Audeze Maxwell Wireless Gaming Headset for Xbox & Windows

Product Information

We've added a comparison between these headphones and the Logitech G PRO X 2 LIGHTSPEED Wireless in Comfort.

Ten passes via wired USBtaken fromour standardlatency testingPC, after resetting it. Like with the dongle, weunpluggedand re-plugged the USB connection after each pass.Clearly, these headphones were intended for online gaming and there are presets in the app that let you toggle to an algorithm that was specifically set up to tailor to distant footsteps in FPS online gaming. In short:Game/Chat balance is simply done by adjusting the lower wheel (chat/communication wheel) up and down. Mic gain is now automatically controlled (adjusts microphone volume automatically). Famed for their powerful, detailed sound, Audeze’s Planar Magnetic headphones have stormed the high-end market. Now available in their latest gaming headphones, the Maxwell Xbox is Audeze’s answer to studio quality sound, on your Xbox.

The following test groups have been updated following TB 1.6: Wired Connection, Bluetooth Connection, and Wireless Connection (Dongle). There have also been text changes made throughout the review, including to the usages and product comparisons to match these results. I wonder how these would sound fully open? In my opinion, the treble needs to breathe a bit more, and make the FPS pinpointing in shooters online feel a bit more natural than it portrays it.

The Maxwell sounds fantastic, whether you’re gaming, chatting, or listening to music. You won’t find a better-sounding gaming headset at (or near) this price point. It’s also surprisingly comfortable, despite being one of the larger and heavier headsets we’ve tried, and its 80+ hour battery life far outlasts most of the competition (though, so does its weight). The Maxwell makes more sense for the gamer-leaning-audiophile than does the Audeze LCD-GX, which is basically just an audiophile headset with a mic, and it’s also much cheaper. But there’s more to gaming headsets than being really, really... really ridiculously great-sounding. (A lot more, actually.)

Audiophile companies dish out a few models here and there that are aimed at the gaming universe, and all of them end up sounding pretty good. Yet, the typical gamer headphone rules the PC and the Xbox/PlayStation generation. The Maxwell's excellent audio profile also put on a strong showing while I played Fortnite. I could easily tell what direction distant gunfire came from without looking at the audio markers on the game’s compass. The actual mixing credit goes mostly to Sony for its Tempest 3D processing, but the effect wouldn’t work nearly as well if the Maxwell didn’t sound so balanced and detailed.This is the first time I’ve received it. Usually, planar headphones are not forward and lush in setup and tone. Treble

I don’t think we need a huge cut of metal for the headband unless you want to toss your headphones against the wall when someone is using an aimbot on your server. I see the excellent headband and solid metal frame as a detriment to the experience that could be cut down on weight with a different material. The included USB transmitter is a small, rectangular USB-C adapter with an indicator LED on the face and a PC-console switch on the side. A USB-C-to-USB-A cable is included if you don’t have any free USB-C ports, though the headset doesn’t come with a 3.5mm cable. The scurrying of the spiders around the next upcoming corner literally sent shivers up my spine. Flying my Night Dancer Broom under moonlight with the Maxwells on allowed for a sense of immersion I never experienced in my living room before. The wind was blowing my hair, the 360 degree-ness of what you can hear and just how every detail can be heard as well as felt, made a fantasy game about witches and wizards into a quasi hyper-realistic experience. In not so emotional terms: Unsurprisingly, the sound quality on the Audeze Maxwell is fantastic. Just a step below a true audiophile performance, it delivers detailed, articulate highs, rich mids, extended low end, and a great immersive soundstage. It’s clear and detailed with lots of headroom, making games like Kena: Bridge of Spirits, Cyberpunk 2077, and Hogwarts Legacy incredibly immersive to play. The internal battery of the Maxwell is 1800maH and allows for a 20-minute fast charging experience that can get you up to 25% full at 1.8amp (max). Thankfully, the cable they include is fully compatible with that fast charge potential.Below is a mode selector button, a boom mic input for external microphones, a dial that toggles volume intake, as well as a microphone output. Lastly, a 3.5mm standard cable entry. The right side cup is free of any buttons or dials. Pads & Cable Maxwell has a brand new driver design that was based on the original Mobius/Penrose design and is going to have a similar sonic signature. One of the biggest improvements comes from the new housing. In the Penrose/Mobius housing the left and right side were not acoustically balanced due to the presence of PCB on one side, and the battery on the other. Buttons were also mostly on the left. With Maxwell, we have a dual chamber design. There is an inner housing that acoustically isolates the driver from the electronics. This alone makes a huge improvement.