Audeze Mobius
THE BEST GAMING HEADPHONES IN THE WORLD.
THESE ARE EXCEPTIONAL gaming headphones – the best I’ve ever used – for two big reasons. Three, actually, if you include the price, which appears ridiculously high but is actually remarkably low, all things considered.
First, these are planar headphones. Unlike regular cans or speakers with a speaker cone and magnets at its base, planar types vibrate a perfectly flat and very thin (100nm for the Mobius) sheet of material. This sheet typically is nearly the same size as the speaker cups, has an electric conductor (super thin wires) weaving across the sheet, and it’s vibrated by a series of carefully placed magnets on either side of the sheet. The advantages are virtually instant response – so sounds are tight and accurate – and the audio is far cleaner than you get from a vibrating cardboard cone. Plus, planar can handle far greater volumes without distortion.
Only recently have planar headphone prices fallen below $1,000. They’ve been multithousand dollar audiophile gear for a very long time, and Audeze has been one of the better planar brands, so it’s well down with the technology. These are the first gaming headphones to use planar technology, as far as I’m aware.
So, for game sounds they’re spectacular and do double duty as a stunning music device. That’s partly why I think they’re great value.
The second big win is that these really are gaming headphones, in the most incredible way. Using ‘NX’ technology from professional movie and TV audio company Waves, they create a 3D positional effect that both simulates a spatial 3D audio environment and maps your head’s position within it. The magic is the last bit. It uses sensors that poll 1,000 times a second; move your head, and the positions of the various sound sources change with it. If there’s gunfire directly ahead and you turn your head to the left, the gunfire shifts to the right speaker. It does so precisely and naturally. Move a tiny bit, and the sound position adjusts proportionally correctly.
It creates unbelievable immersion but there are tactical advantages, too. Hear faint footsteps somewhere? Look towards the sound and, ahh yes, they must be behind that rock I’m now staring directly at. I sim race a lot using triple screens; as a car comes alongside and I glance at it the sound moves with me as if I were in a real car. It’s magical and wonderful.
Now, moving your head around while a game is unusual unless you’re in VR or using TrackIR; it’s just not something most people do. But if you have a large widescreen monitor or multiple monitors like a triple-setup suddenly there is application for this technology. A set of EQ modes is also provided for different game types, or none at all with a pure high res mode for music.
The only downside is they’re battery powered, being good for about 10 hours between charges, and won’t work at all (even for music) when it’s flat. But that’s an insignificant price to pay for access to such astonishing technology. These are, literally, game changers.
HEAR FAINT FOOTSTEPS SOMEWHERE? LOOK TOWARDS THE SOUND AND, AHH YES, THEY MUST BE BEHIND THAT ROCK I’M NOW STARING DIRECTLY AT.