"Penrose is head and shoulders above the competition" Says KnowTechie

July 12, 2021

"We’ve covered multiple headphones from planar specialist Audeze in the past, but today’s is different. See, the Audeze Penrose eschew wires, bringing the Audeze planar drivers to the gaming world."

"The Audeze Penrose is pretty close in design to the LCD-1’s we reviewed last year, with a couple of immediately noticeable changes. They’re closed-back for a start, which means you can crank them to considerable volume levels before you’ll start to annoy anyone in the same room as you."

"OH MY, yes. I could go into a really long technical explanation about planar drivers and why they’re superior for gaming and music, but all you really need to know is about their soundstage. Most gaming headsets use software tricks to make sounds seem to have positioning in 3D space. The Penrose doesn’t need that, as the planar drivers have a wide soundstage and the positioning from whatever game you play is superb. They’re super comfortable, and my ears didn’t feel warm after hours of sweaty Crucible action in Destiny 2, which impressed me."

"The Penrose uses the Audeze HQ app to change settings, which comes in mobile app and desktop app forms. You’ll need the app to turn sidetone off if you don’t like it, as it’s on by default. You’ll also need it to use EQ profiles, do firmware updates, and you can also adjust mic monitoring mix from here."

"For $300, the Audeze Penrose is on the higher end for gaming headphones, even for those that come with mix amp functionality and multiple wireless connectivity options. Here’s the thing though, you won’t find a better-sounding pair of gaming headphones. We’ve tested dozens, and the Penrose is head and shoulders above the competition."