If you spend six hours a day streaming or grinding ranked lobbies, you already know how frustrating the quest for the perfect headset can be. When Audeze dropped the original Maxwell, it instantly gained legendary status among audio nerds and competitive players. But almost every reviewer and streamer had the exact same takeaway: “If only this had active noise cancellation”.
Well, Audeze listened, and they built the Audeze Maxwell 2 ANC!
Priced at $429 for the PlayStation version and $449 for the Xbox model (which includes a built-in Dolby Atmos license), this headset sits squarely in high-end territory. It claims to be the first full-range planar magnetic headset featuring active noise cancellation. But does adding ANC to an already heavy-duty audio setup actually pay off, or did they overcomplicate a good thing? Let’s break down how it actually performs when you’re live on stream or deep in a match.
Sound Performance
Let’s start with what Audeze does best: Pure, unadulterated audio quality. Underneath the hood, the Maxwell 2 ANC packs massive 90-millimeter planar magnetic drivers. To give you some context, those drivers are roughly three times larger than the standard dynamic drivers used in most gaming headsets.
When you boot up a game, the acoustic detail is staggering. Footsteps, distant reloads, and subtle audio cues jump out with extreme clarity. Thanks to Audeze’s SLAM bass management technology, low-frequency impact feels fast and punchy without muddying up the midrange vocals or footsteps. Explosions rumble nicely, but they never drown out team comms.
Out of the box, the tuning feels slightly brighter and more forward than the non-ANC version. If you prefer a warmer, bass-heavy sound profile, you can tweak the 10-band equalizer inside the redesigned Audeze app.
For spatial audio, Audeze built 6-degree-of-freedom head tracking directly into the hardware. As you turn your head toward a sound source, the spatial field shifts in real time. It works smoothly with Dolby Atmos and Sony Tempest 3D, making positional tracking feel surprisingly natural whether you’re playing extraction shooters or editing video clips.
Silencing the Chaos
Adding active noise cancellation to planar magnetic drivers is a tricky engineering feat. Usually, when you engage ANC on a headset, the noise-canceling signal messes with the underlying frequency response. Audeze managed to solve this problem by using custom acoustic modeling. The tonal balance stays identical whether ANC is turned on or off.
How well does the noise cancellation work in practice? The aviation-grade hybrid ANC system cuts up to 35dB of background noise. It works best against continuous low-frequency hums, like PC case fans, noisy air conditioners, or street traffic outside your window. While it won’t completely eliminate loud background conversations, it drops ambient room noise enough that you don’t need to crank your volume to dangerous levels just to focus.
Outbound voice isolation is equally solid. The detachable boom mic uses FILTER AI noise removal, which separates your voice from environmental background noise. Loud mechanical keyboard clicks, desk bumps, and fan noise simply don’t pass through to Discord.
On the flip side, the transparency mode is somewhat weak. While it lets you hear your surroundings, nearby human speech sounds slightly artificial and distorted. If someone comes into your room to talk, you’re honestly better off just slipping an ear cup off your ear.
The Ergonomic Reality
We have to talk about comfort because there’s no hiding the elephant in the room: this headset is heavy. Tipping the scales at 560 grams, the Maxwell 2 ANC is one of the heaviest wireless gaming headsets on the market.
To keep all that mass from hurting the top of your head, Audeze redesigned the suspension headband. The new leatherette strap is significantly wider, which spreads downward pressure evenly across your head. They also narrowed the internal foam opening of the earpads. This tighter fit creates a firmer acoustic seal and stops the heavy cups from sliding around when you tilt your head.
However, the pleather material traps heat. After three or four hours of continuous wear, your ears will start feeling warm. Adjusting the headband is also cumbersome; you have to pull the stiff leatherette strap off rigid metal pins by hand. Once set, it won’t move, but getting the fit right takes some effort.
Battery life is rated at 35 hours with ANC turned on, or 40 hours with ANC turned off. That is a step down from the 80+ hours offered by the standard non-ANC Maxwell 2, but 35 hours is still plenty for several days of gaming. When you do run low, a quick 20-minute fast charge over USB-C gives you back about 25% battery life.
Daily Quirks
No hardware piece is without flaws, and there are a few quirks you should know about before spending your hard-earned cash. Because the Maxwell 2 ANC uses internal dual 1.4W amplifiers to drive its planar magnetic transducers, there is an audible baseline noise floor, a faint background static or hiss when the unit is powered on.
When game audio, music, or stream commentary is actively playing, the hiss is imperceptible. But during absolute silence or quiet single-player cutscenes, sensitive listeners will notice that low-level white noise.
There are also minor physical quirks. If you walk around while wearing the headset, you might notice a slight rattle caused by a loose mute switch toggle when set to mute. Additionally, pressing down firmly on the earcups while sidetone is enabled can occasionally trigger a momentary high-pitched feedback squeal. These aren’t complete dealbreakers, but at over $400, they are worth keeping in mind.
Connectivity and More
From a connectivity perspective, this headset handles almost everything you throw at it. The included USB-C wireless dongle provides ultra-low latency 2.4GHz audio at 24-bit/96kHz resolution. You also get Bluetooth 5.3 with support for advanced codecs like LDAC, LC3, and LE Audio.
Bluetooth Multipoint works as expected. You can stay connected to your gaming PC or console via the USB dongle while maintaining an active link to your phone, letting you take incoming calls without dropping game audio. If you prefer wired connections, it supports USB-C digital audio with dual game/chat endpoints and an active 3.5mm analog connection.
The companion app, available on Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android, is clean and responsive. You can store up to four custom EQ profiles directly on the headset memory, calibrate head tracking, or adjust sidetone levels without having to register an account or fill out login screens.
Final Verdict
You know what? The Audeze Maxwell 2 ANC isn’t trying to be an all-around crowd-pleaser for everyone. If you want a feather-light headset that disappears on your head, or if you need an 80-hour battery that you only charge once a month, options like the SteelSeries Arctis Nova series might suit your routine better.
However, if sound quality is your highest priority and you want active noise cancellation without compromising acoustic performance, the Maxwell 2 ANC delivers amazing results. The combination of 90mm planar drivers, punchy SLAM bass, AI microphone isolation, and hybrid ANC creates an immersive audio environment for competitive gaming and content creation.
If your neck can handle the 560g weight and your wallet can swallow the $429 price point, this headset offers an audio experience that few competitors can match.
