jguther

I have a lot of respect for these classical musicians and their way to approach technology.

Unfortunately, I am limited to the more technical approach of a life-long audiophile. For almost fourty years, my daily drivers have been various sets of Stax open back electrostatic headphones with their dedicated amps. Each set cost me a lot more than the Airpods Pro Max.

Because my wife liked the looks of the blue Airpods Pro Max, I order her a set, engraved with her name. She lets me borrow it, so I had a chance to do a long and detailed comparison (high-end equipment, audiophile recordings that I've heard many times, equal volume, etc.). This is my personal opinion:

- the Stax do not sound better than the Airpods Pro Max
- the Airpods Pro Max do not sound better than the Stax
- the Airpods sound more pleasing, easier to listen to, substantially thicker bass
- the Stax sound lighter, fresher, more dry in the bass, but make me tired of listening sooner
- the amount of detail is very similar
- distortions and noise are equally low to nonexistent on both
- I prefer the open cans of the Stax
- I prefer the wireless connection and easier handliing of the Airpods Pro Max
- both are comfortable earphones
- the higher weight of the Airpods Pro Max is not a problem, but heat is

Not bad for a $600 headphone!

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