The Audeze Penrose Wireless are planar magnetic headphones designed for gaming. They retain the same level of comfort as the Audeze Mobius, as well as a similarly neutral, although slightly dark sound profile suitable for a variety of audio content. You can also customize it to your liking using the AudezeHQ app. These headphones support Bluetooth for more casual day-to-day use, as well as non-Bluetooth wireless, which ensures low latency while you game. They have slightly over 13 hours of continuous battery life. However, unlike the Mobius, they lack a built-in virtual surround feature as well as a carrying case.
Our Verdict
The Audeze Penrose are decent for neutral sound. They have a neutral sound profile due to their flat bass and mid-ranges. However, the treble range is underemphasized, resulting in a dark, veiled sound. Unlike the Audeze Mobius, they also lack built-in virtual soundstage features, which is a little disappointing. While they also deliver audio somewhat consistently, they're prone to slight variations in the treble range.
- Customizable sound profile.
- Comfortable fit.
- Not very breathable.
- Disappointing passive soundstage.
The Audeze Penrose are adequate for commute and travel. While they're comfortable, well-built, and have a good overall battery life, they barely block out any noise, so you're likely to hear the rumble of bus engines or ambient chatter from other passengers. They're also bulky and lack a carrying case to protect them when you're on-the-go.
- Customizable sound profile.
- Comfortable fit.
- Not very breathable.
- Don't isolate a lot of noise.
The Audeze Penrose are okay for sports and fitness, but they're not really designed for this purpose. While they're comfortable and can be used wirelessly with your smartphone via Bluetooth, they can fall off your head with moderate movement. They also have a bulky design and aren't very portable.
- Customizable sound profile.
- Not very breathable.
The Audeze Penrose are reasonable for office use. They have a comfortable fit as well as a bit over 13 hours of continuous playback time, which should be enough to last through long days at the office. However, they struggle to reduce ambient chatter around you and they leak a little bit of audio, so your colleagues may be able to hear it.
- Customizable sound profile.
- Comfortable fit.
- Not very breathable.
- Don't isolate a lot of noise.
The Audeze Penrose are good for wireless gaming. These comfortable headphones have low latency via their wireless dongle and deliver over 13 hours of continuous playtime. They also have a neutral sound profile that can be customized via their companion app, and their mic offers great overall performance, so teammates can easily understand you. On the downside, unlike the Audeze Mobius, they lack a built-in virtual soundstage feature.
- Low latency via non-Bluetooth wireless.
- Customizable sound profile.
- Comfortable fit.
- Good overall mic performance.
- Not very breathable.
- Disappointing passive soundstage.
The Audeze Penrose are very good for wired gaming. Their 1/8" TRRS cable offers full compatibility with consoles that have an AUX jack. They're also comfortable, have a neutral sound profile that can be customized through their companion app, and their boom mic can capture your voice clearly. However, they lack a built-in virtual soundstage feature.
- Customizable sound profile.
- Comfortable fit.
- Good overall mic performance.
- Not very breathable.
- Disappointing passive soundstage.
The Audeze Penrose are decent for phone calls. Their detachable boom mic does a good job of capturing your voice, so speech sounds clear and full-bodied, although thin. It can also separate your voice from ambient noise around you, even in loud environments like a busy street. However, these headphones struggle to cut down noise around you, so you're likely to hear everything from bus engines to coffee-shop chatter, which can be distracting on a phone call.
- Customizable sound profile.
- Good overall mic performance.
- Not very breathable.
- Don't isolate a lot of noise.
Changelog
- Updated Apr 24, 2023: We've added a comparison between these headphones and the Audeze Maxwell Wireless in Comfort.
- Updated Nov 01, 2021: Converted to Test Bench 1.5.
- Updated Sep 21, 2021: We've retested Multi-Device Pairing.
- Updated Feb 11, 2021: Review published.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The Audeze Penrose come in one color variant: 'Black'. That said, these headphones are only advertised as compatible with PC, PS4, and PS5 consoles. Audeze also manufactures the 'Penrose X', which are also black but are compatible with the Xbox One and Xbox Series X consoles. Instead of blue detailing, they have a yellow detailing. Due to their differences in their compatibility, we don't know if this variant performs similarly to our own.
If you come across another variant, please let us know in the discussions and we'll update our review.
Popular Headphones Comparisons
The Audeze Penrose are planar magnetic headphones designed for gaming. They're similarly comfortable as the Auzede Mobius and have a neutral sound profile that can be customized in their companion software. They can also connect to devices using Bluetooth, non-Bluetooth wireless, or via their 1/8" TRRS audio cable. However, they lack a built-in virtual surround feature, which some users may find disappointing. Check out our recommendations for the best gaming headsets, the best PS4 gaming headsets, and the best wireless gaming headsets.
The Audeze Maxwell have the edge over the Audeze Penrose Wireless. The Maxwell are better built, have a flatter sound, which some users may prefer, and have a better overall mic performance, which is good if you want to game with others. They also have an exceptionally long continuous battery life and support LDAC, which is nice if you want to stream Hi-Res content. However, the Penrose are more comfortable as they weigh less.
The Audeze Mobius and the Audeze Penrose Wireless are similarly designed headphones but depending on your needs, you may prefer one over the other. The Mobius come with a hard case and have a slightly bass-heavy sound profile out-of-the-box that some people may prefer. They also have a fantastic virtual soundstage feature with adjustable settings, although we don't test for this, and their mic performs better too. However, the Penrose have a better battery performance and support non-Bluetooth wireless.
The Astro A50 Gen 3 are somewhat better gaming headphones than the Audeze Penrose Wireless. The Astro are more comfortable, feel better built, and use a wireless dock with lots of different inputs, which some users may prefer. They also have Dolby 7.1 virtual soundstage support. However, the Auzede are planar magnetic headphones that support Bluetooth for more casual use. They have a slightly better microphone performance and a longer continuous battery life. They can also connect to PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S consoles via an analog connection with full compatibility.
The Audeze Penrose Wireless and the Corsair VIRTUOSO RGB Wireless XT have different strengths, and you may prefer either one. The Audeze are planar magnetic gaming headphones that are more comfortable and have lower non-Bluetooth latency. However, the Corsair feel better-built, can be used passively, and their boom mic offers significantly better recording quality.
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