In the Bluetooth settings for the Max, you can set the button to toggle between ANC and Off, or whatever you like. Might be useful if you’re using Off a lot
One thing might have affected on the difference between Spotify / Apple Music is AirPods Max uses AAC codec for Bluetooth Audio. Spotify audio has to be re-encoded to AAC before it gets transferred wirelessly, but Apple Music gets sent directly without any further compression.
@@dagboh3958 TIDAL doesn't use AAC, but they use loseless codec. So even when they get encoded to AAC it probably wouldn't be a problem - but it wouldn't be too much better either.
@@xplax24 Tidal sounds way better on the mastered tracks i can tell you. I used all 3 at the same time for months to decide which ones ill keep , First spotify had to go , applemusic was there because the search was a lot better than the tidal search algorythm but tidal sounds way better .
I tried it. I preferred with Noise Cancelling on. I understand turning of NC creates the air but with it on, I just hear more music. So I prefer NCon. What made more of an impact for the audio quality for me was to go to iPad or iPhone’s Settings - Accessibility - Airpods - Airpods Max - Audio Accessibility Settings - Headphones Accommodations (turn this on) then choose Balanced Tone and Slight. I am listening to music, remastered in iTunes, sounds great. Without these settings used, the Max sound dull. I am comparing my Max to my Bose Quiet Comfort 35’s, version 1 which sound muddy compared to my Max. Balanced keeps the mids but the high’s are still there. Have used my QC35’s for years. Time to move on. Hope this helps.
AirPods Max aside. I can remember when I was in the market for a music streaming service, and I was trying out Spotify, Apple Music before deciding which one to keep and which one to cancel. I was using a pair of Bowers & Wilkins P7 Wireless (which are a high end pair of headphones). I ensured I was using the highest quality streaming setting on Spotify. I added the exact same album to both Spotify and Apple Music. I could tell right away that the Spotify version was noticeably lower sound quality. It lacked the detail and sparkle and overall fullness of the Apple Music version. I can remember mentioning this online at the time on a forum, and was told, like you said in the video, the AAC format Apple Music uses is a more efficient format to what Spotify uses, and this is the reason for the better sound quality.
I had ignored the “Off” option (No Transparency, no Noise Cancellation, just physical seal) but I’ll try using it when I’m trying to focus on my music. I assumed Noise Cancellation would be the best experience but maybe not!
These guys are click-baiting you. Airpods max are best in the ios system. I have them and they are best for their intended use. If you want perfect studio sound, the bluetooth connection will not support it. The sound using bluetooth connection has some limitation due to the data transfer. If you want perfect quality, buy yourself a sound studio and not a pair of headphones. The noise cancellation is killing completely my neighbour’s kids. Perfect!
@@putinismaffiotstatec8725They are not clickbating. The AirPods Max is an objectively badly tuned headphone. The upper midrange and treble are literally nonexistent on its frequency response measurements
It’s worth explaining why Apple music sounds better than Spotify on the AirPods Max. Under the Bluetooth spec, headphones need to choose a codec with which to transfer audio files between the iPhone and the headphones. AirPods Max only support AAC, which is actually part of the MPEG 4 spec (which is a lot more modern than MP3, which is part of the MPEG 1 spec). if you listen to MP3 source material, your iPhone needs to trans-code to AAC before using Bluetooth to send the file to your AirPods (Max or otherwise). That is why you are getting quality loss. I don’t believe Bluetooth supports MP3 as a native codec, so I don’t think any headphones natively support MP3 over Bluetooth.
Always love you reviews and energy man, but you really out did your self on the recording in this one. The in ear mics illustrated the difference so well. Great job!
I already use Apple Music over spotify but thanks to your video, i do find that turning off transparency/anc mode does make a big difference. I’ll definitely be listening to my airpods max this way when i’m just chilling at home
I did my own comparison of Spotify and Apple Music and you are correct. Apple Music has more dynamic range - scintillating highs, tight bass and an airiness that gives that something extra Spotify lacks.
Hey bro, nice video. Another thing that makes a big difference in how open and airy the Maxs sound is in the Accessibility menu in settings. Go to settings on your iPad or iPhone, then to Accessibility, then scroll down and select Airpods. Then select the Airpods Max. Then select Audio Accessibility Settings. Then select Headphone Accomodations. Toggle that setting on and leave everything at the default settings which are Balanced Tone and Slight. You will definitely get a more open, airy, atmospheric sound qualify to what you’re listening to. I can’t go back to the way they sound without this setting on. It also improves the sound of Airpods Pro.
Yes !!! I did essentially the same thing, but going through the custom configuration (I'm French, I don't know what the iOS translation is). In the first step I chose option 2. For the following ones, I did not modify anything. I don't know if it's exactly equivalent with the only "Slight" option. But I also have a sound that I find much more airy, the soundstage is improved, etc. It's the sound I have on the Fidelio X2HR that I really like. And there it is almost even better!!!
That’s a great tip fella, I’ll check that out because I got AirPods max yesterday and as soon as I listened to a Norah Jones track on Dolby atmos it was stunning.
I just purchased a pair of AirPod Max's and thought the sound was out of this world. But your tip set them over the bar. You are right, that setting you suggested gave it that nice airy sound which made the music sound even clearer. Such a great suggestion. Thank you!
Love the doc and the fact that u love em too is extra points, your review are underrated u should be at top of review channels, your hilarious and unique while giving a great detailed review
Love the video and the recent Podcasts. I have my space grey pair on order which come March/April to replace my B&W PX7. Keep up the great work. P.S. love the Mario light on your desk.
Good video! One thing that made a huge difference for me was to also turn off Spatial Audio. It's nice for things that are encoded for it, but for things that are not it messes with the right/left mix and gives an inferior experience.
I just got Apple AirPods Max. They sounded really good, but not as dynamic or even loud as in the store. I already have Apple Music, so I made the two quick changes you suggested, and wow… that’s the sound I was expecting. It really makes a significant difference. Thank you! They sound like the pair that convinced me to buy them. Subscribed.
You can make them a lot louder if you go into settings, music, and disable sound check and EQ, that instantly boosted the volume a ton, i’m not sure if it takes away from sound quality tho, to me it doesn’t sound like it does, i also believe this only works with apple music considering it’s in the settings section for the Music app
@@a7_blockeyblue529I LOVE YOU FOR THIS! - Thank you so much for this advice, instantly made a huge noticeable difference in volume, even at full volume. Now it's much louder and actually has a punch to it. Everyone needs to be aware of this. Thanx!
I like your reviews because I feel like you enjoy music the same way I do with the feeling and movement rather than an overly dry analytical way. Im surprised about this difference between the streaming apps, the apple music does sound more textured(?) with spotify sounding flatter, are your EQ settings neutral on both? 🤔
I once did a sound test of a few songs in both MP3 and Apple’s AAC format with $200 Etymotic headphones. It was obvious and incredible the level of separation and depth of all the layers of the AAC tracks. The MP3 versions all felt flat. They literally sounded compressed. It is for this reason that I’m an iTunes Match subscriber.
I was just watching videos about airpods max as I just got one and came across your video. I have never seen someone review a headphone with mics like those and also loved the humour. Sub right away! 👍🏻 good job
Ive tried them all with Max...Amazon music Ultra HD (free 3 months...and they just announced that all their music will be hd next month !) They really shine!
But don’t the Earpod Pro Max connect at a limited bit rate that won’t take advantage of the higher quality Tidal streams? I run tidal through portable DAC (Chord Mojo) and is awesome through wired headphones but not so through BT ones
@@darranmoore WiFi through Homepods sounds amazing but also very noticable with BT through the Maxs - the Tidal sound is richer, the base smoother and the sound less fatiguing. And Qobuz tracks sound better than Apple Music too but subtly different to the Tidal ones!
Issue actually is that Spotify is using OGG while the Airpods only support AAC (guessing), so OGG is being recompressed to AAC . Also Apple fibs a little bit on that 256kbps, the profile used for compression is called constrained variable bitrate and from I have seen (from iTunes store purchases) the bitrate varies from 256kbps to 500kbps.
I've always maintained that Apple Music AAC sounds miles better because it uses psychoacoustic compression as opposed to MP3 and OGG. But no one would listen to me because as a fan boy it sounds like I'm schilling. Glad to finally hear someone prove this.
I'm glad someone else has noticed this difference with AAC. Put this down to something else as well. That is Apple knows the internals of AAC since it is theirs and the processing engine in the Airpods Max takes advantage of this to deliver a sound that is more open and inviting compared to what you get with Spotify. The way I did my testing was by using a Thinkpad with a Dragonfly Cobalt DAC and the Apple $35 cable to connect and get BT out of the way (along with the LDAC vs AAC arguments). I also listened to other sources such as Amazon HD Ultra. Everyone's ears are different along with what they like but carefully listening to the same tracks on AAC directly connected as I indicated vs Amazon Ultra HD did not show a difference. I also have other phones to use such as HiFiman 400s, Westone studio in-ear and Sony WH1000-XM4 as comparison. My preference after listening a lot was between the Airpods Max and the HiFiman units depending on whether i an in a noisy environment or not. I have also used the Cobalt DAC plugged into my iPhone 12 Pro Max using the adapter or to USB-C on the iPad Pro. I don't currently see a way to go to the OFF position that you suggest when not being used with an Apple device such as my Thinkpad testing.
Definite difference in sound quality - And i do prefer the Apple lossless - Again its the old adage - Apples’s Hardware and software working together in perfect Harmony
Update: I went into the settings on iPhone for the Airpods Max while connected using BT and changed the settings to include the third mode of the button to include the mode without Noise Cancellation and even when direct connected via the Cobalt DAC to a Thinkpad I could still have it without noise cancellation or transparency. It does seem to improve the overall effect.
Noise cancellation improves the sound when you’re skydiving, skiing and full speed in a luge, I’ve found. We’ll see about how it performs in the vacuum of space…
Don’t have my AirPods max yet, but I did compare Spotify to Apple Music with the AirPods Pro, and you’re right the audio quality on Apple Music does seem to be better!
I totally agree with you. After buying the Airpods Max, I immediately tested Spotify, apple music and Tidal extensively to get the most out of the new headphones. To my amazement, Spotify failed every song. Apple music and Tidal were up the same, so I decided on apple music just because of the price. I am firmly convinced that the APM is the best place to be in the apple ecosystem.
Thank you for your insights regarding streaming services. I steered away from Spotify years ago because of this issue. Spotify "prepares" their streaming content to have their specific sound signature. I did the test with CD content I ripped to MP3 320kbs and it sounded way better than the 320kbs content of Spotify. The same story with radio stations FM, Internet radio,... some with surprising good results even at lower bitrates in MP3, others with such a compression and sound EQ it does not sound right with better equipment. It sounds great on mediocre equipment as you can have the ghetto blaster sound out of a portable radio.... Garbage in --> garbage out. This is even not related to the Airpods Max. In Europe we have an even better farce. The thing is called DAB+ and it is supposed to replace FM. It broadcasts on VHF with 88kps AAC. It is marketed as CD quality sound...This same mediocre stream is used for FM broadcast, to prove FM is bad.
Another little tweak that affects the sound quality (I altered this and it made the sound quality even better) is with your headphones connected to your iPhone, go into: Settings/Accessibility, scroll down to the Physical And Motor section and touch the AirPods option. Next select the AirPods Max. Next touch Audio Accessibility Settings. Next touch Headphone Accommodations, and in the section where you see Slight, Moderate, Strong, alter between Moderate and Strong. The default setting is Slight. I found altering it to Moderate, noticeably improved the sound quality.
I’ve been using Apple Music from the beginning. I don’t hear any difference turning ANC or transparency off, the three modes sound the same to me. What has improved sound for me is adjusting the setting in accessibility > AV > headphones adjustments to voice, slight. (I don’t know the exact names of the settings in English, my iPhone is in Spanish).
We want to make a comment about the Home Pod mini. As you have pointed out, the Dolby Atmos effect is only achieved with large Home Pods, and that effect is impressive, we like it a lot in the available content. But what if the Mini could be used as a complement to the Atmos to gain spatiality, transparency, real location of sound sources? Well that would be spectacular, but of course it is not yet planned by Apple, as you have commented in your videos. However, we were left with the doubt and did an experiment: we bought a couple of minis and first coupled them to be configured in stereo, placing them in a different room than the large Home Pods. Once we put them in stereo we put them behind the place where we have the TV and the speakers, respecting the left and right channels. So, through the Apple TV 4K, which previously has the large Home Pods as default speakers, we configured it in such a way that, in addition to using those default speakers, it would use the Mini. What happened? A radical change, especially in presence, in addition to the fact that many sounds now come from virtual sites, something that did not happen before. It's not that the Minis are set to Atmos, that's not possible, but they do help the front speakers in Atmos to deliver a better picture and immersive feel. We really liked the experiment and hopefully Apple will one day allow the configuration of the Mini together with the others to have a really complete Atmos.
Great video, Erfon! Appreciate your clever methods for pinpointing details that would otherwise be very difficult to convey through a CZcams video. The binaural mics were a nice touch. Big fan of your videos and the CultCast.
You’re awesome! I’ve always known that ANC degrades the sound and always keep it off when doing critical listening on my other wireless headphones - but with the APM it seemed like Apple had made the decision for you and you could only toggle between the two filters. With ANC turned off now they sound way closer to the XM5s in terms of instruments sounding richer, more nuanced and true to life. Thanks to you I’ll no longer be returning the APM this weekend! If anyone is still skeptical listen to Solo Cello: Contemporary Hits (feat. Trevor Exter) - Get Lucky.
You can edit what that noise cancellation button does on the headphones in the setting of the headphones on iPhone so that it will toggle between all 3 and not just transparency and noise cancellation
What about when getting calls? I got Ari Max on Christmas, I thought they had a defect because when i got calls people used to tell me that they were hearing me kind of far away. Even Apple support said the same. I returned them and got a new ones. and still people said that they hear me like if I was on speaker... Im going to try this set up on the video and will post if everything was fixed..Thx
I agree it definitely sounds better on Apple Music. Of course if you're listening through computer or phone speakers you won't hear the difference. I wonder if Tidal would sound much better.
Really enjoying your channel and humour 😃. I got the AirPod Max last week and been switching between the highest quality Spotify streaming and Tidal HiFi subscription. It was recently on offer for €4 for 4 months. Test out Tidal Master (Studio) lossless quality tracks if you get a chance. It’s amazing on the headphones. Their HiFi (CD quality) tracks sound great as well. I also have compared Apple and Spotify tracks in the past and found Apple Music to have a much fuller but Spotify wins with knowing what I like to listen to and all the pre made playlists, etc.
For real! He plugged all these videos coming soon so I checked his channel and literally NOTHING since this video five months ago. Like are you alive?!
@@matt_waddy I’m sure he’ll return at some point Perhaps he has taken a break because he’s got other priorities that he needs taking care of, or maybe the stress of life is getting to him But most likely he’s on a mountain somewhere listening to Dr Disrespect with his AirPods Pro in meditation 🤣 We hope he’s doing well, and comes back soon !!
So, you make the claim that Apple Music has significantly better imaging and quality noting the example of the "chime tree" You play it on the Spotify to test and it sounded decent, you play it on Apple Music and literally right before that apparent "chime" sound you audibly and VISUALLY turn the volume up to the point it's clipping and then say you can hear the chimes more? Well no shit?
@Erfon Elijah Hey man, what you should absolutely do is head into settings, Headphone Accommodations, and then set it to balanced and maximum. You will hear so much more detail and many nuances in the treble and upper mids that you’ll hardly believe it’s the same cans. It really elevates the APM from consumer gear to mobile HI-FI. Particularly if you pair with Tidal masters or my favourite at the moment - Qobuz. The Sony XM4 are like toys by comparison, and I’d argue they sound better than B&O H95 which are $800! Peace P.S let me know what you think. Gabe.
Bonus trick to make the AirPods Max sound better
Go to Settings, Accessibility, Audio/Visual, Headphones Accommodations and enable it.
Wow u right and transparency mode clearer
It dose sound better. Nice looking out for us fellow Max users. 💯🙂
I really hope macOS to support Headphones Accommodations in near future.
Thank you!! Great tip 👍🏼
Wow. The Headphones Accommodations is like a quick EQ. Crazy. I don’t even know how to set it. LOL
In the Bluetooth settings for the Max, you can set the button to toggle between ANC and Off, or whatever you like. Might be useful if you’re using Off a lot
Stumbled upon your page when looking up HomePod reviews and I’ve been hooked ever since!
Listen to his podcast "The Cultcast" its really good
Same
@@CameronKinvig I was about to recommend this, definitely something I look forward to each week.
Same here - really funny guy 😆
Same
One thing might have affected on the difference between Spotify / Apple Music is AirPods Max uses AAC codec for Bluetooth Audio. Spotify audio has to be re-encoded to AAC before it gets transferred wirelessly, but Apple Music gets sent directly without any further compression.
Is that the same for TIDAL?
@@dagboh3958 TIDAL doesn't use AAC, but they use loseless codec. So even when they get encoded to AAC it probably wouldn't be a problem - but it wouldn't be too much better either.
Is it still like this with Spotify?
It’s all compressed so you loose a lot of frequencies.
@@xplax24 Tidal sounds way better on the mastered tracks i can tell you. I used all 3 at the same time for months to decide which ones ill keep , First spotify had to go , applemusic was there because the search was a lot better than the tidal search algorythm but tidal sounds way better .
great comparison, thanks for pointing out the differences, and showing your results. great quality video and recordings.
I tried it. I preferred with Noise Cancelling on. I understand turning of NC creates the air but with it on, I just hear more music. So I prefer NCon. What made more of an impact for the audio quality for me was to go to iPad or iPhone’s Settings - Accessibility - Airpods - Airpods Max - Audio Accessibility Settings - Headphones Accommodations (turn this on) then choose Balanced Tone and Slight. I am listening to music, remastered in iTunes, sounds great. Without these settings used, the Max sound dull. I am comparing my Max to my Bose Quiet Comfort 35’s, version 1 which sound muddy compared to my Max. Balanced keeps the mids but the high’s are still there. Have used my QC35’s for years. Time to move on. Hope this helps.
AirPods Max aside. I can remember when I was in the market for a music streaming service, and I was trying out Spotify, Apple Music before deciding which one to keep and which one to cancel. I was using a pair of Bowers & Wilkins P7 Wireless (which are a high end pair of headphones). I ensured I was using the highest quality streaming setting on Spotify. I added the exact same album to both Spotify and Apple Music. I could tell right away that the Spotify version was noticeably lower sound quality. It lacked the detail and sparkle and overall fullness of the Apple Music version.
I can remember mentioning this online at the time on a forum, and was told, like you said in the video, the AAC format Apple Music uses is a more efficient format to what Spotify uses, and this is the reason for the better sound quality.
Saw this ages ago, but the YT algorithm recommended it again! You totally called it. New music service to take advantage of the hardware.
I had ignored the “Off” option (No Transparency, no Noise Cancellation, just physical seal) but I’ll try using it when I’m trying to focus on my music. I assumed Noise Cancellation would be the best experience but maybe not!
I know i’m very late with this, but if you have background noise going on the noise cancellation will always be the better sounding option :)
thanks to you I discovered new music there. played it non stop today on my APMs!
So I'm gonna pay $600 for noise cancelling headphones and turn off active noise cancellation to make them sound better??? Wut???
Thats usually the case with most noise cancelling headphones, that includes my sony XM3 and BW PX7.
These guys are click-baiting you. Airpods max are best in the ios system. I have them and they are best for their intended use. If you want perfect studio sound, the bluetooth connection will not support it. The sound using bluetooth connection has some limitation due to the data transfer. If you want perfect quality, buy yourself a sound studio and not a pair of headphones. The noise cancellation is killing completely my neighbour’s kids. Perfect!
@@putinismaffiotstatec8725 thank you
@@putinismaffiotstatec8725They are not clickbating. The AirPods Max is an objectively badly tuned headphone. The upper midrange and treble are literally nonexistent on its frequency response measurements
That's apple for you lmaooo
It’s worth explaining why Apple music sounds better than Spotify on the AirPods Max. Under the Bluetooth spec, headphones need to choose a codec with which to transfer audio files between the iPhone and the headphones.
AirPods Max only support AAC, which is actually part of the MPEG 4 spec (which is a lot more modern than MP3, which is part of the MPEG 1 spec).
if you listen to MP3 source material, your iPhone needs to trans-code to AAC before using Bluetooth to send the file to your AirPods (Max or otherwise). That is why you are getting quality loss.
I don’t believe Bluetooth supports MP3 as a native codec, so I don’t think any headphones natively support MP3 over Bluetooth.
Always love you reviews and energy man, but you really out did your self on the recording in this one. The in ear mics illustrated the difference so well. Great job!
I already use Apple Music over spotify but thanks to your video, i do find that turning off transparency/anc mode does make a big difference. I’ll definitely be listening to my airpods max this way when i’m just chilling at home
Hey man. Thank you for the video and the info. Did you notice the battery drainage issue that is being talked about online?
I did my own comparison of Spotify and Apple Music and you are correct. Apple Music has more dynamic range - scintillating highs, tight bass and an airiness that gives that something extra Spotify lacks.
Hey bro, nice video. Another thing that makes a big difference in how open and airy the Maxs sound is in the Accessibility menu in settings. Go to settings on your iPad or iPhone, then to Accessibility, then scroll down and select Airpods. Then select the Airpods Max. Then select Audio Accessibility Settings. Then select Headphone Accomodations. Toggle that setting on and leave everything at the default settings which are Balanced Tone and Slight.
You will definitely get a more open, airy, atmospheric sound qualify to what you’re listening to. I can’t go back to the way they sound without this setting on.
It also improves the sound of Airpods Pro.
Yes !!! I did essentially the same thing, but going through the custom configuration (I'm French, I don't know what the iOS translation is). In the first step I chose option 2. For the following ones, I did not modify anything. I don't know if it's exactly equivalent with the only "Slight" option. But I also have a sound that I find much more airy, the soundstage is improved, etc. It's the sound I have on the Fidelio X2HR that I really like. And there it is almost even better!!!
Yes
That’s a great tip fella, I’ll check that out because I got AirPods max yesterday and as soon as I listened to a Norah Jones track on Dolby atmos it was stunning.
I just purchased a pair of AirPod Max's and thought the sound was out of this world. But your tip set them over the bar. You are right, that setting you suggested gave it that nice airy sound which made the music sound even clearer. Such a great suggestion. Thank you!
I had this on and I didn't even realise
I loved it so much when he started vibin out to the music lmao
Omg I just really dug watching you jam out! More please
Love the doc and the fact that u love em too is extra points, your review are underrated u should be at top of review channels, your hilarious and unique while giving a great detailed review
Love the video and the recent Podcasts. I have my space grey pair on order which come March/April to replace my B&W PX7.
Keep up the great work.
P.S. love the Mario light on your desk.
Good video! One thing that made a huge difference for me was to also turn off Spatial Audio. It's nice for things that are encoded for it, but for things that are not it messes with the right/left mix and gives an inferior experience.
Heard the difference on my headphones! That sparkling sound def sounds clearer and more vibrant on apple music - real interesting. Thanks a lot!
Nice review! Do you still get condensation?
I just got Apple AirPods Max. They sounded really good, but not as dynamic or even loud as in the store. I already have Apple Music, so I made the two quick changes you suggested, and wow… that’s the sound I was expecting. It really makes a significant difference. Thank you! They sound like the pair that convinced me to buy them. Subscribed.
You can make them a lot louder if you go into settings, music, and disable sound check and EQ, that instantly boosted the volume a ton, i’m not sure if it takes away from sound quality tho, to me it doesn’t sound like it does, i also believe this only works with apple music considering it’s in the settings section for the Music app
@@a7_blockeyblue529I LOVE YOU FOR THIS! - Thank you so much for this advice, instantly made a huge noticeable difference in volume, even at full volume. Now it's much louder and actually has a punch to it. Everyone needs to be aware of this. Thanx!
Great tip!
I like your reviews because I feel like you enjoy music the same way I do with the feeling and movement rather than an overly dry analytical way. Im surprised about this difference between the streaming apps, the apple music does sound more textured(?) with spotify sounding flatter, are your EQ settings neutral on both? 🤔
Yep the Headphones Accommodation setting makes a huge difference 😀😀
I literally bought those two dr. Disrespect songs because I hear them in your videos so much
I once did a sound test of a few songs in both MP3 and Apple’s AAC format with $200 Etymotic headphones. It was obvious and incredible the level of separation and depth of all the layers of the AAC tracks. The MP3 versions all felt flat. They literally sounded compressed. It is for this reason that I’m an iTunes Match subscriber.
It's so funny to me that you seriously think you could hear the difference between mp3 and AAC
I like how you react to the music you listen. You have got the soul 😍
Loving your content, keep it up! 👌
Love your videos.... you should do more just talking about tech things and whatever you like it and moves your channel
I was just watching videos about airpods max as I just got one and came across your video. I have never seen someone review a headphone with mics like those and also loved the humour. Sub right away! 👍🏻 good job
Nice video! Where have you been for the past year?
Is there a difference if use them with the cable (lighting - 3,5 jack) instead of bluetooth? Thank you for your content!
This works on Beats Solo Pro as well 😁
Ive tried them all with Max...Amazon music Ultra HD (free 3 months...and they just announced that all their music will be hd next month !) They really shine!
Trying out now on my new Max from one Trekker to another!
I Love your videos man your so awesome! You the man!!
Dude. Tidal and Accessibility/Audio/Visual Headphone Accommodation will melt your mind.
Yeah I’m trying Tidal for the first time and the master quality audio is super nice.
And Qobuz
But don’t the Earpod Pro Max connect at a limited bit rate that won’t take advantage of the higher quality Tidal streams? I run tidal through portable DAC (Chord Mojo) and is awesome through wired headphones but not so through BT ones
@@darranmoore WiFi through Homepods sounds amazing but also very noticable with BT through the Maxs - the Tidal sound is richer, the base smoother and the sound less fatiguing. And Qobuz tracks sound better than Apple Music too but subtly different to the Tidal ones!
@@xenonexe2558 can u hear the difference on the airpods max?
Thank you for the Tip!! It works 😁😁😁 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻
I love your endless enthusiasm. Amazing and love the videos.
Issue actually is that Spotify is using OGG while the Airpods only support AAC (guessing), so OGG is being recompressed to AAC . Also Apple fibs a little bit on that 256kbps, the profile used for compression is called constrained variable bitrate and from I have seen (from iTunes store purchases) the bitrate varies from 256kbps to 500kbps.
Thank you !! I was about to send take these back and purchase the Sonys again.
I've always maintained that Apple Music AAC sounds miles better because it uses psychoacoustic compression as opposed to MP3 and OGG. But no one would listen to me because as a fan boy it sounds like I'm schilling. Glad to finally hear someone prove this.
I'm glad someone else has noticed this difference with AAC. Put this down to something else as well. That is Apple knows the internals of AAC since it is theirs and the processing engine in the Airpods Max takes advantage of this to deliver a sound that is more open and inviting compared to what you get with Spotify. The way I did my testing was by using a Thinkpad with a Dragonfly Cobalt DAC and the Apple $35 cable to connect and get BT out of the way (along with the LDAC vs AAC arguments). I also listened to other sources such as Amazon HD Ultra. Everyone's ears are different along with what they like but carefully listening to the same tracks on AAC directly connected as I indicated vs Amazon Ultra HD did not show a difference. I also have other phones to use such as HiFiman 400s, Westone studio in-ear and Sony WH1000-XM4 as comparison. My preference after listening a lot was between the Airpods Max and the HiFiman units depending on whether i an in a noisy environment or not. I have also used the Cobalt DAC plugged into my iPhone 12 Pro Max using the adapter or to USB-C on the iPad Pro. I don't currently see a way to go to the OFF position that you suggest when not being used with an Apple device such as my Thinkpad testing.
I can’t hear shit differently but still love the video.
😂
Fr tho. I really be watching these sound quality videos knowing that i am deaf af
Definite difference in sound quality - And i do prefer the Apple lossless - Again its the old adage - Apples’s Hardware and software working together in perfect Harmony
Your videos are great! Bring them back Erfon 🙌
Waiting for my headphones to come. Will take your advice. 👍
Love your style, hope you come back soon. Looking forward for the next video
Update: I went into the settings on iPhone for the Airpods Max while connected using BT and changed the settings to include the third mode of the button to include the mode without Noise Cancellation and even when direct connected via the Cobalt DAC to a Thinkpad I could still have it without noise cancellation or transparency. It does seem to improve the overall effect.
Noise cancellation improves the sound when you’re skydiving, skiing and full speed in a luge, I’ve found. We’ll see about how it performs in the vacuum of space…
Don’t have my AirPods max yet, but I did compare Spotify to Apple Music with the AirPods Pro, and you’re right the audio quality on Apple Music does seem to be better!
Could you do in depth comparison on wired vs wireless experience?
Go thru accessory/earpod pro/ there’s features that make the earpod brighter and louder?
That red light through your knurls… hypnotic 😂
Great personality and video!
Finally got my AirPod Max’s and watched this video with them on and the difference was really noticeable
Can you do a HomePod Atmos vs Sonos Arc? Pleaseee 🙏🏼
I haven’t found any good comparison on CZcams
Watching this a year later, he mentioned apple making a new music service and now we have spatial audio which sounds amazing on AP Max
Hey Erfon! It's been a while since we last heard from you, buddy! I hope all is well!!! Can't wait for your next vid :)
I wonder what happened to him. Pity if he stops this channel
I totally agree with you. After buying the Airpods Max, I immediately tested Spotify, apple music and Tidal extensively to get the most out of the new headphones. To my amazement, Spotify failed every song. Apple music and Tidal were up the same, so I decided on apple music just because of the price. I am firmly convinced that the APM is the best place to be in the apple ecosystem.
Thank you for your insights regarding streaming services.
I steered away from Spotify years ago because of this issue. Spotify "prepares" their streaming content to have their specific sound signature. I did the test with CD content I ripped to MP3 320kbs and it sounded way better than the 320kbs content of Spotify.
The same story with radio stations FM, Internet radio,... some with surprising good results even at lower bitrates in MP3, others with such a compression and sound EQ it does not sound right with better equipment. It sounds great on mediocre equipment as you can have the ghetto blaster sound out of a portable radio....
Garbage in --> garbage out. This is even not related to the Airpods Max.
In Europe we have an even better farce. The thing is called DAB+ and it is supposed to replace FM. It broadcasts on VHF with 88kps AAC. It is marketed as CD quality sound...This same mediocre stream is used for FM broadcast, to prove FM is bad.
Another little tweak that affects the sound quality (I altered this and it made the sound quality even better) is with your headphones connected to your iPhone, go into:
Settings/Accessibility, scroll down to the Physical And Motor section and touch the AirPods option. Next select the AirPods Max. Next touch Audio Accessibility Settings. Next touch Headphone Accommodations, and in the section where you see Slight, Moderate, Strong, alter between Moderate and Strong. The default setting is Slight. I found altering it to Moderate, noticeably improved the sound quality.
Thanks it helped me alot with my new pair . 😃
@@ngokayn6615 you are very welcome. 🙂
Thanks mate
@@x__ace you are very welcome 😀
Dude, don’t know who you are but thank you! Wish I could hug you! This really helped with my poor ears ! Sound feels way more natural
this was amazing, I'm listening with the same headphones
Listening this review with the AirPods Max pro !
You, sir, are a wordsmith.
Enjoy you videos! Where can I get the Star Trek balancing ships on your shelf over your shoulder there?
I’ve been using Apple Music from the beginning. I don’t hear any difference turning ANC or transparency off, the three modes sound the same to me. What has improved sound for me is adjusting the setting in accessibility > AV > headphones adjustments to voice, slight. (I don’t know the exact names of the settings in English, my iPhone is in Spanish).
Have you tried them with amazon music hd?
Man you were spot on! Now that Apple Music has the new spatial audio with Dolby atmos!! Great prediction!!
I totally agree, even with AirPods pro changing from Spotify (free) to Apple Music lossless made a huge difference !
Go into settings go to the music tab and u can play with the EQs for whatever specfic genres u may like (iphone users)
great comparison
Bro! You were right...they added lossless and spatial audio support. I think in a future update the Airpods Max can stream lossless over AirPlay.
I have but I wish they were louder
“I’ll do anything for a click” 🤣🤣 i love the honesty, just subscribed 👍🏽🎯
We want to make a comment about the Home Pod mini. As you have pointed out, the Dolby Atmos effect is only achieved with large Home Pods, and that effect is impressive, we like it a lot in the available content. But what if the Mini could be used as a complement to the Atmos to gain spatiality, transparency, real location of sound sources? Well that would be spectacular, but of course it is not yet planned by Apple, as you have commented in your videos. However, we were left with the doubt and did an experiment: we bought a couple of minis and first coupled them to be configured in stereo, placing them in a different room than the large Home Pods. Once we put them in stereo we put them behind the place where we have the TV and the speakers, respecting the left and right channels. So, through the Apple TV 4K, which previously has the large Home Pods as default speakers, we configured it in such a way that, in addition to using those default speakers, it would use the Mini. What happened? A radical change, especially in presence, in addition to the fact that many sounds now come from virtual sites, something that did not happen before. It's not that the Minis are set to Atmos, that's not possible, but they do help the front speakers in Atmos to deliver a better picture and immersive feel. We really liked the experiment and hopefully Apple will one day allow the configuration of the Mini together with the others to have a really complete Atmos.
Great video, Erfon! Appreciate your clever methods for pinpointing details that would otherwise be very difficult to convey through a CZcams video. The binaural mics were a nice touch. Big fan of your videos and the CultCast.
Thanks my guy subscribing for this one
Go into iPhone/iPad settings and turn eq to flat. The APM overly boosts the highs to the point they are harsh sounding and the flat setting fixes this
You’re awesome! I’ve always known that ANC degrades the sound and always keep it off when doing critical listening on my other wireless headphones - but with the APM it seemed like Apple had made the decision for you and you could only toggle between the two filters. With ANC turned off now they sound way closer to the XM5s in terms of instruments sounding richer, more nuanced and true to life. Thanks to you I’ll no longer be returning the APM this weekend! If anyone is still skeptical listen to Solo Cello: Contemporary Hits (feat. Trevor Exter) - Get Lucky.
You can edit what that noise cancellation button does on the headphones in the setting of the headphones on iPhone so that it will toggle between all 3 and not just transparency and noise cancellation
On the Apple Music settings do you keep the equalizer off?
What about when getting calls? I got Ari Max on Christmas, I thought they had a defect because when i got calls people used to tell me that they were hearing me kind of far away. Even Apple support said the same. I returned them and got a new ones. and still people said that they hear me like if I was on speaker... Im going to try this set up on the video and will post if everything was fixed..Thx
I agree it definitely sounds better on Apple Music. Of course if you're listening through computer or phone speakers you won't hear the difference. I wonder if Tidal would sound much better.
Really enjoying your channel and humour 😃. I got the AirPod Max last week and been switching between the highest quality Spotify streaming and Tidal HiFi subscription. It was recently on offer for €4 for 4 months. Test out Tidal Master (Studio) lossless quality tracks if you get a chance. It’s amazing on the headphones. Their HiFi (CD quality) tracks sound great as well. I also have compared Apple and Spotify tracks in the past and found Apple Music to have a much fuller but Spotify wins with knowing what I like to listen to and all the pre made playlists, etc.
at wired time Bluetooth on / off
does *airpods max* microphone works??
please reply...
Really enjoy the content, keep up the GREAT work. 👍🏼
Aye aye captain!
Love the shirt man 👍🙌🖖
Where are you man ! We need regular uploads !! You’re hilarious 😆
For real! He plugged all these videos coming soon so I checked his channel and literally NOTHING since this video five months ago. Like are you alive?!
@@matt_waddy I’m sure he’ll return at some point
Perhaps he has taken a break because he’s got other priorities that he needs taking care of, or maybe the stress of life is getting to him
But most likely he’s on a mountain somewhere listening to Dr Disrespect with his AirPods Pro in meditation 🤣
We hope he’s doing well, and comes back soon !!
Great video!! Great tips. I have implemented them and have subscribed to your channel. What is your opinion of Amazon HD with the AirPods Max?
Al! That’s a very good question. I haven’t tried it yet but I’ll give it a go
@@ErfonElijah I find that the the Amazon Ultra HD songs sound superior to Apple Music on AirpodsMax but I might be imagining
Qobuz any better?
Is it really that much better with the mics turned off? I gotta try tomorrow
I would love to see a video about Dolby atmos in Apple Music from you
So a general question, how can i make them louder? I find the max’s are just not really loud enough in some situations??
I just got AirPods max .. is there a burn in time ? For the drivers to wake up ?
thank you thank you thank you!! they sound amazing now. I was very upset that I paid over $500 for these headphones. I just subbed
Good information and I've got to love anyone who tells me right off that they'll do anything for a click.
So, you make the claim that Apple Music has significantly better imaging and quality noting the example of the "chime tree" You play it on the Spotify to test and it sounded decent, you play it on Apple Music and literally right before that apparent "chime" sound you audibly and VISUALLY turn the volume up to the point it's clipping and then say you can hear the chimes more? Well no shit?
@Erfon Elijah
Hey man, what you should absolutely do is head into settings, Headphone Accommodations, and then set it to balanced and maximum. You will hear so much more detail and many nuances in the treble and upper mids that you’ll hardly believe it’s the same cans. It really elevates the APM from consumer gear to mobile HI-FI.
Particularly if you pair with Tidal masters or my favourite at the moment - Qobuz. The Sony XM4 are like toys by comparison, and I’d argue they sound better than B&O H95 which are $800!
Peace
P.S let me know what you think.
Gabe.
LLAP great shirt and thanks for the great tips!
I hope you found the video... fascinating
@@ErfonElijah totally when I listened again with the setting off. Wow!