Apple AirPods Max 2 review: Is the H2 chip and USB-C upgrade worth the switch?
As an OG user, the switch to a USB-C port on the AirPods Max 2 makes charging much more convenient. Picture: Noel Campion.
I’ve been using the new Apple AirPods Max 2 headphones for the last month, while travelling to Australia and back, working in the office, and listening to music and watching movies. I’m coming from the perspective of an original AirPods Max user to see if the upgrades make a difference.
Externally, aside from the original Lightning port, which has been replaced with a USB-C port, the design hasn’t changed. The build remains incredibly premium, featuring those lovely anodised aluminium ear cups and a sturdy stainless steel headband. There is a real sense of luxury when you pick them up. Every hinge and every click of the digital crown feels substantial. The metal construction gives off a high-end feel that is quite rare in the current market, full of plastic-fantastic headphones.
Apple has kept the same five colour options, including midnight and starlight shades. While I love the lighter, more playful colours, they will show up dirt and grease, whereas the darker midnight colour makes this less obvious. You can wash the removable ear cups, but using hot soap and water on the headband mesh can make it sag – don’t ask me how I know this.
However, along with the premium build, a few design niggles remain. The case is still that unique pouch that just covers the cans. I know the case is very divisive, but as someone who spent the last month travelling a lot, I appreciate the minimalist design. I have third-party cases for the Max, but they are bulky because you can’t fold the headphones into a more compact shape, so I mostly use the one that came with them for travel.
There’s no avoiding the fact that these are heavy. Weighing in at 381g, you definitely feel the heft on your head. The mesh headband does a decent job of spreading the weight across the top of your skull, but I found that after a few hours of continuous use, the clamping force became noticeable. It is not a dealbreaker, but it is something to keep in mind for long flights.
I love that you can easily remove the ear cups and the memory foam feels comfortable. However, after several hours of wearing them, I felt discomfort where my ears contacted the inner surfaces of the cups. That said, others who wore them had no issues and found them a little heavy but comfortable.
While the design hasn’t changed, the internals have, and dramatically, thanks to the H2 chip, which brings a suite of clever features that make the daily experience much smoother. The active noise cancellation, already excellent, has now reached the next level. On my recent flight to Australia, I used them to block out the engine drone while watching movies and listening to music. The way they can push ambient noise into the background is fantastic.
The transparency mode was class-leading on the originals and has been refined to sound even more natural in the Max 2.
There’s also a new adaptive audio feature that blends noise cancellation and transparency depending on what is happening around you. It’s a clever bit of technology that works without you even thinking about it.
The microphone quality has also noticeably improved. I tested them in a very noisy, crowded restaurant to see how they handled background chatter. Even with loud music playing in the background of the cafe, my voice came through clearly during a call.
Under the hood, the AirPods Max 2 use 40mm custom drivers. These are now driven by a new high-dynamic-range amplifier and a reworked digital signal processor. This allows for much more precise audio control.
For those who want the highest possible quality, you can use a USB-C cable to enjoy 24-bit/48kHz lossless audio. This provides a much cleaner background and deeper stability to the sound.
The battery life is 20 hours with noise cancellation enabled, which is far from class-leading, but still more than enough for most users.
I’m not shy in admitting that I’m not an audiophile, but to my ears, the improvements in sound quality are clear. The most noticeable change is in the treble. In previous versions, the high notes could sometimes feel a bit sharp. Here, that has been smoothed out significantly. The highs are clean and airy without ever becoming piercing.
The mid-range has a lovely warmth, making vocals sound very natural and present. It feels like there is space in the music for everything to breathe.
The bass is also well-controlled. It is not overwhelming or muddy, but rather clean and extended. It follows a balanced approach that prioritises accuracy and clarity. If you enjoy hearing every individual instrument in a complex piece of music, these are an absolute joy to use.
I find the AirPods Max 2 great for music, but one of my favourite ways to use them is to watch movies late at night without feeling like I’m missing out on my full home theatre setup. There’s an awesome spaciousness to the soundstage, with excellent separation making movies sound and feel bigger.
The AirPods Max 2 offer incredible sound, class-leading ANC and transparency mode, and premium build quality. While it would have been nice to see an update to the design and a few grams shed, the seamless integration with the Apple ecosystem and audio refinements make the AirPods Max 2 an expensive, but excellent choice for Apple users.
€579 apple.ie
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