AirPods Max Review: An Audiophile's Perspective

Are Apple's new $550 AirPods Max any good? As reluctant audiophiles, we give the most in-depth review yet!
iFixit made new TINY driver kits and they're under $20! https://ifix.gd/snazzy

Buy AirPods Max - https://geni.us/fe9gB
Buy AirPods Pro - https://geni.us/gAUVN4
Buy AirPods - https://geni.us/wCtapZr
Buy Sony WH-1000XM4 - https://geni.us/24Wsq
Buy Bose 700 - https://geni.us/Dj2Oqe
Buy B&W PX7 - https://geni.us/VysPY
Buy HiFiMAN Ananda-BT - https://geni.us/nC7VuTW

Chapters:

0:00 - Background
0:49 - Comfort/Fit
3:40 - Controls
4:45 - Case/Portability
6:46 - Battery
7:42 - Repairability/Teardown
9:40 - The Good Stuff
9:56 - Active Noise Cancelling
12:22 - Transparency Mode
13:26 - "Off" Mode
13:48 - Bluetooth Codecs
16:48 - The $35 Cable
19:09 - Objective SQ
20:08 - Subjective SQ
21:44 - Spatial Audio
22:36 - Digital Signal Processor (DSP)
23:51 - vs Sony 1000XM4
24:10 - vs B&W PX7
24:30 - AirPods vs The Competition
25:08 - The Problem with AirPods Pro
26:09 - Should You Buy Them?

Crinacle measurements: https://crinacle.com/2020/12/17/apple...
LDAC’s problems: https://www.soundguys.com/ldac-ultima...
Bluetooth headphone codecs: https://www.soundguys.com/the-ultimat...
AirPods Case design interview: https://translate.google.com/translat...

Subscribe to my podcast Flashback! - http://relay.fm/flashback
Follow Snazzy Labs on Twitter -   / snazzyq  
Follow me on Instagram -   / snazzyq  


The Apple AirPods Max have been released to much fanfare. At a colossal $550, it puts itself way above the competition like the very popular Sony WH-1000XM4, Bowers & Wilkins PX7, and the Bose 700; however, it's still a bit shy of what the hi-fi market would expect in terms of pricing. Are they good? Yes. Quite good, in fact. But are they good enough to warrant their price tag? Watch our comprehensive AirPods Max review to find out.