AirPods Max Long Term Review: Tips for Use, and Why I'll Never Travel with Them Again 

Now now, don’t sell yourself short: if you try hard, you CAN disagree with me enough. I believe in you! Seriously, though, you bring up a lot of great points. 1. I still openly wonder of the feeling of pressure was just my sinuses acting up with the changes in air pressure (my flights were all in the back of the planes), combined with WHERE the APMs apply pressure. On the ground, I find them perfectly comfortable, thought a bit tighter than some other sets, but that’s fine for me. 2. If anything, the ANC seal issue just shows how good the ANC is when it’s fully activated. My glasses aren’t flush against my skin, so this is why the seal breaks for me. Of course, I’ve also used the same glasses while using the Sony XM4, and the seal wasn’t an issue there due to the type of pads used. (I still prefer the APMs over the XM4’s on the ground.) As for the headshape, that’s a possibility, but I also think a more oval shape, instead of a square shape, would have stopped that use: for me, the seal broke between the jaw line and my neck: I have a wide jaw and a thin neck. 3. Someone mentioned that the popping noises might be a software issue, so I plan to contact Apple about it. Best of luck, and all the best!

@@NorbReviews its just headphones dude relax

@@NorbReviews its just headphones dude relax

Airports and planes are the only places I’d wear APMs in public for security reasons (thieves can’t run off a plane or past TSA with them!) and they’re great for that use case. They’re the only headphones you’d want to use transparency mode for long stretches of time to listen for airport announcements or simply make an order with a flight attendant. I have no problems with pressure or seal breaking either. Get a $20 hard case and use them!

@@vishnu9264 what do you mean relax? He’s just talking about his experience with the headphones, and why their experiences might be different…

Thank you!

My pleasure. Based on the feedback I’ve received, it seems to be highly subjective. If you have a solid returns policy you can lean on, maybe consider picking up a pair and giving them an honest try for yourself. Ultimately, I ended up using both the Know Calm and the Bang & Olufsen H9, although the Bose NC 700 (which I’m trying now) are looking VERY promising (and are currently Ben v sold refurbished on eBay by Bose for about 1/2 the price of the AirPods Max). Best of luck!

Thank you! This makes my week! I’m glad I could be of help!

My pleasure, and thank you for your time and comment.

Thank you for watching!

Thanks, and please do! I was honestly shocked at how I felt while on the plane. I always felt the APMs felt snug while on the ground, but it never bothered me. (In fact, I like it.) Other reviewers had mentioned it was too tight for them and, in fact, my wife won't wear the APMs for that same reason. On the other hand, I have friends who say it doesn't really bother them, and they fly all the time. I guess the lesson here is: (1) The APMs are snug. Whether that's good or bad is just personal preference. (2) The way they feel may differ at different pressures, and that may change perception. Anyway, I ramble. Best of luck, and I'm looking forward to reading about your experience!

Thank you! I’m happy to hear you liked the video. As for condensation, I’ve never had an issue with the condensation. I live literally next to a swamp where temperatures regularly hit 95°F and 90% humidity, have used it in the desert and mountains, air conditioning and outside of AC (although not much outside of air conditioning). I keep checking, but have never seen the issue, so I can’t speak to it.

@@NorbReviews thank you so much again & keep up the awesome reviews :D

In your shoes, I'd probably do the same. I love my H9's and they're usually what I fly with now. Happy listening!

Thank you!

@@NorbReviews so you’re advising us not to buy these ? Have you giving Apple your feedback to hopefully improve on a next generation product ?

@@coralreef909 - Oh, not at all! I think people take my critiques to be my hating the AirPods Max. This is not the case at all! In fact, I HIGHLY recommend them! They’re built well, have good sound, have great features, and are backed by Apple, which is THE best company for customer support in personal electronics. The $550 price feels steep, though, and with the prices having dropped lately, I think people would do well to try to find them for $450 or less. Here’s the takeaway from my video: The AirPods Max are magnificent, and they’ve gotten one of the highest ratings I’ve given any wireless headphones. But I didn’t like them for travel. At all. Which is a shame, because that noise canceling and the passthrough are second to none. But for travel, that’s when I understood HOW bad the case choice was, and how tight some people felt them to be. (Note that I live at sea level and have sensitive sinuses, both of which which impact my sentiment.) So, for travel, I now prefer other headphones, like the Know Calm and the Bang & Olufsen H9 (I personally like over-the-ear and on-ear headphones over in-ear for a few reasons.) Now, as for Apple listening to me, I wish! If they did, I’d recommend the following: 1. Better case, please. More protective. 2. Instead of square, maybe go with teardrop-shaped headphones next time, though I do like their size. (Given their push for symmetry, I don’t think this will happen.) 3. An EQ app which allowed for some manual tuning would be nice. The EQ for Apple Music is not nearly enough, and I wouldn’t mind tweaking them at times. Anyway, if you’re considering these, I think you’d do well. Pair them with AirPods Pro and you have headphones for just about every need you might reasonably have.

@@coralreef909 The most needed feature for next generation is the ability to EQ the AirPods Max. FR is the only thing holding this pair from being great.

Yeah, the comfort thing is definitely a personal thing. I’m really glad to hear you’ve enjoyed yours! (If you see my first unboxing on the APMs, you’ll see I had the black ones at first. Traded them back for the blue. It’s so nice!)

Completely agreed. Actually, I JUST got a pair of AirPods Pro, just to show myself how much I don’t need them because my Amazon EchoBuds are just as good and, yeah… yeah, I’m keeping the AirPods Pro. They’re just qualitatively better.

I agree with pretty much everything here. I think the ANC seal breaking had to do with the shape of the headphones being square instead of oval. (Had they been oval, it wouldn’t have hit my jaw that certain way and the seal wouldn’t have broken.) If anything, the seal breaking shows just how great the ANC is when fully engaged. As for comfort, I do still think it might actually have been a sinus issue due to the change of air pressure. They’re so comfortable on the ground for me that this is why I was so shocked. (My wife finds them tight, but she’s also sensitive to pressure in headphones due to sinus issues.) Which headphones do you use for shorter flights? When I switched from the APMs, I used the Bang and Olufsen H9’s. ANC wasn’t as good, but they were more comfortable for me.

Do you have a link for the aftermarket case that places then in sleep mode please ?

That’s good to hear. I just purchased a new pair off of eBay for $330. I lost my airpod pro’s at the airport, and I don’t want to replace them with the same, right before they release a better version. In the meantime I will see how I like these. I’ve used the Sony’s NC headphones, and wasn’t impressed with build quality. Plus you give up a lot, when stepping off the reservation. The Max was the obvious choice for right now, plus the price made it easier to swallow.

Can you please let me know how did you connect it to airplane media

@@bedroo3518 sorry my friend, I don’t think there is a way to connect to airline devices. I just use the wife’s IPad. They do have a lightning connector, but I’m not sure if you can use that to hook it up. Good luck!

I’m glad for the commenters who differed from my opinion. Truly! People should realize that reviewers talk about their own experiences and opinions. Mine is just one among many. Had you asked me directly, I would have told you to buy them and not to worry. (I would have recommended a pair of AirPods Pro for those times they APMs were uncomfortable, unwieldy, or just impractical.) They APMs are fantastic. And I completely agree about getting a better case. I just wish Apple had done better with their first.

I haven’t tried them yet, so I can’t really say. Sorry!

Update - I’ve tried them now. In fact, I’m finishing up my review now, plus I’ll do a comparison agains the AirPods Max. Short of it: Both are fantastic. I find the XM5 more comfortable for travel than the AirPods Max. There are other areas where I’m happier with one versus the other, but that will come up during the video. Give me about a month or so to get that published. I’m hoping to have the review of the XM5 by the end of next week, and I have another video where there is a comparison between them, so stay tuned: a lot of XM5 content planned.

I just connected them to my phone and tablet. I didn’t have them connected to the in-flight entertainment at all, so I can’t speak to that.

Thank you for subscribing! If there’s something you ever want to see, hit me up here or on Twitter (@NorbReviews). The APMs will automatically connect to the last device they were connected to after you unplug them. (It might take a second, and I’ve car bases where I had to actually connect them using the Settings. Not common, but it happens. I can tell because it doesn’t play the “connected” chime.) When you plug them back in, the Bluetooth will drop and they’ll start playing from the cable.

My go-to are the Bang & Olufsen BeoPlay series. I have the H9, but also consider the HX. If you want really great instrument separation, check out the Master & Dynamic MW65. Feature wise, neither the BeoPlay nor the MW65 have anything on the APMs: that’s an area where Apple did superior work on. And the ANC in the APMs is still the best I’ve experienced. But when it comes to sound, I prefer both of those over the APMs.

Huh. See, the cloth material on the earpads is one of my favorite things because it’s so much cooler for me. But I can definitely see people finding these scratchy.

right? below the ear?

Glad to hear you've been enjoying them! Something I didn't touch on which you did here is connecting multiple AirPods to a single device. It's something I hadn't really tried yet. I think I will! Thanks for watching and for the great comment!

@@NorbReviews it’s a really really nice feature. My wife and I enjoyed a lot

All else being equal, for Apple users, except for my travel issue, I’d take the APMs over the XM4’s, unless price is an issue. If price is an issue, the fact that the XM4’s can be found for half (or less) of the APM’s price should be taken into consideration. But between the two, I use my APMs almost daily, whereas the XM4’s are mostly just so I can compare them to other headphones.

@@NorbReviews Thanks for your answer.

My pleasure! I’m not a huge fan of it because it’s overtly simplistic, but it gets the job done at times. (Acoustic and Classical are my favorite settings.)

AirPods Max (or AirPods Pro 2, for earbuds). That will give you the best movie-watching experience on iPad. I guess I could also mention the Beats Studio Pro, but there are a lot of reasons I don’t like recommending that one (namely sound cleanliness).

I don’t think it’s the headphones. I think it’s my sinuses: my sinuses become more sensitive at lower atmospheric pressures, I guess. (I live at sea level, but air cabins are pressurized at 8,000ft.) But what that DOES emphasize is the pressure level they exert becoming more obvious. A lot of people who I’ve asked to try these (plus other reviewers) have commented on the clamping force. (In fact, my wife refuses to wear the APMs because she finds them too tight.) This is a very personal issue, though, so it’s definitely something each person should judge on their own.

That was my guess, too, but I didn’t experience it with any other headset I’ve tried.

Thank you, and I’m glad you liked it! Honestly, my favorite travel headphones have been the Know Calm (video here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-vp7iKvU3-Ck.html) and the Bang & Olufsen H9’s (ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-2KOaNQNVxFw.html). The Sony XM4’s were good, too, but I thought they had too much ear heat. But hey, if $2 headphones do the job, that seems like a win to me!

Depends what you’re looking for: - Sound: Bang & Olufsen H9 because it’s a great, neutral sound, but Master & Dynamic MW65 if you like more detail. Sennheiser Momentum 3 is also great, as are the Bose NC700 and QC35ii/QC45. (QC35ii is better bang for the buck right now.) - Noise canceling: Sony XM4. In fact, with the Sony Headphones app, you can get the sound pretty great on these. (My video here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-qkEyRTwExSU.html.) - Features: The AirPods Pro. For non-Apple, Sony XM4. - Comfort: Bose QC45/QC35ii or Know Calm. If you just want just serious bang for the buck, check out the SoundCore Life Q30 or Q35, since they’ll be about 1/4-1/5 the price. For my money, the Bose QC35ii is selling for about $180-200 USD right now. That’s a very good price. And if Inhad to choose one, that probably would be it for that price, but not for the $299 price they normally go for. (In that case just get the NC700 or QC45.) The focus there is on sound, comfort, and noise canceling, but it doesn’t have any other major features. If you want more features the Sony XM4 is good, very comfortable, and has amazing ANC. But truthfully, the Bang & Olufsen and Master & Dynamic basically live on me. Those are my favorites.

You are correct, and thank you for calling this out. I went back and tried them again, and this time it worked. Not sure why it didn’t before for me, but it works, and I was wrong. I’ve added a note in the description, and I’ll try to trim this out of the video.

After my review (and much of the feedback I've gotten), plus talking to my doctors, I suspect my issue was sinus sensitivity. (If I could add to a video on RU-vid after uploading, I'd add that bit.) I guess the less on is, if you have sensitive sinuses or are prone to sinus issues, avoid these during flights.

In my book right now, AirPods Pro > Bose QC45 > AirPods Max > Sony XM4. The AirPods Pro win for one huge reason: convenience. I take those with me everywhere. The Bose have been a fantastic surprise.

Lossless with audio won’t be a thing with BT codecs until at least the end of this year (Qualcomm aptX Lossless, though I’m still iffy about whether it’s at all really possible with current tech). Although TECHNICALLY it’s not lossless (due to the digital/analog/digital conversion), using the cable with the AirPids Max will provide “pretty much lossless” sound. To improve your wireless experience, check out Bluetooth DAC/amps like the FiiO BTR5 (2021) Plug the AirPods into those and you’ll have both portability and top-tier quality.

To an extent. In most cases, it will block without issue, but if the thunder strikes too close, then there’s nothing that’s going to block that! Overall, it should block most rain and thunder noise, since that’s basically white noise and low rumbles. I lived somewhere where thunderstorms were a daily occurrence for a part of the year, and I don’t remember ever having any issues with these. To that end, I’d recommend them.

@@NorbReviews ok thank u

Because it was never an issue for me. I live in a hot climate, next to a literal swamp, where humidity is routinely in the 85% range, and I use these in both warm and cold (air conditioned) environments. I have not once run into this issue.

Funny you mention this. I've started either experiencing (or simply noticing) more connection issues lately when switching between phone, computer, and Apple TV. Sorry to hear you've been having a bad time with these. Can you return them and exchange them or something else?

@@NorbReviews probably. They were a gift. He did purchase Apple Care with it.

After spending $550+tax on these, the aftermarket case is definitely a sound investment.

I looked into these after reading your comment. I’m usually not a fan of copycat brands. When you take the time to design something, you understand why you made certain choices, what got you there, and why something is or isn’t important. When you just copy someone else’s design, you don’t really understand WHY they did what they did. You just do what they did for cheaper, because you didn’t have to worry about any of the actual UX research (not to mention taking into consideration the market and environmental impact of their design decisions.) I appreciate your suggestion, but I don’t think I’ll be doing any MGET products in the near future.

If you can find one at a good price and you like it, I don’t see why not. Note: a lot of people are saying that the new Beats Studio Pro is pretty similar in sound and noise canceling while being lighter and more usable across platforms, so if the user price is higher than the new Beats, you may wish to consider that, too. I haven’t tried the Beats Studio Pro yet, so I can’t say.

Depends on your need, but I’d say so. Of all my headphones, the APMs are the ones I most often keep at my bedside. If you have a solid pair of earbuds as a secondary-for example, AirPods Pro-then you’re pretty much covered for all your likely needs. See if you can find them Open-Box for under $400. I hit mine for $450 open-box just a few months after release.

Apple.com sells it directly.

@@NorbReviews thank you so much 😘😘

They’re great headphones. I just don’t like them for travel. Lately, however, I’ve been favoring the Bose QC45 a LOT more. But the APMs are still a fantastic choice. Enjoy them! Thank you for watching!

1. I never complained about lossless. In fact, I defended Apple. You and I are literally saying the same thing. 2. I tend to avoid giving people advice that would void their warranty. If you want to jailbreak and void your product warranty, that's on you. The rest is a matter of opinion. It's great you have your own.

@@NorbReviews This is the biggest myth around Apple. Jailbreaking does not void your warranty! Never ever. It simply doesn‘t. The 1 year warranty is by the way pretty useless when you use your phone for 5 years but no it doesn‘t even void the shitty warranty.

Jail breaking ABSOLUTELY voids the warranty. support.apple.com/en-us/HT201954 According to Apple, linked above: "unauthorized modification of iOS is a violation of the iOS end-user software license agreement and because of this, Apple may deny service for an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch that has installed any unauthorized software." It's possible that you could jailbreak a phone and damage it, but still get support. Doing this would require successfully removing the jailbreak and restoring the iPhone to its factory settings in a way that makes the previous jailbreak undetectable by Apple. It's possible, but don't bank on that happening. Regardless, it’s still outside the scope of my channel. I appreciate your enthusiasm, and I’m certain there’s an audience who could benefit. Take care and all the best.

So, once I got the headphones to fit right, the ANC was as good as ever. If anything, breaking the seal just showed how GOOD the ANC actually is, which I touched on in the video (and how big the ear pads are in comparison to other sets, which I didn’ touch on). I don’t think I would have had the issue had the headphones been roundish instead of squarish. I guess this just doesn’t sit well with my large jaw and skinny neck. As for the pain, honestly this is why I was so shocked, because they’re so comfortable on the ground for me. (My wife does find them too tight, but she has sinus issues, so I still wonder if that played a role with me.) On the ground, I’ve worn them for 6-8 hours without issue, sometimes even forgetting I had them on.

The QC45 are quite nice, and I’m prepping a video on them now. Not a bad choice! They definitely get my recommendation for an excellent pair of headphones. That said, I kinda prefer the QC35ii: the QC45’s improvements weren’t really all that substantial, and you can probably find the QC35ii for about $179-$199, lower if you’re willing to do refurb. (Bose has their official store on eBay, and I saw the QC35ii for $159 recently. I also saw the NC700 for $199… and got them “to test” *shifty eyes*. I’ll be making videos on these as fast as I can get them out… which isn’t very fast, sorry!) At full price-$299 for the QC35ii, $329 for the QC45-the QC45 is better. Sound wise, I like the sound on the Bose better. It’s a great, even sound with a slight bass boost. Comfort-wise (except on planes), I prefer the APMs (and the QC35ii’s are actually slightly more Comfortable for me than the QC45). And the features the APMs provide are fantastic, if you’rean Apple user. (Multi-point connect works way better on the APMs than the Bose.) If you can still snag the APMs for $399, I’d consider doing so just to test it and return the ones you like least. I’d also consider eBay refurbs (directly from Bose only), if you’re OK with that. Still, if you’re not insane like I am (I’m owning it!), the QC45’s are a fantastic choice, and easily get my recommendation. Enjoy them!

This is the one in the video: amzn.to/3JXSfHE - unfortunately, it’s no longer available. This is one I recently received from a company called Wiwu and have been using. It’s a bit more compact-which I like for travel-although it’s missing the netting: amzn.to/3XPFOU5amzn.to/3XPFOU5

@@NorbReviews tysm

It’s definitely a personal thing. But I tried them multiple times, on multiple trips, and my experience was consistent. For travel, I’ll probably stick to either the Know Calm or the Bose QC45, which I just got (but haven’t yet reviewed here). Still, if you like them, I don’t blame you: they’re fantastic headphones.

I’m always a fan of keeping what you have if you like it. The XM3 is an excellent headset, even if it’s a little older.

La-z-boy Joel, Mesh Performance Chair. It’s fantastic, best chair I’ve bought.

@@NorbReviews I really appreciate your answer. I've tried the Herman Miller and it was too small for me, and The Ergohuman is bigger but the backrest is too wide so I can't place my elbows back when I want to. That one just looks perfect. Thanks again.

Wow! I haven’t experienced that at all: my ears stay pretty cool for a long time with these. Interesting to note!

@@NorbReviews I really like the sound canceling and was very exited to get them but after 2 days I had to return them. My girlfriend try them too and she had the same result. Maybe I got a defective item.

Thank you! And yeah, I definitely nitpicked, but I always tell people that, if I'm getting to the point where I'm nitpicky, that's a VERY good sign: it means the fundamentals are right. The fact is that the APMs are excellent and I don't generally hesitate recommending them (unless the person has sensitive sinuses, because they DO have higher clamping force than others and people with sensitive sinuses are likely to be impacted). As for the case was probably the worst design decision here, but something an aftermarket case can easily fix. I can also make an argument for the squarish earcups being a bad choice vs making them more oval or even tear-drop shaped, but that's far more speculative and highly prone to opinion. All the best!

If anything, the noise canceling alone makes getting a pair of comfortable noise canceling headphones worth it in an airplane. Consider getting something like a Sony WH-CH710N or even SoundCore Life Q30’s.

@@NorbReviews I have really sensitive ears so it always hurts when I use headphones on a plane

I definitely can understand about the fit. As for the sound, I agree that it's generally a better value for the dollar, particularly for music. (For movies, I think I prefer the APMs, but this may end up being a video topic in the near future.)

Very glad you’re liking them! As someone who wears glasses, I adore the APMs. For me, I think the issue was sinus pressure. The APMs are heavy and have a high clamping force, but they hide it REALLY well. That is, unless you have very sensitive sinuses. When the air pressure changes, BOY, DO I FEEL IT!

Good call. I’ll contact Apple about this as a just-in-case.

I wish that were the case, but it wouldn’t explain why other headphones - the Bang & Olufsen H9, the Know Calm, the Sony XM4 - don’t have this issue, glasses on or not. The APMs have a high clamping force. That’s why they have the hinged design. If you’ve seen some of my other comments, you’ll note I’ve mentioned my sinuses as a possible culprit. Please remember, reviews are inherently personal and subjective. This was my experience.

Excellent choice! Enjoy them! And thanks for watching.

Not at all! I think these are fantastic! (Unless you don’t use Apple products, then yes, avoid these.) But at US$550, I think they’re a bit expensive, even for what you get. (I’ve seen a lot of places that sell them for $450, and I think that’s a decent starting price for these, but if you can find them open box for cheaper, you should absolutely consider that. In fact, that’s how I got mine, open box.) But if I only had ONE pair of headphones, these wouldn’t be it. (Actually, they’d probably be the AirPods Pro, since I can’t think of one scenario - save for swimming - which they’re not pretty well suited for.) Ultimately, my biggest issue with these was comfort while on planes, which I don’t spend a ton of time on. (I did for a while there, which is how I got to test so many headphones in planes.) At home, I use these ALL THE TIME, and they’re ultimately my favorite. The mix of features, build quality, decent sound, and comfort (when on the ground) is a winning combination. Remember, at the end of the video, I still say that these are some of the highest rated headphones I’ve reviewed. That’s for good reason!