Audeze Maxwell 2 review: still an incredibly impressive audiophile gaming headset, but it could have done more

I often found it hard to wholeheartedly recommend the original Audeze Maxwell among the rest of the best gaming headsets on the market. The OG was, and the new Audeze Maxwell 2 still is, at the top of the food chain when it comes to clean, accurate, powerful audio, but the previous headset's comfort shortcomings and more audiophile-leaning feature set largely held it back.

After spending hours with the new headband redesign on my noggin, I can confidently say Audeze has fixed one of its issues. Whether there's enough outside of audio quality to draw players away from more feature-rich headsets is another matter.

TL;DR: What is the Audeze Maxwell 2?

The Audeze Maxwell 2 is a long-awaited follow up to one of the best wireless gaming headsets of the last decade, a planar-magnetic set from a brand well recognized in the audiophile space.

It's a heavy, chunky device (though improvements in the headband have mitigated the original's comfort issues) that puts audio quality at the forefront in a way no other headset can. That means it's incredibly clear, but doesn't offer the same kind of bass engineering that you'll find from the likes of the Razer BlackShark V3 Pro or SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro.

At $329 / £339 it's right at the top of the price spectrum, beaten only by the super premium SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite ($599.99 / £599.99), and will suit those after clarity and power in the higher ranges better than those hunting down a warmer bassy experience.

What I love about the Audeze Maxwell 2

Audio quality still sits at the forefront

The Audeze Maxwell 2s are clean, incredibly clean. The mids and highs are separated beautifully with a space and power that goes beyond anything I've heard from a gaming headset, well - maybe barring the original Maxwells. This is a headset built around offering a faithful, crisp sound quality that allows instruments to breathe and shine independently. That means it excels in both single player and competitive scenarios.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's gorgeous soundtrack, crucial dodge cues, and intricate sound effects are all pushed to the forefront of the soundstage with a fantastic sense of impact and precision. What impressed me more, though, was the clever handling of busier soundscapes. Doom: The Dark Ages is a cacophony of bass-heavy backing tracks, demon screeches and gunfire, and I could pick out every layer with surprising detail while never feeling overwhelmed by lower ranges, as is so common when testing headsets on this particular title.

I keep saying it, but this really is the cleanest in-game experience I've had - even the clunky machine sounds of Horizon Forbidden West were nicely separated on PS5 (and that's often the biggest single-player test each headset faces). That kind of staging also makes the Audeze Maxwell 2 a force to be reckoned with in competitive arenas.

Footsteps and gunshots are brought straight to the top of the priority list in CS2, even among more complicated sound effects and jingles.

Music absolutely shines as well. Tracks like "The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel" gain an extra dimension with this much space in the soundscape, while the distorted lower tones of Grandson and President maintain their clarity even through grittier processing. Higher ranges are perhaps the punchiest I've heard them, with a whole ballroom of space in the mids as well.

Where the Audeze Maxwell 2 may fall down for some is the lower end. Everything here is pristine, but that means I lost a little of the bass grunt I've come to appreciate from headsets like the Razer BlackShark V3 Pro and even, to a lesser extent, the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless. Jumping slightly further up the price scale, the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite offers a similar level of clarity (though I find it doesn't quite have the scale of the mid-range) while offering a warmer, less clinical tone overall.

I will say, though, throwing on "Figure It Out" by Chandler, Stafford Beats, and YNG Martyr with the Bass Boost EQ preset applied gave me a satisfying jolt of bassy goodness.

Excellent comfort improvements

The original Maxwells were cursed with a comfort problem that came up nearly every time I felt myself about to recommend them. The Maxwell 2s were in danger of doubling down on this problem, with a heavier, bulkier form factor - they've been saved by a simple headband adjustment, though.

The part of the ski-band style topper that straps itself across the crown has been widened to provide additional support compared to the original. Whereas I've grown used to sacrificing a comfortable noggin for the Maxwell's sound quality, the Audeze Maxwell 2s are remarkably well tailored.

No longer can I feel the full pressure of a giant set of cups handing off a skinny piece of rubber across the top of my head. Instead, the improved weight distribution means I've been wearing this headset for sessions lasting up to around four hours without feeling any discomfort.

That's supported by the lighter clamp force, generously padded leatherette earcups and an almost-square ear cut-out that keeps everything nicely enclosed with no pinching. It's not the most comfortable headset I've used - that award goes to the almost floating design of the Turtle Beach Atlas Air. I can still feel this thing on my head, but it's come a long, long way.

Long-lasting battery life

In my first week of testing, I used the Audeze Maxwell 2 for a few evening sessions of Doom: The Dark Ages, CS2, and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, running for between two to four hours at a time, listening to music for roughly four hours during the day. At the end of the week. After all that, I still had 45% battery left to play with.

That tracks with Audeze's estimate of 80 hours per charge, a rate that beats out the Razer BlackShark V3 Pro's 70 hours. It nearly quadruples the battery life of the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless, but there's a heavy caveat here. The Arctis Nova Pro (and Elite) use hot-swappable batteries that remove the need for charging at all. It's a better system overall, and is one of the reasons the Maxwell 2s might struggle to compete in a more casual gaming setup.

What to consider

No major developments over original

Side by side, it's easy to spot the differences between the Audeze Maxwell 2 and its predecessor. That wider headband, a slightly thicker cup size, and additional controls visually distance the new generation from the old. On the head, though? There's not too much to report on.

This is still the same 90mm planar magnetic driver with a frequency range of 10Hz to 50kHz as the original. Don't get me wrong, there's no point in fixing something that wasn't broken - but it's worth knowing if you're looking to upgrade your existing headset based on an audio quality boost.

The new model does feature the brand's SLAM tech, said to boost the lower ranges and enhance spatial positioning. Listening to the two side by side, there might be some evidence of this is more concentrated testing, but in every day music and gaming I didn't feel the benefits of these upgrades too keenly.

There are small enhancements, particularly in the spacing of that low range, but they largely fall into the 'iterative' camp rather than the 'revolutionary'. It's no bad thing, but worth acknowledging.

Drops premium features from other headsets

Here's where things turn a little sour. I was incredibly excited about those improvements in comfort when Audeze announced the Maxwell 2s, and now that they're fixed I've been keen to integrate the headset into my everyday PS5 and PC setup. In doing so, I've noticed a few sacrifices that I seem to have taken for granted from other devices.

The most surprising was the lack of simultaneous Bluetooth and 2.4GHz audio. This is a premium feature on the best PS5 headsets and best PC headsets, but it's a given on any other device with a starting price over $270 these days. Being able to channel both 2.4GHz and Bluetooth sources separately is a surprisingly large part of my day-to-day, it turns out. Whether that's throwing my own tunes on while traversing Fallout 76 or picking up a group chat call halfway through a gameplay session, I was shocked to find out the Maxwell 2s won't play ball.

Audeze's software has seen a major overhaul with the new release, and it's much improved over the original barebones program. However, it's still not as rich as SteelSeries' suite of extra features. The Nova Pro model benefits from an EQ hub with easy adjustments for both PS5 and PC, while the Nova Elite adds support for a massive library of per-game presets. Audeze has a few dedicated presets to its name and a 10 bad equalizer to play with.

At this kind of pricing it's also reasonable to expect some extra charging features these days. SteelSeries headsets benefit from hot-swappable batteries but other models like the Astro A50 X and Fractal Scape use docks to keep those charges topped up when not in use. We're back to just plugging in via USB-C here.

Finally, the mic is fine. It's a microphone that will pick up your voice and does an adequate job of blocking any other noise out. It's not quite got the richness of alternatives from Razer, though. A gaming headset doesn't need a podcast-quality microphone, that's a benefit you'll have to seek out separately, but the Maxwell 2 coasts in this department.

Should you buy the Audeze Maxwell 2?

Ultimately, my recommendation for the Audeze Maxwell 2 matches that of the original, with the caveat that I'm more likely to suggest the new generation based on its enhanced comfort features.

That is to say, if you value balanced, clear, high quality audio more than extra quality of life features this is going to be a worthwhile investment. If you want an easier life with still-fantastic sound that provides slightly more bass grunt, the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite's additional features will pull their weight (though that is one serious price tag) as will the cheaper SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless.

There's not enough here to justify an upgrade if you already have a set of Maxwells, but if you're investing in an audiophile gaming headset for the first time this is absolutely where I'd direct your cash.

How I tested the Audeze Maxwell 2

I used the Audeze Maxwell 2 for three weeks, with one week spent directly comparing against the Audeze Maxwell, SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless, SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite, and Razer BlackShark V3 Pro. I primarily tested across Doom: The Dark Ages, Horizon Forbidden West, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and CS2, while also playing Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Planet Coaster, and Life is Strange: Double Exposure. I split testing across both PC and PS5, while listening to Spotify lossless on PC and an iPhone 13 Pro. For more information on how we test gaming headsets, check out the full GamesRadar+ Hardware Policy.

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