OneOdio Studio Max 2 review: ambitious DJ cans with big energy, but little nuance

The OneOdio Studio Max 2 arrive with the swagger of a headline act and the marketing bombast of a Marvel origin story. They promise “industry‑shattering 0.009s latency” and “45mm high‑flux drivers” tuned by KSHMR, plus a frankly enormous EVA hard case that looks like it could contain anything from headphones to a tactical assault drone.

After a couple of weeks of using them at home, on shoots and during my usual Cardiff wanderings, I’ve come away feeling that these are confident, capable DJ headphones with real audio ambition, but unfortunately they don’t quite reach the sonic finesse of OneOdio’s best work. And they won't unseat any of our favourite headphones either.

Design and build

The OneOdio Studio Max 2 are intentionally big. Not “large”. Big.

The cups, the hinges, the case, the whole entire vibe. It’s a simple, striking design that leans into scale rather than subtlety, much like the Studio Max 1 before them, which “arrive like a pair of speakers that learned to wear a headband.” We get the same vinyl-album aesthetic on the earcups, and the bold, abstract OneOdio logo in silver in the middle of each cup. And you can get them in any colour you want, as long as it's black.

The Max 2’s build feels solid and purposeful, with the same DJ‑friendly swivel cups and a reassuring weight that suggests they’re meant to be handled, packed and used in real‑world booth situations. The premium EVA case is a statement piece in itself. You could probably use it as a shield in a mild altercation.

Comfort is generally good, with a gentle clamping force and plush pads, but as with the Studio Max 1 and A10, the earcups do start to feel warm after prolonged use. OneOdio loves a dense cushion, and your ears will notice.

Features and Performance

This is where the Max 2 flex their muscles. The spec sheet above reads like a DJ’s wish list, and in practice, the latency performance is excellent. Monitoring feels snappy and responsive, and switching between wired and wireless setups is seamless. For DJing, live cueing or instrument practice, this is genuinely useful.

Sound quality is decent for a pair of DJ headphones. There’s clear intent behind the tuning; you can tell OneOdio and KSHMR aimed for a confident, energetic signature. Bass is weighty, mids are forward enough for monitoring, and highs stay controlled.

But compared to the Studio Max 1, which delivered “warm and full sound… with great mids, a full bass and pleasant and clear highs,” the Max 2 oddly feel less nuanced. They’re not audiophile headphones, and when you start listening for detail, separation, micro‑textures, and subtle dynamic shifts, you’ll notice the limits. The Monitor 60, for example, offered “really impressive depth” and track separation that the Max 2 don’t quite match.

That said, they’re still better than most commodity headphones at the same price point, especially for DJ‑leaning use. The low‑latency mode, dual‑jack flexibility and LDAC support give them a functional edge that many lifestyle headphones simply don’t have.

The only problem, really, is that these are not marketed as commodity lifestyle headphones, but professional DJ cans. So I must grade them as such.

Battery life

The headline figure, 120 hours in Bluetooth mode, is wild, and in testing it held up impressively. Even with mixed wireless and low‑latency use, I barely made a dent in the battery over several hours of use at a time. Five minutes of charging for nine hours of playback is also absurdly convenient.

Price

At $189.99 for the standard edition (or $209.99 for the signed KSHMR version) at the time of writing, the OneOdio Studio Max 2 sit in a highly competitive bracket where expectations for sonic refinement and build quality rise sharply. You do get a lot of functionality for the money, such as ultra‑low latency, LDAC, dual jacks, app support and that gloriously overbuilt EVA case, but the sound doesn’t quite match the nuance offered by similarly priced audiophile‑leaning models. As with the A10 and Monitor 60 before them, OneOdio continues to deliver strong value in features and practicality, but if pure audio fidelity is your priority, this price tier offers more accomplished alternatives.

Buy it if

• you're a DJ who wants ultra‑low latency without going fully wired
• you're a creator who jumps between instruments, interfaces and laptops
• you're a listener who wants bold design and big battery life
• you want a headphone case that could double as luggage

Don't buy it if

• you're an audiophiles chasing nuance
• a commuter who wants compact cans
• you're sensitive to warm earcups
• you want the most refined sound at this price point