Just a headphones up to any who are interested, apple have just announced through press release that the APM with USB-C will be getting ultra low latency and lossless audio over USB-C with IOS 18.4. Here is the PR:
There will also be a 1.2 m USB-C to 3.5 mm bidirectional cable available, now in the US store but, of this writing, not in the UK one. This will also allow plugging USB-C IOS devices into 3.5 inputs, so, playing an iPhone into a car stereo, for example.
I really think the AirPods Max, for us, are a very good headphone. The transparency mode is the best around, the sound has recently been improved and, I'd say, is now on a pa with headphones like the PX8 from B&W. Also, and most importantly, they have the lowest latency of any over ear headphone I've tried. This, along with having access to 'Hey Siri', I think, makes them very compelling.
The introduction of lossless over wired and the ability to mix in lossless spacial audio will be great for those who make music.
There is the question of cost... Of course, as there is with many apple devices. They are expensive, ÂŁ499, $549, which isn't the most expensive headphone out there now, but it is expensive.
I think they're great, and getting better with this update, and I"m sure others have opinions on them so let me know in the comments, but wanted to bring you this news.
Comments
They’re great until they…
They’re great until they break, and then you’re left with a paper weight which is virtually useless, happened twice, with two different units, some sort of issue with the band connection mechanism,, or maybe the headphone itself, either way, one of them gets disconnected, and because of Apple logic, the whole unit is shut down until it reconnected, and if it doesn’t reconnect again, you’re done.
Got apple care plus on them…
Got apple care plus on them. It makes them 10 % more expensive, but I just can't be dealing with the stress of the breaking.
Most headphones, due to their mechanical nature have a variety of issues, pealing, snapping, squeeking, electronics.
Sadly, I don't think wireless headphones are made for the long term like full wired that can last decades. it's understood that, like phones, they'll become obsolete.
there are a few people on reddit with issues, but I think the majority of people have little or no problems with them. Also, assuming you're talking about the lightening versions? There have been some small updates to protect the cables.
airpods USB C updating
I have a pare of these. how do you update? how do you get transparency mode and spacial audio working?
It's the AirPods Max USB-C I…
It's the AirPods Max USB-C I'm talking about.
Regarding the firmware update, it seems it will come in April with IOS 18.4
Transparency has always been available on the AirPods Max, it's just the lossless over wired that is the new thing that is coming out.
Not to confuse matters, but there are two types of AirPods Max now, the Lightening version, released late 2020, and the USB-C version released 2024. Aside from the difference in port and a few extra colours, there were, until now, no other differences. Now, the lightning versions have been effectively superseded by the newer USB-C version.
In short, and if you are looking for the AirPods that can produce the best audio possible, you need to get the 2024 USB-C AirPods Max, which is the only version of the AirPods Max apple still sell and you need to avoid the older lightning version, though it should be said, you can get a lightning to 3.5 cable for the older headphones which gives something close to lossless and is good for low latency and games.
I previously was thinking about getting the lightning version
Just like other people have said, the AirPods Max do tend to break. I have a pair of lightning AirPods Max which have turned into a paperweight, and us are shoved in the drawer.
I hope to be able to get the USB-C AirPods Max someday. I was previously thinking of getting just the lightning version again, because of wired playback. That was something I used frequently.
I’m excited for lossless audio to come to Apple devices with spatial audio.
far as i can recall, the…
far as i can recall, the lightning apm were lossless if used over a wire, just capped at a samplerate of 48k, if you got an external dac, that restriction would be lifted. of course if your using them wirelessly that isn't so true any more given your using apple's Legacy wireless protocol which still compresses the audio somewhat. And as of now, the new protocol only works with AirPods that came out 2023 and later, and then only with an apple vision pro, which it's safe to say, no one got
R Reagan
"Trust but verify". Do not trust them after the AI issue. Like the State of missouri model states, Show me.
The lightning to 3.5 cable…
The lightning to 3.5 cable tops out at 44.1 khz and, 16 bit, I think, as it is limited by the DAC which is built into the cable. To get the benefit of all those expensive DACs you have to use conventional wired headphones which don't have any DAC built in to bottle neck the issue.
I mean, it really should have been this way from launch and they should include it with the lightning model. I am interested to hear what movies sound like though, especially Apple TV plus content which is mixed in Atmos for audio description, which is rad!
Not a super audio geek here,…
Not a super audio geek here, but could you not just plug in a cable from your iPhone to your APM to get wired audio? I have the lightning APM but I thought I've read that you can't do that, but that you'll be able to do it with the update coming to the USB C ones.
Not worth upgrading for by itself, but the low latency sounds great, especially for us hard core BSI users.
You bypass the DAC that’s…
You bypass the DAC that’s built in to the cable if you use an external one as far as I know, and the cable tops out at 48K 24Bit which is what most songs top out at anyway.
You can get wired audio, but…
You can get wired audio, but it’s not as high resolution as it could be if you used a converter, I’m guessing the USB-C ones didn’t have that feature or something, makes no sense though.
Low-latency audio
Support for low-latency audio is included in the update, according to this article.
https://appleinsider.com/articles/25/03/24/apple-finally-brings-lossless-audio-and-low-latency-audio-to-airpods-max
This should benefit VoiceOver users.
I don't have any of Apple's audio hardware, but I noticed the article while reading news.
I have the lightning version
Hello,
I have the lightning version & still love them! I got them shortly after they were released & they continue to recieve firmware updates.
The cable, in the case of…
The cable, in the case of the either 3.5 to USB-C or Lightning to 3.5 is the DAC, hence the top out of quality. There isn't a bi-pass in the Air Pods Max as there are in other headphone. The absolute max you get on the max is 48/24... which is good enough.
there is a big thing kicking off, as usual,about not being able to hear lossless vs lossy. Over 48/24 one can't tell the difference. Below, you mostly can, especially in an A/B test. I'd also rather know I'm getting the full sound.
Just a note, the low latency is only when wired.
I'm happy about all the improvements, but the cynic in me thinks it's just apple trying to shift more units by adding something that should have been there out of the box. They do know how to make the coolest money though.
Low late and see while wired?
If that’s what there marketing, then the lightning AirPods Max already had pretty much zero latency when used with the lightning to 3.5 cable.
That's exactly correct. The…
That's exactly correct.
The only thing that is new is the ability to have true lossless over USB-C to USB-C which is only available on the new headphones. Saying that, it's going to be close to using the lightning versions with their analogue cable.
There is also lossless/high res Atmos when wired with the USB-C version, which will be interesting. Not sure if we'll notice a great deal of difference. Again, this will only be wired and on the USB-C versions as the lightning version can only do stereo over wired as it is limited to a 3.5 jack.
I so want to try lossless spatial audio!
Even if some people say they can’t hear a difference between AAC and lossless, I feel like I can.
Although it might not be as “mine blowing” as Apple says it is (take the switch from mono to stereo in the 60s or 70s) I still think things are going to sound Better to my ears at least with lossless audio on AirPods Max.
Ouch!
I'm one of those old fogies that still uses the stock earphone things with wires that Apple put in the iPhone box with the lightning plug. It's just that I don't remember what they're called.
So what do you do when you're forced to use USBC and you still want to use those kind of earphones or buds or plugs out of cheapness? Is Apple making something like that with a USBC plug?
Sony discontinued their best…
Sony discontinued their best wired in-ear earphones so I came back to the good old jack earpods and except for the sound leak they are incredible for the price. And good microphone but volume control works for apple devices only :( just why, apple? ...
As said by others in the mainstream tech sphere now the airpods max usb c wired are actually going to be more of a tool for mac users with logic and finalCut for example.
Re old school and no worse…
Re old school and no worse for that, earbuds, you can get ones with a usb-c connector but you can also pick up a 3.5 to usb-c adaptor for ÂŁ9/$9 which is very good and allows you to plug in all sorts of lovely headphones, though they do need to be easy to drive.
@OldBear
Apple calls them "EarPods". Like you, I am old-school as well, and prefer wired EarPods, over anything Bluetooth related. I absolutely loathe latency, especially as a VoiceOver user.
Thanks
EarPods. Too many terms or names that all end in pods.
Guess I'll eventually need to start looking into USBC adapters to replace the Lightning adapters I have. They'll end up in the box with all the RS-232 cables and floppy disks. Anyone remember parallel ports on printers?
Scart
Scart
@OldBear
That, or you can just get yourself a pair of third-party USB-C wired earbuds. :-)
@OldBear
I not only remember parallel ports on printers, I remember scanners with a pass through parallel port to the printer that never worked... and dot matrix printers, as well as 5 1/4 floppies.
When I looked into headphones a few years ago, I thought about the lightning airpods max but the general advice was the beats studio pro with USB C were better. I regret my choice though for the simple reason the earpads are extremely thin and soft to the point they become permanantly flattened with minimal use, worst of all they aren't replaceable. I'm never buying headphones again without checking I can get replacement earpads from wicked cushions.
Didn't think of European connectors
Had to look up Scart, but we didn't have that over here, as far as I know. There might be a bunch of other things that wouldn't make sense if you tried to plug them in on the other side of the world.
I do remember those scanners, and SCSI port cards.
I guess a USBC port will make getting headphones easier. Would a USB to USBC adapter replace the USB camera/Lightning adapter that I have to use to connect drives and sticks to my iPhone?
Most likely, unless you are…
Most likely, unless you are comfortable with just purchasing some USB-C thumb drives.
@OldBear
Scart was a European alternative to composite which only used a single rectangular connector, though it was big, clunky and came loose easily.
I imagine you should be able to use a USB C to C cable to connect them to your iPhone, unless it strictly requires host power to run. Whether you can use a lightning to USB C cable I've no idea. In either case being able to use them as a backup USB audio device for a mac or PC is always a nice option to have.
Added Value for Sure
But, of course, it should have been there from the start. Still, it makes for better headphones especially for travel and you're all in on USB-C. However they're the same old APMs: keep the case on hand for going standby, and buy AppleCare to ensure the pickers choose one for you that's not going to crap out at the earliest opportunity. This is my second Lightning pair now; no issues this time—not since I bought AppleCare! I probably won't be upgrading until there's a clear need, so long as I have my Sennheiser wired cans I'm set for quality listening. And so far Macs, including MacBooks, still have that wonderful headphone jack …