Apple, what are you doing with the AirPods Max

I don't understand anything. I really don't understand. There is something that I have been waiting for for years and this is the product that would make me more illusion if Apple presented them today. These are the AirPods Max 2. We are not mistaken if we say that the brand's DNA is not understood without its links with music. Until his list of the 100 best albums in history, he continues today, today, increasing the furious debates of industry experts. Before the iPhone, The iPod supposed the greatest source of income in Apple. Itunes has forever changed the music industry.

Instead, we are still waiting here, while Apple leaves this line of search in the background. And that they have most of the land won: Apple Music A The cleanest and cleiest interface of all streaming servicesA vast catalog even with discs in Apple Digital Masters format (24-bit, encoded in CAF format), has a house for classic sibaritas and groups of its such as Apple Music Classical … and did not put aside for most of the most tedious facets the most karaoke with Apple Music Sing.

Its high headphones, its breast rampart and say “Yes, we are the people who put the Beatles in their pocket”, they accumulate in the Apple Store Costando store, now, 90 dollars more than their direct model, the one that has just presented dozens of improvements. Because we knew that it was going to happen sooner or later: Sony has just launched his new helmet with noise cancellation, the model Sony WH-1000XM6. Since May 2022, they had without new version. And users have been doing jokes for years, but it's always one of the best -selling headphones on the whole planet.

Meanwhile, Apple had time to move. The AirPods Max arrived on December 2 and, since then, two small criticisms have been launched. The first, material, modifying the light connection in USB-C port. Second, software. Lossless audio has reached the AirPods Max five years late and can only be appreciated by cable. Then they had to withdraw the update of a security failure that they have already corrected, with iOS 18.5. The problem is that A simple software update is far from what I ask and I hope that Apple.

Table to compare them Sony WH-1000XM6 Apple AirPods Max

This is the most exhaustive table you will find. I know because I configured it quite angry:

Apple knows that if you defend its ecosystem, you can eventually acquire airpods. And if they are not the maximums, it may be the AirPods 4 or the max 2 remove AirPods, also with a USB-C load.

The Sony WH-1000XM6 reintroduces the folding design, allowing the glasses to turn and fold in the headband. They are actually more versatile than ever. Absent in the previous generation, the arm with two folds Portability improves considerably And facilitates its storage in small spaces. The transport case has been redesigned with a magnetic closure and more compact dimensions. It is more robust and effective against wear.

The AirPods Max, on the other hand, cannot be folded and supposed a small drama when it plays the slight trip. Yes, you lower your neck and go from headdress to collar, because They do not fold well on the collarbone. Of course, they are always beautiful. They are one of the most beautiful headphones on the market, with a very sober and not so pronounced glass and a metallic finish which gives them a premium finish like none.

But let's talk about the real problem. This is not for MP3. If you have abandoned reading so far, you deserve to know the reason why I am so irritated.

Apple broke the chain

The audio chain is a fundamental concept to understand how sound quality is preserved or lost, from the digital source to our ears. In this process, the DAC is responsible for transforming the digital signal into an analog form that our ears can perceive. The quality of the DAC influences the fidelity of sound in the aspects that we can perceive attentive, as General clarity, dynamic range and tonal precision.

The old headphones (with active noise cancellation) have additional work: overcome and model noise so that you can continue to listen to music without loss of quality that you can perceive. Active noise cancellation does not simply block the sound (which is called passive cancellation), but Generate an acoustic signal opposed to the noise we want to eliminate. In other words, destructive interference: with an ADC converter, you analyze the noise type, you make reverse duplication (generating an identical wave but with the inverted phase) and reproduced at the same time, which makes them cancel.

It is therefore capital not only to offer a good construction, but having the best possible chip, being the cancellation of noise is the best possible. And of course, Apple has always been the music industry. I remember working in studies with engineers who have said that Apogee, Motu, Cambridge Audio or Unicorn products had always generated less latency and less noise with Mac and Apple Logic. The quality of construction and direct relationship – and almost weekly support – were noticeable.

But Apple settled. The development of the Codec poses without loss (ALAC) dates from 2004. The Aptx codec, to compare, is studied at the University of Queens in Belfast in the 1980s and, in the meantime, came out Ten iterations. Aptx Lossless was presented in 2021 and is a benchmark for lossless audio by Bluetooth Connection, because it consumes less energy than its rivals. By the way, it is considered without loss of being able to send data to the same quality of a commercial CD: 16 bits and 44.1 kHz.

Apple has all the tools: interface, infrastructure, digital service, talent and experience. I already said it a few months ago. But the headphones always do it. And as an audiophiles, I disturb myself. And my heart breaks, because I think I'm going to buy the new Sony Wh-1000XM6 to make the most of these improvements in noise and the cancellation of transfer in quality. Of course, not from an iPhone.

Because it is the last melon who wanted to open: Apple is not compatible with LDAC – the High resolution Codec Sony – because it is committed to maintaining total control of its ecosystem. Prioritizes the AAC, which although it has a lower rate lower than that of LDAC (256 kbps compared to up to 990 kbps), offers greater stability between products (lower latency, energy efficiency, synchronization time …). This does not mean that the audio of the iPhone is bad, but it is too limited in terms of high audio resolution. And that's what Sony won the match.

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