With a new generation of consoles comes a new generation of accessories, and none are more important to the quality of your daily gaming sessions than audio equipment. If you're searching for the finest Xbox Series X headset, go no further than Audeze's latest offering. The iconic headphones firm joined the market in 2019 with a range of audiophile gaming headsets that came with outstanding performance and a price tag to match.
The Audeze Penrose X, like its LCD-GX and Mobius predecessors, is a high-end headset that boasts clarity, depth, and detail in sound that few rivals can match. For $299, you get a headset with powerful 100mm planar magnetic drivers, a solid microphone that can be controlled via in-ear monitoring, and a suite of connectivity options that allow you to use the Penrose X on almost anything - but you'll get the most enjoyment from it on your Xbox console.
Features & Design
The Audeze Penrose X provides you very few excuses to uncouple it from your ears once you've swapped a three-hour charge period for 15 hours of gameplay. It's a pleasant, surprisingly light headset that can withstand long periods of use. The headband is a little tight at first, but it will loosen up with time without compromising any of the grip - even if you're writhing around in Call of Duty: Warzone, blaming hackers for your fatalities.
For simplicity, the Penrose X retains all of its buttons and connectors on the left cup. There's a slot for the detachable microphone, a mute button, a USB-C charging port, a 3.5mm connector for wired connections, a button that seamlessly switches between your most used Bluetooth devices, and two multi-use spin wheels.
You may use them to adjust the volume of in-game audio and microphone gain individually, as well as rebalance the sound to prioritise your friends or game audio in multiplayer games. It's very versatile and simple to use, however if you download the Audeze Penrose X app for Android or iOS, you'll be able to get into the finer points of audio balancing and mic monitoring.
Performance
The Penrose X gives genuinely fantastic performance across a range of games, movies, and television, as you'd expect from a headset that costs as much as an Xbox Series S. In our testing, the virtual surround sound presentation, especially when combined with Dolby Atmos on Xbox Series X, never failed to amaze, providing a clarity and depth that serves to emphasise even the tiniest details and further immerse you in your favourite worlds.
In large-scale multiplayer shooters like Warzone and Apex Legends, you'll be able to pick up minute details fast and clearly. The ability to change the conversation mix to better hear friends over the sluggish roll of the ocean was a boon for Sea of Thieves, while the Penrose X truly shines in games like Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Gears 5.
The 2.4GHz wireless adapter that connects the headphones to the Xbox Series X helps to eliminate any latency problems, which is especially amazing considering how much noise the Penrose X can cut through to keep you aware of every gunshot, footstep, and environmental detail. You may need to fiddle with the microphone's location to get the best results, but once you've discovered the sweet spot, you'll be yelling instructions at your comrades in no time.
Should you buy it in the end?
It's difficult to judge whether anything is excellent value for money, but I can tell you that the Audeze Penrose X has altered my connection with the Xbox Series X games I'm playing. It's made me appreciate the effort that goes into soundscapes and improved my ability to monitor events in noisy, lively multiplayer battlefields.
Audeze's Penrose X is a high-end gadget with a price tag to match its build quality and performance. We're anxiously anticipating an opportunity to assess its sister-headset, the Penrose, since if its quality is anything near as high, it'll undoubtedly be regarded as one of the top PS5 headsets to round out the set.
The Penrose X is one of the best wireless gaming headsets available right now, with a terrific feature set that is simple to fine-tune for optimal performance. You'll be hard pressed to find anything better in this pricing range.
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