> Every other pair of over-the-ear headphones I’ve ever used feel a bit cheap in comparison, because my over-the-ear headphones have all been constructed mostly of plastic.
His comment here surprises me, because I'd have assumed Gruber knows the headphone space really well. He should check out a pair of Sennheiser HD800s or Audeze LCD series. At the high end, headphones definitely don't feel cheap. There are also plenty of models in the $500 range that don't feel cheap. In particular: headphones intended for the same use as the AirPods Max apparently are (stationary, high fidelity) usually don't feel cheap, and are also usually heavy!
The rest of the review seems fine. The AirPods Max look nice and probably sound nice; if I didn't already have a pair of LCD-2s I might buy them. But I don't need another pair of headphones unless they're designed for portability. Based on what Gruber's saying here, they are not.
As I understand it, his priorities for headphones are comfort, noise cancellation and good sound, not necessarily in that order, but comfort is a big factor, so I can see why he focused in on the weight.
If you’re looking for a solid AirPods Max review as headphones, not just as an Apple product and where it fits and yadda yadda yadda, this is not the review you want. I haven’t seen the review you want yet, but it should show up somewhere soon.
Eh I don't need that review. I'm actually interested in the portability over anything else, because I'd consider wearing these over the AirPods Pro if they were light enough. I've already "invested" too much in hifi headphones and the whole setup as it is :)
Weight isn't too much of an issue if it's made up for with lots of padding. I had a corsair void pro and "upgraded" to the corsair virtuoso. The virtuoso is aluminum construction, looks far more professional, sounds a bit better, and has better battery life, but it's much heavier AND has LESS padding. It feels like it's trying to dig into my skull in no time. They would be much better if they sacrificed a little bit of sleekness to pack much more foam in the headband.
His comment here surprises me, because I'd have assumed Gruber knows the headphone space really well. He should check out a pair of Sennheiser HD800s or Audeze LCD series. At the high end, headphones definitely don't feel cheap. There are also plenty of models in the $500 range that don't feel cheap. In particular: headphones intended for the same use as the AirPods Max apparently are (stationary, high fidelity) usually don't feel cheap, and are also usually heavy!
The rest of the review seems fine. The AirPods Max look nice and probably sound nice; if I didn't already have a pair of LCD-2s I might buy them. But I don't need another pair of headphones unless they're designed for portability. Based on what Gruber's saying here, they are not.