Audeze Penrose X and Penrose
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MikeyMatou
New Head-Fier
Ah OK thanks. Remember having this issue with my HyperX Cloud when I'd use a laptop...
Using my motherboard's IO solves the issue...much better isolation.
EDIT: Oh but you can also just turn off sidetone and that fixes it at least you hearing it. Only issue is that you're still stuck with others hearing it.
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MikeyMatou
New Head-Fier
The second I heard the headset I was like "Oh jeez I think the left side is louder ever so slightly" which I believe I saw @abcsoup and @ex0du5 mentioned in the past. Did you guys ever find a solution? Well...other than the tissue paper idea which I guess I could do but...eh...
When plugged in via aux I manually set the headset to be more right-sound oriented it actually solves it...but like jeez from a scale of -10 to 10 (-10 being all sound on left ear cup and 10 being all sound on right ear cup) you need to put it on 2 to sound natural. Unfortunately, it kind of distorts the sound at that point. Like dam that's really disappointing.
As for wireless/Bluetooth, I have no solution.
Just did a small confirmation listening to
When plugged in via aux I manually set the headset to be more right-sound oriented it actually solves it...but like jeez from a scale of -10 to 10 (-10 being all sound on left ear cup and 10 being all sound on right ear cup) you need to put it on 2 to sound natural. Unfortunately, it kind of distorts the sound at that point. Like dam that's really disappointing.
As for wireless/Bluetooth, I have no solution.
Just did a small confirmation listening to
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scratchmassive
Head-Fier
I received my Penrose today from Addicted to Audio in Australia. A nice surprise because the tracking notice came on Thursday night and it still says that it is awaiting processing. Very happy that A2A came through and sent express post.
But I'm feeling too ill to play with it. Just checked to see it works. And found a low noise that disappears when sidetone is turned off, and no discernible noise after that. It's much comfier than expected, after reading others' opinions, and clamping is fine. With those 2 concerns cleared up, I'm much more excited to spend more time with them.
Hope everyone else receives their goodies very soon.
But I'm feeling too ill to play with it. Just checked to see it works. And found a low noise that disappears when sidetone is turned off, and no discernible noise after that. It's much comfier than expected, after reading others' opinions, and clamping is fine. With those 2 concerns cleared up, I'm much more excited to spend more time with them.
Hope everyone else receives their goodies very soon.
gmdoom
New Head-Fier
I’ve probably missed and someone has already asked this but with hifiheadphones the carry case is out of stock. Can anyone recommend a good case for the headphones? Ideally would like the outer shell to be fabric
WhiteHartMart
100+ Head-Fier
@Audeze are Amazon UK likely to have PlayStation Penrose before Xmas. Have some vouchers to use which could tempt me back to order again
amoeba1126
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2012
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NOTE: This is overall an opinion post!
Introduction
So a bit about my thoughts and motivation behind this post first. Something I realized as impressions from "non-audiophile" gamers started rolling in that we have an influx of "gamers" who are having trouble quantifying why a Penrose sounds better or realize why Penrose is better than X "gaming headset" on the market. Now I am putting terms like "audiophile" and "gamers" in quotes because I believe the nomenclature to be disingenuous. To begin with, I do not consider "audiophile" an actual term. There is no "audiophile" standard in the world of audio. It is basically casual speak for "This **** sounds amazeballs!" In reality, "audiophile-grade" just means equipment capable of producing high resolution audio.
The same applies for "gaming" as it has become more fashion than actual reality and what people mean by "gaming headsets/headphones" are really just headphones capable of good stereo imaging, sound localization aka soundstage, and high enough overall quality to reproduce an acceptable level of actual audio quality. To this day, the best headphones I have used for "gaming" is probably still the Sennheiser HD800 which is from a company that "gamers" have only recently started hearing about and a model that 99% of them aren't even aware of despite the German company having been in existence for around 75 years and the model itself for over a decade.
Gaming Audio 101: What I Need
As I said earlier, I don't personally consider "gaming" headphones a thing. Sure there are headphones that are great for headphones, but until very recently, none of them were designed or tuned for that purpose in mind. In fact, some of the best "gaming" headphones are monitor headphones meant for studio work where the intent is to produce live sound as accurately as possible. With that said, what would we want to look for in "gaming" headphones? Well at base level, we primarily want the following achieved at preferably good to great levels while maintaining an acceptable quality of overall sound reproduction:
For the ability to locate sound, I personally prefer high quality live recordings of jazz with a central vocalist or piano concerto. The reason for this is because of the following:
And then finally, we have what I coin "acceptable overall sound quality" or what I would consider subjectively, an acceptable level by headphones to reproduce sound. Now, this is not talking about how neutral or colored a sound signature is, but rather can I not only tell what a sound is but also how clearly I can tell what that sound is. To translate this for games and movies; can I tell the difference between a pistol versus a rifle and how clearly? If circa 2000 earbuds shipped with smartphones when they still had headphone jacks represented the basement of serviceable audio reproduction, then this would represent IMO the standard for whether headphones or headsets are "good enough" to use.
These three things are what I personally consider the fundamental necessity when looking for headphones that work well when playing games as they provide the necessary immersion for games with quality sound effects and usage. It is what helps us determine which direction footsteps or gunshots are coming from and how far or how clearly we can hear and separate that from say a dog barking in the same general direction.
Gaming Audio 102: Being Needy
So with those 3 things as the basic needs of a "gaming" headphones, what else do we need?
Well, that really depends on your use case for the headphones. Are they not just for gaming or are you using them for other purposes, like listening to music or watching movies or audio/video conferencing? Are you fine with being physically tethered by a cable because you sit close to your source or are you on a couch 8-10ft away from a console? How important is latency to you when utilizing wireless tech to transfer sound? Do you have an amp? Does your headphones even need an amp? Do you even know what an amp is?
Are you playing single player or multiplayer games and therefore a microphone? If the latter, how good of a microphone do you need? Do you just need one clear enough so other people can hear you fine or are you also a streamer and looking for something with broadcast quality? Should you have a separate mic or are you looking for an all-in-one solution ie headset?
As you can see, what one looks for in a gaming headphone or headset setup is completely dependent on what you are actually looking for and prioritize as important to your own unique intended usage. This means it is very important to determine your list of priorities in terms of wants and needs as every choice, every type of setup comes with cost and consequence. Gaming with a Bifrost Multibit, Burson Soloist, Sennheiser HD800, and Audio-Technica AT2020 for example would sound absolutely bonkers for gaming, but it will take up a lot of room, keep you physically tethered, and cost about as much as an organ on the black market in a 3rd world country. Something like the Hyper X Cloud gives you absolute freedom of playing your games from wherever in the room, includes a built in DAC/amp combo, and a detachable mic all at a much, much cheaper price, but at the expense of sound reproduction quality.
In order to maximize your purchase, you have to determine what you need, what you want most, and at what budget.
Audio Quality & Immersion
Read any "professional" review about the Penrose or reviews of any high quality ie expensive audio equipment and you will no doubt hear some or all of the following terms:
Why does this matter? Or rather, why do I want something that doesn't strive for as accurate a representation of sound as possible? Well, the answer boils down to individual preference, which in turn helps determine how immersive the listening experience becomes. Humans, just like any other living creature, have preferences. This is why so many different variations of... well anything... exists.
When we listen to something we prefer more, that increases how immersed we become. When we listen to something we prefer less, we are more easily distracted. Basically, how much different and "better" something sounds affects the immersion of our experience. If you don't believe me, just go to your typical dollar movie theater (when it's safe of course) and blindfold yourself and then go to a top end IMAX theater and do the same. In the same vein, people generally prefer enhanced midrange and bass in movies and games to hear sound effects better, to make explosions for satisfying and impactful.
Sound matters, the real question though is how much sound matters to you.
Value
Sound quality matters, this is indisputable. That said, again preferences and priorities exist. Perspectives exist. Just because sound matters and is a big part of overall immersion, does not mean that it is paramount to everyone.
Budget for example, plays a huge role in our priorities whether we like it or not. I saw someone state the Penrose sounded great for a budget headset to which another immediately argued that at $300 the Penrose was hardly budget. This was because one side was perceiving and evaluating the Penrose from an experience that valued headphones costing easily over a grand and the other was looking at the Penrose relative to other headsets on the market.
Our ability to hear and how tolerant we are of certain frequencies of sound also plays a huge role. These preferences, priorities, and perspectives that are unique to each individual is what ultimately defines what value you will assign to the Penrose or any other headphones/headsets you buy.
Now this is wholly subjective is probably not very useful to your ultimate decision making, so let me try to break it down for you further:
Introduction
So a bit about my thoughts and motivation behind this post first. Something I realized as impressions from "non-audiophile" gamers started rolling in that we have an influx of "gamers" who are having trouble quantifying why a Penrose sounds better or realize why Penrose is better than X "gaming headset" on the market. Now I am putting terms like "audiophile" and "gamers" in quotes because I believe the nomenclature to be disingenuous. To begin with, I do not consider "audiophile" an actual term. There is no "audiophile" standard in the world of audio. It is basically casual speak for "This **** sounds amazeballs!" In reality, "audiophile-grade" just means equipment capable of producing high resolution audio.
The same applies for "gaming" as it has become more fashion than actual reality and what people mean by "gaming headsets/headphones" are really just headphones capable of good stereo imaging, sound localization aka soundstage, and high enough overall quality to reproduce an acceptable level of actual audio quality. To this day, the best headphones I have used for "gaming" is probably still the Sennheiser HD800 which is from a company that "gamers" have only recently started hearing about and a model that 99% of them aren't even aware of despite the German company having been in existence for around 75 years and the model itself for over a decade.
Gaming Audio 101: What I Need
As I said earlier, I don't personally consider "gaming" headphones a thing. Sure there are headphones that are great for headphones, but until very recently, none of them were designed or tuned for that purpose in mind. In fact, some of the best "gaming" headphones are monitor headphones meant for studio work where the intent is to produce live sound as accurately as possible. With that said, what would we want to look for in "gaming" headphones? Well at base level, we primarily want the following achieved at preferably good to great levels while maintaining an acceptable quality of overall sound reproduction:
- Imaging - Separation of different sources of sound. If you are listening to an orchestra, can you distinctly separate a violin from a viola or cello for example.
- Localization - Perception of a sound source relative to a fixed location. This can help you perceive a 3D space around you aka soundstage.
For the ability to locate sound, I personally prefer high quality live recordings of jazz with a central vocalist or piano concerto. The reason for this is because of the following:
- There is a fixed location to reference location with, such as the singer or piano, to base the location of other sounds from
- While multitrack recording and mixing is definitely a thing, the accuracy of the live stage is generally preserved
And then finally, we have what I coin "acceptable overall sound quality" or what I would consider subjectively, an acceptable level by headphones to reproduce sound. Now, this is not talking about how neutral or colored a sound signature is, but rather can I not only tell what a sound is but also how clearly I can tell what that sound is. To translate this for games and movies; can I tell the difference between a pistol versus a rifle and how clearly? If circa 2000 earbuds shipped with smartphones when they still had headphone jacks represented the basement of serviceable audio reproduction, then this would represent IMO the standard for whether headphones or headsets are "good enough" to use.
These three things are what I personally consider the fundamental necessity when looking for headphones that work well when playing games as they provide the necessary immersion for games with quality sound effects and usage. It is what helps us determine which direction footsteps or gunshots are coming from and how far or how clearly we can hear and separate that from say a dog barking in the same general direction.
Gaming Audio 102: Being Needy
So with those 3 things as the basic needs of a "gaming" headphones, what else do we need?
Well, that really depends on your use case for the headphones. Are they not just for gaming or are you using them for other purposes, like listening to music or watching movies or audio/video conferencing? Are you fine with being physically tethered by a cable because you sit close to your source or are you on a couch 8-10ft away from a console? How important is latency to you when utilizing wireless tech to transfer sound? Do you have an amp? Does your headphones even need an amp? Do you even know what an amp is?
Are you playing single player or multiplayer games and therefore a microphone? If the latter, how good of a microphone do you need? Do you just need one clear enough so other people can hear you fine or are you also a streamer and looking for something with broadcast quality? Should you have a separate mic or are you looking for an all-in-one solution ie headset?
As you can see, what one looks for in a gaming headphone or headset setup is completely dependent on what you are actually looking for and prioritize as important to your own unique intended usage. This means it is very important to determine your list of priorities in terms of wants and needs as every choice, every type of setup comes with cost and consequence. Gaming with a Bifrost Multibit, Burson Soloist, Sennheiser HD800, and Audio-Technica AT2020 for example would sound absolutely bonkers for gaming, but it will take up a lot of room, keep you physically tethered, and cost about as much as an organ on the black market in a 3rd world country. Something like the Hyper X Cloud gives you absolute freedom of playing your games from wherever in the room, includes a built in DAC/amp combo, and a detachable mic all at a much, much cheaper price, but at the expense of sound reproduction quality.
In order to maximize your purchase, you have to determine what you need, what you want most, and at what budget.
Audio Quality & Immersion
Read any "professional" review about the Penrose or reviews of any high quality ie expensive audio equipment and you will no doubt hear some or all of the following terms:
- Treble, midrange, bass
- Texture, richness, range
- Accuracy, speed, extension
- Dark, bright
- Cold / clinical, warm
Why does this matter? Or rather, why do I want something that doesn't strive for as accurate a representation of sound as possible? Well, the answer boils down to individual preference, which in turn helps determine how immersive the listening experience becomes. Humans, just like any other living creature, have preferences. This is why so many different variations of... well anything... exists.
When we listen to something we prefer more, that increases how immersed we become. When we listen to something we prefer less, we are more easily distracted. Basically, how much different and "better" something sounds affects the immersion of our experience. If you don't believe me, just go to your typical dollar movie theater (when it's safe of course) and blindfold yourself and then go to a top end IMAX theater and do the same. In the same vein, people generally prefer enhanced midrange and bass in movies and games to hear sound effects better, to make explosions for satisfying and impactful.
Sound matters, the real question though is how much sound matters to you.
Value
Sound quality matters, this is indisputable. That said, again preferences and priorities exist. Perspectives exist. Just because sound matters and is a big part of overall immersion, does not mean that it is paramount to everyone.
Budget for example, plays a huge role in our priorities whether we like it or not. I saw someone state the Penrose sounded great for a budget headset to which another immediately argued that at $300 the Penrose was hardly budget. This was because one side was perceiving and evaluating the Penrose from an experience that valued headphones costing easily over a grand and the other was looking at the Penrose relative to other headsets on the market.
Our ability to hear and how tolerant we are of certain frequencies of sound also plays a huge role. These preferences, priorities, and perspectives that are unique to each individual is what ultimately defines what value you will assign to the Penrose or any other headphones/headsets you buy.
Now this is wholly subjective is probably not very useful to your ultimate decision making, so let me try to break it down for you further:
- Want the best sound quality available on the market with lossless wireless audio? Penrose is really the only available option at this time.
- Value mature software and communication support as much or more than sound quality, Penrose is not for you or at least not at this time.
- Value bang-for-buck and while you can notice or appreciate better sound, it's ultimately not that important? Penrose is definitely not for you.
- Looking for something to use with your existing DAC/amp setup? Penrose is definitely not for you as it eschews those for it's own built-in versions.
- Need a high quality recording microphone not limited by the overall bandwidth of the wireless chip being used? Penrose is not for you.
- Want the best sound quality available with wireless features, but don't really care about lossless wireless audio? There are alternatives to Penrose.
- Need great sound isolation or active noise cancelling (ANC)? Definitely do not get Penrose.
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Will using this headphone wired improve the sound quality? I also use it on laptop. Can you recommend a DAC. Penrose + 3.55mm cable + dac: can I get your opinion for these 3 combinations.
RoundAboutSally
Head-Fier
Look at the post before yours, read it. Your DAC question is already answered.
naveyarrum077
New Head-Fier
What would the wired/wirelsss setup look like for the PS5? Could I use the wireless dongle for the main audio and the aux cable for the mic? Would the mic being plugged into my controller still be considered “wired” since the controller itself is wireless?
Thanks for any info.
Cafofo
Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jan 14, 2010
- Posts
- 64
- Likes
- 24
At my point of view(or listening...) the difference bettwen the left and right side is more regard the headphone construction than sound balance.
I dont know you guys, but when I just put the headphone I can fell the isolation from the Right side is higher/better than the left side.
From the left ear I can hear more things from outside which will cause I considerable difference in sound when listening.
amoeba1126
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2012
- Posts
- 395
- Likes
- 333
You can use the headset with a DAC via 3.5mm connection. Audio quality should still be mostly the same depending on DAC and source quality as the difference between lossless wireless and AUX is latency. The important thing to consider here though are quality of DAC and quality of audio file. Some have stated that the microphone appears to work better via Aux, but I have not tested it nor do I plan to. As for what DAC to consider, honestly I have no idea. There are just so many high quality DACs available nowadays.
MikeyMatou
New Head-Fier
Oh please god no I pre-ordered them in August and just got them today...I can't go back to my dangling head-cup again (other headset), I'm about to tear that thing up.
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Dakk
New Head-Fier
I'm experiencing a strange issue with the USB wireless dongle and my Penrose on Windows 10. The dongle is plugged into a USB 2.0 port directly into the back port of my ASUS high-end motherboard. Sometimes when I boot up or reboot with the headset on, Windows reports the USB device malfunctions:
"Windows has stopped this device because it has reported problems. (Code 43) A request for the USB device descriptor failed."
The only solution is to unplug and plug the dongle back into the USB port, and then it works fine until the error occurs again.
Any ideas on how to resolve this? Audeze support just suggests I update my drivers but they are all update to date and other devices work fine in all the USB ports.
"Windows has stopped this device because it has reported problems. (Code 43) A request for the USB device descriptor failed."
The only solution is to unplug and plug the dongle back into the USB port, and then it works fine until the error occurs again.
Any ideas on how to resolve this? Audeze support just suggests I update my drivers but they are all update to date and other devices work fine in all the USB ports.
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