Audeze Penrose X and Penrose
Dec 8, 2020 at 8:19 AM Post #2,897 of 7,191
If you think things are bad now, just wait until 1 January 2021 when things get really interesting crossing the boarders.

In all seriousness, has Audeze confirmed that these have shipped to the UK already? I know they said international orders are starting to be fulfilled, but didn't see reference to the UK specifically.

There’s a previous post from Oscar at hifiheadphones which has an image of the tracking and they look to have arrived in the UK yesterday
 
Dec 8, 2020 at 8:27 AM Post #2,898 of 7,191
If you think things are bad now, just wait until 1 January 2021 when things get really interesting crossing the boarders.

In all seriousness, has Audeze confirmed that these have shipped to the UK already? I know they said international orders are starting to be fulfilled, but didn't see reference to the UK specifically.

Ugh, don't even remind us of that mess.

Most things I order are typically on UK shores long before I get around to them, but things are gonna get dicey for a bit.

And yeah, as commented, but units have hit UK, presumably not just HiFi Headphones. Late this week as a best case, or next week otherwise, pending no additional delays/shenanigans here with our own couriers.
 
Dec 8, 2020 at 10:13 AM Post #2,900 of 7,191
I did some more testing with my Penrose.
First off, I used two different USB extenders with my PS5 and Switch. Neither one fixed the unreliable connection or the crackling issue. I am not going to buy a powered USB extender, as these dongles should work with the PS5 naturally as they are advertised for the PS5. No matter what, I still get intermittent crackling or slight dropouts, and about 5-6 true drop-outs (followed up with a CONNECTED shout) every hour. Sometimes more - last night in a span of 5 minutes I was disconnected 4 times while playing Miles Morales. Extremely frustrating experience. I didn't try using the rear USB ports since that's where I connect my PSVR box and camera, but I'll try that tonight.

Playing on Switch was much better! I still got a couple dropouts, but probably only twice in about an hour of play. The crackling wasn't as noticeable, though I did hear it every now and then. This was a much more pleasant experience though.

Bluetooth allowed me to truly enjoy the audio quality of these headphones though. Without the dropouts and crackling, I could appreciate a lot of my favorite songs, from Jizue to Danyka Nadeau, sprinkled with some game OSTs (Sayonara Wild Hearts is beautiful). I compared with my Momentum 3.0's and definitely prefer the sound signature and clarity of the Penrose over the Sennheiser - the low end is deeper and less muddy and vocals sound a bit clearer to my ears as well. However, since I'm using these as a pair of bluetooth headphones on my mobile device, I admit I don't notice the difference as much when I'm walking around the house. I still prefer my Sony MDR-Z1R and Focal Clear when I'm sitting at my desk/computer, so I'm not sure I'll be able to appreciate the aural quality of the Penrose for most music (since that's not what I bought these for anyway). Also, I don't really find them as uncomfortable as I feared - they are only about 50g heavier than the Momentum (356g vs 309g) and honestly both have similar clamping force. Maybe I could wrap a ZMF focus pad around the headband to get rid of the hotspot on my crown though. Bluetooth range seems much better than the wireless dongle as well, as I could move to the kitchen to get a drink with no issues. Also, unlike a previous poster, simply connecting the Penrose to my phone via Bluetooth immediately reduced the volume coming from the PS5 dongle, even if my phone was not playing any audio. Odd.

I also tested my Momentum 3.0's on my PS5 and Switch using my Genki aptX LL USB adapter. I experienced absolutely zero disconnects with the headphones after about an hour of play with both the PS5 and Switch, though I did still notice a BIT of crackling on the PS5 (but much less common than with the Penrose). When A/B'ing them immediately like this, I could tell the Momentum had a muddier low end that exaggerated certain impacts (or the "drop" when you start swinging in Miles Morales), but overall this was a much more enjoyable experience as I didn't have to worry about losing audio at key moments. I could even walk to the kitchen to get a drink, which is impossible with the Penrose.

Overall, I still think the Penrose are good headphones crippled with some major UX issues. I'm unsure if the firmware will fix the bad connection issues, but I really am rooting for them and I hope it will, because the audio quality is definitely there. However, I did not purchase these to be bluetooth headphones first and foremost - they were meant to be my primary gaming headphones with occasional use case as a bluetooth headphone. For this use case, these are unusable for me, but I hope this will be fixed with this week's firmware.

Also, my Arctis 7p just came in this morning, so I'll do some more testing with these tonight.
 
Dec 8, 2020 at 10:49 AM Post #2,901 of 7,191
Received my order yesterday in Sydney (I'd post a pic, but as a new user I am not permitted such a privilege!) EDIT: Perhaps it did work?

Our local distributor (Addicted To Audio) is in a different State to me - their service has been outstanding.

I only ordered last Tuesday.

NcQiyNW.jpg
Honestly man I’m jealous of you, I Pre ordered mine on Nov 6 from Audeze themselves and still haven’t received them. I live in Illinois so I didn’t think it would take them this long to ship to me. How big of a company is Audeze? I keep comparing them to Beyerdynamic or Sennheiser but it seems like they are smaller than both.
 
Dec 8, 2020 at 10:55 AM Post #2,902 of 7,191
Honestly man I’m jealous of you, I Pre ordered mine on Nov 6 from Audeze themselves and still haven’t received them. I live in Illinois so I didn’t think it would take them this long to ship to me. How big of a company is Audeze? I keep comparing them to Beyerdynamic or Sennheiser but it seems like they are smaller than both.

They are definitely a lot smaller. Beyerdynamic has been around for close to 100 years at this point while Sennheiser has been around for roughly 75 years. Both companies have long established an international presence. Audeze on the other hand, has only been around for little over a decade.
 
Dec 8, 2020 at 11:57 AM Post #2,904 of 7,191
I didn't try using the rear USB ports since that's where I connect my PSVR box and camera, but I'll try that tonight.

It's a known issue that the front USB-A port on the PS5 is a different power rating (or whatever the scientific term is) than the rear USB ports, and people have reported having issues with wireless headset dongles (not just the Penrose) cutting out and sounding odd when using the front USB-A port. It doesn't seem to happen to everyone, but it's common enough that I've seen multiple comments here and on Reddit. I had the same issues, and moved mine to the back port and had no connection problems. I do, however, use it with a USB hub to get it a little closer to the opening of my entertainment center, and because the USB ports on the rear of the PS5 get insanely hot. This also helps cut down on any interference that USB 3.0 ports may cause on 2.4Ghz dongles.

Also, if you want to keep using a front port, I also tested it with a USB-A to USB-C adapter on the front USB-C port, and that worked totally fine as well.
 
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Dec 8, 2020 at 12:06 PM Post #2,905 of 7,191
It does work, just the tunning sound unpleasant to my ears. I have other gaming headsets such as Astro A50 and SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless, even the lastest Sony Pulse 3D headset, They all work better than the Penrose with 3D audio enabled in my opinion, because the tuning of those headset are all too bass heavy and the treble a bit subdue by default, enabling the 3D audio actually balanced them quite well. On the other hand the Penrose sound pretty neutral the begin with, when you enable the 3D audio, it suddenly became hollow sounding, no bass , treble became too much, when you swing a sword in Demon's Soul to a rock, the clank is hurting my ears but if I disable the 3D audio, it sound amazing.
The Tempest 3D is based on personalized HRTF. Next year Sony has promised to add a new feature that enables one to take a picture of your ear and get personalized 3D adapted to your ear shape/size. Till that point it is an approximation based on the 5 presets. The further your earshape/size is from the 5 presets, the worse your 3D perception will be. So one persons experience does not translate to others easily.
We have been working on algorithms similar to the ones used in Tempest with simulated HRTFs from pictures. We mainly use this for simulating rooms for mixing/mastering. You can download and try the Reveal+ plugin from our site. You can compare the difference between your personalized HRTF and other people's HRTF. It is not subtle.

On a completely different note, you can adjust the EQ on Penrose and save the preset to the headphone.


We have tried different tests with Tempest engine and the 3D spatial perception is quite good if you get the settings right /close to your HRTF.
 
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Dec 8, 2020 at 12:17 PM Post #2,906 of 7,191
It's a known issue that the front USB-A port on the PS5 is a different power rating (or whatever the scientific term is) than the rear USB ports, and people have reported having issues with wireless headset dongles (not just the Penrose) cutting out and sounding odd when using the front USB-A port. It doesn't seem to happen to everyone, but it's common enough that I've seen multiple comments here and on Reddit. I had the same issues, and moved mine to the back port and had no connection problems. I do, however, use it with a USB hub to get it a little closer to the opening of my entertainment center, and because the USB ports on the rear of the PS5 get insanely hot. This also helps cut down on any interference that USB 3.0 ports may cause on 2.4Ghz dongles.

Also, if you want to keep using a front port, I also tested it with a USB-A to USB-C adapter on the front USB-C port, and that worked totally fine as well.
This is a great point - I do recall some people complaining about the front USB port not even charging their Dualsense. I'll try to rear ports today - I do hope that will resolve my connection issues. Thanks!
 
Dec 8, 2020 at 12:34 PM Post #2,907 of 7,191
so for you no need to use Tempest audio???
we are going to have 6 years with tempest audio and not be able to use it fine on Penrose ...

and with your sony pulse 3d with tempest on and penrose tempest off, who wins for your opinion?

P.S. Tempest 3D is much needed this generation at least for me. i a m looking for headphones that work with Tempest 3D audio
This is his OPINION. My opinion is very different, and think Tempest sounds GREAT on the Penrose. But the 3D audio, you need to adjust the 3D audio setting on the ps5 to make it sound best for you. There are 5 options there, and some will sound worse.

Some will sound muffled, some will sound not so much too.

Tempest DOES muffle some frequencies, in general however. I have found that some S sounds will sound more like TH. That's not an issue with the Penrose, but Tempest.

There are certain.....sacrifices made with Tempest 3D audio. Much like any virtual surround HTRF. But you gain much more with spatial awareness, that I find the balanced tipped way more towards using Tempest 3D audio than going plain stereo. Nothing beats being able to tell where things are based entirely off audio. Stereo can't achieve that, ever.
 
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Dec 8, 2020 at 12:35 PM Post #2,908 of 7,191
I have good news for those waiting for the firmware update. After applying the new firmware the microphone now sounds great in Discord, MUCH better than before. My brothers voice regained its definition and he was no longer trying to talk through a sock. Hopefully with some further testing they manage to push it out soon to the public.

could you please test these scenarios and send us feedback:

1- play a video on WhatsApp and switch to twitter and play videos there. does the the Penrose lower the wireless pc sound like making a call?

2- do you get any sound notifications on Bluetooth from WhatsApp or text mgs or mail on the penrose?

3- is there any sudden shutdown when your on the phone with some one and playing a game on the iPhone and a huge mic quality drop?

could you do tests with using both bluetooth and wireless and check for any dropout connections from either of them?

thank you
 

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