Body: Fun fact the AirPods max BES2600 almost identical compared to V2, v2.5, V3 body wise, the ventilation holes are quite larger compared to the retail and the BES2600 nailed it down
The hinges are kinda stiff com pared to retail on all but they all maneuver like how they are supposed to.
but body wise the BES2600 is the closest you will get to retail but (it's 50/50 depending on batch if it is the metal one your gucci)
https://www.reddit.com/r/AirReps/comments/1sdb7qr/airpods_max_bes2600_blue_review/
I dont have a pair of them but looking at the images they are closer to the reps I have
the volume button on all is slightly stiffer than the retail, the retail's are verrrry loooose I heard that the BES version is very loose too so that's cool. The buttons are clicky on all the reps the retail's don't click its a mute press feel.
ANC/Transparency:
V2: It's a joke dont even bother
V2.5: I dont have that pair
V3: Really good but there is a hiss that I don't like, you can change the way it works on the airoha sdk app. I only use the hiss mode because it suppresses the sound better than the mode with no hiss but the difference is minimal. Transparency too it sounds a little but artificial compared to retail, there is a hiss too but you can change the mode in the app to turn it off, transparency is kinda better on the reps because it sounds enhanced which makes it sound artificial while the retail sound normal like you don't have headphones in your ear. Noise cancellation is lowkey almost close to retail but retail blows it out of the water because it can block out a wider frequency but they both block out the basic sounds.
Sound:
V2: with EQ and retail earcups, they sound like a premium headphone but the voices are slightly muddy and higher frequencies are too compared to the others. The bass is identical to retail though
V3: (U need retail ear-cups or really soft ones for the most accurate sound) I was surprised because I thought they are no where near retail before I decided to buy the real pair. They are REALLY close but they had to FREAKING ruin the bass on this pair like if the bass wouldn't FREAKING suppress and compress certain frequencies this would be like 96.5/97% retail quality. The "Pure Voice" option on flycc will get you close to retail and the voices are much more crisper than retail only if the bass didn't ruin the experience because this would sound as good as retail (it basically sounds like it is trying to replicate the retail tuning. The thing is the ultra bass is good too but these headphones LITERALLY CAN NOT HANDLE BASS PROPERLY so when you listen to bass heavy songs it messes up some frequencies, probably they reduced it because people were complaining about the V2. But listening at 100% volume kinds makes everything sound like it is on the verge of distortion but it does not sound distorted but it sound like if you increase it more it will. IF THEY RELEASE A SOFTWARE UPDATE FOR THE BASS ISSUE THAT WOULD BE A MIRACLE. CONTACT JENNY HITICITY AND OTHERS PLEASE!!
Software.
V2: pretty accurate when it comes to Head Tracking, Volume Control, Connection Sounds, Low Battery Sounds, etc. Dolby Atmos (Spacial Audio) is not as accurate though for my apple music listeners
V3: HORRIBLE, The volume control is disgusting, why do I hear a freaking software click when I am increasing the volume and then the music gets very quiet out of one side of my ear, and it is worse when you are increasing the volume fast ("click, click, click, click") and then the music gets ("quiet, "loud", quiet, "loud") like bro just put the V2 software in these for crying out loud. the connection sounds are accurate. head tracking is laggy, how is the V2 with an older chip have better head tracking than these??? Dolby Atmos (Spacial Audio) sounds just like retail. The low battery sound is not even right, it is some random beep.
basically if the V2.5 and the BES have better performance than the V2 and V3 they are as close as you are getting to retail right now unless they release a SOFTWARE UPDATE soon for the V3 cause this is horrible, it has the most potential.