- Fantastic sound quality
- Great noise cancellation
- Useful physical controls
- Very expensive
- Heavier than most headphones
- No proper case
On the face of it, the AirPods Max 2 are a weird product. Apple has improved the things that were already great the first time around, without touching any of the original AirPods Max’s more controversial features.
You get better sound quality and noise cancellation, but the AirPods Max 2 are still heavier than your typical pair of on-ear headphones and very expensive. The “case” situation hasn’t changed either. While the AirPods Max 2 are exceptional headphones in many regards, Apple’s commitment to being Apple means the second-generation product is unlikely to win hearts outside of the company's true believers.
Different
The original AirPods Max are still some of the best-sounding wireless headphones I’ve tested, so it is no surprise the AirPods Max 2 continue this lineage. The sound quality is excellent. Apple has overhauled the AirPods Max 2 with a new amplifier, which results in some subtle but occasionally very meaningful changes.
In short, the AirPods Max 2 offer more refined bass and better separation between instruments. The low-end improvements are most noticeable on tracks like Childish Gambino’s “3005” from our audio testing playlist, where the sub-bass hits have a surprising amount of dimension to them. Similarly, the AirPods Max 2 make it easier than ever to follow an individual track on chaotic, layered songs like Opeth's “The Funeral Portrait” and Radiohead’s “The National Anthem”. Other than live at the Opera House, I have never heard Opeth sound better.
When it comes to songs that aren’t quite as busy, like Nina Simone’s “Feeling Good”, improvements are harder to notice. They sound great, just like they did on the original AirPods Max, but you’re not going to hear a day-and-night difference.
It’s also worth calling out the wide sound stage on the AirPods Max 2. Its breadth makes for an immersive listening experience, and tracks like Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb” all but envelop you.
Unlike the original AirPods Max, the AirPods Max 2 feature a USB-C port. When used with a USB-C-to-USB-C cable on an Apple device, this allows the AirPods Max 2 to play back lossless audio. Not everyone is going to notice the difference that lossless audio offers, but it is still nice to have.
The AirPods Max 2’s other key upgrade is noise cancellation. The first-generation AirPods Max did a solid job, but the improvements here take it to truly great. I don’t know if I’d call it best in class, but the AirPods Max 2’s noise cancellation is powerful enough to create a bubble of silence, whether you’re in an office or on a flight.
On top of sound and noise cancellation, the AirPods Max 2 get a few new software features thanks to the H2 chip that powers them. These include live translation, loud sound reduction, conversation awareness, and adaptive audio, to name a few. None of these are entirely new - we’ve seen them on devices like the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 - but it’s nice that they’ve made it to Apple’s most expensive headphones now.
It is worth noting that these features, and a lot of what makes the AirPods Max 2 truly sing, require you to be using the headphones with an Apple device. Sure, you can use them as standard Bluetooth headphones with an Android device or a Windows PC, but you won’t get the same experience as someone with an iPhone, iPad, or Mac.
Same
Audio prowess and USB-C aside, the AirPods Max 2 are identical to the original AirPods Max from 2019. This can be a good and bad thing.
Take design, for example. There aren’t any headphones that look quite like the AirPods Max, and I’d say they have a rather striking aesthetic. I’m a fan. The build quality is premium, and they’re comfortable. At the same time, they’re far heavier than the average pair of headphones, weighing in at just over 386 grams. I’ve not found this too much of an issue personally; I’ve spent hours watching movies with them on a flight and didn’t notice the bulk. Conversely, when my partner tried the AirPods Max 2 out, she found them noticeably heavy after an hour or so.
Battery expectations are also unchanged: the AirPods Max 2 can get up to 20 hours per charge with noise cancelling on. That’s not bad; it’s long enough for even the lengthiest international flights. At the same time, 20 hours doesn’t keep pace with where the competition is at. In the premium space, the Sonos Ace and Sony WH-1000XM6 both offer 30 hours with noise cancelling on, while the cheaper Nothing Headphones A offer over 70 hours.
Most premium headphones at this kind of price point come with a protective case, but the AirPods Max 2 don’t. Instead, get the same “Smart Case” as the first-generation AirPods Max, which is more of a sleeve. It is also the only way to turn the AirPods Max 2 on or off. There’s no dedicated power button like you might expect on a pair of wireless headphones.
I can see the way Apple has approached the AirPods Max 2 case from a philosophical perspective; you take them out of the case, and they work, just like every other pair of AirPods, but this could have also been achieved with something more protective. I have thrown the AirPods Max 2 in my backpack, and they haven’t scuffed or anything, but I always have to think about what I’m packing them next to. It’s an extra consideration that a proper protective case would solve, even if it would take up more space. (There is no shortage of third-party options on Amazon, for what it is worth.)
Lastly, Apple still isn’t throwing in any extras. The only other in-the-box inclusion is a charging cable. At this price point, it would have been nice to maybe get a USB-C-to-3.5mm cable too, and an airline adapter. The type of stuff that tends to be a standard for high-end headphones.
It doesn’t help that the AirPods Max 2 are more expensive this time, retailing at $999. That’s technically the same price as what the AirPods Max with USB-C went up to when the iPhone 17 launched last year, but before that, $899 was the standard asking price for AirPods Max. The newness of the AirPods Max 2 means there aren’t any deals to be had yet, but it wasn’t hard to find older models closer to $700, which, while still expensive, is more in line with the competition.
At the same time, some of Apple’s decisions are very much a case of not fixing what isn’t broken. The AirPods Max 2 have some of the best physical controls I’ve seen on a pair of over-ear headphones. Apple has effectively lifted the Apple Watch’s Digital Crown and popped it right on to the AirPods Max 2. Rotating it adjusts volume, while tapping it pauses your music. There’s a secondary button for toggling between noise cancellation modes.
As a side note, if you’re thinking about picking up a pair of AirPods Max 2, I’d go with a darker finish over a lighter one. Over the course of testing the original AirPods Max in white, I found the ear cushions and headband got a little gunky.
Apple AirPods Max 2 - Final Thoughts
The AirPods Max 2 are some of the best-sounding consumer-grade headphones you can buy, but damn, they’re expensive. A $999 pair of headphones is never going to be easy to stomach - hell, the MacBook Neo costs less - even before you get into the caveats that come with them.
On top of being built for those already in the ecosystem, the AirPods Max 2 rely on a certain willingness to buy into the Apple way of thinking - perhaps more so than other Apple products. Decisions like the Smart Case can be explained, but they’re still destined to be polarising. If Apple managed to cut some of the AirPods Max 2’s weight and included a proper case, I think they’d have a broader appeal. But maybe they’d also be a little less Apple.
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Alex Choros
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