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Audeze Penrose X Review

Bass is essential to gaming audio, letting you hear low rumbles of rifles and booms of explosions. It impacts the gaming experience, making it more fun and memorable. So, we will discuss an ideal product in this Audeze Penrose X Review. 

The Penrose X is a bass-rich gaming headset with low-end that gives your gaming audio its oomph. It uses planar-magnetic drivers from Audeze and brings out rumble and volume for your enjoyment.

If you are interested and are planning to purchase but want more details about the headset, we got you. Our Audeze Penrose X Review will share all the essentials about the product. These include its features, specifications, design, functions, and performance.

But before we look deeper, let us discuss its packaging and contents.

Audeze Penrose X Packaging

The Penrose X shipped in a typical-looking cardboard box that is simple and easy on the eyes. Its theme reminds us of Razer because of the green and black colour scheme. 

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The front displays an image of the headset, its name, and the company branding. There are also some details on its features and specifications. 

Inside the box, you will find the headset, a 2.4GHz wireless dongle, and a USB-A to C cable. You will also find a detachable broadcast-quality mic, 3.5 to 3.5mm cable, and a quick start guide. 

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Audeze Penrose X Review – Design and Functionality

Audeze claims its Penrose X works differently, unlike typical over-ear headphones. And it is all because of its form and design. So we will discuss these details in our Audeze Penrose X Review. 

Generally, standard over-ear headphones rely on cone-shaped drivers made from metal, paper, or plastic. Its construction is ideal, offering excellent sounds. But on the downside, it distorts when the cone does not move harmoniously. 

The Penrose X uses a flat, massive, thin diaphragm with powerful magnet arrays that move air without distortion. 

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The headset also integrates artificial leather and contoured memory foam for a softer and more comfy fit. These are notable elements considering the pressure its headband applies. 

This product squeezes against your head to prevent it from falling off while keeping things comfortable. Aside from its soft touch, there is nothing notable in its right ear cup. 

The left houses vital ports and buttons like the USB-C and mic ports. You will see a 3.5mm audio jack for wired gaming and multiple volume control wheels. This area also has the mic-mute switch, power button, and multi-function button that changes the headset connection type.

The power button has several functions, and you can switch the headset on/off by pressing and holding the button. Single clicks will pause/play audio and answer/end calls. Double clicks (with a brief pause in-between presses) will initiate Bluetooth pairing. 

The multi-function button serves a similar purpose: long presses begin the wireless dongle pairing process. Making single clicks switch between wireless, Bluetooth 5.0, and AUX connections.

Audeze Penrose X Connectivity

The dongle is its primary connection, which builds a low-latency 2.4GHz link between the device and the headset. 

We all know that latency is universally bad in the gaming world. So, the less time between in-game action and your eardrums, the better headphones can communicate with the console/computer. 

The dongle is nearly two inches long and has a hardware switch that allows switching between Xbox and PC modes. The design is a little dated, but the connection is fast and reliable. For this reason, we will take function over fashion in this case.

You can also use the 3.5mm audio cable to connect to the Audeze Penrose X headset. You can use a Bluetooth connection, but these are too large to be worn on the street. So Bluetooth is only ideal as a backup. 

It also works if you pair the Penrose X with a mobile device.

Comfort

Like other top-notch gaming headsets, this product feels like setting your head against a pleather sofa. Its body weighs over 11 ounces, and its thick pad conceals most surfaces that could touch your head. 

It has comfortable ear cups, but people with big ears will find them slightly small. If that is the case, manoeuvre them a little to encase your entire ear in the cup. Once in position, its memory foam pads will keep them comfortable. 

Its closed-back design since it helps optimise sounds. However, it also makes the headset warmer after wearing it for hours. 

It does not have too much clamping force, and its pad across the head is properly-placed. Because of its positioning, it prevents the headset from into your scalp. 

Overall, it is a comfortable and cool-looking headset. But it is not the type that will make you forget you are wearing the product. 

Key Features of the Audeze Penrose X 

What makes this headset one of the best for gaming? Let us find out by discussing its unique features in our Audeze Penrose X Review.

Planar Magnetic Driver Technology of the Audeze Penrose X 

The patented planar magnetic driver technology of Audeze sets the bar for detail and audio clarity. The Fluxor magnet array provides twice the power of other Neodymium headphone drivers. Uniforce voice calls and Fazor waveguides eliminate distortion.

Dual 2.4GHz and Bluetooth Connection

The Penrose X offers dual wireless connectivity – the low-latency 2.4GHz wireless via the USB dongle or Bluetooth 5.0. You can also pair the onboard Bluetooth connection with the 2.4GHz wireless. Doing this will allow chatting from mobile without interrupting your gameplay on your PC or console.

Broadcast-quality Microphone of the Audeze Penrose X 

The Penrose X has a flexible detachable broadcast-quality boom microphone engineered for streaming and chatting. Its max SPL is over 140 dB. Plus, it has integrated sound filters that reduce up to 20 dB of background noise.

We tested this microphone to see if it allows for better communication. But we will discuss its performance later in our Audeze Penrose X Review.

Audeze HQ Desktop and Mobile Apps – Optimise Your Audio

The Audeze HQ app is available on Windows, Mac, and Android. This software is where you can enable various Penrose X functions and features. It has a 10-band graphic EQ interface, real-time voice-to-chat mix, and sidetone toggling, offering simultaneous control of your audio experience.

Specifications

We will discuss the specifications of this planar magnetic, over-ear closed-circumaural headset in our Audeze Penrose X Review. 

It has a Fluxor magnetic array structure and a Fazor phase management. The product uses a neodymium N50 magnet and an ultra-thin Uniforce diaphragm. 

Its transducer measures 10mm, while its max SPL is over 120 dB. The headset has a 10Hz to 50kHz frequency response and a THD of less than 0.1% (1kHz, 1mW). 

The headset earpads and mic are quality-made. The pads have a contoured memory foam made from artificial leather, and its microphone is detachable, offering broadcast-quality audio. 

Audeze used a lithium-polymer battery for its headset, giving you 15 hours of battery life. It also offers a four to five-hour charge time. The headset weighs 320g with the battery. 

The product allows you to use both wired and wireless connections. These are 2.4GHz wireless (16bit/48kHz) + Bluetooth and a 3.5mm analogue audio USB-A to C wired charging. 

Lastly, the warranty period of the Penrose X is one year from your original date of purchase. 

Hands-on with the Audeze Penrose X 

We tested the headset for our Audeze Penrose X Review for over a week to see how it performed. Here, we will discuss our hands-on experience with it and begin by focusing on its set-up process.

Setting up the Headset

Of course, we had to set up the Penrose X before testing its performance. We connected it to our audio source. All we did was plug the included wireless dongle into an open USB-A port on the audio source. To note, the compatible audio sources for this headset include Xbox, PC, or Mac.

The product immediately connected to our source, and after doing so, we immediately saw the Headset Assigned message. This alert indicated that we linked the Penrose X correctly.

Since it has dual connectivity, we also paired the headset via Bluetooth. It allowed us to shift from console to console and is compatible with all these, including our PC/laptop.

Audeze HQ Software

Before using the Penrose X, it is best to configure its audio via the app. As we mentioned, it is accessible via PC, phone, or tablet. 

The sound quality of the headset was fine before tweaking. But since it is expensive, it is worth customising its audio to make the most of it.

The Audeze HQ is a suite of EQ settings, volume sliders, and sensitivity options. We tweaked this to optimise our audio and enjoy the best gaming experience. It has a nicely designed interface, and navigating the settings was easy.

Although it has a user-friendly layout, dialling the EQ and other sliders requires some knowledge and patience. We spent around 30 minutes adjusting the settings until we got our desired audio quality.

This software allows customising sound profiles, but we also tried using the pre-made EQ templates provided in the app. Audeze optimised these presets for games like Call of Duty, Apex Legends, and other popular titles. When saving these settings into the headset, we needed to connect the Penrose X to our audio source.

The Audeze HQ also provides firmware updates to maintain the optimal function of the Penrose X.

Audio Quality of the Audeze Penrose X

Based on audio performance, we can only give one word to describe how good the Audeze Penrose X sounds. It is phenomenal. 

The Penrose X not only gets loud enough, but the fidelity these cans can extract from video games is astounding. When playing older titles, we learned about sound cues we did not even know existed. Plus, the performance when we used a spatial audio format like Dolby Atmos was superb. 

The bass booms like how it should, and because of the 100mm drivers, in-game explosions sounded fantastic. 

When it came to watching content, the audio it produced was as good. We watched some classic films, and the headset gave justice to all the action-packed sounds in the movie.

The mids are also excellent. For the most part, the in-game dialogue was crisp and clear. 

The audio started sounding less flattering for the highs, but it was still alright. Although planar-magnetic drivers do their best to manage distortion, we noticed these became harsh in the standard configuration.

If you are a competitive gamer requiring every advantage possible in-game, you should consider the Penrose X. 

When we tried it, we never missed hearing footsteps from behind. We also had no issues spotting the exact location of explosions or gunfire. 

The sound quality of these headphones is exceptional, thanks to their 100mm planar magnetic drivers. Its frequency response range of 10Hz – 50kHz also makes it perform better.

Microphone Performance

Although it was not mind-blowing, the Penrose X microphone was solid. Our teammates never complained about the audio in our voice calls. We were impressed since the microphone also handled loud screaming without cracking up.

Battery Life and Connectivity of the Audeze Penrose X 

The Audeze Penrose X has a good battery life that lasts up to 15 hours. We also did not encounter connectivity issues, which is usually a concern when using wireless headsets. Both 2.5GHz wireless and Bluetooth 5.0 delivered stable and seamless connectivity.

Audeze Penrose X Review Summary

The Penrose X is an exceptional gaming headset for Xbox consoles and PC. It delivers superior detail and separation and works well for music, even if it is a gaming headset.

We had an enjoyable gaming experience while testing the product for our Audeze Penrose X Review. This headset made various details and nuances more audible, which placed us at an advantage in different battles. Plus, its microphone performs well, so we had seamless communication with our teammates,

We highly recommend the Penrose X, especially to gamers who want an all-purpose headset. It is a high-quality product that delivers excellent performance in gaming, music, and voice calls.

To learn more about the Penrose X, visit the official product page of Audeze for additional details.