[CodenameBK201]

My Maxwell review.

(Warning: Not for fanboys)

I mean--respectfully--I acknowledge that your impressions were legitimate for you. Weight's kind of a subjective thing (I have a pair of LCD-XCs I wear regularly that haven't been uncomfortable for me, but YMMV and all that), but I guess what I'm confused on is: what exactly were you listening to on these? Dolby sound tests? Youtube test tone tracks? You've got a 5 minute long review of a gaming headset critiquing things like soundstage, positioning, stereo vs dsp with neither a single game listed nor even a competitor gaming headset listed for comparison. Frequency measurements are great and all, but they don't tell me much about how good spatial awareness was in, say, Halo Infinite on the Maxwell as opposed to, for example, the Razer Kaira. For that matter, are you using windows sonic as a codec? Dolby atmos?

I'm not a "fanboy" by any means (although, hey, if Audeze wanted to sponsor me, I wouldn't object--childcare is expensive AF and seriously cutting into my gear budget), but--and I say this with no offense intended and zero umbrage--without knowing any of the above, there's only so much information I can gleam from your review. I get that you didn't like them, sure, but more context would help me to better understand why so as to decide if your deal-breakers align with mine or not. Hope that makes sense.

 

[GREQ]

: what exactly were you listening to on these?

I used these without any DSP enhancements. Basically just a stereo headphones.
I tested them with a variety of music genres and mostly tested with FPS games.

For context I have always hated the spatial software enhancements from so-called 'gaming headsets' and I have no intention of reviewing those, as the stereo output from the game engine has always been far superior.
For context, I used to work in the video game industry, and had access to many different gaming headsets.

At some point, after owning literally over 400 various headphones, I don't care about making comparisons.
I don't want to make a 'product review' channel either.

My review is purely about the stereo sound quality as I hear it and is directly aimed at those who only care about the 'headphone' experience, and not 'products'.

There are enough of those reviewers out there already, and the main focus of my channel will be light reviews of vintage headphones.

It's just a different point of view that will make more sense once I have 50 or so videos out.

Hope that clears things up a bit.

 

[CodenameBK201]

I used these without any DSP enhancements. Basically just a stereo headphones.
I tested them with a variety of music genres and mostly tested with FPS games.

For context I have always hated the spatial software enhancements from so-called 'gaming headsets' and I have no intention of reviewing those, as the stereo output from the game engine has always been far superior.
For context, I used to work in the video game industry, and had access to many different gaming headsets.

At some point, after owning literally over 400 various headphones, I don't care about making comparisons.
I don't want to make a 'product review' channel either.

My review is purely about the stereo sound quality as I hear it and is directly aimed at those who only care about the 'headphone' experience, and not 'products'.

There are enough of those reviewers out there already, and the main focus of my channel will be light reviews of vintage headphones.

It's just a different point of view that will make more sense once I have 50 or so videos out.

Hope that clears things up a bit.

I mean, hey, not liking this or that or posting details about any of what you tested, all that is your prerogative. But I can say as a gamer and consumer literally none of that informs me, and it's harder for me to take your opinions at face value. If your channel focuses on vintage headphones, you do you, but I don't really have a sense of a review here for the Maxwells other than that it wasn't for you. And if the logic is "other reviews can provide that", well, again, that's your right--but I'd sooner like, subscribe, and look to them for impressions instead. Again, zero offense intended. Just my honest impressions as a viewer.

 

[GREQ]

I mean, hey, not liking this or that or posting details about any of what you tested, all that is your prerogative. But I can say as a gamer and consumer literally none of that informs me, and it's harder for me to take your opinions at face value. If your channel focuses on vintage headphones, you do you, but I don't really have a sense of a review here for the Maxwells other than that it wasn't for you. And if the logic is "other reviews can provide that", well, again, that's your right--but I'd sooner like, subscribe, and look to them for impressions instead. Again, zero offense intended. Just my honest impressions as a viewer.

Its fine if you're not the target audience. No offence taken.

I just want to cut through all the marketing fluff and get to the points that are important to me.

 

[royiko]

Get a question. I am using Roon to play music on Maxwell through USB dongle in PC. However, it always says "Device in Use" and can't play the music. It even can't work after I close the exclusive mode in Roon. Any fix on this issue?

 

[Giangi]

Where could I buy them at a reasonable price in EU? Thanks a lot

 

[tyk103]

I’m not a big guy, but people complaining about the weight of these make me question their upper thoracic posture (crane neck) vs. people that have good posture and their ears are in line with their shoulders.

Reference: I’ve been through a lot of sports physical therapy and have a lot of knowledge on biomechanics.

 

[Giangi]

I’m not a big guy, but people complaining about the weight of these make me question their upper thoracic posture (crane neck) vs. people that have good posture and their ears are in line with their shoulders.

Reference: I’ve been through a lot of sports physical therapy and have a lot of a lot of knowledge on biomechanics.

Or maybe they never had an Audeze

 

[tyk103]

Or maybe they never had an Audeze

These were my first pair of Audeze but prior to the Maxwells, my heaviest headphones were the ZMF Atriums and I never noticed the weight of it.

My sports physical therapist once said that bad posture can make anything feel heavy if you don’t spread the load (i.e.) hunchbacks vs. backpacks, crane neck vs. headphones. The weight of those headphones are sitting on the base of your skull/top of your spine rather than spreading the weight out down your main neck and across your shoulders. Your skull is heavy (think 15+ lbs) and adding 500g+ on top of it is the least of your problems.

For reference, I‘m 5’9” and around 148lbs, but I have good posture according to my sports therapist and I don’t feel the weight at all.

 

[Giangi]

These were my first pair of Audeze but prior to the Maxwells, my heaviest headphones were the ZMF Atriums and I never noticed the weight of it.

My sports physical therapist once said that bad posture can make anything feel heavy if you don’t spread the load (i.e.) hunchbacks vs. backpacks, crane neck vs. headphones. The weight of those headphones are sitting on the base of your skull/top of your spine rather than spreading the weight out down your main neck and across your shoulders. Your skull is heavy (think 15+ lbs) and adding 500g+ on top of it is the least of your problems.

That's true. If you had postural hypotension, or problems...

 

[tyk103]

That's true. If you had postural hypotension, or problems...

Straight lines are strong. Angles are weak.

 

[CodenameBK201]

Or maybe they never had an Audeze

That's what I'm sort of surprised at. I'd understand the general comparison in weight to other gaming headsets, which tend to be light, all plastic construction affairs, but most of the complaints I've seen tend to be levied in comparison to other headphones. Which, I mean, I get if you're coming from IEMs, but in my experience planar magnetic headphones tend to have a certain heft to them. If nothing else some of it's due to the sheer size of the drivers here.

On a general note, using a Valari gaming pillow massively helped me with my posture. I tend to hunch my shoulders way too much when playing on the couch.

 

[GREQ]

I can wear my Hifiman HE-500 for hours.
Maxwell got annoying after 30 minutes.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Get a question. I am using Roon to play music on Maxwell through USB dongle in PC. However, it always says "Device in Use" and can't play the music. It even can't work after I close the exclusive mode in Roon. Any fix on this issue?

Can't say this is it, but make sure the output is 16bit/48khz, 16/96, 24/48, or 24/96. Maxwell does not accept 44.4khz, or 88.8khz, and you may be outputting one of those.

 

[Giangi]

Could I connect Audeze Maxwell PS version on a TV with the USB dongle?