Over-Ear
Audeze Maxwell 2
88Outstanding
$330
Full review dataAudeze Maxwell 2 vs Yamaha YH-L500A: which should you buy?
Specs, scores and condensed review verdicts for the Audeze Maxwell 2 vs Yamaha YH-L500A, side by side. Where a product has no HearWiki score yet, not enough reviews have been aggregated to rate it.
Over-Ear
Yamaha YH-L500A
Not yet scored
$230
Full review dataScore breakdown
Each axis is a 0–10 blend of what reviewers scored, not a lab measurement.
Audeze Maxwell 2 leads on 5 of 6 measures.
- Audeze Maxwell 2
- Yamaha YH-L500A
HearWiki score
88
-
Sound
9.5
-
Battery
9.5
-
Calls
9.0
-
Value
7.5
-
Price (USD)
$330
$230
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 Yamaha YH-L500A (2025). The Audeze Maxwell 2 is the newer platform here: Top codec LC3 against AAC and LE Audio (LC3).
- Maxwell 220261 yr newer
- YH-L500A2025
What differsMaxwell 2YH-L500A
- Top codec
- LC3
- AAC
- LE Audio (LC3)
- Yes
- No
Platform
Level on: Multipoint pairing, Companion app.
Specifications
Maxwell 2YH-L500A
- Type
- Over-Ear
- Over-Ear
- Price (USD)
- $330
- $230
- HearWiki score
- 88
- Not scored
- Released
- 2026
- 2025
- Availability
- Sold new
- Sold new
- Driver
- 90 mm planar magnetic
- 40 mm driver
- Driver type
- planar
- -
- Driver size
- 90 mm
- 40 mm
- Drivers per side
- 1
- -
- Frequency response
- 10 Hz - 50 kHz
- -
- Bluetooth
- 5.3
- -
- Codecs
- SBC, AAC, LC3, LC3plus, LDAC
- SBC, AAC
- Multipoint pairing
- Yes
- Yes
- Battery life
- 80 h
- 20 h
- Battery life (ANC on)
- 35 h
- -
- Full charge time
- 120 min
- 120 min
- Active noise cancelling
- Yes
- -
- ANC type
- adaptive
- -
- Transparency mode
- Yes
- -
- Companion app
- Yes
- Yes
- Custom EQ
- Yes
- -
- Wear detection
- No
- -
- Controls
- buttons
- -
- Voice assistant
- -
- Google Assistant, Siri
- Weight
- 560 g
- 265 g
- USB-C
- Yes
- -
- Microphones
- 2
- -
- Call noise reduction
- Yes
- -
- Call NR technology
- AI ENC
- -
What reviewers said
Audeze Maxwell 2
No summary yet - we haven't aggregated enough reviews.
Yamaha YH-L500A
The Yamaha YH-L500A is a wireless over-ear headphone designed for flexible listening, offering a 40mm driver and roughly 20 hours of battery life. It supports Bluetooth multipoint for seamless device switching and works with voice assistants like Google Assistant and Siri. With its lightweight 265g build and app support, it aims to deliver a comfortable and feature-rich experience.
- Pro:Supports Bluetooth multipoint for easy device switching
- Pro:Lightweight design at 265g for comfort
- Pro:20-hour battery life for extended listening
- Con:Only SBC and AAC codecs listed in specs, despite aptX Adaptive claim
- Con:2-hour charge time is relatively slow
- Con:No mention of active noise cancellation
Summaries are AI-condensed and paraphrased from published reviews and specs - not original hands-on testing. More on our method.
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