I’m finicky about audio quality, still I favour Apple products generally.
I was willing to give Apple a chance last year and got AirPods Pro, but they proved abysmal in terms of everything—comfort for wearing long term, isolation, sound quality, going out of sync with each other, and a while ago one of them started to emit loud noise randomly. It’s likely that some of those issues are related to my unit and individual fit, but I’m back to Shure SE215/SE425 and their black foam tips (which achieve very similar overall attenuation without active NC[0]) as my go-to in-ear headphones.
For over-the-ears I have fairly old (and virtually unbreakable) Sony WH-1000XM3; when their battery goes I would love to give Apple another chance but the price tag makes it hard to justify.
IMO to any audiophile/sound engineer familiar with the brands mentioned by eertami the price of Apple’s new AirPods would indeed appear outlandish.
I have the XM3s too. I agree about their indestructibility (they're the only headphones I've owned in years that haven't broken within a year or so!), but mine have developed an annoying hissing sound in one ear when noise cancelling is on. They also have that "plasticky" feel and annoyingly "creak" in the headband when they move around.
The comfort is unmatched, however, and battery life is still fantastic on them despite very heavy use. Not sure I can imagine that battery ever dying!
I've been toying with the idea of buying XM4s but I'm tempted by Apple's. I guess I'll give them a try and can always return them if the comfort etc isn't as good as Sony's.
Comparing to XM3, I find it strange that AirPods Max don’t fold. I mean, it seems insignificant, but it does really take away from portability and convenience, which are (since for stationary listening I can get high-quality, made-in-Germany reference monitors at the same price!) among the main attractions.
The only feature I find worth considering AirPods Max for is, unexpectedly, the 5.1/7.1 sound. If it is truly done properly (which I doubt, but promo materials hint at something there) then I have to admit, I don’t have the room for a proper setup like that, so this could be an accessible way to try working with surround sound.
Suspiciously, nothing is known about the codec and connectivity in general. If new AirPods are limited to kbps-starved AAC/SBC, like AirPods Pro, that’d be very frustrating. I know, diminishing returns, but I don’t want yet another sound reproduction system “optimized” for streaming at Apple Music bitrates (especially if it’s 7.1). Sony’s LDAC aside, something approaching 600 kbps like aptX—or, absent that, at least an external audio in!—could make the price almost seem acceptable.
Thanks for the pointer, I was unaware about the bad batch and will very much attempt to get a replacement. Not very hopeful as it’s been nearly a year now and unfortunately I’m not anymore in the same country where the Apple Store I bought them at is.
I was willing to give Apple a chance last year and got AirPods Pro, but they proved abysmal in terms of everything—comfort for wearing long term, isolation, sound quality, going out of sync with each other, and a while ago one of them started to emit loud noise randomly. It’s likely that some of those issues are related to my unit and individual fit, but I’m back to Shure SE215/SE425 and their black foam tips (which achieve very similar overall attenuation without active NC[0]) as my go-to in-ear headphones.
For over-the-ears I have fairly old (and virtually unbreakable) Sony WH-1000XM3; when their battery goes I would love to give Apple another chance but the price tag makes it hard to justify.
IMO to any audiophile/sound engineer familiar with the brands mentioned by eertami the price of Apple’s new AirPods would indeed appear outlandish.
[0] Measurably so: https://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/apple/airpods-pro-... vs. https://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/shure/se215#compar...