Audeze officially launched the much-anticipated Maxwell 2 ANC wireless headphones, a new reference in active noise cancellation playing well with the consistency of the planar magnetic drivers and the brand’s most advanced platform. The Maxwell 2 ANC remain gaming headphones at the core, while adding a new dimension for entertainment in any environment when connected wired or wireless with any devices, including gaming consoles. A real accomplishment in technology, with the weight associated with having it all.
Audeze officially launched the much-anticipated Maxwell 2 ANC wireless headphones, a new reference in active noise cancellation playing well with the consistency of the planar magnetic drivers and the brand’s most advanced platform. The Maxwell 2 ANC remain gaming headphones at the core, while adding a new dimension for entertainment in any environment when connected wired or wireless with any devices, including gaming consoles. A real accomplishment in technology, with the weight associated with having it all.
Audeze divides its headphones into Audiophile, Professional, and Gaming categories. Taking aside the form factors and the materials, in every of these three categories, we can find the best listening experiences. And while the LCD-S20 headphones offer the best value/performance ratio with Audeze’s latest technology at the time of writing, the Maxwell 2 “Professional Wireless Gaming Headset” are by far the best-selling from the brand, and the most advanced in terms of features, including heightened spatial immersion.
The existing Audeze Maxwell 2 headphones were already an upgrade of what the Californian company calls proudly “the best-performing wireless headset on the market.” At $329.00, the Maxwell 2 already offered Bluetooth with Auracast, LE Audio, LDAC, and AAC support, improved comfort, punchier bass response from the latest Symmetric Linear Acoustic Modulator (SLAM) technology, advanced high-bandwidth microphone processing (needed for gaming), making this model the best planar magnetic headphones for general use – and I would without hesitation add including for music enjoyment, particularly of immersive audio sources.
A quick look at the new Audeze Maxwell 2 ANC, and there’s no doubt that nothing was left to chance. These wireless headphones support up to 24-bit/96kHz high-resolution audio in ultra-low latency with a USB-C wireless dongle or USB-C wired connections. The updated wireless specs include Bluetooth 5.3 with LE Audio, Auracast, LDAC, and AAC, and even LC3plus. When wired, the headphones are the master of digital connectivity via USB-C with dual-audio endpoints and game-chat mix, while there’s also analog wired with a 3.5mm TRRS active connector for those who have a premium DAC.
The over-ear (circumaural), closed-back design remains in line with Audeze’s recent best-selling products, while the Uniforce planar magnetic drivers with Fluxor magnet array, Fazor phase management, and SLAM acoustic management are the company’s best for the 90mm class. And because this is a product that evolves on the legacy of the original Maxwell and Maxwell 2 headphones, compatible with the Dolby Atmos Renderer for professional mixing and the most extensive support for spatial audio in the category – in this case enhanced with dual balanced 1.4W amplifiers for professional-grade sound quality and 35dB of noise reduction – the Maxwell 2 ANC are truly outstanding.
Yes, the CRBN2 electrostatic headphones (or the LCD-5s) might be Audeze’s flagship in terms of quality, but at $5,995.00, they would need a lot more to compete with the Maxwell 2 that also feature highly-consistent studio-quality SLAM planar drivers, even before we mentioned the wired/wireless aspect of each product, and the amazing Audeze App redesigned for the Maxwell 2. The unfortunate price to pay? The Maxwell 2 has a lot of electronics to support all the features, resulting in 560g weighing on top of our heads – 80g more than the CRBN2!
Sankar Thiagasamudram, founder & CEO at Audeze, is holding a Maxwell 2 ANC prototype shown at NAMM 2026.
Aware that the Maxwell 2 had strong appeal for much more than gaming, and featured a platform that enabled advanced processing, Audeze equipped its most popular and versatile headphones with industry-leading active noise cancellation to allow the vividly immersive sound experiences to be enjoyed in any situation or environment. The development of the Maxwell 2 ANC was hardly kept in secret, and the company offered demonstrations of its performance at trade shows, comparing both the noise cancellation and the transparency modes with the leading ANC headphones in the market from Apple, Sony, and Bose.
And that’s precisely one of the most intriguing aspects of the Maxwell 2 ANC: the combination of Audeze’s most consistent planar drivers with aviation-grade ANC technology. While gamers will likely continue to focus on the realistic spatial audio experience and advanced head tracking in combination with Embody’s Immerse Gaming Hive 360-degree spatial audio software and Dolby Atmos Renderer technologies, the Maxwell 2 ANC are now one of the top-performing ANC headphones in the market. But who are the Maxwell 2 ANC for?
The new Maxwell 2 ANC are not exactly something that we would recommend for watching movies during long flights. With over half a kilogram over anyone’s head, after just one movie, the 254 grams of the Sony WH-1000XM6 headphones should feel like a head massage made by an angel.
The Maxwell 2 users, and those who were still considering the Maxwell 2 as an upgrade or a new acquisition, are the most likely candidates to buy the new Maxwell 2 ANC. After all, these are the first planar headphones featuring an advanced mode that adds active and adaptive noise cancellation and enhanced smart audio capabilities. And this adaptive hybrid noise cancellation was also engineered specifically for gamers, as Audeze explains.
“The system combines feedforward and feedback noise reduction with low-latency transparency, reducing external distractions while preserving positional audio accuracy. Internal test benchmarks show class-leading reduction in constant low-frequency noise — significantly outperforming typical consumer ANC headphones during gameplay,” Audeze states in the announcement.
And thanks to its advanced platform, the Maxwell 2 ANC headphones also support AI-controlled ANC parameters, voice-activated commands, improved transparency mode, and simultaneous wired + Bluetooth audio. Enhancements that, paired with the full planar-magnetic driver system and SLAM technology, “justify its premium positioning as the most technologically advanced gaming headset Audeze has ever produced,” as Audeze puts it.
Of course, the quality allows a gaming advantage in pinpoint accuracy, detail, and clarity that gamers require. And in that regard, Audeze ensures versatile connectivity to connect seamlessly to any PC, console, and mobile devices – with dedicated Maxwell 2 ANC models available for PlayStation ($429) and for Xbox ($449), and the ability to apply fun, interchangeable, limited-edition ReSkin magnetic side plates for the earcups. All models support Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, and Nintendo Switch.
We mentioned Embody’s Immerse Gaming Hive technology, and the company is also announcing the launch of Hive 2.0 alongside the new Maxwell 2 ANC “headset.” This personalized audio technology is now updated with native head-tracking support for the Maxwell 2 ANC (no webcam required, 45 new personalized headphone profiles, full 24-bit and 32-bit audio support, and much more. Immerse Gaming Hive is a 360-degree spatial audio software created by Embody that allows users to personalize their audio experience with personalized HRTFs.
At the asking price, there’s nothing even close with so much technology, features… and weight.
www.audeze.com
