I test a whole heap of gaming headsets, and have done so for nearly a decade now. I've also worked with a whole load of excellent freelancers who offer brilliantly clear, thoughtful, analytical, and fair takes on the products we test as a collective.
And I've agreed with every single review we've published in my time here at TechRadar Gaming — up until now. While very accurate and full of great advice, especially when the headset launched, I think my writer Phil's (who is one of the best in the business) review of the Audeze Maxwell 2 scored the gaming headset too low with a four-star rating.
I think it's a five-star headset.
Simply put, it is the best-sounding gaming headset I have ever used. After using it for a few months as a daily driver, nothing has come close before or since — even some of my absolute favorites can't hold a candle to it on sheer audio quality, detail, richness, and balance.
As a result, I have been recommending the headset at every opportunity possible. For anyone looking to upgrade their audio and take a step up, no matter your platform, this is absolutely worth the price tag — even at full price.
The whole audio spectrum is served so well by the Maxwell 2's 95mm planar magnetic drivers and design that I have been immersed further into my games, picked up details I didn't realise were there, and been blasted by a full-bodied richness that's just so dang enjoyable.
Further backing this up was my recent visit to Audeze in California, where I got to see the magic, science, and philosophy up close and personal. Hearing the approach that Audeze takes to audio, as well as learning about the planar magnetic tech under the hood, including the patented SLAM technology too, only cemented my newfound opinion on this quality set.
No headset is perfect, of course, and folks will point out that its mic is just OK, or that it's weightier than other headsets — though I think we all have a tendency to be too afraid of heavier headsets, or think that heavy = bad — but the default audio quality, out of the box, is so good that it definitely, absolutely, categorically outweighs all of the potential negatives.
At launch, Phil pointed out the fact that the original Maxwell was still available and this posed a bit of a problem for the Maxwell 2, as it offered also-excellent audio but was much cheaper. However, there are genuine improvements over the Maxwell 1 that the 2 offers (like SLAM), and now, a few months after release, the OG model is harder to find, making the case for going to the Maxwell 2 even stronger.
If you want premium gaming audio, then there is none better on the market right now.
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