TechRadar Verdict
The OneOdio Studio Max 2s are too bulky and expensive for general music listeners, and don’t sound good enough for professionals. However, the wide range of connection options, including a low-latency wireless transmitter, means they will carve out a special and useful niche for users who need a wireless jack-of-all-trades.
Benefits
- +
Long battery life
- +
Comes with carrying case and cables
- +
Useful wireless transmitter
Disadvantages
- –
Bulky construction
- –
Poor audio quality
- –
Price too high for non-professionals
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OneOdio Studio Max 2: two-minute review
Despite the number in the name, I began to view the OneOdio Studio Max 2 as more of a “pro” version of the originals rather than a brand new pair of headphones. I’ve been testing them for several weeks and the experience doesn’t seem to change dramatically (even if the price does).
The originals they are based on were released in early 2025, and after completing my review I found myself using them daily. They’re always plugged into my guitar amp or keyboard when I want to practice musically; a few select features made them particularly convenient for making music.
The OneOdio Studio Max 2s are, for the most part, a very similar proposition. They’re not so much designed for audiophiles as they are for DJs, studio musicians, and other music creators, but they’re consumer-oriented enough not to. just for the workshop. If you are a musician or amateur music producer and want cans for the task at hand but also for general use, you are the target audience.
Like their predecessors, however, I wouldn’t highly recommend them for general use. They’re big and thick, so I felt awkward wearing them in public, and the fit wasn’t reliable, so they shook when I walked. Additionally, the audio quality is quite poor and you won’t get noise cancellation. There’s a reason the old pair remained attached to my instruments.
This seems like a deluge of reviews, and strange considering the rating above, but Studio Max justifies itself with its tools aimed at professionals or music creators.
These puppies connect to other devices four ways: There’s both a 3.5mm jack and a 6.35mm jack, so you have more cable versatility than most other cans. Sure, you have Bluetooth, but there’s also an audio transmitter included in the box that can connect to any analog source.
With the transmitter, you can get 9ms latency between the headphones and the audio source. This is why OneOdio is a great DJ headset: with no transmission delay, you won’t miss your bass drop signal. OneOdio is not the only brand to offer this feature, but more importantly, its headphones are the cheapest to do so.
The upgrades to this transmitter are also the major upgrades over the original Studio Max. The latency has been halved from 20ms and the bit rate has been increased, but the transmission distance has been halved to 10m. Given that the price has increased, this upgrade might not be tempting for many buyers of the original.
For music producers or artists, the foldable form factor is appreciated, as is the huge battery life of 120 hours via Bluetooth (and battery life when using the transmitter has been doubled to 50 hours in this model). I can see this being particularly useful for touring musicians for this reason, who can’t bill regularly – although IEMs will always reign supreme for this.
More than most headphones I review, the OneOdio Studio Max 2 are situational and niche. I wouldn’t recommend them to people in the market for the best headphones for general use, nor would I suggest professionals buy them over a purpose-built studio kit.
But there is a little overlap in the Venn diagram between these groups, in which cans may find grateful buyers. That includes me, as a dedicated user of the original model – but check the price of the original OneOdio Studio Max 1 before buying, because if it gets a price cut it could be the better buy.
OneOdio Studio Max 2 review: Price and release date
- Released in May 2026
- They sell for $189 / £179 (around AU$360)
- Comes with carrying case as well as cables and transmitter
The OneOdio Studio Max 2 were unveiled on May 11, 2026, one year and three months after the release of their predecessors.
The official price for the Studio Max 2 is $189 / £179 (around AU$360, but they don’t appear to have received an Australian release at the time of writing).
In the box you receive the headset, transmitter, various cables (charges of cables) and a practical carrying case. It’s the complete package, and I never felt the need to rummage through my drawers looking for more yarn.
For context, the original Studio Max was released for $169 / £135 / AU$275, so there’s been a price hike here, which varies significantly by region.
OneOdio Studio Max 2 review: Specifications
Drag to scroll horizontally
|
Drivers |
45mm |
|
Active noise cancellation |
No |
|
Battery life |
120 hours |
|
Weight |
353g |
|
Connectivity |
Bluetooth 6.0 Transmitter, 3.5mm, 6.35mm, 2.4GHz |
|
Frequency response |
20Hz to 40kHz |
|
Waterproofing |
N / A |
OneOdio Studio Max 2 review: features
- No noise cancellation and basic phone app
- Massive 120 hour battery via Bluetooth
- Many connection options, including a low-latency transmitter
Let’s talk about the elephant in the room, or lack thereof: There are some features missing here, which some music listeners might miss. There’s no active noise cancellation, for example, and the app is pretty simple. It has three EQ presets (normal, monitoring and bass) and a 10-band custom mode, plus a few extras such as wear reminders, volume limiters and a way to shift sound to the left or right earcup only.
What you get is pretty awesome. Take the battery life: 120 hours equals five consecutive days of music listening. No, not five hours. Five days. This figure matches the original pair, and I can’t name another option that lasts this long.
Another key feature is the range of connection options. Naturally, you can connect them via their 3.5mm port, or the 6.35mm jack so they can easily connect to a professional audio kit. The Studio Max 2 supports Bluetooth 6.0, allowing for a more reliable wireless connection than the older pair.
But perhaps the biggest selling point here is the transmitter, which is included in the box. Using OneOdio’s RapidWill+ 3.0 technology, this transmitter allows you to reduce the response time between your source and the Studio Max 2 to just 9 ms. It uses 2.4GHz connectivity and all you have to do is plug it into your output device and your headphones can pick it up.
All the cables you need are included in the box, so it’s a plug-and-play style situation. The transmitter needs to be charged via USB-C and lasts 50 hours per charge.
- Features rating: 4/5
OneOdio Studio Max 2 review: Sound quality
- Uses 45mm drivers
- The music is muffled and tinny
- EQ does not help solve problems
OneOdio has used a 45mm driver in each Studio Max 2 cup, and the headphones are certified for Hi-Res Audio and Hi-Res Audio Wireless, with LDAC compatibility as well. Unfortunately, this isn’t quite the recipe for success that it would first appear to be.
The Max 2 sounds muddy and muffled, with rumbling, poorly defined bass stomping over the lines of a song. Any semblance of a soundstage is forgotten, instead presenting your music as an amorphous rock of sound.
Glorious by The Hoosiers comes across as a confusing mush of synths, and the bass of Charlie Mars She won’t come back oscillates between drowning out everything else and being inaudible.
They also sound thinner than anything else at this price point, with noticeably compressed hi-hats and distorted guitars that really shouldn’t be distorted. I usually list a song here as an example, but you can basically insert any song that has instruments here.
Usually I turn to an EQ to try and solve problems like this, but you have three options: By default, a Bass mode (i.e. not will fix the problem), a custom EQ and monitoring mode. The latter two both gave a crisper edge to the music, so I stayed away.
It’s worth noting that the criticisms I’ve made here I’ve also leveled at the Studio Max 1. From what I can tell, the sound hasn’t changed much.
- Sound quality: 2.5/5
OneOdio Studio Max 2 review: Design
- Industrial appearance
- Rotating cups and foldable arms
- Lots of ports and dials
Don’t buy the Studio Max 2 if you’re looking for svelte, lightweight, or fashionable over-ear headphones. They are large and bulky, with a fairly industrial design. You’ve seen the pictures, you know what they look like, and I felt embarrassed wearing them outside the house.
The cups and headband are quite soft, but they weren’t very comfortable to wear, perhaps because of their 353g weight. At least they are able to adapt to different head shapes, thanks to their versatility: the cups rotate around different angles. This also makes them easily foldable for bags and convenient to form for reviewing photos.
However, and probably due to a natural side effect of pruning, they did not stay in place reliably. If I walked they would sway a bit, and I imagine they will wobble if you are an active DJ enjoying your own set.
Each Studio Max 2 mug is adorned with a range of buttons and ports. The left cup has a 6.35mm port, while on the right you get volume up, volume down and power buttons, a 3.5mm jack, a slider to switch between Bluetooth and ultra-low latency, and a USB-C port for charging as well.
Two things to emphasize that the images do not convey. First, these things creak a little; I’m used to this being a symptom of cheap plastic used in the design, but that doesn’t seem to be the case here. I think the many moving parts are to blame. Second, the backs of the cups are grooved to look like vinyl records; a neat touch, but if my previous pair is any indication, they can be huge dust magnets.
- Design rating: 3/5
OneOdio Studio Max 2 review: Value
- Too expensive to be consumer cans
- Good value for money if you need a transmitter
If you consider the OneOdio Studio Max 2 a user-friendly headset, it’s hard to argue that it gives you good value for money. There are great cans for music fans at a third of the price – from OneOdio itself, as well as other brands.
This is also true if you’re looking for general studio headphones, for that matter.
What you pay for is the transmitter, which lets you stream low-latency music wirelessly from any source, including instruments. If you need a gadget like this, the Studio Max 2 beats out its competition. Otherwise, these are not the boxes for you.
- Value: 3.5/5
Should I buy the OneOdio Studio Max 2?
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|
Attributes |
Remarks |
Note |
|---|---|---|
|
Characteristics |
The app may be simple, but the fantastic battery life and helpful connection modes are a winner. |
4/5 |
|
Sound quality |
Don’t buy these if you want good sounding headphones. |
2.5/5 |
|
Design |
It’s not a look that will appeal to many, and it’s not very comfortable, but at least it’s versatile. |
3/5 |
|
Value |
The affordable transmitter makes it good value for money (if that’s a feature you need). |
3.5/5 |
Buy them if…
Drag to scroll horizontally
| Header Cell – Column 0 |
OneOdio Studio Max2 |
AIAIAI TMA-2 |
AlphaTheta HDJ-F10 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Drivers |
45mm |
40mm |
40mm |
|
Active noise cancellation |
No |
No |
Yes |
|
Battery life (ANC on) |
120 hours |
40 hours |
30 hours |
|
Weight |
353g |
217g |
356g |
|
Connectivity |
Bluetooth 6.0 |
Bluetooth5.3 |
Bluetooth 5.2 |
|
Waterproofing |
N / A |
N / A |
N / A |
- Tested for a month
- Tested with PC, guitar amp, synthesizer, smartphone
- Used all connection options
I used the OneOdio Studio Max 2 for about a month before writing this review.
During the testing process, they were connected to a wide variety of devices, including my guitar amp, keyboard, PC, and smartphone. Throughout this table, I have used all possible connection options.
Most of the testing was done for music playback, but I also used it for a variety of other tasks, including audio mixing, video editing, playing my own music, and, for one weekend, recording audio with a field recorder and boom mic.
I’ve been reviewing gadgets for TechRadar since early 2019 and have tested many audio products, including the original Studio Max 1 (the number is in the name, I didn’t add it!).
- First revision in May 2026
- Read TechRadar Reviews Guarantee
Tom Bedford is an independent technology, entertainment and gaming contributor. Beyond TechRadar, he has signed on to sites such as GamesRadar, Digital Trends, Android Police, TechAdvisor, WhattoWatch and BGR. From 2019 to 2022, he was part of the TechRadar team as an editor and then deputy editor of the mobile team.