I know $300 is a lot of money for most, so many people are expecting a fully rounded product, and that's okay. But everyone needs to realize that every headset has its pros and cons. This headset bridges a gap between a truly audiophile experience and a gaming headset. Unfortunately, it sacrifices some traditional gaming headset features and functionality, along with a well polished and experienced gaming headset software/firmware experience.I'm okay with that, as it allows me to put on one headset for critical music listening, gaming, and phone connectivity. Some people won't, maybe if gaming is your main focus, or if the sound isn't for you. I happen to be a huge fan of planar sound (even though the non-EQ'd sound may sacrifice some areas of a traditional gaming ... MoreI know $300 is a lot of money for most, so many people are expecting a fully rounded product, and that's okay. But everyone needs to realize that every headset has its pros and cons. This headset bridges a gap between a truly audiophile experience and a gaming headset. Unfortunately, it sacrifices some traditional gaming headset features and functionality, along with a well polished and experienced gaming headset software/firmware experience.I'm okay with that, as it allows me to put on one headset for critical music listening, gaming, and phone connectivity. Some people won't, maybe if gaming is your main focus, or if the sound isn't for you. I happen to be a huge fan of planar sound (even though the non-EQ'd sound may sacrifice some areas of a traditional gaming headset), and I find the mic to be fantastic (when not using the AI noise filtering), so the pros outweigh the cons in my use case.

I was one of the initial backers for Audeze's Mobius headset, which was the predecessor to the Penrose, which this now succeeds. I always absolutely adored the sound design, but both the Mobius and the Penrose suffered from one key issue - the materials were plastic and susceptible to breaking, and the distinct way they'd break is something suffered by many across the internet.Enter Maxwell.Maxwell has absolutely phenomenal sound quality and great surrounds, while feeling very durable and premium with a mostly-metal frame, and a somewhat non-standard but adjustable headband. The battery life is insane; I leave it to charge overnight, and after a whole day of using it for work and gaming, it can be sitting happily around the 80% mark. The wireless is extremely ... MoreI was one of the initial backers for Audeze's Mobius headset, which was the predecessor to the Penrose, which this now succeeds. I always absolutely adored the sound design, but both the Mobius and the Penrose suffered from one key issue - the materials were plastic and susceptible to breaking, and the distinct way they'd break is something suffered by many across the internet.Enter Maxwell.Maxwell has absolutely phenomenal sound quality and great surrounds, while feeling very durable and premium with a mostly-metal frame, and a somewhat non-standard but adjustable headband. The battery life is insane; I leave it to charge overnight, and after a whole day of using it for work and gaming, it can be sitting happily around the 80% mark. The wireless is extremely rock-solid if connected via the dongle, with no drop out whatsoever; you can happily walk around the house with it on, while still listening to music and talking to friends - in fact, they often can't even tell when I get up to walk around or otherwise, thanks to the above and the incredible microphone with some in-built noise cancelling.Would I recommend them? Absolutely, premium product setting a new standard for gaming headsets. The only thing I'd caution is that the dongle is very picky about what it attaches to - you're going to need a high speed USB(-C) port or else it will complain (or, well, not complain, since it will simply not work...)

The Maxwells for me are awesome. I'm happy I got them. The volume is noticeably lower than that of the Penrose, but it's still loud enough for my liking. The bass is intoxicating but not overpowering. The highs are pleasant and I love it, although you can tell they relatively sound a bit veiled. This is one area where the Penrose headphones seem to excel as they sound brighter, though the highs in the Maxwell are a lot easier in the ears. I believe the better term to describe its highs is smooth. (Update: With the ability to customize EQs being available now, the highs are about where I want them. They sound so much better now.) Overall, the Maxwell headphone is a clear winner in almost every aspect. I hear more details than before, the comfort is excellent, even ... MoreThe Maxwells for me are awesome. I'm happy I got them. The volume is noticeably lower than that of the Penrose, but it's still loud enough for my liking. The bass is intoxicating but not overpowering. The highs are pleasant and I love it, although you can tell they relatively sound a bit veiled. This is one area where the Penrose headphones seem to excel as they sound brighter, though the highs in the Maxwell are a lot easier in the ears. I believe the better term to describe its highs is smooth. (Update: With the ability to customize EQs being available now, the highs are about where I want them. They sound so much better now.) Overall, the Maxwell headphone is a clear winner in almost every aspect. I hear more details than before, the comfort is excellent, even the soundstage appears to be slightly wider. Also love it has LDAC support so I can play music in 990kbps bitrate again.I was pleasantly surprised by how much better the headphones sounded while playing Hogwarts Legacy on my PS5. I noticed a slight improvement in the Tempest surround sound. As I pan my character around, the sound as it pans is more natural. It's like the sound's gradation from right to left and back again is much smoother. Could be a placebo so take it with a grain of salt, but the balance is between the left and right drivers are significantly more even.The controls are very intuitive. I can on the fly change eq depending on the song I play or the mood I'm in. I can finally go back or forward a track. I didn't expect to use this feature often, but I now switch to and fro sidetone mode on the fly since I use it as transparency mode.If I haven't been clear enough, I love this headset. It's my favorite headset/headphone I've ever owned so far