And by now you probably know that they cost $550.

So your first reaction might be, sticker shock.

What business does Apple have

making headphones that are so expensive?

Well, it turns out there are actually a lot of headphones,

even wireless ones, at this price and beyond.

But Apple has plenty of competition to worry about,

for less money, much less.

And so this isn't a review where I'm gonna tell you

that the AirPods Max are the best headphones

for most people, because quite frankly, they're not.

If all you want is a good and reliable set

of noise canceling headphones, save your money

and stick with something like Sony's 1000XM4s

or the Bose Noise Canceling Headphones 700,

which both cost at least $200 less.

That said the AirPods Max will make sense

for very specific people.

Their design is top-notch.

They sound awesome and they have features like spatial audio

that you really can't get anywhere else,

at least not quite like this.

So let's dig into some reasons for and against

the Apple AirPods Max.

(gentle music)

First up is fit and finish.

And if there's one area that backs up

that premium price tag,

it's the build quality that Apple has pulled off.

The AirPods Max have a stainless steel headband

that's wrapped in this nice, soft material.

And a knit, mesh canopy on top,

does a good job of keeping all the weight,

and I'll get to that later, off the top of your head.

The rotating aluminum ear cups are attached

by these cool telescoping steel stems

that take a bit of effort to extend,

but do a great job of staying in place

wherever you leave them.

The ear cushions are made from acoustic memory foam,

with a nice, breathable mesh layer on the outside,

that's really comfortable.

They attach magnetically,

come off easily when you want them to,

and popping them back into place is really satisfying.

(snaps)

There are only two buttons on the AirPods Max.

There's the digital crown,

a much larger version than what you might be familiar with

from the Apple watch, and a button that switches between

noise-canceling and transparency modes.

I've really come to like the crown

for controlling volume and playback.

You don't get the false inputs or missed swipes

that can often happen with touch gestures.

There is one very strange part to all this, though.

The AirPods Max, don't have a power button.

They turn on when you put them on your head

and when you take 'em off, they go to sleep.

Put them in the case and they go into an even deeper,

ultra-low power state.

Now I've left them out overnight with no case at all

and they barely lost any battery,

but I still wish Apple had been less Apple-like

and just put a power button somewhere for simplicity sake.

There are a lot of random cutouts for mics and sensors

all around the AirPods Max.

And behind those ear cushions are powerful,

custom designed, 40 millimeter drivers.

It all comes together in a package

that feels sturdy, sturdy, sturdy.

But I would steer clear of the silver color

and go for something like space gray, or blue.

These white ear cushions are already looking

a little worse for the wear,

after only a few days of wearing them.

Of course, Apple sells replacements

and different colors for $69 a pair.

The second pro for the AirPods Max is sound quality.

Folks, these headphones sound delightful.

Apple has struck a mix between the highs, mids and lows.

And there's a broader soundstage here

than I get from my Sony's or the Bose cans.

Now the base isn't gonna rattle your skull,

but there's always enough to make whatever song is playing,

shine just the way it's supposed to.

Apple uses computational audio with the H1 chips

in each ear cup and the many built-in microphones,

to constantly measure what you're hearing

from the headphones, and it adjusts EQ

to account for how they fit on your head

and seal against your ears.

The company says it aims for a faithful reproduction

of your music, but these are still tuned in a way

that's geared toward casual listening.

I would never call them neutral or flat.

If I had to pick two words to describe the AirPods Max,

I would say tight and refined.

There's always just enough bass

and the treble never sounds harsh.

But a lot of you probably want to know

whether the AirPods Max sounds so much better,

as to justify their high price,

and there's no great answer.

It comes down to preference.

If you're a nitpicky about audio,

you'll notice how great these sound,

but those Sony's are popular for a reason.

And one of those is booming bass,

where they can still beat out the AirPods Max.

Other noise canceling headphones,

like the Sennheiser Momentum Wireless 3,

also give these a run for their money.

Just like the regular AirPods,

these AirPods Max work great for voice calls.

So we put 'em through our usual set of microphone tests.

So let's start the mic test

with the Bose Noise Canceling Headphones 700.

These are often on sale, especially during the holidays,

but they usually go for around $350.

All right, next up are the Sony WH-1000XM4s.

These also usually sell for around 350,

but over the holidays, they've been on sale

for as low as 270, so they're a great deal

and have really good noise cancellation.

Third up, are the Microsoft Surface Headphones 2.

These sell for around 250,

so less expensive than the Sony and the Bose.

And they have those style controls that we really love.

Next up, are the Sennheiser Momentum Wireless 3.

These sell for around $350.

So pretty pricey, but they sound amazing.

And finally, we come to the AirPods Max.

Now, just so you know we've been doing

all these microphone tests to my iPhone,

through the Voice Memos app.

So this is as good as these mics

will ever possibly sound.

Third in the pros column, is noise cancellation.

The AirPods Max are neck-in-neck with both Sony and Bose,

with how effectively they can quiet the outside world.

They might even be better, but it's very close.

They aced my tests at the coffee shop, on the subway,

and just walking around Manhattan for a day.

When you do need to hear what's happening around you,

transparency mode sounds just as natural here,

almost like you're not wearing headphones at all,

as with the AirPods Pro.

The fourth reason to consider these expensive headphones,

is spatial audio.

Just like the AirPods Pro, the AirPods Max,

can give you an immersive, surround sound experience,

on an iPhone or iPad when you're watching movies

with supported apps like Apple TV, Disney+, and HBO Max.

Since those devices have positional awareness

from their built-in sensors,

they send that data back to the headphone,

so the sound is always right in front of you,

even if you turn your head side-to-side.

Now, special audio can't quite match

a full Dolby Atmos 7.1 surround system.

I mean, how could it?

But once everybody starts traveling again,

people are gonna love this feature.

I just really wish it worked with the Apple TV,

so you could make for your TVs crummy speakers,

or just watch a movie in bed

with your partner sleeping beside you.

But for now, the Apple TV doesn't do spatial audio,

just iPhone and iPad.

The last big plus is that the AirPods Max are just easy.

Like the regular AirPods, they pair to your phone,

just by being held close together.

And now they can automatically switch between an iPhone,

iPad and Mac, depending on what device

you're using at that moment, without you doing anything.

If I'm paying $550 for headphones,

I damn sure want that level of convenience.

That said, the Sony, Bose and many other headphones

let you pair with the two devices at the same time.

So that might be enough flexibility for you.

Especially if not every device you own is made by Apple.

And now we come to the cons and first up is this case.

If you can call it that, I think it's being generous.

Look, this is a failure on every level

and I don't know what Apple was thinking.

Yeah, it makes the AirPods Max

easy to recognized at a distance, maybe that was the point.

But in terms of doing case things, it's a joke

that offers nearly no protection for your big investment.

I wouldn't feel good about throwing this into a packed bag.

The ear cups could get easily scratched

and something could poke through that mesh canopy.

not to mention, the case quickly gets filthy.

The situation is bad enough

that it brings down the entire product.

Everyone else gets this right and it's baffling to me

that Apple could get it so wrong.

I'd expect to see many third-party cases

for the AirPods Max, very soon.

Second con, no 3.5 millimeter jack.

The AirPods Max only have a lightning connector.

So if you want higher quality, wired audio,

or to plug them in on a plane,

you've got to get this $35 cable.

I can live without the 3.5 millimeter jack,

but to not include the cable in the box, at this price,

that's just rude.

Also it's worth mentioning that there is no passive mode

on the AirPods Max.

And what that means is when they run out of battery,

they just stop working, even if you're wired.

Speaking of battery,

you get 20 hours with all the features turned on,

like noise cancellation, which is good,

but about 10 hours less than Sony.

Another downside is wait,

I said earlier that the mesh canopy does a good job

of distributing the heft of the AirPods Max.

They're not uncomfortable,

but you always know that they're on.

And if you move your head a lot,

sometimes they shipped out a place from their own weight.

These are definitely a leisure headphones

meant for the couch, or for sitting at your desk.

And eventually they will be great travel headphones,

but they're not at all the kind of headphones

you take running, or to the gym.

(gentle music)

The last reason to avoid the AirPods Max, for now,

is unrealized potential.

And what I mean by that is,

most people are gonna be streaming Apple Music,

or Spotify through these things.

And that means you're limited

to the same compressed 256 kilobits per second AAC files

we've been listening to for years,

in the case of Apple Music that is.

Apple still doesn't offer a lossless tier.

And I have to ask, if not now, when?

I can plug it into my iPhone with a cable

and get higher quality music from Amazon Music HD, or Tidal,

than I can from Apple, itself.

Meanwhile, Sony's headphones have LDAC,