![]() ![]() They’re great for music with bombastic production, giving every instrument room to spread out and be heard. Realistically though, the missing ALAC support will only be important to a small subset of people (like studio engineers) who wouldn’t consider using the AirPods Max anyway, as they offer too much color for dedicated audio recording use.Īpple’s general approach to audio jibes well with my taste, and the AirPods Max are no different. You won’t, however, be able to hear even the company’s own hi-res lossless ALAC codec, even over a wire. The 256kbps, 44.1Khz sample rate will be plenty for most people, and if you want a CD-quality or 24-bit/48Khz lossless signal, it’s achievable through Apple’s bi-directional Lightning-to-3.5mm cable, a specialized accessory for which there is no apparent alternative. Weirdly, Siri can’t handle requests related to spatial audio, though.Īs great as they sound, the AirPods Max may not be to some audiophiles’ liking due to Bluetooth’s limited capabilities. You can also use an iOS device or Mac to adjust volume/activate Siri or adjust spatial audio settings, or simply say “Hey, Siri” and follow that up with commands to do anything you can do with the physical buttons. These controls accomplish more with two buttons than many headphones do with five, and are among the best things about Apple’s luxury headphones. The pill-shaped button toggles between transparency mode and noise cancellation. The crown is also a button and functions like the stalk squeeze of a pair of AirPods Pro you press once for play/pause, twice or thrice to skip forward and back, or long-press for Siri. The dial, or “digital crown,” is a massive improvement over the fiddly touch controls or sometimes-mysterious buttons found on other Bluetooth headphones. On the right ear piece, you’ll find at the top a dial and an elongated, pill-shaped button, each looking like jumbo-sized versions of their counterparts on the side of an Apple Watch. A flap folds over the middle and magnetically attaches to itself over the body of the AirPods Max. The Smart Case is more of a sleeve that slips over the exterior of the cans, leaving the headband exposed to the elements. ![]() Speaking of cases, the AirPods Max does come with one–sort of. The $350 Sony WH-1000XM4, on the other hand, ships with a hard zipper case, a 3.5-inch audio jack cable, a charge cable, and even one of those weird dual airplane audio jack dongles. The lack of an integrated 3.5mm output seems like a glaring omission, given the price. The headphones have a single port on them: a Lightning port on the bottom of the right cup, which serves for both charging and–provided you spend $35.00 on Apple’s Lightning-to-3.5mm audio jack–wired connectivity. The mesh material that pads the headband also does its job, though I worry about the fabric tearing over time. ![]() The connecting rod slides smoothly in and out of the tubes of the soft-touch headband and holds its place surprisingly well. Where they attach to the headband, thin metal rods taper down to what almost looks like a ball joint, but is actually a complex electromechanical joint that allows for twisting and articulation while keeping the headphones clamped firmly (but not painfully, at least generally) to your head.
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