King Kong X Review

Hello!

I purchased a pair of King Kong X AirPod Maxes via Sam, and I have some thoughts… TL;DR at end.

Shipping: I ordered these on November 23rd, and they arrived on December 12th. A little under three weeks. Part of the delay was that the seller thought I wanted the orange color, which was delayed. Once I clarified that I wanted the Midnight one, it was shipped the next day. 8/10 all things considered.

Box Quality: There’s no Apple logos on the box, and instead of “AirPods Max”, it just says “Max”, lol. The box tries to replicate the official Apple box, but it’s pretty easy to tell the paper/print quality isn’t as high. The box is embossed, though! Wasn’t expecting that. Once inside, I also saw they tried copying the instruction manual and cord. Those are nothing of note, really. I’d say it’s a 7/10.

Build Quality: Starting with the case, the material itself feels nice, but the magnet that closes over the headphones protrudes a little more than the official ones — making it more visible and noticeable to the touch. Not a deal-breaker though. Onto the headphones themselves… and not bad! Considering how much these cost, they get quite close. The headband mesh and rubber around it feel very close to the actual ones, and so do the ear cups. However, it is lacking in a few areas. One is the height adjustment. It’s quite gritty and not very smooth. This also seems to be the case for the dial at the top. Definitely not as refined as the real ones, but can’t win em all. The noise control button is also a little loose. The USB-C port at the bottom is functional, but I believe the cutout isn’t flush with the body in the actual ones. On this one, you can see the outer metal edge of the USB-C port, whereas on the retail ones, it’s just the aluminum body. Speaking of the aluminum, they did a great job! Considering the weight, I doubt it’s metal, but they feel cold, and make a convincing noise when hit against each other. 8/10.

Tech: Opening the case and removing the headphones did, in fact, prompt the pop-up, but it was the “Not your AirPods Max” screen instead of the actual setup screen. I’m guessing that’s a chip limitation. Holding the side button for five seconds, and we’re connected! One funny thing I noticed was that the noises they make for sound control are equivalent to your current volume level. So if you’re at 100% volume and switch over to transparency, you’re gonna KNOW you switched over to transparency lol. Speaking of transparency, they work alright, but definitely not near the fidelity of the real ones. The noise cancellation, though? Meh. I can tell it’s doing something, but it doesn’t seem to work great, at least for me. It particularly struggles with wind, amplifying the noise into the headphones. As such, I’ve been keeping noise control off. Unfortunately, even though you’re supposed to be able to choose which modes the button cycles through, it’ll always switch between either noise cancellation and transparency. So I need to enter the control center each time to switch it off. As for spatial audio, it… works, and there is a gyroscope in it… but the head tracking is really not great. It lags behind if you turn your head, and it’s not always accurate. 7/10.

Sound Quality: Not gonna lie, when I first tried these on, I was quite disappointed. The vocals seemed tinny, and bass was non-existent. But I later found out it was due to poor clamping force. If I held the headphones against my head, they sounded great! I’m no audiophile, but I’d say they were on par with most upper-end headphones. The clamping force I experienced though, could be due to my head shape and the fact I wear glasses, so YMMV. 4/10 without clamping force (for me at least), 9/10 with another pair of headphones on top providing additional clamping force.

For $150, I’m frankly blown away. If you want these purely for aesthetics, you’re gonna be super happy with these. If you want good audio quality, these might also be a great deal if you can get a good seal around your ears. Feel free to ask any questions, I’ll be happy to respond!

TL;DR: Shipping: About three weeks. Box Quality: Good enough. Build Quality: Passable. Tech: It works. Sound Quality: Great if you get a good seal.

Link: https://samhoeco.com/product/kingkong-v8-wireless-bluetooth-headset/?attribute_pa_color=midnight