I finally received my Penrose over the weekend. I enjoy audio and have been a member here for several years. I wouldn't consider myself an audiophile as I'm often satisfied with Spotify 320kbps for easy listening, though I do buy FLAC albums for certain artists and groups that I want to support and who I believe provide good masters. I do enjoy planar magnetics, and my first planar was an HE-400i that I bought directly from a Hifiman distributor in Beijing before it was even available in the U.S. Since then, I've also owned the HE-560, Oppo PM-1 and PM-3 and ZMF Omni. I eventually moved on from planars as I found their weight to be a nuisance when I wanted to listen to music for more than a couple hours at a time, and settled on some dynamic headphones that are extremely comfortable for long periods of time (HD650, Focal Clear and Sony Z1R). However, I still think my favorite headphone sound signature belongs to that of a planar, the ZMF Omni.
I generally use my Z1R for PC gaming as I don't play any competitive games and I find the audio more immersive than my Clears and HD650. Much like the Omni, I find the Z1R to have an expansive soundstage for a closed headphone, though my HD650 and Clear's aren't renowned for their soundstage anyway. I rarely use headphones for console gaming as they are connected to a home theater 5.1 system, but I've been craving the option for the past year or so now that I have a couple kids, especially when I want to play at night without waking up the house. For portable use, I use Sennheiser Momentum 3.0 and Momentum True Wireless 1.0 with my Switch and Oculus Quest, as they support aptX Low Latency - otherwise, Bluetooth is a non-starter for gaming due to the horrendous latency introduced.
So, first impressions: the Penrose are more comfortable than I expected, though still not what I'd want to wear for more than an hour. I guess I was preparing myself for the worst with all the complaints about clamping force (especially since I have a larger than average head), but I find the pads pretty comfortable and clamping force can usually be adjusted after a few days of stretching. I actually find the headband to be a bit more annoying and it presses very noticeably on the top of my head, which gets annoying after a while. Even though these are lighter than ZMF Omni's, I find them less comfortable overall due to the latter's luxurious cushioning on their pads and headband.
I almost don't want to give my thoughts on the audio yet, because supposedly there will be firmware to fix some of these issues. However, I find it a bit crazy that the headphones have been shipped as is with a promise of future firmware (which probably will not be communicated too well for people who typically purchase "gaming" (marketed) headphones). I connected the Penrose to my PC to turn off sidetone and then plugged the dongle into the front USB 2.0 port of my PS5.
Overall impressions - underwhelmed. Although these sound significantly better than the Sony Pulse 3D that I briefly tried before returning, it still pales in comparison not only to other wired headphones I currently use but also to other wireless headphones I've used in the past. I prefer my Oppo PM-3 and Sennheiser Momentum 3.0's to the Penrose, honestly. But perhaps I'm not giving the Penrose a fair shake, because I get consistent crackle or brief drop-outs when using it with my PS5, which I never experienced with the Pulse 3D (or Momentum's plugged into the Dualsense). In addition to this, I experienced 4 significant disconnects (accompanied with the very loud "CONNECTED" voice yelling in my ear) in the span of an hour, and I sit about 10 feet away from my PS5 with absolutely nothing in between. I've read all the suggestions about purchasing a USB extender or plugging in the rear ports, but it's kind of ridiculous that I would need to resort to that when other wireless options don't have the same problem.
I'll be receiving the Arctis 7P this week so I can do a bit more comparisons, and it sounds like the new Penrose firmware should be available this week as well. I'll also try out a USB extender along with some PC and Bluetooth use before making a final decision (though I'm actually fine with wired headphones at the PC). I do hope that the firmware can fix the connection issue, though I can't recall if that's been promised (I know it's supposed to fix the woosh noise, Sidetone functionality via button press, and mic quality). The Penrose definitely sounds better than the few other "gaming" headphones I've owned, but I guess I just expected more. I know others may disagree, but personally I do not find the increased audio quality worth the unpleasant user experience I've had and continue to experience with this headset. If all else fails and the Arctis 7P is as bad as people make them out to be, I'll probably just return both and find a USB AptX Low Latency adapter to pair with my Momentum 3.0.