Audeze Maxwell Wireless Gaming Headset for Xbox & Windows

Product Information

The Audeze Maxwell Wireless are impressive planar magnetic gaming headphones. They're also some of the best gaming headphones we've tested to date. When we published our review on April 24th, 2023, we observed the conversation surrounding our review, including Audeze's public response to our measurements, which caused doubt in our results. However, after reviewing all the comments, we launched an extensive investigation; our goal wasn't to prove that our measurements were correct but to find out how this product truly performs. Ten passes via wired USBtaken fromour standardlatency testingPC, after resetting it. Like with the dongle, weunpluggedand re-plugged the USB connection after each pass. The Maxwell has four connectivity options: 2.4GHz wireless, Bluetooth 5.3, wired via USB-C, and analog. While the headset can connect to both 2.4GHz wireless and Bluetooth 5.3 at the same time, it can’t play audio from both wireless sources simultaneously, like the Corsair Virtuoso RGB Wireless XT or the Logitech G735 can. It can, however, play dual-source audio simultaneously provided one of the sources is wired — e.g., it can play audio simultaneously over an analog connection and Bluetooth. It’s an active headset with an internal DSP and a built-in DAC, so it will need to be powered on even if you’re using a wired analog connection. In terms of chipset improvements, the Maxwell uses a newer more powerful dedicated DAC and amp sections. The DSP is also much more powerful compared to Penrose. This gives Maxwell much larger dynamic range and a lower noise floor compared to Mobius and Penrose. We've added a comparison between these headphones and the Logitech G PRO X 2 LIGHTSPEED Wireless in Comfort.

The bass is accurate enough that you can hear all the sub-bass elements well. Though the bass goes deep, it’s worth noting that it is quieter than other neutral headphones and gaming headsets. It’s got a wider frequency range, yes, but it does not have a lot of oomph. As a result, explosions in games, videos, and music do not hit that hard unless you turn the volume up to 90% or the content itself has a lot of sub-bass. For most head shapes and sizes, as long as you don’t need both sides to be on the lowest screws (which maximizes size for the biggest heads), the headband will be suspension style. Do note that while we try as much as possible to accommodate all head shapes and sizes, the strap does touch the steel headband when the the strap is set to allow for the largest size. Maxwell will work with existing Dolby Atmos licenses. If it was previously enabled on PC, you can continue using it for Maxwell as well. The Audeze Maxwell has great width, but its height and depth is where it truly shines. It is really rare for a wireless headphone to have such good imaging as well as such a massive dynamic soundstage. This also means that these headphones are not just for games. They are suitable for listening to music too and I highly recommend it! Presets and my love of the V shape sound for gaming Crucial for gaming headphones, the Maxwell headphones feature ultra-low latency wireless connectivity, keeping you totally in sync with the onscreen action. Compatible wireless connectivity includes LC3plus, LE Audio and LDAC.Maxwell is built on an all-new premium chassis including aluminum yokes and a spring steel headband for durability. Play in comfort, all day, all night with the deluxe contoured earpads and replaceable suspension strap. Shut out the world around you with class-leading passive noise reduction from the reinforced dual-chamber earcups. Maxwell uses an All-New Reinforced Chassis Built with Aluminum yokes, spring steel headband, and glass infused nylon for other structural parts including the cups.

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.Our new measurements show non-Bluetooth wireless latency is ~34 ms and wired USB is ~18 ms. This means that latency depends on your setup and that some people may have higher or lower latency than others. By learning how latency fluctuates depending on the device and by unplugging/replugging the dongle into the same port, we improved and re-evaluated our test. We thank Audeze for pointing out these flaws in our methodology and pushing us to explore new, more accurate ways of measuring latency. Audeze have you sorted in terms of the connection to your device as well. The Maxwell Ultraviolet comes complete with Bluetooth 5.3 and a low latency connection, hitting up a simple dongle that connects to your Xbox console. USB-C ended with a switch allowing you to use it on PC or Xbox, when combined with a fairly short, but utterly essential USB-C to USB-A cable, attaching things to console is a cinch. Connection has been nothing but solid too, instantly aligned as and when the Xbox console, and then the headset, has been switched on. Don’t get me wrong. That mic is still able to project some really decent comms across the board. It comes with an AI powered noise filter built in and we’ve found the comms going out to be of extremely high standard. It’s just that full integration would be a personal preference. Though I haven’t used this headset for that many hours, what I can tell you is that I’ve been testing it for about a week now, and I have yet to charge it again. Audeze Maxwell: Price & availability Are the headsets cross compatible with the dongles (will PS dongle work on Xbox headset and vice versa)?