Vic Tiscareno, former lead audio engineer at Apple who was recruited by Steve Jobs, and his team at VZR are working on a new pair of headphones specially designed for competitive gaming and critical listening. Called the VZR Model One, the over-the-ear headphones, priced at $349, will be available for preorder in Q2 2021 in the United States and later for the rest of the world.
The VZR Model One headset is meant to make the sound more immersive without bringing about any change to the sound source digitally. It will work on a patented technology called CrossWave that focuses the audio output on different parts of the ears. It helps reshape the audio waves to make the sound feel more immersive, with “improved separation, openness and accurate 3D spatial positioning.”
The VZR Model One is a wired headset only and needs a 3.5mm jack. PS5 and PS4 players need to plug it into their controllers. The headset comes with a carbon fibre structural ring to reduce resonance. It is equipped with custom 40mm drivers that are “individually paired, specially tuned speakers”. The headphones come with a detachable Boom microphone “with patent-pending passive noise cancellation”. Also, the inline microphone is “automatically enabled when the Boom Mic is disconnected”. As per VZR, “the omnidirectional microphone and mute switch give you control over how you are heard.”
VZR claims that CrossWave” truly sets [the Model One] apart from competitors and more expensive audiophile headphones.”