Audeze Maxwell 2 review

The original Audeze Maxwell has been around for nearly three years, but there's still been nothing to beat it when it comes to being the best wireless audiophile headset for gaming. With the Maxwell 2, though, Audeze is hoping that it will do exactly that and be the new champion for peerless audio in games.

I was certainly expecting it to be something special, as I've been using the Audeze Maxwell on a daily basis, work and gaming, for just over a year (and our hardware overlord-in-chief Dave has been using his set for even longer). Or rather, just like Audeze, I was hoping it would be better, because as much as I really like the Maxwell, there are a few things that really annoy me about it.

Let me just cut to the chase, then: Taking all things into account, the Audeze Maxwell 2 isn't unreservedly better than the first-generation Maxwell. It's improved in some areas, but it's regressed in others (or just not improved), and given that it's a little bit more expensive, it's hard to recommend that you buy the Maxwell 2 instead of the original Maxwell.

However, if you browse through Audeze's store, you'll notice this has all been made somewhat moot because the OG Maxwell is now mostly unavailable. In other words, you're stuck with the Maxwell 2. Good job, then, that it's still a very good wireless gaming headset, despite not being quite as good as its predecessor.

Let's start with the best bits. The audio is still as majestic as ever, with those huge planar magnetic drivers producing crisp, clean response across the entire spectrum. For some folks, the relatively flat/natural sound might seem a bit odd at first, but once you've settled into playing a game, watching a movie, or listening to music with the Maxwell 2, you'll soon understand just what the fuss is all about.

Where some headsets over-emphasise the bass response, typically making it rather muddy in the process, the Maxwell 2's drivers punch out low frequencies with not a hint of flabbiness. And best of all, it doesn't drown out the rest of the spectrum. Creeping around desolate cities in Escape from Tarkov, you can hear every single sound with exceptional clarity, picking up distant movements of enemies long before you see them.

As with the first Maxwell, Audeze offers two versions of the Maxwell 2: a PlayStation model and the more expensive Xbox version. There's no physical difference between the two; it's just that the latter comes with a licence to use the Dolby Atmos spatial sound effect, whereas the cheaper model uses Sony's Tempest3D. Except it doesn't on Windows, Linux, and MacOS as Sony doesn't offer it.

You just have to use whatever spatial/surround sound effect your operating system has or purchase an appropriate piece of software. At least, Windows Sonic is decent enough for most games, and I can't say I noticed the lack of Dolby Atmos with the PlayStation review sample Audeze sent us.

As part of its improvement package for Maxwell 2, Audeze has added its SLAM system (first introduced with its LCD-S20 headphones) to produce a better bass response. Essentially, it's a metal plate that's sandwiched between the earcups and the rest of the earpiece, with ports to help equalise pressures. Having spent some time testing the Maxwell and Maxwell 2 back-to-back, I can certainly tell the difference.

There's a little more definition to very low frequencies, but the main benefit SLAM brings is reducing the slightly 'claustrophobic' feel the original Maxwell sometimes gives me when it's playing loud, bass-heavy music or sound effects. I know your ears can't experience claustrophobia, but it's the best way I can describe the sensation.

SLAM doesn't make the Maxwell 2's audio hugely better, though, and the introduction of the plates brings me to the first gripe I have with Audeze's new headset. By adding the extra slabs of metal to each earpiece, the weight of the headset has risen by 14% (490 to 560 g), and while that doesn't sound like very much, it is noticeable.

Audeze has also changed the foam used on the inside of the ear cups, but not in a good way. Where the Maxwell's cups firm up in resistance in the last few millimetres of compression, the Maxwell 2's cups just squash right down to the SLAM plate. Again, it's only a small difference, but paired with the increase in mass, there's a distinct regression in long-term comfort.

I can wear the Maxwell for an entire day without a hint of discomfort, but I've found that after a few hours, the Maxwell 2 makes my jaw and head ache. The headband is now much wider (and vented), which is supposed to help offset the increase in mass, but I find that this just makes it harder to reposition the headset when it starts feeling uncomfortable.

While I'm being picky about things, here are some other annoyances. You can't rotate the ear cups so that the headset can lie totally flat, whereas you could with the original Maxwell, which won't help if you want to pack them away for travel.

There's no way to manually change the audio input, as it automatically selects it for you and directly favours any Bluetooth connection over everything else. You can't get around this problem by using two active wireless sources, either, as the Maxwell 2 only supports wireless and wired simultaneously. The first-gen Maxwell operates in exactly the same way, and I can't understand why Audeze thinks that gamers don't want to have direct control over their own audio inputs.

Some of the onboard controls are now fiddlier to use, too. For example, the mic switch on the Maxwell is a big, clunky affair on the rear of the left earpiece, making it a piece of cake to find it in a hurry and quickly mute yourself. For the Maxwell 2, Audeze has moved it (and the power button, which is now smaller and harder to feel) to the edge of the right earpiece, but sunk the switch into a recess.

No matter how hard I try, I physically can't flip it with the end of my thumb: only by digging a fingernail in can I actually move it.

It's not all bad news, though. While there have been no changes to the internal microphones or the one in the detectable boom arm, Audeze does say that it has improved its Filter AINR (AI noise reduction), and I can confirm that it does a better job of blocking out background noise, without ruining your own voice, than the system used in the Maxwell.

Personally, I would have liked the Maxwell 2 to have better internal mics because, although they're functionally fine, they're nowhere near as clear as the boom mic, which I find somewhat cumbersome. Sure, you can just yank it out when you want it completely out of the way, but something that flips up would be better. Why? You can't lose a permanently attached microphone. No, I haven't lost the one for my own Maxwell headset. Honest.

You still don't get any kind of active noise cancellation, but the snug-fitting ear cups and hefty, dense bodies do a superb job of passively blocking out external sounds, if the furious face of my partner, who has been getting somewhat frustrated by my blank expressions while wearing the Maxwell 2, is anything to go by.

The Maxwell 2 retains the original's 1800 mAh battery for 80+ hours of constant use, and it still rapidly charges via its USB Type-C port. The 2.4 GHz dongle seems to activate a touch quicker than the older model, which means you can jump into audio heaven a little sooner once your gaming PC has fired up.

Audeze has thankfully avoided going down the whole 'gamers love RGB' road that so many other vendors have gone barrelling down in recent times, although not entirely so. You can remove the covers on the rear of each earpiece, as they're only magnetically attached (as are the ear cups, now).

At some point in the near future, you'll be able to swap them for something else ("exciting limited-edition collaborations," says Audeze), to give the Maxwell 2 a touch more bling. Personally, I just like the fact that you save a bit of weight by leaving them off.

In many ways, gaming headsets are keyboards and mice: What's magical for one person can be endlessly annoying for someone else, making it quite hard to objectively review such products. I do not doubt that some folks won't find the Audeze Maxwell 2 uncomfortable at all, or won't have concerns about the lack of audio stream controls, the far-too-fiddly mute switch, or the awkward boom mic.

Whatever your personal preferences are, though, everybody will love how good the Audeze Maxwell 2 sounds: It really is astonishingly good. Just think of the headset as being like a high-end OLED gaming monitor. Both will cost you a pretty penny or two, but your games will feel so much better, especially if you're upgrading from something simpler.

However, I do feel that Audeze hasn't moved the boat along far enough with its new gaming headset, especially given the rather high price tag (though it's not really that high for a planar driver headset). I suppose this does mean it can eventually release a Maxwell 3 that rights all the above wrongs, and what a headset that would be. The only problem then is how Audeze would top that?