"Far From Plain" Says Gamespace of Audeze Penrose

"The Audeze Penrose follows hot on the heels of the recent Auderze Mobius headset and can be considered as close as we’re going to get to a mass-market console headphone that Audeze will ever build. Avaiable in two forms, the Penrose is a PlayStation focused variant of the Xbox variant Penrose X and represents something more than the everyday plug and play for PC and console owners. Regularly crafting headphones that are backed by some seriously praiseworthy planar drivers, Audeze brought an entirely different level of audio experience when they dropped the aforementioned Mobius back in 2019. Unfortunately, to get the sort of sound quality that is liable to make you cry you can expect to shell out thousands of dollars, and the Mobius even weighs in at $399. With the release of the Audeze Penrose, it seems that this Californian company are looking to balance a truly enthusiast-level experience with a price point that is well within the reach of anybody that considers the audio landscape to be just as crucial as RTX."

"While it’s easy to make comparisons with other options on price and potential feature set, the Penrose stands apart thanks to its planar drivers. Native to the entire Audeze line up, the drivers included in this gaming headset are the core of this product line and might need a little explaining for the uninitiated. While other similarly priced headsets commonly move a small diaphragm by connecting this film to an electrically charged coil, planar drivers use a larger set of magnets to move the entire diaphragm as a single unit. Audeze go into this in more detail in their own FAQ, but the result is obvious. From the moment the Audeze Penrose is powered on they scream for attention. The 100mm drivers are substantially bigger than most gaming headsets can offer, and the array of magnets situated in the headset provide volume that certainly shake away the cobwebs. The impressive power that pours out of this headset certainly isn’t the end of it, not by a long way. The Audeze Penrose certainly aren’t what I’d describe as a reference headset but these are for gaming, not for studio recording."

"The Audeze Penrose is undoubtedly a fantastic sounding headset. The planar drivers that are now firmly fastened to my head, exceeded my expectations in almost every regard. The level of detail and clarity achieved in Audeze’s latest headset is just outstanding, even managing to cram in all the essential add ons for a gaming headset. Despite the potentially divisive aesthetic choices and the somewhat sparse software side of things, the Audeze Penrose deftly manages to weave a niche all its own and lands somewhere between high end gaming headsets and audiophile essentials. If you’re ready to take your ears into the next generation of gaming, then the Audeze Penrose is a great way to do it."