[Androidisgimp]

Another day, another review in

 

[Awesomeness1307]

Can anyone comment on the earpad situation? I understand that it's the same design as the Mobius, but I've read that it's a different sound. How do aftermarket pads affect it? I want to get these so bad, they check literally every box for me except comfort. I tried the Mobius a while ago, and while clamping was fine, the earpads sat on the edge of my ears, not nearly as comfortable as the Bose QC 35 II. I would love to buy deeper/larger earcups and make them as comfortable as the Bose, even if I lose a bit of sound quality.

I think this is the best pad mod I've seen for the Mobius: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/audeze-mobius-review-impressions.887808/page-214#post-14866353
Haven't read any reviews of the Dekoni earpads for Mobius/Penrose.

 

[lippi]

I have game volume maxed on the PlayStation and I am very aware that cranking the headphones instead of PlayStation will create noise. Like another user mentioned, the noise is unpredictable. Sometimes it’s loud, sometimes it’s hiss, sometimes it’s whirly, it happens in both ears, seems a little louder on the right.

I apologize, but I am going to be honest here and I have to back track on my earlier initial impressions. I truly want to be fair, but being fair here means I need to be straight forward. I am actually very disappointed in this headset, especially considering the cost. I’ve owned astro A50s, Sony Gold, Sony Pulse, turtle beach, Steel Series Artics regular and Pro, and Sennhesier gsp something or others. In the 2 days I’ve had these, I’ve had a more frustrating experience than any of my time with those headsets. This whirling noise is driving me nuts. My friends have complained about the mic. My ears are super sore from the pressure of the headband. I can’t go to the kitchen to get a drink without this woman’s voice saying “connected...connected...” over and over while I’m out of range and I can’t figure out how to turn her off. When I want to turn sidetone off when switching to a single player game, I have to turn on my PC, connect it there, and then disconnect it and do it all over again when I want it in. When I try and do Bluetooth and wireless at the same time, the headset will pair with my phone - say connected - and then sometimes (at least 5 times so far) completely turn off and then I have to do it all over again. Aux with the Xbox is wayyy too noisy. But this could be a mix of headset and controller for Xbox. Though, my hardwired v-modas are not noisy when connected to the Xbox controller.

Sound wise they are “good” and honestly nothing more or less. I am not dissatisfied with the sound at all, but I’m not floored with its gaming experience. For music they are great. But for competitive gaming, I’m picking up footsteps and direction worse than my astros and even my pulse 3D. I was hoping for more space and directionality. I don’t think anyone will listen to these and be upset at the sound. But I’m in no way floored about the sound experience, everything feels too “close” if that makes sense. And yes, I’ve done 3D audio on and off.

Overall these are a good sounding pair of stereo music headphones with a below average mic, below average user experience, uncomfortable ergonomics and lots of random noise, such as hiss and whirl wind interference, and full of annoyances - such as loud prompt alerts and random disconnections. I don’t play beta tester for final release products, so I’m not going to wait around for firmware updates to fix issues that shouldn’t be there, no am I going to entertain comments like “they said they’ll update that soon”. I buy products for what they are now, not what they could possibly be tomorrow.

Man this really worries me. Im going to stick with the penrose pre order (uk here) i think, but the wind / hissing noises and the constant reconnecting etc is making me feel like i should be cancelling. I just dont see any other decent wireless option though for music and gaming. Perhaps a decent headphone and a dac/amp for music off my phone, but thats not ideal for ps5.

 

[Ryengeku]

While I respect Crevice's change of heart, I'll throw in my impressions as sort of a counter. My use case is technically different and to also echo Mad Lust Envy's earlier comment regarding the people mostly enjoying the headset wouldn't have time to come back to the forum would also be me as well.

I'm mostly a single player gamer and haven't even really hooked up the mic. I still connected the headset to my PC to turn sidetone off and haven't really touched it since. However, seeing that Audeze will add some specified presets sounds promising for the future.

Other than that, I was essentially comparing the Penrose's to my Sony Platinum's that I have been using for the past 2 years or so. While my ears were definitely used to the Platinum's, I was pleasantly surprised at the differences in audio quality I heard with the Penrose. I haven't had any issues with bluetooth/wireless simultaneous connection between my laptop & PS5 either.

Last thing to note, I honestly wouldn't get up to walk around with them if knowing the range is 15ft at best and I also haven't experienced any of the hissing whirling noises either so definitely a case by case basis?

 

[waltzk]

I just dont see any other decent wireless option though for music and gaming.

This is why probably why anyone with an outstanding order still hasn’t canceled.

 

[waltzk]

I personally think this is the vocal minority. You will always hear from people unhappy with something, whereas those who are happy are too busy enjoying their new toys rather than spend time on forums talking about them.

Also, Audeze has been known to fix noise floors, and a host of other problems with firmware updates. I wouldn't be so quick to jump the gun. The Mobius that was released compared to the Mobius of today are QUITE drastically different, especially on noise floor. The difference is quite staggering on that front. So yeah, patience.

This thing has been out for such a miniscule amount of time, people really need to give them a chance to FIX these things, instead of just writing them off outright.

I hear you. But this isn’t mass produced to the scale of say, the new systems. So if we’re seeing a large amount of complaints, it’s an overall larger percentage of buyers than people experiencing issues with the new consoles. It’s thousands of order vs millions so I think these issues are a greater cause for concern.
at this point, they really should come out and address some of these issues and get these headsets into preorder peoples hands that are waiting. Customers would be more willing to wait and work with what they have if they actually have the product and can gauge and weigh pros and cons. There’s an opportunity for them to do right by those with unfulfilled orders and finally expedite shipping. There are no other options besides arctis(not good)for people that want wireless and would like to have a product that was promised to dispatch weeks ago.
Also, i think I saw that you mentioned receiving a preproduction unit, is it possible your set is better made or there were possible changes to parts in the final production units that may be causing these issues? Thanks.

 

[Diabolical]

people mostly enjoying the headset wouldn't have time to come back to the forum would also be me as well.

This is the typical problem with online reviews...if you're happy you're less likely to give your opinion! Bearing in mind the criticism is fair, people need to relax and accept the flaws for now as the Penrose is the best bet for this generation's best gaming headset.

 

[waltzk]

This is the typical problem with online reviews...if you're happy you're less likely to give your opinion! Bearing in mind the criticism is fair, people need to relax and accept the flaws for now as the Penrose is the best bet for this generation's best gaming headset.

less likely maybe. But it’s notunheard of, especially for these headphones since they’re a new product and the people who know of them are getting the recommendations from sites like this or forums dedicated to this type of product. I see plenty of reviews or initial thoughts from both sides, but even the “positive” reviews are mentioning issues. It’s up to you once you receive the item whether or not you like them enough to wait and sort out the problems. Doesn’t change the constant discrepancies with company communication and flat out double talk that you don’t need a review to see or judge.

 

[tokkun]

I've had my Penrose for a few days now, using it primarily with PC. Overall I consider it to be good, but not great product. However, I think most of the issues that prevent it from being great are things that Audeze could theoretically address in software / firmware updates.

1. Voice quality with the microphone in wireless mode is overly compressed and sounds poor. Playing around with positioning and gain helps, but even in the best conditions it has that characteristic muffled sound suggesting loss of high frequency components. The mic itself sounds good when connected in wired mode with the 3.5mm jack, so the culprit here is the processing used in wireless mode, whether that is the filtering cutoff, sampling rate, or compression being used. If there is something that can be done to improve this in the firmware, this would be my number one feature request. Even if it is a toggle-able mode that trades off some audio quality for improved microphone quality, I would take it. It seems like a huge waste to put a good quality microphone on the headset, only to make it sound worse than a lot of cheap wired headsets due to the wireless signal processing.

2. There are a lot of small usability annoyances on PC. There is no battery indicator. The master volume controls don't affect the headset volume, so things like the volume keys on my keyboard or the main volume slider in Windows don't work. There is no way to see the microphone gain without using a wired USB connection . Other features in the Audeze app like EQ and Sidetone can't be changed without a wired connection either. This really gives the feeling that PC use was an after-thought. Audeze needs to add support for connecting to the software using only the wireless dongle so we can see the mic gain and adjust settings without needing to connect a cable. Add a battery level indicator in the software. Let the master device volume control in Windows control the gain of the headphone.

Oh, and also please reduce the volume of things like the "CONNECTED" notification in the headphones.

 

[Metsuki]

While I respect Crevice's change of heart, I'll throw in my impressions as sort of a counter. My use case is technically different and to also echo Mad Lust Envy's earlier comment regarding the people mostly enjoying the headset wouldn't have time to come back to the forum would also be me as well.

I'm mostly a single player gamer and haven't even really hooked up the mic. I still connected the headset to my PC to turn sidetone off and haven't really touched it since. However, seeing that Audeze will add some specified presets sounds promising for the future.

Other than that, I was essentially comparing the Penrose's to my Sony Platinum's that I have been using for the past 2 years or so. While my ears were definitely used to the Platinum's, I was pleasantly surprised at the differences in audio quality I heard with the Penrose. I haven't had any issues with bluetooth/wireless simultaneous connection between my laptop & PS5 either.

Last thing to note, I honestly wouldn't get up to walk around with them if knowing the range is 15ft at best and I also haven't experienced any of the hissing whirling noises either so definitely a case by case basis?

Like every product, there will be defective ones and people will complain, but most will probably be fine. The same is happening with the PS5 launch.

 

[unknownsoil]

Pasting in the some user impressions from the Reddit thread, as people are starting to receive their orders:

I got my Penrose yesterday. First few impressions:

• Sound quality is pretty good. Mids and treble sound great. Soundstage and separation are good. I'm playing mostly FPS and they're pretty good for footsteps and general gaming soundstage. I would have liked more impact and presence on the bass but I'm EQing with Dolby Atmos and seems to be better. EQing on Audeze App lowers the volume even if you increase/decrease any frequency by 3db, so not really using this until we get an update (only used to turn sidetone off). Generally, definitely a step up above my Arctis 7 for sound quality. I have since been using my Philips Fidelio X2HR running through a FiiO K3 DAC/Amp but if I'm going to be honest, the Penrose don't hold up anywhere close to those (granted slightly unfair since comparing against an open back + dac/amp).
• 2.5 Ghz wireless dongle range is worse than Arctis 7. Not a big deal since I'm mostly at my desk but worth pointing out.
• I wish there was an easy way to tell battery life. As I understand, the only way is via the light that blinks on the left headphone - blinks yellow when it's getting low.
• Also can confirm that you can't control volume via Windows, can only be adjusted via the slider, though Spotify volume bar does change volume. I know Audeze is working on a fix for this so props to them on that.
• I have a smaller head and generally clamping force seems OK to me but I can totally understand people with larger heads may find it to be high. I find the earpads comfortable and no issues with ears heating up so far.
• Microphone quality is by far the most disappointing. This wasn't that far that up in my priority list but I just expected this to be the same if not better than the Arctis 7. I didn't mention anything to my friends but I hopped onto the discord last night with my Penrose and all 5 people remarked completely independently "hey what's up with your mic man? sounds a bit weird and muffled. not as clear as your mic normally is. check your settings". Surprising that they're implying that the Arctis 7 sounded clearer and they couldn't be biased since they didn't know I switched headsets. Anyway, I was wondering if this could be due to the pop filter that's on the mic. Tried to remove to test but it seems like it's really ON there - maybe glued? Did anyone else have any luck with that or generally improving mic quality? Could this be achieved via software?

Overall, I wish I could say I'm blown away by the Penrose especially at this price point. Maybe my expectations got the better of me. That being said, it's just been Day 2 so I may grow into them more. I'm definitely keeping them.

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Just got mine. I think the mic is pretty good for what it is.

Here's a comparison to my g933

Penrose - https://vocaroo.com/1n73uzqV6ugp

G933 - https://vocaroo.com/1ivKbTUS4J1t

As everyone's mentioned, the headband does fit closer in, so the clamping force is a little more than my G933. Probably will get better as I keep using. It covers my ears more snug than my G933 as the G933 I think has a wider size for your ears. The audio does sound quite better on G933. I'm not pro in audio but it definitely sounds nicer to my ears.

Windows volume as everyone mentioned, don't control the headset volume.

The app needs help. In order to use it at all, you have to be connected via USB. Once you're disconnected, adjusting the mic volume directly from the headset, the app doesn't pick up the value meaning the app completely stops when the headset is unplugged via USB.

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Mixed... I want to use it for a few days before making sweeping statements.

I bought it as a replacement to my TB stealth 400x headset, as something that I used for work calls, music and gaming.

Calls and mic quality

The mic itself sounds decent in wireless mode, but seemed sort of flat. I took a voice recording off my old turtle beaches and these and the TB sounded better imo (they are also usb wireless by the way) Also, while on a few calls, my wireless connection dropped once or twice in which prompts the electronic female voice to say "connected!". Also, at times, when there wasn't a real drop i would get crackling / dropping audio... I am about 2 to 4 feet from the USB dongle too.

Music - sounded great. No surprise here, this is audeze and where these really shine. Im no audiophile so I won't lie and try to make any real qualitative assessment on these but I will say they easily sound better than my TBs .

Games - only tried a few minutes on destiny 2 so far but I'd say theyre... "ok". I feel like these would benefit from more bass as it seemed explosions and gunshots etc lacked real punch. Directional audio seemed sufficient. The max volume seems a tad low imo.

Also my fears about this head of mine are probably correct. These are TIGHT. Im legitimate concerned with these long term. I did get used to the clamping force though.

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Just got mine about an hour ago. I've noticed a few things immediately:

- The Audeze HQ software can't detect the phones on both mobile and desktop lol (bluetooth for mobile, 2.4GHz adapter for PC)

- the audio definitely skips and distorts over the 2.4GHz connection very frequently, at least every 10-20 seconds listening to Spotify on a PC

Overall, I can't recommend these quite yet until these problems are addressed or fixed.

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this mic quality seems so much better than the early samples. Did you used the wire or wireless?

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Oh, where can I find your review? I'd like to watch it.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/mad...x-review-added.534479/page-2820#post-14899680


This was one of the last reviews that I didn't realize all image links weren't being correctly implemented, so everything is just written, so I may sound a little crazy talking about images that you can't see. I assure you whenever I post the Penrose review, images will be correctly linked.

 

[Gatecrasher]

Heads up Canadian buyers, I had to pay $50 (CAN) in import taxes.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

I hear you. But this isn’t mass produced to the scale of say, the new systems. So if we’re seeing a large amount of complaints, it’s an overall larger percentage of buyers than people experiencing issues with the new consoles. It’s thousands of order vs millions so I think these issues are a greater cause for concern.
at this point, they really should come out and address some of these issues and get these headsets into preorder peoples hands that are waiting. Customers would be more willing to wait and work with what they have if they actually have the product and can gauge and weigh pros and cons. There’s an opportunity for them to do right by those with unfulfilled orders and finally expedite shipping. There are no other options besides arctis(not good)for people that want wireless and would like to have a product that was promised to dispatch weeks ago.
Also, i think I saw that you mentioned receiving a preproduction unit, is it possible your set is better made or there were possible changes to parts in the final production units that may be causing these issues? Thanks.

Neither pre-pro or retail unit has any glaring flaws in sound like what is being stated here. My noise floor is always low. But my sidetone has always remained off once switched, and I don't keep a mic plugged in.

The pre-pro had other issues, but sound wasn't one of them.

My PS5 is also issue free to date. No sticker noise that sounds like whine, no bricking in rest mode, nothing.

I understand problems arise, but my experience with Audeze is that whatever problems are occurring WILL be fixed with updates, as they were fixed on the Mobius. This is why people need to take a chill pill instead of... what's the word someone used on me earlier? Oh yeah... FEARMONGERING.

A lot, if not all of this is absolutely addressible in Firmware.

In a few weeks time I would not be surprised if ALL of this being discussed is a thing of the past, and people end up feeling foolish for cancelling their orders instead of being patient.

I'm going to save this post. And bring it up when that happens. That way any time someone mentions any new issues, they can be reminded that it'll likely be fixed sooner rather than later. Audeze is aware of the complaints. Knowing them, they're not going to sit on them.

 

[Androidisgimp]

How would one typically update firmware on these?