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

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(Image credit: Apple)
What you need to know

After 24 hours of use, Rolling Stone magazine says that Apple's AirPods Max sound "really, really good".

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 bass in Selena Gomez's "Rare" booms, but never overwhelms

Brandt Ranj, Rolling Stone

"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.

You can read the full story here

Stephen Warwick
News Editor

Stephen Warwick has written about Apple for five years at iMore and previously elsewhere. He covers all of iMore's latest breaking news regarding all of Apple's products and services, both hardware and software. Stephen has interviewed industry experts in a range of fields including finance, litigation, security, and more. He also specializes in curating and reviewing audio hardware and has experience beyond journalism in sound engineering, production, and design.

Before becoming a writer Stephen studied Ancient History at University and also worked at Apple for more than two years. Stephen is also a host on the iMore show, a weekly podcast recorded live that discusses the latest in breaking Apple news, as well as featuring fun trivia about all things Apple. Follow him on Twitter @stephenwarwick9