We've reviewed only a handful
of planar magnetic driver - based headphones thus far, like the Blue Ella and the in - ear Audeze iSine20.
The advantages
of planar magnetic technology are based on the fact that in a planar driver, sound is generated by a very thin and light diaphragm that is driven evenly over the entire radiating area.
The very design
of planar magnetic drivers, which use a thin membrane excited by a magnetic coil to produce sound, is part of why they're generally so big.
According to HiFiMAN Founder and President, Dr. Fang Bian, «When people who know HiFiMAN reflect on our brand, they often think first
of our planar magnetic headphones.
If you're looking to spend a bit less on a still - accurate - sounding circumaural pair, consider the Beyerdynamic DT 880 Pro and Sony MDR - 1A — both offer excellent audio experiences, though not
of the planar magnetic variety.
Anyone who has followed our progress, as well as the entire category, has seen and heard enormous strides in the performance
of planar headphones.
As we've come to expect from a refined pair
of planar magnetic headphones, Blue's Ella offer a vivid expression of clean and clear sound wrought with detailed reproduction of instrumental textures, a wide and well - balanced soundstage, and the kind of fluidity and presence in the upper register that traditional dynamic drivers struggle to achieve.
For $ 600, the Acoustic Research AR - H1 delivers on the promise
of planar magnetic drivers, and it looks and feels good doing it.
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).
That's why I'm a big fan
of planar magnetic headphones, like Audeze's Sine headphones or Oppo's PM - 3, which use fancy, expensive drivers and other internal components for incredible precision that more accurately re-creates what engineers hear in the studio.
Regardless
of the planar magnetic drivers referenced above, the PM - 3 have a relatively dark flavor to their sound, especially in the lower midrange.
The sound embodies the very best qualities available from the thin membranes
of planar magnetic drivers, carving out every secret, each lonesome detail, and every rushing burst of form and color from your most complex music, stretched across a sprawling soundstage.
Building on the foundation
of its planar magnetic drivers, the company has created a headset that can deliver 3D audio and sound localization that enhance video games as well as music, videos and phone calls.
And when Oppo revealed its first take would be a line
of planar magnetic headphones — perhaps the most coveted headphone driver tech out there — just about everyone in the industry got a case of whiplash.
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.
The result is a sleek and stylish pair
of planar cans with audiophile chops you can easily take along for the ride.
If the design of the Monoprice Monolith M300 looks familiar, that's because they're a clone of the Audeze iSine series
of planar magnetic headphones.
The latter is a first from Audeze, stretching the physical limitations
of its planar magnetic drivers.
Though there are a growing number
of planar magnetic headphones in its price range, the PM - 3 are more functional in everyday environments than many other options.
While planar magnetic drivers help the audio sound more lifelike in its reproduction, it's the combination
of the planar magnetic tech and the 3D software that help the Mobius to create an experience closer to a live concert.
That's where the Mobius» secret weapon — a pair
of planar magnetic drivers — comes into play.
Pushing that concept even further, this year Audeze has released a pair
of planar magnetic on - ear headphones, the SINE.
That said, a price of $ 500 for a pair
of planar magnetic headphones is still fairly reasonable considering the quality.
We tend to like the sound
of planar magnetic headphones; our pick for the best under - $ 400 closed - back headphones, the Oppo Digital PM - 3, also uses them, as do the Fostex T50RP mk3 and T20RP mk3 headphones we recommend in this guide.
A «budget» set
of planar magnetic in - ears, the Audeze iSine LX makes super high - end audio a little more accessible.
Soon, Final will be releasing a pair
of planar magnetic headphones, which I tried out at CanJam London last month and was blown away by.
The release of these cans levels a shot across the bow
of planar magnetic headphones up to $ 1,200, as they can go toe to toe with anything in that segment of the market for $ 299.99.
That's important as the greater the flux density, the better the control
of the planar diaphragm yielding significantly better transient response.
A lambent play between surface and material, the works making up «In Spectral Form» confront the finitudes
of the planar field while simultaneously foregrounding the infinite probabilities born of its rupture.
DURING THE MINIMALIST PHASE of the art of the last decade sculptural form tended towards a simple expression
of planar shapes.
The objects represent the folding
of these planar manifestations into geometric or representational volumes
As images, Wizon's paintings have a striking, jump - off - the - wall immediacy, pinning the viewer down with screaming color contrasts — sharp reds, greens, yellows — and then sweeping the viewer away with a swirl
of planar rhythms.
Color is born
of a planar objectivity in the present lot, and Judd's deliberate choice of cadmium red is markedly instrumental in the definition of space.
I'll end the post here, with the metaphor of depth and dimension not only dazzling the eye but moving it in and out out
of planar space — and stretching back and forth through time.
It demonstrates its modernism by virtue
of its planar, geometric, and non-historical decorative motifs.
In both his prints and his larger scaled installations combining sheer colored fabrics with mixed industrial sheetgoods, Stephen Maine displays a refined understanding
of planar abstraction.
Work in the exhibition ranges from deceptively simple, geometric work that consciously embraces the flatness of the picture plane, to those using complex interactions
of planar -LSB-...]
The impedance
of a planar coil suspended on a torsion beam and placed in a strong magnetic field is analyzed.
It is now well known that a systematic replacement
of the planar peptide bond with an alkene bioisostere is useful for the estimation of the electrostatic effects and for the SAR evaluation of peptide derivatives.
Aberrant regulation
of planar cell polarity in polycystic kidney disease.
This is a plane - lighting homogeneity image
of a planar light source device through a neutral density filter.
Vohnsen and Valente speculate that this type of sensor may find applications in the quality inspection
of planar materials, films, and coatings.
The famous precision
of planars is evident in abundance here, with the headphones drawing out subtle details in everything I listen to.
Not exact matches
Observation and analysis
of emergent coherent structures in a high - energy - density shock - driven
planar mixing layer experiment
Study
of Rayleigh - Taylor growth in laser irradiated
planar SiO2 targets at ignition - relevant conditions
Into every point
of the intensity distribution across an aperture, for example, the entire spectrum is enfolded as a superposition
of moving
planar structures; and conversely, every spectral wave front sweeps over all points in space, thus contributing to the intensity everywhere.
«For example, conventional
planar growth
of gallium arsenide onto a silicon surface results therefore in a large number
of defects.»
Echo -
planar imaging (EPI) uses only one nuclear spin excitation per image and lends itself to a variety
of critical medical and scientific applications.
Their integral Ni ion, which is the likely site
of CO oxidation, is coordinated by four sulfur ligands with square
planar geometry.
Slightly later, feathers would have looked like fuzzy down... and so on through the steps
of feather development until you get a full
planar feather.