The Audeze Maxwell Gaming Headset
The Audeze Maxwell has made quite the splash in the gaming headset market. This high-end headset offers premium sound quality, excellent wireless performance, and long battery life – making it a top choice for serious gamers. But how does it stack up to the competition? And is it worth the price tag? This detailed review breaks down all the key features and performance aspects of the Audeze Maxwell gaming headset.
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Overview and Key Features
The Audeze Maxwell is designed specifically with gamers in mind. The planar magnetic drivers provide highly detailed and accurate sound reproduction that can pick out even subtle audio cues in games.
Some of the standout features include:
- Large 90mm planar magnetic drivers for superior sound quality
- Deep ear cups that help immerse you in the audio
- Detachable boom microphone for clear voice chat
- 80+ hours of battery life for extended gaming sessions
- Dolby Atmos and Bluetooth 5.3 LE support for wireless gaming
- Multi-platform compatibility with Xbox, PlayStation, and PC
- User-customizable EQ via companion app
With premium drivers and the latest wireless codecs, the Audeze Maxwell has set the new standard for high-end gaming audio. The long battery life also makes it practical for all-day gaming.
Sound Quality
The Audeze Maxwell’s stellar sound quality sets it apart from most gaming headsets on the market. The large 90mm planar magnetic drivers are able to reproduce audio with exceptional clarity across the entire frequency spectrum – from deep bass to sparkling highs.
The headset isn’t tuned to emphasize any particular frequency range, resulting in a more neutral sound profile. This gives the audio excellent balance without over-boosting any highs, mids or lows. As a result, you can pick out subtle sounds like enemy footsteps or reloading sounds more easily.
You also have the option to tweak the EQ settings to your liking via the Audeze HQ companion app. It offers a 5-band equalizer along with presets for different gaming genres. This level of customizability allows you to dial in the sound signature that best suits your needs.
Overall, audiophiles and serious gamers alike will find little to complain about with the pristine and natural sound reproduction of the Audeze Maxwell. The clarity offered here is practically unrivaled by any other wireless gaming headset currently available.
Microphone Quality
Clear communication is crucial for online gaming, and this is another area where the Maxwell delivers. It comes with a flexible and detachable broadcast-quality microphone on a boom arm. The microphone offers excellent noise cancellation so your voice sounds full-bodied and highly intelligible to teammates.
Even in loud or crowded environments, the mic picks up your voice cleanly while minimizing background noise. This allows you to communicate critical game information to your squad without having to raise your voice or repeat callouts.
For streamers, the microphone quality also lends your voice a certain smooth, professional sheen similar to what you’d hear from radio broadcasters. Overall, both squad communications and live streams benefit tremendously from the clear and detailed vocal pickup.
Design and Comfort
The Audeze Maxwell gaming headset looks right at home in any modern gaming setup, with an all-black color scheme and angular ear cups. Build quality is superb, with a durable and flexible headband that should hold up well to regular gaming use. The ear cups and headband padding are made from smooth synthetic leather.
However, comfort could be better – especially for longer gaming sessions. At 490g total weight, the headset errs on the heavier side. The combination of weight and clamping force may cause discomfort around the jaws and behind the ears after a few hours of continuous wear. This is by far the biggest complaint from users about the headset’s design.
That said, the ear cups themselves are nice and spacious with plenty of room to fit around most ear sizes. As long as you don’t have an issue with the overall weight or squeeze of the headset, it should be perfectly comfortable for daily gaming use. Just don’t expect to wear it for 6+ hour marathon sessions without the occasional break.
Connectivity and Compatibility
The Audeze Maxwell delivers rock-solid wireless performance thanks to support for the latest Bluetooth 5.3 LE Audio standard. You get low-latency, artifacts-free audio transmission directly to the headset so you can game lag-free up to 80+ feet away from your console or PC.
The headset also supports Dolby Atmos decoding, allowing you to take full advantage of spatial surround sound audio provided by games and media. This gives you pinpoint accuracy in detecting enemy locations based on sounds. For Xbox users, Dolby Atmos decoding works right out of the box. PlayStation users will need to purchase the Dolby Atmos app to enable this.
As far as compatibility goes, the Audeze Maxwell works with PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S consoles, as well as PCs and Macs. You’ll just need to choose either the Xbox or PlayStation version of the headset depending on what ecosystem you game on more. Both headset versions also work perfectly fine with a PC or Mac as well using either the 2.4Ghz wireless dongle or over Bluetooth. So regardless of your gaming platform, you’ll have full wireless functionality.
Battery Life
The integrated rechargeable battery inside the Audeze Maxwell gaming headset is an absolute beast. Audeze claims up to 80 hours of battery life, which was close to the real-world results in multiple reviews.
In SoundGuys’ testing, they managed to squeeze over 64 hours of continuous use out of the headset before it finally died. Tom’s Guide also reported getting 2 full days (48 hours) of gaming use per charge. Either way you slice it, you can game wirelessly for days on end without worrying about the battery giving out on you at the worst possible moment. This kind of longevity is unmatched by any similar wireless gaming headset currently available.
When it does eventually run out of juice, the headset fully recharges in around 2 hours. It uses USB-C charging, with a 6 foot USB-C to USB-A charging cable included. Topping it off for just 30 minutes nets you a solid 10 additional hours of battery life. So even if you do manage to drain it completely, you won’t be down for long before you’re wirelessly gaming again.
Performance Summary
| Specs | Details |
| Sound Quality | Superb clarity and imaging from large 90mm planar magnetic drivers. Natural, balanced sound profile that’s highly customizable via EQ presets. |
| Microphone Quality | Excellent background noise cancellation allows your voice to come through clearly. Smooth, full-bodied vocal tone. |
| Design and Comfort | Sleek gamer aesthetic but slightly heavy at 490g. Padding could be plusher for improved long-term comfort. |
| Connectivity | Solid overall wireless performance thanks to Bluetooth 5.3 LE and Dolby Atmos support. |
| Battery Life | Class-leading 80+ hours of continuous gaming usage per charge. |
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Phenomenal sound quality for gaming and music
- Low-latency wireless performance with long range
- Excellent microphone pickup quality
- Compatible across Xbox, PlayStation and PC
- Over 64 hours of battery life in real-world testing
Cons
- Slightly heavy and uncomfortable for longer gaming sessions
- Companion app for EQ customization feels unpolished
- Dolby Atmos support requires separate purchase on PlayStation
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FAQs
Q: How long does the battery actually last?
A: In multiple reviews, the Audeze Maxwell lasted over 60 hours of continuous gaming on a single charge. So you can expect at least 2-3 days of wireless usage before needing to recharge.
Q: Can the headset be used wired?
A: Yes, the Audeze Maxwell gaming headset ships with a USB-C to 3.5mm audio cable for passive wired connectivity when the battery runs out.
Q: Is the microphone removable?
A: Yes, the high-quality boom microphone attached is fully detachable for when you just want to listen to music or videos wirelessly.
Q: Does the headset work with Nintendo Switch or mobile devices?
A: Unfortunately no – the Audeze Maxwell is designed specifically for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC/Mac gaming. It does not support connections to the Nintendo Switch, smartphones, or tablets.
Q: What EQ customization options are available?
A: The headset offers a 5-band equalizer and genre-based presets that can be accessed on a PC/Mac via the Audeze HQ companion app. Options include FPS, RPG, and Cinematic presets.
Conclusion
The Audeze Maxwell stands out as one of the most premium-quality gaming headsets currently available. It backs up its $300-plus pricing with phenomenal, cinematic sound, excellent wireless performance, and incredible battery stamina. Mic quality is also top-notch for ensuring clear voice chat.
That said, the headset is held back slightly by comfort and ergonomic issues that become apparent during longer gaming sessions. And console users may be frustrated by the lack of Dolby Atmos support on PlayStation.