Is the Audeze Maxwell 2 worth the upgrade from the Sennheiser HD 490 Pro?
Verdict
Meaningful upgrade
The Audeze Maxwell 2 scores 6.4 points above the Sennheiser HD 490 Pro. That's a real improvement, though not the kind you'd notice on every track. The gains are concentrated in sound (8.6 to 9.5). On paper: active noise cancelling, driver size 38 mm to 90 mm and usb-c. Worth checking: weight goes 260 g to 560 g. One caution: this steps down a line tier (HD 490 Pro to Maxwell 2), and base models usually trade away tier features - check the codec and ANC rows above before trusting the score gap alone. It's also $100 cheaper, which makes this an easy call. Worth doing if you're replacing anyway; harder to justify as a pure upgrade if what you have still works.
What actually changes
Sub-scores both products have, on the same 0-10 scale. Bars extend right for a gain, left for a loss.
- Sound8.69.5
- Value7.47.5
Spec differences
Only where the two genuinely differ - everything they share is omitted.
| Spec | HD 490 Pro | Maxwell 2 | Direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active noise cancelling | No | Yes | |
| Weight | 260 g | 560 g | |
| Driver size | 38 mm | 90 mm | |
| USB-C | No | Yes | |
| Controls | none | buttons | |
| Driver | 38 mm dynamic | 90 mm planar magnetic | |
| Frequency response | 5 Hz - 36.1 kHz | 10 Hz - 50 kHz |
About this verdict
Direction matters here: this page answers "HD 490 Pro to Maxwell 2". The other direction is a separate question with a different answer. Scores blend published review verdicts across over-ear and shift as new reviews land, so a marginal call today may not be one next quarter.