As an “ audiophile ” the AirPods Max intrigued me. They’re priced a bit high for a set of consumer headphones, and as most audiophiles know, active noise cancelation (ANC) degrades sound quality in one way or another.

Class-leading ANC performance, Great, almost-balanced sound, Superb comfort and premium design, Physical buttons for ANC and media control, Near-infinite headband adjustment

Lightning for charging and wired audio, Worse battery life than other ANC headphones, Smart Case offers almost zero protection

Can all the technology packed into these headphones justify the high price?

Engaging listening experience Head tracking spatial audio is excellent Extremely well-built and (surprisingly) serviceable Decent 20-hour battery life - No lossless audio - Going wired costs another $35/£35 If you’ve already invested in Apple gear, the dynamic head-tracking features and excellent...

The AirPods Max are a distinctly Apple take on noise-canceling headphones. They’re not perfect by any means, but they look good, sound great, and offer all the features you would want from a product in the Apple ecosystem, including some features that will roll out later this year alongside iOS 15...

Rich and detailed sound; Superb noise-cancelling; Spatial audio enhances TV and movies; They just work ;

Very expensive; Uncomfortable if worn for long periods ; So-so battery life ; Really bad case;

Spatial Audio and superb noise cancelling are standouts for Apple’s AirPods Max - a great pair of headphones for Apple users

Good sound quality; Awesome noise cancelling; Spatial Audio is stunning;

Heavy; Fit isn’t 100% secure; Case only partially protects headphones;

Apple's first headphones Airpods Max are expensive, but amazingly good. On everything. Almost.

Perhaps the best noise reduction in the class. Large, rich, dynamic and open sound image with crystal clear reproduction. Comfortable despite the weight. The quality.

Neither splashproof nor waterproof. Half the case - and the price.

After a long lead-up of rumors, Apple managed to squeeze in the AirPods Max just under the wire as its last big hardware release of 2020. It wasn’t surprising to see the company launch its own over-ear, noise-canceling headphones after the meteoric rise and popularity of AirPods, which have come to...

High-luxury design; Terrific; balanced sound quality; Very effective noise cancellation; Dependable and foolproof controls; Spatial audio for immersive entertainment

Heavier than many competitors; No 3.5mm jack; Wired listening requires $35 cable; Case is an abomination; Apple Music can’t make the most of these headphones

Apple announced the AirPods Max , a $550 pair of headphones just before the holidays, and I've been testing them since launch. I bought a pair to review and write a couple of articles about, intent on returning them on the Jan. 4 extended holiday return deadline.

Sturdy build quality; Impressive sound; Battery life; Easy pairing across Apple devices

Expensive; The case isn't even close to good enough

After a couple of years of rumors about an AirPods Studio, Apple has finally released its own over-ear, noise-cancelling earphones. But they don’t carry the bold “Studio” moniker. Instead, Apple chose to call them AirPods Max. What are the AirPods Max in a nutshell?

While the Apple AirPod Max headphones are a great pair of headphones with best in class active noise cancelling and a good sound signature, they also have a few annoying quirks that make them very obviously an Apple product.

Nice design and solid build quality; Amazing active noise cancelling and transparency mode; Comfortable ear pads and fabric headband; Decent battery life; Button and digital crown are great to use; Good sound quality with no distortion; Great connection strength with Bluetooth 5.0

No 3.5mm headphone jack becomes a pain; Uses a Lightning connector instead of USB-C; Proximity sensors and voice assistant activation don't work on Android or Windows; No aptX or LDAC high quality codec support; The smart case is absolutely terrible and provides no protection; Spatial Audio doesn't...