Finally got a good 4 hours of testing between the Audeze Penrose (via wireless dongle to PS5/Switch, bluetooth to iphone, and aux into my Woo WA7), Steelseries Arctis 7p (wireless dongle to PS5/Switch, aux into WA7) and Sennheiser Momentum Wireless 3.0 (Genki AptX LL adapter to PS5/Switch, Bluetooth to iphone). I also use my Sony Z1R during the day when I'm working (I like to listen to music as I code), sometimes swapping to Focal Clear depending on my mood. The Z1R is my preference for PC gaming, so I didn't even test any of these wireless headphones for that purpose.
Just to state again, my primary use case for a wireless headphone is convenient console gaming. I have plenty of other headphones or true wireless buds for other purposes (PC gaming, music, podcasts), and I don't play any competitive games so I didn't even attach the mic to test it. Although console gaming is my primary use case, I was also looking forward to the simultaneous Bluetooth aspect of the Penrose to listen to music or podcasts from my iPhone at times when gaming; then Arctis has no similar feature, and while my Momentum 3.0 does offer multipoint bluetooth pairing, only one source plays at a time (as far as I can tell). It's still nice for answering phone calls if necessary though.
I've been stretching out the Penrose using the pillow method for the last 2 nights and all day today. I've also updated to the new beta firmware which solves the "whoosh" issue and offers 5 EQ presets instead of 2. It also lowers the "Connected" voice, which is nice, but it does nothing to address any connection issues (straight from Audeze's mouth through email correspondence).
First of all, of the 3 wireless options I own, the Penrose have the best audio quality by far. If we were to judge the headphones purely on audio potential, the Penrose would win quite handily. While it doesn't approach my preferred setup (Z1R or Clear to an external Amp/DAC), it still offers the best musical clarity compared to the Momentum and Arctis. In comparison, the Momentums have rather muddy bass (a common "feature" among mainstream ANC headsets, supposedly because it's preferential when moving/walking around) and suppressed vocals. The Arctis 7P have better bass than the Momentum, but still have recessed vocals compared to the Penrose. Audeze also has a nice "quickness" to its beats and attack, though not as crisp here compared to Focal Clear. It also has excellent sub-bass extension, which is a trait I adore in most planar magnetics.
However, I also think some people are denigrating the Arctis 7P a bit too much. I personally don't think it's a slouch in audio - it's not the best, but I didn't hear distortion in bass or explosions as one poster experienced. Audio quality while gaming sounded fine, and its soundstage was better than the Momentums and comparable to the Penrose. While it doesn't do vocals as well as the Penrose, I hardly noticed this during my gaming session... only noticed it really when listening to music (even tried watching some more Hamilton via PS5's Disney Plus app).
So the Penrose is a winner when it comes to audio. How come I still feel unfulfilled? Overall, I had a pretty negative
user experience while wearing the Penrose.
First, even after stretching the band for over 24 hours, it still does not feel very comfortable. The clamp isn't actually that bad for the first 30 minutes or hour (and honestly, I actually prefer its snug fit initially compared to the looser fit of the Arctis) but after that I start feeling hot spots around my ears and the one spot on my head where the headband has significant padding. After more than an hour of wearing it, switching to the Arctis was a breath of fresh air.
Second, the simultaneous Bluetooth/Wireless feature is useless to me. Connecting my iphone immediately lowers my wireless/PS5 volume dramatically. While I can just increase the volume of the Penrose, this also increases the volume of my phone (which doesn't control independently from the PS5) and makes it much too loud to listen to comfortably. Not that big of a deal, but a miss considering I was looking forward to this feature.
But most importantly, I still experience way too many connection issues with the Penrose. I listened to suggestions and tried several configurations: dongle into PS5 rear USB, dongle into USB extender from rear USB, dongle into USB hub into USB extender from rear USB. I tried 3 different USB extenders (2' 2.0, 3' 3.0 and 5' 3.0). My experience was still MUCH better than my initial impressions (where I had about 5-10 disconnects an hour with intermittent crackling and brief audio dropouts), but it wasn't good enough. I still experienced the occasional disconnect while playing and would even get dropouts or crackling if I just moved my head the wrong way. Moving to the kitchen would consistently disconnect the Penrose. I discussed this with Audeze, and they gave a response regarding the balance between latency and stability and linked me to their wireless stability article (
here). I admit that this may be more of a problem for me since I run a smart home which may cause more wireless 2.4ghz interference than others. However, I did not experience ANY disconnect with the Arctis 7P in my hour or two of playing with it. Not only could I walk to the kitchen for a drink, but I could move to the opposite end of my house before disconnect. I never had any crackling or dropouts at all either.
Because of this, I've realized that the Penrose is just not right for me. While the audio is good, it's not great enough to overcome the suboptimal and frustrating user experience I've had so far. Since I already have the latest firmware, I'm not comfortable waiting for a fairy tale "future firmware" that might fix my connection issues that probably won't come out before my return window closes. Also, I still think audiophiles trash the audio quality of the Arctis 7P too much. This is purely subjective of course, but while the Penrose are the second best wireless headphones I've owned (I still prefer my old Oppo PM3's over it to be honest), the Arctis 7P would be my third favorites. I'm actually surprised I prefer them over my Momentum 3.0's, which cost twice as much. The Arctis are also much more comfortable for long gaming or media sessions. It doesn't automatically switch audio output when turned on, which is annoying (even the Penrose does this), but it's not too difficult to switch that in the PS5 quick menu.
These are just my impressions. Several others have chimed in saying they have no connection issues. However, I don't think it's too much of a stretch to say that Audeze may have sacrificed stability a bit too much compared to other gaming headsets like the Arctis 7P. I did briefly own the Pulse 3D and it had no such connection issue in my house either (though in this case, the audio quality was abysmal enough for me to return it rather quickly, haha).
