Review : Audeze Mobius – The Chameleon

Design & Build Quality

Shell

Available in three different colors, Audeze sent us a blue/black version of the Mobius.

Each version is labeled Team Carbon / Team Blue / Team Copper, and that relates to the gaming world, like the web series Red Vs Blue. It’s a strange sight to behold, especially if you own the classic headphones from the brand. Compared to my Audeze LCD-X for example, the Mobius looks like a gaming headphone… which was to be expected.

As a true gamer headset, the headphone is sweat-proof and scratch-proof. To do so, the Mobius is coated with a very sweet soft-touch silicon and enjoy replaceable earpads and headband. It will withstand the test of time, long Fortnite sessions or even your next ragequit in Minecraft.

Audiophiles may not like the overall sensation, as none of the other headphones from the brand ever felt so different from the flagship models. I received the Audeze LCD-1 a few days ago, and having them face-to-face really outshines the philosophy difference.

Yet, I think the Audeze Mobius design looks pretty awesome. The various buttons and knob, the blue accent, the contoured ear pads: all feel premium. It’s not a cheap knock-off, where a brand just put its label on an OEM headphone, it’s a true Audeze at core, but for (audiophile) gamers.

Build quality

Build quality is excellent so far.

The Mobius doesn’t crack and feels sturdy enough to be carried away, without a box. It’s a bit heavy, but this weight gives credibility to the whole package, like those heavy doors in a car. It looks cheap from afar, but the closer you look, the better it gets.

The headband can be adjusted very precisely, and even listeners with big heads like me will feel confident wearing the Mobius. You cannot fold it, but that’s okay as Audeze clearly favored the choice of a durable design, in exchange for a little practicality.

The buttons are a bit rugged, so you can easily feel them while you’re playing. The USB-C port is placed on the lower part of the headphone, so you easily can plug it to your computer, and – surprise, surprise – the Mobius even has a clickable scroll-wheel. One for the microphone volume and the other for the headphone volume.

Finally, you have the microphone. It comes separately, but that’s even better as you can choose to use it, or not. It’s a boom microphone, with built-in noise attenuation, one you may find on a Plantronics headset, rather than Audeze. Geeky as duck.

Bundle and Comfort

Inside the box

Audeze is surprisingly generous with the Mobius.

Inside the box you have :

– the Audeze Mobius
– a boom pole microphone
– 1x jack-jack cable
– 1x USB-A to Type C connector
– 1x Type-C to Type-C connector
– 1x travel bag made of fabric

There is no balanced cable provided, but since the headphone carries its own DAC, I’ll live with that.

Additional accessories

Honestly, there are no real improvements you can do regarding the Mobius. You can plug your own jack-jack cable, but since the real deal would be to use the internal DAC, this won’t make a big difference.

What you can, however, would be to choose an LDAC compatible source, be it a smartphone, or a player. The FiiO M11, Hiby, Shanling, and obviously Sony’s DAPs will support this protocol to give the best sound.

Of course, that won’t be an issue if you plug your Mobius in via USB.

Comfort

The Mobius is much comfier than I expected them to be.

The plushy ear pads cover the whole ear and thanks to the memory foam, you will be able to wear it with glasses. The engineers chose the right level of clamping force, and it feels just right, as the whole headset does.

Again, compared to the Audeze LCD-X, the Mobius feels like a toy. But it’s an adult toy, as you’d compare a car and a motorbike, the latter feels much more nimble, more free. That’s the Mobius.
Plus the fact that you can use Bluetooth on a planar headphone!

Isolation

Isolation is one of the weak points of the Audeze Mobius however.

I take the train almost daily and solid noise-blocking is mandatory for me. I use headphones/earphones to isolate myself and focus on my work, so isolation is very important to me.

The Mobius isn’t too bad, nor is it amazing either. You can definitely hear others talking or typing, and the closed-back design is more to avoid neighbors’ issues, than proper noise-blocking. But, in Audeze’s defense, it’s very very hard to make a closed-back planar-headphone. (Remember the EL-8C ?)

The review continues on Page Three, after the click HERE or by using the jump below.