Want weekly shortcuts like this?
Join the Shortcuts community.
Join
Are the $550 AirPods Max actually the cheap option? In the world of high-end over-ear headphones, they sometimes are. I spent the past week testing them against the $650 Sony 1000X Collection and the $800 Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2. Let's see if spending hundreds of dollars more actually gets you better quality.
The unboxing experience starts with the cases. The Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 comes with the best case of the three. It is compact, zips up completely, and has a dedicated spot for the included USB-C cables. The Sony 1000X case is also great and features a simple magnetic clasp. The AirPods Max bra-style cover barely protects the headphones and easily comes in last place.
Build materials vary wildly. The AirPods Max are the heaviest at 0.38 kg, built completely from stainless steel and aluminum. The B&W headphones are the lightest at 0.31 kg and use premium Nappa leather. The Sony headphones sit in the middle for weight and wrap their ear cups in vegan leather.
Apple wins easily when it comes to physical controls. The digital crown and single physical button on the AirPods Max are incredibly intuitive. The B&W headphones feature tiny physical buttons that are hard to find with your thumb while wearing them. Sony uses touch controls on the right ear cup. You swipe to adjust the volume or skip tracks. They work fine, but physical buttons are usually more reliable.
If you wear headphones for hours at your desk, comfort is everything. The AirPods Max struggle in this category. Their heavy weight and strong clamping force can cause real fatigue after just a couple of hours.
The B&W headphones win for pure comfort. They are lightweight, have a low clamping force, and feel invisible on your head. The Sony headphones are a very close second and sit comfortably for long listening sessions.
However, things change completely if you get hot. The leather ear cups on both the B&W and Sony headphones will make you sweat in warm environments or during a walk. The mesh ear cups on the AirPods Max breathe much better. They also attach magnetically, making them incredibly easy to clean or replace.
Bowers & Wilkins dominate battery life. They offer up to 30 hours of playback on a single charge. They also feature incredible fast charging speeds. A quick 15-minute charge gets you seven hours of playback.
The Sony headphones deliver 24 hours of life. They give you 1.5 hours of playback from a quick five-minute charge. The AirPods Max come in last here with a standard 20 hours of battery life and no notable fast charging options.
This is where the AirPods Max truly shine. Their active noise cancellation is fantastic. Their transparency mode remains the absolute gold standard. It feels completely natural, almost like you aren't wearing headphones at all.
Sony takes a solid second place. Their noise cancellation is nearly on par with Apple. Just make sure to turn off Adaptive Sound Control in the Sony app. It aggressively tries to switch your listening modes based on your environment and gets annoying quickly.
The B&W headphones fall flat here. Their noise cancellation handles constant drones well, but it struggles with sporadic sounds like people talking in a grocery store. Their transparency mode is even worse. It sounds muffled and actively changes the EQ of whatever music or podcast you are listening to.
If you are spending this much money, you want incredible audio. The Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 sound the best right out of the box. They have a wide soundstage and full, rich bass.
There is one catch. Make sure you avoid the True Immersion setting in the B&W app. It tries to create a spatial audio effect but ends up making your music sound thin.
The AirPods Max are a very close second. They offer a slightly punchier bass profile that works beautifully for pop music. The Sony headphones also sound fantastic. They feature a highly customizable EQ in their mobile app, allowing you to dial in the exact sound profile you want.
For phone calls and video meetings, the AirPods Max sound the most natural. They easily take first place. Sony comes in second with a solid, clear microphone array. The B&W microphones sound highly compressed and unnatural, putting them firmly in last place.
The Bowers & Wilkins and Sony headphones both support simultaneous Bluetooth connections to two devices. This makes switching back and forth between your phone and laptop incredibly easy.
The AirPods Max do not support standard Bluetooth multipoint. They rely on your iCloud account to automatically switch between Apple devices. This works flawlessly if you only use Apple gear. If you need to connect to a Windows PC or an Android device, you will have to manually disconnect and reconnect every time.
Spending $800 on the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 gets you incredible sound and lightweight comfort. However, their poor transparency mode and tiny physical buttons make them tough to justify at that premium price.
The Sony 1000X is a fantastic middle ground. They offer great noise cancellation, a travel-friendly folding design, and deep EQ customization.
But surprisingly, the $550 AirPods Max feel like the best overall package. If you are deeply tied to your iPhone and Mac, the seamless switching and unmatched transparency mode make them the easiest to recommend. They also offer the best physical controls and microphone quality. If you sit outside the Apple ecosystem, grab the Sony headphones instead.