Will newest version of Airpod Max (USB-C) support wired playback?

It's so sad to see such a heavy and expensive pair of headphones not supporting wired connection. Apple promotes Logic Pro and Final Cut in which is crucial to have low latency to work through wired connection. Tomorrow I return my AirPods Max to the store and stick to Sony MX5 which work like a harm with DAW.

While this is possibly ok for your use case, I want to reduce audio latency and increase audio fidelity. The lack of support for various low latency or lossless codecs means that latency can be very distracting, and the audio quality is unnecessarily limited. A simple wired connection gets rid of these two problems instantly.

Hi Henry

I have just spent the last two days trying to answer this question! The first time I called Apple Support they said it could be used in wired mode. I bought a USB C to 3.5mm audio jack cable. But when I tested it - it did not work. I called back yesterday and spent 2.5 hours on the phone talking to technical advisors, customer care agents and even sales people. Eventually someone called me last night and agreed that the wired functionality was lost when they moved from the old AirPods Max (lightning port) to the new one. For the life of me I cannot understand why Apple would do that (how are we to use these on a plane!?). They did not have any further solutions for me.

But I thought of something last night! I bought a bluetooth audio wireless transmitter. It arrived today and I just tested it out - works great! I know you are looking for a wired solution for your work, but posting here in case others are looking to see how we can work around it not having wired functionality. The device I bought is pretty small, has a 3.5 mm audio jack that can plug into any headphones outlet (on a plane, laptop, etc.) and is easy to pair with the AirPods Max. The one I bought has a 25 hour charge (yet to be tested) and can also act as a receiver (e.g. if you want to wirelessly connect your phone to your car stereo to play music). I would have much rather Apple kept the wired functionality, but failing that, this is an adequate workaround.

Kamal

Very disappointed as music producer. We gave everything to apple. Using macbook running logic as main daw. Buy a 540$ headphones and we can’t use them wired. I don’t want to buy third party bluetooth transmitters i want 0 latency when monitoring thats why i bought an UA Apollo. Disappointed!!!!!

Just would like to know, because I know how annoying it is to produce music with any latency at all, does the solution you proposed have latency from your inputs into the computer to the audio that you hear?

Apple has really soiled itself with this. Has anyone tried a different brand of headphones eg Sony WH1000XM5

A "me too".... Was disappointed to see the new USB-C AirPods Max didn't have the H2 chip, but I ended up getting them anyway as they build quality and sound is still excellent. Plus, I have Apple everything, and the ability to just put the headphones on, have them pair up with whatever device I am using (including Apple TV), is very nice indeed.

The lack of any way to use these wired, though, has been more of a problem than I anticipated. I also do audio work and just trying to use Ableton Live with these things is such a PITA due to the sample rate limitations and latency.

I end up using my other wired headphone, which means the APM are mostly collecting dust.

Stupid purchase on my part.

have you ever tried combine 3.5 to lightning with a lightning to usbc？I think that might be a solution though i never tried

Yes I have them and they work like a charm

I tried but doesn’t work..

What device did you buy? Because I just went through the SAME exact process as you:)

Sorry, which device? What do you mean? The AirPods Max Usb C.