"High-end audio company Audeze broke new ground when it released the Mobius, the first mass-market gaming headset to use planar magnetic audio drivers. The Mobius was the gold standard for PC gaming headsets, with better surround sound than anything released since, fantastic audio, and Bluetooth compatibility. The Audeze Penrose is the company’s follow-up to the Mobius, jettisoning the Waves Nx surround sound in favor of wireless audio—an easier trade-off to make now that consoles have their own spatial sound systems."
"Actually using this
gaming headset is pretty straightforward, but there are still a few things to keep track of. All of the Audeze Penrose’s onboard controls are located on the left headphone, and generally they’re spaced out well enough to make finding what you’re looking for easy. On the
[WHICH SIDE] of the headphone, there’s a mute switch for the mic and the headset’s power button. Along the bottom edge, there are volume dials for mic monitoring and headphone, a button for toggling between headset’s three connection modes, and a USB-C port for charging, as well as 3.5mm ports for audio and connecting the removable microphone."
"The Audeze Penrose supports three main
connectivity options. For gaming, the headset is primarily meant to connect wirelessly using its 2.4GHz wireless USB RF dongle. This connection method is compatible with
PlayStation 4 and 5,
Nintendo Switch, and PC (Xbox gamers will need to get the Xbox version of the Penrose for wireless audio). The headset can also connect via Bluetooth 5.0, though it only supports the
SBC codec. That’s not a really huge problem in 2021, but it can be a drag if you’re looking for the highest bitrate possible. The headset also supports 3.5mm connections to everywhere that supports it, including platforms like the Xbox Series X/S and
Xbox One."
"The Audeze Penrose offers very accurate audio pretty much across the audible spectrum. There’s a slight bump in output in bass range until around 200Hz, but not so much that you’d notice it. Same goes for the slight increase in the mid range around 1500Hz."
"At $300 USD, it’s a lot more expensive than most gaming headsets, but not to the same degree as the Audeze Mobius. In fact, this is an “affordable” planar magnetic gaming headset all things considered—plenty of headsets that don’t sound nearly as good cost just as much. If you’re in the market for a more expensive gaming headset, I’d certainly recommend this over something like the
EPOS Sennheiser GSP 670 or the
Bose QC 35 II Gaming Headset."
