The AirPods Max 2 Got an Upgrade But Still Fall Short in Some Ways
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I have a complicated relationship with my first-generation AirPods Max headphones. They’re some of the best-looking headphones I’ve tested, they sound excellent, and they have all the features that make AirPods hard to pass up when you’re using an Apple device. At the same time, they’re quite heavy, they get dirty more easily than other headphones, and they don’t have a true carrying case so they’re not quite travel-friendly. I rarely take them out of the house.
The AirPods Max 2’s, which came out last month, have a new amplifier and H2 chip, both of which caught my eye, but I wanted to see if Apple addressed any of the issues I had with the first-generation headphones. I’ve been testing the Max 2’s for the past week and a half, listening to music, podcasts, and audiobooks while I worked and went on walks, often in noisy environments.
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Apple AirPods Max 2
The sound quality is top-notch
The AirPods Max have consistently made the top of my lists when testingnoise-canceling headphonesthanks to their truly impressive sound quality. With this new model, Apple included a high-dynamic-range amplifier that produces even richer, more vibrant and still balanced sound. The mids shine as much as the highs and lows. In tracks like Soundgarden’s “Outshined,” the drums and bass lines were easy to hear even through Chris Cornell’s soaring vocals. Even tracks with noisy beats, like Danny Brown’s “1999,” didn’t sound muddled. On instrumental tracks like Natalie Holt’s “History is Now,” fromLokiseason two, I could hear the guitar riffs, subtle drums, horns, and keys all at once — no detail gets lost.
That’s just over Bluetooth. You can also use a USB-C cable to listen to music, which has the added benefit of supporting lossless audio. I listened to a few albums (all with FLAC files) both from my own music library and through Quboz. The difference will be negligible for some, and you may prefer the convenience of wireless listening, but there’s enough of a difference to make it worthwhile if you want to sit down and really focus on what you’re listening to.
Apple’s software is tough to beat
As with other AirPods products, the Max 2’s work best with Apple devices. When you first remove them from the case, you can instantly pair them with your nearest iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Once that’s done, the AirPods can automatically switch between your Apple devices depending on which one is playing something at a given time. So, for instance, you can pause a podcast on your phone, keep your AirPods Max on, start playing a YouTube video on your MacBook, and audio will automatically start playing through your headphones.
That’s all thanks to Apple’s H2 chip, but it does a lot more than just make pairing more convenient than typical Bluetooth pairing. The Max 2’s also have improved noise cancellation, transparency, adaptive audio, and conversational awareness. I had workers inside my home fixing some issues in my bathroom while I tested these headphones, and despite the frequent banging and drilling a few rooms down, I could still listen to my tunes without much distraction. Likewise, they did a great job at keeping out coffee-shop chatter and loud noises like garbage trucks passing by.
Transparency mode and conversational awareness work just as well. With the former enabled — you can set one of the Max’s two buttons to toggle between modes — the AirPods Max use on-device microphones to play sounds from your surroundings at a lower volume so you can remain aware of what’s happening while still focusing on whatever you’re playing. When conversational awareness is turned on, the AirPods will automatically pause what you’re listening to and turn on transparency mode so you can interact with those around you without taking your headphones off. I did notice, though, that it tends to be a bit sensitive at times, so if you like to sing along while you listen, this mode may activate and you’ll have to stay quiet until it starts playing again. With adaptive audio turned on, the AirPods will adjust the strength of the noise cancellation depending on your surroundings.
They’re (still) less comfortable than the competition
The second-generation AirPods Max look identical to the originals — they come in several new colors, including an orange I’m particularly fond of — with the same stainless-steel, mesh-covered headband and memory-foam ear cushions that made them feel more premium than similarly priced headphones. They’re stunning to look at, but I and many people I know struggle to wear them for more than a couple hours at a time due to their particularly tight clamping force. Additionally, they’re significantly heavier than two equally good headphones, theSony WH-1000XM6and second-generationBose QuietComfort Ultra. The AirPods weigh 386 grams, while the Sony and Bose both weigh around 250 grams. I can wear the Sony and Bose for most of my work day; I can’t do that with the AirPods.
The case is still a problem
As much as I love the AirPods Max, I will not travel with them. Unlike theBose QuietComfort Ultra 2and Sony WH-1000XM6, which both come with cases that fully cover the headphones, Apple’s AirPods Max 2 case only covers the actual ear pieces. When not in use, you slide those into the cover, leaving the mesh headband totally exposed. That’s a problem as the headband gets quite dirty and isannoying to clean. You can get a third-party case that will fully protect your headphones, but with $550 headphones, you shouldn’t have to.
The AirPods automatically go to sleep when inside the cover, but you can’t truly turn them off. While they still last up to 20 hours per charge, that’s ten hours less than the second-generation Bose QuietComfort Ultra, which sound nearly as good as the AirPods and cost $100 less.
They’re pricey, worthwhile headphones for Apple users who care about sound quality
Although the AirPods Max 2’s $550 price tag may be tough to stomach, you get your money’s worth. In addition to having top-notch sound quality, they’re stylish and work as well with Apple products as every other AirPods model. That said, you can get Sony’s WH-1000XM6 and Bose’s QuietComfort Ultra for at least $100 less without sacrificing much. Additionally, they actually come with protective cases and work better with Android and Windows devices than the AirPods. If you’d prefer to forgo those benefits in favor of quickly switching between your iPhone and Mac, you can’t beat these headphones.
Other headphones we like …
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