Audeze - Maxwell Series

I’m very happy with my Audeze Maxwell headset. The sound quality is impressive. The way it reproduces deep bass at low volume when I’m in a room adjacent to a club in Cyberpunk 2077 isn’t something any other headset I’ve tried does as well in my opinion. They are also great for listening to music. Highly recommended if it fits in your budget.

Audeze Maxwell is the best gaming headset I have ever owned. I have used the "audiophile setup" where personally I used a Beyerdynamic headset and a shitty wired mic on the side. I have used two versions of the the Astro A50. I have tested som Bose setups as well, but I realized that I just don't like the levels of the deault Bose setups and I am not smart or technical enough (or the time) to find out how to balance it out. I also tried a noise cancelling setup just using Bower & Wilkins PX8 and Sony MX-series. In the end, I want a headset with a proper mic attached, all other mic solutions are clunky and annoying. I want a wireless headset because having wire while gaming is annoying, and I honestly cannot tell the difference in sound quality between wired (analog or digital), and wiress. Considering those limitations, the Audeze Maxwell has the best sound of any headset I have ever used. It's so good, that I want to buy an extra set to have as a future spare if my current one breaks, and Sony (who have bought Audeze) messes up the current line of headsets in any way.

There is but its literally the only one. Audeze Maxwell. Everything else in the space cannot be considered "Audiophile" quality but the Maxwell is black magic as far as I am concerned. Hell I think the quality is so good it might have been a competitive $400 wired standalone headphone by itself. Its really fucking good lol.

While the microphone is "meh" it does a hell of a job keeping unwanted noise out, without any e tra software running or taking up your PCs resources to do so. The Maxwell is incredible for the price lol

I assure you, dude, you don't need to overspend on this. Try looking at Audeze Maxwell Series, those cost around $250 in amazon and they're SUPERB. FWIW, I recently did an analysis on Reddit data for gaming headsets. Basically ranked them by aggregated sentiment. Maybe you'll find the results helpful? ⁦https://redditrecs.com/gaming-headset/⁩ You can filter based on usage, connection, and get a breakdown of what ppl have said about the most often recommended ones (disclaimer some links are affiliate they help fund the analyses)

If you don't need headset, when why bother with something labeled 'gaming headphones' at all? I had HyperX that weren't bad for gaming, and I have Audeze Penrose + Maxwell that i go as far as calling 'good'

I love the stealth pro’s and I also have the maxwells. I used to own the wired nova pros and have the epos h6. So these at £600 literally have no appeal to me. Maybe £350 to £400 but at £600 I doubt the sound quality is worth that and appears to just about convenience and features.

I always use headphones. I understand the appeal of surround sound, but I find good headphones give you almost similar immersive experience at less "price" and space. I use Audeze Maxwell - it's freaking amazing.

I use Audeze Maxwell for PS5 - one of the great headphones within $300. You can also go for Inzone headphones, around the same price point. Audeze is bought by Sony. I believe they will bring the same tech in Inzone branded headphones.

Nova pros are not loud enough. Go with the Audeze Maxwell, HD 6xx or IEMs like the EW300, Kiwi Ears Aether, or the Kiwi Ears Astral.

Only good gaming headphones are the audeze Maxwell, those are audiophile headphones so they sound amazing with anything, games, music,, phone ect.

I have pair of Foestex T60RP mostly for music, but they have great imaging for gaming as well IMO, but when I don't want to go wired, the Audeze Maxwell s are absolutely mindblowing for a wireless headset. Sound quality and imaging are amazing and I think they are comfortable as well.

Audeze Maxwell is much nicer alternative, but the sweets BT system and the batteries are something I really miss!

First of all, thank you for posting here and for being willing to help and provide answers. My journey has unfortunately been quite challenging, and any support you can offer would be greatly appreciated. I used the Nova Pro Wireless for two full years. I disliked the microphone but loved the battery system (similar to what I have with my Shark vacuum and Ring doorbell, haha), as well as the transparency mode(used to have it on like almost maxed out), since I need to be aware of my surroundings-taking care of mom. I also appreciated the ability to connect via both Bluetooth and the dongle simultaneously. Then, I bought a used Maxwell because it was very affordable and used it for about nine months. However, the microphone was almost as poor as the Nova's, and it didn’t support simultaneous Bluetooth connections. Half a year ago, I purchased the A50 Gen 5, but I still miss the Nova Pro Wireless because of its excellent battery system, transparency mode, and the ability to mix Bluetooth and dongle connections at the same time. Currently, I’ve returned to using the Maxwell due to the capability to have the earcup's microphones to act as a transparency mode with sidetone functionality on a very sensitive level (currently on 80%) I even tried the SteelSeries Gamebuds, which also feature transparency mode and sidetone, but unfortunately, I had a disappointing experience with them as they feel unbaked I would be super grateful if you could do a side-by-side transparency-mode test of the new Elite headset versus the Maxwell on 70-80% sidetone to see which one is 'better' and louder. I find the Audeze Maxwell to be quite little too sensitive, but I like how loud it does it so it can get just as loud as watching a youtube vid in normal volume. EDIT: I HAVE THE SAME ANKER CUBE AND ITS LOVELY Thanks and god bless

If you can find them for a good price the audeze maxwell i would 100% recommend. Honestly ive used most of the high end gaming headsets and there sound and EQ just have so many issues. Ill also add the build quality tend to break or Fall apart in the same areas. But I'd probably go with arctis 7 line for consoles as the arctis nova pros just arent worth the price.

Astro A50X the guy above me was referring to i personally didnt like them. The nova pros where not bad but ive moved to the audeze maxwell now I lost dual audio but the sound is amazing.

Audeze Maxwell - Considered one of the best wireless gaming headsets. Popular with music creators as well as for gaming. Mic is reasonably good, though can clip a little. Comes with leather earpads, but they can be replaced easily. Drop + EPOS PC38X - One of the best wired gaming headsets for sound clarity and mic quality. Bass reproduction is a bit muted, which is common for older style EPOS / Sennheiser headsets, and common with open back headphones in general. The mic is essentially the best of any consumer headset you can buy. Generally can only be bought directly from Drop's site. Comes with both cloth and velour earpads. [https://drop.com/buy/drop-epos-pc38x-gaming-headset](https://drop.com/buy/drop-epos-pc38x-gaming-headset) Steel Series Arctis headsets are generally a decent middle ground in terms of decent bass and mic quality. The overall audio quality isn't as good as either the Maxwell or PC38X, but they're closed back so their bass response is more like the Maxwell. And the mic quality is generally better than the Maxwell, but no where near as good as the PC38X. Most (maybe all?) use cloth earpads. Nova Pro Wireless and Nova 9 are both quite good, with the Nova 9 being slightly better in terms of audio clarity and mic quality, but the Pro Wireless has better bass and noise cancelling.

I’d say the Audeze Maxwell would do all the things you’re asking really well.

If you're set on wireless I'd take a look at the Sennheiser Momentum 4 and the Audeze Maxwell. The Maxwell does not have ANC but it does have an exceptional battery life, excellent sound quality, and is one of the only wireless headphones competitive with wired headphones in the same price bracket.  The Momentum 4 has ANC and a good battery life. It is Bluetooth only compared to the Maxwell's 2.4Ghz dongle so you'll be looking at a bit of latency and reduced quality but you should be used to that coming from a JBL.  You can get an aptX low latency adapter like the BTD 600 to solve the latency issue, or you can plug the headphones in via USB when at your PC for uncompressed audio. Then use them wirelessly when you're on the go. 

If those are your only option I'd take either the Cloud Alpha or G Pro X, probably the Alpha as it is really comfortable. As other's have said though, none of these are particularly good. Unlike what others have said, there are good gamer brand headsets out there like the LucidSound LS50x, Logitech G Pro X 2, Astro A50, a few EPOS models. They're just generally overpriced. Like the G Pro X 2 is a really good $100 headphone with a $20 mic selling for $250. The LucidSounds are a bit pricy new but very cheap on the used market. The LS50x or the little brother LS35x can be found used for under $60 and $40 respectively and will beat anything on your list. Sennheiser Game One's can be found for under $60 and are another step higher, they're the headset version of the HD 598. In general, you can almost always buy a new headphone of equal or better quality + a desktop mic for a lot less money than a new headset. The main exception is the Audeze Maxwell which is frankly way better than standalone wireless headphones at its price. The PC38x is also competitively priced on sale, it's right between the HD 599 and HD 560S in quality.

Audeze Maxwell if you want an all around. Both wired, and wireless. Audeze MM-100 if you want an open back pair of headphones. Both have the same sound signature, but of course open back headphones have the advantage in sound stage. I've listened to other way more expensive audiophile headphones & I prefer the Audeze MM100 & Maxwell, and their cheaper too.

There will be some varying suggestions based on exactly what is prioritized, but my vote will go to the Audeze Maxwell. I have a pair that gets used daily for listening to music or taking work calls as well as stints of gaming on the PS5 and they are superb at all 3. They come in right around $300.

Not sure if I understand you correctly but I have a Maxwell and was playing Sea of Thieves on my Series X and during the game just answered a phone call no problem and after that continued to party chat.

Audeze Maxwells is your answer Edit: just to add, very high quality sound and the mic it comes with is pretty high quality for a headset mic and easily detachable for just normal use

Do not buy these. They’re nothing but hiss and a terrible mic. I’ll sell you mine for a hundred bucks obo. Easily the worst and one of the most expensive headsets I’ve ever bought for console gaming.

$330 without ANC - no thanks.

Nope, I'm still looking myself. I think I'm fully done with gaming brands (I even hated the beloved Audeze Maxwell due to how uncomfortable and heavy it was). That's why I'm lurking here to find some good audiophile recommendations. The only "wireless gaming headset" I almost like is the Cloud 3 wireless which I bought on sale for 170CAD (tax included) but I only like these because of comfort and sound. They can get very hot (cheap pleather ear pads) and they only work wirelessly with a usb receiver with no wired or bluetooth options. Their app doesnt work on MacOS either. I really think they're overpriced for what they are so I will be sending them back.

Absolutely not, the Audeze Maxwell is heaps better, there's no comparison. I know because I've had the arctis nova pro just before I got my current Audeze. The difference is actually insane.

They are wireless yes, and they are incredible for music, that's what I got them for mainly. It's the best closed back headset you can get for the price tag as far as I know.

Not only were the Maxwell's extremely uncomfortable, the drivers broke on me and I looked after them extremely well. They sound great but they are extremely fragile. They simply aren't for the average user and for the price you can get a far more comfortable almost as good headphone. Unless you really want wireless I'd agree and get something else.

Listen to this OP. I have three pairs. Safe to say I'm a fan.

Well, I've only played a few of the exact same games on both platforms, so a direct comparison is a bit difficult, but, if there was a difference, it was imperceptible or negligible. I had even paid for the Dolby Atmos before the Maxwell's, and I didn't really experience anything noteworthy then either. I suspect that much like PS5's Tempest Engine 3D audio, the efficacy is highly dependent on developer implementation or use.

Audeze Maxwells. Easy decision. It’s better than everything on your list by a mile An audiophiles entry level gaming headphones

ooh! Missed that. I can't do without simultaneous bluetooth anymore. Boggles my mind that the Audeze Penrose had it and the Maxwell does not. I did like the Penrose, but quality of life features were so much better on the Nova Pro. Wish I could get all the quality of life things, better range, and the sound quality of the Audeze in one package...

Not good Do the maxwells use planar magnetic drivers which are designed to be inherently flat and play audio in its purists form with little to no enhancements. You’ll get bass but not the rumbling/thumping bass you are probably use to hearing in standard dynamic drivers which 99.% if headsets use If you want bass I’d recommend the Astro A50x, Arctis nova pro wireless ore the Arctis nova 7ps. The turtle beach stealth 700 gen 3s are also a good choice The above will give you balanced audio with both bass and clarity/detail. The a50x and turtle beach headset are a smige more bass heavy but not overbearing though

Get the Arctis nova 7ps or the Arctis nova pro wireless headset if you want balanced audio that has clarity/detail as well as rumbling bass If you value extreme clarity/detail and don’t really care for rumbling bass or treble get the audeze maxwells

Weight matters a lot. I agree they are soo heavily. Makes gaming long season long hard

Audeze Maxwell. Case closed.

Audeze Maxwell all the way.

I had an arctic nova pro, and switched to Audeze Maxwell. The Arctic Nova was good, but after switching the sound and build quality is night and day with the Maxwell, it’s so much better. The battery lasts over 70 hours as well. Default sound settings aren’t great, but an easy Google search has people sharing much better settings which really brings the sound quality out. It’s usually around $300, but you can find them for sale around $250 every now and then, if you’re willing to stretch you budget a bit.

I have a pair. I’ve had several high quality “gaming head phones prior, and they aren’t in the ballpark of my Audeze Maxwell. If OP can stretch his budget a bit, it’s the headset to go with.

Maxwell is my favorite by far

I wouldn’t recommend anything in sennheiser 600 series if he’s into competitive shooters, hd490 would be much better choice. But he won’t be able to get immersed in gaming if he’s playing in the living room with kids running around, if he doesn’t mind heavier headset, audeze Maxwell has very decent passive noise isolation and good AI noise cancelling on the mic, although some units have QC issues and some firmware updates seem to be a bit buggy

If you are looking at a headset primarily for competitive reasons it has to be the Maxwells or Nova Pros from this list. I’d say the maxwells are the better headset overall but the imaging on the Nova Pros is some of the best you can get. I understand the turtle beach stealth pros are the best purely for imaging but they are kind of a one trick pony.

As a headset that’s great for music/movies and also incredible for games they are very hard to beat. I’ve owned a pair of them for about a year or so and they are fantastic for the price.

Most headsets have a weakness or two, for the maxwells it’s the weight and fragility and for the Astros it’s the Bluetooth and the ear cup size and that they leak sound a bit. Overall the two are pretty well matched with Astros having a nod towards the comfort and Maxwells a nod towards overall sound quality. I’ve owned both and really liked both, but for different reasons!

The HD6XX requires a decent amplifier, it’s also not intended for or great at positional accuracy (footstep tracking). It’s great at many things but definitely not even in my top 10 if competitive gaming is my use case. I’d recommend you try the Audeze Maxwell, Astro A50 or the Arctis Nova Pro if competitive gaming is the priority.

I use them daily for gaming since release date, don't remember exactly - 2 years or so. Earpads are still like new! Believe it or not, I'm frankly impressed. Because pads on Penrose deteriorated in half a year. Maxwell's are a big step forward.

I was looking into Maxwell a lot at first, but damn, there's too much QC issue even after two years. I really don't want to test my luck.

So, I bought Maxwell, and it's the best decision I've ever made. It didn't sound that good, but not because it was bad; it's because it's flat. With the drivers being planar magnetic, it makes it so easy to tune the EQ to my liking. Bought it since November, and it's still makes me amazed by the sound quality everyday. Every time the bass hits or when there's an explosion in games or movie it sound so good it makes me have goosebumps. Oh, btw, I use my Maxwell to play guitar, listen to music, watch movies, and play all types of PC games. Like, FPS, open-world, survival, horror, race sim, etc.

I wanted to buy the Maxwell, but not so sure about the QC quality. Although, here in Thailand, the warranty is from the reseller, not the Audeze themselves. So I might buy the Maxwell to try it out.

I have changed my mind after knowing that they released a new 2024 version which fixed some of the issues now. I might give it a try. Here in Thailand the warranty is provided by the reseller anyway so it probably won't be that bad. Thank you!

Yessss, so I chose Maxwell and I am so happy with it right now.

I didn't want the mic because I already had a dedicated one, but I did want it because it's wireless. Because most wireless 2.4Ghz headphones I found are only the gaming one. But at least I found out about the Maxwell and got it. Pretty happy with it.

I heard that they released a 2024 version which fixed the strap and the drivers, but I can't find that information anywhere else.

Well I already have the Audeze maxwells which is my main headset.i just wanted to replace my steel series arctis 7 that i use for Vr gaming but i ended up buying new earpads for them and kept them. The nova 7 is still a nice headset especially if you upgrade the earpads to give them a more premium feel and look.

I had a blackshark and loved it until the hinges disintegrated on me. I currently have the steelseries and it's... Okay? Noise canceling is useless on it. Software is ass. Other than that it's pretty good. The hot swappable batteries is neat. If I could go back I'd probably get the Audeze Maxwell. However they're heavy and a little unwieldy (I tried my friends on).

I’m very happy with Audeze Maxwell so can recommend that. And i think you also cant go wrong with Beyerdynamic.

Comapring to bose nc700 and Beyer DT990 yes it is heavier. I use Maxwells for both work and gaming (up to 4 hours without taking them off) and for me personally the weight is not the issue. My personal feeling is that the weight kinda balances the clamping force, bit challenging for me to describe this accurately.

Not as much as you might think, but mnostly because there really aren't "audiophile" wireless headsets in the $100 range (at least not over-ears). Most headphones in that range are going to be consumer tunes, rather than audio-focused tunes. The same is true of MOST but not all headphones aimed at the gaming market. The exceptions are things like the Epos/Sennheiser PC37x/PC38x or Audeze Maxwell. If you're willing to spend $150, the Fiio FT1 is your best bet. Get a cheap mic to pair with them.

None of those. In the gaming space, the Audeze Maxwell is the clear leader in quality, though the new Fractal is getting great reviews. Very few headsets will have low enough latency to be really good for twitchy gaming; unless you absolutely HAVE to have wireless you're going to be better off with a wired passive set like the Fiio FT1 and a seperate mic for anything high-speed.

I ask because I bought mine in June and they're fine.

I’ve had a bunch of Turtle Beaches over the years (and just bought one to cannibalize for the drivers), but don’t have any experience with that model. I will say I’ve had maybe two headsets marketed as “gaming” that I thought were good enough sounding to be worth using: Audeze Maxwell and the Microsoft Series X headset, neither of which have ANC. Good luck though!

Have you tried Audeze Maxwell? Do you specifically like open back?

If you enjoy open back you may not ever enjoy anything but. I wasn't the biggest fan until I got the eq right on the Maxwell. I feel like maybe the game ones have a slightly larger stage? It was so long ago that I used the ones.

I'm sure you'll find it one day. The hardware is wonderful. :)

3D audio is a gimmick and a marketing term for sound stage. Either the headphones is stereo or true 7.1. no such thing s "3d". PC38X and Audeze Maxwell, as others have also stated. Any good headphone can become a gaming headphone with the right EQ, although open back headphones will excel at sound stage and spatial positioning/ awareness. The inverse is not true,however. Most gaming headphones are RGB lighting and colored plastics on a poor to mid piece of tech with an EQ slapped into it. Get something like the Schiit Hel and a PC38X, or any separate microphone and use it with a good headset and DAC/amp combo (I have the Arya Stealth connected to a Bifrost2/64, Lokius, Jot2 stack and an Elgato Wave XLR mic, best of all worlds).

Yeah they are nice. Currently now switching between Maxwell and Nova. Audeze Maxwell sound nicer on shooters though

Love my Audeze. Works great for a seamless solution for PC to PS5 play.

Yeah, thats the way. But they are a little fragile.

Ive had mine since they were released with zero issues and I use them daily for gaming. Absolutely phenomenal piece of equipment.

I can vouch for AUDEZE Maxwell. A planar magnetic headphone built for gaming but are surprising well for music, movies and working. Because of planar magnetic drivers, the instrument seperation and soundstage is fantastic. That means you would every footstep, no matter where. The suspended headband allows for long hours of gaming session without tiring. The ear pads are very comfortable, with air tracks allowing cooler ears. The integrated boom mic, can be detached but does wonder for live streams. There is also mics on the headset, if you dont prefer the boom mic look. The functionality is great, from changing tracks, play and pause, chat stream to game stream switch. The best of American technology. They were ranked as S Tier by [Headphones.com](http://Headphones.com) in their Close back wireless headphones. Oh yes, did I mention they are have Bluetooth. So along with Direct dongle for Xbox, PS4 and PC, they can also be run through AUX, USBC and for wireless music listening session, Bluetooth 5. Their battery life is rated at whooping 80 Hours. An audiophile device at this price and functionality. You would love these.

I bought the Audeze Maxwell when they launched a couple years back and they are the BEST headphones I've ever heard (gaming or otherwise).

Great read, thanks for the review. I'm not in the market for a new headset as I have the Maxwell and some old Hx Cloud 2s as fallback (unless Maxwell 2 IS coming...), but I have been keen to see some reviews on these from actual real-world users, not just websites who were gifted copies and who all seem to ignore the elephant in the room (price) and yet still slap 'editors choice' left and right so as not to be blacklisted from the next review opportunity. I had some of the Steelseries Pros (wired) in the model before the Nova Pro, and I did really like them on multiple fronts, so still keen to hear about their products. These Nova 'Elite' though are just a step to far with absolutely obnoxious pricing. What I'm getting from reviews I'm reading is: \- SQ is great, but not TOO dissimilar to the Nova Pro (already great) \- Microphone is not a huge step up, but still a bit better. \- The multi-device connection point is great - if your use case really relies on you to have so many devices connected. \- Wireless 'Certified HD Audio' is a nice feather in the cap for sure - but incredibly limited in terms of what content is actually output at that bitrate in an accessible manner. What I'm not getting from any single review that I've read is anything even remotely close to a justification on the price. If I were to look at the Nova Pros vs Elites on paper in a comparison list, I would expect the Elite to be more expensive, maybe £100-£120 more expensive based on the marketing aspect that the 'elites' are just a bit better/more feature rich, at which point I'd maybe say fair enough. They seem to have created and priced these in such a way that they are actively just targeting wealthy folk to ultimately take the piss out of them, and a quick look at their social media posts also kind of feels like that too.

At $340 these aren't cheap but the Maxwell's remain my go-to Xbox heaset after reviewing them a few years back. Killer battery life, great sound, and comfortable. Only complaint is the mic is mediocre.

I get it, but my Maxwell's have been charged maybe 10'ish times in two+ years. They last upwards of 100 hours per charge, feels like magic with how often I use them.

I’d say Audeze Maxwell $300usd

I bought the Sennheiser HD560S, and they're honestly spectacular for gaming. They are open back units though, so they won't be very sound isolating. Generally, I believe Audeze Maxwells are considered some of the best closed-back units you can buy for gaming (closed back are better for sound isolation, but generally don't have as wide a sound stage).

Wired I’d go HD 560s. Wireless I’d go Audeze Maxwell but frankly for the price I’d just go wired.

On the Maxwell? Yes for wireless they’re good.

Audeze Maxwell with the dongle for low latency, sounds awesome 👌

I would not recommend the Maxwell. Sure the sound is great but the mic has a known issue where the sound is so light. I have my output volume all the way up and my friends have me turned up all the way and they all complain of how quiet I am.

The Maxwell is leagues better than this. Not even close.

This is the answer. They were recommended to me and I haven’t looked back. My Astro a50’s worked fine, but really don’t hold a candle to my maxwell’s

I highly recommend the audeze Maxwell. Low production units and they’re well made.

i also got the maxwell yesterday for the xbox. The sound is very quiet even when i put the volume up still the same. i have updated them and the usb still nothing … and alot of people have the same issue do you maybe know if there is any fix because i do think they sound great only the volume has to be fixed for me.

I can share some insight on choosing the nova over the maxwell. I did not choose the Elite, but the pro. In fact, when I purchased my pro, I did not know the elite existed. But at the 600 price tag it would not have made a difference.  The reason I returned my maxwell is simple: weight and bulk. They're huge and heavy. I have chronic lower back issues that my mid and upper back compensate for.  The maxwells did sound incredible, but they were so heavy they would make me very sore after an extended gaming session. Also, they caused a hotspot right at the midpoint of the leather strap on the top of my skull. They are also very bulky to consider for a mixed use that's 80% gaming at home-20% travelling for work, where I don't use them for gaming but listening to music and seminars for work. So I chose the nova pro for the much lower weight, and honestly didn't lose much that's noticeable in terms of quality. The comfort is night and day, I could wear those in any context. I'm not an audiophile and I can't tell the difference most of the time. Also, my previous headset was the asus rog strix go, which was average at best.  Shave 200g from the maxwells and I would have kept them gladly. 

I had the pulse elites and mine would disconnect once or twice most play sessions honestly. Have had the audeze Maxwell's a week and haven't had one disconnect yet

You must have had a bad pair, I've read reports of this kinda thing happening so was worried about it when I got my pair cause I didn't wanna go through the hassle of sending back and getting another pair etc but mine were perfect and by far the best sounding headphones I've ever used!

I'm deep into the audiophile hobby so this is something I've spent a lot of time and money on. Avoid gamer brands because none of them are good. They're all muddied consumer garbage. Nothing comes close to Audeze Maxwell. They're by far the best you can get right now. Not only the best "gaming headset" on the market but they're also the best wireless headphones you can get. Once you go planar, you can't go back. Unlike other "gaming headsets", the Maxwell is made by an audiophile company, one of the best and most prestigious (funnily enough, recently bought by Sony too). They literally sell $2,000 headphones, so the Maxwell is budget for them but the sound is still phenomenal. Apparently there's a Audeze Maxwell 2 coming soon. If you have to go wired and you're on a budget either go Sennheiser HD 560S or FiiO FT1. Both of these will absolutely embarrass anything from a gamer brand or ANC headphones from Sony, Bose, Apple etc. The ULTIMATE wired for Gran Turismo would be Sennheiser HD 800 S. These are the holy grail but they come with a holy grail price 😅

You say in the replies you don't want wired so the only option is headphones with a 2.4ghz dongle. ALL Bluetooth headphones will have noticeable latency. Like u/chen19921337 said: Audeze Maxwell is the best. Use the included dongle instead of Bluetooth.

Functional enough if you’re not using it for content creation 🤷‍♂️

You ask for the BEST but then you say no Audiophiles. What’s your budget? I’d say the Audeze Maxwells blow brands like Steel Series out of the water.

I cant believe what im about to say, but i actually dont dislike the sound of the Razer Blackshark V3 Pro. You need to like a tad brighter sound signature tho, kinda like Hifiman if you ever heard a pair from them. Kinda comfy, except you got some Dumbo ears, light, Mic also sounds good for a wireless, battery lasts long and the ANC/Ambient mode is nice to have. The software CAN sometimes spazz out a little and take a while to change stuff. The Audeze Maxwell has even nicer sound quality, but the tuning is different and they are more on the heavy side.

It basically just means a touch more treble for that open, airy feeling. :) But if you also listen to music fairly often there arent much candidates in the gaming headset department that arent plagued with bloated bass for example. Razer Blackshark starting with the V3 lineup is starting to have a nice tuning if you enable ANC which for some ungodly reason makes the bass response awesome. The Audeze Maxwell, planar goodness, yum! But on the heavier side like i mentioned. The Fractal Scape, never heard it myself but many reviewers said it has a nice tuning for a gaming headset. For wired you could also look torwards the TAGO STUDIO T3-03 Gaming Edition, its basically their studio headphones where they attached a wired mic.

And the fucking audio delay cause of Energy saving. So annoying sent Mine back

DO NOT get the Audeze Maxwells. I’ve treated mine with great care and suddenly my left ear cup has a weird crackling noise as if you crumbling a candy wrapper in your hand. Never dropped it, never dinged it, I’m the only one to use it. Has its own headset stand. Garbage.

Mine broke in three months :c (membrane decided it didn't fancy staying intact). I really liked the sound and comfort they provided, but their durability should be mentioned as it isn't the greatest

All depends on what you want from a headset. If you’re into your audio and will take advantage of the dac/amp by using its features like EQ and other customisations and swappable batteries that technically gives you unlimited battery life, then go for it, because it has really good audio and has excellent imaging for FPS games If you want pure audio quality, which for gaming I don’t understand why, then go for the Audeze Maxwell, but it has mediocre imaging and it’s a very heavy headset on your head Astro A50 Gen 5 is the other one to consider. It has excellent comfort, really good audio, good imaging and great mic, but if you also regularly use Bluetooth on the go, then Astro isn’t for you as the Bluetooth is on the dock and not on the headset

I have Audeze Maxwells, but the weight of it over time exhausted me. I now run Pulse Explore’s and they’re really good and 3D audio is really good for ear buds and also super lightweight.

That is the point, it has not! Very often one side totally crushed. I tested them, sounds great, but there is no troubleshooting from audeze in view of that issue. I want to buy a headphone which works not even about 1 or 2 years.

I tested: Sennheiser HD490pro, Maxwell Audeze, Beyerdynamic DT 1770 & 1990 Pro MKii, MMX 300 & 330 pro, Hifiman Ananda Nano & Arya Organics and audio-technica ATH-R70x. I found my endgames for music in Arya Organic and FPS the ATH-R70x.

I have a pair of these that I've had for... 2 years now? There is consistently an issue when joining Discord, or switching channels on discord, where I have to toggle the headset's mute function before it starts to detect my voice.

Audeze maxwell, that's more than enough for gaming, music and content consumption. For open backs, I would say HD600 but you'll need DAC Amp(Topping DX3 Pro+ or Fiio K7) for that.

I've got the Audeze Maxwell's. The sound is nice, battery lasts ages, people say the microphone sounds good. The headband is a bit annoying because you can only set the size at certain intervals. I have to have it slightly offset to fit correctly. Don't know why it didn't just have ear cups that slid up and down. Also, the ear cups are too shallow so your ears touch the the speakers. Had to get deeper ones to make it comfortable. There's also a crackle when using the thing where you can hear your voice through your own headset (I'm sorry I forgot what it's called). I don't really have massive ears but they're the only ones I tried that my ears fit inside though. The official Xbox ones and the A50X have tiny ear cups in comparison. I found a lot of gaming headsets seem to be designed for children/teenagers, so the ear cups are tiny and squish the top and bottom of your ear.

you don't buy headSETS for the mic quality, it will almost always be subpar

No because the mic quality is always worse on headsets than any stand alone mic lmaoooo, you don't buy headsets for the mic quality

You just said that the nova have a "good enough" mic, the audeze's mic is good enough too, not good, not horrible. So I guess YOU don't buy a headset for the mic quality either😅

Point is, you do not buy a headset for the mic. :3 The audeze arguably has the best sound quality for the price

You don't know what op wants, he wants good cable free headset, the audeze is the best for the price. Has Bluetooth, xbox or ps connect, the mic quality won't matter to him like it apparently does for you

The sound quality is beyond good, it's the best for the price, also the earmuffs are good that's just personal preference, I swapped out mine for aesthetical reasons😊 Also yeah most gaming headsets do have a worse microphone, you might think yours is good but I can almost guarantee most stand alone mics are better.

I have the a50s and a pair of audeze maxwells , I would go for the audeze because their sound is better than any headset on the market for gaming

Have you looked into the audeze maxwells? I have them and also the a50s gen 5. They're both amazing for competitive gaming. Not sure why they wouldn't be, with a good EQ they sound amazing

stinger 2 is dogshit lol. OP, Get nova pro wireless or Audezze Maxwells

Arctis nova pro is garbage in my opinion it just doesn't have any bass even when you EQ it remains very weak and thin sounding in this area however treble comes across very clear and detailled and the imaging is pretty good if you only play competitive gaming it's a solid option. Though if you like to play story games i recommand something like the maxwell it sounds absolutly amazing but the comfort is as bad as it can be if you are really big person with strong neck and very little ears it might be comfy to you but if not the weight of the headphones will kill the back of your neck in less than 2 hours and the shallow pads will hurt your ears and don't even think about changing pads yeah it fixes the depth issue of the pads but it adds even more weight. So as a all rounder headphones i recommand the alienware pro wireless it sounds almost as good as the maxwell and it's way more comfortable however you ears gets very spicy in about a hour because the space inside the ear cups is not really there but it really never bothers me even now with the very hot weather. Edit: Ah yeah and if you are ever interested by wired headphones you have two others headphones that are worth it the pc38x and the epos H6 pro i don't know how the first sound but it gets a lot of praise around the gaming audio community and if you take the h6 pro make sure to take the open back i've tried the closed back and it's not really good sounding headphones compared to the open back which has more bass more detailled sound and it doesn't have this echoing boomy sound that the closed back have

Save the money and go for either PC38X or Audeze Maxwell. No point spending more than these options unless you're an audiophile.

I got myself Audeze maxwells and they weren’t mind blowing or anything (my soundcore was good). What was your first music headphones?

Audeze Maxwell. I’ve had mine since launch with wicked cushion strap and earpads and they are amazing

They’re still mint. I’ve lucky had no issues at all. I’m still using the wicked cushion pads and head strap as well. I’ve used a ton of gaming headsets and the Maxwell have easily been the best and more durable for me. If they’re in your budget I’d definitely recommend them.

For wireless then Audeze Maxwell. Top of the line.

Audeze Maxwell is great. Needs a replacement comfort strap to actually be comfortable, but once you’ve dialed that in…the sound is awesome. 🙌

They aren’t great sound wise. On par with the Blackshark v2. But more focused on the highs. They do have all the features one could want for gaming. Chatmix, simultaneous Bluetooth, super comfortable and great battery life. For sound quality alone at the $200 price point, I’d look at the Beyerdynamic mmx200 (when it’s on sale) for accuracy or the JBL Quantum 910 for a fun sound. If you just want a pair of Bluetooth headphones that can also be plugged in, have a look at the m50xbt2. They don’t have 2.4ghz transmission but they aren’t too bad when it comes to latency. Or, for the best sound possible, save up another $75-100 and get the Audeze Maxwell.

for sound Audeze Maxwell and Edifier Stax Spirit S3, Sony Pulse Elite is better for gaming if you are into that but worse for music even tho it also uses Audeze planar drivers(Edifier was part owner of Audeze then Sony bought out the whole company) Maxwells are RLY heavy so they are maybe not the best for long listening sessions for that reason all around I'd take Sony Pulse Elite for your usecase + they are half the price of other two, can't go wrong with them imo

for music yes, for gaming there are better stuff, if you take both into consideration Sony Pulse Elite

I had Creative Zen Hybrid PRO SXFI and that's BT, it's not 2.4GHz, it just comes with their own BT dongle, BT-L4, LC3+ is indeed 24bit 96KHz it does up to 500kbps per channel to 1000kbps in total which is 10 more than LDAC, LC3+ is 2nd gen LE audio so it uses very little battery, they are headset with 2nd best battery life on the market Audeze Maxwell is great for music specially if you are a bit older and don't care about high freuqencies because it's missing a bit of those, for gaming it's not ideal, none of the ones you mentioned do real high res lossless, afaik the only wireless headphone capable of doing it is Sony Pulse Elite, it's pretty close to Maxwell, uses Audeze planar drivers(Sony owns Audeze) has imo better tuning too and it's only $150, it's objectively THE best out of these for gaming, what you can get better would be MMX 300 Pro and MMX 330 Pro from Beyerdynamic, that's best for gaming, Maxwell for music, Sony Pulse Elite best all around for half or less than half the price 150 vs 300/330

you get a low latency dongle you connect to laptop, should work on steam deck too, also has BT and you can use BT + dongle at the same time they're not made specifically for PS5, they're made for PS5, PC, etc., the Xbox doesn't work with unlicenced USB audio stuff so it doesn't work there for that reason

Seconded, it's and amazing headset, detachable microphone sucks fucking ass though

Yeah true and there's another built in mic but it's quality also isn't great but headset sound quality alone and equalizer is worth the mic poor quality

Yeah true and there's another built in mic but it's quality also isn't great but headset sound quality alone and equalizer is worth the mic poor quality

Dunno about that, never owned any other wireless headset

I bought maxwell myself and I love it but I don't use its microphones, decided to buy a standalone mic that's mounted to my desk for when I play games etc Maxwell has most probably the best sound quality out there in that price range Any logitech or other gaming branded headset aren't as good sound wise but probably have better microphones

I just went through the pain of this. There is no perfect solution. Ideally you could get some epic set of headphones, with a built in quality mic, but the fact is, no one makes those. The Audeze Maxwell is probably the best of those, offering a decent mic and decent sound, plus long wireless battery life and decent comfort. So for gaming, it's perfect. But for music and movies, it's just average. Then you can get some great headphones like the Sennheiser HD600 or 650, or the Hifiman Edition XS (my current headphone), but of course no mic. Also being wired I find isn't as good for gaming, it can get distracting in fast paced games. Also you can't get up and get a drink and stay on chat, which can be annoying. I think if gaming is your priority, just get an Audeze Maxwell, otherwise consider a Hifiman and a nice mic on a stand, which together would still be easily in your budget, including a decent DAC/AMP for the headphones. Another option, also in your budget, is to get the Audeze for gaming and the Hifiman and DAC/AMP for everything else.

Minus the build quality, they’re the best sounding. They’re heavy, and poorly made. But they’re the ‘best’

Audeze Maxwell lives up to the hype.

They are on the heavy side but the hammock strap thing does a pretty decent job of distributing the weight. Other than that everything is very good, I haven't even plugged in my 560S or 600 since I got these.

Got to disagree here, the Maxwell is great for gaming. No latency wireless, sound quality that rivals/beats wired audiophile headphones, unrivaled battery life, lots of customization in the app. It's heavy yeah, but all headphones have some drawback.

Agreed, it is a great wireless headphone, I just released a review for the maxwell actually with also a soundtest, if someone is interested to give it a listen -> [here ](https://youtu.be/xe3YKUn-AFE) Just one thing I wasn't the biggest fan of is actually the microphone, but I guess it gets the job done :)

I had them and they sucked. Loud white noise in the background and the head straps are terribly designed, had to buy customised straps to get them to sit comfortably. But that didn’t fix the fact that the headset weighs a ton.

That might've very well been the case. I ended up going with a Sennheíser PC38X insted. It's wired openback but the audio is amazing with no white noise in the background.

My Maxwells failed and there seems to be a common problem with people hearing "crinkling" as something fails internally to the headset. I'm actually here looking for alternatives :/

This is the one

Sound quality wise, Audeze Maxwell. It's planar, so there is no competition.

If you care about audio quality: Audeze Maxwell

Audeze Maxwell Been using mine since release. Best non “gaming” headphones I’ve used that are wireless. Has everything I think you asked for, detachable mic, can EQ them, wireless, great battery life.

I also prefer open backs but after I bought these, man. They’re awesome.

Audeze maxwell is the best gaming headphones in my opinion :)

I have a blackshark v2 pro and honestly i love it for music, but i am a bass freak, if u don't prefer bass>everything else, then i cannot reccomend blackshark v2 pro. Comfy: 8/10 Wireless distance: 1/10 Battery life: 1/10 Audio quality: 6/10 I have hyperx cloud wireless aswell and i mean, for the right price its a nice backup headset, its not that comfy tho and the sound is at very best meh. Comfy: 5/10 Wireless distance: 8/10 Battery life:10/10 Audio Quality: 4/10 I've not tried ARctis nova pro, but i had the predecessor and if thats anything to go by then it will have great battery life but everything else pretty avg. Never been a fan of Logitech headsets but thats a personal foul i guess. My current everyday headset is Audeze Maxwell followed by HyperX cloud wireless as a backup with blackshark for occasional music listening. It all depends on what you are looking for in a headset tbh, if sound quality & wireless is what you truely want, then there is nothing that beats the Maxwell, it has best sound you can get in any wireless headset/phones, but ofcourse that comes at a higher than avg price for a pair of "gaming headset". Comfy: 10/10 (with third party addons, stock is 1/10 Battery life: 9/10 Wireless distance: 9/10 Audio quality: 9/10 (Personal preference would be more bass) If you do decide to lookup the Maxwell, you NEED to buy third party ear cussions & headband because....yikes. Personal reccomendation would be WC freeze & "ZMF pilot pad headband".

Just got a pair of Maxwells. Would you share your EQ settings for FPS games?

Stay away from the Maxwell.. they are to heavy for gaming session and mine just stopped working after a year and a month. No more warranty. €400,- down the drain

I'm returning my Maxwells lol. Because the weight and clamp force is unbearable. Yeah, and the spatial audio is pretty much non existant since most Maxwells have a slight out of phase issue. That means your ques are off, and really close to your head. I'm picking up my SS ANP's tommorow, just for the comfort. Yeah Maxwell and music do go together, but gaming and general comfort - absolutely fucking not. Watching youtube videos is a pain since the Planars are great at reproducing noises and hums which are not audible with dynamic drivers. It was doing my head in. Audio fatigue is a real thing, and Maxwells do that A LOT. If you want quality music, get a pair of quality audiophile WIRED headphones, and an AMP, because the thing is with the maxwells, most sources are not able to use up the frequency range of the headset. Youtube's compression is literally audible. I loved and hated it at the same time. But in the end, headsets from gaming companies are made so you can wear them for hours without discomfort.

I've got the Maxwell and enjoy them alot. I got Wicked Cushion (WC) ear cups and head band replacement for mine. The comfort is amazing now and battery life on Maxwell is as advertised. I'm shocked how long they last.

I think it is great and the software had factory presets for different audio situations. Then you can save your own if you want to tweak them or find some suggestions in reddit threads to try.

A slightly budget friendly headset would be the Audeze Maxwell Wireless Planar Magnetic. They are stunning for the price. Planar drivers are incredible.

I own the XM6 and the Maxwell and combined, they satisfy all my audio needs. I use the XM6 for commuting and when I am out and about and the Maxwell for at home gaming, listening to music etc. I would recommend you try the Maxwell out if possible. I do not have a problem with the weight, but I can imagine it being a problem for other people.

I will say I have an Audeze Maxwell that is within the return window I will be capitalizing on. They are amazing in quality but as u/Silverjerk mentioned the mic is a bit on the mid range, I don't care I game and discord, that is it. But I started facing issues with it that seem to be a common occurrence with the headset. Things such as the software not recognizing the headset using it's dongle, the mic not being recognized as functional when everything checks out systematically, weird stuff. I find fixes all the time for it! Such as switching USB ports when its not recognized which works but I expect a $300 headset with such praise not to need that kind of attention, for the steep cost (again just a gamer, not an audiophile) I'd expect my purchase to function with minimal intervention. I know this post was from a month ago but please be certain your partner is happy with the headset and they aren't facing issues like this. Today my mic completely won't connect to anything, I BT'd it to my phone, won't register that it's on, used it on my PC, nothing. Went to a help page and did all the backdoor stuff with permissions, no change (everything was already correct) just more frustration. Too much money to forgive. Perhaps this is a lemon and just not working but I found that the usb shifting thing really isn't uncommon for the headset and that's just not okay with me for the cost.

Astro A50s are probably going to be the best. I also have Audeze maxwells which have great sound but are very heavy and rarely use

https://preview.redd.it/kyoo1ahmweff1.jpeg?width=3072&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c9e41a695877340da92184532cf9494ef674edc5 Maxwell is absolutely beast for a gaming headset. Coming from an audiophile point of view.

Is crazy this still compares to the Maxwell which is just a gaming headset. Makes the Maxwell so good for the money..just unfortunately the weight is heavy for it. But the built should be miles better than the Sens. 

Please don't recommend the Audeze Maxwell Wireless, biggest disappointment in a long while. Like OP I wanted a decent wireless setup so I decided to splurge and buy "the best" wireless headphones 2 weeks ago. What the don't tell you is: - They are bulky and not specially comfortable - Flat and unepic sound profiles that you have to configure on your own to make it sound half decent - Random changes in sound profile for the mic - Software updates are a russian roulette: things stop working, random em disconnects from the dongle (my case) etc... - The volume is so low when using it on a Mac you have to use external programs to boost the audio output So I'm on my way to return them. An absolute joke for a product you pay a good money for. I'd recommend you to stay away. Looking forward to see what other good options people can recommend.

Microphone on these are ass. If you’re just looking for wireless sound, I think these are solid. But the boom mic is terrible

I saved up for these they are quite pricey though https://www.audeze.com/products/maxwell-wireless-gaming-headset?ar_clx=yes&ar_campaign=7847533147&ar_ad=641526883156&ar_adgroup=145597298378&ar_channel=google&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=7847533147&gclid=Cj0KCQjwtMHEBhC-ARIsABua5iS7Z75bJ7ONsIu0g6d0wehnN4DZHxN7MfKFicckiJhQO22Go21w4DcaAka8EALw_wcB

The Maxwell are probably going to be your best option if you need 2.4ghz and a built in mic. You could get much better sound quaility for cheaper if you opted for a wired pair of headphones and budget external microphone. You did not mention what you were using these headphones on (console vs PC) though.

this. If you're going to get wireless at least get them from a proper audio brand

The electronic components required to put support for wireless right into the earcups affect the sounds the headphones create. The wireless mode that has its own DAC will compensate for this with signal processing, but the wired mode usually won't and will therefore sound worse. Typically when you want a headphone to be wireless-capable, you're taking *two* hits to performance. First, it costs money to get the wireless stuff in there, so you could've just paid the same amount of money and gotten something 100% focused on the drivers. Second, the wireless stuff does actually degrade the sound of the wired mode. That being said, if you really want a wireless headset and are willing to spend that much for it, the Audeze Maxwell are very well-regarded at their price point.

https://www.audeze.com/products/maxwell-wireless-gaming-headset You won’t get much better than the audeze Maxwell. Requiring Bluetooth for gaming really restricts your options down to like three. The Maxwell, the cloud 3, and the Sony whmx1000

HyperX Cloud II sound great and are good value. I currently use an Audeze Maxwell which i love, but are a little pricier.

Audeze Maxwell Headset is best.

Get yourself an audeze maxwell and it will increase even more lol

I was using Logitech ProX Wireless. I recently switched to Audeze Maxwell and I feel they sound better.

Hi, for me I play FPS games so sounds are important. I felt that I could hear things on the Audeze that I could not on the Logitech. The Frequencey Response on the Logitech is 20Hz to 20 kHz. The Audeze is 10Hz to 50 kHz so that makes sense that I could hear things on the Audeze before the Logitech.

Audeze Maxwell. Using mine for year and a half, perfect conditon. Sound quality is superb.

except the new batches of maxwell are unfortunately bad

much more fragile and aren't as loud. idk how new exactly all ik is that launch batches or near launch are best. ik because i wanted to buy one

The build quality of these are really bad, and I mean really really bad. Return them and get the Audeze Maxwell for PS5 instead. Literally the best wireless gaming headsets on the market.

Audeze Maxwell as it hard to beat them in this price range. Planar  drivers. However a bit of bulky and heavy. XM6 is not the gaming headphones. No Razer for gaming headphones, garbage sound. For wired open-back options: Sennheiser HD 490 PRO Sennheiser HD 560S Beyerdynamic 900 Pro X Beyerdynamic DT 1990 

I personally just picked up a pair of Audeze Maxwells. My prior cans were DCA Ether C Flows 1.1. The spatial sound is much much better and it is so much easier to identify which direction things are coming from. It feels like a better sound stage. I would highly recommend them!

Audeze Maxwell is literally the only choice in this category.

But they are extremely heavy, I can’t recommend them to anyone because how heavy they are.

\+1 for Audeze Maxwell

There are only two options: The cheapest HyperX Cloud Wireless you can find, or the Audeze Maxwell. For example, you could order the Cloud III, one of the best bang for your buck. It checks every box for wireless PC/PlayStation gaming: * Good sound, not audiophile, but great for the price. * The mic is clear enough. Adjustable and removable. Has monitor. * Lasting battery. 80 hours with quick charge and C port. * 2.4Ghz \~20m range. USB dongle (type A and C) * Simple controls * Confortable enough * Durable metallic frame. * No DAC, no bluetooth, no aux, no dual channels. There are headsets that are better on some aspects, but they cost more and compromise other features. If you want better features, return them and spend it on the Maxwell if you have the money to do so

I swear this headset is over-hyped, at least for my ears. Plus it's super heavy so not good for long sessions.

Audeze Maxwell, it’s pricey but well worth the money

Issue i have with audeze is the over 1 pound weight on ur head

Yes it is.. i mean in terms of sound. I have ae-9 and mmx300 pro. I love them. Comfort and sound. I have tried Maxwells last year but they were better sound and better sound isolation but software and weight were letting me down. Also max volume comparing to mmx300 pro.. Ae-9 software with profiles clearer and better to navigate.. so sent them back. Now I see these elites and I am again like idiot and my pocket with wallet is itching me :) I actually ordered Elites 10 minutes ago to tried them myself 🙈 Cable on mmx300 or generally on any wired headset is pissing me off.. its getting tangled to armrest of My gaming chair when I want to stand up 🤣 I guess I might try new Fractals too as it us 1/3 of price! Sure also heard about Maxwell 2 stupid rumours. I prefer closed back because of my PC being next to monitor. So here we are thats why I asked about Mmx300 pro vs elites.

The Nova pro is honestly junk. Maxwell sounds amazing but lacks some of the features. Fractal Scape is great. So is the cloud III S wireless. (not the III wireless). The cloud alpha 2 wireless also is promising.

The software is bad which is why I struggle to recommend it. The fractal scape, cloud 3 S and Maxwell are the only ones I can give my full recommendation too. The newest A50 would get it also if it wasn't so pricy.

Audeze Maxwell is way better and is made specifically for gaming. Planar Magnet is amazing

Audeze are generally heavy, but the weight is distributed extremely well. I'm very prone to hot spots on the top of my head, but these and my LCD-XCs have never given me any pain. You'd never assume the LCD-XCs weigh 650+ grams when they're actually on your head. I also think the clamp force on Audeze closed backs is perfect. Other than the microphone being offensively bad and the drivers being a bit fragile; it's a 10/10 "gaming" headset to me.

Just beware the sidetone issue if that's a key feature for you. Apart from that they are in a class of their own.

The difference between HS80 Wireless and HS80 Max Wireless is that the Max has the option to use Bluetooth and has more battery life. GadgetryTech (Yes Youtube) is sound optimization for Bo6 and Warzone by using a EQ and without having to install multiple other programs to have a good sound signature in-game. [https://gadgetrytech.squig.link/](https://gadgetrytech.squig.link/) If you just want solid Headset for the best possible sound in gaming then the **Audeze Maxwell Wireless** would be it, but it is quite pricey.

Gonna be honest, I have a buddy who splurged for Maxwell's and the mic quality was noticeably worse than his Logitech G Pro X, he had a ton of problems with their software, and on top of that they're insanely heavy with mediocre battery life. If you don't need ANC, I love my Steel Series Arctus Nova 7. They're light, I get great battery life, and simultaneously pairing to my PC and phone to answer phone calls is fantastic. I used the Steel series GG software for awhile, but ended up just disabling it and they still work like you'd expect a headset to work. They have media volume and sidetalk/monitoring volume on the headset, a mic mute button, and the power button doubles as a play/pause.

Maxwells have terrible build quality. The drivers are far too fragile. I babied mine and they still failed in 3 months. Numerous other people sadly have had this issue. Its sadly a QA issue. Ive tried all the "gamer" headsets lately. I found the a50's the most comfortable with the best mic, the maxwells when they worked audio quality was the best. Mic quality suffered. Ended up returning both of these. Audeze for the terrible quality control, and the logitechs due to ghub being a legit cancer, as well as they tend to leave a "hot spot" on your head after using them for a couple hours. The a50s were probably the headset I liked the most out of the "gamer" brands. Turtle beach ones are comfortable but have a muddy sound. I use those for my switch, where they work surprisingly well in Bluetooth mode. Waiting on a pair of xm4s i ordered to replace them. I ended up not being happy with any of them, and bought a pair of sennheisers/amp with a mod mic. Best of both worlds, and they are still on a real good sale. Amp made the cable a non issue.

I love my Audeze Maxwell, had g pro x 2 lightspeed before and that is garbage compared to audeze. Sound quality is perfect + they are so loud with 90mm drivers.

If he cares about good audio quality, the one you want is the Audeze Maxwell.

Yup I've had my set for a year, they're awesome sounding. The mic is acceptable quality for discord and stuff l as well.

A50 X Best mic on a wireless headset (Sidetone as well) Dolby atmos Premium build quality Easy to switch between platforms (press of a button) Extremely comfy velour ear pads. (Breathable, and doesn’t make your ears hurt) 40 mm Graphene Drivers Software is probably the best in the market rn. Nova Pro wireless Crap build quality sleek and highly customizable design Very light on your head but stock earpads are super uncomfortable and you always feel it on your ears. Great bass but the clarity is better on the A50x imo. No Dolby Atmos Horrible microphone (probably one of the worst you could get from a headset in the price range) sidetone is great but gets buggy. Software is buggy as well. Didn’t like it. Overall feels cheap for the price you paid for it and you will always ask your self (why did I spend this much on them) even though they are always on sale for 30% off or more…. I highly recommend the purchase of the A50x or Audeze Maxwell. (maxwell is a different tier of sound quality)

Audeze maxwell is probably the #1 most glazed headset on reddit lmao. It’s a different experience you can’t get from regular gaming headphones due to the Audeze having 90 mm drivers and the rest being limited to 40-50 mm drivers. I tried so many headsets before sticking with the A50Xs.. like so many. My local bestbuy calls me Mr. Return. I’m always price matching and returning their most expensive options cause no matter how many reviews and how much research you do, you wont know until you try it. Right? The A50x was just a full package one time purchase that I have zero issues with, and always have an experience with. Quality stuff tbh.

Audeze Maxwell. Best of the best

Are you playing on a monitor or the couch? Changes things pretty drastically IMO. Lets us know if you need an integrated mic, or if people can recommend wired headphones that need a discrete mic. Also need to know what you play. FPS/Competitive games exclusively? Only cinematic games? A mix? Comfort is king, IMO. You might get some headphones that sound better than others, but if they're not comfortable, it's pointless. I look for comfort over anything else for gaming headphones. You're likely going to be wearing them for long stretches of time, and I personally like to be comfortable while doing so. In general gaming headsets are garbage for the price, yes. Some buck that trend though... Headsets: The Nova Pro Wireless + Wicked Cushions 'WC Stealth' earpads designed by an audiophile YouTuber (I forget his name right now) are highly reviewed, but are tuned heavily for FPS from what I understand. Closed back, wireless. $330 for the combo. PC38X is a "gaming headset" but made by Sennheiser (Epos), wired, open back. It has a 4 pole cable option included in the box, so you can plug it straight into your controller from what I know. $170 Epos H6 Pro is another Epos offering that some find more comfortable, and comes in cheaper than the PC38X. Also wired and open back. $110 Audeze Maxwell is a wireless planar magnetic headset with very good reviews overall, and has a PS5 version. I've heard SOME complaints about weird issues with these, so you should look into that before purchasing. Most reviews I've seen have highly rated them though. Closed back. $300 Straight headphones: Sennheiser 560s I see recommended a lot. Wired, open back. $230 The 6XX is also highly recommended, but I've read that they are not GREAT if gaming is your only use-case for them. They are great all-around headphones but there are better gaming headphones. I have yet to get these, but they are on my shortlist, as they are good 'reference' headphones for comparing other headphones to as they are so widely used as comparison points in reviews. Wired, open back. $200 Beyerdynamic Tygr 300 R are made for gaming, but with no microphone. Open backed wired. No detachable cable though, so I haven't personally picked these up. $200 IEMs: This is a slept on option by a lot of people IMO. The value to performance can be crazy, but comfort is hit or miss for some people. I don't find them as comfortable as over the ear headphones, but I use them when I want noise isolation, as almost all of my headphones are open-backed. I do not have any pricey options here, so it may be worth picking up a pair of these to try them out before deciding to drop big money on anything else. Truthear x Crinicle Red. Cheap but great, I picked up a pair to test out the IEM lifestyle with and am not disappointed. Imaging is CRAZY for how cheap they are, AND they come with a little "bass boost" adapter which really makes them better for non-competitive cinematic style games. Wired. $65 Linsoul SIMGOT EM6L, smaller nozzles than the Red so they are a bit more comfortable for some people. I prefer the comfort of these over the Truthear slightly. I need to look into different eartips though as these slide out easily for me, like most silicon tips. Wired. $100 Microphone: Mic choice is going to depend heavily on your headphone choice. Some can attach to the headphones detachable cable and basically sit in-line with the cable, or replace it completely. Others come with discrete cables/dongles. V-Moda Boom attaches to the headphones via the detachable cable, a great option if you get headphones it works with. Any of the ModMic variants are great, IMO, if you get headphones not compatible with the Vmoda. Really just depends on if you want a wired or wireless experience. For the PS5 you'd need the USB 2 or Wireless, or get an adapter to plug in headphones at the same time as another 3.5mm mic plug if you want to use the Uni. The ModMic Wireless are getting an upgrade next year, per Antlion, with some upgrades, so keep that in mind.

Maxwell isn't great for an FPS main player, I agree. 560S, trying out IEMs, or the Nova Pro Wireless would be my recommendations given the new information.

I agree. The Dolby Atmos for headphones is amazing. Better than any headphone 3d audio for me. I’m using Audeze Maxwell headphones and the positioning is spot on.

I hated mine. They were heavy as shit and super uncomfortable. The sound is great, until they stop working. They were having huge QC issues, not sure if that's still the case. When mine broke I went back to my old EPOS PC38X sennheiser drop collab and they were so much more comfortable I struggle to even put my Maxwells back on. They did repair them, but made me pay shipping.

Maxwell sounds much better. Alienware is much more comfortable, portable and durable. Alienware software cant be installed on Mac or iPhone. You should have a windows. Maxwell software is available for Mac and iPhone.

With the AW on sale + a 10% newsletter rebate it was like $100 difference for me, and even if I had the money I'm stearing clear of the Maxwell with all the problems I've read, however better they undoudtebly sound. I was pleasantly surprised with the AW. It sounds a lot better than my current Sennheiser Game One and Arctis 7 and I wont keep forgetting I have a wire when I get up. There was so few reviews but it was mostly positive, so I took a chance and was ready to send them back but so far it's been great. Did have to play with stereo mix to fix them missing the first half a second of pretty much everything after a minute of silence.

If this helps, my top 3 headsets are, in no particular order (rankings below), the Astro A50’s, the Audeze Maxwell and the new SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Elite - with the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless right behind ‘em. Here are my breakdowns, as someone that owns all of them (well, minus the Nova Pro Wireless - I don’t have them any longer since I’ve upgraded): The Audeze Maxwell have, hands-down the absolute best audio quality I’ve ever heard in a pair of headphones. However, that being said…they’re hella uncomfortable. Even with Wicked Cushions pads and headband. They’re just soooo heavy that I (and many others) struggle to wear them for extended periods of time (for me, over an hour). The firmware also has a history of ring an absolute mess and the phone app is garbage. As for the Arctis Nova Elites and the A50’s, it a tie! I truly cannot figure out for the life of me which I like best, but factoring in everything, I’m leaning towards the Arctis Nova Elites - by a small margin. I’ve not really had the Nova Elites for long enough to compare. Comfort on both are top-notch. The mic does take the win for the A50’s, tho - it really has one of the best mics on a gaming headset! The Arctis Nova Elite mic does still have that “tinny” SteelSeries sound, but not as bad as their other models. But yeah, sound quality on both are God-Tier… just under the Maxwells. It really boils down to what you prefer. The A50’s have a docking station, so they’re always charged. The Arctis Nova Elites have a swappable battery. So again, it’s always charged, but with a little more effort, lol. I also do think the Nova Elites look better, overall. Oh and Astro just released a new badass orange color in the A50X’s (see more info on that in my rankings, below)! I will also say…if this is important to you… the A50’s only support 16bit at 48kHZ on console and only 24bit at 48kHz on PC. The Nova Elites, however, support 24bit at 48kHz on console and 24bit at 96kHz on PC! 👀 And then, right behind those, I rank the Nova Pro Wireless. A lot of the same feature and functions as the Elites, but the audio isn’t AS good, nor is the build quality. So, my personal rankings are: 1: SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite if money is absolutely not an object/concern. The app experience is pretty great, as well! These are my main for the PS5, as that is my primary gaming system. 2: Astro A50 or A50x. Both are the same headset, but the docking station for the A50x is great for multi-platform use and even has HDMI passthrough so you can even get true Game/Chat Mix on PS5! It’s one of the only headsets that have this unique feature and that’s implemented so perfectly. Otherwise, the A50’s are identical, minus the HDMI passthrough inputs. I use these as the main on my PC (RTX 4090, Intel 14th Gen i9 and 64GB DDR5 RAM) with the Logitech GHub program, so I’ve not tried the app, if there is one. 3: Audeze Maxwell. Absolutely phenomenal sound and aesthetics, marred by an extremely heavy weight, bad firmware and PC program, as well as a terrible app experience. But seriously…for these, the sound truly does make up for all the negatives! 4: The Arctis Nova Pro Wireless. If you want all the features and functions of the Nova Elites, but don’t mind the slight downgrade in sound quality. 5: As an honorable mention, I’m putting the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 3’s here. Not only are they not too expensive, the have the best sound of any $200-range headphone I’ve ever used. Hella comfy and the dual-dongle works perfectly and without flaw. Meaning, you can have a dongle on one device, the other on another device and switch between them …INSTANTLY. It truly is amazing to see it in action. And the sound is superb for the price range! The app also isn’t bad, either! And of course, I absolutely recommend…regardless of the headphones you get…invest in a pair of Wicked Cushions to maximize comfort and sound (I personally use and love their Freeze ones - they’re a “cooling” memory foam) Hope this helps!!!

Of all the headphones I listed, the Audeze Maxwells are most likely the best, actually! There’s plenty of volume overhead. I can listen to it slightly more than “comfy” at about 60% volume. 70% becomes a bit too loud and anything beyond that…yeah… lol. But the cool thing is, no matter how loud ya get ‘em, they don’t lose any of their detail. And the bass is also the best of all of those listed, as well! I’m telling ya - the sound on the Maxwells are the best on the market for a gaming headset, what with those huge Planar Magnetic drivers. But again…the tradeoff is a very hefty and heavy headset that may or may not be an issue for long term use (more than a few hours), along with wonky firmware (they keep breaking stuff as they fix things…), and a crappy PC and phone app experience. Oh and you do kinda have to “baby” them. Can’t toss ‘em around or be rough with them in any way. Those drivers are so fragile. Also, the mic is really good on these. It has a detachable boom mic, as well as an on-headset mic system that sounds fantastic! And the noise gate/filtering toggles for outside noise (what all the mic pics up in the environment) are pretty great, too. Long story short - the best audio on any gaming headset out there…just too bad everything else (besides the mic) is a sub-par experience.

Note: I know you’re requesting this for Xbox. I’m a PS5 and PC guy, But…all of these headsets work for Xbox equally as well! All headsets that I recommend below work on everything - with the exception of the Audeze Maxwells. For those, you’ll just need to make sure to get the Xbox version. 😬 If this helps, my top 3 headsets are, in no particular order (rankings below), the Astro A50’s, the Audeze Maxwell and the new SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Elite - with the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless right behind ‘em. Here are my breakdowns, as someone that owns all of them (well, minus the Nova Pro Wireless - I don’t have them any longer since I’ve upgraded): The Audeze Maxwell have, hands-down the absolute best audio quality I’ve ever heard in a pair of headphones. However, that being said…they’re hella uncomfortable. Even with Wicked Cushions pads and headband. They’re just soooo heavy that I (and many others) struggle to wear them for extended periods of time (for me, over an hour). The firmware also has a history of ring an absolute mess and the phone app is garbage. As for the Arctis Nova Elites and the A50’s, it a tie! I truly cannot figure out for the life of me which I like best, but factoring in everything, I’m leaning towards the Arctis Nova Elites - by a small margin. I’ve not really had the Nova Elites for long enough to compare. Comfort on both are top-notch. The mic does take the win for the A50’s, tho - it really has one of the best mics on a gaming headset! The Arctis Nova Elite mic does still have that “tinny” SteelSeries sound, but not as bad as their other models. But yeah, sound quality on both are God-Tier… just under the Maxwells. It really boils down to what you prefer. The A50’s have a docking station, so they’re always charged. The Arctis Nova Elites have a swappable battery. So again, it’s always charged, but with a little more effort, lol. I also do think the Nova Elites look better, overall. Oh and Astro just released a new badass orange color in the A50X’s (see more info on that in my rankings, below)! I will also say…if this is important to you… the A50’s only support 16bit at 48kHZ on console and only 24bit at 48kHz on PC. The Nova Elites, however, support 24bit at 48kHz on console and 24bit at 96kHz on PC! 👀 And then, right behind those, I rank the Nova Pro Wireless. A lot of the same feature and functions as the Elites, but the audio isn’t AS good, nor is the build quality. So, my personal rankings are: 1: SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite if money is absolutely not an object/concern. The app experience is pretty great, as well! These are my main for the PS5, as that is my primary gaming system. 2: Astro A50 or A50x. Both are the same headset, but the docking station for the A50x is great for multi-platform use and even has HDMI passthrough so you can even get true Game/Chat Mix on PS5! It’s one of the only headsets that have this unique feature and that’s implemented so perfectly. Otherwise, the A50’s are identical, minus the HDMI passthrough inputs. I use these as the main on my PC (RTX 4090, Intel 14th Gen i9 and 64GB DDR5 RAM) with the Logitech GHub program, so I’ve not tried the app, if there is one. 3: Audeze Maxwell. Absolutely phenomenal sound and aesthetics, marred by an extremely heavy weight, bad firmware and PC program, as well as a terrible app experience. But seriously…for these, the sound truly does make up for all the negatives! 4: The Arctis Nova Pro Wireless. If you want all the features and functions of the Nova Elites, but don’t mind the slight downgrade in sound quality. 5: As an honorable mention, I’m putting the Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 3’s here. Not only are they not too expensive, the have the best sound of any $200-range headphone I’ve ever used. Hella comfy and the dual-dongle works perfectly and without flaw. Meaning, you can have a dongle on one device, the other on another device and switch between them …INSTANTLY. It truly is amazing to see it in action. And the sound is superb for the price range! The app also isn’t bad, either! And of course, I absolutely recommend…regardless of the headphones you get…invest in a pair of Wicked Cushions to maximize comfort and sound (I personally use and love their Freeze ones - they’re a “cooling” memory foam) Hope this helps!!!

Have them too, wonderful headset. Also, pretty long-lasting battery.

Audeze Maxwell. They are wonderful. Mic is mediocre, but good enough for online gaming. Sound is crazy good for the price. Just to be precise - most true audiophile headphones are only wired. Why? Cause digital signal is always lower quality than analog. To be able to transfer wireless signal, you gotta sample the original signal, which by definition screws up the sound a little.

I bought a pair of these because of the raving reviews and I gotta say, they’re not worth the $300. They sounds good and the battery life is really good That’s about the only good thing I can say about them. The headband adjustability is poor. The ear cups are not deep enough at all. My ears were squished up against the drivers and I couldn’t wear them for more than a couple hours without my ears getting cherry red. The headset is somewhat tight on my head and no, I don’t have a big head. To try and make them more comfortable I bought third party ear cups. Wicked cushion had the deepest set and even then my ears still touch the drivers a little. For $300, I cannot honestly recommend these.

I’m still using the Maxwells. Sending them back for a refund and finding a different pair is too much of a hassle for me. That and my previous headset broke, which is what prompted this purchase. With the wicked cushions ear cups, I can find a comfortable position and can wear them for hours.

There’s a program you can download from GitHub to get rid of that. Put it in your startup folder and never have to worry about it again. App: https://github.com/vrubleg/soundkeeper Thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/Audeze/s/KiRiV3UlQE

It’s about a 1 second sound delay. I noticed it when watching YouTube

if you really want a headset and are willing to spend the money the audeze maxwell are the way to go, good build, well known audiophile brnad, wireless, amazing sound quality and a great mic for about $300. note: if you have a console these work with ps5 and xbox series but you have to buy the specific version that is compatible with whichever console you have.

Maxwells are heavy, even more so with aftermarket pads. Also the side tone function is broken and will never get fixed. Design issue. Sound quality is good, but everything else is subpar for a headset of this price.

Yep Found the same. Upgraded to the Audeze Maxwell, never looked back. Blows them away in every way. Novas live in the drawer now. Embarrassing how bad they were when you have perspective..dont start me on Sonar or other things, we could be here all night. Overpriced trash.

the only logical better headset with almost all the same connectivity featurs, with far better sound is the Audeze maxwell. That's why I purchased it after the Nova's, and you simply can't compare the sound it's night and day different.

Audeze Maxwell is good, also it's a wireless one. Its looks don't scream "gaming", which is a huge plus. I own a pair, they're great. Quite fragile, though. You will need to be careful with them. EDIT: They also support Dolby Atmos. Xbox-version of the headset includes the license for it, Playstation-version can also run it - just need to buy the license yourself. That costs like 18 dollars on MS Store.

Audeze Maxwells are easily the best headphones I’ve used for gaming. 20+ hr battery life, audio quality rivals non gaming studio headphones, mic is great, very comfortable I really have no complaints especially if your budget is $300

Audeze Maxwells 😎

Got mine in the mail an hour ago, been fucking with the EQ listening to Polyphia and they're better than anything I've ever had. Gonna take my Arctic pro wireless out back and piss on them. Maybe more than once.

I have both the maxwells and the nova pro (wireless) and it really depends on the games you play. If you are really into your esports/fps were position/foot steps etc are important then the nova pros are better, not that the other is bad, if it was just a general which is better then it's the Maxwell's but there scenarios were the novas are better. Either way, neither of them 'blows' the other one out of the water.

No amount of sound quality would have any use if wearing them brings pain imo, its supposed to be relaxing and enjoyable. As for Maxwells, had the same experience with drivers as person bellow, not sure what happened to their usually solid qc but its horrendous with Maxwells.

My vote is for Maxwell. Once you EQ it to your taste your mind will be blown. I’ve had mine for over a year and haven’t regretted it once. They are a bit heavy but I got used to them. What I didn’t get used to is the mind bending sound. The detail you hear is unreal and the sub bass quality when an explosion hits or with bass heavy music is something I’ve never experienced in a set of headphones before

Have a look at the Audeze Maxwell. I'm not sure how it's latency compares but it's generally considered the best wireless headset on the market in terms of sound quality. In my experience, ANC makes sound quality worse, so you should only get it if you have a problem with background noise and passive sealing isn't enough. From what I read, Razer ANC is pretty rubbish at its job anyway.

Audeze Maxwell. I hear their heart beat from 10 ft away and when they start pissing their pants on the other side of a wall

Audeze maxwell is king, fractal scape is a bit behind, but something I often recommend due to being lighter and cheaper.

Audeze maxwells, probably. Might be a bit heavy.

Audeze Maxwell if it has to be wireless. And honestly, probably Audeze Maxwell even if it doesn’t have to be wireless.

I just returned my set for pretty much the same reasons. I tried Wicked cushions, and even bought a headstrap with more padding. They weren't heavy for my neck, but after an hour or so it felt like they were digging in to my head and giving me a headache. The clamp force was also not that comfortable for me. Putting the Wicked cushions on also makes them more wide which causes the headband to be more spread out. I tried every position for the headband, including split positions, and it was always uncomfortable. The sound was alright but really nothing earth shattering. My old Audio Technica ATH-M50x's running through a $30 USB soundcard still produced more sound.

If you want the Best Gaming Headphones you would want Headphones with an immersive soundstage experience. Open Backs are the best performers for this purpose. if you’re playing single player or FPS competitive games it heavily benefits from that, because the directional sound cues shine really well. The Endgame of immersion would be the Sennheiser HD800 S’s though they are very expensive in the $2k price point it’s audiophile level for what it gives you. I use the HD 490 Pro’s for Gaming & Musicality and they’re incredible. The Maxwells have fantastic sound reproduction & clarity though I wouldn’t compare them against the HD 490 Pro’s because the sound signature wouldn’t be as noticeable to my ears against Open Backs & Planar’s. the thing with  Open Backs is it kinda wrap’s around your Ear Drums adding to that depth of imaging which I really enjoy. You can’t go wrong with Closed Backs either they isolate you completely adding detailed clarity & crisp high’s. Anyways I’ll list a few Closed or Open Backs Options  1. Audeze Maxwell: $300 Closed Back Planar Magnetic Wireless Gaming Headphones with Dedicated Microphone 2. Sennheiser Pc38x: $197 Wired Closed Back Gaming Headphones with Dedicated Microphone. 3. ATH-r50x $169 Open Back Studio Headphones 4. Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro X Studio Headphones. or  5. Beyerdynamic MMX 300 Pro Closed Back Gaming Headphones with dedicated Microphone.

Audeze Maxwell. Best pair of headphones I've ever owned. Absolutely outstanding.

I ended up buying Audeze Maxwell. It's just amazing.

Maxwell has been perfect so far. The quality of build materials is great and I have lots of options to use the headphone however I please. controls are a bit confusing but you can watch a 2 min video from their official YT channel and figure stuff out. about the heaviness... it's not that noticeable for the first probably 4-5 hours of constant use, and honestly stays there pretty good. In short still a 9/10. the mic could've been better but I'm not complaining

You’d probably be better off with the audeze penrose or maxwell. Mobius is more of a wired pc centric gaming headphone.

Had to return it because my friends said the mic sounded muffled.

I just picked up the Maxwells and I’ve been extremely happy with them. They also isolate extremely well!

I am bald and haven't had any comfort issues. They don't sit as 'firm' as I would like and if I bend over they tend to slide and I have a fairly large head (7 3/4 fitted hat, don't know how to translate that to inches) That's been my biggest complaint so far.

Curious your thoughts on the comparison between the two. I’m a big fan of sennheiser open backs, and have been running the Game Ones since 2017, but the cable kept breaking and I wanted something wireless. Have recently tried the Maxwells out, but not blown away by them yet, could be an eq issue dunno.

An EQ had me quite enjoying the Maxwell tonight for music, haven’t had much time to try games yet.

After a lot of thinking I got them! !thanks

I have used them for 2 days now and they are extremely good so I don't see a problem

Wireless: Audeze Maxwell Wired HeadSET: PC38x ~$200: 560s ~$400: 1.) Sennheiser HD 490 Pro 2.) HIFIMAN Ananda Nano ~$600: HIFIMAN Arya Stealth Those are the ones I would recommend based on what I have heard myself. IDK if I would value the Arya $200 over the Ananda Nano based on sound alone but once you factor in comfort I’d say for me personally it’s worth the extra money. The 490 Pro is by FAR the most comfortable to me out of any headphones I’ve used and still sounds GREAT! If you get the Ananda Nano or Arya Stealth I’d recommend some velour pads for them.

Audeze Maxwell PS and PC compatible and connects via 3.5mm, USB-C, USB dongle, and Bluetooth. It also has onboard lag-free mic monitoring so you can hear yourself (can be turned off). I paid full retail price for mine and felt like I got a deal. It’s an excellent headset with a good capsule mic and versatile too. Well worth the $300 asking price.

The mic was a disappointment for me. I was told "go back to your old headset". After fiddling with the settings to try and sound not muffled, I got to a decent point, not sure how... then it went back. The AI noise suppression is at fault here, and its a necessary evil in this headset because without it, the mic picks up EVERYTHING. So yeah, returned, and back at it looking for a new headset while my current ones limp along steadily to its grave. I should not have to settle for subpar mic quality when paying extra.

Just purchased those, was pretty happy with the sound, but... the microphone quality was TERRIBLE out of the box. like, while talking with a friend to help me fix it, friend requested I switch back to the old headset that I'm trying to replace until we tried a new fix. once I found something that worked... an hour later, nope, back to trashy sound. The AI is terrible and without it, WAYYY too much sound comes through. I went through a lot of forum posts trying to find ways to adjust the settings to make it work, but honestly, this is NOT the hassle I should have to go through to get quality sound out of a quality priced headset.

I'm not sure about mic quality as I don't play multiplayer games but for music and movies and single player games the A50X is just amazing. I own the Audeze Maxwell, Nova Pro Wireless and Stealth Pro and none of them hold a candle to the A50X. People will say the Maxwell for music but I much, much prefer the A50X in the 'Media' preset. So to answer your question - Yeah I think it's the best headset money can buy at the moment.

I'd recommend the Maxwell for that scenario.

I’ve been through loads recently. Here’s a brief rundown (all ran on my Xbox): Audeze Maxwell - Best sounding, not a single other dedicated gaming headset comes close. However the weight really puts strain on your neck after a while. The mic was also not the best Arctis Nova Pro (wired and wireless) - Just not good, for the price anyway. Sound was ok, mic was ok, ear cups were too small, the eq on the dac didn’t make a big enough impact to the sound to make it useful. Very light however Razor Blackshark V2 Pro - Comfy, sounded ok, mic was phenomenal, looks were nice. However for the price again, just doesn’t offer anything special, and the eq was similar to the issues the Nova Pro had DT 900 Pro X (with mod mic) - VERY comfy, fantastic soundstage, very detailed, look very nice. However non existent bass (for immersive games and games like battlefield would be nice to have), and the mic was just ok. Overall from these choices the best value (bar the next one on the list) Astro A50x - Never had a pair before cause I thought the price was just not worth it, however I am stunned. Comfort is phenomenal, sound is next level especially for competitive games, the eq works fantastically, the mic is great. And the free Dolby Atmos you get with it is fantastic for immersive games, and even when using standard stereo sound, the bass is great whilst leaving the treble for footsteps still great If you’re on PC alone, I’d say go for DT 900 Pro X and get a proper USB mic, however if you’re on PC and console, the a50x is a no brainer, the ability to switch inputs to determine what is shown on your screen is fantastic. And the audio switches to that specific source straight away.

For competitive Astros, ANYDAY of the week. For immersive open world singles, maxwells all day. But…the Astros are still phenomenal for immersive open world games, whereas the maxwells are just ok for comp. They’re good, but cause of the planar sound, they sometimes get quite muddy when there’s footsteps going around you. So I’d say a50x

EASILY the Audeze Maxwell. The mic isn’t the greatest thing in the world but it’s serviceable enough and the actual audio quality you get to hear is out of this world compared to the competition. Genuinely insane how good they are considering how bad wireless headsets tend to be compared to wired

Personally thought directional audio was one of the worst aspects - rarely heard other players before I saw them. Audeze Maxwell, tuned specifically for FPS (and I have no issue hearing directional footsteps in other shooters).

I decided to return the novas and try out the maxwells. They are perfect

Just got these. I can recommend them. Not tested mic yet. As for comfort: I have a large head, and am finding the clamping a bit tight however, and the earcups just fit around my ears - it's a bit snug. Nothing bad, per se, but not quite in the super comfort zone of some other headphones. They'd be fine for gaming sessions, but not something I'd want to wear all day. I'd have preferred a bit more of a relaxed fit. On the other hand, a relaxed fit means very big headphone that can turn some people off.

Former owner of maxwells, now current owner of Scape. These are impressions based off not listening to maxwells for 6 months, and just getting the Scape. Sound quality is on par. Both nicely detailed and clear, with good bass. Different, but equally decent. I don't mind listening to music on them at all. Though my audiophiles phones are a still better, this is no slouch. Mic on Maxwell was... eh. It worked. Have not compared these yet, but can't be worse. The scape looks much nicer, and feel lighter on the head. Both clamped a little hard on big heads, but this feels like it might be a bit more of a clamp. So lighter, but a little tighter. I'd give the Scape a slight edge due to the weight. It matters. Build quality appear excellent. It's beautiful in person, whereas the maxwells was just ok, and developed an annoying creak. I also was on my second maxwell since the first died: They had a rep for breaking easily. Controls are excellent. They're really thought it through. Well designed. I rate them. I wouldn't say 'sell you maxwells for these' if you already have them, but if you are looking at one of them, they're both very good, and the scape is cheaper, sooo....

These are over your budget, but they have really good Sound quality, comfort is superb and battery life is great - Turtle beach stealth pro wireless - Steel Series arctis nova pro - Logitech G PRO X 2 LIGHTSPEED - Audeze maxwell. These are HEAVY so you need to try them. I have them and they are simply amazing, but for some people they are too heavy and thus does not feel good when used in long seasions.

The Audeze Maxwell is a great option and currently on Amazon for $286. They're planar-magnetic (compare to "dynamic") and thus have phenomenal bass response. They can be used wirelessly, or wired without the need for a separate DAC/amp. They do not have ANC, but they are closed back for better noise isolation. ANC may not be great for our ears in the long term anyway.

In terms of sound quality, Audeze Maxwell easily

I also use my QC Ultra with my gaming PC wired, and I find it a very good experience. They sound great, with no latency over the wire, and the sound is fantastic. I used to game with my Audeze Maxwell gaming headset, but since I don't play online games where a mic is required, I once day tried QC Ultras and never went back. The QC Ultras are very comfortable, sound great, and their transparency/aware mode is outstanding for when you need to hear your environment/yourself when gaming, they sound like I'm not wearing anything. The Audeze Maxwells were heavy and had no transparency mode at all. If you use QC Ultras with a PC over the wire, you will have no problem with latency or sound. Just keep in mind that you cannot use the built-in headphone microphone when using them wired.

Audeze maxwell

Better than every other wireless headset mic still somehow

sennheiser pc38x is hands down the best option for competitive fps gaming if you need a mic (footsteps & mic is superb). the gaming division from beyerdynamic is great too. if you strictly want immersion then the audeze maxwell would be the best for that but the mic isnt so great imo(theres rumors a maxwell 2 might come out soon). the astro a50x has the best wireless mic in its competition.

Go on their subreddit, it has many issues. More importantly, for me it was extremely uncomfortable to wear due to the weight and the band width (or lack of)

The absolute best sounding Bluetooth headset would be Audeze Maxwell. No closed back headphones regardless of wired or wireless sound as good under $999 usd. The only problem is that the mic doesn’t sound great. If you want a good sounding mic you probably want to just get a separate one.

I have the Audize Maxwell the sound quality is great but it’s too heavy and it kind wears you down a bit if you use it too long. I went with the turtle beach stealth pro for regular gaming use.

Tried the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless after my Audeze Maxwell died, and ended up returning it to buy a Maxwell again. So, Audeze Maxwell (be careful tho, these are fragile af).

Maxwell user here. Amazing set of headphones. Only note I have about them is that they are heavy. Otherwise unmatched experience for me. Treat them gently, don't snap them on or off or drop them etc the parts in the magnetic drivers can be damaged relatively easily. Also the battery life is incredible. Had them for like six months and I have only charged them like four times.

I’m late but I wanna say I love you for talking about the scape, I’m testing it right now and wow it’s amazing, I heard the complaints about it like the headband and ear pad texture but so far I find it comfy as hell. I’m also testing a black shark v3 pro and a DT 900 pro x plus Fosi k7. Before all this used to use a black shark V2X for years and that’s $50 but I wasn’t really into sound quality and thought it sounded fine. But man the comfort of the black sharks is amazing, easily the most comfortable headphone I’ve ever worn and I’ve worn a decent amount. Razer may suck at a lot of things and their support is horrible but they cooked with the black shark design, hence why I bought the V3 pro and it sounds pretty good with gadetrytechs EQ(I use Joe’s EQ on everything lol) The ANC is okay, it’s not the best and I think that’s due to the cloth ear pads. I’m sure when WC freeze come out for the v3 it’ll make it better. But with the fractal scape, even though it doesn’t block out much outside noise, the sound quality, the comfort, the build…it’s all so dang impressive for their first ever headphone plus it’s a great price. And not to mention THE CHARGING DOCK, every headset should have one, it’s so amazing to just take it off and set it down and it turns off and charges automatically. For $200 it’s easily the best value headset, sure it doesn’t have simultaneous Bluetooth and 2.4 but like I don’t really use it that much tbh. The only thing I wish it did have was ANC since I do like it Now about the DT 900 pro x and the DAC/AMP, I bought this to try out open backs for the first time and a good dac. And I’m ngl I don’t really hear that much of a difference in sound quality. I can tell it’s more open but it’s not enough to make me go wow and I think that’s mainly because of me, my hearing isn’t the best and I’m pretty sure I’m deaf from listening to headphones at max for over a decade and a half now. Which is why I’m testing headsets and this bc I’m tryna see the difference and if it’s worth the price(and the cord) And that’s where the Scape comes in, it has an amazing sound with a pretty wide soundstage for a closed back and it’s very comfortable with a good build quality. This was a long write and i apologize for wasting time off your life but im just so glad to see someone else appreciate the scape! (Quick edit) I forgot to mention I did test the audeze maxwells and I liked the sound quality but I didn’t think it was that much better(once again prob cause I’m deaf) I do think they sound the best for sure but the other issues like the terrible comfort such as the weight and clamp force, and the fact you have to baby them was kinda not worth it for me

Audeze Maxwell, he will not be disappointed

Should have gone for audez maxwell though

I second this Audeze maxwell is way to go

Yeah I see where I messed up lol, got confused. I tried the Maxwells, they were really heavy and uncomfortable after just an hour. I got a headache from wearing them. I had a lot of static "popping" whenever anything in an in-game menu would make a sound, and my friend said the microphone sounded muffled. I also hated how loud the beeps were when adjusting settings like sidetone levels, and how loud the voice is when changing certain settings, basically blasting my ears out every time. Needless to say I am returning them.

I have had these for 2 years now and I love them. Only negatives I can think of is the sidetone gives a bit of static, but that can simply be disabled. And the Audeze HQ app is a bit buggy sometimes. I've had no issues with the standard cushions getting hot or anything. Battery life is amazing, sound quality is unlike anything else I've experienced

This is where I'm at. I'm usually bothered by latency but it's not TOO bad. Considering I play on the couch next to my wife while she watches TV, the noise cancellation is of utmost importance to stay immersed. Honestly pretty impressed with the APP2 experience. I typically use my Maxwells but again, the noise cancellation and form factor make a better couch experience.

Definitely this for sound quality. But i've (sadly) started using my AirPods for noise cancellation, since I game on the couch next to my wife watching TV. If I'm at my desk, Maxwells all the way.

This. Amazing wireless headphone.

When it comes to top tier gaming headsets. Audeze Maxwell is the only answer.

Would you say they are a good upgrade from the nova pro wireless? I got that one last year after trying Maxwells, and then the MG20's. I needed the simultaneous Bluetooth and ability to use them for calls when I work from home as well as for gaming. The Maxwells were too heavy to wear while working all day but they were great for music. The MG20's I had to return to master and dynamics because they would not switch properly from the dongle to the Bluetooth, back and forth without issues. They also had a lot of static and crackling when they were being used on my PC with the dongle. Support asked me to update them to the latest firmware. Unfortunately I could not even though support said there was an update, the app showed no update available. I really wanted to like these but I had such a bad experience with them and the switch from Bluetooth to dongle was problematic for what I needed them to do. Just watched gadgetry tech's review on the elites as well and I'm not sure how much better sounding they are compared to the nova wireless pros.

Funny I also had my wife try the Maxwells when I was shopping for new headphones. She also said the same thing that they sound really good specially for the type of music we both enjoy listening to. I'm probably going to order the elites to try out and will return them if they don't impress me. I'm going to set them up with the recommended EQ settings from GadgetryTech's review as in the review he mentions out for the box they don't sound the best which I think is odd considering the price.

Yea that makes sense. I also like them compared to the the nova pros but nothing stands out even sound wise that they are worth the extra money. I will probably return mine soon. They are better than the pros but not by the amount they are asking. These should have come out at $400. I could keep them as I don't care much for the cost but internally even though I like them I cant justify the value over what I already have. I'm curious about the Maxwells 2, I hope they make them a little lighter because when I tried those I was planning on keeping them but wearing them all day for work and then later gaming in them or listening to music, they were too heavy and uncomfortable even after several adjustments. But they sounded the best of all the wireless options available.

I'm not convinced they will sound much better than the pro wireless which I have now. For me it's not about the money but if they don't sound like the audeze Maxwells then it's not worth it. Had the Maxwells and returned them because they are too heavy to use all day for work and then later for gaming. The nova pros are fine for that type of scenario except I don't use them for music.

I just ordered a set of Audeze Maxwells today. They are very highly rated, I’m looking forward to trying them out Sunday.

I used them for a couple days and have boxed them back up and will be returning them. Pro's: Wireless using the dongle was flawless. Build quality is excellent, really feels solid and well built. Con's: Folks say they are heavy, but I wasn't sure what to make of that. I realized it when I put them on. If you move your head a little, they physically generate enough inertia to shimmy a little. This is distracting as I apparently develop tourretts when wearing headphones and gaming. Adjusting the head strap helped, but didn't eliminate this issue for me. Sound quality was what I'd call good to acceptable. I prefer open back headphones and I knew going in that it would be an adjustment, but I wasn't impressed. TLDR: Returned cause they shimmy on my head.

Agree. Had mine 3 months and love them

I just bought the audeze Maxwell and so far I’m liking them a lot but they’re more on the pricey side of wireless headphones at $250-$300. I recommend getting defean ear pads for them they’re super comfy the original ear pads I didn’t like much.

Also they have 80 hours of battery life so not to bad

I have audeze maxwell wireless headphones I like them a lot! Probably my favorite headphones I’ve ever had. They’re pricey but worth it in my opinion.

Since you said 300 USD in one of your replies, I'd recommend Audeze Maxwells for 299 USD. I have a pair and I love them. The only thing I find annoying is their headband adjustment requires screwdrivers, but it's a sort of set-and-forget type thing. For reference, I'm hat size 7 1/2 (23 1/2 inches/ 60cm round) and I find the biggest setting of the headset band comfortable. [https://www.audeze.com/products/maxwell-wireless-gaming-headset](https://www.audeze.com/products/maxwell-wireless-gaming-headset)

While that spiel is generally true, there are enthusiasts (like myself) that have and still buy "gaming headphones." Not all of them are terrible, although most are -- hence the stigma. If you want the best wireless gaming headset on the market right now, the easy recommendation is the Audeze Maxwell. The Maxwell isn't just the best gaming headset, but is a genuinely solid wireless headphone in its own right, and the best entry-level planar on the market. It competes with some of my higher-end, dedicated planars as a critical listening/reference headphone (out of the box). There are caveats: It's heavy and bulky. I'd recommend getting the CapraAudio comfort strap to improve comfort; it distributes the weight more evenly and reduces discomfort from heat buildup. The microphone (and sidetone) is subpar and should be replaced with a Modmic wireless later on down the road if you want better quality. I use the default mic, but I'm likely in the minority and simply don't care too much about how I sound, so long as I'm being heard. That is one of only two wireless headsets I would recommend. I've tried most of the other options, including the other "premium" models from Steelseries, Razer, Corsair, etc. None of them are worth the asking price. The Steelseries Nova Pro Wireless isn't quite a dumpster fire (and Sonar is about as close as a gaming company has gotten to developing a parametric EQ), but you're overpaying for the quality of that headset. The second set is probably out of your budget range, which is the Master & Dynamic MG20. It competes with the Maxwell's sound quality, is more comfortable, and has some additional benefits. There are QC issues with this set (like the Maxwell), so just be sure to test it thoroughly before your return/exchange window closes. It is an excellent headset, and was my go-to before the Maxwell and VZR Model One. If he wants to reconsider remaining on a wired setup, the FiiO FT1 coupled with the Meze Boom Mic cable is pretty much my go-to for single-player games. It's a $150 set that competes with headphones many times its price, and the Meze boom mic is a perfect fit and sounds great. You can also take a look at the VZR Model One (wired), the Simgot EM6L or Supermix 4 with a Kinera Ruyi/Gramr cable (wired). Most audio enthusiasts will steer you away from gaming headsets, and I think for a lot of people the best recommendation is a good, dedicated headphone with a separate mic, or a pair of IEMs. But even as an enthusiast, sometimes I just want a single solution, with a single cable or wireless option, with all the buttons and features I would expect from a gaming headset -- in other words, I get it.

No, the Maxwell’s sound quality is superior to the FiiO FT1 and FT1 Pro. Out of the box, the FT1 may present more sub and mid bass emphasis, but this is easily remedied with the Maxwell’s EQ. The Maxwell is probably the best value planar headphone on the market currently. And it’s surprisingly close to reference out of the box. This will get you something closer to the FT1’s tuning, which is much more V-shaped: https://imgur.com/a/j1hc8oy I’m listening at lower volumes; if you’re listening at higher volumes I’d recommend lowering each of the bands by -1db.

I've been down this road myself; trying to find a gaming headset as a hobbyist, which has led to a lot of frustration. 99% of gaming headsets are terrible, as you've learned yourself, but there *are* a few good headsets on the market. The Audeze Maxwell, Master & Dynamic MG20, and VZR Model One. The latter is wired, the former two are wireless. The Maxwell is the best option from a pure sound quality perspective, but side tone and mic quality are subpar and average, respectively, and the size/weight can be problematic for some. Beyond gaming, the Maxwell is one of (if not) the best entry-level planar headphone on the market -- that just so happens to be wireless. It's closer to reference out of the box than many of Audeze's more expensive sets, like the LCD-X, LCD-2, and MM-500, which makes it an unironically great critical-listening headphone. There's also a fairly robust multi-band EQ, with the ability to save those EQs on the headset. If you go for the Maxwell, highly recommend the CapraAudio comfort strap, and the upgraded Dekoni pads. The MG20 is one of the sets I ran before the Maxwell released; it's wireless, more comfortable and lighter, with an excellent detachable mic. It does not include side tone, but comes close to the Maxwell in tuning and is a great headphone outside of its gaming features. It looks like many of M&D's headphones, which means you can wear it in public without a second glance. While it sounds great for a gaming headset, however, it is still not going to perform as well as some typical dedicated headphones. The VZR Model One is the other headset I ran before the Maxwell; it's an excellent sounding wired set that does some interesting things, specifically with how the driver and chassis were engineered to increase soundstage. It works quite well and performs more closely to an open back headphone. More importantly, it can be driven from any source -- including attaching to a controller's headphone output. I ran the Model One through a Schiit Hel and Fulla, and it competed with many of my lower midfi sets for sound quality. The mic is stellar for a gaming headset. The caveat here is there have been a few revisions -- the first release, which I also own, has less refined and more muddy sub/mid bass. So you'd want to buy this one new from a reputable seller/storefront. Now, for the wrench. I rarely use any of the above for gaming, most of the time. The Maxwell has become more of a "wireless headphone" that I run for casual listening, since it performs as well as many of my much pricier headphones. What I typically recommend, if you don't need gaming features or don't mind adding a mic/mic upgrade cable yourself: On the budget side: the FiiO FT1 w/ the Meze Boom Mic cable. The FT1 is exceptionally good value for money. I run it alongside sets that are 10x its price. On the midfi side: the Sennheiser HD490 Pro w/ Modmic (this is my personal pick). On the high-end side: the ZMF Bokeh Closed w/ the ZMF or Meze Boom Mic cable (this requires some EQ). The Bokeh is great for immersive/single-player titles, but needs some EQ for competitive gaming. For a closed back set, it has very good soundstage and exceptional imaging. TL;DR: If you're playing competitively, the HD 490 Pro is the best option; you can run the mixing pads for competitive titles, and the producing pads for immersive/single-player games. This tends to be what I use (and recommend) most. The other go-to is a pair of IEMs with the Kinera Ruyi/Gramr, or Modmic Kimura. I lean toward the former as it has a removable mic and a better cable. For the IEMs, I'm still running the Simgot EM6L or Meze Alba. Two sets that perform well above their price range, but all you really need for a gaming IEM -- as upper mids and treble are where the majority of your gaming cues will fall, an area of the frequency range both these sets do well. Why the IEMs? Because I play on both console and PC, and I don't always want to drag out a DAC/Amp with a mic input or mic passthrough. The IEMs are an easy pick for something I can just plug into whatever device I'm using.

Yes, they are; there *are* some competent sets on the market, like the VZR Model One, Master & Dynamic MG20, and Audeze Maxwell. However, the HD490 Pro still beats all of them in imaging and soundstage. I will run the MG20 or Maxwell if I need wireless, which is rarely, but the 490 Pro is the better gaming headphone by a pretty wide margin. A gaming headphone advertising 7.1 surround is simulating those surround channels, often by attenuating specific frequencies and dramatically changing the overall frequency response; what's more, even Dolby's admittedly very solid implementation is still highly dependent on individual psychoacoustics, and so it may not be as effective for you as it is for another listener. A perfect example is how I perceive simulated surround; I cannot discern vertical/height channels, and sounds that should be circling around the back of my head sound instead like they're moving across the top of my head.

Avoid the typical gaming brands, most of them are poor value for money. The best "gaming" headset on the market is the Audeze Maxwell, but its mic is poor quality. The only other two gaming headsets worth considering are the VZR Model One, and the Master & Dynamic MG20. If you really want/need a "gaming" headset, these are great options, but come at a price premium. However, I would strongly recommend going with a pair of IEMS, or regular over ear headphones and a boom mic cable or Modmic attachment. Full candor, although I own the Maxwell, Model One, and MG20, this is what I run myself. If you want an open back set, the HD 560S, like u/The-Only-One2020 recommend, with a Modmic attachment is the best option given your current budget. If you prefer closed backs, grab the FiiO FT1 along with a dual 3.5 boom mic cable. These two sets are excellent for gaming; if you're playing competitively, the 560S is the better buy. FT1 is great for immersive/single-player titles, or filthy hard-stuck casuals (like me). Your other option is to run IEMs with an inline boom cable, like the Kinera Ruyi/Gramr, or the Modmic Kimura. Depending on what/how I'm playing, I prefer IEMs to the over ear option.

The biggest head scratcher for me is the price point. Setting aside the Maxwell and Scape (the latter of which was surprisingly solid), the price point here brings this closer to the Master & Dynamic MG20. Before the Maxwell and VZR Model One, the MG20 was the best-sounding headset on the market. Full stop. The Elites are now more expensive than that set, and although I haven't yet heard the Elites, I have my doubts on their ability to properly tune a headphone -- drivers just don't matter that much (as the Peerless driver is a great indication of); having exceptional engineers on staff that understand listener preferences, and the market they're aiming for -- enthusiasts that are also gamers (like myself) -- is critical. I'm also a basshead, and also own sets from ZMF, Meze, the Audeze LCD series, Focal, the list goes on. I think the Maxwell is as close as any brand has come to producing a rock solid headset that is tuned well, even if it's missing some features and requires a pad swap and a CapraAudio comfort strap to make it wearable for long periods. It is damn close to reference out of the box (even closer than the LCD-X and LCD-2, which is bonkers), and can be tuned with a strong, jaw-rattling bass shelf for casual listening. In fact, I use the Maxwell more as a music-listening headphone than I do a gaming headset because its mic and sidetone are absolutely horrendous. But, if I want something more akin to a traditional headset that I can wear for 12 hours a day, with a solid mic (and something that doesn't look ridiculous if I want to take it on the road), the MG20 is the easier pick when compared to the Elites -- especially considering the best thing that Steelseries has ever done is also their biggest argument for using a competitor's product. Sonar. The pricing is baffling, not just because they didn't improve features that would've made sense to on a $600 headset -- like the mic quality -- but because they just made the M&D MG20 relevant again by pricing it higher, while looking like a headphone half its price.

>I think their value prop and tell me if I’m wrong, is the combination of their ANC, base station, multi connect Bluetooth (which is truly one of a kind), all in one headset with good sidetone, transparency, and mic (even though it’s mediocre at best). They know that no other headphone offers all of this and that they can offer it to a niche group of people. You're 100% right, but the issue here is that, these are all features that are included on their regular ($300) Nova Pro Wireless. So where is the $300 in additional value coming from? The tuning, or do they believe they're enticing enthusiast with the High-res audio badge, when most of us know that it's relatively meaningless, all things considered. And that, for me, is the major issue. Value. I'm willing to pay for expensive headsets, because I'm constantly chasing a gaming headset that can compete with some of my traditional headphones in sound quality. The Bathys and Nova Pro's ANC is comparably poor; again, I haven't tested the Elites myself, but if they're going to make an argument for competing with the Bathys, they have to at least provide improved ANC and transparency, whilst also getting sound quality as close as possible to the Focal. I disliked the Bathys feature-set and its terrible app experience, but it was one of Focal's best sounding headphones out of the box. It came dangerously close to replacing my Radiance, but missed the mark due to the always-on ANC. >I will say, with some EQ, the sound is actually pretty damn good. It’s not Maxwell level. But I would say it’s like 10% worse at most. I also agree with you on most of your points about Maxwell. And here is where I contradict myself. If it sounds that good, I would buy it, simply because the mic, sidetone, and swappable batteries have the Maxwell beat handily. But I'd do so begrudgingly because I doubt the sound quality is twice that of the Nova Pros. And because, let's be honest, it looks like they took the color palette from a french powder room the design team came across in an Architectural Digest.

>Is crazy this still compares to the Maxwell which is just a gaming headset What's crazy is that it's labeled as a gaming headset, not that it *is* a gaming headset. That moniker has nothing to do with performance; if anything, it is the cause of the stigma, more than an indicator of how well it performs. Out of the box, the $300 Maxwell is closer to reference than my LCD-2, LCD-X, and although I no longer have this set on hand, it may have even beaten the LCD-MX4, which I EQ'd quite a bit before using them for a mix. Resolution on the top end, imaging and soundstage being the big caveats here, but Audeze shipping a $300 planar that makes the argument for many of their higher-end sets harder, is bonkers. The Maxwell still represents one of the best values in the hobby, and still, for my money, is the best planar set you can get your hands on under $500, especially if you're not a fan of the tuning of the Edition XV. You really need to push up to the Arya Stealth or Organic to get a better set out of the box. And if fit/seal are an issue on HiFiMan sets (basically restricting you to the HE600 or Sundaras), as it is for me, Maxwell is even more of an easy recommendation. The weight and comfort issues are mostly solved with the CapraAudio comfort strap and a set of Dekoni sheepskin pads. The irony here is that the Maxwell is a bad gaming headset, and a stellar wireless planar headphone. The mic is terrible and sidetone is the worst I've ever come across. I never use it for gaming; that job goes to the HD 490 Pros.

I disagree. I'd call myself an audio enthusiast but not an audiophile, but I've got some reasonable headphones and speakers, including some HD650s, DT770s, AZ100s and the Audeze Maxwells. I end up using the Maxwells mostly these days due to convenience, however getting tired of babying them so I got some Scapes. The Scapes sound damn good, are fantastic for day to day listening including music. They sound detailed, spacious and are comfortable. Now I'm not saying they're better (I've not listened to 990s in particular), but it's a reasonable comparison to make to get an idea of how good they are or aren't.

Look I don’t disagree with what you’re saying, I just think this is a fractal design sub, not r/headphones so the distinction you want to make isn’t necessarily for this audience. I can absolutely tell the difference which is why I’ve invested so heavily in equipment. I just don’t agree that the world’s apart sound wise holds up anymore. Previously, yes definitely. And I also just don’t have enough interest in the scene anymore to consider myself an “audiophile”, I just like great sounding music. Consumer stuff has gotten good enough to be able to have a meaningful comparison and don’t get me wrong the maxwells are consumer grade as well. Still absolutely love the sound of my HD650s through a nice dac/amp, and they really do sound better for most listening than my wireless headsets, I just really have to be in the mood to sit and listen for it to be worthwhile. And the wireless headsets are definitely good enough to make that a rarer occasion. In terms of direct comparison to the Maxwells, the Scapes absolutely are close in terms of sound quality. Different experience, the maxwells sound much more intimate and do probably have greater overall clarity, but the fractals are more comfortable, and have light, open and airy feel to music, and great detail. And maybe I’m getting old but I read the reviews and thought they might be too bass light, but as soon as I put them on I was like man this is almost bass heavy 😆 overall really happy with them. Also while I’ve not had issues with my maxwells, being cognisant of all the problems others have had, and feeling like you need to baby them to keep the drivers alive really does detract form the enjoyment for me, especially for a gaming/pc headset. They do sound great though, although definitely not at effectively twice the price of the fractals. Listen to what makes you happy!

Audeze Maxwell do a lot of things right, except it's heavy as a brick. For reference the Nova 5 are about HALF the weight. At this price point they need to do better in the weight department.

I have a pair of pc38x that I was happy with, however since they are open they let in sound so when my setup was moved to a louder environment I longed for something more closed and also wireless. So I tried multiple different ones, the Steelseries Nova pro wireless had good sound after some tweaking but I found them on the smaller side and a bit uncomfortable. The Audeze maxwells were great sounding, however quite heavy and very big cups. Eventually I came across a very good deal on some of the new Astro A50s that I had previously dismissed because durrhurr astros bad. Pleasantly surprised by the comfort and for a non audiophile they sound good, not like the audezes of course but good. So if you want wired in a more quiet environment, the pc38xs are great, I did have to put mine clamped on the box to loosen them for about a week or two since the clamping force was very high. If you want wireless, best advice I can give is try some and return them if you dislike them. I recommend Astro A50s wholeheartedly tho EDIT: Forgot to say, mic is very good on the pc38x and Astro a50. The audezes ended up being quite good after some tweaking in a third party eq software. Tweaked the steelseries too and the mic sounded better after some tweaking. Havent tweaked the astros or pc38x at all, good out of the box for me

I can assure that the audeze maxwell might be the best sounding consumer grade gaming headset but the weight and headband style let it down. In my opinion comfort is the most vital part of choosing a headset, coz if you cant wear a headset for a long time what would you do with the superb sound quality. I modified my maxwell with universal headband cushion which improved the comfort a little bit but you cant ignore the fact that its too heavy. The good thing about scape is its lightweight (I dont own it, saying according to the review). If i could choose now I would happily pick scape and save some cash. 🥹

HD 560S for wired. Audeze Maxwell for wireless, which comes with a mic. HD 560S does not have a mic but there are cheap options, under $30, to fix that.

Wireless? Audeze Maxwell Wired? It's not the best but it's good enough for me, the HD560S.

U have the HD 560s and they are amazing, but I want wireless and got the audeze Maxwell's and wow I love them too

Got me some audeze Maxwell's for $300 and compared to my friends elites it's a no brainer.

Agreed. Combined with a good custom EQ nothing compares. However, I feel the sound isolation is a bit better with the stock earmuffs.

Thank you! I’m the same way! Currently have the astro a50x for fps games and the audeze Maxwell for single player games. Been looking for an all in one! Loved the old arctis pro wireless and am stoked for these elites

Oh they sound amazing. No wireless headset has sounded better to me than the maxwells do for single player games. But i was not a fan of them for shooters for some reason. Hearing is very subjective though. They are also kind of heavy but you get used to it. Still the elites seem like the ones that I’ll be able to use for any type of game. I loved my old pros before the nova pros. Can’t wait

If you play mostly open world I would give the audeze Maxwell a try. I just got the elites and the sound is up there with the maxwells but does not beat them. Doesn’t really lose either. But the Maxwells are the best for open world. I’m probably going to continue using both , primarily the elites, but it’s wild how good the maxwells sound. Comfort and extra features is won by the elites and that’s not even close

It depends on your use case. I went with the Alienware Pro's personally because I wanted an all-in-one headset that I would also be able to use if I were to throw it in my backpack and use it in a cafe. The Audeze Maxwell wouldn't do well for this because you need to treat them like glass to a certain extent. I'm pretty happy with the Alienware Pro's and the sound quality in general. The Audeze Maxwell's sound quality would be better though, but I think the imaging for footsteps would be worse. So it's all a trade off and depends on what you're looking for.

Don't maxwells have build quality issues as well? Also, is the heaviness of the headphones a problem for you?

Agreed, there was wind blowing in a game, I think it was valhiem, and I literally said in my discord chat "wtf I hear wind in my room" got up to check wtf was going on, to find out it was just my headset being too good.

Bought these then returned them and stuck with my Penrose. Dual BT connection is very important to since I use my phone as a second screen for a guide video and or facetime call. I dont understand why they removed that feature. Im not an audiophile but I didnt hear much of a difference in sound quality between the two and the Penrose has a bigger 100mm driver vs the 90mm on the Maxwells. The battery life and build quality however are different stories. Definitely something to think about because they are night and day. The Maxwell has a much longer battery life and feels more well built with metal.

My vote goes to VZR model one. Awesome headphones. Great positional sound and great bass. Very immersive feeling. I have compared them to audeze Maxwell and like the VZR more for above reasons. In my opinion maxwells and Vzr model ones are the top of the gaming headphones list.

You don't sound like someone who's an audio hobbyist, and really the only people who should ever get the Maxwells are true audiophiles who can appreciate the difference in audio quality. Gamers who just enjoy decent sound but barely knows how an EQ works should IMO not get the Maxwells, because the Maxwells are one of the most uncomfortable headphones I've ever tried and the sound quality isn't WOW compared to other headphones in the same price range in my non-audiophile opinion. Not to mention the sidetone on the Maxwells is just straight up broken with that loud-ass static which to me is completely unacceptable in a pair of $300 headphones. Just my two cents as a degenerate gamer who wants to be able to play for an entire day without having to take off the headphones because they're giving me a headache.

I'm harsh because these fucking redditors tricked me into thinking the Maxwells is a godlike headset that blows the competition out of the water, but the headset has some major flaws and I want to offer a differing opinion to anyone who's considering buying them. With that said, you may not find them as uncomfortable as I did, but I genuinely hated them. I ended up getting the Astro A50 instead. The sound isn't as good, but they're comfy as fuck compared to the Maxwells.

Audeze maxwell. I tried all top ones for gaming, trust me.

I wanted to love them as they sounded incredible, but I had that planar crinkle issue on two different units and gave up. Desperate for an updated version that are a bit more robust

I own the Audeze Maxwell, these headphones are capable of connecting to 2 Bluetooth devices simultaneously but not playing audio simultaneously. Even with OP's budget it's difficult to find a pair of headphones that has the option to mix the audio between 2 devices simultaneously. Since OP uses a PS5, I assume they won't be able to use a software solution such as AudioRelay. If OP was trying to achieve that with a computer, it would have been much easier and more straight-forward. Personally, I would sacrifice the mixing factor and instead invest that amount of money to get a pair of headphones with good sound quality. I suggest you to take a look at the Noble FoKus Apollo. I feel like they are being slept on by this subreddit which I find disappointing. They have a surprisingly wide soundstage, good depth and layering and strong imaging / instrument separation for a closed back pair of headphones. The sound is really good in my opinion straight out of the box, compared to other headphones I own. These are wireless headphones, with 80 hours of battery life with ANC OFF and 60 hours with ANC ON. they are lightweight and portable in case you would like to use them on the go. If you want to save some money, a used pair should cost $325-400 USD and they are by far the best headphones you can get for this price in my opinion. The price for a new pair is $650 USD. I have a wide collection of headphones, including the Focal Clear MG, Meze Liric, Sennheiser HD 800S, Focal Bathys and many more and I would say the FoKus Apollo is definitely the best and most fun pair of closed back headphones I own. If you use them in passive mode (connected via a 3.5mm cable to your computer), they perform in a way that absolutely rivals many $1000-1500 closed back headphones in terms of clarity, tonality and imaging.

If u care about sound get the Audeze Maxwells

I did the same, convinced they were the best. I returned them last weekend. I had the low volume issue. Wasn't impressed. Went back to my Kiwi Orchestra Lites. Hopefully yours are good!

I'm talking about the Audeze Maxwells that you were getting.

Great Headphone, à bit pricy though, but phénoménal sound

Audeze Maxwell for me. Great Planar Magnetic headset.

Bc they are trash. Most over hyped headset there is

100% couldn't agree more. Funny I found this thread after Google hit me with the best buy promo on the APW and I'm gonna pick up two of them. I've been daily driving the APW since, and I checked this date from my Amazon order history, March of 2020. That's over 5 years and the only things I've fixed are I replaced the stock band and ear pads. 100% agree on the Audezee Maxwell comment as well- I tried upgrading to that set and it was a huge waste of money.

Very good sounding headphones but audeze has shit mic  and build quality. I need something to last for many years if I'm paying this much not 1-2 years tops.

Audeze Maxwells are the best I have ever used and it's not remotely close.

If you can afford Maxwell, there isn't really any better choice atm.

I’ve tried multiple gaming headsets and you want the PC38X if you’re wanting nicer sound and a decent mic. They sound very good but are open back so you need quiet surroundings. I have the Audeze Maxwells for almost double the current price of the PC38X and still thought the 38x’s were very impressive and I want a pair myself. Other gaming headsets might have deeper bass and better positional tracking for footsteps but they will lack the clarity and be double the price. Cloud headsets are great for most gamers but if you’re even considering crossing the line into premium sound they won’t make you happy. I used the original cloud Alphas for years until the earpads disintegrated and I had to replace the cables. I can’t use them now because they sound tinny and hollow after using nicer sounding headphones.

Audeze Maxwells are very good for a gaming headset, especially a wireless one. But they're also super fragile and not as esporty pinpoint as price competitors like Arctics Pro or TB Stealth Pro. Although audio quality is way better.

You just need to make sure the noise suppression is on. For some reason with it turned off the mic is barely audible, but with it set to low it works great.

They do sound good and the battery life is good, however they tend to die not long after the battery low warning starts so a bit annoying. They're also on the heavy side and instead of releasing limited editions they should have focused on shedding some grams

I tried so many headphones and headsets it's crazy. The Maxwell is fine but really heavy and meh mic Rog Delta 2 has a good mic now and easy to EQ, but too expensive for what it is Razer is just average at best for most of them. Astro is great, but f the dock. JBL Quantum series sound is very average. Great bass Corsair Virtuoso Max audio quality is insanely below others at the same price point. Alienware Pro is 100$ too expensive, ears gets hot unde an hour and mine lasted 4 days. I heard good things about the Atlas Air.

I replaced my Pulse Elite with the Audeze Maxwell and love ‘em!

Going to add onto this that if you're already willing to spend $300 and you HAVE to have wireless (personally, I do, it makes pet parenting so much easier), The Audeze Maxwell has phenomenal sound quality and is made by an audiophile company.

I ended up buying both the Audeze Maxwell and the Arctis Nova 7P Gen 2. I chose the Audeze Maxwell because I wanted the best possible sound quality. I don’t really care about the weight or comfort since I only play games for about one to two hours a day — so that shouldn’t be a problem. As for the Arctis Nova 7P Gen 2, I decided to get it because it’s a newly released model and also comes in the red color I like. The sound quality is impressive as well, especially for its $200 price tag. Thanks so much to everyone who shared their experiences and helped me out — I really appreciate this community!

I’ve been very happy with the Audeze Maxwells but I know some people don’t like them due to the weight of them. But sound is AMAZING.

I own the Audeze Maxwell and the razer black shark v2 pro (2023). Look the audeze sound better yes, but it isn’t worth the difference in microphone quality. The razer black shark v2 pro have the best wireless microphone I’ve heard on a gaming headset. The sound quality from the drivers is also very good not as good as audeze but still very good. So if you care more about audio quality go with audeze If you want a better mic go with razer black shark V2 pro If you do go razer Just make damn sure you buy the 2023 edition and no other version.

All these people recommending the audeze maxwell have never played a fps with them before. Uncomfortable with shit surround sound so hearing footsteps/shots directions is not happening. Just get him a pair of logitech g pro x or something that is similar to what he had before. All this audiophile bs is a waste of money time and comfort

Steelseries is better than Corsair. In the wireless gaming headset space: Audeze Maxwell >>> Astro A50 > Fractal Design Scape > HyperX Cloud Alpha/Steelseries Nova Pro > Everything else Maybe I don't know or have overlooked some smaller brand though. Maxwell is huge and heavy and might not be that comfortable but it's just overall a very good headset. If you are willing to go wired with a mic, then after Maxwells you can squeeze in Sennheiser/EPOS pc38X and Beyerdynamic Tygr 300 R If you are willing to go no mic wired + separate mic if needed then a whole new conversation appears that outperforms any of the gaming headsets at actual gaming.

I have Audeze Maxwell for my PS5 and I would say they not really at the level of a good pair of wired over-ear headphones but are still pretty great.

you got the pc38x and Audeze Maxwell very good mic quality from both of em

Audeze Maxwell, nothing compares. Swap the earmuffs for wicked cushions.

You don't have too, it's a nice upgrade though.

Open backs are great for gaming because they provide super soundstage and sound quality—problem is, if he lives in a noisy environment they’re not going to benefit from them. At that point they’re no better than cheap gaming headphones.

Not if you buy custom ear pads, even with stock ear pads on my Audeze Maxwells I don’t get hot. If you’re sweating or getting hot, then open backs aren’t going to fix that, means you need some full room ventilation. I’m not against open backs personally, wish I could get some since I wanna get a good pair of Sennheisers and a good DAC, but because my house is filled with people talking all the dang time, closed backs are my only option.

Proper EQ usually stems that problem, not perfect, but a worthwhile trade off for comfort.

Have one. They sound better for pretty much everything but FPS. But The side tone is unusable and constant hiss You can’t use two sources of audio at the same time You can’t edit the EQ or anything within the app if using the dongle They’re pretty damn heavy The mic is kinda obnoxious and can’t be just docked into the headset.

I have the Audeze Maxwells and I honestly think I haven't heard anything that sounds better. They are on the heavier side though which can be a dealbreaker for some.

The Meze boom mic is outstanding. You can pair it with something like the 99 Classics or the Hifiman 400SE for a budget option. Another good option is the V-Moda Boom Pro. It’s a single input mic, so it fits different headphones than the Meze. If you have your eye on a pair of headphones with just one input, get this one instead. If you want to go wireless, the Audeze Maxwell is just about the best wireless headset you’ll find in your budget. The microphone isn’t as good as the other two options I mentioned, but with a little tweaking in OBS it can sound quite good.

The sound is fenomenaal on my Audeze Maxwell 😍 loving this headset!

Way to many problems with the maxwells

I don't recommend the Maxwell's on the basis of durability. It uses DSP to help enhance the planar magnetic drivers and what not so the bass is silky smooth and the sound profile it has stock is amazing. The mic is great too. However, I had to RMA within two to three months of owning it. Got it back and the right side went out again 6, almost 7, months later. I ended up buying a pair of JBL Quantum 910's. It has both 2.4Ghz and Bluetooth support, noise cancelling on the headset itself, RGB (if you like it), and a decent surround sound mode. They have good bass response, its punchy. Their positional audio even without the surround sound is pretty good. Id you don't like heavier bass, you can EQ it in the JBL app. Soundstage could be better The JBLs were about 275ish USD as I got them on sale while as Audeze Maxwell's were over 300 USD as I got the Xbox model which came with a Dolby Atmos license. The Void RGB pro i believe just got updated a couple weeks ago. Alienware has nice headsets. Their audio is pretty good with the one I used, the mic was decent enough to game with. Cheaper than the JBL Quantum's so they're always a good option. Don't remember the price. Steel series is pretty reliable however the ear pad material could be something that keeps you from buying them. Their audio is pretty good all things considered and if you're okay with the padding they're decently comfortable. Mic is alright but it works well enough.

I recommend [Audeze Maxwell Wireless](https://www.reddit.com/r/newproducts/comments/1cuxlg2/best_headset_for_ps5/), The sound quality will be top notch for PS5.  I’ve had mine for several months with no issues. Use it for everything, PS5 gaming, music listening and watching movies.

I recommend [Audeze Maxwell Wireless](https://www.reddit.com/r/newproducts/comments/1cuxlg2/best_headset_for_ps5/), The sound quality will be top notch for gaming.  I’ve had mine for several months with no issues. Use it for everything, PS5 gaming, music listening and watching movies.

I haven’t had any issues with its weight. They are on the heavier side compared to some other gaming headsets, but the weight is really well distributed, thanks to the plush headband and ear pads. I’ve worn them for hours, and I haven’t felt uncomfortable or noticed any pressure on my ears.

This is straight up wrong, the Audeze Maxwell beats it in every metric

Really wondering about the sound quality of this headset. Not that I'm getting one as I have the Audeze Maxwell I'm more than happy with. But the $399.99 price tag hit me sideways. So I was "hoping" it was top tier audio and comfort. I know not all heads are alike. Saw someone say the Maxwell is too heavy and personally never felt that way once. Even with hours of gaming. So maybe hoping the audio and mic justify the price. Idk. Razer has had so many missteps and it's loyalist are even shaken. That should be a sign for them to make some changes.

Came here to say it was between the Maxwell and the Nova Pro for me. Ended up going with Audeze because it required no additional software running 24/7 on my PC. Very very happy with the quality of the product. Bought some Wicked Cushions as well for long sessions of gaming and chats.

As a gamer dad I needed a new headset too. I wanted something a little nicer with good sound and a long lasting battery that can have single all through my house with the wireless headset. I don’t know about the one you posted. But the one I bought is similar in price and I love it. It can go like 5 days on 1 charge, has great sound and mic. https://www.audeze.com/products/maxwell-wireless-gaming-headset

They are pretty good, but the audio is tinny or bright and lacks depth from bass. Definitely enjoyable to play with though. Id only recommend Audeze maxwell, "hifi" headphones or a legit speaker set up for really good audio

It's been well established that Audezeaxwell is the best sound at $300 price point. Like not even close

I’d get the maxwells! That way you don’t have to worry about an amp and dac to include in your budget. They really are some of the best closed backs for the money gaming or not.

The best would be an Audeze Maxwell. Which will give you great sound with a meh microphone. The other option would be an attachable mic like others have said on headphones.