Apple Airpods Max: DON'T BUY THEM Without Knowing This First!

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Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I utilize affiliate links and may receive a commission from them, and at times may receive items for review from various brands. Despite that, I promise to always provide an honest & an unbiased as possible review because you deserve the best. All sponsorships will be clearly stated because transparency & trust are important to me!

[ThisIsTechToday]

🚨 QOTD: What do you think of the Apple AirPods Max? I'd love to know if you're getting the AirPods Max or not, and if you already have them, what are your best and worst things for them?

[JeremyKruis]

Would love to see more videos about audio, eq, earphones/headphones from you!

[austinhummel]

Phenomenal break-down, Brandon! Awesome to see an audio engineer and tech reviewer review Apple's new audio tech.

[tokenjay]

I’m an Apple fanboy but a realist at the same time. With your valid cons, I’ll get the XM4s at half the price now and wait for series 2 or 3 of these when most kinks are hashed out. Have you heard about how these capture a lot of moisture in the cups after prolonged use? Great upload as always Brandon!!

[Gamerlingual]

Returned them due to the condensation build up in the ear cups. That's a big letdown. Apple engineers didn't do enough research when they brought these out. The battery also dropped 32% in the "Smart Case" after being stored there for 20 hours. Lots of potential, but I don't like the idea of having my head potentially shocked due to the moisture build up inside the ear cups.

[MontezFrench]

Having MAJOR battery issues with my AirPods Max. Mine were delivered Thursday 01/07/2021 around 8:30pm. I unboxed them, put them on and they were at around 65% battery. I listened to music, talked on the phone, watched a few minutes of some shows that utilize Dolby so I could test Spatial audio, went through the different modes, adjusted the sound in the accessibility settings…you know the works. After about 2-3 hours of use, I plugged them up to the charger (out of the case). Stayed up a bit doing some work and decided to get some sleep around 2:00am on Friday, 01/08/2021. Before going to sleep I picked up the headphones to see how much charge they had and they were fully charged to 100%. I then placed them into the case so they could go into low power mode and went to bed.

Friday, 01/08/2021 around 8:30am I woke up to go about my day. Around 2:30pm a friend of mine called, so I grabbed my AirPods Max so I wouldn’t have to hold the phone and because I was now in the mood for music while I worked. The AirPods Max were at 20%!!!! They drain 80% in 12 hours IN THE CASE.

I opened a case with Apple and they scheduled a call with me to talk about the issue and figure out next steps. Long story short from that call, they put a profile on my phone to monitor Bluetooth usage because they think that it’s possible the AirPods Max weren’t in the case properly or somehow weren’t disconnected from my phone and therefore burned through battery. They also had me enable Assistive Touch so we could enable a quick button to save the logs and data in a file for them to analyze on Tuesday 01/12/2021 at 8:00am (since we talked Friday and the person I was talking to wouldn’t be working again until Tuesday). I also agreed to take screenshots and notate every action: when I put them on the charger, take them off of the charger, when I put them down to stop using them or right before I put them in the case for low power mode.

I already questioned the idea of it being connected burning that much battery because even if it were connected, my phone goes into DND at 1:00am automatically. So no calls, no text alerts, etc. I also don’t listen to music while I sleep so my phone was literally doing NOTHING while I was sleeping. So although it isn’t the case because they weren’t connected, to drain 80% in 12 hours from simply being connected would still unacceptable.

Today, Saturday, 01/09/2021 I had the SAME drain issue. From my screenshots and notes I used the for the first time after charging them again (keep in mind I put them on the charger while I was on the phone with Apple for about an hour) and after my call with Apple yesterday, Friday, 01/08/2021. Here is my usage.
- 4:29pm to took a call. – 100%
- 4:42pm Finished the call – 100%
- 4:44pm placed in the low power case – 100%
- 5:53pm removed from the case to use with my MacBookPro and iPhone 12 Pro Max to play/test them out more – 100%
- 6:37pm back in the case while not in use and verified that they were in fact properly in the case by looking on the battery widget on the iPhone 12 Pro Max to see if they were connected AND looking at my Bluetooth settings on my MacBook Pro. – 100%
- Today, Saturday, 01/09/2021 at 10:22am I removed them from the case for the first time since putting them in the case at 6:37pm last night. – 20%

This is a HUGE issue that they need to solve. Not only do I feel these are about $100 overpriced due to the lack of Water Resistance when taking note of those who are having that weird condensation/moisture issue, but they don’t hold a candle to my NuraPhone in terms of battery life. I wear those for a 4-5 hour flight from Georgia to California and back, use them to listen to an album and then don’t use them for a few weeks or even a month and when I put them on…battery at 80% LOL. They are AWESOME. The battery issue, if as wide spread as it seems, makes the AirPods Max overpriced by $200 in my opinion.

[stringstorm]

The fact that they still use AAC as a codec is already a dealbreaker for me. Nevertheless, I got one at a warehouse overstock because I wanted to see what the hype was about.

Soundwise, yeah, there are definitely far better headphones out there that cost less.

What made me return it was the ANC. The technology's simply not there yet. And that was when I was trying real hard to ignore the fact that you can't turn it off, having an odd case, and the condensation.

Looking back, I find it incredibly odd that they'd release this on a pandemic where you'd be in your home for most of your time and, as such, won't be using ANC for the greater part of its usage. And if you want to use them as workout headphones, tough luck. Condensation's going to make sure your headphone doesn't last long. And then there's the case of battery longevity. It took less than a year for the airpods to have battery deterioration issues.

[julianfp]

I bought a pair a few weeks ago at £375 which given that UK pricing tends to be Pound for Dollar is equivalent to a $375 exc tax US price so that took some of the sting out of it. I’m mostly happy but I agree 100% with after watching your video is what I interpret as your biggest criticism of the sound namely a slight lack of punch and bounce in kick drums etc. That’s my one criticism of the tuning. I know it tends not to be Apple’s way to expose all sorts of complex settings, often I think of it as a “we (Apple) know better than you (the customer)” attitude, but even if Apple wants to stick to that approach then at least 2 or 3 alternative music tunings carefully crafted by Apple audio engineers would be an improvement on the one-size-fits-all tuning we have now. They offer a range of quite a few eq profiles in their Music app so it’s not as if they haven’t done similar before.

[kenfldude]

I just sent mine back after 5 days and here is why. I am a little older and have a smaller head than many. I found these headphones to be heavy and could never find a place of comfort unless I was sitting on the couch or chair in a solitary position. When I was moving around I found the headphones would slightly move around as well. Very annoying. When I bent over to pick something up, I would have the sensation of them about to fall off. Also, after a couple hours of straight use, my ears would be very warm, almost sweating. I would imagine any longer periods would lead to the condensation buildup others are talking about. Lastly, the battery drain was an issue and makes me worry about longevity, especially since the battery can’t be replaced.

[stevenr]

thanks for the great review. Thanks for talking about PRaTT. I am not gonna spend over $500.00 on headphones without slam. Bottom line: $550 for an ANC headphone that is to be worn in public and is at risk of being lost, broken or stolen. I can buy TWO pairs of the Sony ANC headphones for the price of the Apple's. Just buy 1 pair of the Sony Sony WH-1000XM3 and you will still have $275.00 in your pocket to spend on you!

[MaxBalzer]

Dude everything about this video is fantastic! A-Roll and B-Roll looks so crispy and is amazingly lit, the thumbnail is just awesome and your audio sounds incredibly good! Better than any audio I have heard for A-Roll, this video is dope!

[hh_]

I'm so early i beat the notification. Keep up the good work bro

[Ghost-jyhk]

I debated real hard on getting these but ended up getting the XM4’s with no regrets. Using them right now for this video and they sound amazing. Love that there’s an off button. And a nice case!

[Mezxxii]

I love my Airpods Max... The worst part is the condensation though. I use my headphones for 4+ hours and it's a problem.

[YannieD]

What if you wear both? The airpods pro and the airpods max to the same time? Is this double ANC? Please make a short Video about this. I think several are interested.

[nukert]

I tried the airpods max for a week and I think in the future I may end up getting another pair... They arent perfect and the price isnt great either BUT they do offer a very compelling package for a wireless headphone. I will say that 1) I would like to be able to dial it in to my personal liking but 2) and the more annoying thing, I could hear the autoeq... very slight but I could notice a change in sound as I was listening every now and again. I found it a bit distracting.

[TravelTourTaste]

Hey Brandon great to be here. Just found you today and really pleased we have your videos are awesome. Very informative and entertaining. Have a great day. See you again real soon.

[danielh]

What I would really like to know, how is the sound quality on calls? I am using Bose 700, I can make a phone call from inside a server room standing next to the loudest server and the other person does not notice a thing. Just hears my clear voice. Do the Airpods Max offer ANC for your own voice on calls as well?

[Jack-dirc]

it sounds ok for a bluetooth anc headphone. But for $550 you can get a complete audiophile setup with HD6XX+Schiit Magnius+Schiit Modius

[guyplay]

I’ve been thinking about getting them. I mostly like the slim design and I think they sound great. The case sucks as you pointed out and a few other things. I’m on the fence between these and the Sony ones.