What are you getting for the gamer in your life this Christmas? One possibility is the Audeze Maxwell, a new low latency gaming headset with impressive sonic chops and 80 hours of battery life.
The Maxwell succeeds the Mobius, Penrose and LCD-GX in Audeze’s gaming headset range. But the company also makes pure audio headphones, such as the open-back LCD-1.
It’s incorporated some of this know-how into the Maxwell, which features Audeze’s proprietary planar magnetic drivers, made in California. Audeze claims the 90mm planar magnetic drivers have three times more surface area than competitors’ drivers to give more sonic detail.
Ultra-low latency, high-resolution audio is the order of the day, with bitrates up to 24-bit 96kHz supported when connected to the included USB dongle. Wireless range and low-latency stability are both up to three times better than Audeze’s Penrose headset, according to the brand, while Bluetooth 5.3 LE (the latest version) comes standard. This version supports both L3 and L3 Plus codecs, while SBC, AAC, and LDAC are also supported. Plug it in via USB and you can listen to lossless Hi-Res Audio up to 24-bit/96kHz.
There’s noise cancellation on board too, though Audeze calls it noise filtration. It uses AI to eliminate background noise – just press a button to activate it, no additional setup is required. And to make sure you’re heard, five microphones are built in, along with a detachable microphone boom made by Shure.
The chassis features a spring steel headband with adjustable suspension strap, which should make it comfortable for long gaming sessions. And noise isolation comes thanks to the reinforced two-chamber design of the earcups.
Finally that battery life. It’s nothing short of amazing – 80 hours dwarfs even leading headphones like the Sennheiser Momentum 4 True Wireless (a paltry 60 hours – pah!). The battery of the recently tested Razer Barracuda Pro headset, meanwhile, runs out after 40 hours.
The Maxwell comes in two variants. Maxwell for Xbox and PC is officially licensed by Microsoft and comes with the industry’s first auto-activating Dolby Atmos license. Maxwell for PlayStation and PC lacks Atmos (which isn’t a feature of the PS5), supporting PlayStation’s own Tempest 3D Audio instead.
Both versions support Windows, macOS, Android, iOS and Nintendo Switch.
Both also support features such as Game-Chat mixing, gaming presets and personalized multiband equalizer. You can also use the Audeze HQ gaming app to further customize the headsets.
And both are due in January. Maxwell for PlayStation costs £319 / $299 (around AU$445), while Maxwell for Xbox is more expensive at £349 / $349 (AU$520).
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