AirPods Max sound 'really, really good', says Rolling Stone

Apple's AirPods Max were announced earlier this week, and yesterday we were treated to a flurry of unboxings and first impressions from all our favorite creators.

Now, Rolling Stone has shared its first impressions after 24 hours, and its good news for audio fans. From the piece:

I've only had them for about 24 hours, but the music, podcasts, TV shows, and YouTube videos I've checked out sounded excellent. The mark of good audio equipment is the ability to hear every piece of a song with great clarity, and that's true here.

The piano at the intro of Prom Theme, by Fountains of Wayne, immediately snaps into focus. The bass in Selena Gomez's Rare booms, but never overwhelms the headphones or creates distortion. The applause on Bill Evans' Live at Town Hall live album was so detailed that it felt close to actually being there. I still have a lot of listening to do before I give a final verdict on the AirPods Max, but the early signs are very encouraging.'

The marquee feature of any good headphones is, of course, audio quality, so this is definitely a very good sign for those who are wondering about whether AirPods Max sound as good as their $550 price tag demands.

The praise doesn't stop at audio quality however, RS noting that the AirPods Max were "surprisingly comfortable" for their size and that smart features like spatial audio translate very well from AirPods to AirPods Max, in fact, their over-ear design made them even more impressive.

RS also had high praise for the "extremely responsive" active noise cancellation.

Not all good news though, predictably, RS did note that Apple's smart case for AirPods Max felt nice but seemed a little awkward.

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