Audeze Maxwell wireless gaming headset review — Harmonious hearing

When I hear the brand name Audeze, I associate it with quality. I also never would have thought it was pronounced “Odyssey”. While I’ve never owned a pair myself, friends have told me of the incredible ability these headsets contain. After using the new Audeze Maxwell wireless gaming headset, I can easily see why.

In the box you’ll find the headset, the detachable hypercardioid boom mic, a USB-C dongle with a USB adapter, a USB-C charging cable, and a 3.5mm cable. The quality of all of the components inside is extremely high; the expense feels justified. I also can’t thank Audeze enough for putting the USB adapter in the box, giving you the option to use a USB-A port instead of taking up the more limited USB-C port on your PS5 or computer.

Immediately you’ll notice the heft of the headset. This boy is a big one, made of thick spring steel and aluminum. Trust me when I say there’s no need for a durability test; it’s more likely to damage what tries to impact it. The Audeze Maxwell headset also weighs more than a pound, which is pretty heavy compared to some of the competition. Surprisingly, it’s not at all to the detriment of the headset, feeling comfortable when placed over your ears. I can tell it’s heavier than my other headsets, but it doesn’t bother me. The leather band is also a nice touch, although during long sessions I eventually feel some heat building on the top of my head.

While there’s a lot to learn, the control of the headset is well thought out. Everything is on the left earcup: the AI noise reduction button, microphone, USB-C, and 3.5mm port, two wheels for volume and chat mix, a power button, and a mute switch. The wheels and power button have multiple functions, with the power button allowing you to answer or end calls and more with a single press, and a double press for Bluetooth pairing. The wheels can be clicked down, one for activating sidetone mode and the other for changing your EQ or scrolling music tracks. It seems like a lot, but it’s the kind of clever design I like to see in a headset. The AI voice cues are also a huge plus, letting you know what you’re changing so you know you’re doing the right thing.

One of the biggest selling points for the Audeze Maxwell headset is the planar magnetic drivers it employs. There’s a lot of jargon on why these are great and such, but all that matters is if the sound is high quality. The frequencies produced and the low distortion from them has been stellar, with a full breadth of audio being produced. Bigger does in fact seem to lend to better, with the 90mm drivers putting in the mileage early during my testing.

I’m a musician, so a point of contention for me when picking a headset is the way a headset uses volume. Some use it to mask their drivers’ inability to produce a full spectrum of sound, but the best give you each part in perfect harmony. Listening to my favorite songs with the Audeze Maxwell headset, I found myself able to pick out each instrument as I drank the audio in, a feather in the cap for the headset. Not only that, but the bass is absolutely phenomenal, something I find missing in a lot of gaming headsets. It’s a selling point for this one.

Moving into gaming, my initial experiences weren’t the best, but I think it was a combination of my adjusting to the headset, along with making a few tweaks with audio software I employ. On PC, my time with Call of Duty went from rough to awesome as my ears adapted to the headset, with my being able to hear even the slightest sound cues to go in for the kill. In Returnal on PS5 – a true audiophile experience – the sounds of the rain accentuated the haptic drops from the DualSense controller. The Audeze Maxwell headset supports the PS5 Tempest 3D audio engine, clear from the sound I was hearing. If you need a headset for spatial sound or immersion, this will do in a pinch.

Another impressive feature of the Audeze Maxwell headset: the microphone. During several multiplayer sessions and from listening back to my recorded audio, the mic sounds almost on the same level as a streaming microphone. It also is supported by an AI noise filter, with noise suppression you can turn high, low, or off. An added benefit in my mind is the detachable nature of it, which allows you to more easily use the headset for enjoying music or movies.

An issue I do have that revolves around the microphone revolves around the sidetone. This is enabled through the Audeze HQ app (more on that later), and while it does exactly what it is built for, it is awfully executed. First, there is some odd interference heard when it’s in operation, and I’m unsure what it is. There’s also a bug where even if you mute the microphone, it’s still active. Finally, even if I detach the microphone, it’s still active. I can hear myself rubbing the outside of the microphone jack, as if the port is still hot. It’s a surprising flaw, and while it can be fixed easily by simply not using the sidetone, it renders that feature inoperable.

Connecting the Audeze Maxwell headset to your device is pretty easy, and that’s because there are plenty of ways to do it. With a USB-C dongle that can be converted to USB-A, Bluetooth, and a 3.5mm jack, it’s simply up to you on how you want to use it. I have the PlayStation version, and while I can’t connect it wirelessly to an Xbox, I’m at least still in the game via a wired connection. The only bummer here is the Bluetooth connection not working simultaneously, so you can’t use two devices with it at once.

There is one odd bug I wanted to call out with the Audeze Maxwell headset for Google Pixel users. I won’t let this affect our score for the headset, but upon receiving it, I attempted to sync it with my Pixel 8 Pro. To my dismay, it would randomly de-sync from my phone every couple of minutes, requiring me to forget the headset and re-sync it. This is apparently a bug with Google, and as I’ve been able to run Bluetooth with other devices with no problem, hopefully it will be quickly patched on Pixel phones.

 

Battery life. You knew you’d get to this paragraph sooner or later. It’ll stay a quick one, as I haven’t even had to charge the headset once since receiving it. According to the app, I still have 71% of charge left, and I’ve been using it a couple of hours a day for a week. That’s just impressive, easily to the eighty hour standard they’ve been advertising.

The Audeze HQ app is a little bit barebones, but I like the tools they have inside it. This is available on both PC and phone, with the ability to adjust your game chat mix, enable sidetone (I wouldn’t), and use the included EQ. There are quite a few good ones, like Footsteps and Bass Boost, along with four ten band custom ones you can mess around with on PC or phone. It’s not much, but it’s a nice start.

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