Are AirPods Max still among the best headphones with active noise cancellation? Here’s how Apple’s $549 cans compare to a more budget-friendly choice, the $150 Soundcore Space Q45. From design and features to sound performance and battery life, let’s break down the differences between our reviews of both headphones to see how much price matters.
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00:00Can you really tell the difference between $150 headphones and headphones that cost $400 more?
00:11Given their relatively unknown name and low price point, you might be quick to dismiss
00:16the Soundcore Space Q45 headphones, but they're actually some of the best affordable noise
00:20cancelling headphones that you can buy.
00:22In fact, there's a lot to like about these Soundcore headphones, but do they have what
00:26it takes to stand up to the $550 AirPods Max?
00:44I reviewed these when they first came out about three years ago and found that they
00:48look great, sound awesome, and have enough smart features to justify the very high $550
00:54price tag for some people.
00:56Now, price aside, what do these two headphones offer, and which one is actually right for you?
01:01Let's start with the basics and why either of these headphones are worth getting in the first place.
01:06Design is going to be a huge factor for a lot of people.
01:09I mean, take the AirPods Max.
01:11These became such a status symbol mostly for how they look.
01:15They're very iconic, very Apple.
01:17Now, the Soundcores aren't nearly as recognizable, but in terms of comfort and build quality,
01:22things get a little bit interesting.
01:24I've never thought that the AirPods Max are the most comfortable pair of headphones.
01:28These cushions, they're decent, but the way that the headband is balanced, you don't
01:32get any extra cushion here.
01:34When I was trying out the Soundcores, the headband cushion is the first thing that stood
01:38out, and these earcups are extra plushy.
01:41I also like the metallic detail on the top of the headband, though the rest of the headset
01:46is kind of plasticky.
01:48It's worth mentioning that after using the AirPods Max for about three years, the earcups
01:55are starting to feel a little bit deflated, but on a positive note, they're magnetic,
01:59so they're removable, replaceable, and washable.
02:02Both headphones are also one size fits all.
02:05The Soundcore has this clicky band.
02:07It's pretty typical.
02:08Like, listen to that.
02:09But in very Apple fashion, the telescoping arms are, like, completely silent.
02:14Do you hear the difference between that?
02:16In terms of connectivity, both headphones have Bluetooth, but for those who want a wired
02:20connection, the Soundcore Space One also have a 3.5 millimeter headphone jack.
02:30Unsurprisingly, the AirPods Max only have a lightning port.
02:33They haven't been updated to USB-C yet, so you're stuck either getting an adapter or
02:37a solution like the AirFly Pro if you want to hook up to the entertainment console in
02:42an airplane.
02:43Of course, if I'm going to talk about connectivity, I have to talk about one of the biggest selling
02:46points of getting not just AirPods Max, but AirPods in general.
02:50The AirPods Max have Apple's H1 chip, and although they haven't been updated to the
02:53newer H2 that's in the AirPods Pro Gen 2, they still offer plenty of connectivity features.
02:59You can seamlessly pair to any of your Apple devices, switch between devices easily, and
03:03they also have Find My, so you never have to worry about where you last left them.
03:07Instead, you might need to worry about battery life.
03:09The AirPods Max only have 20 hours of active listening time, and they don't have a power
03:14button, which is something I've just never been able to wrap my head around.
03:18Which wouldn't seem that bad if the Soundcore didn't get up to 50 hours with active noise
03:23cancellation and up to 65 hours with active noise cancellation turned off.
03:28Then when your headphones are out of juice, the Soundcore gets you 4 extra hours with
03:32a 5-minute charge, where you only get an hour and a half with a 5-minute charge on the AirPods
03:36Max.
03:37Maybe if Apple would just add a power button, things would be easier.
03:40Whenever I'm testing the ANC performance of headphones, I like to get some anecdotal
03:44experience around the office or when I'm traveling.
03:47I've lined up some tracks that simulate the sounds that you might hear while you're commuting
03:50in a busy city, then some of the high frequencies that you might hear from sirens driving by,
03:55and then low frequencies that you get from the rumble of an airplane engine.
03:58Sorry if I'm yelling, I already turned on active noise cancellation on the Soundcores,
04:02and what I'm going to do is play the same track at half volume through my phone's Bluetooth
04:06connection.
04:07Then I'm going to feed in the tracks and see just how much of the outside noise I can
04:11hear.
04:12It's quite faint, and if I am lost in a song, I'm not going to hear it, but it almost sounds
04:16like there's a very faint background track on my headphones that has people talking in
04:22the background.
04:23Someone's talking right now, right?
04:24That's exactly...
04:25Yeah, I can hear that.
04:26I don't hear anything right now.
04:28During this part of the track, I remember on the Soundcore headphones, I could feel
04:31like I heard someone talking in the background.
04:33What?
04:34No, I didn't hear.
04:36There was a beeping sound.
04:37I'm sure you guys heard it.
04:39I did not hear that at all.
04:41Even from just that first test, I can tell how the difference in effectiveness is reflected
04:44in the price.
04:45Now I'm going in for the low frequency noise, which again is like the rumble of an airplane
04:49engine.
04:50It's one of those things where when I take these off right now, I feel like I'm on an
04:54airplane and I did just take my headphones off.
04:57Wow.
04:58Okay, so now that the track was just loading up, I could hear it through.
05:00For the low frequency sounds, these are very good, but you still are going to hear some
05:04of that rumbling, especially when you pause your track or skip to the next one.
05:08The performance for low frequency sounds is so good that even when I'm not playing music,
05:12a large majority of the low frequency is blocked out and when I do have music playing, I can
05:17hear absolutely nothing.
05:18For our last test, we're getting to our high frequencies.
05:21I could still tell that there was ambient sound, but it was far more bearable than I'm
05:24sure you guys could hear through my microphone.
05:27So as was the case with the Soundcore headphones, on the AirPods Max, I can hear the high frequency
05:32kind of like around my head almost.
05:35It just has that extra little level of muffling the sound, but these still perform surprisingly
05:39well for the price.
05:40And if I had no idea what headphones these were, I would think that they cost more than
05:44$150.
05:45So, do the AirPods Max sound $400 better?
05:57Not quite, but I've noticed some key distinctions between the two.
06:00One thing I really like about the Soundcore is the stereo performance.
06:03I get a lot of distinction between the different sound elements.
06:07The bass is good.
06:09It doesn't give that like deep body thump.
06:12But if you put these on without having previously tried the AirPods Max or the Sony Mark 5s
06:16or even the Bose QC Ultra, I don't think you'd know what you were missing out on.
06:21I'm remembering why I liked these so much when I first reviewed them.
06:24The vocals are unmatched and I think that was the biggest difference that I picked up
06:27compared to the Soundcores.
06:30The singer sounds like he's right in front of me singing.
06:33I'm not missing out on any of the nuances or sophistication in the voice.
06:37I'm getting like a full range of the vocal frequencies and they feel like they're on
06:42top of the song.
06:44They're not just getting mixed up and lost.
06:46By comparison, I'm remembering that the sound of the vocals was a bit murkier on the Soundcore
06:52headphones.
06:53The best analogy I could give is that the Soundcores put you in the middle of a concert
06:56floor, whereas the AirPods Max puts you in the center of the actual stage.
07:01Especially when you factor in a feature like spatial audio that uses head tracking to keep
07:05the music in place, you could turn around in a circle and feel like all the instruments
07:09and singers stay where they're supposed to be.
07:11It's pretty cool.
07:12Is it an extra $400 cool?
07:15For audiophiles?
07:16Probably.
07:17But for the average listener?
07:19So what's the deal?
07:20We have what I would consider the best headphones that you can get for $150, and then we have
07:25what many would consider the best premium headphones, especially for Apple users.
07:29No shocker.
07:30The AirPods Max have better sound quality, but they also have the conveniences of being
07:33part of the Apple ecosystem, and features like spatial audio are a game changer.
07:38On the other hand, all-day comfort, a headphone jack, and epic battery life are things that
07:43matter to a lot of people.
07:45Don't get me wrong, the AirPods Max walk the walk and talk the talk, but if we're talking
07:49about practicality, I think these are hard to beat.
07:51But what do you think?
07:53Which headphones would you buy?
07:54Be sure to let me know in the comments below, and if you want to see more of what we're
07:57up to, be sure to follow us on social at Tom's Guide.
08:00And as always, I'm at Kate Kozich.
08:02Thanks for watching, I'll catch you next time.