AirPods Max USB-C Lossless vs 3.5mm vs Bluetooth - Sounds Different? (Firmware 7E101)
Firmware 7E101 for the AirPods Max USB-C version unlocks the ability to listen over cable instead of just over Bluetooth, which gives you the full 24bit/48khz lossless experience from the AirPods Max. It works with any source that supports USB-C audio, even non-Apple phones and PCs.
Same goes if you purchase Apple’s USB-C to 3.5mm cable like I did. It costs 40 bucks, but it allows you to connect to even more sources like field monitors, and camera line outputs.
The only limitation so far of connecting over the wire is not being able to use the built-in microphone of the AirPods Max. So for phone calls, you’ll have to do this in noisy places, or if you’re on your PC on a zoom call, you’ll need to use a separate mic, because I’m on Windows 11, and it will not recognize the AirPods Max as a microphone input, only sound input. So keep in mind that if you need to use the AirPods Max’s microphone, you’ll have to go back to using Bluetooth.
Sound Quality
Now does the AirPods Max really sound better over USB-C versus Bluetooth? Well, yes and no. I’ve measured the sound output over USB-C, 3.5mm and Bluetooth, and the tuning is going to be the same on all three options. Assuming that you’re listening to regular audio like YouTube videos and non-lossless music, it’s going to be hard to tell the difference. For example, in the following samples, the difference that I could pick up is the USB-C connection having a bit more airiness and detail in the highs, and bass sounds a bit heavier over Bluetooth. Over 3.5mm, it sounds almost identical to USB-C.
What’s worth mentioning is the huge difference in volume level between the connections on non-Apple sources. In this case, the 3.5mm connection sounds the loudest, followed by USB-C and lastly, Bluetooth having the lowest gain. So if you need to run super long cable extensions, the 3.5mm has a lot of headroom to account for gain attrition if you’re not using a dedicated amp to drive the AirPods Max.
For USB-C and Bluetooth you get the usual single volume adjustment whereas the 3.5mm has 2 levels. You adjust from the device, and then from the AirPods Max separately. In my case, I set the AirPods Max to max volume and use the device for more granular volume control.
If you listen to lossless audio on your iPhone (which I explained in this video what you must do to get lossless audio), the difference in sound quality depends on whether Headphone Accomodations is turned on or not. If it’s not, there won’t be any difference in sound, but if it is turned on, there’s quite a bit more bass heaviness and energy over Bluetooth compared to over USB-C, and on USB-C (which is handling Lossless audio of 24-Bit/48 kHz), I am getting much better separation and a bit more detail and airiness in the mids and highs.
On 3.5mm, Headphone Accomodations have no effect, so it’s going to be that default sound without any enhancements.
👉 Listen to the sound quality samples.
In terms of volume from the iPhone, now Bluetooth is much louder than Type-C by about 30% volume, so 50% on Bluetooth sounds like 80% on Type-C. 3.5mm has the loudest volume gain, about 20% louder than Bluetooth.
Another thing about these Apple cables which I don’t like - it’s braided. It’s very rough, so when it’s rubbing against clothing you can hear that grating noise through the earcups. But if it’s USB-C, you can always replace it with a cable with smooth rubber shielding so it doesn’t grate. I happen to have a super long 5 meter one that I use for VR, the official Oculus Link 5m cable from Meta which works very well.
You can’t use a different cable with the 3.5mm though. You can only use the official Apple one if you need this analog connection.
How to update?
So we’ve talked about how different the AirPods Max sounds between the three connectivity options and we’ve also discussed its limitations, let’s talk about how to update the AirPods Max. No, I didn’t use any sorcery, but I did use a pretty reliable method similar to how I update the AirPods Pros.
For you to get the update, you’ll need an Apple device with the latest firmwares, in this case, iOS 18.4, iPadOS 18.4, and macOS Sequoia 15.4. After downloading the firmwares you need to connect your headphones to the device, play something for a while, put the AirPods Max back into its case and plug it into USB power to charge. After that, wait for a bit, 15-30 minutes, and the latest firmware 7E101 should show up in the AirPods Max’s settings. If you don’t see the new firmware, try again and it will show up in the next few attempts.
Check latest price:
Meta Quest Link USB-C Cable (5m) - https://amzn.to/44dJxzX
AirPods Max - https://amzn.to/3AoiHX3
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