Over-Ear
Audeze Maxwell 2
88Outstanding
$330
Full review dataAudeze Maxwell 2 vs Sony WH-1000XM5: 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.
Score breakdown
Each axis is a 0–10 blend of what reviewers scored, not a lab measurement.
Audeze Maxwell 2 leads on 4 of 7 measures.
- Audeze Maxwell 2
- Sony WH-1000XM5
HearWiki score
88
82
Sound
9.5
8.5
Noise cancelling
-
8.9
Battery
9.5
8.0
Calls
9.0
8.5
Value
7.5
9.5
Price (USD)
$330
$250
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?
New platform
Audeze Maxwell 2 (2026) against Sony WH-1000XM5 (2022). The Audeze Maxwell 2 is the newer platform here: Bluetooth 5.3 against 5.2 and LE Audio (LC3). The Sony WH-1000XM5 answers on convenience features: it adds Wear detection.
- Maxwell 220264 yr newer
- WH-1000XM52022
What differsMaxwell 2WH-1000XM5
- Bluetooth
- 5.3
- 5.2
- LE Audio (LC3)
- Yes
- No
- Wear detection
- No
- Yes
Platform
Everyday features
Level on: Top codec, ANC type, Multipoint pairing, USB-C, Transparency mode, Custom EQ, Companion app.
Specifications
Maxwell 2WH-1000XM5
- Type
- Over-Ear
- Over-Ear
- Price (USD)
- $330
- $250
- HearWiki score
- 88
- 82
- Released
- 2026
- 2022
- Availability
- Sold new
- Still sold new
- Driver
- 90 mm planar magnetic
- 30 mm dynamic
- Driver type
- planar
- dynamic
- Driver size
- 90 mm
- 30 mm
- Drivers per side
- 1
- 1
- Frequency response
- 10 Hz - 50 kHz
- 4 Hz - 40 kHz
- Impedance
- -
- 48 Ω
- Sensitivity
- -
- 102 dB/mW
- Bluetooth
- 5.3
- 5.2
- Codecs
- SBC, AAC, LC3, LC3plus, LDAC
- SBC, AAC, LDAC
- Multipoint pairing
- Yes
- Yes
- Wireless range
- -
- 10 m
- Battery life
- 80 h
- 40 h
- Battery life (ANC on)
- 35 h
- -
- Full charge time
- 120 min
- 210 min
- Quick charge
- -
- 3 min → 1 h
- Wireless charging
- -
- No
- Active noise cancelling
- Yes
- Yes
- ANC type
- adaptive
- adaptive
- Transparency mode
- Yes
- Yes
- Companion app
- Yes
- Yes
- Custom EQ
- Yes
- Yes
- Wear detection
- No
- Yes
- Controls
- buttons
- touch
- Voice assistant
- -
- Alexa, Google Assistant
- Weight
- 560 g
- 250 g
- Water resistance
- -
- none
- Foldable
- -
- No
- Detachable cable
- -
- Yes
- USB-C
- Yes
- Yes
- Microphones
- 2
- 8
- Call noise reduction
- Yes
- -
- Call NR technology
- AI ENC
- -
What reviewers said
Audeze Maxwell 2
No summary yet - we haven't aggregated enough reviews.
Sony WH-1000XM5
The Sony WH-1000XM5 is a premium wireless over-ear headphone that excels at adaptive noise cancellation and offers a broad frequency range with high-resolution LDAC support. It delivers up to 40 hours of playback on a single charge, while its 250-gram build keeps it comfortable for extended listening sessions. Touch controls and multipoint connectivity add to its versatile, modern feature set.
- Pro:Excellent adaptive noise cancellation
- Pro:Long 40-hour battery life
- Pro:Supports high-quality LDAC codec
- Con:Not foldable for easy storage
- Con:No water resistance rating
- Con:No wireless charging support
Summaries are AI-condensed and paraphrased from published reviews and specs - not original hands-on testing. More on our method.
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