Maxwell Mic Sounds Muffled

The Maxwell mic was co-designed with Shure, and offers excellent recording fidelity and clarity. If you feel like your mic isn't performing up to snuff, here are a few troubleshooting steps you can try:

Mic issues can have several causes, so the best first step in any troubleshooting would be to try the mic on multiple chat programs to see if there's a consistent issue or if it's software related. These tests should preferably be on another source device (like your phone if you're normally using it on PC), and, if possible, another connection method (Bluetooth, AUX, wired USB). This helps eliminate the source device itself as the culprit, or confirm that the issue is with the headset if it appears on multiple sources.

If the issue is independent of the connection method used, use the USB wired or USB dongle connection method to help rule out issues like poor Bluetooth connection strength or ground loop issues if using AUX.

Make sure you've installed the latest audio drivers for your system. These can be installed via Windows Update (sometimes as an optional update), or through your device manufacturer's website if you search your model number. If you've built your own PC, your Motherboard (or sound card) manufacturer should have the latest available audio drivers.

Some software can interfere with recording quality if it's running in the background like Xbox Game Bar or Nvidia Shadowplay. These should be disabled before testing. If you use these programs and can isolate the issue to that software, there are a few extra steps you can take:

Discord:

If you're using Discord, make a recording with the following features ON and then one with them OFF: Echo Cancellation, Noise suppression, Advanced Voice activity, Automatic Gain Control.

If you're still having trouble with your mic, we have received some reports that the audio subsystem setting in Discord can cause issues on some systems. You can change the audio subsystem in your voice & video settings (we have had the best success with the "experimental" subsystem, but legacy may also improve the quality).

Xbox Game Bar:

We have received some reports that Xbox Game bar's Echo Cancellation feature can cause some issues on specific setups. Unfortunately this cannot be disabled through Xbox game bar settings, but can be disabled via the Windows Registry Editor:

WARNING: Editing Registry values is an advanced Windows function and can cause system instability if done incorrectly. Proceed at your own risk.

1. Press Windows key + R and type in "regedit". Click okay.

2. From the top bar, copy and paste the following value in the window:

Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\GameDVR

3. Find the value "EchoCancellationEnabled" and double click it. Change the "Value data" field from 1 to 0 and click okay.

4. Restart your PC

Further troubleshooting:

Beyond this, the easiest way to determine mic quality is to record a samples and share them with our support team. Email us at support@audeze.com with recordings following the guidelines below so we can help.

Here are a couple things we'd like to hear in the recording:

1. Cycle between the three noise reduction settings of your Maxwell (low, high, off). Noise reduction settings will block outside noise, but will also change the audio fidelity of your recordings slightly.

2. Physically flip the mic capsule around and speak into the back (the "A" logo side instead of the wire mesh side if you remove the foam pop filter). Speaking into the mic backwards should give you a more muffled sound, as it has a physical mic filter that helps with noise reduction.

If you're using Discord, you can make recordings directly from the app by going to settings > Voice & Video and scrolling to the bottom of that page. Enable the "Diagnostic Audio Recording" setting and try talking with some friends. This function will automatically record the last 5 minutes of audio you speak directly from Discord.

You can then click the "Show Folder" button near the diagnostic audio recording and open the "discord_voice" folder and upload the file called "capture0" (or capture1, capture2, etc. depending on how many recordings you made, we only need 1).

If you're not using Discord, you can record audio samples using a free third party program like OBS or Audacity.