Why The Apple AirPods Max Suck
For some reason, people go nuts for the Apple AirPods Max.
I must have been nuts to spend 600 euros on them thats for sure, but that’s another story for another time.
Where I live in the Republic of Cyprus, there’s no such thing as a headphone listening post to try before you buy. The market for hifi products is relatively small, so retailers don’t tend to put a pair out on demo. As a result, I bought these blind.
The unboxing process is the usual over the top affair, with Apple implying you’re unravelling a Faberge egg rather than a pair of their overpriced cans. I think this is to placate any feelings of having spent way too much cash on them.
Don’t get me wrong, the AirPods are a very comfy fit, if a little top heavy — especially when walking around, but during seated listening sessions they’re definitely very comfortable.
The noise cancelling is the best in the business, it really is. It shuts out pretty much everything. Even booting along at 550mph on an EasyJet to Spain the AirPods work their magic, filtering out aircraft engines and screaming kids without breaking a sweat.
But that’s not the point.
The AirPods Max just don’t sound very good. They don’t sound anything like they like they should, considering the price tag. To my ears they sound like a mid-range pair of Sonys. Comfort and noise-cancelling talents aside, the sound quality is severely lacking.
It could be the lack of aptX in the AirPods Max. Apple have instead plumped for AAC topping out at 256kbps. Apple argue here that the AAC codec is extremely reliable, but all too often I’ll pop the AirPods Max on to be confronted with extremely average, unexciting audio.
And that would be ok if they weren’t so damn expensive! £550/600EUR is a LOT of money. Especially when you consider you can pick up some decent noise cancellers from Bose or Sony for half the money. The current Bose offering for around that price sound better too.
The Apple AirPods Max are a first generation product. The original AirPods didn’t sound great either, but the latest iteration have come on leaps and bounds. If Apple can retain the noise cancelling qualities and improve the sound quality with the AirPods Max dramatically, then by 2nd or 3rd generation it could well be a different story. Although one shudders to think what the cost of a pair may be by then..
If you’re thinking about a pair of AirPods Max and sound quality is important to you, I’d recommend you sit this one out. Instead, get yourself a decent DAC and a pair of open back headphones for great sound and/or a cheaper pair of Bose or Sony if you want the noise cancelling thing — you still won’t spend as much as a new pair of Apple AirPods Max.
