Audeze Maxwell
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Overview
The High Notes
Extreme Battery Life
Award-Winning Planar Magnetic Drivers
First-in-class Bluetooth 5.3 Support
This article discusses the technology behind the fabulous Audeze Maxwell gaming headphones and why people choose them for their gaming, professional gaming production, Dolby Atmos production, and as a great pair of high-quality music-listening headphones.
Company History
Audeze is led by its founders, CEO Sankar Thiagasamundram and CTO Dr. Dragoslav Colich, who founded the company in 2008 out of a garage in southern California. They began a quest to bring NASA technology to their high-resolution audio products. Combining their unique vision and technical knowledge, they have produced some of the world's most technically advanced and uniquely accurate headphone products and hold 9 U.S. patents and are still counting. Every planar magnetic and electrostatic driver is built in their Orange County, California, factory, ensuring the highest product quality and standards.
Features & Technology
The Audeze Maxwell is a unique headphone. Built for gamers, it has all the technology that allows them to gain an advantage in gameplay, both in terms of the technology used and the quality of the sound it produces. The build quality is top-notch in this price class, as its chassis is made from high-quality aluminum and steel. This allows the Maxwell to be robust to handle the rigors of gamers and the daily life of a portable audio device. Due to its nicely supported headband and comfortable pads, the Maxwell's 490 grams of total weight is heavier than some other gaming headphones but is well supported by the pads and headband structure. This makes them comfortable even when wearing them all day long.
One of the overwhelming fears when gaming is battery life. Nothing is more frustrating than being right in the middle of an intense gaming session, only for the battery in your wireless gaming headphones to be dead. Audeze saw this as an opportunity with the Maxwell and used the 1,800mAh Lithium-Polymer battery needed to allow up to 80 hours of battery life. They combined this battery technology with an efficient design and used technologies like Bluetooth LE, which is lower power-consuming while allowing extended range. Audeze also includes fast-charging ability when charged with a compatible 1.8 amp fast charger, giving you a 20 to 30-hour play time on only 20 minutes of charge. This is excellent as it allows you to game without worrying about running out of power on your headphones. Should you ever find a time when the Maxwell finally runs out of juice, just hook it up with the included USB cable and keep on going. This port allows both charging and audio transmission. A 3.5mm analog jack is included on the Maxwell should you want to connect a source output directly to the headphone's internal amplifiers and DSP circuits. (The 3.5mm input is not an amplifier input and only accepts analog audio signals from a player or DAC output.)
Having all of this battery life is important because the technology built into the Maxwell has been hand-picked for its ability to perform low latency and top-notch sound quality. The Maxwell has full Bluetooth 5.3 support, a first-in-this-class feature not seen in comparable products. Bluetooth 5.3 is the newest and most comprehensively featured Bluetooth to date and offers Bluetooth LE or Low Energy with these benefits:
- Improved audio quality
- Lower latency
- Reduced power consumption
- Better interoperability
- Easier device development
- New audio device types
In addition to Bluetooth LE, the Maxwell supports all legacy Bluetooth codecs, including SBC, AAC, and, most importantly, LDAC and LC3PLUS. LDAC and LC3PLUS allow the Maxwell to support audio formats up to 24-bit/96kHz. This is a great addition, as many gaming and music streaming applications are evolving to use higher-quality audio streams. The USB dongle is one of the notable additions to the Maxwell. This dongle allows gaming systems and PCs without Bluetooth 5.3 or low-latency support to add it to the system. Instead of the limited built-in Bluetooth receiver, the dongle will take over for better performance.
For PC or Xbox users, the Xbox version of the Audeze Maxwell includes an embedded Dolby Atmos license. This lets you take full advantage of the Dolby Atmos soundtracks on today’s games. You can even download the Dolby Access app to personalize your Doby Atmos experience. For audio professionals working in Dolby Atmos, this is extremely helpful as the built-in Atmos license will allow you to preview your work in full Atmos and utilize the new head-tracking integration for the Atmos Renderer. This is huge for professionals as it gives them a very high-quality reference for their mixes with all available built-in features. (Please note: the PlayStation version of the Maxwell does not support the Dolby Atmos license and will use Tempest 3D.)
The addition of a detachable microphone is notable, as it was designed with help from Shure Electronics, a leading manufacturer of professional microphones. This microphone is detachable and an excellent idea, as it allows the Maxwell to be more adaptable to people who want to use the Maxwell as a regular Bluetooth music headphone. When the boom mic is disconnected, the multi-mic beamforming array takes over and lets the mics pick up your voice in front of your face without picking up unwanted sounds. This allows you to use the headphones for calls or communication when the boom mic is not installed. When the boom mic is installed, an A.I. processor uses the boom mic and the beamforming mics to remove any background noise that could affect your voice transmission quality.
The Audeze HQ app is available for all major platforms and allows full control over the Maxwell headphones. This app has a built-in multi-band EQ system with special presets made by players of specific games. These presets bring out the sound aspects in each respective game to give you the best edge. Plus, you have full control of the EQ to set four of your own presets, bass, and treble boosts or try out some of the community-sourced settings uploaded by users.
As planar magnetic headphones, we knew we would be in for a treat reviewing the Maxwell. Audeze uses a three-part planar magnetic driver technology, including its own Uniforce™ voice coils, Fluxor™ magnets, and Fazor™ waveguides. This superlight driver allows high-speed transients and accuracy. In our gaming tests, we used the Maxwell with the Xbox Series X and a PC. Testing multiple games in different genres, we found that with the addition of the Audeze HQ app EQ settings for each game, the sound effects were accurate and detailed. Playing shooter games requires hearing every sound in detail to tell where the opponent is to get the competitive edge. The Audeze Maxwell gave us the edge and allowed our gameplay to improve due to the better accuracy and detail. In its price class, we can think of no other gaming headphones capable of performing this well.
The most exciting part of the review was setting up the Mawells for music. With the large planar magnetic drivers, we knew that bass would go very deep and be linear in its delivery. And that is precisely what we got. But another surprising aspect of this headphone was how balanced the frequency response was through the audio spectrum. Any genre of music we played sounded lifelike and detailed, all while keeping the smoothness that Audeze headphones are known for. Yes, it is a close-back headphone, so the soundstage and imaging could not keep up with Audeze’s open-back planar headphones. Still, the Maxwell is much less expensive and serves up much of the more costly Audeze headphone's ability while possessing all of the wireless features discussed above. We would have liked to see the analog 3.5mm input be a direct-to-driver input so that the Maxwell could be used with something like the Chord Mojo 2 DAC/Amp to boost performance further, but that is not the case. You could connect your DAC’s output to this jack, but it would go through the internal DSP and amplifier sections before reaching the drivers, so the performance upgrade would be minimal. However, for a gaming Bluetooth headphone that can transform into a music headphone with the removal of the boom mic, it is something unique that we think many will like. And the fact that it sounds better than just about any other wireless headphone in its price class is special, too.
Overall Recommendation
The Audeze Maxwell was a surprise to us in multiple ways. Its gaming performance is at the top of its price class and gives you an edge in your gameplay, letting you hear everything in the soundtrack with supreme detail. Any serious gamer should consider these as an addition to their gaming arsenal. Professionals who make game soundtracks and use technologies like Dolby Atmos should consider the Maxwell’s for its support of these formats, wireless low latency technology, and effortless detailed sound. Most surprisingly, music lovers who want headphones with a flat and accurate frequency response, a class-leading build quality, and a feature set that allows them to transform into a high-quality music headphone. We can’t think of a better all-around and adaptable headphone in its price class. If you are in the market for a wireless gaming headphone that can also be a wireless or wired high-end sounding music headphone. Please give our knowledgeable staff at Audio Advice a call, email, or chat to see if the Audeze Maxwell is the headphone for you.
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Details & Specs
Unrivaled Audio
Powered by Audeze’s latest 90mm planar magnetic drivers, with over 3X the driver area of leading competitors, Maxwell delivers powerful bass and pinpoint precision. Audeze drivers are trusted by leading recording and game studios worldwide, and feature patented technologies including Uniforce™ voice coils, Fluxor™ magnets, and Fazor™ waveguides. Experience class-leading high-resolution audio up to 24-bit/96kHz over Wireless or USB.
Forged through Competition
Hear your opponents coming before they find you, for an edge in every match. Leading pro gamers rely on Audeze headsets for their lightning-quick response and detailed sound. Never miss a teammate’s call-outs with quickly adjustable game-chat mix on PC, Mac, and consoles.
Battle-Ready Durability and Comfort
Maxwell is built on an all-new premium chassis including aluminum yokes and a spring steel headband for durability. Play in comfort, all day, all night with the deluxe contoured earpads and replaceable suspension strap. Shut out the world around you with class-leading passive noise reduction from the reinforced dual-chamber earcups.
Ultra-Low Latency Wireless
Play confidently with reliable stability and 3X the range versus standard 2.4GHz wireless, keeping you in sync with the action on-screen. Enjoy lossless-quality high-resolution audio with the latest in wirelesstechnology, compatible with LC3plus, LE Audio, and LDAC. Switch seamlessly between multiple devices with Bluetooth Multipoint.
Stunning Spatial Audio
Experience unparalled audio with deeply immersive sound from the experts at Dolby Labs. Maxwell for Xbox includes a Dolby Atmos license ready to activate on your device. Download the Dolby Access app to personalize your spatial audio experience.
A.I. Noise Filtering Microphones
Get crystal-clear communications from Audeze's FILTER noise reduction technology. Using a dedicated A.I. processor, background noise is removed instantly and automatically on any platform. Tune your mic to sound just right with exclusive 5-band equalizer. The detachable boom microphone and on-board beamforming array make sure your voice is always heard.
Customize to All Your Favorites
Get sound that adapts to you, across titles and genres, from Maxwell's user-customizable multi-bang EQ system. Enhance specific sound cues with presets for footsteps, competitive and immersive gaming, as well as bass and treble boosts. With the ability to save up to 4 user-defined EQ profiles, you can try out community-sourced settings, or craft your own in the Audeze HQ gaming app.
Features
- 80hr+ Battery Life with Fast Charge for All Day Play in 20 min
- Ultra-Low Latency Wireless with 3X Range of Traditional 2.4Ghz
- First-in-Class Bluetooth 5.3 supports LE Audio, LC3plus, LDAC
- Class-Leading High-Resolution Audio up to 24-bit/96kHz
- Embedded Dolby Atmos® License (Xbox version only)
- All-New Reinforced Chassis Built with Aluminum and Steel
- FILTER™ Noise Reduction Technology for Clear Commuications
- Award-winning Audeze 90mm Planar Magnetic Drivers
