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- Table of Contents
- Top
- Main Differences
- Sound
- Design
- Isolation
- Microphone
- Active Features
- Connectivity
- Comments
SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro vs Audeze Maxwell Wireless
Side-by-Side Comparison
Products
SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro
Audeze Maxwell Wireless
Tested using Methodology v1.8
Updated Jan 21, 2025 08:21 PM
SEE PRICE
Amazon.comTested using Methodology v2.0
Updated Apr 17, 2025 08:11 PM
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
TypeOver-ear
Noise CancellingNo
EnclosureClosed-Back
WirelessNo
TransducerDynamic
MicYes
TypeOver-Ear
Noise CancellingNo
EnclosureClosed-Back
Bass AmountSlightly Emphasized (2 dB)
WirelessYes
TransducerPlanar Magnetic
Treble AmountBalanced (-1 dB)
MicYes
Sound SignatureWarm
Variants
- Arctis Nova Pro (Black)
- Arctis Nova Pro for Xbox (Black)
- Maxwell for PlayStation (Dark Gray)
- Maxwell for Xbox (Dark Gray)
Our Verdict
SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro
Audeze Maxwell Wireless
The Audeze Maxwell Wireless are better than the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro. The Audeze are wireless gaming headphones with a better build quality. They come with a boom mic for gaming and an integrated mic for more casual situations. Their mic has better noise handling for when you're gaming in noisy environments, and they support Bluetooth as well as non-Bluetooth wireless connections. They deliver audio more consistently. On the other hand, the SteelSeries are wired headphones. They have a more comfortable fit for most people and better mic recording quality. They have a graphic EQ for sound customization, while the Audeze's app only has presets.
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Black
Arctis Nova Pro
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Maxwell for Xbox
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Arctis Nova Pro for Xbox
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Maxwell for PlayStation
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Finding storeMain Differences forNeutral Sound
Neutral Sound
Threshold
Neutral Sound
7.1
Full Comparison
Sound
Sound Profile
Sound Profile
Normalization Frequency
600 Hz
400 Hz
Bass Amount
4.3 dB
Bass Amount
Slightly Emphasized (2 dB)
Treble Amount
-0.2 dB
Treble Amount
Balanced (-1 dB)
Sound Signature
Warm
Frequency Response Consistency
5.3
5.2
Consistency L
Consistency R
Avg. Std. Deviation
1.55 dB
1.68 dB
Raw Frequency Response
Bass Profile: Target Compliance
7.8
9.2
Bass Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
4.7 dB
2.7 dB
Low-Frequency Extension
20 Hz
20 Hz
Low Bass
4.26 dB
1.75 dB
Mid Bass
4.1 dB
2.54 dB
High Bass
4.59 dB
0.69 dB
Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
8.5
9.0
Mid-Range Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
1.51 dB
1.4 dB
Low Mid
-1.44 dB
-1.41 dB
Mid-Mid
0.79 dB
-0.68 dB
High Mid
1.57 dB
0.44 dB
Treble Profile: Target Compliance
5.4
9.8
Treble Profile: Target Compliance
RMS Deviation From Target
4.7 dB
1.69 dB
Low Treble
-2.65 dB
-1.32 dB
Mid Treble
3.08 dB
-0.71 dB
High Treble
-3.76 dB
-2.37 dB
Peaks/Dips
6.8
7.8
Peaks/Dips Graph
Peaks
1.78 dB
1.24 dB
Dips
2.55 dB
1.42 dB
Stereo Mismatch
5.1
Frequency Response Mismatch
Phase Response Mismatch
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
0.29
1.6 dB
Weighted Frequency Response Mismatch
1.39
1.5 dB
Weighted Phase Mismatch
3.37
4.3°
Cumulative Spectral Decay
CSD
PRTF
5.5
6.2
PRTF Accuracy (RMS Deviation)
3.04 dB
3.5 dB
PRTF Size (Avg.)
7.12 dB
4.08 dB
PRTF Distance
13.26 dB
11.08 dB
Openness
4.9
Acoustic Space Excitation
2.5
Harmonic Distortion
8.9
Harmonics Levels
WHD @ 94 dB SPL
0.351
0.10%
WHD @ 104 dB SPL
0.114
0.22%
Electrical Aspects
Impedance
Sensitivity @1kHz-1V
N/A
Bluetooth Max SPL
107.9 dB
Virtual Soundstage
2.0
4.1
Virtual Soundstage
Head Modeling
No
On/Off
Speaker Modeling
On/Off
On/Off
Room Ambience
No
No
Head Tracking
No
No
Virtual Surround
Windows Sonic Spatial Audio
Dolby Atmos
Test Settings
Firmware
2.4.0
1.0.1.74
Power
USB
On
Connection
USB
Wireless (Proprietary)
Codec
PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz
PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz
Test Instrument
Audio Precision APx517B
Audio Precision APx517B
EQ
Default
Audeze
ANC
No ANC
No ANC
Tip/Pad
Default
Default
Microphone
Boom
Boom
Imaging
9.0
Group Delay
Phase Response Mismatch
Weighted Group Delay
0.28
Weighted Phase Mismatch
3.37
4.3°
Weighted Amplitude Mismatch
0.29
1.6 dB
Weighted Frequency Mismatch
1.39
1.5 dB
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
7.7
Weighted Harmonic Distortion
WHD @ 90
0.351
0.10%
WHD @ 100
0.114
0.22%
Design
Style
Design Picture 2
Type
Over-ear
Over-Ear
Enclosure
Closed-Back
Closed-Back
Wireless
No
Yes
Transducer
Dynamic
Planar Magnetic
Comfort
7.5
7.0
Comfort Picture
Weight
0.66 lbs
1.07 lbs
Clamping Force
1 lbs
1.1 lbs
Controls
6.2
7.6
Controls Picture
OS Compatibility
Not OS specific
Not OS specific
Ease Of Use
Good
Good
Feedback
Good
Good
Call/Music Control
No
Yes
Volume Control
Yes
Yes
Microphone Control
Mute/Unmute
Mute/Unmute
Channel Mixing
Yes
Yes
Noise Cancelling Control
No
No
Talk-Through
No
No
Additional Controls
Multi function
Bluetooth + Multi function
Breathability
Breathability After Picture
Avg.Temp.Difference
Portability
6.0
5.3
Portability Picture
L
7.5" (19.0 cm)
10.2" (26.0 cm)
W
6.7" (17.0 cm)
9.1" (23.0 cm)
H
2.0" (5.1 cm)
2.4" (6.0 cm)
Volume
100.51 in³ (1,647.00 cm³)
220.12 in³ (3,607.10 cm³)
Transmitter Required
No
No
Case
5.0
0.0
Case Picture
Type
Pouch
No case
L
N/A
N/A
W
N/A
N/A
H
N/A
N/A
Volume
N/A
N/A
Build Quality
7.5
8.0
Build Quality Picture
Stability
6.5
6.0
Stability Picture
Headshots 1
Angled Picture
Side Picture
Headshots 2
Front Picture
Rear Picture
Top
Top Picture
In The Box
In The Box Picture
Isolation
Noise Isolation - Full Range
5.1
5.3
Noise Isolation - Full Range Graph
Noise Cancelling
No
No
Overall Attenuation
-12.39 dB
-12.98 dB
Bass
4.08 dB
3.77 dB
Mid
-12.57 dB
-13.49 dB
Treble
-32.16 dB
-32.74 dB
Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios
4.1
4.4
Noise Isolation - Common Scenarios Graph
Airplane Noise Attenuation
-8.64 dB
-9.48 dB
Airplane Noise Isolation Audio
Office Noise Attenuation
-9.21 dB
-9.99 dB
Office Noise Isolation Audio
Street Noise Attenuation
-10.27 dB
-11.12 dB
Street Noise Isolation Audio
Noise Isolation - Voice Handling
Female Voice 1
Male Voice 1
Female Voice 2
Male Voice 2
ANC Wind Handling
ANC Wind Handling Graph
ANC Wind Noise
N/A
N/A
Leakage
7.8
7.4
Leakage Audio
Overall Leakage @ 1ft
34.87 dB
37.39 dB
Microphone
Microphone Style
Integrated
No
Yes
In-Line
No
No
Boom
Yes
Yes
Detachable Boom
No
Yes
Mic
Yes
Yes
Recording Quality
8.5
7.5
Microphone Frequency Response
Recorded Speech
LFE
20 Hz
89.8 Hz
FR Std. Dev.
3.03 dB
3.84 dB
HFE
9,255.5 Hz
6,088.74 Hz
Weighted THD
0.097
0.307
Gain
21.47 dB
-6.85 dB
Noise Handling
7.2
9.0
SpNR
17.52 dB
42.68 dB
Noise Gate
On/Off Toggle
On/Off Toggle
Speech + Pink Noise Handling
7.0
9.0
Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample
Speech + Subway Noise Handling
7.5
9.0
Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample
Active Features
Battery
0.0
9.0
Battery Type
No Battery
Rechargable
Continuous Battery Life
N/A
77.4 hrs
Additional Charges
N/A
0.0
Total Battery Life
N/A
77.4 hrs
Charge Time
N/A
3.2 hrs
Power-Saving Feature
No
Auto-Off Timer
Audio While Charging
No
Yes
Passive Playback
Passive Headphone
No
Charging Port
None
USB-C
App Support
8.5
7.0
App Picture
App Name
Steelseries GG
AudezeHQ
iOS
No
Yes
Android
No
Yes
macOS
Yes
Yes
Windows
Yes
Yes
Equalizer
Parametric + Presets
Graphic + Presets
ANC Control
No
No
Mic Control
Adjustable Level
Adjustable Level
Room Effects
No
No
Playback Control
No
No
Button Mapping
No
No
Surround Support
Yes
No
Connectivity
Wired Connection
9.5
8.3
Cable Picture
Analog Audio
Yes
Yes
USB Audio
USB Type A
USB-C
Detachable
Yes
Yes
Length
5.05 ft (1.54 m)
4.07 ft (1.24 m)
Connector
1/8" TRRRS
1/8" TRS
Latency - Analog
0.2 ms
9.1 ms
Latency - USB
17.4 ms
13.0 ms
Recorded Latency
Recorded Latency Connection
USB
Analog
Bluetooth Connection
0.0
8.9
Bluetooth Version
No Bluetooth
5.3
Multi-Device Pairing
No
2 Devices
Quick Pair (Android)
No
Yes
Quick Pair (iOS)
No
No
Line Of Sight Range
N/A
334.65 ft (102.00 m)
Latency - SBC
N/A
186 ms
Latency - aptX
N/A
N/A
Latency - aptX Adaptive (High Quality)
N/A
N/A
Latency - aptX Adaptive (Low Latency)
N/A
N/A
Latency - LDAC
N/A
236 ms
Recorded Latency
N/A
Recorded Latency Codec
No Bluetooth Audio
SBC
AAC Support
No
Yes
Wireless Connection (Dongle)
0.0
8.0
Line Of Sight Range
N/A
173.88 ft (53.00 m)
Latency - Dongle
N/A
23 ms
Recorded Latency
N/A
PC Compatibility
Analog
Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone
Wired USB
Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone
Non-BT Wireless
No
Audio + Microphone
PlayStation Compatibility
PS4 Analog
Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone
PS4 Wired USB
Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone
PS4 Non-BT Wireless
No
Audio + Microphone
PS5 Analog
Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone
PS5 Wired USB
Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone
PS5 Non-BT Wireless
No
Audio + Microphone
Xbox Compatibility
Xbox One Analog
Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone
Xbox One Wired USB
No
No
Xbox One Non-BT Wireless
No
Audio + Microphone
Xbox Series X|S Analog
Audio + Microphone
Audio + Microphone
Xbox Series X|S Wired USB
No
No
Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless
No
Audio + Microphone
Base/Dock
7.0
3.4
Type
Wired USB dock
Wireless USB Dongle
USB Input
Yes
Yes
Line In
Yes
No
Line Out
Yes
No
Optical Input
No
No
RCA Input
No
No
Dock Charging
No
No
Power Supply
USB-C
USB
Check Price
Black
Arctis Nova Pro
Searching
Finding storeDark Gray
Maxwell for Xbox
Searching
Finding storeBlack
Arctis Nova Pro for Xbox
Searching
Finding storeDark Gray
Maxwell for PlayStation
Searching
Finding store
SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro
Audeze Maxwell Wireless
Comments
SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro vs Audeze Maxwell Wireless: Main Discussion
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