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AirPods Max are a luxury product in every sense of the word. They offer one of the highest levels of listening experience, but are also one of the most expensive headphones you can buy. These headphones rarely go on sale, often costing over half a pound, but if you have $449.99 to spare, you can pick them up on Amazon for $100 off. If that's still too much, remember that all other AirPods are currently on sale, too.
Apple AirPods Max
When the AirPods Max came out in 2020 (yes, they're old now), there wasn't much competition for headphones that could do active noise cancellation (ANC) and ambient awareness and give you good audio. There is stiff competition in all of these categories these days, especially at this price point. Buying AirPods Max is a statement , though. Even if they don't have the Apple logo, you're paying a high price for that recognition. If that's what you're after, these are the headphones for you.
When it comes to features, the AirPods Max aren’t crowded. But the few products they have are of very good quality (and meet Apple's minimalist standards). They are one of the best ANC headphones you can buy (they don't give you that weird pressure feeling when you turn them on), have very good ambient awareness and can hear your surroundings very well , with adaptive equalizer and spatial audio that adjusts audio according to PCMag's "Excellent" review, automatically sends messages to you and your environment, and works hands-free with Siri.
The downside is that they are heavier than regular headphones, at 13.6 ounces. This is due to the choice to use metal as the design material. You also can't manually adjust the equalizer to your liking, so if you don't like the sound signature, you're out of luck. Finally, the smart case it comes with is ugly and doesn't protect the mesh that sits on your head (a fragile part of the headset). You'll also need them to put the headphones into "sleep" mode so your 20-hour battery doesn't drain.
