Comparison AirPods Max vs Sony WH1000XM4, Which is Better?

Are they really comparable for price?

Let’s start by talking about what it could probably give for further discussion and that is the price of the headphones. Starting the AirPods Max cost 629 euros , while the Sony WH1000XM4 were launched for 380 euros . The 250 euros difference between the two may make a greater or lesser difference depending on the purchasing power of each one, the benefits that are sought or the custom that each one has when paying for headphones.

It should be borne in mind that the Sony price devaluation is greater than that of Apple, which very rarely lowers the prices of its devices and even less of headphones. Therefore it is even possible to find offers in the Sony WH1000XM4 that place them for less money than the starting cost. In any case, it can be understood that both are high-end headphones, although then there are differences between them that can tip the balance to one side or the other, although we already anticipate that it will depend on what your priorities are to choose one or the other, since there is none that can be classified as better.

In building materials, the AirPods Max win

The aesthetics of these two pairs of headphones are very different. Judging whether one is more “beautiful” than the other is ultimately subjective. Those from Sony have a design that could be classified as more classic and that in turn does not differ much from previous generations of these. It is available in white or beige with construction materials in which plastic is abundant. Although this material is not as aesthetic as that of the AirPods Max, the truth is that it cannot be said that they are bad materials because it is not bad plastic either.

The AirPods Max for their part attracts attention first for having a much wider series of colors with availability in black, white, green, blue and pink. Aluminum materials are present in all versions, making visual effects look more premium style in them and that can already make an important difference, since this is also paid. Probably its most differential part is the headband, although we will talk about that and the comfort it has in the other section.

Another point to keep in mind is that the design of the pads not only ends up being much more durable in the long run in the AirPods Max, but it is easily interchangeable and these pads are even sold separately in the Apple Store. Of course, at least in the first units of Apple headphones, a condensation problem has been detected that mainly affects these elements. However, they have not caused any major problem so far and in the event of a breakdown, the company will replace them at no cost.

Contents of the box of each

Beyond the packaging of each of them and assuming that the headphones themselves come inside (it would be the last straw if they did not) we can find other added accessories that are already standard. The AirPods Max come quite brief in this regard, since they only come with a Lightning to USB-C cable that allows you to recharge your battery, although they do not include a power adapter.

The Sony WH1000XM4 are better equipped and although in their case they do not have a power adapter for their charging cable (USB-C to USB-C), they do come with a cable with 3.5 mm jack ends that will be used to connect to equipment by means other than Bluetooth connectivity. It also brings an adapter for airplanes.

As for the cases for both, we find a complete accessory for the Sony in which the headphones fit perfectly and there is space for the cables. However, for the AirPods Max we hardly find a Smart Case that in general has not been liked too much for its visual appearance and for the little service it provides to transport it, although there is the fact that the AirPods Max does not fold completely and only they offer the logical movement that ear muffs allow or the possibility of extending the temples to fit the head.

Comfort and transport of the headphones

In fact, this question is also somewhat subjective. However we have based both on our own criteria and on that of the majority of user reviews that we have been able to read. The first thing to highlight is how well the AirPods Max breathe thanks to the mesh that it has in its headband, which adjusts to the head with great ease and also gives a feeling of lightness that Sony’s do not provide, despite the fact that these it is not that they perspire badly. When the headphones have been used for many hours, the AirPods Max ends up being more comfortable.

However, there is another point to highlight such as the earmuffs and that is that the AirPods Max weigh a lot in this sense. Understand that “much” as something relative, since you will not notice that your head goes to one side with them on, but if we compare its weight with that of other headphones such as Sony and we add the lightness of its headband, we have a strange feeling that without being unpleasant, it is noticeable in the first minutes of use.

Sound adjustments of AirPods Max and Sony

Let’s start with something controversial, but with an explanation: the AirPods Max do not have a manual equalizer . What does this mean? Well, basically, we don’t have any application or parameter in its settings that allows us to modulate the sound to our liking. However, it has an intelligent system in which thanks to the two H1 chips it has, it is able to detect the situation in which you find yourself, the type of sound that is sounding and perform a series of automatic readjustments in the background to regulate the sound without you knowing. It must be said that it works quite well, although for those who like to mess around with this type of settings more, it is something to keep in mind.

The Sony WH1000XM4 have a complete application available on iOS and Android that allows you to make a multitude of adjustments. The equalizer is just one of them, but within the app we can find options to regulate the ambient sound and noise cancellation, open an ear detection system that improves the quality while listening to music, activate adaptive sound modes that even let you know if you are on the street and there is a noise nearby (that of a car, for example). And it even allows you to activate or deactivate the voice announcement that tells you what sound mode you are in, if the headphones have been connected or the battery level.

Although the absence of adjustments in the AirPods Max is perfectly covered by the automations created by Apple, the truth is that at this point Sony offers a range of customization possibilities that is much more attractive.

Controls on headphones

Fortunately, both devices have sound control and playback modes from the headphones themselves. Although all the settings capable of handling from here can be changed from the device on which it is being played, there is no doubt that it is more interesting to have them at hand without having to go to the mobile, computer or tablet than being used.

The Sony have on the one hand two buttons on their left earpiece, one of them is used to turn the headphones on and off, as well as open the optimizer or know what battery level is left through a speech. The other allows you to select between noise cancellation, ambient sound, or deactivating both functions. On the other handset they have easy- to-use playback controls that work through gestures, either to turn the volume up or down or to pause or fast-forward. They also have an interesting function that means that if you rest your hand completely on the right earphone, the playback continues but allows you to listen to the ambient sound amplified (ideal if they are talking to you and you don’t want to pause the playback).

The AirPods Max meanwhile have a control system with buttons identical to that of the Apple Watch, with a digital crown that will serve to raise and lower volume and a button with which to switch between the noise cancellation modes, ambient sound and functions disabled. It does not have playback controls as such, although it does have an intelligent detection system that makes playback pause if you remove one earphone and if you remove both it stops completely, something that already happens in small AirPods and has been moved to these over-ear headphones.

Sound quality, complex to decipher

This section is not only in the end the most relevant in the comparison of headphones, but it is also the most complicated to analyze in a text, so we also attach a video comparison that we made on our YouTube channel. However, we will give our own conclusion obtained in this essay about headphones.

We must start from the idea that none of these options is designed for the most audiophile users who are looking for a perfect sound. Although both Sony and Apple headphones offer very good quality, neither reaches the perfection that many would want and that can be obtained with other brands whose products even reach four figures in price.

With regard to bass sounds, it can be seen that the Sony option offers much more consistent sounds, but when it comes to precision, it is Apple’s that offer something closer to the aforementioned perfection. The latter does not happen when talking about low sounds, where the AirPods Max move away from that perfection as Sony approaches, but without reaching a level that makes it shine especially.

In any case the sound quality in both is beyond doubt in the sense of finding rare things like distortions or canned sounds. In the case of Sony we find an audio that is compressed to a high resolution and that is based, like the AirPods Max, on a series of intelligent analyzes carried out in real time to offer a much more faithful sound.

Very even noise cancellation

This functionality is one of the most acclaimed in recent times, since it can offer the possibility of isolating ourselves in listening to content without interruptions. While it is ideal for noisy environments such as offices and even homes, on the street it can be useful to some extent. Caution should always be exercised in the face of cars and other street obstacles, but other than that, it is an absolutely wonderful feature and one that no high-end headset should ever do without.

Both have active cancellation, which means that beyond having a passive cancellation that is given by the isolation offered by the ear muffs, they also have technology that does not penetrate the noise if desired. This is achieved through a complex microphone mechanism and software settings that prevent it from sneaking into your ears. In both headphones we find very good noise cancellation and although it is true that Sony has more extensive experience in this field, Apple has managed to do things very well in its AirPods Max (something it already did in the ‘Pro’ in-ear model ).

Frankly, we had a hard time deciding on one or the other cancellation. The tests in different environments leave us similar sensations and we could say that, together with the also popular Bose 700, they are the best noise canceling headphones on the market.

Important differences in ambient sound

At this point we do find more than reasonable differences. In our opinion, the AirPods Max win the battle in this case . All this is motivated by how well it has been possible to have a way in which you continue to listen to what you have around you, thereby discriminating perhaps unnecessary noise and without losing the prominence of the music or content that is being played. The ambient mode especially stands out when you are talking to someone who is not necessarily next to you, since they are heard very clearly in this mode and our own voice also stands out in such a way that we do not have to raise our voice even if we continue to listen to music .

The Sony ambient mode also has a very high level, especially if we add the adaptive control mode that can be activated in the application. It is possible to select the level of ambient mode that is desired or whether or not we want to highlight our voice in this mode. However they tend to distort very loud ambient sounds or make voices sound slightly tinny. However, it is not something worrisome or that makes you lose the headphones in this mode, but compared to the AirPods Max it has given us the feeling that they are behind.

Why choose Sony or AirPods?

The first thing to say is that there are many other headphones from other manufacturers that could meet your needs perfectly, although since we are comparing these two, we must say that both can be ideal for practically anyone. If you want a conclusion to what is written in this article, we leave you the following table in which we rate the highlights, with 0 being the lowest score and 10 the highest.

In any case, we believe that in the end this table of scores is purely indicative , since it puts aspects as different and subjective as design or sound quality at the same level. Therefore the final conclusion is that each one must assess which are the most relevant points in their case.