16" M3 Max MacBook Pro & 27" Apple Cinema Display (A1316) not connecting

OK, I now have the second USB-C to Mini Display Port adaptor and it works (for those picky about colour, the aberrations seen in the wallpaper is 2˚ to photographing at an angle through aircraft windows).

Now, the question is, whether the first brand (Comsol, made in CN) was an aberration/badly made/broken/not as advertised/unreliable/other permutation of doesn't work, or whether the second one (Aswin, made in CN) is an aberration/well made/not broken/is as advertised/reliable.

Works ...

Doesn't work ...

As an aside, some reviews have made mention that the Aswin one doesn't work with audio, but mine had no problems. Whether those problems are down to mixed/unreliable manufacture is an open question, along with reviews that say it doesn't work at all, although some have clearly bought the incorrect adaptor (trying to use it on a Apple Thunderbolt Display model nr A1407, rather than the correct Apple MMEL2AM/A Thunderbolt 3/USB-C to Thunderbolt 2 adaptor).

I remain baffled why Apple did not make either an HDMI to Mini Display Port adaptor or a USB-C to Mini Display Port adaptor (they obviously though it worthwhile to make the Apple MMEL2AM/A Thunderbolt 3/USB-C to Thunderbolt 2 adaptor) and left it to outside companies (perhaps without the same levels of QC & GMP assurance to manufacture them).

I am now tempted to try to obtain the male HDMI to female Mini Display Port adaptor cable (although at ≈ AU$150, very expensive).

If they do work, it would be the most sensible route, given that the sole dedicated video out port is the HDMI one (yes, I do know the USB-C/Thunderbolt 4 ones can do video, but why waste a port that is more likely to be used for other peripherals such as DVD/external drives/USB sticks et cetera?).

As it happens, this past weekend, I borrowed one of these Answin male HDMI to female Mini Display Port adaptor cables and it works perfectly, the 27" Apple Cinema Display (A1316) firing up immediately upon hot-plugging it in to the 16" M3 Max MacBook Pro (A2991) thus giving back an otherwise blocked Thunderbolt 4/USB-C port, a port better used for external disks or other peripherals.

Now to attempt to get one sent to AU at a reasonable price (unsure quite why it is not possible to buy direct from Answin in CN, rather than go via a 2nd/3rd/4th party on US Amazon ...).

Whether a cheaper brand would work, I am unsure, but this is the second Answin product (first was the USB-C to Mini Display Port adaptor) that I've used that works, so unless that is pure coincidence or dumb luck, I think I'll stick with this brand for the meantime (both adaptor cables appear to be well made, although unknown is the quality of the internal chips that allow the adaptation & transmission of the signals, both audio & video).

"I am now tempted to try to obtain the male HDMI to female Mini Display Port adaptor cable (although at ≈ AU$150, very expensive).

If they do work, it would be the most sensible route, given that the sole dedicated video out port is the HDMI one (yes, I do know the USB-C/Thunderbolt 4 ones can do video, but why waste a port that is more likely to be used for other peripherals such as DVD/external drives/USB sticks et cetera?)."

In the final reduction, both the USB-C to Mini Display Port adaptor and the male HDMI to female Mini Display Port adaptor cables from Answin work to connect the 16" M3 Max MacBook Pro & 27" Apple Cinema Display (A1316).

My preference is to use the male HDMI to female Mini Display Port adaptor because, why would you waste a Thunderbolt 4/USB-C port when there was already a HDMI audio/video out provided (not to cast shade on high-end video editing professionals who want the Thunderbolt 4 levels of quality)?

More important to me, by using the male HDMI to female Mini Display Port adaptor cable is that it is giving back an otherwise blocked Thunderbolt 4/USB-C port, a port better used for external disks or other peripherals.

The other brand I tried for the Mini Display Port to USB-C did not work, so I suspect that many concerns about whether there is a problem connecting the older monitor to the newer MacBook Pros are probably down to variability in the manufacture of the adaptors available (there was not a great price difference between the two USB-C to Mini Display Port adaptors I tried, but only the one worked).

"I am now tempted to try to obtain the male HDMI to female Mini Display Port adaptor cable (although at ≈ AU$150, very expensive)."

Looks like there is a great disparity of pricing (at least for some of us) ... in the above links for the Answin HDMI adaptor cable, it is ≈ AU$150 from that vendor.

Digging further, I found another vendor that purports to be US branch of Answin, with a price ≈AU$50 for the same male HDMI to female Mini Display Port adaptor cable ... quite how there can be a 3-fold difference between two vendors, I'm at a loss to explain ...

"I found another vendor that purports to be US branch of Answin, with a price ≈AU$50 for the same male HDMI to female Mini Display Port adaptor cable ..."

I ordered and have now received this cable which works perfectly, so now it is 3/3 for Answin adaptor cables working correctly (and shipping quickly to AU from the US within 1/52 instead of the more common 1/12).

Which, even though it a small sample size, may go some way to confirming my above thought ... "I suspect that many concerns about whether there is a problem connecting the older monitor to the newer MacBook Pros are

probably down to variability in the manufacture of the adaptors available" ... so much for Apple leaving the field open to 3rd party manufacturers to make peripherals ... insert eyeroll & facepalm emojis here ...

Most importantly to me, by using the male HDMI to female Mini Display Port adaptor cable is that it has given back an otherwise blocked Thunderbolt 4/USB-C port, a port I can now use for external disks or other peripherals.