Apple AirPods Max (Open Box)

Well, I was having difficulty deciding after spending hours each of several days doing research. Most reviewers chose the Sony XM4 because of its much lower price, less weight and proven comfort and reliability. Of course that wasn’t good enough for me because I thought I was a little more audoholic than many so I needed to make a more insightful discovery. I had a Sennheiser several decades ago that was nothing more than a small piece of foam over a small driver and wired of course. It sounded awesome believe it or not so I moved on over to the Sennheiser Momentum 300 which most reviewers rated at or near the top in sound quality and build. It was marked down for modest noise reduction capability and a weight of 300 grams lying in between the Sony at 245 grams and the APMax at 385. Sony is plastic, Apple is metal and fiber and the Momentum is metal and real leather on the ear pads and headband. Apple Earphones are new age sexy, Sennheiser Momentum 300 are retro cool and Sony let’s call modern but plain. Price wise Sony is no higher than $348, Sennheiser is available for $330 down from $400 at introduction in 2019 or so and Apple is $550. Apple does Apple and I have discovered first hand how brutal they are about forcing you to do what they want. If you try to do anything other than pair them with your iPhone or iPad you will meet roadblocks. They only offer music at 48 kilobits per second so that is all they allow you to listen to in their headphones. If you try to hook up to a device with a higher bit rate it will be reduced before it passes through to your headphones. You can theoretically pay $35 for a special little wire that allows you to connect to a device that would otherwise allow you to plug into a receiver. You can only get it from Apple and even then the 3.5 mmonnection won’t fit into receivers because they take a larger jack which is 6.35. So while they sell adapters that will fit the bill they aren’t Apple approved. In short they don’t just want you to buy and use all their equipment. They force you to use their other products to use the headphones successfully. The weight of the Air Pods Max coupled with what they call clamping force makes them very uncomfortable to wear and don’t even think about exercising or running in them. They will bounce around as you move and I began to feel strain and stress from the fit within ten minutes. Sure, I bought them to entertain myself on long walks but I don’t know where I would put them for the walk home when they are too heavy to wear. You cannot hang them around your neck without choking yourself and then there is the bra/purse like carrier if you was to carry that. Won’t fold in on itself like many of most headphones. No matter how sexy it looks or how cool it makes you feel to be envied for your coolness the grimace on your face after an hour with these on your head will not attract anyone. I really wanted these as I was telling myself they must have the best sound quality and that is what I am all about. Still if I don’t like wearing them the music doesn’t help much and I am left with hoping a really cool person or persons will see that I am cool also. I don’t hate Apple and I have an IPhone 10max and an iPad(I bought my first one in April 2010 when the first one was introduced and was the very first truly friendly computer like device) and a MacBook Pro which I won’t replace. With these headphones they have gone too far with the silly and unnecessary allegiance to Apple required to use it easily. You can search for hours online to find workarounds but half or more of what people suggest doesn’t work. Meanwhile Apple knows all of this and basically gives us the old high hat if we are willing to buy products that compel us to buy only their other products to make them work. Connecting instantly to my iPhone when picked up or put on rather than having to use a typical Bluetooth prompt to accept a connection is not worth enslaving myself just to show aluminum on my ears. I am boxing these up even though they arrived earlier today. I bought them from Amazon because of their stellar return policy and I recommend you do the same if you want to try these. If I kept them I would be doing what many who read my review will do and that is defend and rationalize my choice. That is what human beings do. So if Apple product allegiances are important to you after spending this amount of money on top of all the other products you have bought from them feel free to put it on blast. I know this is a lot of money to spend for many if not most people and I wanted to write something for folks who haven’t had time to do a lot of research and are at a decision point. I am torn between the Sony XM4(leaving me light headed and looking average) and the Sennheiser Momentum 300(xciting to listen to but making me look my retro like my age). If you want to check out online reviews you will find that deciding who to listen to and trust is every bit as difficult as making your headphone choice. I don’t know who receives what in the way of free products to use or resell or even monetary compensation which might disappear with too much honesty. All I can do is tell you what I think and let you take it into consideration if helpful. I don’t care about corporations especially large ones as they take care of themselves just fine. I have learned that there are people who are loyal to and defend corporations and don’t like others criticizing them or their products. In my own life I find that my weakest point is often my best point pushed too far. I think the exuberance for these Air Max headphones and Apples marketing games has likely reached that place with these headphones. Who knows? Maybe I will update my review once I try the Sony or the Sennheiser or both. For now I will be happy to merely take a heavy load off my head!