[BCM88]

Don't think the UK retailers help either in this - the queue of frustrated pre-order customers will grow. Scan.co.uk for example now shows 'arriving tomorrow' for these including the X!!)!! Hifi Headphones still says shipping late November when they've already updated the occasional preorder customer who's contacted them to say it'll be 2nd week of December now most likely.

Guess Audeze can't win in this - although maybe splitting the initial production run between direct orders and overseas preorders might have helped (apart form upsetting some direct customers I guess).

I'm keen to see these hit the UK but not committed in the same way as you - completely understand yours and other UK customers annoyance though. Thankfully, I cancelled my preorder once I saw the situation dragging on for what seemed like eternity so my money is back with me. An @Audeze update saying all direct orders up to 26/10 will be shipped just rubs salt in the wounds I guess when you've ordered 3 months before that! Yes, the pandemic has created challenges for us all but perhaps there could have been a fairer way to ensure date of order globally was taken into account?

I think you hit a couple of nails on the head there.

Agree that UK (and probably wider European/global) retailers/distributors should have been/be doing more for their paying customers, not only with the provision of information but also applying firm pressure on Audeze to fulfil these orders.

I totally appreciate the impact of the pandemic across the board, but it's been ongoing for 9 months or so now, most businesses would have gotten some kind of handle on operations after the first few months. Delays with things like certifications, or involving third parties, are completely understandable.

One thing I find unacceptable is that direct orders being made after the stated date are being fulfilled, meanwhile, global customers who purchased via Audezes chosen partners as early as July when preorders went live, are left out in the cold, and possibly waiting into 2021 in some cases? The whole 'first come, first served' fulfilment perhaps should have taken into account global order fulfilment as well, they've certainly been happy enough to take the money.

I have complete faith that when I do eventually receive Penrose, I'll be glad I held out and got one, but the tail end of this process certainly takes the wind out of my sails.

 

[meringo]

There have been quite a few that reported they have been denied a refund so....

Anyone denied refund want to give me their pre-order? I canceled mine when they announced the initial delays, mostly to make sure I had cash on hand for the actual console launch. Now I've got a Series X under my TV and really would love a headset that isn't tethered. $300 is too much, in fact, the Mobius is $300 right now. $250 was perfect.

 

[MikeyMatou]

I think you hit a couple of nails on the head there.

Agree that UK (and probably wider European/global) retailers/distributors should have been/be doing more for their paying customers, not only with the provision of information but also applying firm pressure on Audeze to fulfil these orders.

I totally appreciate the impact of the pandemic across the board, but it's been ongoing for 9 months or so now, most businesses would have gotten some kind of handle on operations after the first few months. Delays with things like certifications, or involving third parties, are completely understandable.

One thing I find unacceptable is that direct orders being made after the stated date are being fulfilled, meanwhile, global customers who purchased via Audezes chosen partners as early as July when preorders went live, are left out in the cold, and possibly waiting into 2021 in some cases? The whole 'first come, first served' fulfilment perhaps should have taken into account global order fulfilment as well, they've certainly been happy enough to take the money.

I have complete faith that when I do eventually receive Penrose, I'll be glad I held out and got one, but the tail end of this process certainly takes the wind out of my sails.

Yeah this was a big thing for me. Ordering back in August and choosing my official local retailer (after they themselves confirmed they'd get to ship it at the same time as Audeze shipping it themselves) was a bad call...I would have paid the bit extra for the international shipping straight from Audeze if I knew I'd be put at the end anyway. Now we have to wait till late December or January while people purchasing now can expect to see it shortly. Ugh I feel down about it.

 

[Arkard1]

For those who haven't received their orders yet, here's an update after contacting Audeze support:

"Our shipping team has been expanded well beyond its normal size to help manage the extra load of shipping the thousands of Penrose orders we've received. Some orders were accidentally mixed up during the packing and labeling process, even though all paperwork was turned over to the shipping team in order by date.

Due to this error, some newer orders were mistakenly shipped before older ones, and we apologize for this. We have corrected the process and all remaining orders are now grouped appropriately. The good news is that most orders are currently packed and are waiting for labels to be created so they can be picked up by FedEx. With just a few exceptions, every Penrose PS order placed before 10/26 should be shipping out at some point in the next week. Orders placed on or after 10/26 may be delayed by a few more days while we await the next production batch.

As always, tracking emails will be sent once the labels are created.
Thanks again for your continued patience!"

Well this is crap. I ordered early November, I was fine with being towards the end of shipping
But shipping was supposed to be completed last week, then It was this week. Now it's next week, but actually we don't have enough product on hand to fulfill all orders. The misleading and vagueness of this company is crap. If you get a shipment of X amount of product and its less then Y amount of orders, you should never have said shipment would be done. Now I'm supposed to believe that more product will be in "in a couple days" yeah I won't hold my breath. Not to mention no one is getting expedited shipping after it was promised. These things better blow me away.

Anyone have recommendation for a high quality wireless set for console gaming?

 

[Androidisgimp]

I feel we are always going to be going round in circles discussing it. Just the shipping information is needed now.

 

[Gatecrasher]

Mine will be arriving today, ordered in October. I live in Canada.

 

[ninjowned]

Received my set yesterday and I'm excited to give them a spin during ... work/meetings all day.

First impressions -

Build quality:
It's OK. I'm comparing against my Sony H900N of which the Penrose is replacing. The Penrose feel more toy like (and reflecting on this, I think it is due to the thick plastic headband and amount of plastic in general) and not quite as premium. The headband is relatively chonky and adjustment action isn't nearly as smooth. Earcup rotating mechanism feels good and the earcups themselves seem solid.

I've not owned a gaming headset in over a decade and from what I see online the Penrose seem in-line with other offerings. I'd be dishonest if I didn't say I am a little disappointed with my perception of the build quality and the feel, in particular at USD 249/299.

*Update*
After getting a chance to play with the headset some more I will say I think the build quality is higher than my initial impression would suggest and I don't want to misrepresent that fact.

Setup/usage:
Dongle is plugged into a CalDigit TS3 Plus acting as a hub for a 2019 Macbook Pro. I'll be using the Penrose for google meet/zoom during the day while also listening to Spotify.

Next up use cases in order: PS5, 2013 Macbook Pro, and a Nintendo Switch.

Sound quality:
The primary reason I purchased this set (secondary being wireless + bluetooth functionality). Can't wait to give them a listen (currently still charging). This will be my first planar set and I am hoping for improved sound quality over my H900N.

For reference, my basic music setup is a custom set of DT880s (600 ohm) from moon-audio with a Matrix M-Stage amp and a nuForce uDAC. I've also had other entry level headphones like the M50 and Audio Technica AD700, but can only compare against my memory of them.

 

[crevice]

If anybody is impatient, I would be willing to sell mine for retail + shipping price, if you’re in the states. I did buy mine for regular price of $299 though and I have a receipt to prove it. I have been using them for a couple days and though I’m happy with the PlayStation performance, I’m not happy with how they sound with Xbox plugged into the controller. There is a big drop off when using aux. Looks like my only choice are the steel series artics X, since they work with both. I know I’m going to get a drop in audio quality for sure, but ease of use is important. I also don’t want to gamble with the x version, since I’m not confident in ship time and still no official statement if those work with both. I can use any shipping speed you want and can ship out today or tomorrow. If not, I’ll be asking Audeze for a refund.

 

[jameswhiteneck]

If anybody is impatient, I would be willing to sell mine for retail + shipping price, if you’re in the states. I did buy mine for regular price of $299 though and I have a receipt to prove it. I have been using them for a couple days and though I’m happy with the PlayStation performance, I’m not happy with how they sound with Xbox plugged into the controller. There is a big drop off when using aux. Looks like my only choice are the steel series artics X, since they work with both. I know I’m going to get a drop in audio quality for sure, but ease of use is important. I also don’t want to gamble with the x version, since I’m not confident in ship time and still no official statement if those work with both. I can use any shipping speed you want and can ship out today or tomorrow. If not, I’ll be asking Audeze for a refund.

Do you get the same drop in quality when you plug them in directly to the PS5 controller and don't use the wireless dongle?

 

[MikeyMatou]

If anybody is impatient, I would be willing to sell mine for retail + shipping price, if you’re in the states. I did buy mine for regular price of $299 though and I have a receipt to prove it. I have been using them for a couple days and though I’m happy with the PlayStation performance, I’m not happy with how they sound with Xbox plugged into the controller. There is a big drop off when using aux. Looks like my only choice are the steel series artics X, since they work with both. I know I’m going to get a drop in audio quality for sure, but ease of use is important. I also don’t want to gamble with the x version, since I’m not confident in ship time and still no official statement if those work with both. I can use any shipping speed you want and can ship out today or tomorrow. If not, I’ll be asking Audeze for a refund.

Just to link on from the drop of quality using aux, has anyone tested to determine the sound quality difference via aux vs dongle? As someone who is going to be using this a lot in aux it is concerning...

 

[NlilNjA]

For those who got their Penrose shipping tracking from FedEx, is the weight in the package details section: 2.0 lbs/0.91 kg?

 

[ridl3y]

If anybody is impatient, I would be willing to sell mine for retail + shipping price, if you’re in the states. I did buy mine for regular price of $299 though and I have a receipt to prove it. I have been using them for a couple days and though I’m happy with the PlayStation performance, I’m not happy with how they sound with Xbox plugged into the controller. There is a big drop off when using aux. Looks like my only choice are the steel series artics X, since they work with both. I know I’m going to get a drop in audio quality for sure, but ease of use is important. I also don’t want to gamble with the x version, since I’m not confident in ship time and still no official statement if those work with both. I can use any shipping speed you want and can ship out today or tomorrow. If not, I’ll be asking Audeze for a refund.

That's very nice of you, but if people can't be patient for a couple more weeks and desperately have to buy a used headset for the price of retail plus shipping, then they have other things they need to worry about in life.

Or you're trying to get out of paying for shipment to return the headset. LOL

 

[KMann]

Just to link on from the drop of quality using aux, has anyone tested to determine the sound quality difference via aux vs dongle? As someone who is going to be using this a lot in aux it is concerning...

When comparing Aux vs Wireless , please understand that you are comparing apples to oranges.

With Wireless, the input is purely digital and Penrose has full control over the quality of the out put and the SNR is 110dB or more. The aux performance is not far behind with SNR just above 100dB. But with Aux it is a case of garbage-in garbage-out. It really depends on the quality of the line level output of the Xbox or PS5 controllers and we are confident that when compared to other active headsets, Aux SQ will still be very competitive and one of the best.

In short, the drop in quality via Aux is more a reflection of the quality of the output from the controllers than it is a measure of the difference between Aux and Wireless performance of Penrose, if you plug Penrose into line level output of a really good DAC, you will hear a noticeable improvement in SQ.

 

[amoeba1126]

It's OK. I'm comparing against my Sony H900N of which the Penrose is replacing. The Penrose feel more toy like (and reflecting on this, I think it is due to the thick plastic headband and amount of plastic in general) and not quite as premium. The headband is relatively chonky and adjustment action isn't nearly as smooth. Earcup rotating mechanism feels good and the earcups themselves seem solid.

I've not owned a gaming headset in over a decade and from what I see online the Penrose seem in-line with other offerings. I'd be dishonest if I didn't say I am a little disappointed with my perception of the build quality and the feel, in particular at USD 249/299.

Keep in mind, there are different degrees of plastic quality. Take for instance the HD650; the vast majority of it is made out of plastic, but no one would call it a non-premium product. In fact, they purposely used plastic to make it light. Since you mentioned the plastic headband, take a look at this video. Personally, I actually prefer if the adjustment is not smooth as it means I am sure how much I adjusted it. That's just me though. I know a lot of people who really just putting on the headphones and smoothly pulling down the cans to the right level/placement. For me personally, it's the color scheme that makes it look cheap and toy-like.

 

[Krash2]

Do you get the same drop in quality when you plug them in directly to the PS5 controller and don't use the wireless dongle?

Yes, there is a steep drop off in audio quality when piggy-backing on the PS5 controller's wireless signal. If audio quality is a priority, you will want the dedicated wireless signal or to be wired directly to the console.