While we may have questioned Audeze's motives to create an in -
ear planar headphone initially, there really is nothing quite like the sound of open - back in - ears.
Audeze celebrates the Sine for being the first on -
ear planar magnetic headphone, but for my money, I don't see any portability advantage with the Sine over the already established Oppo PM3.
As the first ever on -
ear planar magnetic headphones, the Sine were years in the making, spawned from multiple evolutions in Audeze's lineup.
Not exact matches
The Monolith M1060 is a beast of a set of headphones, weighing in at 1.1 lbs (500g) with enormous
ear cups, mostly - metal and wood construction, and 106 mm
planar magnetic drivers.
As the name implies, these use tiny 30 mm
planar magnetic drivers to produce sound which is pretty impressive for a pair of in -
ears.
Audeze recently made headlines when they announced their iSine
planar magnetic in -
ears.
A «budget» set of
planar magnetic in -
ears, the Audeze iSine LX makes super high - end audio a little more accessible.
Pushing that concept even further, this year Audeze has released a pair of
planar magnetic on -
ear headphones, the SINE.
With this in mind, it's quite an achievement that companies like Monoprice are creating affordable
planar magnetic headphones and have even miniaturized the technology to fit into an in -
ear headphone: the Monoprice Monolith M300.
Removing the
ear cups reveals the headphones
planar magnetic drivers.
Audeze caught our imagination last year with Sine, the superb
planar magnetic on -
ear headphones.
When the iSine in -
ear model was announced, we got rather excited at the prospect of the first ever
planar magnetic in -
ears.
The exception is manufacturer Audeze, which sells on -
ear headphones and even in -
ear buds with
planar magnetic construction.
When Audeze first unveiled its relatively tiny iSine
planar magnetic in -
ears in 2016, it came as a major surprise, as full - size
planar magnetic headphones are known for being on the large size.
The iSine 20 that I'm reviewing today are ostensibly in -
ear headphones, but they also use
planar magnetic technology from over-
ear cans, and they're roughly the size of on -
ear models.
The vast protrusions emerging from the iSines house a 30 mm (1.2 - inch)
planar magnetic diaphragm, which is basically an ultra-thin sheet that dances back and forth, generating sound waves that are then funneled into your
ear.
We also compared the headphones to several different high - end models, including two pairs of
planar magnetic cans from Audeze (the $ 800 EL - 8 open - back headphones, and the $ 500 closed - back Sine on -
ear), as well as a pair of Massdrop x Sennheiser open - back HD 6XX headphones (a custom facelift of the $ 350 HD 650).
But until today, you'd only find
planar magnetic tech inside larger on -
ear or over-
ear headphones.
Now Audeze is taking that technology even further by thinking even smaller, introducing the world's first
planar magnetic in -
ear headphones.
Sound, entering our
ear, has a
planar wave front at the so called
ear reference point (ERP), with all spectrum components in phase.
Chiefly,
planar magnetic drivers come with a wealth of inherent benefits; offering more precise transience, lower distortion and a more natural interaction of sound with the outer
ear.
If you'd like a bit more portability, and don't mind trading some detail for dollars back, we'd also suggest checking out Audeze's impressive Sine
planar magnetic on -
ear headphones.
We've reviewed only a handful of
planar magnetic driver - based headphones thus far, like the Blue Ella and the in -
ear Audeze iSine20.