Audeze made some big waves last year when its EL - 8 headphones lured high -
end planar magnetic designs away from the hi - fi and closer to mobile devices.
On the technical front, the HE - 400S challenges the status quo with newly - designed single -
ended planar magnetic drivers in open - back design that deliver the clarity, lifelike soundstage and spatial imaging that HiFiMAN is known for.
Not exact matches
A «budget» set of
planar magnetic in - ears, the Audeze iSine LX makes super high -
end audio a little more accessible.
So when Oppo announced they were entering the high -
end headphone market with the $ 1099 PM - 1
planar magnetic headphone and $ 1199 HA - 1 headphone amplifier and DAC, many were taken aback.
Many high -
end headphones — including some competing
planar magnetic models — are heavy.
Both headphones are lightning - quick in their response and suffer no distortion even at dangerously loud volumes — this degree of precision is the big advantage of
planar magnetic cans — but the Sine has the extra low -
end punch that the PM3 seems too idealistic to want to provide.
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).