@MereCivilian … Umm … Sorry?
Grin.
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It’s amazingly difficult to read and hear all of the different opinions, and then to look under the tree and see the wrapped box taunting me for another week 
(I almost felt bad about spending that much on headphones, but since the money is coming from the payout for the vacation time I haven’t been able to take this year, and I’m finding respite in music, I’m (mostly) able to push that aside)
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Returning these would certainly make it a spree but I’m pretty determined to keep them. I think I fall into the sweet spot for who they’re for and they bring me a lot of joy to listen to.
I just have to keep fiddling with fit and such until I break them in or my head gets used to them. 
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I am really hoping they fit me well too. I guess we will find out on Christmas Day. I have yet to find a set of headphones that I can wear comfortably for more than an hour.
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You just need to make sure that the elephant takes over the rider and you will be fine!
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Easily done! If I have several drinks then it’s unsafe (and irresponsible) to ride anything, so the trick is to have a couple of pints of really good beer before going to the Apple (online) Store 
@ACautionaryTale Man, I’m laughing hysterically after reading that! That was downright funny! 
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Curious to see what comes of this.
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That’s promising. Waterfield makes very good stuff.
Received my pair and of course started putting it through some tests.
- Build quality is really premium. Very impressed.
- These are the most comfortable headphones I’ve ever worn (compared to QC35, which are great, Beats Studio, which are not good and more than a few Sennheiser gaming sets). Yes, on paper they are a little heavier but in practice I don’t notice them at all, compared to lighter sets which don’t sit as well on the head.
- They sound great, but I don’t find them overly better than AirPods Pro honestly. They have subtle EQ, not overly bassy like Beats or Bose, they sound, for lack of a better word, “elegant”. Not putting too much emphasis on anything but subtly optimizing the sound in a great way.
- ANC is excellent.
- The smart case is the ugliest, laughably dumbest piece of tech I’ve ever seen in a frigging long time.
Verdict:
- I like them, love the Apple integration.
- But they are, honestly, overpriced, and I usually don’t shy away from quality gear. But they are 100-200€ too expensive. For real.
- I am, however, keeping them because they sound great, can be comfortably worn for hours, the ANC is excellent and I always have a good ANC pair of headphones for my (used to be) frequent travels. If you want the Apple integration, you’re pretty much stuck with Beats otherwise, which are massively worse and I until now just tolerated.
I am aware these headphones will need accessorizing with a sensible case, which is irritating. I like this product, and it fits a specific need I have, but I am not in love with it. Many Apple products walk a tight line between “it’s awesome” and “it has these weird Apple quirks”. AirPods Max might be a great expression of Apple hubris: it’s a little too much in the latter camp for me to truly, deeply love them the way I love my AirPods Pro, macOS or my iPhone.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to listen to .mod 4-track files from the 90’s on $600 headphones in all their low-fi glory. 
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The kids are digging it. I have said this before, but it is a fashion statement. Us old people are obviously going to find it ugly and weird. Apple has their aim on a specific set of people. 
You make me want to throw my Beats Studio 3 in the trash and pick up AirPods Max… if they were actually available. Maybe I could sell my Beats Studio 3 for a good amount of money and help sooth the cost of the AirPods Max.
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I found this video by a former guest on Mac Power Users. Unfortunately, I cannot remember his name. Watch this one with your best headphones. He tries to help us experience the AirPods Max before we buy it. The way he did it is very cool, and I was quite impressed with the technique. I am not sure I would use this as my only test before buying them, but it does give me a flavor of what it might be like to have AirPods Max.
I worry that the knit mesh at the top is the weakest part of the headphone and that it will be ripped over time. There is no easy way to replace it. Thus, in addition to an already very expensive price, the headphones are almost. screaming from AppleCare warranty.
Thoughts?
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AirPods Max look like a concept, futuristic 3D model that never gets made. Well for the price I expect the audio quality to be on par with audio technica, sennheiser, Shure, bang and olufsen, bowers and Wilkins, Sony, beyerdynamic and other hifi brands that offer wireless Bluetooth noise cancelling over the ear headphones in that price range.
These are the best sounding personal audio experience, yet I am returning it. It comes down to my use case.
My thoughts on AirPods Max and why its going back:
One of the coolest things about these is they stand on their own two cups lol
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Just curious if you have ever found another model of on-the-ear or over-the ear headphones more comfortable?
I have a pair on AirPods Max on order and am hoping they will be comfortable…but honestly, I have never yet owned a pair of headphones like this that were comfortable.
I can tolerate many of them for a couple of hours at a time, but none have ever been “comfortable” or something I could wear “all day”.
I have a large head and pretty big ears I guess…and they all end up pinching (no matter how comfortable they claim to be.)
Seriously Chris! This case is the most gawd-awful design I have seen from Apple in a while. And being the case for such a high-end audio product…the top of the AirPods line!
The original AirPods, and each model since, have all had vastly better looking cases. This is really embarrassing for a company that focuses so much attention to design and details.
I’ve never used a desktop headphone stand before, but I think I will with these. I just want to leave this crappy case in the box and not look at it.
Hopefully a 3rd party will come out with a better design!
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I’ve never been able to tolerate “on ear” designs, but I’ve tried many “over ear” pairs that I can wear for hours without fatigue.
In general, I find that the Bose and Sennheiser pairs (QC 35/700, and PXC 500 respectively) are the comfiest for long sessions, but basically every competing pair these days is at least okay for me—the AirPods Max are the first and only pair I’ve tried where I’ve actually gotten headaches from wearing them too long.