Audeze Maxwell: My 1-Year Journey, the Rollercoaster of Doubts, and How I Finally Fixed It (Long Post)
Hey everyone,
I wanted to share my experience and journey with the Audeze Maxwell up until today. Maybe it helps someone out, maybe nobody reads it. Who knows?
Ok, let’s go (this text was translated with the help of an AI because my English isn't quite good enough). Thank you for your time, and I hope you get some value out of this.
The Beginning / How I Ended Up Buying It
I used the ASTRO A50 Gen 4 for a very long time, but it was finally time for something new. The battery, the software, and the micro-USB were really starting to annoy me. Perfect timing—the A50X came out. I was hyped. Then came the flashbacks of "HDMI 2.1 or nothing" and dealing with the trash cables from the Gen 4 that went out of style. I noped out of that real quick.
To cut a long story short: A50X is cool, but the HDMI situation is garbage. Then I tried the Logitech G Pro X 2—cool, but I don't know (the software is super moody, that's a fact!!). And so on.
Eventually, I landed on the Maxwell just as the hype train was leaving the station.
First impression: Very nice.
Second impression: Heavy.
Third impression: Negative experiences (we’ll get to that in a bit).
From the Start to the Repair
Yeah, I really liked it at first. Spoiler alert: it’s still here and it’s currently my main headset because... well, more on that later.
The sound was something else entirely, a whole new world. I loved that premium feel on my head. I’m not a hardcore audiophile or anything—I’m a gamer. Story games are my absolute love, but I also get addicted to Arc Raiders occasionally, I'm an Overwatch veteran (😂 at least that’s what I tell myself), and I play pretty much whatever else is out there. But 90% of the time, I’m sitting there playing single-player story games. Name one, and I’ve probably played it. So, I thought I had found the perfect tool for the job.
The first downer was Windows being a pain and randomly making the headset sound quieter than it actually is. Then midsummer hit, and you sweat so much you basically build a swimming pool inside the ear cups. Yes, they were full of moisture. It happens, and you can literally hear the water crinkling on the planar membranes. They can break from that. That’s when the doubts started.
I tried a few ear pads and I highly recommend staying away from Wicked Cushions (WC) Freeze pads. They are incredibly stiff, the cooling effect lasts for maybe 5 minutes, and they put this weird pressure on my jaw that just felt uncomfortable. Trash. I recently tested them briefly on my SteelSeries Nova Pro Wireless—same thing, I honestly don't get why people buy them, but whatever.
After all that, the fear of "crinkled membranes" crept in. Reddit is absolutely no help here because you read about it on every single corner. The truth is: Are they indestructible? No. Do I dare to say mine are perfect after a whole year? No, because I feel like the moment I do, they’ll break.
Now, let's talk about the headband. I’ll say it like it is: The stock leather band is absolute ass. On the revised Maxwell versions they made it wider, but you don't need a heavy 30g band on a 500g device—every gram counts. Because of the lack of comfort, I got an aftermarket one back then and had to DIY it, punching the holes myself. It was better, but not perfect. It broke quickly, but nobody needs to worry about that anymore. I will mention the Holy Grail in a moment, and nowadays there are plenty of alternatives (just for info, I'm located in the EU/Germany).
So, I went through a long phase of being satisfied, having doubts, being unsatisfied, over and over again. :/ It sucked. I even requested a return but just couldn't bring myself to part with it. I scoured the internet and just got a massive headache.
Then I bought the Dekoni Midnight Full Suede pads. Short story short: 8/10, totally worth it, super comfortable, good thickness, but they do get warm because of the synthetic leather. Got them for free through some circumstances anyway, so easy choice.
Basically, I spent months dealing with a mix of incredible sound but terrible comfort—sometimes good, sometimes "mid" (and mid is already trash when you pay this much).
Then came the point where I had to send it in for repair. The leather band was disintegrating and the screws on the housing bracket were coming loose. Super annoying. I sent it in and ordered the SteelSeries Nova Pro Wireless, secretly hoping for a refund because of my mixed feelings. The SteelSeries convinced me at first. It gave me what the Maxwell couldn't—but what the Maxwell gave me, the SteelSeries could never replicate.
Then I got the Maxwell back from repair... and it was still defective. Sent it right back and pushed for a refund. Luckily, the shop stepped up, actually fixed the minor defects properly, and I got it back. At that point, I wanted to sell it because I was in love with the SteelSeries. The Maxwell just sat there. The SS did its job, but the stock SS pads are cool for maybe 3 months before they are completely worn out. (Man, I'm writing a chaotic wall of text here 😂 I hope you can still follow my train of thought).
Anyway, I put the Maxwell on eBay (I hate eBay). Got some inquiries but never closed a deal. Meanwhile, I started noticing what the SteelSeries was lacking. I won't go into detail here because this post is already long enough. Long story short regarding the SS: Great headset, an all-rounder, but a master of none. Still a recommendation if you don't already have a Maxwell at home.
I’ll also be honest: seeing new headset releases like the updated Maxwells, the SteelSeries Elite, the Omni, etc., made me super insecure. But I decided to give the Maxwell one final chance because there are so many mods out there now.
And now, let’s talk about the cheat code that is absolutely carrying my experience right now:
1 Buy the Capra Headband. The guy who makes these is a literal wizard, like Harry Potter. Seriously, it is so good, it feels like a cheat code. That’s the one.
2 Pair it with WC StealthZ pads. Nice fabric material, gives you space and incredible comfort. This is it for me right now. It honestly feels like I have a Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro X on my head (had those briefly too—very nice, but compromises in other areas, not the point right now). It is so comfortable and feels completely different to wear. The premium heft remains, but instead of feeling like a premium dumbbell, it feels like a nice couch for your ears. I’m genuinely convinced.
Conclusion
As you can tell, I’m an overthinker and super indecisive, and the Maxwell is not an easy headset to deal with. That’s why I’m writing this. I was searching, I was so unsure, but I kept landing back on Audeze. There are alternatives, especially depending on your use case. But now, I think I’ve cracked it.
Get yourselves the Capra Band and some cool pads (cool as in comfortable—just please no WC Freeze or low-quality Defean pads). Get the StealthZ and adjust them via EQ (just search YouTube for the profile by Gadgetry Tech) or get some Dekonis. They are all great. But most importantly: The Capra Band is a absolute must. Forget pilot pads or other DIY stuff. Capra Band!!! That is the Holy Grail, escaping the Matrix, Gondor calling for aid.
So, you’ve just read a completely chaotic and unnecessarily long text. But I wanted to share my experience, and most of it has been awesome. It's just that Reddit and other forums can drive you crazy with all the negative reviews. Is the headset flawless out of the box? No. Is it for everyone? No, but what product is?
I’ve been on a massive journey with this thing, but it feels like I can finally "retire" and just enjoy it. I really hope I could help some of you avoid the mistakes I made. Buy it, buy the newer version if you feel like it, whatever. I’m just a consumer who wants to have fun with the stuff he buys. I’m not someone who does measurements or usually writes 90,000-character Reddit posts. But well... 🫤
That’s the end of it. If you have questions, shoot, I’ll try my best to help. But keep in mind I don't know everything better—I just have experience, not expert wisdom.