Audeze Maxwell 2 Review – Utter Disappointment…

I had high hopes for these – the Audeze Maxwell 1’s were lauded as possibly the best gaming headset around, with a few catches anyway – but these Maxwell 2’s… Well from what I can tell, there isn’t much new, and there are some GLARING, deal-breaking issues that mean I just cannot recommend these, and that’s a massive shame. Let me explain why, starting with the best bit, the audio quality.

These things are pretty phenomenal. With 90mm planar magnetic drivers, their “Fluxor” neodymium magnet array and their “SLAM” tuning system, these things are some of the best headphones you’ll ever hear. Sound has a unique crispness and clarity that you’ll struggle to find anywhere else. If you want to hear your favourite songs, films and games in a whole new light – hear details you never knew existed – then these are the perfect cans for you. Much like the LCD-4’s I still use with my instruments, these provide a beautifully flat reference listening experience. I mean Audeze makes very similar headphones under their “reference” line, that’s how good these things are. The only catch is that these are great for the analytical listener – someone who wants to pick apart their audio and really understand and appreciate each instrument or sound. But, these don’t move you in the same way that a really good pair of conventional drivers do. At least for my ears, they are perhaps a little too flat, a little too perfect. That’s a weird kind of back-handed compliment, I know, but putting these on and listening to music is a very different experience to my current go-to headset, the Sony H9 II’s. This blows me away at the clarity and detail, but doesn’t move me and immerse me in the same way the H9 II’s do. That doesn’t mean these aren’t anything short of the best headphones I’ve heard though.

It’s worth noting as well that for gaming, that level of analytical quality is actually a genuinely insane advantage. It’s hard to put into words exactly what makes these so much better, but my god they are. The clarity means hearing footsteps – or even a character shuffling as they look around – is effortlessly clear, and the directionality (even without faux surround sound) is incredible. For gaming, these are the best headphones you could wish for, seriously. Unfortunately though, that’s about where the good parts end, so let’s start the ball rolling down the hill with the microphone.

[Mic test]

Despite the listening experience being top notch, the mic quality, well, isn’t. Like, to be clear, this is perfectly usable, but it isn’t what I’d call ‘good’. It’s fine. It’s also pretty compressed, with some really harsh high frequencies too making it kind of uncomfortable to listen to. This does have “AI Noise Removal” built in, you’ve been hearing that turned off. Setting it to low weirdly pumps up the volume quite a bit, so I’m going to have to do some management in post to level this out, but it also mostly just highlights how naff this thing sounds. Setting it to high doesn’t seem to make much of a difference, perhaps a slight furthering of quality degradation, but there’s not much to report there. It’s just not great. For context, this is what my Sony H9 II’s microphone sounds like. These are my go-to gaming headphones right now, and I hope you can hear why, at least on the mic front. 

It’s worth pointing out the connection modes available to the Maxwell 2’s, with the primary one being a USB C dongle that is clearly designed for either PlayStation or PC thanks to the toggle switch on the side that is pretty clearly labelled. That dongle can be connected via USB A thanks to the included dongle, although of course you can also connect directly via USB C to the headset, or even via a 3.5mm jack, if you so desire. You can also connect wirelessly through Bluetooth, although here’s the first deal-breaker – no simultaneous audio. You can’t listen to music from your phone while gaming on your PlayStation, or use comms from Discord on your phone while listening to game audio on your PC. Even more weirdly, the headset prioritises Bluetooth over basically anything else. If you do pair the headset to your phone, and then your phone – mid game – connects and plays audio, you lose the 2.4GHz connection to the dongle. That’s not just a deal breaker, that makes this thing a liability!

Then there is the physicality. On the left ear cup you have a button that toggles through the “AI Noise Removal” levels, the mic jack, the USB C port, the 3.5mm jack, and then TWO separate volume controls – one for game/chat mix (which also double as the sidetone controller), and the other… well depending on what mode it’s in, it can do volume, or freaking EQ modes. It’s busy… On the right ear cup you have only the power button (which is also the Bluetooth pairing button) and the mic mute switch. I’d like to make it abundantly clear that this is the single worst mic mute switch I have ever used. It’s a TINY RECESSED DIP SWITCH WITH NO USEFUL FEEDBACK AND REQUIRES LONG NAILS OR A FLATHEAD SCREWDRIVER TO OPERATE! Just for some context, those Sony H9 II’s I mentioned have a big, round, textured mute button on the top of the right ear cup that makes it stupidly easy to find in a hurry, it raises up so you can feel it’s state instantly, AND they even managed to put a bright red light on the microphone so you can SEE it’s muted. This thing? You have no idea if it’s muted or not, and you can barely operate it even with long nails because the recess is so tiny and remarkably deep. Whoever thought this was acceptable has never touched a gaming headset in their lives before. This is deal-breaker number two.

But we aren’t even done with the physical design deal-breakers yet either, because my god these things are heavy! The original Maxwell’s were 509 grams – already twice the H9 II’s, by the way – but these ones? 560 grams! That’s over 10 percent heavier, for, as far as I can tell, really not much in the way of improvements. What’s worse is that the adjustment mechanism for these is a leather strap that is almost permanently attached in one position, but if you can get it free, you only have two other options, and neither improves the clamping pressure, which is a comfortable zero for me. That means any head movement KNOCKS THEM OFF YOUR HEAD. I only had to lean my head back and they slid right off. Every. Single. Time. That means these just aren’t comfortable to game with. That’s another deal-breaker for me.

Oh, and by the way, that’ll be £339 please. Considering the Sony H9 II’s are £39 LESS than these, offer a broadcast quality mic, much better comfort, a more immersive and moving listening experience, and even active noise cancellation… I cannot recommend these Maxwell 2’s. This is a swing and a miss. Genuinely disappointing. The H9 II’s though? 100%, that is, hand’s down, the best gaming headset available.