How to install and use the Audeze HQ App on a Computer or an Android phone

The Audeze HQ app for PCs is the same for Mobius and Penrose, and will recognize which model is plugged in (detailed instructions for use with Mobius are here).

To Install HQ for Windows:

1. From a Windows PC, please download and unzip the appropriate file from the Audeze HQ page.
2. Right click the exe file and choose "Run as Administrator." (If you don’t see the installer in your downloads folder, you can search for “Audeze” on your machine’s hard drives.) Note for Windows users: You may get a warning message that this software is not from a recognized developer. If this happens, please click "More info" at the top, and then "Install anyway" near the bottom to continue with the installation.
3. The installer will prompt you to choose a location and folder name to install upon your machine. You’re welcome to use the folder/name suggested by the installer, or create your own.
4. Once installed, your machine may ask you if you want to run the application. We suggest choosing “yes.” If you choose “no,” you can find it the folder you chose, or search your machine again for “Audeze.”

To Install HQ for Mac:

1. From an Apple Mac, please download the appropriate file from the Audeze HQ page.
2. Right click the pkg file and choose "Open." (If you don’t see the installer in your downloads folder, you can search for “Audeze” on your machine’s hard drives.) You may get a warning message that this software is not from a recognized developer. If this happens, please click "Open" from the available choices in the popup window to continue with the installation.
3. The installer will prompt you to choose a location and folder name to install upon your machine. You’re welcome to use the folder/name suggested by the installer, or create your own.
4. Once installed, your machine may ask you if you want to run the application. We suggest choosing “yes.” If you choose “no,” you can find it the folder you chose, or search your machine again for “Audeze.”

Congratulations, you have successfully installed the HQ app to control your Penrose!

For instructions on use with Mobius, please see this terribly informative article.

Please connect your Penrose to a PC or Mac using a USB cable...

As you can see from the screenshot below, you can use the HQ app to control several functions from the Penrose Mix Amp tab:

• Use the "Sidetone" slider switch to toggle sidetone on or off. Sidetone allows you to hear the sounds from the Penrose mic in the headphones. We're not sure why, but some people don't want to hear their own voices...
• The "xbox mix" control allows you to blend between Game and Voice sounds on any compatible device (currently only Xbox Series X). Move the small circle along the large circle toward one side or the other, and adjust to taste. Keep in mind this control has no function outside of Xbox use right now.
• Use the "mix" control to adjust the relative volumes of any simultaneous Wireless and Bluetooth connections.
• The "mic" slider allows adjustment of microphone gain in wireless mode, similar to what you can do with the Mic Adjustment wheel on Penrose itself. Bear in mind that this slider only functions in wireless mode-- to adjust mic gain in AUX mode, you must use the OS software controls on your device (such as the mic volume control panel in Windows, Mac, etc).
• The EQ Sliders correspond to frequencies as listed at their bottoms, from 32Hz (low bass) up to 16kHz (high treble). At the top of each slider is the amount of cut or boost applied (in deciBels). Excessive boosts may cause distortion or volume loss, so if you hear that you should consider cutting other frequencies instead, and/or increasing the overall headset volume.
  
  • You may adjust to your heart's content, and the settings are saved in real time into your Penrose. When you unplug the USB cable or close the HQ app, settings will remain as they were until you change them again.
  • You may save up to five "Presets" of EQ preferences, and switch between them with a click, using the buttons at the bottom of the screen. You can also Save and Load presets to your hard drive, so you can actually have virtually unlimited presets at your disposal, and best of all you can share them with friends, teammates, or even enemies! You can find some Audeze Preset Packs on this page. Clicking the "Reset" button will revert the active preset to "flat" EQ, or all 0dB. 
  • Regarding the drop in overall volume you may notice when boosting EQ bands in the HQ app: This is a feature of the Digital Signal Processing (DSP) in Penrose called Automatic Gain Compensation (AGC), and its purpose is to eliminate the overload distortion that would naturally accompany large boosts in equalization (EQ). Rest assured this is totally normal and all you have to do is increase the headphone volume by spinning the Headphone Volume Wheel up a few clicks.

The Device Info tab will point out some features of the Penrose exterior, and tell you what version of the HQ app is installed on your machine. Check it out sometime when you have nothing better to do.

The Settings tab allows for checking the Firmware version installed on your Penrose, and to update said FW. You can read about the update process in this article. There is also a handy slider to adjust the Auto Shutdown time: slide left for less time until shutoff with no signal present, and right for more time).

There is also a Profile drop-down that will appear when you click the word, which allows you to choose which headphone model you want to see data for:

Additionally, there are status symbols for battery level, mic gain and connection status (which tells you if HQ recognizes your plugged-in Penrose and is able to make changes).

You'll also notice the handy Question Mark (?), that when clicked will open our support articles webpage in your chosen browser. Help is just a click away!

The HQ app for Android is available here. The basic functions are similar to the above but adapted for a smaller screen.

To use the Android Audeze HQ app to control your Penrose, first install it from the Google Play store.

Once installed, you can control the parameters by connecting your phone to Penrose via Bluetooth.

Regarding the HQ app for iPhone/iPad: While there is an Audeze HQ app for iDevices, it only interfaces with our Cipher Lightning cable for in-ear headphones and doesn't work with Penrose. Apple treats apps for headphone control as an MFI accessory, and requires certification and a chip to be installed in the dongle. This was not possible for several reasons, so we cannot make a Penrose app for Apple iDevices. We wish we could say otherwise!

Isn't this fun?! We had a great time describing all these useful features, and we hope you've enjoyed reading about them.

If you cannot find the droids you’re looking for here or in our other useful support articles, please email us at support@audeze.com, and one of our friendly support reps will get in touch as soon as possible.