4 AirPods Max Alternatives That Are More Affordable

Apple introduced its first over-ear headphones to the popular AirPods lineup in 2020. Fast-forward five years, and the AirPods Max haven't received any major upgrades — apart from the swap to USB-C for charging, and a handful of new color options. The headphones still offer some of the best noise cancellation in the market, and are packed with goodies like Spatial Audio and Apple's H1 chip that allows for near-instant pairing with iPhones, iPads, and Macs. Other hidden features of the AirPods Max include the ability to customize its crown, or share your audio with another pair of headphones nearby.

At 385 grams, the AirPods Max aren't exactly your everyday lightweight headphones, and unlike the crowd-favorite AirPods Pro 2, the AirPods Max were met with quite a lot of criticism. The way they sit awkwardly in the charging case and the fact that the headphones can never be truly turned off were design decisions that we will probably never understand. However, the bigger hurdle to cross when eyeing Apple's over-ear headphones is the price. 

At $549, the AirPods Max sit firmly in the realm of luxury headphones. Despite all of their features and impressive noise cancellation, they're often a hard sell, given how competitive the headphone space is in the sub-$500 range. Read on to explore a few compelling alternatives to the AirPods Max — ones that don't break the bank. You can find out more about our methodology at the end of this read.

Sonos is a big name in the audio space, and is popular for its multi-room speaker systems, soundbars, and portable speakers. Like Apple, Sonos' products are geared towards the premium market, which makes it surprising that the $449 Sonos Ace headphones come neck and neck with the AirPods Max in design, sound quality, and features. The Sonos Ace headphones feature custom 40mm drivers that can be tweaked through the Sonos app, available for Android and iOS. A customizable EQ means you can choose to have a thumpier bass, or flatten it to a great degree to make the headphones suitable for long podcast listening hours.

Unlike the AirPods Max, the Sonos Ace are predominantly built with plastic, but do use stainless steel for the adjustable headband arms. This is also what makes them lighter in weight, thus easier to carry around — despite not featuring a foldable design. Sonos claims up to 30 hours of playback time with their headphones, and rapid charging with the included USB-C cable. The Sonos Ace headphones are designed to work with the Sonos Arc soundbar, allowing for instant switching.

Despite their price and the lack of an IP rating, the Sonos Ace headphones earned a score of 9/10 in our review thanks to comfort, great ANC performance, and a diverse feature set. With the presence of features like Spatial Audio, head tracking, lossless audio, and support for Dolby Atmos, the Sonos Ace headphones are a great buy.

Sony ranks high as one of the major headphone brands in existence, and its catalog consists of various offerings at nearly every price point. The Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones are the latest in the company's flagship series and are a solid contender to the AirPods Max. The 30mm drivers, despite being smaller than the ones found in the AirPods Max, deliver great detail at high frequencies. 

The headphones support high-res music streaming over Bluetooth on Android devices, thanks to the LDAC codec. Thankfully, the 3.5mm audio jack means that with an adapter you can get lossless audio over a wired connection with iPhones and iPads — a feature that's shockingly absent in the AirPods Max. The WH-1000XM5s sport a total of eight microphones and an Auto NC Optimizer that delivers some of the best noise cancellation in the headphones space. Unfortunately, Sony got rid of the hinges that allowed the previous generation XM4s to be folded up — making the XM5s as annoying to carry in small bags as the AirPods Max. 

Our detailed review of the Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones went over their excellent noise cancellation, long battery life, and crisp vocals — earning a score of 9/10. There are a few notable omissions, including the lack of wired audio support through the USB-C port. They may also not feel as premium as Apple's stainless steel and aluminum offering, but at $399, the Sony WH-1000XM5s undercut the AirPods Max with a considerable price advantage.

Apple's acquisition of Beats in 2014 paved the way for several audio products you can now find in the company's catalog — in addition to the Apple Music subscription service that now rivals Spotify. The Powerbeats Pro 2 might share a lot of features with the AirPods Pro 2, but target a different demographic thanks to their sport-focused design, bigger battery, and secure ear hooks. On the other hand, the over-ear Beats Studio Pro retail at $349 and can be a great alternative if you're unwilling to drop half a grand on a pair of headphones by Apple. 

Unlike the AirPods Max, the Beats Studio Pro headphones feature a 3.5mm headphone jack — making it easier to pair them with any device through an analog connection. The headphones also sport a USB-C port for charging, which also carries lossless audio, albeit with the lack of active noise cancellation — which only works over Bluetooth or the 3.5mm audio jack. 

A thing to keep in mind before picking a pair of the Beats Studio Pro headphones is that they lack physical volume controls and have an understandably less premium build than the AirPods Max. Beats headphones have long been known for their bass-heavy approach, but the Studio Pros deliver a more balanced sound profile — something we explored in our review, where the headphones earned a solid 9/10.

Listing an in-ear pair of earphones may seem out of place on this list, but when you consider the number of features that the AirPods Max and AirPods Pro 2 share with each other, this comparison starts making sense. If you're heavily engrossed in the Apple ecosystem, nothing matches the level of convenience that a pair of Apple or Beats headphones brings. The AirPods Pro 2 were released in 2023 with a MagSafe charging case that replaced the outdated lightning port in favor of USB-C. 

The second generation of AirPods Pro also brings a noticeable improvement in noise cancellation compared to their predecessors. At $249, the AirPods Pro 2 aren't exactly the most affordable pair of truly wireless earphones you can buy — and I was reluctant to spend that much myself. However, nearly six months of dailying them, I can confidently say they've been worth every penny. The MagSafe charging case comes with a speaker and an updated H2 chip with precision tracking that makes locating it via Find My much easier.

You get Adaptive Audio, Conversation Awareness, Spatial Audio, and hearing aid functionality. The AirPods Pro 2 earned a score of 9/10 in our review, which highlights the gains in audio quality, feature set, and excellent noise cancellation. With nearly the same suite of ecosystem advantages as its elder sibling, the AirPods Pro 2 are a viable alternative to the AirPods Max.

While it's true that the AirPods Max is a pricey pair of headphones, it's also undeniably one of the best options for Apple users. It features instant pairing, has excellent noise cancellation, and sports Spatial Audio that reacts to head movement. Considerations that went into picking some of its alternatives were sound quality, presence of active noise cancellation, comfort, and price. Every product on this list was tested by SlashGear and was assessed for several factors, including design, features, audio quality, and battery life.

Despite costing $300 less than the AirPods Max, the AirPods Pro 2 deliver the same, if not a greater suite of features — with the only downside being that they are an in-ear style of earphones. If you're strictly looking for a pair of over-ear headphones with ample battery to last long flights, then competitors like the Sonos Ace, Sony WH-1000XM5, and Beats Studio Pro headphones are all great alternatives to the AirPods Max — and cost comparatively less.