MARCH 2021 T3 73Apple AirPods Max
Digital Crown and though it took
some getting used to, we like it a lot.
It’s easy to reach up and tweak a little,
and both of these buttons fall very
naturally under your fingers.
A sound investment?
AirPods Max sound rich, natural and
detailed. They aim for a reasonably
neutral presentation, which is to say
they’re about presenting a cautious
balance of bass, mid and treble, rather
than saying Apple hasn’t added a little
colour to the mix to give it punch.
The most impressive part is how
open the sound comes across, with
treble and mids especially having
room to breathe without feeling like
they’re being literally piped directly
into your ears. Bass is controlled
while still offering muscle, but isn’t
particularly heavy overall. It’s a great
balance, although Sony’s WH-
1000XM3 offers more boom.
There’s also Spatial Audio, which
offers 3D audio for watching movies
with Dolby Surround or Dolby Atmos.
This makes it sound like you’re in a
home theatre room: sounds coming
from the ‘front’ of the sound mix (ie,
where your device is) will feel like
they’re in the middle when you’re
facing the screen, but turn your head
to the left and you’ll hear those
sounds in your right ear.
Noise cancellation is excellent, but
also no better than the less expensive
equivalents. It’s phenomenal at
cutting back on droning and general
low-end sound, and is remarkably
effective at varying mid-range sound
like speech. It’s as good as anything
we’ve ever tried, ultimately.
When it comes to battery, Apple
claims 20 hours of life for the AirPods
Max, with both noise cancellation and
Spatial Audio turned on. We’ve been
seeing a respectable 16 hours.
The complicating factor is they
can’t be turned off. When you remove
them, they go into a low-power mode
after 5 minutes and an even lower-
power mode after 72 hours. In their
Apple Smart Case, they immediately
go into low power mode, and go ultra-
low after 18 hours. But even if the case
preserves a good chunk of power over
the long-term, they’ll lose 7-10% of
battery life overnight.
Now let’s come to that much-
maligned Smart Case. It’s not quite as
bad as it seems, but we still find itinadequate. It protects the earcups
and drivers from damage, but
wouldn’t stop the soft rubbery finish
or – crucially – the mesh of the
headband from getting scraped or
torn in your bag. It’s thin and kind of
flimsy, yet takes up a bunch of space.
Despite these quibbles, the AirPods
Max have edged their way into being
our new favourite headphones. But
the price is high enough that it will be
a stumbling block for most people. If
you’re happy to pay for the premium
build and extra drops of sound quality
that they squeeze out, you’ll be
delighted with AirPods Max. But
there’s no doubt that better bang-per-
buck can be had from other noise-
cancelling headphones out there.The AirPods are
comfortable over
long periods, and
they sound gloriousSONY WH-1000XM 4
These are the Clark Kent
of ANC cans: unassuming
until they reveal their
powers. They have super
ANC, breathtaking sound
and great battery life and
to pause your music, just
start speaking.
£309, sony.co.uk
BOWERS & WILKINS PX7
The PX7 look amazing
and, remarkably,
sound even better,
with seriously
energetic audio. You’ll
miss out on EQ and
touch controls though.
£349,
bowerswilkins.comTHE ALTERNATIVES
WE’RE IMPRESSED Beautifully
natural and open sound; excellent
$1& JUHDWFRPIRUWDEOHĆW UHDOO\
nice engineering.
WE’D IMPROVE Very high price;
some battery annoyances; Smart
Case just isn’t that useful.
THE LAST WORD These are
some of the best-sounding and
most comfortable wireless
headphones out there. But there
are a few small issues, as well as
a steep, steep price for privilege.VERDICT
Find great deals on the AirPods
Max at: bit.ly/t3apdsmx