Audeze Maxwell Wireless Gaming Headset for Xbox, PS, Mac, & PC

I have owned every headset known to man that has been labeled “gaming headset”. I’ve always been disappointed despite the reviews on the internet that state it’s the #1 headset on the market. The audio is always muddied and the volume is never high enough. Even after hours of messing with eq settings the headsets remain muddied. Steelseries, Astro, Corsair, whatever. All muddied. During one of my “best gaming headset 2024” internet searches I came across these. Never heard of it before, but I saw the price and the purple headset, so I went for it. Price = quality right? I was blown away the first time I played a game with these on my head. The immersion was insane. The audio, for the first time in my life, was not muddy AT ALL. It was crystal clear. The bass from explosions was immersive. It didn’t rattle my ear drums at all, but boy did it make the most amazing explosion concussion bass noise I have ever heard in my life. The direction of everything around me was on point using the included Dolby atmos on windows. There was no doubt where the gunfire, explosions, and vehicles were. I knew exactly how far to move my mouse to see what I was hearing. I was doing 180 degree turns to shoot the player running up behind me with a knife. But after saying all of this I ended up returning them for personal reasons. The quality is phenomenal. The build is solid. There’s nothing wrong with them. The best headset I’ve ever owned. Reason for returning: While the direction of sound was amazing in 360 degrees I couldn’t isolate foot step sounds enough. I can’t state this is a con because I do have some hearing issues (small). The steps could have been there but I couldn’t isolate them with eq enough or turn the volume up higher. I considered getting an amp for them but apparently they have a built in amp and hooking an external amp up to them would blow up the headphones. So I returned them despite being the best headphones I’ve ever owned. I’ve since ordered a Hifiman xs with Schitt stack. With the amp I should have all the volume I need, and be able to isolate the footsteps based on my hearing needs. Pros: - the best headset I’ve ever owned -phenomenal sound -crystal clear audio right out of the box - directional sound is flawless -immersive. You are in the game. -Dolby atmos brings these to life. They were made for eachother. -the purple color is gorgeous in real life and worth the extra $ - plug and play. Dongle and headset already paired just turn on - download Dolby atmos for windows. Once installed the Dolby app auto recognizes Maxwell. No authentication codes or registering required. Cons: - when you turn the headset on it announces “headset on” in a female voice. Depending on your volume setting this could burst your eardrums, or trigger your ptsd. “Who you screaming at, lady?! Jc!” - they are very fragile. - no clamping force on head - tilting head forward or back will cause the headset to slide. -the ear cups are heavy. If they slide off your head they will hit the floor very hard -despite the heavy weight they are not uncomfortable to wear for long periods of time. -be very careful when removing these from your head. Youre swinging around a sledge hammer. Games played: Star citizen - space never sounded so good Mw3 - not sure it wasn’t real life Ffxiv- music sounded good. Full body rpg. Music: not my headset of choice. I like lots of bass. This headset has amazing concussion bass for games, but not for music. Audio: movies and YouTube videos I wasn’t a fan. Best gaming headset. For everything else have a different one. Imo.

These headphones are absolutely insane... In my opinion these are the only "gaming" headphones you should buy if you also care about sound quality (I'll also mention why those two go hand in hand) as nothing at this price sounds as good as these do. These sound like a pair of $800 headphones no joke and beat everything in this price range. Oh and did I mention they are wireless! Yes the best way to listen to these headphones is using the dongle and you get nearly zero latency that's imperceivable and very usable for competitive gaming. The magnetic planar drivers are otherworldly. You can hear every little detail its amazing and while you can just take these out of the box choose a preset EQ in Audeze HQ and Dolby access I highly recommend playing around with the EQ to find what YOUR ears like because these headphones in my opinion can satisfy 99% of users once tuned to the way THEY like listening to music. But anyways whichever route you go once you put these on you will never be able to listen to music or play a game the same way again its truly life changing. Its like going from a 360p monitor to a 8kUHD 100" TV. While I'm new to this I would still consider myself an audiophile as I love music and sound and these tick every single box. So if you are looking for a wireless headphone that has insane sound quality, ultra low wireless latency, is comfortable, and doesn't look like a tacky gaming headset then get these as nothing even comes close to having all of those things I just mentioned. I will also mention that the build quality is incredible. very little plastic super solid you feel like you are holding a premium product in your hands and when you put them on your head. Now they are heavy but this design takes that into account. The weight distribution is phenomenal on these I can legit wear them all day without fatigue. On that note I would highly recommend getting the Wicked Cushions cool cushions and the v2 headband as those make these way way better for comfort and sound. The battery life is also very close to the advertised 80 hours I can wear these things for days and still have charge and the ability to fast charge and get 20hours in 20 mins is crazy. So if you couldn't tell so far I really really like these headphones and no I'm not being paid to say any of this I just love the product and think others would benefit from my experience. So I hope I was able to help you in making a purchasing decision. Happy listening and gaming! PS. I attached pictures of my settings for both Audeze HQ and Dolby Access if you wanna try them out!

Heavy. Bulky. Uncomfortable for a couple of minutes before becoming painful to wear. Lame and sad frequency response without excessive EQ. Battery life is amazing as is the range and they look and feel like premium headphones. If I would have taken the time to wear these headphones for more than 5 minutes before the return window expired I would have not kept these headphones. Now I do not know what to do with them because after upgrading to a nice large padded leather headband and comfortable breathable soft angled memory foam ear cups, I can still not wear these headphones for more than 5 minutes without getting a migraine, and that is with no music playing. They just hurt my head beyond belief. The more i try them on the less time i can wear them before they cause a migraine. What The Fluff! They are so heavy that i can't use them if I'm doing anything other than sitting still because they don't stay on my head. With lots of EQ they sound decent but far from good and will never be close to great sounding headphones. I could overlook the long list of shortcomings if I could actually wear them without getting a migraine but they are now nothing more than a big, heavy paperweight.

Update: 6/26/2026 After living with this headset for about 16 months, I felt the need to remove one star. The cans work well but the connection is wonky. Both the Bluetooth and the dongle work well when they connect, switching between the two can be frustrating. In my situation, to use the dongle on my gaming computer, I need to disconnect the Bluetooth on my work computer. When I want to go back to using the Bluetooth on my work computer, getting it to reconnect is something of a rain dance: Reboot computer, turn headset off/on; plug in charging cable; unplug charging cable; triple tap for pairing. Some combination of those things eventually works, but it is a pain. At $300 this should have been sorted by now. Bottom line: Highly recommended if you only want to connect it to one device. If you want to use it for multiple devices like two computers or a computer and a phone, I cannot recommend it. I use this set for gaming and for Teams meetings. No complaints. They sound great. I have not used them for music (other than the background music in games). For music, my favorite cans are my Audeze LCD-3's so I was expecting good things from this set. So far, I have not been disappointed. I find them comfortable to wear for long periods. I found the default middle band adjustment works well for me. I think most folks could find a combination that works. Some might miss the fine adjustments possible with sliding bands, but I like the fact that the adjustment will stay put. The earpads are replaceable, which speaks well for longevity and versatility, as there are upgrade options. I am fine with the stock ones. The battery lasts a pretty long time, but as a bonus you can use them while charging in case you forget. I charge them overnight and have never really got close to draining the battery. These are made in California, like their higher end audio headphones. The quality feels similar to that of my LCD3s -which is to say excellent (thought the headband design is different). Two nitpicks I wish the mic was on a swivel so I could swing it up out of the way when not in use without having to remove it. The other nitpick is that the battery cannot be replaced. Maybe it will last long enough that I will be ready for something else by the time it wears out, but it would be nice to have the option.

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. No I 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.

I’m super happy with these and I’m relatively picky when it comes to audio and headphones in general. The audio quality is genuinely better than I expected. Especially for fully wireless headphones. Very clean and controlled bass and crystal clear details. I play a lot of RPGs and the ambient sounds and music through these are fantastic. The sounds all have a lot of room to be separate if that makes sense. The connection quality is basically perfect. I have this connected to my steam deck through Bluetooth and my desktop through the usb dongle. I can just turn the headphones on and whichever device I have on I’m able to just trust it’ll connect and it always does and there’s zero static or wireless noise squealing nonsense. Battery life is so good it’s literally a non issue. It lasts weeks so I wouldn’t even bother thinking about it The only cons I can think of are that they are heavy and if you have the sound pass through on and you taken them off there’s a super high pitched squeal noise that comes from them. Not a big deal. I just move them slowly and it doesn’t happen. But the weight is a little bit of a problem for me. It does kind of dig into my head a bit. I just slide it forward or back a little to a new part of my head and it’s good for another half hour or so. Just be aware they’re heavy. Microphone quality is quite good. Just a notch down from wired but it’s not a huge sacrifice for the convenience. If you’re on the fence about these then I would just get them so long as your number one priority is audio quality. They’re the best all rounders but with extra points put into sound. Once in a while I find a thing to add to my rotation of gaming things where I know I’ll be using it for years and this is absolutely one of those things. It’s good for switch, steam deck, and PC. It’s basically my main audio for all of them. I love them. 10/10

The good: • The build quality is great. • I can hear the game sound in great quality. People can hear me which was my main issue with the Xbox brand headset. • Connects wirelessly flawlessly every time. I keep the dongle connected to the Xbox and it’s never been an issue. • Great battery life. Neutral: • The original earpads were leathery and HOT AS ALL HELL. My ears would be baking like cookies in minutes. However, some 3rd party pads completely fixed this. So now it’s very comfortable. • Needed a separate stand but looks great on it. The bad: • After a few months of use, mine has got in this weird state where if I remove the mic, it amplifies all outside noise. A touch on the outside of the headset sounds like a baseball bat hit it. It’s very annoying and forces me to keep the mic attached at all times. Still looking for a solution to this. • I wanted to just for my xbox so requiring extra apps to set it up was annoying. • It’s heavy. • The metal parts outside gets fingerprints very easily, so even with clean hands it looks dirty.

To try and keep things brief, I'll just say that my experience with this product aligns with the many reviews you can find on YouTube. If you're looking for a wireless headset and sound quality/fidelity is the most important thing for you, this is the headset for you. I was watching "Mad Max: Fury Road", and there was a particular scene where the soundtrack had a consistent sub-bass baseline going, while lots of car engines revving, gunshots, explosions, just a wide variety of complex, meaty sounds and these headphones ate it for breakfast, keeping every individual sound distinct and clear, while also having crystal clear dialogue (probably the first time watching this movie where mumbling Tom Hardy's lines were actually easy to hear). Same quality applies for games and music. *Build Quality*: Very good. Probably better off looking up a YT video rather than having me describe it, but for $330 I would probably say it's even better than expected. Mostly metal/leather, little plastic. *Comfort*: This will vary from person to person. These are definitely heavier headphones than what most people will have tried up to now. For me, I don't find them uncomfortable. I wear them for work, and they fall within the range of "forget they're there" when I'm focused on a task. Same goes for gaming/movies. I do hear from other people that the weight or fit doesn't work for them, and I can see that being the case. *Battery Life*: I haven't timed it, but I'll just say that the 80-hour target seems realistic. They last a really, really long time. *Polish*: It's important to know ahead of time that Audeze is not a huge company on the same level as Sony/Bose/Sennheiser, and as such the UX isn't going to be up to the same level of polish as those other companies. For me, I only really care if my headphones sound good, are comfortable enough, and connectivity and all that functions, so some of the occasional "jankiness" of the Audeze app and such don't bother me, but this is up to you. I've head of people having issues with firmware updates and needing to do factory resets and things like that. Just know that at $300-$330, these headphones are actually priced very aggressively. To find better sound quality on a wireless headphone you'd probably need to buy a Focal Bathy at $700. All the budget went into "core" headphone functionalities (sound, build). For me this is a feature, since I get more of what I care about for the $$, but other people might want something with more polish, in the form of responsive apps, ANC, etc., which is fine.

10/10 audio, 10/10 build quality, 10/10 functionality. The headset is a little on the heavy side.

HACE TIEMPO QUE SOY MUY DEPENDIENTE DE UN EXCELENTE SONIDO TANTO PARA MUSICA COMO CUANDO JUEGO VIDEOJUEGOS, ESTOS AUDIFONOS DE AUDEZE LOS ESTUVE ESPERANDO BASTANTE TIEMPO ANTES DE COMPRARLOS, PENSÉ ENCONTRAR UNA OFERTA QUE ME HICIERA DECIDIRME HACERME CON ELLOS, FINALMENTE NO BAJARON Y APENAS NOTÉ UN VENTAJA AL ESTAR AL MISMO PRECIO AMBAS VERSIONES POR LO QUE ELEGÍ LA VERSION DE XBOX, EL SONIDO ES EL MEJOR QUE HE ESCUCHADO CON UNA VERSATILIDAD IMPRESIONANTE CON JUEGOS, MUSICA Y PELICULAS CUANDO JUEGAS ES MUY IMPORTANTE QUE PRUEBES CON DIFERENTES ECUALIZACIONES QUE PUEDES MANIPULAR DESDE SU APP PARA WINDOWS YA QUE COMO TODO AURICULAR NECESITAS AJUSTAR LAS BANDAS LO MAS PRECISO POSIBLE A EL CONTENIDO QUE ESTAS DISFRUTANDO MUCHOS PODRIAN NO NOTAR LA DIFERENCIA EN EL AUDIO Y SI PIENSAS SOLO SACARLOS DE LA CAJA PARA USARLO TE GUSTARÁN PERO NO TE ENCANTARÁN COMO SI PASAS ALGO DE TIEMPO ECUALIZANDOLOS

los mejores auriculares que probe hasta la fecha

These are incredible headphones. They are heavy, but you soon get used to it. I bought these in February 2024 for the Xbox to play Call of Duty and they are so good. Install the Dolby Atmos app from Xbox and pair the app with these headphones. Now play Nuketown, Stakeout, Pit, Gala or any of the other maps and experience a whole new level of detailed sound. The number of times I’ve turned and shot someone at a close range due to hearing their footsteps behind me or coming around a corner. The battery life is fantastic, too - I grinded three levels of Prestige over Christmas, all on one charge. No negatives as yet, so I hope they last!

Ho solo 2 giorni di utilizzo con queste cuffie epiche, ma posso già dire che è il MIGLIOR headset (da gioco e non) che abbia mai provato (prima usavo le cuffie microsoft wireless, ottime per il prezzo che hanno ma qua siamo su un altro livello). La versione xbox che ho preso ha connettività a ogni dispositivo pensabile, con aux, usb c, usb dongle, bluetooth hai tutte le scelte. Funziona anche su PS5 con audio 3D spostando il pulsante sul dongle su PC, ma il mix audio/chat non funziona. Appena arrivate ho aggiornato sia cuffie che dongle all ultimo firmware senza problemi. Il volume delle cuffie era inferiore a quello che mi aspettavo ma grazie all equalizzatore puoi personalizzare l audio come vuoi tu e ora suonano magnifiche alzando il volume che arriva a livelli veramente alti senza mai distorcere i suoni e mantenendo chiarezza su tutte le frequenze, qualità assoluta. UNICO aspetto leggermente negativo, quando collegate a una console con il dongle insieme a un dispositivo bluetooth, il dongle avra sempre priorità e per poter ascoltare di nuovo il bluetooth bisogna fisicamente disconnettere il dongle dalla console. Quando il dongle è collegato al PC invece si ha l audio in simultanea che arriva sia dal dongle che dal BT e si puo variare il mix audio con l apposita rotellina sulla cuffia. Su Xbox molte volte appena collegate le cuffie il monitoraggio del microfono viene messo a 0 di default e quindi non viene registrato nessun suono dal microfono, per risolvere basta premere 1 volta la rotella del mix audio sulla cuffia e variare il valore del monitoraggio audio. Detto questo le cuffie suonano epiche e hanno un botto di tecnologia all interno. Fatta la mano con l equalizzatore si adattano a ogni tipo ascolto da musica a fps. C è chi dice che sono pesantissime (pesano 500g), ma appena le mettete dimenticate di averle, super comode. I Pad sono in pelle ultra comoda ma creano un po di calore sulle orecchie dopo un po’ ma niente di estremo, in vendita ci sono ottimi cuscini in pelle ma traspiranti cosi che la qualità audio non ne risente. Ah, la batteria dura almeno 60 ore e si ricarica in 2, vedete voi. Ho conosciuto Audeze con queste cuffie e sono sicuro che in futuro farò la stessa scelta a occhi chiusi.