Audeze Mobius (Tech) Review

I’ve had the opportunity to spend two weeks with a pair of Audeze Mobius headphones for work and play, and the results are remarkably impressive.

The TL;DR version: if you’re primarily a PC gamer, an audiophile, require high-quality audio reproduction for work, or need a quality microphone for meetings and content creation, the Audeze Mobius is for you and well worth the price.

However, if you’re primarily looking to use the headphones for other devices, such as your mobile phone or console, using the 3.5 mm aux cable or Bluetooth, you’ll still be getting excellent audio quality and clear mic, but you’ll be squandering their full potential.

What’s in the box?

First impressions are good, even before you’ve put the headphones on. The Audeze Mobius is in the same price range as other premium gaming headsets and the packaging reflects the quality. Removing the inner box, you’ll find two sleeves, one housing a travel bag, the other two booklets that give you the option of perusing the quick-start guide or extensive user guide (“The Traveler’s Handbook”).

Below that, nestled snuggly in a thick foam block, is the Audeze Mobius itself. Tucked below that is a box with all the required cabling (a USB-C to USB-C cable, USB-A to USB-C cable, and analog 3.5 mm cable) and the detachable microphone. Admittedly, both the analog 3.5 mm and USB-C to USB-C cable feel like an afterthought compared to the rest, as the USB-A to USB-C cable (that you’ll use to connect to your PC) is lengthy, threaded, and robust, while the microphone arm is flexible and housed in a strong metallic sheath.

The headphones

So, what makes the Audeze Mobius a premium product? The short answer: a combination of solid build quality, the use of planar magnetic drivers and real-time onboard 3D processing for 5.1 and 7.1 surround sound, along with integrated head-tracking to further correct positional audio.

The Audeze Mobius features over-ear cups made of contoured memory foam with an artificial leather cover. The headband is sturdy but allows for flex and a bit of twist when putting them on/taking them off. The cups themselves can be adjusted for height and offer enough rotation (90 degrees backward for storage) that ensure – in tandem with the flexible headband and memory foam – they’ll fit most head shapes snuggly. Perhaps the only downside is the contact point with the upper headband, which is a single memory foam pad, rather than the increasingly common inner band that distributes pressure over a wider area.

Given these are powered headphones, with a relatively large driver, internal Lithium-polymer battery, and the need for onboard audio processing hardware, the Audeze Mobius is heavier than many of its peers at 350 g. I found them comfortable for around 2 hours of continuous use, but the pressure of the upper band becomes increasingly noticeable over time (for reference, my head is shaved though, so your mileage may vary).

What may be of concern to some users is that the memory foam and artificial leather finish do not make for a particularly breathable fit. If you’re someone who finds they get sweaty wearing over-ear headphones, this may be a problem. That said, they are exchangeable, and it is possible alternatives with breathable material might be found.

All the ports and controls are on the left ear cup. Starting from the bottom centre of the cup, you’ll find the auxiliary 3.5 mm port. Moving towards the rear – and easily accessible to your thumb – are the separate volume wheels for the mic and audio. Towards the front is a USB-C port for PC audio and charging, the detachable microphone port, and a button to toggle between 3D audio settings or centre your head position.

On the outer panel of the left cup, you’ll find a combined power and pairing button towards the bottom, and a mute toggle switch for the mic at the top. If I have one gripe, it’s that the buttons that required I press and hold them to activate functions did not always respond consistently.

Moving onto the drivers themselves, the “planar magnetic” transducers use a larger electro-static membrane within a precisely arranged magnetic field to generate sounds. The modulation of the magnetic field induces a current in thin wires within the membrane – like a conventional dynamic driver – which in turn regulates the range of motion. This design falls between a conventional, cheaper dynamic driver and the niche, absurdly expensive electrostatic drivers found in larger speakers, which have unmatched audio reproduction.

With a large 100 mm transducer, Neodymium N50 magnets, an Ultra-thin Uniforce diaphragm, and an impressive frequency response range (10Hz – 50kHz), the Audeze Mobius has excellent sound reproduction across the spectrum.  With negligible total harmonic distortion (THD <0.1% @ 1 kHz, 1 mW) through the USB connection and internal audio processing stages, any distortion issues are likely to be a problem with your original audio source, not the headphones.

When it comes to voice recording quality, the detachable microphone seems like an odd choice at first, given the fondness for flip-up microphones on gaming headsets. However, it slots easily in and out of a dedicated 3.5 mm port, has a strong and flexible arm, independent volume controls, and an easy-to-access mute toggle. The mic picks up voice exceptionally clearly and can handle loud volumes (up to 120 dB) with minimal distortion. It ultimately makes the Audeze Mobius more versatile as you can treat them as pure (and stylish looking) headphones if voice chat or recording is not a concern.

Full Specifications

Style: Over-ear, closed-circumaural
Transducer type: Planar Magnetic
Magnetic structure: Fluxor™ magnet array
Phase management: Fazor
Magnet type: Neodymium N50
Diaphragm type: Ultra-thin Uniforce™
Transducer size: 100 mm
Maximum SPL: >120dB
Frequency response: 10Hz – 50kHz
THD: <0.1% (1 kHz, 1mW)
Earpads: Contoured memory foam: artificial leather
Microphone: Detachable with separate volume control
Battery type: Lithium-polymer
Wireless Connection: Bluetooth (SBC, AAC, LDAC)
Wired Connection: USB-C, USB-A, 3.5mm analog audio
Weight: 350g (including battery)

A multitude of features

One of the Audeze Mobius’ most marketed and immediately appreciable features is the integration of Waves NX Technology directly into the headset, allowing for real-time, onboard, 3D audio processing. This allows the headset to process up to 8 channels of surround sound audio when using a wired USB connection, while still processing head-tracking and room-emulation data. All of this is done without the need for additional software or hardware.

Of course, several gaming headsets offer the ability to handle 5.1 and 7.1 audio with modern, single-driver, emulated techniques. The Audeze Mobius goes a step further by integrating the Waves NX Head-Tracking and 3D Audio technology, which corrects that spatial audio information for your shifting head position at up to 1000 times/second. It’s an impressive on-the-fly feature, with real benefits in certain games, ranging from simply increasing immersion, to competitive advantages. You could argue gamers are fairly static while focusing on a monitor, but the positional audio corrections remove that last disconnect between your eyes and ear, keeping you fully immersed.

If you make use of the AudezeHQ application, you can tailor your experience even further. You can select from several audio enhancement profiles to emphasise different frequencies – think footsteps in a close-quarters FPS or engine sounds in a racing game. You can define “hands-free” hotkeys triggered by head gestures, should you be recording video content that requires the use of both hands or need some quick actions while furiously typing. You can even enter your head dimensions to further personalise the soundscape!

The gaming experience

Despite spending a good chunk of my day at a desk for work, the Audeze Mobius got a solid workout during several single- and multiplayer gaming sessions. With 5.1 and 7.1 audio formats available in most modern games, I decided to sink some time into both Resident Evil VII and Resident Evil Village – both fantastic horror games, albeit each with a very different tone.

Honestly, Resident Evil VII remains my top pick for the sheer fright factor, and the experience was significantly elevated using the Audeze Mobius. The opening guesthouse sequence and subsequent descent into the Baker Mansion basement – both eerily quiet moments – highlighted how well the headphones handle the entire audio spectrum: I could hear every creak of wood, drip of water, distant groan, and slow shuffling footstep. Sitting in a dark room, my vision glued to the monitor, and the cups fitted snuggly for great noise isolation, it made for an incredibly immersive and nerve-wracking experience.

Resident Evil Village swings back towards campy action-horror, but still has its share of creepy moments. Playing through the House Beneviento chapter – especially once a certain monster appears in the basement – was even more terrifying than my first playthrough with the volume cranked up. However, I found it was the combat-oriented sequences, especially the early village Lycan battle, where the head-tracking and sound localisation abilities of the Audeze Mobius benefited gameplay. While sprinting desperately through barns and small houses, it was significantly easier to locate nearby threats that were beyond my field of view, or waiting in ambush around corners.

For those with a competitive streak, I played several battle royale and arena rounds of Apex Legends wearing the Audeze Mobius and using the “Foot Steps” audio enhancement. In a game that often boils down to moments of tense waiting followed by scrappy gunfights in tight quarters, the ability to pinpoint charging teams, or track a flanking player scrambling to a highpoint, had a real impact on my response times and overall survival. As a bonus, my teammates were uniformly impressed with the massive improvement in voice clarity over chat.

One caveat to be aware of: if you’re a VR user or are playing a game with a dedicated positional audio system, you’ll need to remember to toggle off the 3D-audio feature.

The work and content creation experience

Over the last two weeks, in addition to the usual online meetings and social sessions, I also got to narrate the script and compose two video game reviews. This provided me with plenty of feedback on voice clarity from friends and colleagues, while also allowing me to assess the raw recording quality of the microphone.

In line with the rest of the experience, I was impressed at how clear the Audeze Mobius voice recording was. In contrast to my other headsets, I spent minimal time cleaning up my audio files before incorporating them into the video render. Sure, the Audeze Mobius also excels at capturing every short gasp of breath just as clearly as your voice, but the microphone does an excellent job of filtering out background noise. I often found myself running a noise reduction pass out of habit, rather than necessity.  

As such, the Audeze Mobius headphones should be an excellent fit for those doing live streams (in addition to the potential of the head gesture shortcuts), or for those simply looking to cut down on the amount of clean-up they need on recorded voice for podcasts or vlogs. With excellent sound reproduction, you can also rest assured what you hear in the final product covers 99.9% of the audience. With a battery life of around 10-hours – with 2-3 hours needed for a full charge – the Audeze Mobius is good for 1-2 days of work (or a full day of work and play) and has become my go-to pair for voice recording and video work.

Is it worth it for mobile devices, consoles, and TVs?

With the ability to connect to other devices by 3.5 mm aux cable or Bluetooth, the Audeze Mobius are a great choice if you use multiple devices in addition to your PC. However, if PC is not your primary gaming or entertainment device, you might find yourself paying a premium and not accessing the best features it offers.

Make no mistake, you still get excellent audio reproduction and mic clarity over aux cable or Bluetooth, but the Audeze Mobius only processes surround sound over USB. Using these connections you can still toggle on 3D-audio and define a central position, but that only emulates a centered speaker position. This was, admittedly, entertaining while walking around the house listening to music but I found the subtle changes distracting if I made involuntary head movements while console gaming or watching a movie from the couch.

The versatility is appreciated but the Audeze Mobius is ultimately designed for those gaming and working on a PC. There are other factors too, like how it still needs to be charged to work over aux, which might also annoy those after a pure plug-and-play headset for their console gamepad.

Final thoughts

So, with all factors considered, I loop back to the beginning of this review: the Audeze Mobius is a great choice for PC gamers and content creators, especially those with an audiophile streak. The planar magnetic drivers provide incredible audio reproduction in a compact pair of headphones, far better than the commonplace dynamic drivers, but without the insane expense of devices with electrostatic drivers. The build quality is solid, the AudezeHQ software easy to configure, and the real-time onboard audio processing seriously impressive.

The Audeze Mobius headphones are capable of not only enhancing immersion by providing a more realistic soundscape, but they also provide a tangible gameplay advantage in competitive games thanks to the impressive Waves NX positional audio technology. For podcasts, vlogs, and live streaming, the excellent sound reproduction and crystal-clear microphone again make them a great choice if you don’t want to invest in a dedicated microphone, allowing you to save time on audio clean-up, while ensuring playback of your content will represent the optimal listening experience.

If you happen to also game on console or are looking for wireless Bluetooth headphones for your mobile devices and TV, they’ll still provide you with excellent audio and a great microphone. However, if that is your primary purpose, you’d be paying a premium for several great features you’d not make use of.

A review unit was provided to Gameblur by the manufacturer of the product