The Audeze Maxwell are feature-packed gaming headphones that come in Xbox and PlayStation variants. They have a detachable boom mic as well as an integrated mic and support LDAC codec for streaming Hi-Res audio, and you can pair them with two different devices in many ways. However, what sets them apart from competitors like the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless are their planar magnetic drivers, which can help them output more bass and keep distortion low compared to more common dynamic drivers. This kind of driver is pretty heavy and can be fatiguing to wear over time. Planar magnetics are also more complex and harder to match; our model's L/R drivers have some phase response mismatch, affecting the placement of objects in the stereo image.
Note: We investigated the original measurements for the Audeze Maxwell and updated the results. For more details, please check out our article.
Our Verdict
The Audeze Maxwell are gaming headphones and aren't the best choice for sports and fitness. They're heavy and bulky and can easily fall off your head with moderate movement. On the upside, you can detach the boom mic to help minimize their gamer-centric design.
- Outstanding battery life.
- Well-built design.
- Not very portable.
- Not very stable and can fall off your head with moderate movement.
The Audeze Maxwell are gaming headphones, and while you can make them look more casual by detaching their boom mic, they're still heavy and bulky, which can be a deal breaker if you want to use them for travelling. They also don't block out much of the low rumble of bus and plane engines, and their fit can become fatiguing over time. That said, they have a very long battery life that lasts through long days on the go.
- Outstanding battery life.
- Well-built design.
Disappointing full-range noise isolation performance.
- Not very portable.
The Audeze Maxwell are okay for office use if you don't mind the heavy, gamer-centric design. They have over 70 hours of continuous playback time and can be paired with your PC and smartphone simultaneously via several different connectivity options. While they lack noise cancelling, they can block out some mid-range noise, like ambient chatter, and a lot of high-pitched noise, like the hum of A/C fans. That said, their fit can be fatiguing to wear for long periods.
- Great overall boom mic performance.
- Supports multi-device pairing.
Disappointing full-range noise isolation performance.
- Not very portable.
The Audeze Maxwell are very good for wireless gaming. They come in Xbox and PlayStation variants, so it's important to ensure you get the right model for your needs. Their wireless dongle ensures low latency, so your audio and visuals stay in sync while gaming. They have a fairly balanced sound out of the box, but you can also use their companion software's EQ presets to adjust their sound to suit your tastes. If you like to game with others, their boom mic ensures your voice sounds clear and accurate, even if you're talking in noisy environments. You can pair the headphones with your console and smartphone simultaneously, too.
- Great overall boom mic performance.
- EQ presets available.
- Outstanding battery life.
- Low non-Bluetooth wireless latency.
- Not very stable and can fall off your head with moderate movement.
The Audeze Maxwell are very good for wired gaming. They have a balanced sound that most users will enjoy, and their boom mic offers a great overall performance, ensuring you're heard clearly, even in noisy environments. You can also use either variant of these headphones via analog or wired USB on PCs. However, the manufacturer recommends that you use the correct variant with each console to avoid potential functionality issues. In addition, there's some feedback present when using the analog cable, and the mic can pick it up, which is a little disappointing.
- Great overall boom mic performance.
- EQ presets available.
- Outstanding battery life.
- Low non-Bluetooth wireless latency.
- Not very stable and can fall off your head with moderate movement.
The Audeze Maxwell have decent audio reproduction accuracy. Their frequency response closely resembles our in-house preference curve, and there's plenty of scope to tune them to your preferences via the in-app graphic EQ and presets. Their frequency response doesn't fluctuate much from their warm sound profile either, with most notable deviations resulting from mismatches between the L/R drivers. These mismatches are audible in the high bass and low-mid ranges and occur in both phase and frequency response. That said, tolerance between L/R drivers tends to vary between units, so your experience may differ. The drivers produce little harmonic distortion, so you won't notice any audible timbral coloration, even at elevated listening levels.
The Audeze Maxwell have a disappointing noise isolation performance, though they're not designed with this in mind. They lack an ANC system, so they're unable to attenuate bass frequency noises, like rumbling bus engines outside your window, but their closed-back design provides some isolation against mid- and treble-range noises.
The Audeze Maxwell have a great microphone performance. The detachable mic's recording quality is already good, capturing your voice in a clear, relatively detailed way, but it excels at isolating your voice from your background. Even if you're gaming in the living room with others around you, your teammates online will still be able to make out what you're saying.
The Audeze Maxwell have disappointing frequency response consistency. As their headband's range of adjustment is quite limited and the earcups are large, this design can make it challenging to achieve a consistent fit for certain people. Inconsistencies affect sound delivery, so your own personal experience with these headphones can differ from our frequency response measurements. This is especially true if you wear glasses, have a larger head, or have long hair, as this can impact the ability to form a good seal and cause deviations in the bass range.
Performance Usages
Changelog
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Updated Mar 12, 2026:
This review has been updated to Test Bench 2.1, which removes the Group Delay test and rebalances scoring for the Harmonic Distortion test and Audio Reproduction Accuracy performance usage. For more details, consult our full changelog. As part of the test bench, this review's Peaks/Dips calculations were also updated.
- Updated Mar 12, 2026: This review has been updated to Test Bench 2.1, which removes the Group Delay test, and rebalances scoring for the Harmonic Distortion test and Audio Reproduction Accuracy performance usage. For more details, consult our full changelog.
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Updated Jan 13, 2026:
The Popular Headphones Comparisons box was updated to mention the Audeze Maxwell 2.
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Updated Nov 06, 2025:
We added a reference to the Razer BlackShark V3 Pro in the Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios box.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Audeze Maxwell come in two console-locked variants: 'Xbox' and 'PlayStation.' We tested the 'Xbox' variant. Both variants come in the 'Dark Gray' colorway. There's also a limited 'Ultraviolet Edition,' released August 15th, 2023, designed for Xbox. This model has a glossy electroplated color scheme that transitions from blue to pink. Since it's only a cosmetic change, we expect our results to be valid for this variant.
If you encounter another variant of these headphones, please let us know in the comments.
Popular Headphones Comparisons
The Audeze Maxwell are premium planar magnetic headphones that come in separate variants for PlayStation and Xbox. Like the Audeze Penrose Wireless and the Audeze Mobius, they're equipped with a boom mic for gaming as well as an integrated mic for more casual situations. They also have EQ presets available in their companion app to help you get the best sound. They're pretty heavy compared to other gaming headphones, which can be a drawback during long gaming sessions. The Audeze Maxwell 2 has also since been released, which is worth considering, but like most planar magnetic designs, it's not a light headset either. They're not as customizable as the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless or the Astro A50 Gen 4 Wireless 2019, but they offer robust connectivity options and have an exceptionally long continuous playback time.
If you're looking for more headphones, check out our recommendations for the best gaming headsets, the best headsets for Xbox Series X/S, and the best wireless gaming headsets.
The Audeze Maxwell 2 are slightly better gaming headphones than the first-generation Audeze Maxwell, with a small caveat. The second generation have a noticeably better mic that does a superb job separating your voice from any noise around you. The on-ear controls also provide slightly better feedback in use. That said, other than mic performance, there's little to choose between them. The one caveat is that the second generation do offer less of the low-bass rumble that keeps explosions feeling immersive. It's not very noticeable most of the time, but if you're addicted to sub-bass, it's worth knowing.
The Audeze Maxwell have a slight edge over the Astro A50 Gen 4. While both headphones are well-built, the Audeze have a significantly longer continuous battery life and support Bluetooth. They can also be used wired via USB or analog. However, the Astro are more comfortable and their boom mic offers a better overall performance. The Astro also deliver audio more consistently between individuals and reseats.
The Audeze Maxwell is a better gaming headset than the Fractal Scape and is worth the additional outlay if you can afford it. It has better cross-console compatibility, given that the Fractal won't work with Xbox consoles, and it's also better-built with a longer 77-hour battery life. On top of this, it has a more balanced default sound and supports the LDAC codec for high-bitrate audio streaming. While these are all feathers to its cap, the Fractal does have a better mic recording quality and surpasses the Audeze in a few technical aspects that will be important to some users. The Audeze's frequency response consistency is negatively impacted by the headband's limited range of adjustment. As a result, it can be difficult to achieve a good fit with solid L/R channel alignment, especially if you wear glasses or have long hair.
The Razer BlackShark V3 Pro and the Audeze Maxwell are gaming headsets with slightly different strengths. The Razer offer a lower latency wireless connection, and our unit has better-matched left and right drivers, making it easier to correctly locate objects like enemy fighters in the stereo field. They also have ANC, so they're a better choice if you game in noisy areas. On the other hand, the Audeze feel a bit better built, their mic has better noise handling, and you may prefer their warm default sound, compared to the Razer's V-shaped profile. That said, you can tweak the sound profile of each headset in their respective companion apps.
Our How We Test Headphones article takes you behind the scenes in our lab. You'll learn how we choose and purchase products and dive into the details of our review philosophy, from testing and scoring to writing and editing.
You can also discover how we produce recommendations like this one so that you can find the best headphones (or earbuds!) for your needs.
Test Results
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