I’ve reviewed loads of headsets lately; some nice and a few not so nice. They’ve tended to prioritize sure facets over others as a way to stand out, with a couple of being strong jacks-of-all-trades that discover their manner into my listing for finest gaming headsets. But even after placing all these via their paces, high-end or in any other case, few come near a long-time favourite – I’m speaking in regards to the Audeze Maxwell.
I’m revisiting it because it has been certainly one of my high suggestions for fairly a while (particularly for PS5 house owners) and to see the way it holds up in 2025. While newer headsets have extra refinements and/or subtle options, only a few come near the Maxwell when it comes to pure audio efficiency, because it’s constructed like a pair of audiophile-style headphones. That’s to not say it doesn’t do the whole lot else proper, as a result of it’s nonetheless well-rounded with consolation, sturdiness, and a strong mic. You’ll wish to invoke some strict scrutiny when spending round $300 for a gaming headset, however the Audeze Maxwell nonetheless earns its stripes.
Audeze Maxwell – Design and Comfort
The very first thing I seen coming again to the Maxwell is simply how hefty it’s. This isn’t essentially a foul factor, although – it’s constructed like a brick home and has been sturdy via the years, however it’s nonetheless the heaviest headset I’ve used, coming in at 490g. However, its weight by no means felt prefer it wore me down or made the expertise uncomfortable. The headband, earcups, and forks are all strong aluminum to offer it that high-end sturdiness, and there isn’t actually any loud branding or outlandish stylization which retains it wanting modern and understated in true audiophile model.
The Maxwell has thick, dense, and plushy foam earpads wrapped in leatherette with simply the proper stability between firmness and softness to supply long-term consolation. Clamp drive is kind of gentle as nicely, which is good in your ears, however this implies it depends much more on the headscarf to bear the load in your head. While the Maxwell has a reasonably fundamental design with a skinny layer or foam between the metal headband and suspension strap, it’s enough for assuaging the stress atop your head. That suspension strap can be the way you get the headset to suit correctly, and it’s one of many few shortcomings of the Maxwell – it snaps right into a set of notches on the within of the headset and it’s a ache to regulate. This doesn’t offer you a lot room for finer changes, however as soon as I discovered the proper match, I didn’t have to consider it once more.
All the built-in controls for the Maxwell are on the left earcup. Alongside the earpad, you’ll discover the grasp quantity wheel and the in-game quantity/chat combine wheel subsequent to one another – you may simply combine these up at first, however I bought used to distinguishing the 2 with sufficient time. There’s additionally a 3.5mm audio jack in case you wish to use it as an analog wired headset, a USB-C port for charging and connecting to units, and the port for connecting the removable microphone. On the outer facet of the left earcup are the facility button on the decrease finish and microphone-mute toggle on the higher finish. These are giant, hard-to-miss buttons which are simple to make use of and fortunately don’t get misplaced within the jumble of controls on the earcup.
The removable increase mic can twist and kind to get in the proper place close to your mouth, and it comes with a pop filter. But the actual stars of the Maxwell are the 90mm planar magnetic drivers – whereas larger driver measurement doesn’t all the time imply higher sound high quality, that is one case wherein the headset lives as much as these expectations. I get into the main points in a while when speaking about sound high quality, however it’s value mentioning right here since it’s the important factor that stands out on the spec sheet.
Audeze Maxwell – Software, Customization, Battery Life
I wouldn’t have essentially known as it a disadvantage when it first got here out, however the Audeze HQ software program assist is kind of primitive. Thankfully, it’s extra simplistic reasonably than being bloated or convoluted. There simply isn’t a lot to configure apart from EQ settings, however among the many pre-made choices out there (that are meant to be fitted to particular situations), none of them sounded fairly proper. That is till I tweaked the primary customizable preset to seek out the proper stability inside its 10-band equalization – slightly enhance on the low-end and high-end helped deliver out one of the best within the Maxwell. Once I locked on this preset, it turned the one EQ setting I’ve used and it’s been great for each situation, gaming or in any other case.
There are a couple of different choices you may tweak like microphone sidetone (to get suggestions of your voice), the auto-shutdown timer, and quantity of the headset’s voice prompts – you may as well manually change the chat combine quantity within the software program as nicely. It retains issues easy, however while you see one thing like Turtle Beach’s Swarm II software program or SteelSeries Arctis app, I do want I might fine-tune issues a bit extra to dial-in microphone efficiency, for instance.
Audeze HQ is the way you monitor battery life, which you in all probability received’t have to fret about typically because the Maxwell is among the many finest on this space. It’s in a position to final round 80 hours from a full cost, and since utilizing it for 4 days straight for roughly 10 to 12 hours a day, it nonetheless sat at about 50% cost. Gaming headsets lately have made strides relating to battery life (a few of which additionally hit 80 to 100 hours off a full cost), and the Maxwell nonetheless stands with them, as I’d count on from a headset as hefty as this.
Audeze Maxwell – Sound Quality and Performance
Sound high quality is the place the Audeze Maxwell shines brightest. With the aforementioned EQ settings, I discovered stability throughout all frequencies. And even at excessive volumes, none of them sounded grating whether or not I used to be listening to the layered J-pop tunes of Yoasobi, the chaos of a Final Fantasy XIV raid, or the gunfire of a aggressive Counter-Strike 2 match whereas being attentive to delicate audio cues. It felt like having a house theater setup blasting into my ears with punchy bass, clear highs, and clear mids with a spacious supply to create a wealthy audio profile that few headsets can match.
Those qualities additionally let it shine relating to positional/directional audio, and it’s the factor I all the time harp on with headsets for aggressive gaming. In my handful of ranked matches in Counter-Strike 2, I used to be in a position to pluck out these particular sounds to anticipate enemy exercise whether or not it’s footsteps from a sure route, them reloading so I can get the bounce, or firefights off within the distance so I can rotate place on the map promptly. In all my latest headset critiques, I all the time give FFXIV a whirl and do my day by day/weekly actions to check issues out as a result of it may be a really busy audio expertise. The Maxwell is ready to lower via the distinct sounds of spells casting, skills going off, voice traces, and the soundtrack blaring – lesser headsets would crunch these sound results, making them mix with one another and/or sound harsh.
Since the pair I’ve can be designed for PlayStation, it’s in a position to make the most of the PS5’s Tempest 3D audio. It’s a proprietary spatial audio program and might make sure video games sound like they’re being performed over a house theater setup. I’m normally hesitant to make use of digital encompass sound choices since they will sound synthetic, however having used Sony’s Pulse 3D headset, Tempest 3D is a brilliant implementation. You get that very same stage of high quality for encompass sound out of the Audeze Maxwell – and I’d hope so given how way more costly it’s, even in comparison with the higher-end Pulse Elite. It’s a pleasant bonus is you’re a PS5 proprietor, as a result of single-player experiences can actually come to life in a singular manner – I don’t normally like describing issues as “immersive” because it has misplaced a few of its which means relating to audio gear, however it does really feel that manner with headsets just like the Maxwell.
While it’s not essentially among the many finest when it comes to readability, the microphone high quality itself is nice. However, it stands out for its nice noise isolation, which is actually one of the best I’ve examined lately. The Maxwell has AI-based noise discount, and with it on, the clack of my mechanical keyboard and different background noise can be blocked out. Even whereas speaking and making noise on objective, it’s in a position to deal with my voice and barely decide up anything. The solely mark towards the Maxwell on this regard is that the static from sidetone is kind of loud, extra so than different headsets. It’s a minor gripe for an in any other case strong mic.
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While I desire open-back headphones which are lighter on my head and a standalone mic for my PC setup, the Audeze Maxwell has made me assume twice about switching it up. It’s what I’d advocate alongside the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro – it simply will depend on what you’re searching for when it comes to options on a headset. But on PS5, that is my important headset due to its simple design, lengthy battery life, and long-term consolation on high of an audio expertise that justifies its asking value. So, when you’re of the mindset of sound high quality over the whole lot else, the Maxwell is the proper selection.
