Audeze Maxwell
A planar-magnetic gaming headset with sound quality well above its class, held back by weight and price.
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Buffs
- + Standout, detailed sound from planar magnetic drivers
- + Very long battery life (around 80 hours)
- + Reliable low-latency wireless
Nerfs
- − Heavy for long sessions
- − Expensive relative to typical gaming headsets
- − Player score is Early, based on 3 community sources so far
The verdict
Reviewers agree the Maxwell’s planar magnetic drivers deliver sound quality that regular dynamic-driver gaming headsets can’t match. PC Gamer rates it highest at 93/100, essentially an Editor’s Choice pick, while SoundGuys (7.9/10) and TechRadar (3.5/5) are more measured, both singling out the headset’s weight and its price as the trade-offs for that audio quality.
Owner sentiment lines up with the reviews. SoundGuys’ own reader rating averages 7.5/10, and Best Buy customers rate the Xbox/PC and PlayStation editions 4.5 and 4.4 out of 5 respectively. Across all three, people keep praising the detail and depth of the sound, the build quality and the roughly 80-hour battery life, while the recurring complaints are fatigue from the headset’s heft over long sessions and a microphone that trails the audio quality. With three community sources counted, the Player score is still marked Early.
It’s built for players and listeners who care more about audio quality than weight or price, and who’ll get real use out of the long battery life. It’s a poor fit for anyone who wants the lightest possible headset or is shopping on a budget.
Sources
Each verdict is converted to a 0–100 scale. We link to every source so you can read the full review.
| Pro reviews | Score |
|---|---|
| PC Gamer · 93/100 | 93 |
| SoundGuys · 7.9/10 | 79 |
| TechRadar · 3.5/5 | 70 |
| Community | Score |
|---|---|
| SoundGuys reader rating · 7.5/10 aggregated reader rating; praise: standout sound and battery life; complaints: weight over long sessions | 75 |
| Best Buy (Xbox/PC edition) · 4.5/5 from 48 ratings; praise: audio clarity, long battery life, build quality; complaints: heavy for long sessions, mic quality lags the audio | 90 |
| Best Buy (PS4/PS5 edition) · 4.4/5 from 41 ratings; praise: audio quality, battery life, build; complaints: weight, occasional dongle connectivity hiccups | 88 |