Audeze Maxwell: the new Rolls of portable/gaming headphones?

In 2020, high-end hi-fi headphone manufacturer Audeze entered the headphone market. the game Wireless with Penrose. A successful first step into the world of wireless gaming has certainly convinced the brand to move the cursor further. So with Maxwell, Audeze wants to combine the best of the “gaming headphone” format with the “travel headphone” format.

The promise of hi-fi sound that looks and feels great at scale

The first feature that demonstrates this desire is through the design of the helmet. Unlike many models the game, Maxwell is extremely sober with his matte black outfit, lack of RGB lighting, and casual appearance. The materials help give the helmet a very premium look. The headband is made of steel, the sliding temples are made of aluminum, the shells are made of plastic, and the memory foam pads are covered with imitation leather. An adjustable hanging headband completes the set.

The use of these materials also weighs on the scales: calculate 490 g for this Maxwell (for example, the Sony WH-1000XM4 255 g and the Audeze Penrose 320 g). Noticeable weight due to the use of 90 mm planar magnetic speakers. This technology, which is very common in Audeze headphones, is theoretically less sensitive to the effects of distortion and produces more accurate bass than the more common dynamic speakers.

A wide selection of fasteners

To validate the hybrid gaming/nomadic concept, Maxwell has many connectivity options. So it can communicate wirelessly using a USB-C adapter or can be used over Bluetooth. What’s more, Maxwell is Bluetooth 5.3 compliant and ready to accommodate new Bluetooth LE Audio technologies as it supports LC3 and LC3Plus codecs in addition to LDAC. For further explanations, we invite you to read our dedicated article.

In addition to these wireless connections, the Maxwell has a mini-jack input and can be connected via a USB-C port.

Here you want some technology

Maxwell comes with a detachable gooseneck hypercardioid microphone. It was developed in collaboration with Shure and promises a real performance boost over what Audeze has done before. The headset also has a set of five microphones beam forming serves in the case of nomadic use.

This model can obviously be controlled through the Windows Audeze HQ software, which includes many settings such as equalizer, microphone settings, as well as options to improve immersion. In addition, Maxwell promises an awesome autonomy of over 80 hours, which will make it one of the most durable headphones on the market. On paper, it has everything to his liking. The icing on the cake would have been the presence of active noise cancellation, but it won’t be this time.

Maxwell is now on sale across the Atlantic for $299 for the PS5/PC version and $329 for the Xbox/PC version (with the latter offering a Dolby Atmos license for Headphones). The helmet will likely go on sale in France in early 2023 for around €300.