input device, so that they don't switch your audio input device to bluetooth as soon as you turn them on. Mostly because of the first gen of these headphones. They LOVED to keep the mic on at all times with no way to disable that behavior. I assume it's the same with the second gen.

I was _just_ looking for a utility that did this! Thanks for sharing.

Re: AirPods Max 2

#56

Post by loloquwowndueo »

aczerepinski wrote: post #46
loloquwowndueo wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is Apple, my dude - the company that sells a glorified sock to carry your phone in for US $230. https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2025/11/introducing-iphone-po... That’s all you have to understand.

I believe that one day they will return to an ergonomic phone that is comfortable for one hand use and fits in pants pockets. Until then you need some other way to carry giant phones.

These phones they make today don’t hold a candle to the iPhone 5 : https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XNBP18nrRdw

(Watch it, it’s fun)

Re: AirPods Max 2

#57

Post by F7F7F7 »

HumblyTossed wrote: post #17

I really don't understand how these are $549. As others have pointed out, some people say the head band is not great. Others say the sound is solid but not exceptional. What makes these worth that much when there are so many options?

I've been wearing Quiet Comforts for almost 15 years now during travel. I've flirted with the Sony XM line (music sound, call mic, UX are superior IMO) but always come back to Bose.

I see both of those lines as utilities for travel. Not sure why I can't shake that.

The Max's don't do anything particularly well. I work within the Apple ecosystem and the Airpod Max's plug seamlessly into it. So because of that they are my daily drivers.

Re: AirPods Max 2

#58

Post by dylan604 »

joncrane wrote: post #50
mbb70 wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They are a luxury item, you are paying for the privilege of signaling you can afford $550 headphones. Generic black over-ear headphones could be $800, could be $80, useless for signaling. Doubly true in the context of a gift.

>They are a luxury item, you are paying for the privilege of signaling you can afford $550 headphones. Plus they give juuuust enough features to cover for the true purpose and give you plausible deniability. Same as most luxury items. None truly give the value of the cost (Is a Ferrari 10x as fast as a GR86? Carry 10x as much stuff? Go 10x as far on the same gas load? Etc etc etc) "Oh but there's nothing like the exp…

Is the GR86 hand made?

Re: AirPods Max 2

#59

Post by F7F7F7 »

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.

Re: AirPods Max 2

#60

Post by zamadatix »

mhitza wrote: post #53
simonklitj wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t know that it should be a generation specific thing. I’m a millennial, and I like their look.

For me its the first product that caused a sensation of instant repulsion. Which made me think I'm falling outside the target audience. Strongly assume most tech marketing is focusing on the newer generations of impresionables.

It looks to have near identical design to the initial iteration from 5-6 years ago ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
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