The audiophiles over at In-Ear Fidelity have just published their first impressions of Apple’s New AirPods Max wireless headphones, which carry a hefty $779 CAD price tag in Canada. Read on to find out whether these headphones are truly worth the money.
The author starts off by noting that he’s neither an Apple fanboy nor a hater. “I hate macOS, love iOS, hate the AirPods, and am lukewarm towards the AirPods Pro,” he writes while adding that contrary to popular belief, Apple is no amateur in the audio world.
“For the sheer amount it has, the APM’s (AirPods Max) bass is very well-done,” notes the author, who tested the headphones with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold2. “The bass emphasis is focused mainly in the sub-bass (sub-150Hz frequencies) and so is well separated from melodic instrumental frequencies”.
As to whether they are worth the high price tag or not, here’s what he thinks:
In the “intangibles”, the APM does very little to justify its $550 price tag. My personal benchmark for resolution/detail for this kind of sound signature would be the $700 Audeze LCD-2 Classic, and the APM is not even close. Let’s not even talk about the Sennheiser HD800S… frankly, doesn’t even belong in the same conversation much less a comparison point in a formal review.
He concludes by noting that in terms of performance, the AirPods Max is closest to “a decent $100 closed-back studio monitor; the AKG K371, the Shure SRH440, the Audio Technica ATH-M40X/M50X, maybe even the Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro” and that they are not at all worth more than $300.
