Audeze Maxwell Review: The Only Headset You Need!

I have had the opportunity to test out several great headsets and speakers and some bad ones over the last six years. One thing each of the good ones offered was a transformative experience for any game I put them up against. Like a broken record, I will forever reiterate how essential a good audio setup is for gaming. Regardless of the device, I have a go-to from a list of favorite sets and brands. Over the last month, however, I have been testing out the Audeze Maxwell headset for Xbox and PC and it has handily replaced every other headset in my arsenal. Yes, that is how the company name is pronounced, so sorry to all you Audeze Nuts memesters out there. With stellar connectivity options and superb audio quality, regardless of where you play your games, this is the only set you will need to make it the ultimate experience!

What’s In The Box

Review sample provided by Audeze at a discounted price.

The Maxwell comes in a straightforward black box with a glossy depiction of the headset in the center. Key features are also highlighted here along with the “designed for Xbox” designation. The sides feature another set of highlights of the Maxwell in multiple languages and brief system compatibility. The back of the box gives us an exploded look into the anatomy of the headset with important build quality features that make the Maxwell unique. The Audeze HQ App is previewed plus expanded system compatibility is listed. Inside the box, you will find the Maxwell headset, removable boom mic, USB-C receiver, USB-A to USB-C cable, USB-C to USB-C cable, 3.5mm aux cable, and loads of documentation.

Aesthetics And Build Quality

The Maxwell is a large headset thanks to its inclusion of 90mm drivers! The design uses a closed back over the ear design with each earcup having a nice circular shape. Each earcup has memory foam padding in a leatherette covering for maximum comfort. This design does add some heat to your ears but, I haven’t found it bothersome during play sessions. The earcups offer a good depth so your ears don’t press against the drivers. They will also fit any ear shape and size thanks to built-in rotation on the yoke and headband. The padding is fully replaceable if it ever needs to be for any reason. The Maxwell fits firmly on my larger head and thanks to the memory foam doesn’t get uncomfortable, even with glasses.

The left ear houses all of the Maxwell’s onboard controls and ports. On the outer ear is a power button that doubles as a bluetooth pairing button and a mic mute switch for the internal array and detachable boom. Along the bottom resides: a volume wheel, game/chat mixer wheel, 3.5mm jack, USB-C port, boom mic port, and AI noise suppression button. Almost every button features one or more secondary functions to make the Maxwell completely usable from the headset alone regardless of device.

Because of its size, the Maxwell doesn’t feature an adjustment bar found in most headsets. This makes the Maxwell a one-size-fits-all set. The only form of size adjustment comes from a leather-like strap attached to a pair of screws on each side of the headband near the yoke. At its default middle position, the Maxwell didn’t rest right on my head resulting in extra pressure. Moving the straps to their lower positions perfected the fit. The leather band also works to distribute the headset's weight more evenly across your head. The headband is on the thin side, made out of steel, and has a memory foam pad to give it an overall nice feel when combined with the leatherette strap. By itself, it can feel too sharp, so if you plan to remove the strap I would advise against it.

I am a fan of the overall build quality. The headset feels firm in the hands with the steel headband and aluminum yokes providing ample strength to ensure it holds up to the daily wear and tear expected of it. Because of this, there is not much flexibility in the headband but it should prove sufficient for almost all use cases. Over the last month of testing, my review set has seen ample drops and spills without any negative results! But do be aware that it is a heavier headset as a result. Battery life also lasts for well over the advertised 80 hours and after a month I have only had to charge it once!

Specs And Audio Quality

The Audeze Maxwell has the following listed specs:

Audio

Style:         Over-ear (circumaural), closed-back

Transducer type:         Planar Magnetic

Magnetic structure:         Fluxor magnet array

Phase management: Fazor

Magnet type:         Neodymium N50

Diaphragm type:         Ultra-Thin Uniforce

Transducer size:         90 mm

Maximum SPL:         >120dB

Frequency response: 10Hz - 50kHz

THD:         <0.1% (@ 1 kHz, 1mW)

Spatial Audio:         Dolby Atmos (Xbox Version)

                                        Tempest 3D (PlayStation Version)

Weight:                 490g

Microphones

Boom Microphone: Detachable, Hypercardioid

Beamforming:         Physical and AI noise reduction, Internal mic for chat

Power

Battery type:         Lithium-polymer, 1800mAh

Battery life:         Over 80 hrs wireless playback @ 80dBA

Fast charge:         USB-C, 5v 1.8 Amp max - 25% charge / 20min (Full charge 2hr)

Connection

Wireless:                 Ultra-low-latency

Bluetooth 5.3:         Supports: Multipoint, LE Audio, LC3, LC3plus, LDAC, AAC, SBC

Wired - Digital:         USB-C with dual-audio endpoints and game-chat mix

Wired - Analog:         3.5mm TRRS active

Warranty:         1 year

With Audeze specializing in audiophile-grade headsets for many industries and applications, it’s no surprise that Maxwell has an incredible soundscape! It features a higher frequency response range compared to most gaming headsets, reaching up to 50kHz over the typical 20kHz. The Planar Magnetic drivers are also double the size of nearly every gaming-focused headset on the market today. Every subtle environment disturbance, a quick tap of a footstep, or a booming explosion is reproduced with such clarity you get immersed in the experience like never before. Highs, mids, lows, it doesn’t matter what you prefer, the Maxwell handles them all with exceptional grace! With the Audeze HQ app for PC and Android, several built-in eq presets can be selected to better tune the experience to your current need. One bonus of the Android app is it lets you manually adjust the eq to preferred levels. Of the built-in options, I have favored the Audeze and Immersive presets for my gaming needs. 

Adventure titles like Shadow of the Tomb Raider and its jungle ambiance sound incredible and the ambiance of flying through the skies in Ace Combat is better than ever! With a built-in Dolby Atmos license on the Xbox version, spatial sound is available to make positional audio readily available for Xbox and PC users. To be brief, it is simply the best I have ever heard come out of an Xbox console for gaming and supported media to date from a headset. Dolby DTS Headphone:X is also supported but doesn’t seem as well-tuned for the set compared to Dolby Atmos despite less compression. As a result, I have stuck to Dolby Atmos with the Maxwell. Diving into Apex Legends has been an insane blast with how easy it is to pick up on enemy positions and actions. More subtle environment queues have also been brought to the forefront of my attention. While the Maxwell doesn’t feature any form of active noise canceling, the closed-back design and snug fit of the earcups do a wonderful job of isolating outside noises, especially at higher volumes. Speaking of volume, even at max output the Maxwell doesn’t succumb to audio distortion!

While the set is focused on gaming, it is no slouch for music and movies. With Dolby Atmos support, streaming services and Blu-ray titles sound awesome and the reproduction of a surround sound setup is very convincing. Music is best enjoyed with spacial sound disabled but even when enabled, it doesn’t result in the typical echo I get on other sets to the point I forget about turning it off for simple music listening. Using the Maxwell for editing is also quite revealing for how much background noise I have in my recordings. Best yet, regardless of connection type, latency is unnoticeable, and audio quality differences between each are also negligible to my ears!

The detachable boom mic is an above-average performer and will work well for any in-game coms or discord call. For quick recordings, it also proves adequate with its onboard noise cancellation tech. An array of 4 additional mics is built into the Maxwell to allow communication even when the boom is detached. While less impressive, they still get the job done, and taking a quick phone call is a perfect use case. If desired, the Maxwell includes a sidetone feature to let you hear yourself and other ambient noises in your environment. It can be disabled for a more isolating effect. At any time the mic mute switch can be activated to mute all voice input.

Connectivity Behemoth

While this version of the Maxwell is “Designed for Xbox” it has worked incredibly on every device I have put it up against. With the included USB-C Receiver you have two operating modes, Xbox and PC. With the switch set to Xbox, the Maxwell pairs with Xbox One and Series consoles wirelessly. Switching the receiver to PC lets it similarly work on PC and unsurprisingly the Asus ROG Ally. But here is where things get fun: the PC operating mode also lets the receiver work without issue on my M2 Mac Mini, Nintendo Switch, Pixel 6 Pro, PS4, and PS5! Spacial sound options are available on each supported platform as well. Unfortunately, a firmware update could wipe out such functionality, but for now, it has made the Maxwell my one-and-done headset for every device I use them for.

Likewise, connecting a USB cable to the Maxwell’s USB-C port allows the same functionality across the same platforms! For further usability, the 3.5mm jack can be employed to bring the full capability of the Maxwell’s audio prowess to bear on any number of legacy devices like the Gameboy Advance, or for using it in a wired configuration on the Xbox and PlayStation! To add further toppings to this already stuffed cake, Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity offers further wireless capabilities to the Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, and Steam Deck plus many more Bluetooth-enabled devices! With its abundance of supported codecs, the listening experience is a good one with high quality and low latency. Audio also dynamically switches between the USB receiver and Bluetooth allowing it to be paired to two devices simultaneously. Unfortunately, audio from multiple devices can only be achieved with Bluetooth and a USB cable or a 3.5mm connection.

What It Could Have Done Better

After a month of testing the Maxwell, I do have a few areas of complaint about it. First comes down to the headband and leatherette strap design. With the strap attached to its lowest point, it presses directly up against the headband, reducing some of the suspension design meant to distribute the weight more evenly across your head. As a result, the thinner headband is more noticeable after prolonged sessions, and while never outright unbearable, it can get obnoxious. The headband and strap also don’t always sit well on your head and will begin to slide forward or back. This problem is exacerbated by moving your head around.

The multi-function controls will take a few days to get used to but even after they can still be fumbled with, resulting in a wrong input. The dual audio input, while being handy, prioritizes the Bluetooth connection so accidentally opening an audio source on a phone will kill your game audio. It doesn’t always switch back quickly and a few times I had to restart the headset to restore my game audio. Having a truly simultaneous connection between Bluetooth and the USB receiver would have been fantastic but alas it is not to be on the current firmware.

Verdict

At the asking price of $329 for the Xbox version of the Audeze Maxwell, it certainly isn’t a cheap purchase. But at the same time, it falls within the same price range as most upper-tier gaming headsets currently on the market. It also easily destroys most of them without remorse in terms of audio quality, connectivity, and functionality! With the current firmware offering perfect wireless support for Xbox, PC, Mac, PlayStation, and Switch I have been able to retire 4 different headset setups without a second thought. While there are better-sounding headsets available you won’t find one that sounds better than the Maxwell for under $600-$800. If you are in the market for an incredible gaming headset that will take your gaming experience to the next level, the Audeze Maxwell is the only choice you should consider!