Apple’s noise effect was once again outstanding, with HVAC and keyboard noise immediately disappearing. I wasn’t shocked considering senior writer Adrienne, so when she used AirPods Pro, she claimed that her toddlers usually scared her. Conversationists never worry: Quickly press the button on the top of the headset and the sound of the room is ducted into your ears, making a quick chat a breeze.
In fact, the sound quality itself lifts the AirPods Max above their game. In short, these are the best wireless headphones I’ve ever heard of, and the gap is huge.
Honestly, I will say it as much as possible. When they first arrived, I put the AirPods Max on the Sony WH-1000XM4, Bose noise cancellation 700, Mont Blanc MB01, Bowers & Wilkins PX7 Carbon and Shure Aonic 50.
The main difference between these headphones and all the others is how their sound is open. From rumbled lows to bright and clear highs, everything can find a place. The band seems to play in the larger room in your mind, and in the busy mixed fog, each instrument is more unique than ever.
I love listening to detailed pop music from new artists like Billie Eilish, because her brother Finneas’ creative production skills are in full focus. Every glimmer and roar seemed to be more vivid than ever. Hip-hop is equally fascinating because the bass is powerful, defined, but by no means boomy or stereo flabby. The 808 kick and the dysfunctional sound never blends, and the elements of each song are brighter.
When listening to the tough sounds sound like Elliott Smith’s guitar, they feel like they are on the edge of my musical horizon, with lots of space in the middle of the sound. For noise-cancelling headphones, the overwhelming sense of musical clarity is crazy. Some competitors can keep up with Apple’s work better than others, but in most cases, when you switch to the AirPods Max, you seem to pull a layer of wool from other flagship noise-cancelling headphones.
Good for movies
Another great feature that makes the AirPods Max unique is that spatial audio is actually available. If you watch on a compatible app (I watched HBO Max on my iPad), the AirPods Max will simulate object-based surround sound, just like Dolby Atmos, so the audio effects seem to be placed in all the “speakers” around you from the 3D space around you.
Turn the head and the audio locks to the original direction. It sounds easier (or “brighter”), but the feature does immerse you in the viewing experience. It’s like you’re in a real home theater with surrounding speakers.
Apple says the AirPods Max USB-C model will also be the only headphones that allow “musicians to create and mix personalized spatial audio and mix with the latest feature upgrades”, which makes spatial audio more useful.
Buy or not
Like any $550 accessory, the AirPods Max is obviously not for everyone. But despite the high price (and some minor quirks), the build quality, ease of use and surprising loyalty they offer make them worth the cost.
Unlike other Apple products, these are the best in their category. Somewhere in the ether, Steve Jobs may be interrupted with pride.
Functional upgrade
One of the best and most popular features of Apple’s top headphones is the introduction of new features that not only keep them relevant but also compete with innovative competitors. After releasing the USB-C model in 2024, Apple added some interesting new features in March 2025, including 24-bit/48-kHz lossless audio support, and AirPods’ AirPods are up to 15.4 when plugging in Apple devices that use iOS 18.4, iPados 18.4, and Macos Secooia 15.4 updates.
Does that matter? It may depend on who you are asking. Many audio professionals insist that most people cannot hear the difference between compressed tracks and high-resolution tracks, especially in high-quality compressed tracks on today’s streaming services such as Spotify or Apple Music. Actually, this is what our test reveals with AirPods Max. In a blind A/B test between Spotify’s best compressed tracks and the lossless tracks of Apple Music or Tidal, our results are basically inconclusive. In other words, we can’t always hear the difference.
What causes the obvious difference is that listening to music is compared to streaming media with Bluetooth streaming. This is good news for Lightning Airpods Max users, which is not getting lossless audio updates. So if you’ve been thinking about upgrading new lossless audio support, you may or may not notice the difference, and if you do, it may be small.
Musicians, producers and amateurs may have another reason to consider upgrading to the AirPods Max USB-C, as Apple has also announced a “ultra-low latency” which should make the Apple Music Recording app work more seamlessly in applications like Logic Pro. This feature can also benefit gamers and live streamers due to Apple’s claims of comparable lag time to “local built-in speakers.” – Ryan Waniata
