The most expensive headphones are on their way

Dec 31, 2020 05:55 GMT  ·  By

Apple launched the AirPods Max with much fanfare earlier this month, and the company says that for $549, you get one of the best listening experiences no matter where you are.

While this is something debatable, especially because there are plenty of other headphones out there promising the same thing, the AirPods Max do come with an interesting arsenal of features and an Apple-designed H1 chip taking care of everything inside.

Needless to say, Apple brags about the AirPods Max with every occasion, emphasizing just how great everything sounds thanks to the modern mix of design, hardware, and premium materials.

“AirPods Max feature a 40-mm Apple-designed dynamic driver that provides rich, deep bass, accurate mid-ranges, and crisp, clean high-frequency extension so every note can be heard. A unique dual neodymium ring magnet motor allows AirPods Max to maintain total harmonic distortion of less than 1 percent across the entire audible range, even at maximum volume,” Apple says.

“Equipped with an Apple-designed H1 chip in each ear cup, a custom acoustic design, and advanced software, AirPods Max use computational audio to deliver the highest quality listening experience possible. Utilizing each of the chips’ 10 audio cores — capable of 9 billion operations per second — computational audio powers a breakthrough listening experience that includes Adaptive EQ, Active Noise Cancellation, Transparency mode, and spatial audio.”

At $549, the AirPods Max aren’t necessarily affordable, but they’re not the most expensive earphones either, especially if what you expect is the best listening experience, period.

But here’s something even more expensive: an AirPods Max model that costs no less than $108,000 and comes covered in gold and crocodile leather.

The Russians over at Caviar have announced this exquisite project, and here’s everything you need to know about it.

First and foremost, there will be two versions, white and black, both featuring the exact same upgrades, so the only difference will be the color.

Then, no upgrades on the inside will be made, so theoretically, the same listening experience will be offered. Caviar only focuses on the way the headphones look, so for this purpose, they turned to 750 18 carats gold and white or black crocodile leather, depending on the version you choose.

There will be just a single piece of each color created, and Caviar says it’ll ship it right to your door, with the purchase process to be accompanied by a personal consultant. Each unit comes with two 18-carat gold rings with Caviar inscription.

The headphones will come with a 1-year support warranty, though it goes without saying you should handle them with extra care, especially given how expensive they are.

According to Caviar, the new headphones should be ready next year, but a specific ETA hasn’t been shared. No other information was published on this, so I assume the work is still under way and we should head more details rather sooner than later.

For the time being, you just have to stick with the more boring standard headphones from Apple, which you can already buy from any Apple Store or online. Apple doesn’t offer so exquisite materials like Caviar, but the AirPods Max are premium nonetheless, pretty much like any other product out there.

If you want to use the AirPods Max, you need a device running iOS 14.3 or later, iPadOS 14.3 or later, macOS Big Sur 11.1 or later, watchOS 7.2 or later, or tvOS 14.3 or later.

And if you’re still drooling over the Caviar model, Apple at least allows you to engrave your headphones free of charge in the Apple Store.

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