I don’t like the default sound, but I feel like anyone using Airpod products with an Apple source like iPad/iPhone/iMac what have you is cheating themselves if they don’t use the included accessibility options to tune them.

I for one don’t like the stock sound too much, and agree it sounds a bit hollow. My ears definitely preferred the “Balanced” setting for the tuning, was a much more neutral sound to me and I think the Max definitely smashes every other Bluetooth/anc (low bar I know) otherwise