The best wireless and wired over-ears
AirPods Max
Best Apple over-ears
Pros
- Wonderful, versatile sound
- Many clever design elements and strong build quality
- Spatial audio can be immersive for the apps that support it
- Strong connection to the Apple ecosystem
Cons
- Lack of ‘off’ button is annoying
- The included case is bad in just about every way
- Heavy and can’t be folded down
- The high price can’t be ignored
The AirPods Max are Apple’s only over-ear headphones, and as a result they offer the best iOS integration of all the headphones on this list.
The AirPods Max have a striking design with large metal cups, a mesh band and a dial that’s cribbed from the Apple Watch. Despite being far heavier than the Sony WH-1000XM5 and the Bose QC Ultra Headphones, the AirPods remain comfortable to wear with their weight distributed across the headband to the point where we could barely feel them at all.
However, there’s no IP rating, so we wouldn’t recommend using them at the gym, but very few over-ear headphones have an IP rating anyway. The physical buttons and dial make it easy to move through tracks, adjust the volume and toggle between noise cancellation and transparency modes, while the ANC itself is some of the best around with the adaptive setting doing a fantastic job of altering the noise cancellation levels to fit your environment.
The transparency mode is excellent too, and the addition of spatial audio makes Disney Plus and Apple TV+ content feel much grander and less flat than it does with a regular pair of over-ears. However, some features like spatial audio and seamless quick device switching are only supported on iOS devices.
When it comes to audio performance the AirPods Max are excellent, though perhaps not as big of an improvement over the Bose and Sony headphones to justify the higher price. The custom 40mm driver, dual H1 chips and adaptive EQ work together to offer a balanced and versatile sound that impressed us across a wide range of songs and genres. There’s plenty of bass and higher frequencies never sound harsh or distorted,
The 20-hour battery life should get you through a long flight but it isn’t class-leading and the storage case offers little protection. However, if you’re looking for a pair of Apple-centric over-ears, you won’t find better than the AirPods Max.
Reviewer: Max Parker
Full Review: AirPods Max
Source: www.trustedreviews.com
