Gadgets

5 trendy AirPods Max alternatives

Published

3 months ago

June 10, 2024

Empowerment

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Best Apple ecosystem alternative

Key Takeaways

Sony WH-1000XM5 is a top-notch alternative to AirPods Max for Android users, with sleek design and excellent noise-cancelling capabilities.

Bose 700 Noise Cancelling Headphones have adjustable noise-cancellation and a modern design, although noise-cancelling is not as great as AirPods Max.

Beats Studio Pro is a budget-friendly alternative for iOS users, with compactness and compatibility with Apple devices, but has a slightly outdated appearance.

Since their 2020 release, Apple’s AirPods Max continue to be the trendiest headphones on the market. While I admit, I do love my AirPods Max and, in my review, highlighted that they are worth it in 2024, the nearly $600 price tag makes buying a pair feel out of touch for most people, especially for folks on a budget. Trying to find a pair of over-ear headphones that are both high quality, aesthetically pleasing and affordable can be hard to do.

Luckily for you, I took the time to investigate the over-ear headphones on the market and found top-notch over-ear headphones that perform just as well and are just as trendy on social media as AirPods Max, but a couple of hundred dollars less.

Best alternative overall

Sony WH-1000XM5

Editor’s choice

The perfect ANC over-ears for Android users

Sony’s WH-1000XM5 headphones give Apple a run for its money, especially if you’re an Android user. Once you turn the WH-1000XM5 on, a pop-up automatically allows you to pair with your Android device. If you’re an Apple user, you can connect how you typically connect to Bluetooth devices in Settings.

Pros

Great noise cancellation

Comfortable

High quality audio

Sony’s renowned WH-1000XM5 headphones, most recently upgraded in 2022, are all around excellent. Starting with the sleek and simple design, Sony gave the WH-1000XM5 a major upgrade in its fifth iteration. Compared to Apple’s AirPods Max, the earcups of Sony’s headphones are more dome shaped and offer more cushioning.

Sony WH-1000XM5 review: Still an ANC masterclass

Sony updated its flagship WH-1000X headphones in 2022, now in its fifth iteration. This time there’s a change in design, on top of other improvements.

Plus, the headband of the headphones is rounded and can be adjusted to fit your head and skips out on the mesh accents. The biggest downside to the design, however, is that the case adds some extra bulkiness.

Aside from the aesthetic aspect, the headphones have exceptional noise-cancelling capabilities and sound quality. The active noise-cancelling on the headphones blocks out virtually every noise surrounding you. You don’t need to listen to your music at high volumes to block out any loud noises nearby, users can control the noise settings on the Sony Headphones Connect App.

These 5 Sony WH-1000XM5 features may convince me to ditch wired headphones

As awesome as wired life is, the Sony WH-1000XM5 are tempting me to dip my toes in the Bluetooth audio world once again.

Overall, the Sony WH-1000XM5 are great value headphones and a solid competitor to Apple’s AirPods Max.

Best Bose alternative

Bose 700 Noise Cancelling Headphones

An older model, but a solid thin-band alternative

Although the Bose Noise Cancelling 700 over-ear headphones were released in 2019, I still prefer them over Bose’s other noise-cancelling headphones, the Bose QuietComfort 45. The Bose 700 easily connects to the Bose Music app, which allows you to adjust the noise-cancellation level on a scale of 1-10. The adjustable noise cancellation is my favorite aspect of the Bose 700. When walking around cities, I don’t enjoy having the noise-cancelling all the way up, so the adjustable noise-cancelling allows me to find a happy medium.

Pros

Charging case

All-around good listening experience

Adjustable noise cancellation

Cons

Noise-cancelling not as great as AirPods Max

Aesthetically, the Bose 700 adds a modern twist to the traditional headphone style. The headphones, made of stainless steel, come in either silver or black and are designed to adjust to every head. The headphone band, which has a gel-like padding, is tall and narrow with the headphone cups being more circular than both Sony and Apple’s over-ear headphones.

The case the headphones come in does take up a lot of space, however the fact that you can charge the headphones directly on the case makes the bulkiness worth it.

Aesthetically, the Bose 700 adds a modern twist to the traditional headphone style.

The Bose 700 has a few controls for adjusting the volume, skipping or rewinding songs and a button to play/pause the music. Additionally, the headphones have around 20 hours of battery life and can be used with Amazon’s Alexa.

5 reasons to buy AirPods Max over Bose NCH 700

Both over-ears offer great sound, but Apple’s AirPods Max are trendy, comfortable, and deliver unparalleled Spatial Audio.

The headphones are made of plastic and have a memory-foam vegan leather cushion for the ear cups. One of the biggest differences between the Beats Studio Pro and all the other headphones on the list is the compactness of the headphones. Due to the plastic frame, the headphones easily collapse to fit into your bag.

Ultimately, the Beats Studio Pro is the best alternative for exclusive iOS users. Unlike Sony and Bose headphones, the Studio Pro is built with Apple devices in mind. Although the headphones don’t have as advanced noise-cancelling controls as the AirPods Max, they still make a solid budget alternative to Apple’s headphones.

5 features the Beats Studio Pro 2 need to be top over-ear headphones

The Beats Studio Pros returned Beats into audio enthusiasts’ good graces, but the company needs to keep the momentum going with the second generation.

The headphones have a sleek, trendy look which strays from the futuristic look of the AirPods Max, but more closely resembles Bose’s QuietComfort Ultra over-ear headphones. The headphones are available in black and white, plus have a soft velvet-like material cushioning the headband and earcups. Even after wearing the headphones for hours, the Soundcore Space One headphones don’t get uncomfortable.

If you want a pair of decent over-ear headphones but don’t want to pay hundreds of dollars, you may find what you’re looking for in the Anker Soundcore Space One headphones. The headphones are wireless with a battery life of around 40 hours, have active noise-canceling technology, are collapsible, and have Bluetooth and auxiliary chord capabilities. The headphones easily connect to Apple and Samsung devices using Bluetooth.

Soundcore’s Space One headphones helped me nail the ‘it girl’ look on a budget

For only $100, these over-ears grant great style, sound, and ANC.

The headphones have the unique ability for home theater audio swapping. Pressing the Content Key on Sonos soundbars or the Ace headphones will allow users to swap the audio from the selected device. The Content Key on the Ace headphones also allows users to adjust the volume or play/pause their audio.