AirPods Max

What hackers pick instead

• Sony WH-1000XM5People recommend these for strong noise cancelling, good sound and comfort for all-day wear. The most common caveat is shallow earcups that don't fit some people's ears.23recommend
• Bose QuietComfort headphonesPeople recommend them for strong noise cancellation, clear sound, comfort and long life. Common caveat: limited controls without the app, and weaker iOS and PC sharing.22recommend
• Sennheiser Momentum 4Recommended for sound quality that people rate above in-ear headphones, plus a large battery. The one criticism is that noise cancelling is poor.7recommend
• Sennheiser HDB 630Recommended for being lighter and more comfortable than before, with sound quality reviewers praise, at about the same price as rivals it beats.6recommend
• Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphonesPeople recommend them for comfort and noise cancelling that beats AirPods and Powerbeats, though critics find the sound mediocre and the lack of an ANC-off mode frustrating.5recommend

Every quote

The 40 most detailed of 200 comments. Each links to the original.

1. The Apple tax makes me extremely skeptical that I would get $500+ worth of sound quality, however ANC upsets that equation quite a bit.

   Mixed · Mar 2026 · in “AirPods Max 2”

2. The killer feature for me is the deep ear cups. All the Sony headphones touch my Dumbo-sized ears and get crazy warm, the APMs don't.

   Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “AirPods Max 2”

3. there are other factors that would make an average studio disinclined to invest in them, like fragility and cost of repair

   Mixed · Mar 2026 · in “AirPods Max 2”

4. they do one thing really really well, which is handle a full 14 hour flight with no charge and great noise cancellation

   Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “AirPods Max 2”

5. The Airpods Max ear cups are better and the headband is wide and mesh so spreads out the weight and it breathes too.

   Mixed · Mar 2026 · in “AirPods Max 2”

6. I tested Apple, Sony and Bose and found the AirPods Max to be the most comfortable for long periods of time, for me.

   Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “AirPods Max 2”

7. I leave my AirPods Max sitting on my desk for weeks at a time outside of the case and the battery never drains.

   Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “AirPods Max 2”

8. sometimes, when adjusting the position of the headphone, they do a click (and a loud one), and just shut down

   Mixed · Mar 2026 · in “AirPods Max 2”

9. Sound good with my MBP, but with my phone (16 Pro Max), I've had intermittent skipping of the audio signal

   Mixed · Mar 2026 · in “AirPods Max 2”

10. I think this can be attributed to their fragility and inferior sound quality relative to DT 1770 Pro.

    Mixed · Mar 2026 · in “AirPods Max 2”

11. I don’t have this problem. I often leave them in my backpack for weeks between airplane flights

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “AirPods Max 2”

12. H2 chip enables smart audio switching when paired with Apple account + other Apple products.

    Mixed · Mar 2026 · in “AirPods Max 2”

13. They sound incredible (with Apple products), feel super premium, excel at noise cancelling

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “AirPods Max 2”

14. if you want something that works seamlessly across multiple devices, its the only option

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “AirPods Max 2”

15. Leaf blowers and cars driving past are exactly the kind of thing that ANC works well on

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “AirPods Max 2”

16. I loved AirPods Max. It was, I think the best noise cancelling money could buy

    Mixed · Mar 2026 · in “AirPods Max 2”

17. seamless switching of headphones between iPhones, MacBooks, Vision Pros etc.

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “AirPods Max 2”

18. seem to switch seamlessly between my iphone, ipad, and macbook pro already

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “AirPods Max 2”

19. I rarely use mine and find that they just about always still have battery.

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “AirPods Max 2”

20. The AirPods Max are the most comfortable headphones I've ever worn.

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “AirPods Max 2”

21. The noise cancellation went flakey, the auto-switching went flakey

    Mixed · Mar 2026 · in “AirPods Max 2”

22. In the latter category there is no effort to actually compete on price or value, because it is made for people who will blindly buy anything with an Apple logo on it.

    Criticizes · Mar 2026 · in “AirPods Max 2”

23. The bluetooth would break down for days, and all instructions on the internet would tell you needed to remove the device and re-add it.

    Criticizes · Mar 2026 · in “AirPods Max 2”

24. Furthermore, I experienced persistent wireless connectivity problems and eventually sent them back to Apple under warranty.

    Criticizes · Mar 2026 · in “AirPods Max 2”

25. The pricing on these always seemed a bit crazy to me, like the value is way off compared to other Apple products

    Criticizes · Mar 2026 · in “AirPods Max 2”

26. the old Airpods Max had an issue of these giant booms when it was going low power that just wrecked my eardrums

    Criticizes · Mar 2026 · in “AirPods Max 2”

27. There have been times where the AirPods Max have sort of crashed, and I cannot get them to connect properly.

    Criticizes · Mar 2026 · in “AirPods Max 2”

28. the mesh at the top starts to stretch, and then you get the two metal bands going straight into the head

    Mixed · Mar 2026 · in “AirPods Max 2”

29. The feature that applies a hearing test as an equalizer setting make the APM sound pretty damn good

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “AirPods Max 2”

30. I think the only place that Apple has done a good job with volume controls is the AirPods Max.

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “The worst volume control UI in the world”

31. AirPods Max with USB-C and AirPods Max 2 appear to be the only headphones among this group

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “AirPods Max 2”

32. Am I the only one who just loves that we’re getting more color back into Apple products?

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “AirPods Max 2”

33. Once you factor in convenience, the Apple over-hear setup won the comparison in a walk.

    Recommends · Sep 2026 · in “AirPods 5”

34. The tl;dr is that the Max -- even the first gen -- do indeed perform very, very well.

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “AirPods Max 2”

35. really love these, and my only complaint really has been the lack of adaptive mode

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “AirPods Max 2”

36. $549 is pretty reasonable if the headphone has the sound detail it's advertising

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “AirPods Max 2”

37. They just work. The integrated mic is clear and easy to use for daily standups.

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “AirPods Max 2”

38. The audio quality is also among the best you can get for a wireless headphone.

    Recommends · Dec 2025 · in “Apple's slow AI pace becomes a strength as market grows weary of spending”

39. I got rid of Bose and Sony headphones because these are worth every penny.

    Recommends · Apr 2026 · in “Tim Cook Is Leaving. Good”

40. If your gen 1 are already excellent for you, there’s no reason to upgrade

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “AirPods Max 2”