My AirPods Max 2 may be the best headphones I've ever used, but they're not perfect. If I ever try to tell you that they're 100% flawless, that's my calling card for "Help me, I've been kidnapped!"
While the AirPods Max 2 are my personal favorite headphones — I'd keep them over the Sony WH-1000XM6 and Bose QuietComfort Ultra any day — they're also a little infuriating. Shoddy battery life and 13-ounce weight aside, they are nowhere near as customizable as the aforementioned Bose and Sony options. Sony's Sound Connect app lets you adjust the EQ on a 10-band frequency, and Bose Music allows you to choose from 4 presets (and 3 sliders).
And what does Apple let you do? Basically nothing. Sure, there's a Personalized Audio mode that analyzes the shape of your head and creates a sound profile for your anatomy, but this isn't as hands-on as a custom EQ. I want to physically move sliders up and down, Apple! I want to play my inner DJ!
What you can customize on AirPods Max 2
So, Apple hasn't completely done away with sound profiles. You can 'Customize Audio', which effectively creates a sound profile for you using an Audiogram. This then adjusts tuning in line with your ears. (Tangent incoming: Why is Apple's sample song for this such a bop?)
Then, you can select 'balanced', 'vocal', or 'brightness', and adjust any of these three tuning profiles from 'slight' to 'strong'. Balanced is, you guessed it, balanced, vocal accentuates mids, and brightness increases highs. You can use any one of these three with your AirPods Max 2, AirPods Pro 3, and supported Beats headphones. I only tested this with my AirPods Max 2 and AirPods Pro 2 & 3, though.
You can actually "fake" an audiogram — users on Reddit have discovered a way to trick your phone into creating an EQ for you by making a third-party audiogram. This is great if you're happy to spend ages doing this, but it's beyond the willpower of most of us normies.
So it's not like you can't customize anything. You have a little control over brightness or balance... but that's it. Wave goodbye to the 10-band frequency control from Sony's Sound Connect app, or even Bose's 'treble', 'mid', and 'bass' adjustments (and four presets).
With AirPods, Apple knows what's best. Want some genres a little heavier? Nope! Want to highlight some vocals or detail sounds? Nope! Want bass at 0? Not sure why you would, but, surprise! It's a nope!
AirPods Max 2 sound phenomenal by default, but I'm still mad
Don't get me wrong, I'm content with how my AirPods Max 2 sound out of the box. I think there's just something in my brain that's perfectly attuned to Apple's signature sound tuning. Maybe it's because my first ever earbuds were Apple's old EarPods with my iPod Nano.
I love how the AirPods Max 2 sound. They're bright, studio-faithful and detailed, without skimping on the bass. On top of that (quite literally), the sound is beautifully expansive and high — much better than the Sony WH-1000XM6 (in my opinion). Very few sub-$600+ headphones can do width, height, bass, and detail this well. Of course, there are better audiophile(ish) headphones out there — the Dali iO-8, Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2, Bang & Olufsen H95.
But for $550 headphones, the AirPods combine premium design and premium sound in a way very few other lifestyle Bluetooth headphones manage.
So why am I still mad?
Because there's no reason for the lack of customizability. Why has Apple told us there is only one way to listen to music? Why do we have to abide by the default sound signature?
Sure, you can take a hearing test, which will adjust the sound profile depending on your ears' ability to perceive sound. But what if you can hear perfectly well, but you just prefer more studio sound? Or what if you're a basshead and you want every frequency from 20Hz-250Hz turned up to max?
Well, you wouldn't get AirPods Max 2, I suppose. Studio sound lovers would get the Cambridge Melomania P100, and bass lovers would get the Bose QuietComfort Ultra.
But I want to be able to adjust my EQ. I'm not asking for much. I'd even settle for a 6-band. Sometimes I just like to play around. I know I can adjust EQ natively in Spotify or Apple Music, but... it just doesn't hit the same.
What do you think? Are you happy without EQ control, or do you wish you could up the bass a little on your AirPods Max 2? Let me know in the comments!
