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Audeze Maxwell 2: one-minute review
Audeze is known for enthusiast-level audiophile hardware. When that tech drips down to the Maxwell gaming line, reviewer and consumer alike have an important question to ask: Can we actually hear a difference versus the competition?
The answer in this case is a resounding, 90mm driver-powered ‘yes’ in the form of the new Audeze Maxwell 2 wireless gaming headset that rattles your eardrums and stupefies you into a kind of aural nirvana. In 15 years of reviewing audio equipment from gaming to studio product categories – and do excuse me while I do a little sick in my mouth at the pompousness of this statement – I’ve rarely heard such a well-rounded and emotive frequency response.
It’s important to keep that in mind, because although there is good reason to be critical of this headset as a consumer release, it really can’t be faulted in raw audio terms. If great sound is all you care about, money no object, then you’ve already read all you needed to in this review. Go and enjoy your new headset.
But gaming headsets have become an incredibly crowded vertical, and in the race to win our attention and money, manufacturers have really spoiled us with features lately. Broadcast-quality noise-cancelling mics, simultaneous 2.4GHz wireless and Bluetooth connections, and even active noise cancellation have started to feel like table stakes in the flagship model end of the market.
That places a lot of importance on the secondary features of this follow-up to the original Audeze Maxwell. After all, it follows a prior model (the ‘Gen 1’, if you will) that gobbled up acclaim and awards like a ravenous James Cameron on a nineties Oscars night. The Gen 1 Maxwells are available for around $100 / £100 less than the new ‘Gen 2s’, and sadly, there’s no single must-have feature about the newer incarnation that justifies spending more money.
The Gen 2s do feature the company’s SLAM Acoustic Management, a marketing buzzword for ‘better audio’ more or less, along with Bluetooth connectivity, a wider headband for better weight distribution, and redesigned physical controls that do indeed feel pleasant to locate and operate. But given that the newer model is 2.4oz / 70g heavier than its predecessor, elements like the headband design upgrade feel less like a win and more like a necessity.
So here I am in the very strange position of reviewing a stellar headset that I can’t fully recommend, because so much of what makes it stellar was also true of the outgoing model.
Audeze Maxwell 2: price & availability
- List price: $349.99 / £339.99 / around AU$520 (Xbox version)
- Significantly more than the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless but less than the Nova Elite
- Maxwell V1 is still available and cheaper
You’d expect a premium price from an Audeze headset. The company has made its name by delivering no-compromise sound from audiophile-grade equipment, and a lot of that tech has found its way into the Maxwell gaming line. You can hear and feel the quality difference compared to the vast majority of gaming headsets immediately, even versus some of our favourite options like the Razer BlackShark V3 Pro and the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless.
There’s a slight price difference between the PS5 and Xbox versions of this headset, both of which are also compatible with PC and mobile devices via Bluetooth. The PlayStation option is slightly cheaper at $329.99 / £339, while the Xbox version has a $349.99 / £369 list price. This makes it significantly cheaper than the other recent audiophile gaming headset of the time, the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite, which retails for a chonky $599.99 / £599.99.
It’s not just the sound that communicates where the money’s been spent. The build quality and presentation are also wonderful, like something you’d find waiting for you on an eye-wateringly expensive first-class plane seat. The only caveat, as you’ll read numerous times throughout this review, is that the outgoing model is currently going cheaper, and it’s fundamentally just as good.
Audeze Maxwell 2: Specs
| Row 0 – Cell 0 |
Audeze Maxwell 2 |
|
Price |
$349.99 / £339.99 / around AU$520 |
|
Weight |
17.2oz / 490g |
|
Drivers |
90mm Planar Magnetic |
|
Compatibility |
PC, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch|2, MacOS, iOS, Android |
|
Connection type |
Bluetooth, 2.4GHz wireless, wired 3.5mm/USB-C |
|
Battery life |
80 hours |
|
Features |
Detachable hypercardioid 16-bit/48KHz high bandwidth mic with FILTER AI noise removal, internal beamforming mics, 24-bit/96kHz high-resolution audio, patent-pending SLAM technology, Bluetooth support for Auracast, LE Audio, LDAC, and AAC |
|
Software |
Audeze App (PC and mobile) |
Audeze Maxwell 2: Design & features
- Chunky and imposing looks, but very heavy
- Pro audio finish with impressive materials choices
- Control layout takes some getting used to
One thing’s for certain: you’re extremely unlikely to misplace this headset. Weighing in at 17.2oz / 490g (Or around 16.2oz / 460g if you remove the magnetic earcup plates) and featuring deep, luxurious cushioning around formidably large cups housing 90mm drivers, this is a strikingly solid model that conveys quality and longevity as soon as you cast your eyes over it. Brushed gunmetal finish, soft memory foam cushioning, and a new inner headband suspension strap with breathable holes combine to create an aesthetic that communicates the Maxwell 2’s mission: audiophile-grade gear in the gaming market.
I love that look, personally. I’m especially impressed by little details like the pin-sharp Audeze logos on each earcup, beneath the magnetic covers. Remove the detachable mic, and this is definitely a pair of headphones you wouldn’t mind being seen in public wearing.
There’s a downside to that: it’s an especially heavy model. Weight doesn’t have a linear relationship with discomfort, of course, and manufacturers can do plenty to minimise the effect of 17.2oz / 490g sitting across your cranium. But if you are prone to discomfort when wearing bulkier cans, this particular attribute is worth keeping in mind.
Personally, I found the comfort levels high for two to three hours of use. I do feel the weight across the top of my head, and also in the increased clamping force of the earcups around my ears, but not to such a degree that I need a break. It’s January as I write this in the UK, so heat isn’t an issue, but I could imagine the pleather earcup cushions might be more of an issue in hotter climes, as with any headset that has a lot of clamping force.
Moving on to the layout of its physical controls, redesigned for this Gen 2 model, I’m impressed overall. I love to have a physical chat mix dial on the headset, and sure enough, there’s a nice notched scroller with beautiful actuation on the rear-left earcup, just below the volume scroll wheel. On the right-hand cup are the power button and mic mute toggle switch, the latter of which is recessed so much that it can be slightly fiddly to operate, but it feels like the switch itself is of a high-quality, durable standard. The only fiddly aspect of the layout is the pairing button on the front of the left earcup, the position of which takes a little while to commit to memory.
Audeze Maxwell 2: Performance
- Sound with a genuine wow factor
- AI mic noise cancellation is hit or miss
- App support for further tweaks
Now we’re into the section where the Maxwell 2 shines. It takes a lot of clever designers, engineers, and the right suppliers to achieve audio this good, and, particularly in the gaming vertical, most manufacturers have simply never taken the commercial risk of spending this much to reach this level of fidelity.
Audeze has the advantage of having honed its tech in the enthusiast space, giving the company a library of designs and parts to refer to when designing a gaming model. We saw the fruits of that labour in the original Maxwell, and now those same 90mm drivers with their frankly preposterous 10Hz-50KHz frequency response have been tuned further with Audeze’s SLAM technology.
The marketing materials say this technology allows for “heightened spatial immersion, precise and punchier bass response”, and I can’t argue with that. Apparently, it’s all down to the physical construction of the drivers, not a software-level boost, and that’s always firmer ground to establish audio fidelity on.
The overall fidelity standard has raised its game in gaming headsets lately, so the difference between contemporaries like the Razer BlackShark V3 Pro or SteelSeries Arctis Pro Nova Wireless and this model isn’t as night and day as might have been the case five years ago, when ‘gaming’ models were still artificially boosting their low end at the cost of clarity. Rather, it’s that every component part of the aural landscape is that bit clearer and more emotive.
The bass response is huge, but tight. It doesn’t overwhelm the rest of the EQ spectrum, leaving room for sparkly high-end frequencies to chime. Human speech sounds true-to-life, indicating a well-tuned midrange response, while the stereo landscape feels impressively vast when you listen to the right sources. Try out some binaural recordings, and you’ll hear what I mean.
If audio reproduction is peerless – and it is – then audio output is a different story. The mic on this Gen 2 model features AI-assisted noise cancellation, and not to blame everything on Skynet’s malicious invasion of our lives, but it doesn’t work very well in my experience.
I’ve tested this headset using every connection type available, including digital and analog wired connections, but whenever I enable the AI noise cancellation, I get a muffled sound in Discord. That’s likely due to Discord and Audeze’s noise cancellation technologies working counterproductively over the top of each other, but whatever the cause, it’s a shame to have to turn off the noise cancellation.
After some tuning, the mic sounds much better. But at this price point, the expectation is for a mic with out-of-the-box quality. Similarly, there are some other chinks in the armor when you dig around in the connectivity options. Simultaneous Bluetooth connection is only possible with a digital or analog wired connection, rather than with the 2.4GHz wireless via the dongle – another feature you’d hope for at this price.
I can’t knock the 80-hour battery life, mind you. That’s an incredible figure, and charging is easy enough via a USB-C connection just below the mic.
Should you buy the Audeze Maxwell 2?
Buy it if…
Don’t buy it if…
Also consider…
Does this Audeze model put you ill at ease? Consider these premium wireless alternatives.
| Row 0 – Cell 0 |
Audeze Maxwell 2 |
Razer BlackShark V3 Pro |
SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless |
|
Price |
$349.99 / £339.99 / around AU$520 |
$249.99 / £249.99 / around AU$510 |
$349 (£329, AU$649) |
|
Weight |
17.2oz / 490g |
12.9oz / 367g |
11.85oz / 336g |
|
Drivers |
90mm Planar Magnetic |
Razer TriForce Bio-Cellulose 50 mm Drivers Gen-2 |
40mm neodymium |
|
Compatibility |
PC, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch|2, MacOS, iOS, Android |
PC, Xbox Series X (Xbox version only), PlayStation 5 (PlayStation version only), iOS, Android |
Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, Nintendo Switch, PC, Mac, Mobile |
|
Connection type |
Bluetooth, 2.4GHz wireless, wired 3.5mm/USB-C |
Bluetooth, 2.4GHz wireless (Hyperspeed dongle), USB wired, 2.5mm wired |
Wireless (2.4Ghz via dongle), Wired (USB-C), Bluetooth 5.3 |
|
Battery life |
80 hours |
70 hours |
Up to 60 hours (2 x fully-charged batteries), Infinite Power System |
|
Features |
Detachable hypercardioid 16-bit/48KHz high bandwidth mic with FILTER AI noise removal, internal beamforming mics, 24-bit/96kHz high-resolution audio, patent-pending SLAM technology, Bluetooth support for Auracast, LE Audio, LDAC, and AAC |
ANC, Razer HyperClear full-band 12mm mic, THX Spatial Audio |
40mm Neodymium, ANC, magnetic drivers, 360-degree spatial audio, retractable ClearCast 2.X mic |
|
Software |
Audeze App (PC and mobile) |
Razer Audio App, Razer Synapse |
SteelSeries GG/Sonar (PC) |
How I tested the Audeze Maxwell 2
- Weeks of solid use on PC, Xbox, and Mac
- All connection types tested
- Put through its paces in gaming, movies, music and work calls
When a headset with audio fidelity chops as formidable as this arrives, there’s only one thing for it: you play lossless classical music, as loud as your ears can withstand, until entering a stupor. That’s stage one of testing this headset.
Given that there are several connection options and multi-device compatibility, I checked each option off to ensure functionality and fidelity. I also updated the firmware via the Audeze software before poking around in the app options.
Given that the higher weight looked like it might be an issue, I wore the Maxwell 2 all day during my workday for a week straight, which included using it for work calls. That also gave me a chance to take feedback on the mic quality using different chat clients, which is where I identified that the Discord issue isn’t a universal noise-cancelling problem.
Oh, and in case you’re wondering, Baby Steps sounds fantastic through these things.
First reviewed December 2025-January 2026
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