Airpods Max - Initial Thoughts

I've been using the Airpods Max for a bit now.  There are some things I like about them.

My likes:

• I like that I've an Apple-sourced over-the-ear headset.  
• They sound and feel (on the head) better than the Beats Studio Pros I have.  
• They also switch to my other Apple gear (the Beats don't do that - that's a known thing; by design).  
• I can have the ear cushions replaced and they look like they'll wear better than the Studio Pro ear cushions.
• I love the design and color options (mine are Midnight).

What I don't like:

• They're heavy and sometimes are uncomfortable around the ears.  The nooks for the ears are a bit too small (and I don't have large ears)...my ears barely fit and sometimes, when I'm moving or lying down, my ears fold or mash inside the ear cups.
• They require lots of charging.  For some reason, they've been draining quicker (it seems) than before I updaed them -- this didn't happen until after I applied that patch that enabled lossless audio.  UPDATE (5/29/2025):  I disabled Find My for the Airpods Max, which helped immensely with power consumption.  Note that you should probably not do this if you're using them outside your home - if you lose them or someone steals them, you're not going to find them or be able to flag them as lost.
• I can't turn them on/off (would be nice to power them off since they appear to drain quickly).
• The noise cancelling doesn't work as well as in-ear sets - while that's to be expected, I also expected better noise caneelling than the Airpods Max has, especially since they cost so much.

I did purchase AppleCare+ for them, since they cost so much.  I'd rather have AppleCare+ and not need it than to not have it and need it later.

I'll be giving them a try at work tomorrow to see how well they work in my cubicle area.

UPDATE (4/25/2025):  I had an issue a few minutes ago where the Maxs didn't want to connect to my MBP.  I'd been using them downstairs (when using the Mini) a few hours ago.  No matter what I did, the headset wouldn't connect to the MBP.  I reset the headset and then attempted to connect to them from the MBP - unsuccessful.  I then did a factory reset of the headset and then attempted to connect them to the MBP - unsuccessful.  I then rebooted the MBP (shouldn't have had to do this) and then attempted to connect them to the MBP - success!  This was a super odd issue that I've never had with other BT headsets or buds.

UPDATE (5/11/2025):  I was messing with the headphones the other day and noticed that the ear cups are removeable!  This is nice, as I can remove them to clean them.  As well, I noticed that there was water in them (I sometimes fall asleep with them on my ears).  Apparently, the ear cups trap moisture.  I'm not sure if this will develop into a future problem with the water, but I do have Applecare+, so...