AirPods Pro and AirPods Max are some of the best noise-cancelling headphones out there. But now it has been revealed that the company has degraded the performance with an update.
Two years ago, the “Rtings” review site noticed a deterioration in active noise cancellation (ANC) on the AirPods Pro. After an update, user complaints increased and the site tested the headphones again. Only to find out that Apple has indeed degraded ANC performance. Now the same process repeats itself again – with the premium headphones AirPods Max.
AirPods Max ANC worse after update
The AirPods Max are Apple’s premium headphones, which are in the upper league for Bluetooth headphones with a price tag of 629 euros. In tests, they have been praised for excellent active noise cancellation, which even surpasses what previous industry leaders Sony and Bose have to offer.
If you bought the headphones because of good reviews, but now realize that the ANC is not that effective, you are unfortunately not just imagining it. A repeated test by the review site “Rtings” has shown that Apple has actually made the AirPods Max worse with an update.
Headphones let more noise through
Apple automatically deploys AirPods updates, so users have no way of defending themselves against the poorer ANC. “Rtings” reports that the update to firmware version 4E71 from May 2022 means that the headphones no longer isolate noise as well. The site has adjusted the original test accordingly: “Your ANC system blocks out a little less noise between the mid and high bass frequencies than the previous firmware.” These frequencies contain sounds like the deep rumble of bus or airplane engines . But “Rtings” was also able to detect slight changes in the mids and highs. The page shows the corresponding frequency curves in a clear graphic.
We can only speculate about the reasons why Apple is again playing out an update for AirPods that objectively makes the ANC performance worse. According to Rtings, users have complained that the AirPods Max’s “cabin pressure” is too high. This is a typical phenomenon with active noise canceling headphones. It is because the brain perceives the lack of low-frequency sounds as a difference in pressure between the inner and outer ear. This can be uncomfortable for sensitive users. So did Apple actually want to improve the AirPods Max with the firmware update? TECHBOOK has not yet received an answer to our request to the company in this regard.