Over-Ear
Audeze Maxwell 2
88Outstanding
$330
Full review dataAudeze Maxwell 2 vs Edifier ES850NB: which should you buy?
On aggregated review scores the Audeze Maxwell 2 comes out ahead with a HearWiki score of 88. The full breakdown - sub-scores, specs and what reviewers actually said - is below.
Our pick: Audeze Maxwell 2 - Outstanding overall at around $329.
Over-Ear
Edifier ES850NB
79Great
$170
Full review dataScore breakdown
Each axis is a 0–10 blend of what reviewers scored, not a lab measurement.
Edifier ES850NB leads on 4 of 7 measures.
- Audeze Maxwell 2
- Edifier ES850NB
HearWiki score
88
79
Sound
9.5
7.7
Noise cancelling
-
8.1
Battery
9.5
9.7
Calls
9.0
5.8
Value
7.5
7.8
Price (USD)
$330
$170
Generation & platform
The scores rank quality. This is the other question: is the newer one actually newer technology, or the same platform in a new shell?
Mixed generations
Audeze Maxwell 2 (2026) against Edifier ES850NB (2025). Neither is straightforwardly newer: the Audeze Maxwell 2 brings LE Audio (LC3) and ANC type Adaptive against Hybrid, while the Edifier ES850NB answers with Bluetooth 5.4 against 5.3. The Audeze Maxwell 2 answers on convenience features: it adds Custom EQ.
- Maxwell 220261 yr newer
- ES850NB2025
What differsMaxwell 2ES850NB
- Bluetooth
- 5.3
- 5.4
- LE Audio (LC3)
- Yes
- No
- ANC type
- Adaptive
- Hybrid
- Custom EQ
- Yes
- No
Platform
Everyday features
Level on: Top codec, Multipoint pairing, USB-C, Transparency mode, Companion app.
Specifications
Maxwell 2ES850NB
- Type
- Over-Ear
- Over-Ear
- Price (USD)
- $330
- $170
- HearWiki score
- 88
- 79
- Released
- 2026
- 2025
- Availability
- Sold new
- Sold new
- Driver
- 90 mm planar magnetic
- 40 mm dynamic
- Driver type
- planar
- dynamic
- Driver size
- 90 mm
- 40 mm
- Drivers per side
- 1
- 1
- Frequency response
- 10 Hz - 50 kHz
- 20 Hz - 40 kHz
- Impedance
- -
- 32 Ω
- Sensitivity
- -
- 91 dB/mW
- Bluetooth
- 5.3
- 5.4
- Codecs
- SBC, AAC, LC3, LC3plus, LDAC
- SBC, AAC, LDAC
- Multipoint pairing
- Yes
- Yes
- Wireless range
- -
- 10 m
- Battery life
- 80 h
- 92 h
- Battery life (ANC on)
- 35 h
- 53 h
- Full charge time
- 120 min
- 150 min
- Quick charge
- -
- 15 min → 11.5 h
- Wireless charging
- -
- No
- Active noise cancelling
- Yes
- Yes
- ANC type
- adaptive
- hybrid
- Transparency mode
- Yes
- Yes
- Companion app
- Yes
- Yes
- Custom EQ
- Yes
- No
- Wear detection
- No
- -
- Controls
- buttons
- touch
- Voice assistant
- -
- Yes
- Weight
- 560 g
- 265 g
- Water resistance
- -
- none
- Foldable
- -
- Yes
- USB-C
- Yes
- Yes
- Microphones
- 2
- 5
- Call noise reduction
- Yes
- Yes
- Call NR technology
- AI ENC
- AI ENC
What reviewers said
Audeze Maxwell 2
No summary yet - we haven't aggregated enough reviews.
Edifier ES850NB
The Edifier ES850NB is a versatile over-ear wireless headphone with hybrid active noise cancellation, a long-lasting battery, and support for high-quality audio codecs including LDAC. It offers a comfortable fit, touch controls, and multipoint connectivity, making it a solid choice for daily use, travel, and calls. While its default sound tuning may recess vocals slightly, the overall performance and feature set deliver strong value at its price point.
- Pro:Effective hybrid noise cancellation
- Pro:Exceptional battery life of up to 92 hours
- Pro:Supports LDAC, AAC, and SBC codecs
- Con:Default tuning recesses vocals
- Con:Microphone quality is below average
- Con:No custom EQ options
Summaries are AI-condensed and paraphrased from published reviews and specs - not original hands-on testing. More on our method.
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