Audeze Maxwell Wireless Gaming Headset for PlayStation, Mac, PC, and Switch

The media could not be loaded. I don’t buy anything expensive without a deep dive. Hours of research, endless comparisons, maybe even a spreadsheet. But after scrolling through reviews, now that I actually have it I’ve realized a lot of the important details get lost between the hype and the half-baked opinions.So, for my fellow overthinkers, buckle in, and prepare yourself for my ADHD powered review I wish had been here before I bought these. No fluff (mostly), no buyer’s remorse rant, just what actually matters.Let me preface... If you are trying to find a pair of headphones you can unbox and be blown away immediately, these headphones are not it, at all. Why did I rate them 5 stars then? It's quite difficult actually.Right off the bat this is what I will be covering. (Locate the corresponding emoji for specific information and try not to judge how long I spent on this):❓-What are these headphones meant for? What would they not be for? Are they for you?⚠️-How is the sound quality? (actually)•Not the: oMg bEsT heAdphOnes evErrr!!•Or the: these suck don't not sound good at ⠀⠀all not. *insert more lovely grammar here*🚫-How is the noise cancellation? Is it active, passive? How's the "transparency" mode?🎮-What's the difference between the X-box and the PlayStation version?🤓-Annnd what should your decision be? The biggest pro, the biggest con, and my personal suggestions and reasoning.❓What are these for?❓These headphones strike a solid balance between gaming and music. For gaming, they’re decent, maybe not as pinpoint-accurate as dedicated high-end gaming only headsets, but still impressive. In some games, I swear I heard in-game voices in an entirely different way, it was scarily good and weird. That said, they lean more toward music than gaming. They’re well-built, not cheap-feeling, and deliver great directional audio. But if you’re looking for a lightweight, on-the-go pair, these aren’t it. They’re heavy (well-balenced and comfortable), but definitely more of a “wear at home” situation.⚠️The sound quality.(Most important part)⚠️Here we go, the elephant in the room. If I had to sum up the sound quality in 3 words it would be "jaw-dropping beautiful" but if I had to sum it up in 1 word it would be "ugh". What does that mean you ask?They have the POTENTIAL to sound amazing. But when you first put them on, start playing your favorite song, get ready to be underwhelmed. My airpod pro 2's sounded better, no joke. Why?1) These headphones require immense amount of EQ work. I'm a bass lover, and if you are too, get ready to cry with disappointment when you first try them. Then after being sad, open the Audeze EQ and put in the preset I attached in my pictures. That's my bass preset. Gives you an idea of the potential these have, get ready to cry again, and in the best way possible this time.2) Dolby Atmos on PC. Let me save you some time, when you download "Audeze HQ" go ahead and just download "Dolby Access" along with it. It entirely changes the game with these, makes them worth the money. Without it they sound pretty dull and there's less separation of sound profiles.⠀3) Ear pads. This one may be opinion, but the default ear pads do not give your ears much room. Your ears are RIGHT by the drivers, and it can be intense especially for the highs. I bought the Wicked Cushions cooling pads, and it made it more comfortable AND more importantly changed the sound profile entirely. It gave the frequencies room to work their magic, especially with bass. Mess around with this because it could make or break you keeping this headset.That was a long one, but if you're going to take anything away from this review: These have some SERIOUS POTENTIAL, you just have to work with them. It WILL take hours upon hours of messing with EQS, to find or make one that works for you. If you are a music enthusiast this is a phenomenal next step in leveling up your music. Once you get everything situated, it's a beautiful experience, truly. The 90mm planar magnetic drivers are other-worldly when configured right. Good things are never easy am I right?🚫Noise cancellation.🚫This is actually pretty simple. No, it does not have active noise cancellation, yes it has passive noise cancellation. This was a hard one for me to swallow before purchasing. Airpods pro 2 changed my idea of what I require a headset to have (Noise cancellation is close to the top) I'm a pretty little princess now, great. Before these I thought of passive noise cancellation as a joke, but it actually does what you would think passive noise cancellation should do. I'm satisfied which is saying something since I'm so picky. They additionally have "side-tone" which is good for hearing things around you, but it's not amazing at higher volumes (gets too harsh), I prefer it off, or really low.🎮The difference between the Xbox and PlayStation versions?🎮 A LOT. Yet no one talks about it. The Xbox version is the only real choice for PC users, especially if you want Dolby Atmos (which I wouldn’t recommend these without). The PlayStation version can connect via Bluetooth or wired, but you’ll need to buy a Dolby Atmos license and use it wired to get decent sound quality. Bluetooth sounds great but has a noticeable drop in volume and quality. If you’re mostly on PlayStation and occasionally on your phone, the PlayStation version works. But if you’re planning to use these on PC, do NOT buy the PlayStation version just because it’s cheaper, you’ll regret it.🤓Annnd what should your decision be?🤓I want you to ask yourself these three questions.1. Are you okay and willing to spend a considerable amount of time setting these headphones up and messing with custom EQS?2. Are you looking at these more for music than competitive gaming?3. Are you looking for portable headphones you can use anytime, on the go?If you answered: 1. Yes 2. Yes 3. NoI would rate these headphones a 9.5/10, for anything else I would honestly only give these headphones a 6/10. These are for a very specific person, if you're willing to learn, or you knew these answers right away; these will be the absolute best headphones you've ever used. That's a guarantee. (Biggest pro is superb sound quality) If you're not sure this is you, I still think they are really good, I'm truly just trying to help set your expectations. These aren't the most intuitive or easy to set up (biggest con), but I think they are worth learning. Just be careful! Hope this was helpful.

First of all, these are great. The stock pads are a bit too hot but I've bought Wicked cushions right away and that solved the problem, only added 10% to the price. What got me the most though was the promise of non-compromised audio and although I knew it won't be entirely true, still was a bit disappointed when it turned out to be an exaggeration. Exaggeration doesn't mean a lie, and you get night and day difference comparing Maxwell to any other “gaming” branded headphones, including those which are $100 or so more expensive. But still, it's not exactly audiophile quality sound, even when used wired, and won't stand a comparison with something like HD6XX driven through a decent external DAC/amp.Still, it provides all-around decent sound, amazing battery life and charge time, and great EQ options to tailor to your personal sound signature preferences (one thing that's great about EQ is that you can set it up on PC through app and then use this setting with any wireless connection). This is my first planars and the newness of planar response was uncanny at first but I got used to it and didn't notice any planar timber people sometimes talk about (although I did lower the very highs in the EQ). In games i get better positioning and immersion than I had with my Arctis 7, for conference calls and Discord this is just amazing (but make sure to tame your software noise reduction because it messes with the Audeze's built-in one), and for music and movies I rarely switch to another pair of more fit cans now because the difference not always worth it, which makes the promise of uncompromising audio kinda delivered.Now, the cons. The frequency response is noticeably different between left and right driver in my unit and seems like it's a very common thing. This makes the left one louder in most cases and I've had to make the right canal two points louder in Windows settings to compensate (no solution for PS or Bluetooth). The weight is not a big bother for me but they do be heavy. What disappointed me the most is the lack of option to use them properly with an analogue connection. The AUX is there, but the signal still gets through the internal amp and you can't bypass it. Which make it dangerous to use the cans with a headphone DAC/Amp because too much power from the amp might kill them. I think these drivers can do much much better than with the portable set up they connected to and driving them through a proper external DAC/Amp would make them truly shine in terms of audio quality, but that's where you actually do have to compromise.Bottom line, you get the best gaming headphones you can find at this price, but that's just it, don't expect it to be any more than that.