Apple's lawyers argued that an angry customer "omits details" about a so-called "walk" where condensation built up in his AirPods Max, and that moisture in the company's flagship headphones is simply "more noticeable" than in competitors' models.
Airpods have good ANC, but they’re not magically better than things on the market. My 3 year old Sennheiser Momentum TW2s have better ANC, and cost $250 less.
I have a special interest in ANC over ear headphones for work and travel and do buy nearly every serious contender as soon as it becomes available (I have or had the BOSE QC35, QC35 II, 700, QC45, the SONY WH-1000XM3, XM4, and the AirPods Max. I‘ve yet to buy the XM5s). The AirPods ANC is far beyond the competition especially if it’s cancelling noises other than continuous rumbling like noise spikes, human voices and such. All of them are good or great at blocking background noises (even the original QC35 is still capable enough there), but the AirPods Max are far superior in unpredictable environments. This isn’t some magic BOSE or SONY are incapable of, this is just economics: Apple charges more than double the competition‘s prices, has special access to chips and isn’t just a scammy luxury company without serious RnD, but also has the resources and knowledge to develop outstanding software. This isn’t a judgement on the other factors though: the Max are heavy, their sound is borderline “Beatsy” (no surprise there, since they are probably related), they have nearly no external media control, the bag they come in and the way they are stowed makes them really unwieldy - and first thing you need to do if you receive them is tape over the little “SIM ejector”-like holes under their cushions as the article describes. Their superior ANC comes with a lot of costs attached.
Anti-Apple circlejerk is strong in this thread but you’re absolutely right. I’ve been a Bose and, when those were stolen during a trip, Sony headphone user for years specifically for noise cancelling as I travel and have to work and take meetings in a number of incredibly noisy environments.
I bought a pair of the AirPod Max headphones as I was travelling with a colleague using Apple and there’s a feature to connect two pairs of headphones to the same device and it made sense to use that. My intention was to sell them after the trip as I know loads of Apple fans who’d jump at a small discount lol.
The noise cancelling isn’t as powerful for rumbling as the Bose, and the Sony’s have punchier bass, but, as you said, in unpredictable noise environments (city rooftops, cafes, open plan offices, conference halls, expo floors, Indian public transport, etc) they were unreal. I’ve since kept them purely for the noise cancelling.
The pricetag is steep, arguably too steep (a €100 premium on Bose would be more realistic), but given how much I use headphones like these (must have around 1000h+ of use on the AirPod Max pair already), the build quality is certainly holding up better than the Sonys which creak like mad and I need to regularly relubricate the cup joint or the Bose which the headband cracked and drivers started producing popping noises around 1000h into using them (part of why I switched to Sony instead of replacing).
I’m sure for those who sit in an office or fly regularly, the AirPod Maxes are a total waste of money but if, like me, you’re not just trying to cancel general rumble or background chatter but a wide array of totally unpredictable noises (like a tshirt cannon lol) the steep price can be totally justifiable.
Airpods have good ANC, but they’re not magically better than things on the market. My 3 year old Sennheiser Momentum TW2s have better ANC, and cost $250 less.
I have a special interest in ANC over ear headphones for work and travel and do buy nearly every serious contender as soon as it becomes available (I have or had the BOSE QC35, QC35 II, 700, QC45, the SONY WH-1000XM3, XM4, and the AirPods Max. I‘ve yet to buy the XM5s). The AirPods ANC is far beyond the competition especially if it’s cancelling noises other than continuous rumbling like noise spikes, human voices and such. All of them are good or great at blocking background noises (even the original QC35 is still capable enough there), but the AirPods Max are far superior in unpredictable environments. This isn’t some magic BOSE or SONY are incapable of, this is just economics: Apple charges more than double the competition‘s prices, has special access to chips and isn’t just a scammy luxury company without serious RnD, but also has the resources and knowledge to develop outstanding software. This isn’t a judgement on the other factors though: the Max are heavy, their sound is borderline “Beatsy” (no surprise there, since they are probably related), they have nearly no external media control, the bag they come in and the way they are stowed makes them really unwieldy - and first thing you need to do if you receive them is tape over the little “SIM ejector”-like holes under their cushions as the article describes. Their superior ANC comes with a lot of costs attached.
Lol
Anti-Apple circlejerk is strong in this thread but you’re absolutely right. I’ve been a Bose and, when those were stolen during a trip, Sony headphone user for years specifically for noise cancelling as I travel and have to work and take meetings in a number of incredibly noisy environments.
I bought a pair of the AirPod Max headphones as I was travelling with a colleague using Apple and there’s a feature to connect two pairs of headphones to the same device and it made sense to use that. My intention was to sell them after the trip as I know loads of Apple fans who’d jump at a small discount lol.
The noise cancelling isn’t as powerful for rumbling as the Bose, and the Sony’s have punchier bass, but, as you said, in unpredictable noise environments (city rooftops, cafes, open plan offices, conference halls, expo floors, Indian public transport, etc) they were unreal. I’ve since kept them purely for the noise cancelling.
The pricetag is steep, arguably too steep (a €100 premium on Bose would be more realistic), but given how much I use headphones like these (must have around 1000h+ of use on the AirPod Max pair already), the build quality is certainly holding up better than the Sonys which creak like mad and I need to regularly relubricate the cup joint or the Bose which the headband cracked and drivers started producing popping noises around 1000h into using them (part of why I switched to Sony instead of replacing).
I’m sure for those who sit in an office or fly regularly, the AirPod Maxes are a total waste of money but if, like me, you’re not just trying to cancel general rumble or background chatter but a wide array of totally unpredictable noises (like a tshirt cannon lol) the steep price can be totally justifiable.