Audeze Maxwell review: Only the best for the price

While the gaming headset space is typically dominated by the giants in the hardware market, having a primarily headphone and audiophile-focused company like Audeze step into the space certainly brings a new dimension.

Expectations - at least on my end - start to rise, especially when considering some of the specifications on a purely mechanical level. But a good gaming headset isn't just a pair of headphones, needing more than that to fit into the perfect setup.

Thankfully the Audeze Maxwell might just be the best gaming headset I've ever used, and while a handful of minor grips stop it from being a perfect option, it certainly does more than enough to justify its rather hefty price tag of $329/£319.

Unbelievable sound quality

It's certainly unsurprising that an Audeze product has high-quality sound, but it's remarkable how great the Maxwell sounds compared to most other headsets that I've tried. There's a wonderful depth to the sound that remains accurate.

I didn't feel like there was a single area of the headset's range that was lacking, nor one particular area that became overwhelming in relation to the other parts. Gaming headsets can historically either veer too much into bass, or focus heavily on treble to pick out particular sounds, but this remains fantastic for gaming while providing an outstanding music and general media listening experience too.

This is in part due to the outstanding 90mm planar magnetic drivers, which are a real rarity when it comes to gaming headsets, but something Audeze as a company is certainly well acquainted with. These help provide a powerful soundscape that is precise enough to maintain immersion and help you pick up those all-important audio tells in your favourite multiplayer games.

Soundstaging is also top-notch here - especially for a closed-back design. As always you're never going to get as wide as any open-back headphone, but the Maxwell still provides immaculate imaging that helps you place sounds in a wider area, while also letting you sink into the world of whatever you're listening to.

I was also very impressed when it came to the low-latency wireless connection. While Audeze doesn't give much information regarding what exactly this connection is outside of boasting that it offers 3x the range of standard 2.4GHz, it certainly lives up to that claim. I was able to consistently walk to the other side of my flat without a single issue, and connecting the headset was also an absolute breeze.

A mic that surprised me

Another area where the Maxwell shines is the detachable boom microphone, which provides a surprisingly clear sound without getting in the way. 

I've been largely unimpressed by the microphones on most gaming headsets I've tried previously, as they tend to lean more towards robotic sounds that aren't great to listen to! While this is certainly serviceable if you simply want to be heard in a multiplayer game, it can become quite grating for anyone on the other end and struggles if you want to use it in any setting beyond that.

You're still not going to reach the clarity of a standalone microphone, but I was really happy to hear how 'normal' my voice sounded when listening back to test recordings, and anyone I asked was surprised that the quality was that of a headset too!

The fact that the mic is completely detachable is great too, as it lets you use the Maxwell as a pair of headphones without anything getting in the way. It might be a bit on the bulky side to use out and about, but it certainly makes anything outside of gaming a lot more enjoyable without a mic dangling in the vicinity.

Best-in-class battery life

By far the most staggering thing about the Maxwell to me though was the battery life, clocking in at around 80 hours according to Audeze themselves. While it's difficult to accurately test this due to the sheer size of this battery, I've had the headset now for just under a month and I've still got 25% left, having only charged the headset when it arrived.

Beyond how impressive this simply is, the most important factor of having such a lengthy battery life is the convenience it affords. I've not thought once about whether it'll need a charge before I use the headset, allowing me to simply pick it up and use it whenever I wanted to with no stress whatsoever - almost as if there wasn't a battery to worry about at all.

Perhaps the only downside of the battery - and one of the very few negatives of the headset as a whole - comes from the lack of an option to check the current battery percentage. This might seem like a bit of a non-issue with the length of battery life in the first place, but it's almost too easy to forget that you will need to charge it eventually.

The only way I could find an accurate percentage is through the Audeze HQ app on desktop or mobile. There is an LED on the left earcup that turns red when the headset's battery is low, but I'd appreciate an option to check it on the headset itself, even if that is just a short message whenever it turns on.

Disappointing comfort

When it comes to actual build quality, the Maxwell continues in fine form with an incredibly sturdy and hard-wearing design. You certainly shouldn't be worried about anything breaking with this headset, as it's incredibly well-formed from a structural point of view.

This doesn't get in the way of aesthetics either, with a sleek design that very much fits the 'headphone' mould, avoiding much of the traditional 'gamer' visual design choices that can sometimes make things look a bit cheap. A semi-gloss gun metal finish really reflects the premium nature of everything inside the headset, and makes you feel like you're using a top-of-the-range device.

Unfortunately, the actual comfort of the headset remains a little bit lacking. Both the overall construction and the 90mm drivers make the Maxwell really quite weighty, and you can definitely feel that on your head when you're wearing it.

I'm a seasoned big headphone wearer but I quite regularly ran into tension at the top of my head due to the weight, making longer sessions feel quite fatiguing. This is also not helped by the inflexible nature of the headband, which doesn't really move and requires you to unscrew it at the side to move it to one of the three settings.

This might just be a problem isolated to my own experience, but it was something that certainly impacted my time with the Maxwell. I desperately didn't want to take off the headset as it is an absolute joy to use, but the comfort did eventually prove disruptive to my enjoyment.

The Verdict

I did admittedly run into a few issues during my time with the Audeze Maxwell, but that certainly shouldn't get in the way of this being one of the most impressive gaming headsets I've used to date.

The sound quality here is outstanding and poses genuine competition to dedicated audiophile headphones within the same price range. It then also backs this up with a wonderful microphone that more than serves its purpose, and a battery life that is so good you genuinely forget that these will ever need to be charged.

It's then a shame that the comfort does let them down a little bit - especially when features like the (non)adjustable headband feel like they value structural integrity over functional usability. How much this affects you is very much down to your own personal experience though, so you could end up finding this a complete non-issue.

4.5/5

Review unit provided by the manufacturer. GGRecon uses affiliate links, if you purchase any products from our links we may earn a commission.