2/26/2024 0 Comments Airpods maxWhile I blasted The White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army,” I noticed that both headphones made Jack White’s vocals and bass sound strong, with Meg White’s drums hitting crisply and clearly. For the sake of keeping things as equal as possible, I listened to music on Spotify on both headphones throughout my testing (unless otherwise noted), at 50% volume at home and full blast in the field. So I spent days doing side-by-side comparisons both in the unforgiving streets of the city and my more isolated apartment. Sound quality is the other major reason why I’m so willing to throw hundreds of dollars down for great headphones. TL DR: Apple and Bose are almost neck and neck on noise-canceling tricks, and only one of many situations gave Bose this win.ĪirPods Max and Bose QC Ultra sound quality is shockingly similar I look forward to updating this piece then. Over-ear ANC headphones are practically made for flights, and so I’m very curious to see how these headphones will nerf the sounds of shrieking babies and angry man-children on the trips I take at the end of the year. That said, my testing is admittedly incomplete. With no music playing - testing just the ANC alone - the Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones reduced more of the ambient clanging and sounds of a nearby conversation than the AirPods Max did. It got really funny at one point, as a construction worker stopped using a drill to ask what I was up to.īut then, on a subway ride, I found a winner. I even hung around multiple construction sites, switching between both headphones in ANC mode, unable to find a winner. I spent hours just standing in noisy intersections in downtown Manhattan, listening for a difference as drivers angrily honked and shouted at one another. ![]() I spent a whole week just on ANC comparisons in the wild, and at one point I was ready to give up and call this a draw. In another of the slightest victories, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones’ active noise cancellation (ANC) only narrowly defeats the AirPods Max on muffling the sounds of the world. ![]() TL DR: AirPods Max’s Transparency mode sounded more neutral and natural than Bose’s Aware mode.īose QC Ultra edge the AirPods Max on noise cancellation Apple’s AirPods Max, in comparison, are shockingly great at making it sound like you’re not wearing anything. It sounded like a recording of pedestrians and cars around me. I first noticed this when I initially put the Bose QC Ultras on and heard the softest amount of noise. Both the Bose and Apple cans kept me aware of my surroundings, allowing me to stay aware of bike messengers speeding by, overhear one-sided phone conversations and even make my coffee order without taking off my headphones.ĪirPods Max’s Transparency mode, though, seems cleaner. I wore both pairs around Manhattan with no music playing, just listening to how well each captured the always noisy city. This is why both cans offer their own modes that let you hear your surroundings: the Bose QC Ultra’s Aware mode and the AirPods Max’s Transparency modes. While noise cancellation is the name of the game, it’s equally valuable to be aware of the world around you when you’re out and about. And then I curse the name of King Harald “ Bluetooth” Gormsson, who earned his nickname from a dead and discolored tooth. Sure, the in-cup sensor pauses my music or podcasts, but if I hit play again? The sound comes out of the QC Ultra cans, even if I’m not wearing them. Every time I take them off, they stay paired. The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones wasted no time reminding me why I’m not a huge fan of Bluetooth. Also, it’s a bit of a fingerprint magnet. Were it not for the aforementioned magnets that turn the Max’s off, its case would be far more performative than protective. Yes, it’s neat that Apple’s case is designed to create its own handle, but it’s far from actually protective. ![]() You could call it a demi-case.īose, for its part, is a veteran of the over-ear headphones market and understands that a case should actually encase the entire product it’s holding. But the rest of that Smart Case protects only the AirPods Max’s cups, not its headband. The Bose QC Ultra, however, does have USB-C, meaning you can charge them with the same cord that refuels the Nintendo Switch, laptops, mice and other accessories.Įver since their inception, practically everyone has agreed on the same Apple AirPods Max flaw: their so-called “case.” Apple calls it a “Smart Case” because its magnets turn the AirPods Max off, which is very important, considering they don’t have a power button.
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