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:
- 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.
So how can you test for this? Quite a few people like to use various types of electronic or artificially created audio tracks to showcase these traits, something I personally disagree with and I will explain why. Artificially created tracks can be fantastic for imaging, but not for localization as there is no true "center" to the track. The center can be wherever the producer wants it to be as they can artificially change where added sounds are coming from by adjusting the volume, clarity, and delay for individual sources of sound. This is essentially how virtual surround sound can trick your brain into thinking it's hearing surround sound.
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
Close your eyes and listen to a high quality version of Diana Krall's Live in Paris album for example. Listen with how the piano spans from low notes to high notes in respective to where the central microphone is. How long does that keyboard sound to you? See if you can visualize where the percussion is, where the bass is, where the guitar is. How far do they sound relative to the piano? Is it right on top? Is it pretty far away? All of these combine to create the depth and width of what you are hearing.
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
These are basically some of the terminology used to try and quantify what one is hearing beyond "It sounds better" or "It sounds worse". Just like people, headphone models are unique to one another and depending on manufacturing process, sometimes even amongst the same models. In a nutshell, these terms help define the "coloration" of the sound signature with neutral being essentially colorless.
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.
Well, this is as good as any place to end things. If you made it this far, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!