[CanOfWormz]

Is there any possibility of the directional sound being improved through firmware? I love this headset but the Stealth Pro had better directional sounds than the Maxwell, if the Maxwell didn't have a better mic and wasn't more comfortable I would be using them still.

Directional/positional sound comes from driver matching and tuning. The more precise the driver matching the more precise the directional sound and aided by the tuning of the headset. I am not sure driver matching can be fixed with firmware as driver matching can vary from unit to unit and should be done at the factory. Also, hardly anyone discusses the mismatch in frequency response between your two ears. Partly because your brain does a great job masking it in real world but in a headphone two channel sound environment it can cause directional sound issues. I look forward to the emergence of commercial audio products that aim to correct this with individual ear tuning EQ.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

It's not just that. No matter how amazing drivers and matching can be, nothing is going to beat a virtual surround HTRF that is custom tuned to match your own ears. We can look into this in the future, but in general, most headsets use a generalized HTRF for virtual surround applications.

You can take a $5 garbage iem, apply a good HTRF virtual surround DSP, and it'll be better than any headphone in existence that is stuck in plain stereo in terms of providing an immediate accurately placed audio cue. Nothing beats having actual localized positional cues. Raw, unprocessed stereo will never give you an audio cue that is supposed to come say... 45 degrees behind you to your right, in that spot. It'll just be some slight deviation from linear right.

Turn off all surround processing on any headphone, play some call of duty, close your eyes, and spin your character around. then have someone near you shoot in the air. Without you opening your eyes, you will not know if the sound is in front of you or behind you (with experience, sure, the sounds are different enough, but it's not the same as with proper virtual surround cues, where the difference is immediate. The sound will be as if it was actually behind you.

While we include Dolby Atmos license for Maxwell Xbox, and Sony utilizes Tempest 3D audio, there are many other surround DSPs out there that may suit your ears more.

Waves 3D
Sennheiser GSX surround
Creative SBX
Creative THX Tru Studio
Dolby Headphone
DTS Headphone X
Windows Sonic, etc, etc.
Beyer Headzone
Darrin Fong's OOYH
Ryan Redetzke's Redscape

Some are PC only, others are included in external devices, etc.

That's how you will get the best location accuracy improvement, over just throwing your money at the best headphone in existence.

I'll take anyone with a $50,000 headphone in raw stereo, with a Maxwell using Atmos, and I'm confident that I'd easily be way more able to tell where something is in a virtual space much quicker than the 50K headphone.

Why, because there's my brain doesn't have to guess if something is behind me or not, the audio is already positioning it there, as opposed to unprocessed stereo.

I can only speak to myself, but I HIGHLY disagree with people that think all you need is some uber stereo headphone and thats it. No. You need good surround audio processing as well.

In terms of Stealth Pros or anything else, it can come down to your own ears, the frequency response difference, etc.

One person will say imaging/soundstage is ok, another will say it's excellent. We all hear differently. Before writing off any headphone and throwing money at another headphone, try other surround processing apps/devices. They may have DSP more suited to your tastes.

Anyways, this is just my own two cents, my opinion, take it as that. I made that argument long before I joined Audeze too. A great headphone will obviously benefit you in other ways like clarity, and enjoyments, but in terms of positional accuracy, the meat and potatoes lies in the surround dsp performance and how well it suits your own ears. For those that say meh, I like stereo. Well good for you. I like people like you, because I can pick you off based on audio a precious few moments long before you will.

 

[xsankar]

Looking at the SteelSeries changelogs, it looks like they lump fixes for all there devices into a software suite update. Not all of their patches have anything to do with audio. Keyboard, mice, and other peripheral patches and updates dominate. Yes there are more frequent updates but most have nothing to do with headset to headset paralleled feature set between Maxwell and the Arctis headsets. This has a lot to do with Maxwell being bare bones in comparison. Audeze is not putting out EQ and lighting effect presets for certain games like the SteelSeries. Maxwell plays audio and has a mic. That's it.

Take for example the AI noise removal and beam forming. When you remove the boom mic, the inbuilt mics take over and AI beam forming kicks in automatically. When using wireless, portions of the board get powered off automatically to preserve battery. Noise gate sliders have been replaced by AI noise filter. Architecturally Maxwell is quite complex. EQ presets are coming and we do not have LEDs.
what we want to actually deliver is features that are much better than any of these existing headsets.

 

[PixelSquish]

I've tried Dolby Atmos playing battlefield 2042 and Apex Legends with the Maxwell and I get better positional sound doing stereo uncompressed and having an EQ that lowers some of the bass, brings out some of the frequencies where footsteps and gunshots land.

I'll have to compare it to DTSX cuz I have that too, but I really wanted to use Atmos But I've gone back and forth like three times now and I'm always better with positional sound with the stereo uncompressed and the right EQ.

 

[krEJZi]

I've tried Dolby Atmos playing battlefield 2042 and Apex Legends with the Maxwell and I get better positional sound doing stereo uncompressed and having an EQ that lowers some of the bass, brings out some of the frequencies where footsteps and gunshots land.

I'll have to compare it to DTSX cuz I have that too, but I really wanted to use Atmos But I've gone back and forth like three times now and I'm always better with positional sound with the stereo uncompressed and the right EQ.

Is there a specific setting for "stereo uncompressed" or is that just normal stereo. Or maybe its some xbox thing (Im on PC)? Also, mind sharing the EQ? Im a BF2042 player aswell.

 

[cloneman]

is Lc3plus (32kHz super wide voice) still vaporware?

 

[pixelcowboy]

What tips do people have to clean and reduce smell on the wicked cushions?

 

[Numbers]

Just got these headphones and when iam using LDAC the EQ preset gets very choppy or laggy is this normal or do i need firmware update .

 

[Vash369]

Just got these headphones and when iam using LDAC the EQ preset gets very choppy or laggy is this normal or do i need firmware update .

It's a known issue with the latest firmware if using custom eq. It should play normally with the presets though. We're waiting for this fix by Audeze .

 

[pixelcowboy]

Just to add to this for me with the aux cable and the factory eqs it is also choppy of using LDAC. Usb-c does work.

 

[RedJohn456]

Apologies if this has been asked but has anyone tried Dekoni nuggets with the audeze headband? both headband notches dont work well for me so I am thinking the Nuggets might help with the comfort!

 

[EarlZ088]

Apologies if this has been asked but has anyone tried Dekoni nuggets with the audeze headband? both headband notches dont work well for me so I am thinking the Nuggets might help with the comfort!

Been wondering this too. With the defualt headband setting (mid holes used)my ear lobes tpuch the bottom part of the ear cups so I have to offser one side with thr furthest hole.

Using the most loose setting feels a little too sharp and uncomfortable, Im not sure how thick or compressable the nuggets are but they mighr resolve this issue.

 

[Jakewss]

Well why is that important though?
They are bigger. They also have lots of more products and features (like Sonar and Moments) that is being worked on. Its not like they have a big team working on one single thing. So you cant really "blame" it on a larger workforce, because they also have a larger workload.

That's my whole point, they made sure they have the workforce to be able to still push the updates within a reasonable time. Audeze does not do that.
Software wise, Audeze barely has anything at all. So the only thing Audeze have to work on is the bug fixes. The size does not matter, what matter is that any given company should have enough people working on their products/services so that things gets done within a reasonable timeline.

Obviously we will give you the time to work on the firmware, its not like we have a choice here (other than returning the product). But that does not change the fact that we already given more than a reasonable timeframe.

This is just me saying, I've waited long enough and I'm letting you know that I'm tired of waiting and its giving me a negativ view of Audeze. My obligation as your customer is done, you can do what you want with that information.

I 1000% agree with you.
If Audeze is such a small team, they need to slow down with the Maxwell and focus on issues and proper fixes. I feel like they have a "scope" issue. I get they're a company and need to make a profit, but when I keep seeing people discuss build and bug issues for months, while Audeze releases things like limited edition Maxwells, I loose trust in the company.
If you're small, stop biting off more than you can chew.

 

[royiko]

Any one here tried ZMF Crescent Strap/Snap? After changing to WC's pads, which is more ventatlated. I think the strap are something really hold me back to use on this heavy headphones now

 

[royiko]

Alright, I got the new WC headband today. And this is my review after installing and using them for about 3 minutes.

Installation:
"Simple Installation: Swap your old headband in minutes with our easy-to-follow instruction manual, no special tools or expertise required."

Well this quote is a big fat lie. I don't see how any "normal" sized human could install this without any tools. The holes are small and require quite some force to a tiny area the first time you install it. I gave up and used a tool and even then it took me 10 minutes and I kind of made some markings on the headband and on my mousepad that I han under (from the pressure). If you're Arnold Schwarzenegger with tiny fingers, then maybe.

Anyway.. Once its in place its fine. I don't really feel any difference, so its mostly aesthetic. That was expected so not a complaint. They seem almost identical to the original ones with small variation in size as you can see in the pictures I provided. The original is placed on top of the WC ones. The holes does seem to line up if I stretch the original out flat like the new one.

Overall I'm happy and the only complain is the installation process which ofc isn't Wicked Cushions fault since its a design by Audeze. I would have probably gone for a better solution for the whole headband for the next headset.

Here is the installation video if someone wanted that:​

EDIT:
I just wanted to give an update on the new WC headband.

So after using the new headband for over a day, I decided to put the old ones back on. The WC headband is made out of "harder" and "stiffer" material so it actually is less comfortable then the default ones which are softer. I didn't think this would be and issue but as it turns out, it is. This is probably affected by my short hair, so if you have thick hair on top, it might be less of an issue.

I would describe the WC headband as being hard plastic. Its less elastics and bendable and the surface is just harder when pressing down my fingers on it. While the original ones are softer, more towards a rubber feeling.

I will try bending and "rolling" the new one and see if it gets any softer.

I also get the WC headband, eh.... I am not sure if I like it. It's very stuff material, I don't feel it's as comfyh as the OG one