[amoeba1126]

@hedfreq you stated "overwhelming feedback from the community was that there was too much low end in the mic sound (ie: too "muddy" sounding)...."
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/audeze-penrose-x-and-penrose.937477/page-388

That might have been one common / recurring feedback. But no more overwhelming than the constant request for the game/chat mix function to be changed.

@Audeze[/USER] , I respectfully encourage anyone to read through this entire forum, specifically after the Penrose was officially released and shipped. You will see numerous / overwhelming feedback in regards to having the Game / Chat mix function changed.

Unfortunately, I don't have a nice / polite way to put it. It really sucks, that this function / feature was not changed in the recent update. And I think many others agree. It's very off-putting, when shared community feedback is overlooked. Or at very least not address in a pro-active way.

I respect and understand Audeze has had to deal with / overcome a lot in regards to the Penrose release. Nothing has been easy on companies this past year. But things have not been to pleasant for the end user / customer as well.
- Penrose missed launch / release window, missed dates, and missed shipping dates
- Penrose firmware test, that literally bricked customer headsets
- A significantly delayed initial Penrose firmware release / update (was supposed to Feb, then March, then April, pretty much took till May )
- A now a Penrose firmware release, that overlooks a highly requested feature by the community

At the end of the day, this gives the paying customer, very little confidence that their input / feedback matters. And only encourages the end user / customer to shift their future Headphone / Gaming Headset / Audio purchases to another company.

I'm well beyond my return / refund window, but if I wasn't I would highly consider purchasing another companies headset. It may suck to hear that, but I truly believe as a company, it's something you should hear / know. Sorry, not trying to be disrespectful, just trying to be honest. I'm not angry, just very disappointed. I'm done with my "SoapBox" goodnight everyone.

Definitely not trying to say your other feedback isn't valid, but bricking headsets by prematurely flashing with a beta firmware due to impatience is not a legitimate complaint IMO. As for fixing the mic vs the game/chat function, I'd imagine that Audeze's thought process was that the mic sounding "muddy" was an issue that actually affects functionality of the device while the game/chat mix is simply something that people prefer aka not an issue that actually affects device functionality.

 

[FifuSan]

Hi, I created a profile on here be cause of that thread and the community I found here.
So first of all, thank you to everyone involved in that thread, this is a huge help when you search for specific answers about the penrose. That’s simple, I found all the answers to my questions by searching on here !
That said, I’m a newcomer to the penrose family since a few days, got the penrose X to use it on ps5 and series X.
I’m very happy of the headset at the moment, it got many features and the sound quality is great.
I just have a little something to mention which could be better, it’s the sidetone, that feature really need an update as the sound is really low.
Some of you already mentionned that problem.
I saw on here that audeze is listening to the community for the firmware updates.

So @Audeze , that could be a game changing if you could had a way for us to manage the sidetone level, maybe in the app ? Than you for your products !

 

[Shelke]

I need an Audeze Penrose app for my smart fridge while you're at it.

If you buy a headset for your fridge - sure, why not. You're in the wrong thread though, because:
"Penrose for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC and Mac"

I don't think there are any 3rd party apps on PS though and i doubt Audeze will be first even if they want to.

 

[ethernode]

I also found it too low in the beginning, then i learned how to position the mic properly (below your mouth to avoid hearing your breath -- removing the foam piece can help) and now it's fine and i don't feel this is needed anymore.

 

[momofk]

I’m having a problem with my mic gain changing to 14%.

I always keep it on the next setting up (I think it’s 28%) and I set it in the HQ app but it still changes back to 14%.

not sure if the muting the mic will trigger it but I always have to turn it up one notch when I power the headset on.
I’m on PS5.

the patch notes mentioned fixes a bug that caused low battery warning to trigger early now it should prompt at 10%. Mine just triggered and plugged it into HQ and said 30% battery remaining

I’m on PS5.

 

[becnel51]

Definitely not trying to say your other feedback isn't valid, but bricking headsets by prematurely flashing with a beta firmware due to impatience is not a legitimate complaint IMO. As for fixing the mic vs the game/chat function, I'd imagine that Audeze's thought process was that the mic sounding "muddy" was an issue that actually affects functionality of the device while the game/chat mix is simply something that people prefer aka not an issue that actually affects device functionality.

The bricking issue, is not as simple as it may initially seem. It really doesn't have anything to do with individuals "prematurely flashing with a beta firmware due to impatience". It has to do with the way Audeze allowed users to update their headsets, the way they hosted files on their end, and a broken Audeze Android updater AFAIK. @L11R can further expand / explain this if he wishes (but just read his previous post on the subject.) He and others, were able to update their headsets via other (correct) methods, without any issues.

And Audeze themselves did officially reply to @AzixTGO about their headphones having "feature protection against bricking"....read for yourself:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/audeze-penrose-x-and-penrose.937477/page-364#post-16246648
Their words, not mine: "Yes. The Audeze HQ apps determines during upgrade which one to upgrade, so we have a backup."

In retrospect, the end user should not have used the Android App to update their headsets. Just not an advisable / good practice for firmware updates. But this was not the end users fault, as Audeze allowed it. You also have to be realistic in regards to beta / firmware testing. Audeze sought out / needed / needs outside end user beta testers.., which is very common practice. They need this level of testing / data / feedback..., as that is something they don't have the time / man power in house to do. Without these testers... numerous bugs / issues would remain..., and firmware updates would only get further delayed.

At the end of the day, it was Audeze's fault that some of the beta testers headsets bricked.., so this serves as a "blemish" on their record. But they did make things right will all of those testers, by immediately starting a replacement process at Audeze's full expense. So good for them, in that regards..., but things like this ultimately have a negative impact on consumer confidence.

 

[amoeba1126]

The bricking issue, is not as simple as it may initially seem. It really doesn't have anything to do with individuals "prematurely flashing with a beta firmware due to impatience". It has to do with the way Audeze allowed users to update their headsets, the way they hosted files on their end, and a broken Audeze Android updater AFAIK. @L11R can further expand / explain this if he wishes (but just read his previous post on the subject.) He and others, were able to update their headsets via other (correct) methods, without any issues.

And Audeze themselves did officially reply to @AzixTGO about their headphones having "feature protection against bricking"....read for yourself:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/audeze-penrose-x-and-penrose.937477/page-364#post-16246648
Their words, not mine: "Yes. The Audeze HQ apps determines during upgrade which one to upgrade, so we have a backup."

In retrospect, the end user should not have used the Android App to update their headsets. Just not an advisable / good practice for firmware updates. But this was not the end users fault, as Audeze allowed it. You also have to be realistic in regards to beta / firmware testing. Audeze sought out / needed / needs outside end user beta testers.., which is very common practice. They need this level of testing / data / feedback..., as that is something they don't have the time / man power in house to do. Without these testers... numerous bugs / issues would remain..., and firmware updates would only get further delayed.

At the end of the day, it was Audeze's fault that some of the beta testers headsets bricked.., so this serves as a "blemish" on their record. But they did make things right will all of those testers, by immediately starting a replacement process at Audeze's full expense. So good for them, in that regards..., but things like this ultimately have a negative impact on consumer confidence.

Maybe I am not recalling the timeline of events accurately, but I remember Audeze not opening up their official Beta window as scheduled and people jumping the gun to update to the new beta firmware when they found out they could via the Android app. There was a reason why all the people who bricked their headsets were using Android devices to do so.

 

[Kodiak17]

Audeze instructed us beta testers to use a new version of their desktop app, not android app. Someone in the forums here realized the firmware was available via app and wasn't displaying for the desktop version....our own faults to some degree....and Audeze reflashed mine and sent it back overnight shipping free of charge. Can't really fault them for that, if anything I'd praise them for their response for the mess up compared to other companies I deal with on a regular basis that are 100x larger.

 

[BostonBeemah]

Audeze instructed us beta testers to use a new version of their desktop app, not android app. Someone in the forums here realized the firmware was available via app and wasn't displaying for the desktop version....our own faults to some degree....and Audeze reflashed mine and sent it back overnight shipping free of charge. Can't really fault them for that, if anything I'd praise them for their response for the mess up compared to other companies I deal with on a regular basis that are 100x larger.

I agree with this fully. For all of their shortcomings, they offered numerous ways to resolve the softbrick. I opted to hold onto it which ultimately paid off with the Android update release fixing it.

We jumped the gun rushing to the android install after the botched windows upgrade not working out which was against their instruction so we can't fault them for that aspect of it.

 

[Combover Grover]

Maybe I am not recalling the timeline of events accurately, but I remember Audeze not opening up their official Beta window as scheduled and people jumping the gun to update to the new beta firmware when they found out they could via the Android app. There was a reason why all the people who bricked their headsets were using Android devices to do so.

To be fair, Audeze said the beta was out and to try and update and didn't mention not using the android app. It was a public facing beta that went bad. And considering people (like myself) had bricked headsets there wasn't really much complaining.

 

[Combover Grover]

Also, Audeze said that you needed the new desktop app to use "in conjunction with the new firmware". Not to update the firmware. Anyone could have launched the android app and bricked it. Even if they didn't know about the beta firmware. It was messy.

 

[BostonBeemah]

To be fair, Audeze said the beta was out and to try and update and didn't mention not using the android app. It was a public facing beta that went bad. And considering people (like myself) had bricked headsets there wasn't really much complaining.

I wouldn't call it a public beta. They had a small group of us signed up to test it and someone ended up posting the update window on this thread which essentially made it "public".

 

[Combover Grover]

I called it a “public facing beta”. It wasn’t internal. It was aimed at users. They posted about it here publically. They even used the public firmware channel just at a small specified time. I think everyone that got burned by it was super cool about it. There wasn’t pitchforks or anything. Audeze did a good job with cleaning it up afterwards (still waiting on my replacement BTW), but it was their mess up.

 

[amoeba1126]

I called it a “public facing beta”. It wasn’t internal. It was aimed at users. They posted about it here publically. They even used the public firmware channel just at a small specified time. I think everyone that got burned by it was super cool about it. There wasn’t pitchforks or anything. Audeze did a good job with cleaning it up afterwards (still waiting on my replacement BTW), but it was their mess up.

It was not a public beta. It was something that you had to reach out to them about, hence the small group. A public beta is something that anyone can download from their servers (or Google Drive) without invitation and install. As far as I know, regardless of how cool the affected users were, this was not Audeze's fault.

 

[Kodiak17]

I called it a “public facing beta”. It wasn’t internal. It was aimed at users. They posted about it here publically. They even used the public firmware channel just at a small specified time. I think everyone that got burned by it was super cool about it. There wasn’t pitchforks or anything. Audeze did a good job with cleaning it up afterwards (still waiting on my replacement BTW), but it was their mess up.

Curious, you didn't get yours reflashed? Or you didn't want to send it in before getting a replacement?