[waltzk]

News flash, every complex device that utilizes firmware has issues.

I'm own an LG Oled C9. Which is arguably the best OLED TV from 2019. I'm STILL dealing with issues that can be addressed. These things happen. They do get fixed.

Buying a product day 1, especially complex ones like a headset and expecting perfection is very unrealistic. There will always be something that needs to be addressed. It's rare when there are zero complaints. Regardless of company or product.

Of course I have issues with the Penrose. I had problems with the Mobius as well. I had problems with my TV, my PC, and I definitely had problems with my phones. It comes with the territory.


Nothing helps Audeze by cherry picking something just for me to view positively. I may be a reviewer, but first and foremost, they want my input on what's WRONG, what works, and what doesn't.

I didn’t say I wanted zero complaints, I saidthere isn’t one review or first thoughts post without any issues. That’s a huge difference. I know you’re not here to speak to logistics and I’m still waiting for audeze here to address this but can you speak to the review unit vs final retail units? Maybe there is a comparison you can do with pics vs someone who has a retail unit. They may appreciate you helping them out with that as well. As you said, the want your feed back on what is wrong. And also, in fairness, day one was 2 weeks ago.

 

[Cazorp]

Replaceable/rechargeable battery solves the issue there. In fact, for a gaming headset thats supposed to be wireless, that should be a requirement. Nothing worse than battery dying mid game on a friday night during a 4-6 hour gaming session.

I agree, but they had to decide between keeping the price down or the additional cost of a second battery, charging dock, redesigned headset mold with detachable battery, etc.

If you wanted to fix all the issues and make the perfect headset without considering cost, it would cost $600 and people would still complain about the color.

 

[Scratchansniff]

For a new poster, I find this tone against a major contributor to be tacky at the least. I’m a software developer, I get your point, but please make it in a courteous manner.

Some of us are not XBox gamers, never will be, and are glad we bought the Penrose and not the X and got it sooner rather than waiting for a certification we don’t need. I’m also not a fan of the green, so I also count it as a bonus I don’t have to spend more to replace the pads, or else stomach that color.

I am an Xbox gamer and I don’t appreciate your tone either I can’t stomach the blue nor the condescending tones from some PS players. Maybe grow the hell up before judging others. You passed comment about it being tacky and in a courteous manner. Well the same could be said for you with this post.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

I didn’t say I wanted zero complaints, I saidthere isn’t one review or first thoughts post without any issues. That’s a huge difference. I know you’re not here to speak to logistics and I’m still waiting for audeze here to address this but can you speak to the review unit vs final retail units? Maybe there is a comparison you can do with pics vs someone who has a retail unit. They may appreciate you helping them out with that as well. As you said, the want your feed back on what is wrong. And also, in fairness, day one was 2 weeks ago.

There's no difference physically between my pre-production and retail version, aside from the retail version being sealed, boxed version completely sealed as if I bought them. The pre-pro had some leftovers in packaging from the Mobius.

That aside, the pre-pro was a Penrose, and the retail version is the Penrose X. The pre-pro had a flipped mic gain / chat/voice functions. Otherwise, they functioned similarly. The pre-pro froze on me at one point.

Neither had loud noise issues.

Not sure what you want to see. They both look exactly like yours looks.

 

[amoeba1126]

I am an Xbox gamer and I don’t appreciate your tone either I can’t stomach the blue nor the condescending tones from some PS players. Maybe grow the hell up before judging others. You passed comment about it being tacky and in a courteous manner. Well the same could be said for you with this post.

As a PC gamer, I hate both of you Xbox and PS gamers, filthy console peasants! We partake in the obviously more mature all-black color schemes, though dark grey is acceptable as well. So, boo on you!

Am I doing this right?!?

 

[KMann]

Thats kinda where I was coming from though...why not just use a compression format on mic audio to fit it all within the bandwidth? Was mic lag going to change that much from it? And why not allow the user to lower the bandwidth usage of incoming audio to reallocate it to outgoing. For example, when playing call of duty, I dont need lossless incoming audio for gunshots and footsteps, so I'd prefer to reallocate bandwidth to mic which is far more important in team gaming.

All that would be a possibility if we designed the wireless transmitter and receiver chipset and wrote the SDK for them too, but that is not the case. There are only a handful of vendors for wireless technology used in headsets, and we chose one we think will work best for our requirements with the right compromises. We keep in close touch with these technologies and see what is in the road map and we see things getting even better in the future.

 

[waltzk]

There's no difference physically between my pre-production and retail version, aside from the retail version being sealed, boxed version completely sealed as if I bought them. The pre-pro had some leftovers in packaging from the Mobius.

That aside, the pre-pro was a Penrose, and the retail version is the Penrose X. The pre-pro had a flipped mic gain / chat/voice functions. Otherwise, they functioned similarly. The pre-pro froze on me at one point.

Neither had loud noise issues.

Not sure what you want to see. They both look exactly like yours looks.

fair enough, thanks.
I guess they would have to be taken apart to see if corners were cut. Do you think those experiencing mic issues would benefit from swapping the mic itself? Have you attempted attaching a different mic and is there a difference in quality with sidetone on or off? Thanks and thanks for your time.

 

[KMann]

I guess they would have to be taken apart to see if corners were cut. Do you think those experiencing mic issues would benefit from swapping the mic itself? Have you attempted attaching a different mic and is there a difference in quality with sidetone on or off? Thanks and thanks for your time.

The microphone was designed in collaboration with Shure and the only limiting factor right now is the available bandwidth in wireless mode.

 

[zbrictson]

So far we've clearly seen examples of good wireless mic quality, and examples that were bad and muffled. The only consistent impression I've read is it sounds bad in Discord.

 

[imac2much]

For anyone who is using their Penrose with a PS5, how does the sound quality compare to a decent wired headphone connected to the Dualsense 3.5mm output? I’m skeptical how good Sony’s audio compression is via Bluetooth and unsure of the quality of the Dualsense’s DAC. Does the Penrose over wireless dongle sound better than something like HD650, Focal Elear, Momentum 3.0 or Fidelio X2 directly connected to a Dualsense? Thanks!

 

[Scratchansniff]

As a PC gamer, I hate both of you Xbox and PS gamers, filthy console peasants! We partake in the obviously more mature all-black color schemes, though dark grey is acceptable as well. So, boo on you!

Am I doing this right?!?

It’s all very sad isn’t it , that ridiculous rivalry is even making it onto this thread. Just tragic is all I can say. I posted that because it’s rich for someone to complain about another posters tone only to then insult in the next paragraph. Shows how petty some can be. This thread is no place for it.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

fair enough, thanks.
I guess they would have to be taken apart to see if corners were cut. Do you think those experiencing mic issues would benefit from swapping the mic itself? Have you attempted attaching a different mic and is there a difference in quality with sidetone on or off? Thanks and thanks for your time.

I did switch mics between that onm the Penrose and the Mobius mic. It's all on my soundcloud which I mainly use for mic tests. Both mics were used directly on the Penrose. Mind you, I'm HORRIBLE at mic recording. There are volume differences, and pops and stuff that are error on my part, so ignore that and focus on the voice.

https://soundcloud.com/madlustenvy

@imac2much

I don't think you're going to ever get a fair response since you're not comparing two of the same headphone, and falls under preference, feature differences, and user needs.

The Penrose ain't going to replace any wired audiophile headphone, personally. But it makes a great alternative when you want wireless.

 

[zbrictson]

@Mad Lust Envy

Have you been able to recreate the better wireless mic performance posted by a few others the past few days? Some sound good, others sound muffled like your uploads.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Sorry, I've been quite busy this past week with IRL stuff, and haven't been able to use the Penrose much. Before I finish my review, I'll try and get more mic samples like with other things like my phone via wired, bluetooth, as well as type c to usb a dongle so I can connect the dongle to the phone.

I may hold off on my review a little longer and wait for fixes, since I don't want to post information and impressions that will be outdated given a few weeks. I may just omit certain things and wait until then before adding it to my review. I'll try and focus on the things that won't change, like audio quality, and build, comfort, etc.

 

[imac2much]

@imac2much

I don't think you're going to ever get a fair response since you're not comparing two of the same headphone, and falls under preference, feature differences, and user needs.

The Penrose ain't going to replace any wired audiophile headphone, personally. But it makes a great alternative when you want wireless.

Sure that’s fair. These headphones all have significantly different sound signatures and sound stages. I’m mainly just interested whether you or anyone else who has experience thought that wired headphones via Dualsense were up to snuff. I’m a bit skeptical of Sony’s cost cutting measures here given most gamers wouldn’t care about audio quality but if you think it sounds good compared to wireless (lossless) alternatives, that means a lot to me.

I actually got into this audio community over 6 years ago after being immensely disappointed with an Astro A50. I stumbled upon your gaming headphone thread, bought my first “nice” headphones in the FidelioX1 upon your recommendation, and the rest was history haha. Good to see your impressions and posts again, for gaming headsets no less. Full circle and all