I'd like to thank Team Embody for supplying this software for my review. My opinions are my own.
...Reviewed!
When it comes to spatial audio, I stepped into this review with experience of what this type of software delivers... but the Immerse spatial audio software seems to make things... personal.
Personalization:Out of the gate, the first thing that stood out to me was the request to take a photo of my ear. I thought that was interesting. I think it's cool because you're getting a more formulated sound based on the shape of your ear.
Tip: Get someone else to take the photo for the most accurate angle possible.
If you're wondering what that does, just think of how the sound would be delivered to your ears based on the layout. You're going to hear the audio with your ears, so having the audio customized to the shape of your ear... enhances the experience that much more.
Quality: In terms of the spatial audio quality, it delivers. You don't sit around waiting to hear the spatial audio kick in. I don't want to knock Windows Sonic, but that's me with Windows Sonic in terms of gaming. Immerse Gaming Hive gives an immediate response unless you have the volume down or you have another audio device selected (I have quite a few of those).
Before I go any further, spatial audio is this... 360-degree experience for your ears. This is one of the reasons ASMR caught me the way it did, it's truly immersive... so when you take software like Immerse Gaming and you apply that to games... it takes things to the next level for more gamers than those who can afford higher quality headphones. We hear the games through the stereo, but when your audio is taken to that evolutionary level that is... Spatial Audio, you feel it even more.
Features: When combined with the Audeze Mobius headphones, it was just a beautiful freaking experience. I can't wait to see the creativity in this space, because gaming truly takes a step forward with spatial audio.
Immersive Gaming Hive's software gives you the option to customize the sound for various genres. MMO, shooters, and more. The sound either expands to fit the world or decreases to fit close-quarters combat. Resident Evil Village is one of the more recent titles that take advantage of spatial audio... so if you have the guts to dive in, game on!
You also get the optional UI overlay, but... I recommend leaving it off in competitive multiplayer games. I don't recommend it because it's a detriment as far as affecting the performance of your system, but if you have something telling where the enemies are coming from... what type of challenge is that? In the least... it shouldn't be allowed in tournaments, but... I do think this is a great feature for gamers in the deaf & hearing-impaired community. If we get spatial audio, a visual sonar could be a plus for them... and evens the playing field in my opinion.
Price: Pricewise, this software comes at a very competitive price of $14.99/year or $39.99/5 years. I'd take the 5 years, though I don't believe that there should be any limitations on device amount or image submissions. They may be able to explain the reason why, perhaps it requires a stored profile on the companies end so that they aren't trying to match with each update or something, but... they already have existing headphones they do that for. Since the other headphones use default settings, that can't be the reason... so I don't think there should be limitations (mainly on the headphones). I guess I can understand the ear type, which also represents a user cap for the service.
Grab the Immerse Gaming Hive spatial audio software... here: http://immerse.gg/
Many thanks to Audeze for supplying this product a review, my opinions are my own.
Before I jump into the review... you know what time it is, let's unbox!
The Audeze Mobius headphones look and feel great, but how do they feel and sound? Let's find out!
Quality + Comfort:Out of the gate... the look of the headphones matches the feel for the most part. The Audeze Mobius headphones go over the ear... so they aren't pressing directly on them. As you see here, the (replaceable) contoured memory foam earpads are shaped a certain way to better fit on our heads. If I pull it back a tad, the comfort level increases for me so that it's not pressing on the area between the ear and upper jawbone.
If I want to extend my tolerance time, I move the earpads forward until they're touching the back of my ear (resting on the upper back of my cheekbone slightly).
I was a bit concerned about the comfort initially because I am still sensitive regarding headphone comfort but after a slight adjustment, I decreased the clamp pressure on my head by 50% or so without the headphone sag. These headphones don't have a snap adjustment, so the adjustments can be as slight as you want them to be (I haven't noticed a slip). If you feel like the ear cups are pressing against the cheek a little too much, turn them out. This also increased the comfort for me and I was able to turn the initial hour into about 3.5 to 4 hours of enjoyment during my initial test.
After increased use, the memory foam definitely helped.
The earpads have a full DJ-style swivel that doesn't squeeze the neck at all, I'm talking 0%. I absolutely love the fact that these headphones have enough space for the head to do a full turn back and forth... even in a polo tee (and I have a thick neck). If they were for the PC only, that wouldn't matter as much... but you can take these on the go without that uncomfortable cheek or chin rub.
The headphones have a form of artificial leather on them, which feels sturdy and soft around the flexible frame. I checked to find out the level of quality these earpads have as far as the leather is concerned, but I couldn't find anything specific. I will say that they feel similar to those I've experienced that is a higher level and don't feel like it's just a coating.
The beauty of these types of earpads is that they're not as porous as the cloth ones, but if you live in a hot climate like I do... you can work up a sweat so make sure that you take care of your earpads to decrease the build-up of sweat and dirt. You won't have to replace the earpads as often if you clean them after use and store them properly.
You can use a clean soft (slightly) damp cloth to wipe the headphones. Use water or a cleaning product specific to leather. By the way, don't leave the headphones just sitting in direct sunlight, because this will affect the leather by causing them to dry up and crack (trust me). If you have a case... use it!
There will be a time where replacement earpads are needed (in my opinion), so I recommend getting a replacement pair with your headphones to store away. The same model headphones don't remain on the market forever... so if they're above a certain price point, I recommend grabbing these.
By the way, all your controls and connections are all in one place. So you don't have to remember which ear they're on... more so than where they're placed. The 3D centering is the first button, the 2nd is the Mic port, the 3rd USB-C port for charging & PC audio, the 4th is the 3.5mm port, the 5th is the Mic volume control, 6th is the Headphone volume control. Mic mute/Unmute and the Power buttons are on the flat side of the left ear's exterior. The placement works once you figure out the Mic volume from the Headphone volume, and I'm glad they put the Mute/Unmute & Power buttons in a different area.
I've centered the headphones with my ring finger, muted/unmuted and turned on the headphones with my pointer, and adjusted the volume with my thumb. This is how the controls are placed.
Sound: Right off the bat, when I used these headphones... I noticed a stand-out feature. These are 3D headphones, so I was curious about what that meant for these headphones. I've used headphones that mention a 3D feature before... and it was primarily based on the surround sound feature, but these headphones actually track the sound no matter where you turn your head.
That's pretty badass, and some of you may wonder what good is this feature if you need to face the screen... but think about the various screen types and entertainment. If you have a curved monitor and you need to look off to the side, the sound doesn't shift with these headphones... it continues to come from the same direction it did prior to you turning your head.
To be more specific, if you turned your head while talking to your friend (in person)... they wouldn't automatically move to the position where you turned your head. You would still hear your friend talking from the direction they were speaking, which definitely adds more depth to the gameplay and gives an edge as far as competition goes. I won't say that other 3D headphones don't deliver, but this actually delivers more because the sound in the digital environment doesn't shift with head movement.
That's the best way I can describe it, and when you apply something like this to ASMR (yeah... here I go again with the ASMR)... it's even better. I've experienced certain ASMR videos and audio where the direction seemed off like maybe the person recorded in the wrong direction... but all you have to do is turn around.
The features that make this possible are:
Waves Nx Tech for 3D Hardware Processing - Onboard head-tracking tech.
Integrated Low Latency Head Tracking - This decreases the chance of lag when you turn your head.
Anatomy Calibration - Uses the size of your noggin/head to boost audio accuracy.
3D Audio & Ambisonics Support - This is for VR/AR content (which I didn't get a chance to test).
3D Sound Localization
Customizable Room Emulation - Based on research, this delivers sound that you would hear in a certain room size (Could be the "Duh of the Day" for some of you).
I did notice that I had to turn off the 3D feature when using Dolby Atmos in order to increase the accuracy of the software.
As far as the actual audio specs go:
Max SPL: >120dB - Even if these headphones deliver >120dB... just keep in mind that listening at the max sound pressure level isn't recommended based on OSHA safety standards.
OSHA allows for 8 hours at 90dB, 2 hours at 100dB, while NIOSH recommends 8 hours max to <85dB. NIOSH recommends less than 15 minutes at 100dB, and I just want to mention this because with great headphones comes great responsibility.
THD: <0.1% - These headphones are right where they need to be in terms of the ideal percentage of THD... for adults and children. This prevents the various sounds from being similar and allows for better clarity in terms of identifying what something is. This is important for kids especially... because they need to learn what sounds like what.
Frequency response: 10Hz - 50kHz - When it comes to this measurement of the SPL, the lower end represents the bass and the higher end represents the treble.
Transducer size: 100mm - This is your headphone driver and the thing that produces the sound.
Magnetic structure: Fluxor magnet array - This is a brand-patented feature that guides sound waves, and reduces distortion for the most accurate audio they can deliver. Get more detail about that feature, here.
Magnet type: Neodymium N50 - Based on my research, these are the strongest type of permanent magnets available and they can produce better magnetic fields with less. So you get less weight in your headphones, but what they actually do for your audio is produce higher sound output with less power. In other words, you get higher sound pressure levels (SPL).
Diaphragm type: Ultra-thin Uniforce - A wide thin conductor that takes advantage of the magnetic field so that the full diaphragm has the same force. This patented tech delivers virtually distortion-free listening experiences with the greatest accuracy and detail in any headphone (in the known universe), according to Audeze.
All that said, how do they deliver? The mids and highs are great, and I did get the bass to emerge... it just boiled down to what I was playing or listening to (still felt a bit shy, until I jumped into some bass-rich rap, action games, and action movies).
I was able to switch up the sound profiles to tweak the listening experience, but I will get back to that in the next section. Here are some of the movies, music, and games I played using the headphones:
Jay-Z - 30 Something
Rick Ross - Carol City
Just Cause 3
Just Cause 4
Tom Clancy's No Remorse
Army of the Dead
In the box + Features:
In the box:
Audeze Mobius 7.1 3D Headphones
Directional microphone with volume control + a switch that confirms that your mic is muted or not.
USB-C to USB-C cable
USB-C to USB cable
3.5mm to 3.5mm cable
Cloth headphone storage bag
Manual Alignment or Intelligent Auto-Align
Bluetooth w/ SBC + AAC + LDAC
When you mute and unmute... you'll know, because the headphones will tell you.
Under the hood of the earpads, the Audeze Mobius headphones feature:
100mm Planar Transducers
Fazer Wave Guides
Audeze Cipher DSP
Room Emulation
Head movements are tracked per millisecond
Anatomy Calibration
3D Audio Positioning
Audeze HQ is software specifically for the Mobius and Primrose headphones.
As seen in the video preview, you get the option of various sound profiles that do little tweaks here and there. I didn't notice a great change, but maybe that's just me. The Flat was the most noticeable, followed by Music and Foot Steps. Click play for a tour of the UI.
Price: The Audeze Mobius Headphones retail for $399... which is okay based on the onboard head tracking that retails for $99.99 alone. Take away this feature and I'd price them at about $250 to $300.
Quality + Comfort 5
Sound 5
In the box + Features 4 (due to the lack of an IP rating)
