The Audeze Mobius is the kind of headset you buy when you have deep pockets and an even deeper wish list. Compatible with PC, Mac, and consoles, the Mobius is a wallet-crushing $400 7.1 surround sound headset of nearly unparalleled quality. From how it feels on your head to how you perceive game audio across multiple genres, the Mobius earns its top-dollar price with equally premium performance.
"The reason the Mobius is such a pricey headset is that it uses high-end planar magnetic drivers instead of dynamic drivers; the sort you'll find in most gaming headsets. Even at $400, the Mobius is actually on the affordable end of the planar headset price spectrum, with some costing upwards of $1,800. And if you're spending that much on a headset, you're probably working in music production or just a hardcore audiophile. So if you were wondering why you don't see more gaming headsets with planar magnetic drivers, the cost is likely it. "
The Audeze Mobius is an incredibly interesting (and incredibly expensive) gaming headset that seemingly offers it all. A premium high-quality design, fantastic audio, brilliant comfort and more. All in one package. It also one of the most interesting gaming headsets on our list thanks to Waves Nx head tracking technology that delivers "immersive 3D audio" by changing the sound to account for the tilt or turn of your head as you play. Combine this with 7.1 virtual surround sound and hi-res audio options and you have some seriously impressive positional audio.
Audeze has a new gaming headset called the Penrose, which will cost $299.99 when it is released in September, but the company is knocking $50 off if you preorder it before then.
"Planar-magnetic headphones are usually quite expensive but Audeze is a Californian company, based in Santa Ana, and is a pioneer in this field and now it has launched a stripped-down pair of planar-magnetic headphones at a price that’s about as low as it's possible to go with this advanced headphone technology. All the headphones that Audeze makes are designed and assembled at its factory in California."
"The LCD-GX($899) is probably one of the more interesting headphones I have come across recently. They are Audeze’s high-end “gaming” headset; complete with a red color scheme, and a boom-mic. I definitely did not know what to expect from it going into that first listen, but all I can say for now is that what I got was much, much more than just a gaming headset."
Planar magnetic drivers are known to produce close to zero distortion and very detailed sound. Mobius are amazing when it comes to listening to music and playing games, giving you incredible details throughout the frequency range.
Audeze evidently takes the needs of its pro customers seriously, because the LCD-1s major hugely on detail and resolution. It helps that there’s so much space to work with – an impressive amount even considering the open-back design – and instruments are placed so definitely within it.
However, after spending time with the Audeze LCD-GX and the Burson Conductor 3X amp, I might start to turn my nose up at lesser headsets. With a combined RRP of just north of $5,000 AUD, it’s clear that in some cases, money does buy happiness.
There’s a night scene in Battlefield I, a solo recon mission in a sleepy French village filled with enemy soldiers. Alone, you crawl head-down through a backyard, hoping to make it to that old red barn before anyone sees… wait. STOP. Is that a dog growling… behind you?
We can so easily picture George Martin wearing LCD-Xs back in the day at Abby Road. (He would have loved them.) Or Max Martin for that matter, who, BTW, now has more #1 Billboard singles than anyone in history, save for Lennon and McCartney. But we digress:
"Mobius Headphones (Audeze, $399.99) — Dads immersed in virtual worlds such as “Call of Duty” or “Doom Eternal” and in need of a more robust gaming headset will appreciate the enveloping aural assault provided by the Mobius. Planar magnetic drivers in each cup promise superior sound quality and when combined with its head tracking, three-dimensional sound technology, the package makes for a potent, almost dizzying experience when in the throes of multiplayer battles."
I’ll be the first to admit that when I first saw the launch of the Audeze LCD-GX headphone/headset, I was quite skeptical. This was a $899 open-back headphone, made for gamers, with a red and black trim and a giant boom mic. It almost felt like it was a money grab to me, especially after they already had just released the Audeze Mobius at the time, which I was an early adopter for. But time went by and I started hearing some good feedback for it. I was also impressed that they got the weight down to a more manageable and wearable weight, something that I feel is the biggest flaw of the Audeze LCD series lineup. I can’t wear any of them for more than a 30 minutes without physical pain! At least until this one came out….
In terms of design, we have to say that Audeze’s iSINE LX takes the top spot. It features a new, innovative design that hasn’t been seen in headphones before — which is why we think it’s one of the best headphones out in the market today.
