The AirPods Max 2 is the only AirPods that's an over-ear headphone instead of in-ear. Although in-ear earbuds are more discreet, many people, including myself, just don't find them all that comfortable. In those situations, over-ear headphones are a better alternative, and you won't find a better built headphone for under $500 than the AirPods Max 2.

Apple went all in on the craftsmanship and it definitely shows. The Max 2 is a mostly metal comprised headphone with comfort-minded accents like a lightweight TPU-wrapped headband and memory foam earcups upholstered in soft knit mesh. The earcups do an excellent job of sealing your ears for effective passive noise isolation, a hallmark for great sound. The hinge and adjustment mechanisms are smooth and easy to adjust without having to take it off your head.

Internally, the Max 2 has been upgraded with the Apple H2 chip. The biggest improvements compared to the H1 chip is with active noise cancelation, mic quality, and transparency mode. The original Max was already had good ANC performance, but the new Max 2 brings it on par with heavyweights like the Sony WH-1000XM6 or Bose QuietComfort Ultra. Sound quality is mostly unchaged from the original. The AirPods Max 2 is equipped with the same 40mm drivers as the first gen but with improved high dynamic amplifiers. It also supports 24-bit, 48 kHz lossless audio and spatial audio.

At the retail price of MSRP, the AirPods Max has always been a splurge buy because - although it's a very nice headphone - it's so much more expensive than other headphones that offer similar performance. During Prime Day, however, the price drops to where it can actually compete, especially for iOS users.

Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn't hunting for deals for other people at work, he's hunting for deals for himself during his free time.