Audeze’s Maxwell is the most affordable headphone the company has ever offered. While Maxwell is primarily marketed as a wireless gaming headset it also can be effectively used for general music production and for tracking/mixing immersive audio.
Maxwell is built from aluminum and steel, so it does have a little bit of weight to it. Nothing on Maxwell looks or feels cheap. The headphone uses a suspension headband, but it also has some leather padding just above that. The ear pads on Maxwell are extremely soft and have foam built in which makes Maxwell super comfortable to wear for long listening sessions. The overall build quality and the design of Maxwell looks and feels like a pair of high-end audiophile headphones.
Maxwell incorporates Audeze’s planar magnetic drivers’ technology which definitely separates these headphones from any other headphones on the market at this price point. The planar drivers add to Maxwell overall mid-range response which is important with gamers because of how you hear dialogue. In the studio, Maxwell also does a great job of separating guitars, especially acoustic guitars in your mix. Bass frequencies feel natural, and the overall soundstage feels clear and open.
Maxwell is offered in two versions, an Xbox version and PlayStation version. The only difference between the two headphones is just the dongle that connects to the respective gaming platform as both PlayStation and Xbox have different requirements in terms of hardware that it connects to the gaming platforms. Other than that, the headphones themselves are completely identical and both versions will work with Audeze’s head tracking integration for the Dolby Atmos Renderer. Note that the Dolby Renderer is not included, it must be purchased separately.
Included in the box, you get a USB-C cable for audio and/or charging, and a standard 3.5mm headphone cable. Maxwell also comes with a detachable hyper cardioid microphone which has a built-in A.I.-based noise reduction circuit Audeze calls FILTER™ and which does a great job of filtering out environmental noise.
The battery life on Maxwell is seriously impressive. Audeze says you can get a little over 80 hours of normal use on a single charge. Maxwell also has one of the most impressive fast charging times that I have seen on any headset or headphone. A 20-minute charge will give you battery life all day, which means you can realistically use Maxwell for longer tracking and mixing sessions without having to worry about having to recharge the headphones in the middle of your work.
Maxwell uses wheels instead of actual buttons for most of the controls including the overall volume control wheel to balance your chat or game mix. Physical buttons include a volume control, power button and a mic mute switch.
Maxwell has an available free desktop app with your Mac or PC. There is also an available mobile app which gives you a link to keep the headphone firmware up to date.
Purchasing Maxwell includes a free download to Audeze’s head tracking integration for the Dolby Atmos Renderer. Once downloaded, in order for the head tracking to work, you need to have the latest firmware version installed on your headphones. In order for the head tracking integration to work, Maxwell needs to be connected to your computer via USB wired or wireless dongle. Head tracking does not work over Bluetooth or analog. In short, you can easily connect the Maxwell with head tracking to the Dolby Atmos Bridge to play directly from the Dolby’s Renderer or mix through in most DAW software programs including ProTools, Studio One, Logic and others.
Once you set the Atmos Renderer inputs to the Dolby Audio Bridge and then set the outputs to the Dolby Atmos Renderer you will see that the headtracker in the Dolby ATMOS Renderer moves with your head position. There is no additional software needed. If you ever need to re-center the Maxwell because the tracking drifted off a little, you do that with a firm double-tap anywhere located on the headphone.
Sum it up, Maxwell is a great wireless gaming headphone that can also double as a professional level headphone for music production. Maxwell is also great for general listening enjoyment. Not only that, you are getting access to Audeze’s planar magnetic driver technology in the most affordable headphone Audeze has ever offered as well as rock solid wireless Bluetooth technology and real world, all-day battery life.
Audeze’s Maxwell is available now at a bargain price of MAP $299.
Find out more at audeze.com/products/maxwell-wireless-gaming-headset
