The Audeze Maxwell Wireless are better overall headphones than the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless [PC, PS, Xbox]. Of course, a high-power product comes with a little more complication than your standard Plug’n’Play headset, so if you don’t care about advanced features or planar magnetic drivers, plenty of more affordable options exist. It does not come with a carrying case (or even a protective cloth bag), which is a little disappointing (the large, unblemished earcups make me wary of stuffing it into a backpack unprotected). Design-wise, it’s a departure from Audeze’s previous wireless gaming headsets, the Penrose and the Mobius, which were smaller, lighter, and mainly made of plastic.

That's certainly not a deal-breaker for me, however, all I want the Maxwell to do is sound great over wireless and not run out of battery during my game time. And that curse means I would rather not have to deal with the special hassle of wired headphones even if I know that I'm getting an objectively worse aural experience as a result. Dave has been gaming since the days of Zaxxon and Lady Bug on the Colecovision, and code books for the Commodore Vic 20 (Death Race 2000! While both headphones are similarly comfortable and well-built, the Audeze have a more neutral sound out of the box, which some users may prefer, and have a more robust virtual soundstage feature.

One of the really impressive things is the natural soundscape the drivers deliver even with a closed back operating principle. However, you’ll also be able to use an LE audio connection if your device supports it — giving you another low-latency option should your source support Bluetooth 5. Although these headphones come in either an 'Xbox' or 'PlayStation' variant, both models have the same black design. Different genres of games will put you in situations where hearing certain things is critical to your performance, for example, footsteps in deathmatches or low rumbles in some RPGs. The Maxwell’s default sound profile is tuned for gaming — which makes sense, as it’s a gaming headset — with punchy lows, slightly pulled-back mids, and bright, slightly elevated highs.

It can support the next generation of Bluetooth codecs and meet PC gamers with digital audio decoded within the headset. Although they're light on thump and rumble, the rest of the range is fairly flat and even, ensuring that sound effects like footsteps or weaponry clinking in Bayonetta 3 are clear and present in your gameplay. The substantial ear cups and the relatively firm clamping force applied to your skull mean these headphones will seal reliably.Depending on the connection, it picks up quite a bit of self noise and often sounds fuzzy, especially in the higher mid-ranges. cable, a USB-A to USB-C converter, USB-C RF dongle, a boom mic, and of, course: your gaming headset. The earcup's bottom edge has a mic noise suppression button, a connector for the detachable boom mic, a USB-C port for charging and using the headset in a wired fashion, a 3.

The manufacturer advertises them to last 80 hours at 80dB, and we measured a similar amount, which means you can game multiple days in a row without recharging them. It's certainly a better value bundle than the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro, our previous favourite high-end headset, and a better-sounding one, too. That said, each time you readjust the headband, it leaves behind leathery residue, and there are only three adjustment levels, which can make it harder to get a good fit.We were still able to get our Xbox variant to work with the PS4 and PS5 via analog, non-Bluetooth wireless, and wired USB with full audio and mic compatibility.