How to use loss audio on the Max AirPods

When Airpods Max Arrived at the end of 2020, there was not a lot of space audio content for the high -end headphones from Apple. In addition, there was not Any support for loss audio. The company had not yet added Dolby Atmos and lossless tunes with Apple Music, but even When those arrivedApple still hadn’t solved my biggest problem with $ 549 headphones. With iOS 18.4 And an update of the firmware for the AirPods Max with USB-C, Apple finally put the final touch on its only helmet with an audio without loss.

Let’s take a few months. Last September, Apple gave the Airpods Max its only significant update since the original launch: it has exchanged love at first sight For a USB-C port. The headphones still operate on the aging H1 chip when the rest of the current AirPods range has gone to the new and more competent H2. I was not upset that the company did not take the opportunity to update the Airpods Max design, but the failure to upgrade this chip was A head rife.

Now that loss -free audio is there on the slightly refreshed AirPods Max, the headphones feel more complete. But that has taken more than four years to finally occur, and if you bought the 2020 model, you will not be able to use this newly added capacity. You will need the USB-C version of the AirPods Max which arrived last year and iOS 18.4, iPados 18.4 or MacOS Sequoia 15.4 to unlock a loss and ultra-basic latency audio.

How to get a loss sound on AirPods Max with USB-C

Billy Steele for Engadget

Once you have updated one of your Apple to iOS 18.4, iPados 18.4 or MacOS Sequoia 15.4 devices, connect your AirPods Max via Bluetooth. You will then want to connect the headphones to a power outlet or a USB-C port with the cable included. If you keep the two gadgets nearby for about 30 minutes, the airpods Max firmware update should download. To check, jump in the AirPods Max settings and scroll to the About section. Here you will want to see the 7E101 version to confirm that you have the goods.

You will want to keep this cable at hand. Audio without loss on the Max AirPods is only available for wired use. You will always have to establish a Bluetooth connection for all intelligent features like Siri Hands-Free. Apple also sells a new $ 3.5 mm USB-C cord of $ 39 if you want to take this route, but anyway, you will need a cable due to the limits of high resolution audio on Bluetooth.

Why is audio without loss is it not available on Max original AirPods?

If you bought $ 549 headphones from Apple in 2020, I can understand your frustration that you are not aware of this update. However, I do not assume that Apple made this decision only to generate sales. There are hardware limitations with the Lightning port which hinders loss -free audio, in particular a data rate constraint on the previous version. Apple has made some modifications to the DAC (digital analogical converter) inside the AirPods Max so that the loss of loss does not occur on the old model either.

Does loss audio make a difference?

I heard people say that they cannot make the difference between normal songs and lossless tunes. I would say it depends on what you listen to. If it is a recent pop song of Dua Lipa or Sabrina Carpenter, you are better with the Dolby Atmos Mix and will probably not collect more details for high resolution streaming. For heavy and chaotic chaotic genres, I notice a better balance to the mixture. Voice on Spiritbox Tsunami Sea Climb over the booming drums and the beating guitar, and the bass is a little more moderate. Ditto for the subseurvis The place after this oneWhere all the instruments seem to have more separation of the voices. And overall, the explosive tracks of this album feel larger and more immersive.

Lossless audio on the AirPods Max particularly rises acoustic genres like Bluegrass and Folk, in addition to other sweet styles like Jazz. I could also have been inside the acoustic guitar of the “Sugar in the tank” by Julien Baker & Torres because I felt as if I could hear all the details pierced on each channel. I cannot imagine that the sound would have been much better on Jason Isbell Foxes in the snow If I was actually in the Electric Lady Studios room during recording. This 1940 Martin 0-17, the only instrument on the album, is so pure and true. Jump to miles davis’ Birth of blue Where the horns, the piano, the bass and the drums all seem a little more alive and a little more energetic, the trumpet of Davis surrounding its rate similar to a verse.

Do you have to use Apple Music?

Apple

First of all, let’s talk about what is available on Apple Music. Since June 2021, the service has offered a loss sound to subscribers at no additional cost. It starts at the quality of the CD, which is 16 bits at 44.1 kHz, and rises up to 24 bits at 48 kHz. This last rate is the maximum that AirPods Max can now support via the USB-C connection, and Apple says that there are now 100 million songs available on its lossless quality service. There is also a collection of high -resolution loss content on Apple Music, which is 24 bits at 192 kHz. However, you will need additional equipment such as a USB DAC to listen to at this level.

You are not limited to Apple Music. Wherever you can broadcast an audio without loss up to 24 bits at 48 kHz, you can do it with these headphones. There are other services that offer this (such as tide), or you can read locally stored files. The only requirement is a USB-C cable; Your source is not limited to Apple.

Conclude

It is always good when a company directly approaches one of your complaints. It is not great when it takes more than four years to do it. Now that the lossless audio is there for the AirPods Max, I can no longer say that the headphones feel incomplete, which is a great improvement in where they were launching.

I continue to go back and forth on the question of whether this update is enough or not. This is the first time that Apple has expanded the capabilities of the AirPods Max in more than four years, and it could only do it for the minimum 2024 version. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who has a solid history with Apple Product Scoops, reported in November that the company had “no real plan to update in a significant way AirPods Max”. He said that the headphones do not sell well enough to justify a lot of R&D, but they are not a great enough failure to be permanently put.

In this spirit, this update, which adds an ultra-faible latency for players in addition to lossless audio, is actually much greater than it would normally be. But to continue requiring $ 549 with regard to 2020 equipment, Apple must regularly trot these types of updates. Although you can find these headphones for sale for $ 449, it’s always a high investment. Even then, the AirPods Max would be difficult to recommend to anyone other than the iPhone and the pure mac-purs with deep pockets.

This article originally appeared on Engadget on https://www.engadget.com/audio/headphones/how-use-lossless-audio-on–irpods-1x-180026218.html?src=rsss



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