We may earn a commission from links on this page.
Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.
Credit: Illustration by Ian Moore and product image courtesy of Amazon.
The AirPods Max are a luxury item in every sense of the word. They offer one of the highest-tier listening experiences but are also one of the most expensive headphones you can buy. These headphones rarely go on sale and are normally over half a grand, but you can get them for $100 off on Amazon if you have $449.99 to play with. If that’s still too much, keep in mind all the other AirPods are also discounted at the moment.
When the AirPods Max came out in 2020 (yes, they’re old now), there wasn’t a lot of competition for headphones that could do active noise canceling (ANC) and ambient awareness and give you good audio well. These days, there’s stiff competition in all of those categories, especially at this price point. However, buying AirPods Max is a statement. Even though they don’t have the Apple logo, you’re paying a premium price for the recognition. If that’s what you’re after, these headphones are it.
When it comes to features, the AirPods Max aren’t jam-packed. But the few they do have are very good quality (on-brand from Apple’s minimalist standard). They are one of the best ANC headphones you can buy (they don’t give you that weird pressure sensation when you turn them on), have very good ambient awareness to hear your surroundings well, have adaptive EQ and spatial audio which adjusts the audio automatically to you and your environment, and hands-free Siri, according to PCMag’s “excellent” review.
Some of the downsides are that they are heavier than regular headphones, at 13.6 ounces. This comes from the choice to use metal for the material of the design. You also can’t manually adjust the EQ 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 rests on your head (a delicate part of the headphones). You also need them to put your headphones in “sleep” mode so your 20 hours of battery aren’t drained.
