The Apple AirPods Max recently got support for lossless audio, which is a big deal if you care about high-fidelity sound. But can you actually hear the difference?
The short answer: Yes, you absolutely can.
Of course, if you're not an audio nerd like me, it may not be worth going through all the trouble required to set up lossless audio on the AirPods Max headphones, which already sound great without it.
That's the short answer. For the long answer, let's go ears-on.
The AirPods Max headphones get an important update
The AirPods Max are a bit of an odd product. They're the most expensive, and by far the best-sounding, headphones that Apple sells, and yet they feel a bit neglected. Apple launched them in 2020, and only updated them in 2024 with just one, fairly minor difference: a USB-C port instead of Apple's proprietary Lightning port.
And despite the fact that Apple has supported lossless and high-resolution lossless audio for years, the AirPods Max did not support this codec in any way, shape, or form.
Even worse, the new USB-C version of the AirPods Max had a key downgrade compared to their predecessor — they were wireless only. You couldn't get sound to them via the USB-C cable, which was solely for charging. Both of these issues are solved with the latest firmware update for the AirPods Max (version: 7E101), in combination with iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, and macOS Sequoia 15.4.
Now, your AirPods Max can receive audio via a USB-C cable, with support for 24-bit, 48 kHz lossless audio. However, there are certain caveats here (more on that later).
With this firmware update, the AirPods Max also received support for low-latency audio, which is important for gamers and music creators.
How to enable lossless audio on the AirPods Max
If you have the latest firmware installed on the AirPods Max, and if your sound source — an iPhone, iPad, or MacBook — is also up to date, then you can now listen to lossless audio. You can also use third-party software as your music player of choice and still go lossless, but I'll focus on Apple Music here for simplicity's sake.
There are limitations, though. Lossless does not work wirelessly. You must connect the AirPods Max to a sound source via a USB-C cable. On a Mac, if you click on the sound icon in the menu bar, the description will say that your AirPods Max are connected via USB Audio.
Also, the AirPods Max only support lossless up to 24-bit, 48 kHz quality. Apple Music can go up to 24-bit, 192 kHz quality, but it will be wasted on the AirPods Max. (Unless you're a professional who needs reference-class sound, that's probably not an issue.)
To make sure I'm getting actual lossless audio, I turned off Bluetooth on my MacBook Pro. I enabled "Lossless Audio" in Apple Music settings and set it to "Lossless" for both Streaming and Download. I turned Dolby Atmos off. On the AirPods Max, I didn't use Transparency or Noise Reduction as those can affect sound quality.
Finally, it's worth mentioning that I had some trouble getting the AirPods Max to work via USB-C. After a lot of tinkering with my MacBook Pro, iPad Air, and iPhone 16e, I've realized that all of them ran the latest beta software from Apple, and that that may be the culprit (even though the beta software came out after the required firmware update). When I switched to an older MacBook Pro that had macOS Sequoia 15.4 installed, the AirPods Max finally started receiving audio over the USB-C cable. Most people don't run beta software, so this shouldn't be a big issue.
What is lossless audio anyway?
Mashable already has a comprehensive guide to lossless audio and hi-res audio. Simply put, lossless audio has no data compression, and therefore no data loss, in contrast to lossy audio (including MP3 and AAC formats), which compresses some data to save on bandwidth or file size.
Lossless audio, by definition, sounds truer to the original recording than lossy audio. But whether you'll be able to hear the difference is another matter, and it depends on your ears, the type of music you listen to, the quality of the recording, and the hardware you use (in this case, the AirPods Max).
As for high-res audio, there are differing opinions on this, especially in the hi-fi community. But it's safe to say that it's very hard to hear the benefits unless you're listening on very expensive, high-end audio hardware. The AirPods Max are not that.
Where does LDAC fit into this? LDAC stands for Lossless Digital Audio Codec, and it's a Sony audio codec for high-resolution audio. Despite the name, it's not a true "lossless" codec, and the audio is compressed to some degree. Apple AirPods Max don't support LDAC, and that hasn't changed with the latest update.
Do the AirPods Max sound better with lossless audio?
The AirPods Max already have a very pleasant, balanced sound. They're not overly bassy, which is good, and if I had to find a weakness across the frequency range, I could perhaps use a little more clarity and loudness in the midrange. Audiophiles will call this a "V" shaped sound: bass and treble are slightly pronounced, while midrange tones are slightly recessed, which works for rock and electronic music, but it can leave intimate, acoustic performances a bit lacking.
These headphones are physically big, with lots of space around your ears, which helps create an airiness that closed over-the-ear headphones rarely possess. This airiness helps create a pretty wide sound stage, which is especially important when listening to live performances. In fact, this may be the best feature of Apple's over-the-ear headphones: Yes, they're big on your head, but they truly convey a sense of space. I've compared them directly against B&W's PX (also connected by wire), and after Apple's headphones, the B&Ws sound cramped.
There's also a lot of detail here. During Ryan Adams' live performance at Carnegie Hall, you can hear individual audience members stirring in their seats. You'll hear the chairs creaking in Stan Getz and Astrud Gilberto's excellent 1964 live rendering of the "Girl from Ipanema." To be fair, you'll hear those same details, and perhaps even clearer, on the B&W PX, but Apple's headphones are a close second.
So the AirPods Max are pretty good. But can you hear the difference between lossless and Apple's lossy, AAC compression? The answer, to me, is yes. Wirelessly, when the signal switches to lossy, everything still sounds crisp, but that sense of openness is gone, especially on live recordings. Snarky Puppy's Lingus just feels a lot less airy, with instruments seemingly being cramped into a narrow, vertical plan right in front of you. Switching back to lossless, and the complex interplay between the instruments is easier to digest as each individual instrument has more space to breathe.
It's not a huge difference, but it is there. And arguably, the airiness that these headphones provide is their best trait, and it's a shame to lose it.
A few things to consider
The AirPods Max are a wireless-first product. Some of their convenience features require Bluetooth, and something is lost when you have to use a cable. For instance, the USB-C cable that Apple supplies with the AirPods Max is barely long enough for comfy listening.
With this recent update, the AirPods Max enter an entirely new category of headphones. Wireless-only headphones that don't support high-resolution, high-fidelity audio are a niche. Wired headphones that support lossless are a far larger niche with a very different set of competitors, with prices ranging from a couple hundred bucks to thousands of dollars (for the ultra high-end models). The AirPods Max can now meaningfully compete with both types of products.
Should you buy the AirPods Max?
The AirPods Max are, essentially, five years old, but we never really knew what they were capable of. The newly-added ability to reproduce lossless audio lets them shine, and yes, these headphones are really good, perhaps surprisingly so.
Whether lossless changes anything for you is another question. I'm pretty sure you won't hear the difference listening with noise cancellation on, in the subway, on a crowded street, or on a plane. The nuanced sound improvements will only shine through when you're focused and listening in a quiet place. If that's something that you do often, the AirPods Max will reward you.
What you probably shouldn't do is buy the AirPods Max purely for wired, lossless listening. There are better-sounding, wired headphones out there for less money (the AirPods Max cost $549). Apple's headphones are a good all-rounder, and the ability to reproduce lossless audio is just the icing on the cake.
What I listened to while testing:
Jason Isbell: Foxes in the Snow
Ryan Adams: Live at Carnegie Hall
Bossa Nova: Verve Jazz Masters 53: Stan Getz
Sleep Token: This Place Will Become Your Tomb
Snarky Puppy: We Like it Here
