Audeze Mobius - Closed Planar magnetic headphone, gaming headset, head tracking, bluetooth and more!

Soldato
Joined
19 Dec 2010
Posts
12,031
Arrived today, will give then a spin later on in the week. Do audeze recommend any break in with these?

Nope, just plug in and play.

See you got a Creative sound card as well, just remember, the Audeze Mobius doesn't need it. In fact they warn against using an external amp with the 3.5mm connection.
 
Soldato
Joined
19 Dec 2010
Posts
12,031
Because right now I'm swapping everything into a new case. :D

G6 arrived this morning so back to back against akg/mod mic and gsp600/gsx 1000 now do-able. ;)

that's going to be a very interesting test. I was interested in buying an AGK 702 myself for gaming and was also considering the GSP600 with the gsx 1000. Then saw this thread about the Mobius and went for it. I was buying blind having not heard any of the headphones I was interested in.

I can't wait to see your comparison of the three, especially for gaming. Not sure if you have Counter Strike Source, but, if you do, would you be able to include that in your comparison please?
 
Soldato
Joined
19 Dec 2010
Posts
12,031
Doug is gone very quiet, I wonder is he trapped under all that new stuff he bought and can't reach his computer to get help :p:D
 
Associate
Joined
13 Sep 2013
Posts
1,662
Location
Aberdeen
Ready for some game time tonight, wife's going out, kid will be sleeping, beers will be chilled!



1st impressions taking them out of the box, comfy but could do with slightly thicker / plusher pads, usb cable is of the generic short and stiff variety, a 2m braided flex would have been nice.

Ear assessment incoming..... :D
 
Last edited:
Soldato
Joined
24 Sep 2013
Posts
2,890
Location
Exmouth, Devon
Swap that room, for my house and my wife. (no kids, so doesnt look like a ripped out fireplace)

Is that 2 PC's or there just a case under the RGB PC on top?

You said you were rebuilding. That was no excuse whilst you were doing that, not to tell us about how it went with your DAP with LDAC.

Ok.....................and the dog.
 
Associate
Joined
13 Sep 2013
Posts
1,662
Location
Aberdeen
Never got any gaming in, was too busy hacking a tablet to android pie. :D

Took them for a spin this afternoon for music....

110% not designed for listening to music. DSP for music is pretty bad, not the worst out there but from being into HiFi for the past 20+ years, I can tell you that these are not the phones to buy if listening to music is a priority, or even a minority. Walk on by and get a decent set of phones. Even the HQ software says it all, all presets are for gaming, the "music" preset is a bluff, don't fall for it!

3d is pretty cool though, need to see what it's like for gaming tomorrow. Feels like you need to turn your head a fair bit though. Even with a 34" ultrawide you need to turn your head more than what would be expected when gaming.

The k712's leave it for dead on separation, imaging and sound stage.

Tomorrow will either be their saving grace of final nail in the coffin.
 
Soldato
Joined
19 Dec 2010
Posts
12,031
110% not designed for listening to music. DSP for music is pretty bad, not the worst out there but from being into HiFi for the past 20+ years, I can tell you that these are not the phones to buy if listening to music is a priority, or even a minority. Walk on by and get a decent set of phones. Even the HQ software says it all, all presets are for gaming, the "music" preset is a bluff, don't fall for it!

That's extremely odd. Did you contact Audeze and get the firmware update? Because there's definitely something wrong. You are the first person that I have seen say that they are bad for music. Reviews have complained about the controls, about the 3D preset when playing movies, about the Bluetooth only having stereo, about the mic quality and about how gimmicky head tracking is. That's the main complaints. I can understand that they might not sound as good as more expensive head phones but to say they are rubbish for music, can't be anything else only a faulty headset. While I might not have had much experience with headphones over the past few years, and I am no audiophile, but, I have been involved in hifi for as long as you have and have a really good setup for music at the moment and I can promise you this, the Mobius doesn't sound bad for music at all.

The most popular presets for music are Racing and Default. If you have the firmware upgrade people like the Warm preset too. Did you change the size of your head in the Audeze app? Also change the ambience to suit yourself. I find 25 to be the sweet spot.

Are you using the USB or the 3.5mm connection? If you are using the 3.5mm connection plugged into a sound card's headphone jack they don't sound that good. They will sound better using the line out. That's the only thing I can think of that might be as I tried them using the 3.5mm headphone jack in my creative Z and they didn't sound good at all.

So if you aren't using the USB connection, suggest you try it. If you are using the USB connection, there is actually one thing that might be causing the problem. You might not be plugging in the cable correctly into the headset. I have seen a few people report that this was their problem with the sound quality.

With the comparison with the K712, you are comparing an open back headphone with a closed back one. Next time you are listening to music, leave it on two channel and turn on 3D. This is how you increase the sound stage and imaging on the Mobius.

Love your setup by the way. Looks amazing!! I am well jealous of how neat and tidy it all looks. My desk is tragic lol.
 
Associate
Joined
13 Sep 2013
Posts
1,662
Location
Aberdeen
Not saying they're rubbish by any means, just saying at their price point with regards to music i think you can do better. Having said that, just with hifi, everything is subjective and personal preference.

Ran them USB / 2.ch hi-res / foobar with 24/96 specific albums.

Just not a massive fan of whatever DAC/DSP implementation they've used. Might be spot on for some, but for me it's a no go. FYI, also compared them with GSP600 & XM3 which are in the same price bracket and both closed.
 
Soldato
Joined
24 Sep 2013
Posts
2,890
Location
Exmouth, Devon
What AMp and how much was it to run those other headphones? Especially those AKG712's, they need an AMP and they are fussy on AMPS also.

Yes you can get a decent set of phones, spend the time researching of how you want them to sound so selecting an amp/dac and they probabaly will sound better but collectively cost more? I wouldnt know how to do that.

For non audiophiles like me they are way better than any 'gaming' headset, some of which top £250 these days

Planars are known to sound different, I dont know how much but maybe your ears dont like them. Good to know your opinion though as someone with a developed ear.
 
Soldato
Joined
19 Dec 2010
Posts
12,031
Not saying they're rubbish by any means, just saying at their price point with regards to music i think you can do better. Having said that, just with hifi, everything is subjective and personal preference.

Ran them USB / 2.ch hi-res / foobar with 24/96 specific albums.

Just not a massive fan of whatever DAC/DSP implementation they've used. Might be spot on for some, but for me it's a no go. FYI, also compared them with GSP600 & XM3 which are in the same price bracket and both closed.

Yes, I agree, everything is subjective and personal preference. But, While I am saying that, you are still the only person that I have seen that didn't like them for music. So that's why I am wondering are they faulty.

Can you try a few things for me please? First you should contact Audeze and get the update firmware. Or if you send me a trust I will email it to you. It's quick and simple to install.

Ok, things to try. Upgrade the firmware and then listen to music using Warm or Default. IF you listen to music using the warm preset, you have to turn the volume up more than you would on the other presets.

Make sure you have set your head size properly in the Audeze app and set the ambience to 25.

Leave the headset in two channel or 7.1, not high res. And turn on 3D manual. Center it.

Now listen to some music.
 
Soldato
Joined
24 Sep 2013
Posts
2,890
Location
Exmouth, Devon
Just done that firmware update. On the warm setting the treble/highs sound better, but that bass man. That is heavy but loses some of the detail I think. Will scratch the itch for bassheads though.
 
Back
Top Bottom