AirPods Max 2 Review vs Max 1 vs AirPods Pro 3 - Hear the difference! 🔥
Today we’re going to compare the AirPods Max 2 to the first gen AirPods Max with the USB-C connector, and to make things a bit more interesting, how they perform compared to the AirPods Pro 3.
Just by appearances, the AirPods Max 2 are exactly the same as the first version. Same size, same weight, same design and build quality, even the cushions are interchangeable. So the main difference here is really the more advanced H2 chip, and that by itself is a tangible upgrade, because it affects noise canceling, mics, transparency, and maybe also their sound quality.
Sound Quality
I am saying ‘maybe’ because in A-B testing on their default settings without Headphone Accomodations, they don’t sound that different from Gen 1, except the Max 2’s vocals sounding more forward and engaging. But if it’s the soundstaging, bass response and track separation, it’s quite similar to the Gen 1 AirPods Max.
Going by these measurements, they do seem rather similar to the previous model in terms of tuning, but the upper bass seems to be more pronounced, as well as the upper mids showing a bit more emphasis. Interestingly, the previous gen measures a bit louder in the treble but that is something I couldn’t really pick up in A-B testing. So if there is a change in sound quality, it’s looking like a small one.
Compared to the AirPods Pro 3, it’s a huge difference. The AirPods Pro 3 sounds far more compact and intimate, and it’s a lot more V-shaped so bass is richer and more meaty, vocals and other instrumental tracks have more bite and sizzle, so personally, I do prefer how the earbuds sound, but the Max 2 has a more relaxed laid back signature which is also pretty nice. Definitely sounds better for videos, movies and games.
Microphone Quality
In terms of microphone pickup, what is pretty clear is that the AirPods Max 2 is capturing at a wider frequency band, so there’s more crispness to voice capture in general. This is not only on iOS, even on Android, my voice sounds less robotic than Gen 1.
But in noisy conditions, the AirPods Pro 3 has better noise filtering even on the Android device that I was using that didn’t have iOS voice isolation. On iOS, noise gating was also not as aggressive which allowed more of my voice to be captured. On the other hand, noise reduction on both the AirPods Max Gen 2 and Gen 1 had a lot of room for improvement on Android.
Active Noise Cancelling
The AirPods Max 2 does have improved noise canceling over the Max 1. According to these measurements, we’re seeing a little more canceling in the lower frequencies, but against midrange to high frequency noise, it’s even more powerful in its canceling than Gen 1. That is also what I’m experiencing in my day to day usage. Background human voices are a little quieter, and there’s a deeper silence overall.
Is it 50% better though? It doesn’t actually feel like that mostly, except perhaps when it comes to voices. Yet, compared to the AirPods Pro 3, widely regarded as the best noise canceling earbuds, it seems like the Pro 3 is more effective at canceling noise in general, except for the midrange where voices are. In that area, the AirPods Max 2 remains more effective at blocking the sound of human chatter and crying babies which occasionally spawn on plane trips, most likely due to the muffling effect of the earcups and cushions.
Transparency Mode
As for transparency mode, the AirPods Max 2’s transparency definitely feels more natural. The first gen AirPods Max did have one of the best transparency modes in the market, even today, but it did feel a little too bright, bordering on hissiness. The Max 2 doesn’t have that hissiness at all, transparency sounds clear and natural, almost like not wearing headphones.
And for that reason, face to face conversations feel very natural even while wearing headphones. As for the AirPods Pro 3, it’s very transparent too, close to the Max 2’s level, but it feels a tiny bit brighter in the vocal range. While it feels less natural, it also does slightly better at amplifying voices if you’re trying to hear what other people are saying.
Buy AirPods Max 2 or stick to Max 1?
Somehow the Max 2 feels more like a Max 1.5 because it’s literally the same headphones brought up to speed with the current gen features, and the performance upgrades feel rather incremental instead of a big leap. You do get additional features on Apple devices because of the H2 chip like Head Gesture controls, Conversation Awareness - which kicks the AirPods into transparency when you start speaking, Adaptive audio - which reacts to your environment by increasing or decreasing noise canceling, and Live Translation which translates what another party is saying in another language using the Translate app. Quality of life upgrades that may or not be used by everyone, it depends on their use case. If you’re already an owner of the original Max with USB-C, you might not feel the need to get it, but if you have the older lightning connector version, this would be even more of an upgrade because you do get Hi-Res 24-Bit 48kHz audio over USB-C, and slightly better performance all around.
Buy AirPods Max 2 or AirPods Pro 3?
Comparing them to the AirPods Pro 3, despite costing half the price, the earbuds version do cancel more noise in certain areas, mic pickup is also cleaner in noisy conditions, and they are not that inferior to the Max 2 when it comes to other performance aspects. Plus, they’re super portable compared to the Max.
What it doesn’t have is the option of wired 24-Bit audio, and if you’re on long flights, you do need to put them back in the case to charge once in a while, because it doesn’t have that 20 hour per charge endurance of the Max 2. That’s one advantage of getting the headphones, but also from a sound perspective, the Max is going to sound more enveloping and cinematic because of these large drivers taking full advantage of the ear’s pinna, unlike in-ear buds which bypass the pinna altogether.
So that’s the AirPods Max 2 and how it compares to gen 1 and the AirPods Pro 3. If you don’t want to miss my next comparison between the AirPods Max 2 and headphones from other brands, get subscribed to the main channel.
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