When AirPods Max Arriving at the end of 2020, for high-class Apple headphones there were not a lot of spatial audio content. Moreover, there was no Any support in general for audio without lossThe company has not yet added Dolby atmos and without loss of the Apple Music melody, but even When they arrivedApple still has not solved my biggest problem with headphones for $ 549. WITH iOS 18.4 And the firmware update for Airpods Max with USB-C, Apple finally inflicted the last strokes to her only headphones with audio without loss.
Let's get back for several months. In September last year, Apple gave Airpods Max the only significant update from the moment of initial launch: she changed the Lightning connector For the port USB-CThe headphones are still working on the aging chip H1, when the rest of the current Airpods line has passed to a later H2. I was not upset that the company did not take the opportunity to update the design of Airpods Max, but the inability to update this chip was HeadmakingField
Now that the sound without loss here on slightly updated Airpods Max, the headphones seem more complete. But this took more than four years to finally occur, and if you bought a 2020 model, you will not be able to use this recently added opportunity. You will need a version of Airpods Max USB-C, which arrived last year, and iOS 18.4, iPados 18.4 or MacOS Sequoia 15.4 to unlock audio without loss and ultra-low delay.
How to get audio without loss on Airpods Max with USB-C
After you have updated one of your Apple devices to iOS 18.4, iPados 18.4 or MacOS Sequoia 15.4, connect Airpods Max via Bluetooth to it. Then you want to connect the headphones to the power outlet or the USB-C port with the cable turned on. If you hold two gadgets in the immediate vicinity for about 30 minutes, the AirPods Max firmware update should load. To check, jump into the AirPods Max settings and scroll down to the section. Here you will want to see the version 7E101 to confirm that you have goods.
You will want to save this cable at hand. Audio without loss on Airpods Max is available only for wired use. You will still need to install a Bluetooth connection for all smart functions, such as Dism Free Siri. Apple also sells a new USB-CC-3.5 mm cord for $ 39, if you want to go along this path, but in any case you will need a cable due to high-resolution audio restrictions on Bluetooth.
Why is sound without loss not available on the original Airpods Max?
If you bought Apple headphones for $ 549 in 2020, I can understand your disappointment that you are not getting used to this update. Nevertheless, I would not suggest that Apple made this decision only to stimulate sales. There are hardware restrictions with the Lightning port, which prevents audio without loss, in particular, limiting data throughput in the previous version. Apple made some changes to the DAC (digital in the analysis of the converter) inside Airpods Max to make without loss, which was not possible on an older model.
Does sound meaning without loss?
I heard some people say that they cannot say the difference between normal songs and melodies without loss. I would say that it depends on what you are listening. If this is the recent pop-melodia from Dua Lipa or Sabrina Carpenter, you are better than a mixture of the Dolby Atmos MIX, and probably there will be no more details for streaming high resolution. For bass heavy chaotic genres such as metal, I notice the best balance for the mix. Vocals on SpiritBox's Tsunami Sea Get up quickly with drums and guitar quickly, and the bass is slightly more muffled. The same for disadvantages Place after thatWhere all the tools seem to be more separated from vocals. And in general, pompous tracks on this album feel large and more exciting.
Without losses, the sound on Airpods Max especially raises acoustic genres, such as the rebel and folk, in addition to other soft styles, such as jazz. With the same success, I could be inside the acoustic guitar on the “sugar in the tank” Julien Baker and Torres, since I felt that I had heard every shock detail on each string. I can't imagine that the sound would be much better on Jason Isbell Foxes in the snow If I was actually in the room in Electric Lady Studios while recording. In this 1940, Martin 0-17, the only tool on the album, is so clean and truthful. Jump to Miles Davis The birth of blue Where the horns, piano, bass and drums seem a little more alive and slightly more energetic, with Davis pipes he draws his poem cadence everywhere.
Should you use Apple Music?
First, let's talk about what is available on Apple Music. Since June 2021, the service offers subscribers without loss sound without additional costs. This begins with the quality of the CD, which is 16 bits at 44.1 kHz and reaches 24 bits at 48 kHz. This last rate is a maximum that AirPods Max can now support through USB-C Connection, and Apple says that there are currently 100 million songs available on its maintenance in quality without loss. There is also a collection of content without loss in the Hi resolution on Apple Music, which reaches 24 bits at 192 kHz. You will need additional equipment, like a USB -KAP to listen to this level.
You are not limited to just Apple Music. In any place, you can broadcast audio without losses up to 24 bits at 48 kHz, you can do this with these headphones. There are other services that offer this (for example, Tidal), or you can play locally stored files. The only requirement-cable USB-C; Your source is not limited to Apple.
Wrap
It is always nice when the company directly addresses one of your complaints. This is not great when it takes more than four years. Now that the sound without loss here is for Airpods Max, I can no longer say that the headphones feel incomplete, which has improved significantly from the place where they were when launched.
I continue to move forward and backward, is this update enough. This is the first time Apple expanded the capabilities of Airpods Max in four years, and this can only do this for the minimum updated version of 2024. Bloomberg Mark Gurman, who has a solid track record with Scoops Apple Products, reported in November that the company “did not have a real plan to meaningfully update Airpods Max.” He said that the headphones are not well sold enough to justify a lot of research and developments, but they are not quite large inability to be postponed forever.
With this in mind, this is an update that adds an ultra-nosed delay for gamers in addition to audio without loss, in fact there is much more than usual. But in order to continue to demand $ 549 for the fact that in fact 2020, Apple must regularly release these types of updates. While you can find these headphones on sale for only $ 449, this is still a cool investment. Even then, AirPods Max will be difficult to recommend to anyone except the iPhone and Mac-Harts with deep pockets.