AirPods Max
AppleReleased Dec 1, 2020 · Analysis updated Feb 13, 2026
Experience immersive sound with premium build, effective noise cancellation, and comfortable fit. The Apple AirPods Max scores 82/100 based on 50 expert reviews in the headphones (wireless) category. Coverage includes reviews from Macsources, Gadgetguy, Laptopmag, and Telegraph.
Critic Score
What's this?based on 50 expert reviews
Pros
- Great sound quality(48)
- Premium build quality(41)
- Effective noise cancellation(40)
- Comfortable fit(30)
- Spatial audio support(22)
Cons
- High price(44)
- Poor case design(25)
- Bulky design(23)
- Limited features(15)
- Short battery life(12)
50 Publication Reviews
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Apple's AirPods Max provide the ultimate listening experience with exceptional sound quality that even impressed someone with high-end hearing loss.
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The Apple AirPods Max offer outstanding sound at a breathtaking price.
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Apple’s AirPods Max headphones combine beautiful design with powerful tech for great audio quality and best-in-class ANC.
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The Apple AirPods Max are a superb pair of over-ear headphones with a premium and striking design, excellent sound quality, great active noise cancellation and some brilliant convenience features.
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The Apple AirPods Max is the first Bluetooth headphone from the brand, priced at €629, and offers excellent noise-canceling and premium build quality.
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Apple's AirPods Max deliver superb noise cancellation and beautiful sound, making them among the best wireless headphones available despite their high price.
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Apple's $549 over-ear headphones are available today — here's what we think
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The AirPods Max USB-C edition delivers balanced yet breathtaking sound with excellent spatial audio and lossless support, making them ideal for Apple Music subscribers despite some limitations in nois...
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The Apple AirPods Max are big, expensive and flashy noise cancelling-headphones that manage to stand out in a crowded market.
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The Apple AirPods Max are among the best-sounding headphones we've ever tested, with fantastic audio quality and brilliant quality of life features for those already devoted to the Apple ecosystem.
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Assuming you are a keen Apple user, the AirPods Max are among the very best wireless headphones you can buy.
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Five years after their release, the AirPods Max remain one of the best noise-canceling headphones for Apple users, offering excellent sound quality, premium build, and top-notch noise canceling despit...
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The AirPods Max deliver excellent sound quality with support for lossless audio, making them a strong contender in both wireless and wired headphone categories.
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AirPods Max are some of the best-sounding and most comfortable wireless headphones out there, but their steep price will put them out of reach for many.
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Apple's premium over-ear headphones, the AirPods Max, are undoubtedly a strong outing for general entertainment and music listening but can all their clever features possibly be worth the high price?
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The AirPods Max deliver superb sound performance and ANC with rich, crisp and spacious audio across all genres.
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AirPods Max are heavy, but surprisingly comfortable with its stainless steel frame and solid build quality.
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AirPods Max are Apple's over-ear headphones with high-fidelity audio paired with tricks found on the AirPods lineup, bringing 'the ultimate personal listening experience.'
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AirPods Max deliver exceptional build quality and sound performance that justifies their premium price for users deeply invested in the Apple ecosystem.
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The Apple AirPods Max headphones sound great and blew my mind, with excellent audio quality that made me regret buying the Sony XM4.
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After living with the AirPods Max for over a month, the reviewer finds them to be the most comfortable over-ear headphones they've ever worn, with excellent sound quality, noise cancellation, and call...
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The AirPods Max have been the most consistently useful thing I've brought to college, and I notice immediately when I don't have them with me.
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The Apple AirPods Max are very worthy of consideration for Apple devotees looking for serious noise cancelling headphones, offering excellent sound quality and features that justify their premium pric...
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The AirPods Max provide excellent noise-cancellation, very detailed sound, and a comfortable fit, but their $550 price tag is hard to justify when there are great options around $300-$350.
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The Apple AirPods Max headphones are simply stunning in every department – design, audio quality and noise cancellation – they more than hold their own against those other established audio brands.
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These were easily some of the best headphones we have ever used.
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The Apple AirPods Max offer excellent sound quality, effective noise cancellation, and premium aesthetics, though their high price and full-coverage design may not suit everyone.
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The Apple AirPods Max deliver exceptional sound quality and noise cancellation, but their high price and some design limitations make them a luxury purchase rather than an essential one.
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The AirPods Max are a supremely impressive pair of headphones despite (and because of) their undeniably premium price tag.
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The AirPods Max remain a great pair of noise-canceling headphones in 2024, offering excellent sound quality, impressive battery life, and a stylish design, though their high price and lack of a 3.5mm ...
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The Apple AirPods Max offer a fabulous build quality, excellent audio performance, and a range of great features for Apple users, though they remain expensive and miss some newer features found on oth...
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While the pair do have a few hiccups, there's no denying the AirPods Max are some of the best over-ear headphones on the market.
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Apple's $550 headphones cost hundreds more than models from Sony or Bose, but they're the best wireless headphones I've ever heard.
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Apple's AirPods Max headphones deliver excellent audio performance, top-notch noise cancellation, and a bevy of useful features in an absolutely gorgeous design for a bit too much money.
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Apple's first over-ears are big, heavy, often brilliant, and far too expensive.
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The AirPods Max represents Apple's computational audio philosophy crystallized into a premium product that excels in build quality and ecosystem integration but faces criticism for its high price and ...
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The AirPods Max are quite possibly the best sounding headphones I've tested, but for most, they simply cost too much.
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The AirPods Max wireless bluetooth headphones are an Apple product, through and through, with excellent industrial design and simplicity, but the sound quality has some issues with midrange congestion...
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Apple's new AirPods Max are very expensive in Canada, but might still be worth their price if you're an Apple device user, appreciate high-end audio, and have an abundance of money ready to drop on ne...
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The 2024 AirPods Max has two upgrades: USB-C charging and new colors, but otherwise remains the same as the previous version.
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The Apple AirPods Max offers excellent noise cancellation and build quality but comes with significant comfort and usability compromises for its premium price.
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AirPods Max offer exceptional build quality and sound for music consumption but fall short for professional mixing due to their non-neutral frequency response and high price point.
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The Apple AirPods Max offers excellent build quality and unique features but falls short in comfort and sound quality compared to competitors.
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The AirPods Max with USB-C offer premium design and good sound, but face stiff competition and durability concerns.
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The AirPods Max has great tonality and well-controlled bass but falls short in imaging, resolution, and value at its $550 price point.
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The Apple Airpods Max look good, feel unique, and offer mostly good sound quality, but are showing their age with pedestrian codec support, unremarkable battery life, and lack of versatility with non-...
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The Apple AirPods Max offer excellent build quality, comfort, and features, but their sound quality doesn't fully justify the premium price tag for audiophiles.
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The AirPods Max remain a solid choice for Apple users despite their age, offering excellent noise-cancelling and ecosystem integration, though they face stiff competition from newer models.
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The Apple AirPods Max are sleek, in terms of aesthetics and performance, with syrupy-rich sound and serene noise cancellation, but their minimalistic design and high price may leave some users wanting...
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The Apple AirPods Max are a well-crafted, high-quality product with excellent audio for entertainment, but their high price, weight, poor noise cancellation, and limited business functionality make th...
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