With the Maya X, LAMZU goes beyond merely delivering a "larger Maya." For one, the Maya X isn't just a uniformly scaled-up Maya, and rather incorporates subtle design changes. In addition, it comes with new switches, a new wheel encoder, new sensor, and the 8K dongle is now bundled. Remarkably, the Maya X manages to weigh virtually the same as the Maya did, despite being far larger, and having the same battery capacity. Build quality hasn't suffered for it, as the same design approach found on previous LAMZU releases has also been employed on the Maya X. Essentially, the PCB has been extended to the sides to support structural integrity, while having larger cutouts to save most of the weight added by said extension. Aside from the open bottom, the Maya X has a solid shell, and manages to be sturdy all over. On my sample, there is no rattle when shaking, no creaking or flexing of the shell when applying lateral pressure, and actuating the side buttons by pressing below them is impossible regardless of force used.

While the Maya came with mechanical switches from Huano, the Maya is outfitted with Omron D2FP-FN2 optical switches, which previously have seen use on the Ninjutso Sora V2, among others. Compared to the earlier D2FP-FN series, which have been used on the first batch of the Corsair M65 RGB Ultra and Wireless, the D2FP-FN2 series is much improved. The distinctly "mechanical" feel is retained, and they are much more consistent and uniform compared to the first revision, which is why they could be considered the most "mechanical switch-like" type of optical switch currently available. That said, the D2FP-FN2 are definitely on the stiffer side of things, although this is slightly alleviated by the moderate pre and high post-travel present on the Maya X, which has them feel a little less sharp than they theoretically could be, as is the case on the Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2, for instance. Lateral movement is moderate on the Maya X, but only becomes noticeable when actively looking for it, and not during typical use. The side buttons switch choice is interesting on the Maya X. Whereas the smaller Maya came with proper full-size three-pin switches, the Maya X instead utilizes 2-pin low-profile switches from TTC. Accordingly, feedback isn't too pleasing due to their smaller size, although pre and post-travel are appreciably low. For the scroll wheel, the Maya X has been outfitted with a LAMZU-branded encoder, which actually comes from F-Switch, and has a white/green core color scheme. The main difference to the TTC Silver encoder used on the Maya is that this one is dustproof. Noise levels are still rather low, and tactility clearly above average, with distinct steps allowing for controlled scrolling. While the feet are still made of pure PTFE, they are of a slightly different type now, one familiar from Incott mouse releases in particular. Glide is still very good, however, and their thickness slightly above average. As always, a set of replacement feet is included with the mouse, along with a set of grip tape.

Whereas the Maya came with PixArt's PAW3395, the Maya utilizes PixArt's latest PAW3950 sensor. Aside from higher specifications, real-like benefits of this sensor are somewhat limited: tracking on clear glass is improved, efficiency marginally better, a new 0.7 mm lift-off distance level has been added, and the MotionSync algorithm has an easier time maintaining 125 μs intervals. Much like before, a Nordic nRF52840 MCU is used for wireless communication to the 8K dongle, which includes a USB high-speed MCU to allow for true 8000 Hz polling in wireless operation. Hence, there isn't much difference to the Maya with the 8K dongle on paper, yet performance differs on multiple levels nonetheless, as a different firmware solution sees use. Unlike on the Maya, CPI deviation is negative and low on the Maya X, though this is easily corrected. Much like the Maya, the Maya X permits enabling MotionSync, which synchronizes the timing of SPI reads with USB polls, albeit at the cost of a motion delay penalty of up to an entire interval. In addition, the sensor run mode may be modified, which controls sensor parameters such as framerate, maximum tracking speed, acceleration, and therefore especially power draw. By default, the Maya X is set to a so-called "High-Speed" mode, which appears to be a different name for the 3950's "Low Power" mode. Alternatively, "Competitive" mode may be enabled, which sets the sensor to corded mode. Doing so greatly increases power draw, though will only take effect at polling rates below 2000 Hz, as polling rates above 1000 Hz are already set to corded mode with no way of changing it. Regardless of sensor run mode or MotionSync, the Maya X exhibits rather curious outliers in tracking, the majority of which do not correlate with off-period polls. While odd, this ultimately has little bearing, and polling is generally stable almost across the board. Performance is excellent regardless, as with corded mode enabled and MotionSync disabled, the Maya X gets ahead of the Logitech G403 (control subject) by 0.9 ms already at 1000 Hz, easily edging the likes of Razer Viper V3 Pro or Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2. This continues to be the case at 2000 Hz, whereas 4000 and 8000 Hz behave slightly differently. 4000 Hz shows large variance, both in terms of motion delay and polling, which is why it appears less attractive than other settings. 8000 Hz has less of a motion delay advantage apparently due to a larger buffer for retries being used, to avoid missing polls as much as possible. From a stability perspective, this is a good thing, but motion delay will be lower using 1000 (if set to corded mode) or 2000 Hz.

In terms of click latency, the Maya X operates on a similarly excellent level as the Maya with the 8K dongle. Regardless of wired or wireless, or polling rate, click latency will be 0.5 ms, and only setting debounce time to a value other than 0 ms will result in higher latency. Doing so makes little sense, however, as slam-click prevention is present on the Maya X, which is why resetting the mouse will not lead to inadvertent button actuation even when running 0 ms debounce time. However, this algorithm is flawed on the Maya X, as the defer-type debounce time of roughly 18 ms added upon lift-off isn't reset upon resetting the mouse, resulting in the first click after lift-off having significant latency added to it, even when the mouse is no longer lifted. Both in terms of consistency and latency in general, this is undesirable, and an issue the Maya did not have. That said, this could easily be rectified in a firmware update, and with any luck, LAMZU will issue one in the future.

Ever since the Finalmouse UltralightX, web-based mouse drivers have become more popular, and LAMZU meets those demands with the Maya X. Much like the others, LAMZU's Aurora web solution connects through WebHID, which is why it is restricted to Chromium-based browsers. For those not wanting to use any of these, LAMZU also used to offer a locally packaged version that requires installation, but this unfortunately is no longer the case, even though it would be handy in the event that the web driver would no longer be hosted or otherwise accessible. In any case, I didn't find any bugs or issues, and all the relevant options are present, maybe except for angle snapping, for those liking that option.

A battery life indicator is also present in the software, and though not particularly reliable or accurate, it at least allows me to gauge expected battery life. LAMZU cites 80 hours at 1000 Hz and 20 hours at 8000 Hz. While the value given for 1000 Hz appears realistic, I'd expect battery life at 8000 Hz to be closer to 15 hours. In addition, the 1000 Hz value would only be reached if the sensor run mode isn't set to "Competitive," as the power consumption rate with that one enabled isn't much different from 8000 Hz proper. Charging is neither particularly slow nor speedy on the Maya X, but the stiffness of the charging cable makes charging a less than endearing experience all the same. Granted, the blame for charging cables becoming increasingly stiff can be laid squarely on the shoulders of the EU's new Radio Equipment Directive, and manufacturers' need to comply with such regulations, but for the consumer, it is certainly worse either way. The other reason for the cable being stiffer is the fact that stronger shielding is required to ensure signal integrity when using USB high-speed, which LAMZU values over flexibility for charging.

At $119.99, the Maya X is a decent bit more expensive than the Maya at $93.99. However, given that the $19.99 8K dongle already is included with the Maya X, the price difference really is just $6, which I believe is fair considering the sensor upgrade. In terms of performance and quality, the Maya X easily competes with the bigger names, such as the Razer Viper V3 Pro or Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2, both priced at $159.99. Accordingly, the Maya X gets our Recommended award.