So I’ve just got my hands on the Maxwell gaming headset from audio brand Audeze, and I’ve got to say that if this is what happens when a gaming headset starts drifting over into the high end headphone market, then I am all for it. I mean right off the bat I’ve got to say that this set of headphones sounds absolutely fantastic, and yes while this is being echoed all over YouTube right now because these are unfortunately not very new to the market, I thought I wanted to chime in with my thoughts too, even though to be honest with you, there not going to really be any different from what’s already been said already. Let’s get into it.
The Audeze Maxwell uses 90mm planar magnetic drivers inside of a closed-back gun metal grey shell which and the headset sounds absolutely superb. Being closed back however means that sound spillage is kept to a minimum, but strangely Audeze has managed to really control the soundstage here to keep a super wide soundstage when gaming. It’s not quite positional audio that some virtual 7.1 headsets can produce, but it certainly helps when running round a map in Overwatch, listening out for Reapers and Sombras sneaking up behind you. What I will mention is that if these are used with an Xbox, it does open you up to being able to use Dolby Atmos and if you’re on a Playstation you will get to use Tempest 3D audio codecs. Do bare in mind here though that there are two different versions of this headset.
Sound is aided by the use of software that can be installed on your PC. I am unsure on whether this can be transferred over to your console, because unfortunately I do not have consoles here to test it with but you can still cycle through preset EQs and also your noise suppression levels on the microphone with physical controls on the headset. But diving into the Audeze HQ, your Maxwell Mix Amp gives you the chance to turn on sidetone for your voice which is essentially a monitor on what the microphone is picking up. Underneath this you have your Mix. Now this is where your Sound Output options come into play that are installed when you install the Audeze HQ. The first is called Game which is essentially your overall output to the headphones. The second output is called Chat, which can be synced to things like your Discord audio output, and the third is called Microphone, which is your audio input for your microphone, which again can be used with Discord. These Sound Options directly correlate to the Mix option that you can see on page one of the HQ where you can decide how much of each output you would like to hear in your headphones. At the moment I have it set to 50/50 between Game and Chat, but if you need more game sound then you can rotate the wheel on the earcup on the fly to achieve this. You have also got the option to change the preset EQ and also add some of your own custom EQ settings to the app to include them in your rotation. And again, these can be cycled through on the fly using the wheel control on the left earcup rather than going into the software each time to change it.
The Device Info screen is useful in seeing the logs for the software in case of an issue, and there’s a guide on what all the buttons and switches do. And finally, the Settings menu gives you an Auto Shutdown timer to save battery, and you can change the volume of the voice prompts you hear when specific features are activated. And usefully, there’s a volume limiter on here too because these headphones can get a little loud, and you may need to control the audio based on how sensitive your ears are.
Connectivity wise you can use either Bluetooth 5.3 for that extended range, a UBS Type-C 2.4GHz dongle of which one is supplied in the box along with a USB Type-A adapter, and also a cabled connection via again USB Type-C. You can if you wanted use two different connections at the same time, say if you’re using Bluetooth 5.3 to connect these to your mobile and then 2.4GHz to connect it to your PC to game on, but I will say now that the headphones will prioritise your Bluetooth connection, and mute the 2.4GHz connection, rather than simultaneously accept signals from both. Not a huge dealbreaker for me at this point, but one I thought I should point out.
All of the controls are based on the left earcup which makes it easy to control the various options that you have available to you on the fly. So if we start from back to front, the first control you have is for the main volume of the Maxwell headphones themselves, while the second wheel is for your mix between chat and gaming which we will talk about in a moment when we talk about the software. Next up is a 3.5mm input to plug in your desktop with a physical cable or even a phone for music. Following on is a USB Type-C output for plugging these in to charge or or a physical connection to a desktop, and finally is the port for your microphone which has a straight lip on one side to make it easy to plug in. The last button is there to cycle through your noise suppression levels for the microphone to block out background noise. Just listen to this.
On the face of the earcup you can find the power button which needs holding down to turn the Maxwells on and off, and above this is your mute switch which is quite stiff on mine here, and I’m not a huge fan of the switch, but do understand why they’ve done it so it doesn’t get hit accidentally. There’s also a large battery too for up to 80 hours of playback which in my eyes is quite astounding. Flipping them around, the earcups feature some lovely soft foam which protects your head from clamping force and these are actually very comfortable to use for longer periods of time. The foam earcups are also removable so you can clean them or replace them if they get a bit rough around the edges, depending on how often you game of course, and the suspension bridge across the crown offers a decent level of protection from again gravitational force from the headband. I personally left this on the default second notch, but the band can be adjusted for different head sizes. There’s no physical movement on the headband at all, considering that these headphones weigh a whopping 490 grams.
In terms of microphone quality though I do feel there is a bit to be desired here, and also feel like the microphone had been a bit of an afterthought with Audeze but not so much in a bad way, but just in a these are expensive and have more of a focus on audio rather than the microphone kind of way. It’s hard to describe. There’s nothing really special here about the microphone and its voice quality. Take a listen for yourself.
Now I’m not sure about you, but yes, the Maxwells will get you through Discord and from the feedback I’ve received from friends, there’s nothing wrong with the mic and I sounded nice and clear. But these aren’t for content creation or livestreaming, I’d definitely look elsewhere for that. The microphone as a hypercardioid pickup pattern, and having it so close to your mouth, the microphone does a great job with its proxmity effect. It comes with a removable wind shield for plosives and it’s on the endof a bendable arm. There are also two beamforming microphones on both earbuds which again sound alright for calls, as you know if you connect these to your phone over Bluetooth 5.3 you can take calls on there, but again, no livestreaming or content creation. The microphones I feel are more of a nice to have top tick boxes but as I said that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
The Audeze Maxwell gaming headset though despite what I feel like is a tacked on microphone is still a superb piece of kit that produces some absolutely killer audio for your games. The fact that the software is also so simple to use, the wireless connection between both PC and headphones was seamless and the battery life is really long, really does make the Maxwells a force to be reaconed with. It’s quite expensive. Audeze have them listed at just under £320. But you know what? They’re so worth it. Yo ucan find out more here.
