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A Survey of Six High-End Headphones

A Survey of Six High-End Headphones

Over the past several years, growing numbers of serious music lovers have turned to top-tier headphones either as their primary listening devices or as complements to more traditional in-room high-end audio systems. There are more complex factors driving this movement than can be summarized here, but among them are a desire to enjoy high-end sound on a 24/7 basis without disturbing neighbors or family members, and a craving for the powerful, intimate, and profoundly revealing musical presentations that today’s best headphone-based systems afford.

High-end headphones are also attractive from the standpoint of value. Many audiophiles appreciate (indeed covet) top-tier loudspeaker-based systems, but simply cannot afford them. For those enthusiasts, headphone-based systems offer viable alternate paths to the sonic mountaintop at far more manageable prices.

While top-tier headphones aren’t necessarily for everyone, they offer so many compelling benefits that we thought it would make sense to introduce the wider TAS audience to the headphones that in our view represent today’s crème de la crème.

In this survey, we will discuss three types of high-end headphones: dynamic-driver, planar magnetic-driver, and electrostatic headphones. We will review the basic technologies used in each type and then offer mini-reviews of representative top-tier models.

Dynamic-Driver Headphones

Headphones in this category use piston-type dynamic drivers conceptually similar to the drivers used in many loudspeakers. One huge difference, though, is that headphones typically use single full-range drivers in lieu of dedicated woofers, midrange drivers, and tweeters. Single full-range drivers solve myriad problems in that they are inherently phase coherent and require no crossover networks—differentiators that yield significant sonic benefits.

As in the loudspeaker world, designers of high-end dynamic driver headphones are doing extensive development work to explore exotic diaphragm materials; rigid, low-reflectivity driver frames; and highly advanced and responsive driver motor mechanisms—motor mechanisms that often use incredibly powerful magnet assemblies.

There are two preferred dynamic-driver headphone configurations: closed-back designs, which are favored in studio application owing to their superior noise isolation, and open-back designs, which are prized for audiophile applications owing to their typically high levels of transparency, openness, and free-flowing dynamics. While there are certainly some very good closed-back models available, the majority of today’s best-sounding high- end headphones are open-back (or quasi-open-back) designs.

 

Models to Audition

Beyerdynamic T1 Tesla ($1399) north-america.beyerdynamic.com

A Survey of Six High-End Headphones

The T1 Tesla is the finest headphone that the German firm Beyerdynamic makes and it earned its name by being the first (and, at its inception, the only) headphone featuring drivers whose motors offered a whopping one (1) Tesla of magnetic flux density. Headphone enthusiasts who value purity, smoothness, and inner detail will particularly appreciate the T1 Tesla.

The T1 Tesla offers two interrelated sonic qualities that together make for its greatness: almost unearthly levels of timbral purity coupled with equally exceptional smoothness and evenness of frequency response. The T1 is also remarkably free of grain, which gives a heightened sense of see-through transparency.

The T1 Tesla is not necessarily a sonic “thrill ride” in the way that some headphones can be; rather, its pleasure and points of excellence are subtler in nature and take a while to register on the listener. In this respect, the T1 Tesla gives performance akin to that of certain ceramic-driver-equipped loudspeakers (albeit with a vastly more expansive dynamic envelope and very wide- bandwidth response).

Sennheiser HD-800 ($1499) sennheiserusa.com

A Survey of Six High-End Headphones

The HD-800 is a statement-class, flagship model from the venerable German firm Sennheiser; it is an essentially hand-built product and looks the part in every way. Among headphone cognoscenti, the HD-800 enjoys the reputation of a headphone that is more respected than loved, for reasons I will partly address below. Measurement-oriented headphone enthusiasts, however, should note that the HD-800 produces some of the best all- around empirical test results of any top-end headphone being made today.

The HD-800 is a brilliant all-rounder that does all (and we do mean all ) things well. Still, we would observe that there is a distinct gap between the sound of the HD-800 heard under “good” conditions and the sound of the headphone under truly optimal conditions—in fact, for discerning listeners this can be a night/day difference (hence, the “respect” vs. “love” dilemma). The fact is that the HD-800 almost always sounds good-to-very- good when used with a competent headphone amp, but it is also true that the HD-800 only achieves its full potential when pushed by great headphone amps (again, the difference isn’t subtle). With the right amp, the HD-800 can sound spectacular—as engaging and evocative as you might ever desire, which is where “love” enters the picture.

Grado Labs PS1000 ($1695) gradolabs.com

A Survey of Six High-End Headphones

The PS1000, which is hand-built in very limited quantities, is the top model from the Brooklyn-based phono cartridge and headphone specialist Grado. Grado’s less expensive middde- range ’phones have won widespread critical acclaim for their vibrant and highly expressive (albeit somewhat midrange- forward) sound, and the PS1000 represents the culmination of that “house sound,” but with higher resolution, a more neutral top-to-bottom tonal balance, and exemplary extension at the frequency extremes.

A sound that is well balanced, evocative, and incredibly engaging and dynamically alive. With that said, however, we’ll let you in on a secret: if you listen to the PS1000 you might think, as we did at first, that it sounds like an upgraded version of one of its less costly Grado siblings (e.g., the $995 GS1000i or $695 RS1i). In other words, the PS1000 at first seems to offer the ultimate extension of the Grado sound, giving good results, but results that perhaps do not quite justify its price. With a great amp, however, the picture changes dramatically, as a great amp will enable the PS1000 to “shift gears,” so that it jumps up to much higher levels of performance than other Grads models can achieve. Hint: To hear the PS1000 at is finest, try powering it with a top-flight tube-powered headphone amp (e.g., Woo’s Audio WA5-LE).

 

Planar Magnetic-Driver Headphones

Headphones in this category use light, responsive, full-range planar-magnetic drivers that are, conceptually, much like the drivers used in Magnepan’s award-winning planar-magnetic loudspeakers (on a much smaller scale). Planar-magnetic drivers feature thin, flexible, membrane-like diaphragms upon which conductive circuit traces are arrayed (the circuit traces serve as “voice coils” of a sort). The entire diaphragm is, then, suspended in a grid-like array of magnets, where the magnets are precision- aligned relative to the conductive traces on the diaphragms.

When music signals are applied, the entire diaphragm is either pulled toward, or pushed away from, the magnet array, thus producing sound.

The benefits of planar-magnetic drivers include superb responsiveness (because the membrane/conductor is typically much lower in mass than the moving parts of a dynamic driver), plus uncanny cohesiveness (because the diaphragm is driven across its entire surface). Much like the designers at Magnepan, designers of planar-magnetic headphones seek to increase driver performance by reducing diaphragm mass (using thin-film diaphragms and reducing conductor mass where possible) while increasing magnetic flux density (by using rare earth magnetic materials and “push-pull” magnet arrays).

Models to Audition

Audeze LCD3 ($1945) audeze.com

A Survey of Six High-End Headphones

Audeze is a relatively young American company that specializes in planar-magnetic headphones and whose products have taken the high-end headphone universe by storm. The LCD3 is Audeze’s flagship model and it has become a widely used reference for many audio journalists (the author included). What sets the LCD3 apart is Audeze’s all-new, ultra-low-mass LOTUS driver diaphragm and “super-efficient push-pull magnet structure.” Many consider the LCD3 one of the two finest headphones now available (the other being the Stax SR-009, described below).

What sets the LCD3 apart sonically are its state-of-the-art bass (and no, we don’t use that term lightly), astonishing levels of midrange resolution and nuance, and fast, detailed, silky-smooth highs. What is more, the LCD3 finds the elusive balance point between ultra-high-resolution, on the one hand, and musicality and natural warmth on the other. The miracle is that the LCD3 is extraordinarily revealing, yet also welcoming and engaging— never cold, sterile, or analytical. Furthermore, compared to top- tier competitors, the LCD3 is relatively easy to drive (an important consideration for those looking to constrain overall system costs).

HiFiMAN HE-6 ($1299) hifiman.com, head-direct.com

A Survey of Six High-End Headphones

HiFiMAN is a Chinese firm that specializes in high-end dynamic and planar-magnetic driver headphones, earphones, and portable high-res music players. HiFiMAN’s flagship HE-6 uses a very- low-mass thin-film diaphragm with gold conductive traces, plus what the company terms a “super efficient magnetic circuit.” The HE-6 enjoys a reputation as a “must-hear” top-end model (arguably one of the three or four best headphones available), but also is recognized as perhaps the most difficult-to-drive headphone on the market. To tap the full performance potential of the HE-6, users must inevitably use very high-powered, high- resolution headphone amplifiers.

The HE-6 offers a neutral tonal balance, exceptional transient speed, extremely high resolution, plus a quality of musical “soulfulness.” The HE-6 comes ever so close to matching the resolution of Audeze’s more expensive LCD3 and does so while offering what some consider even more accurate overall timbre. Remember, though, that the HE-6 is extremely sensitive to and demanding of associated electronics. When pushed by inadequate amps the HE-6 can sound bright, edgy, and ill at ease, but with appropriate amps the headphone’s sonic persona changes, becoming powerful, masterful, engaging, and at times downright majestic. Hint: To ensure “known good” results, try powering the HE-6 with HiFiMAN’s beefy, high-output EF6 amp.

 

Electrostatic Headphones

Much like electrostatic loudspeakers, electrostatic headphones feature extremely thin, membrane-like diaphragms, to which a conductive coating is applied, with the diaphragms suspended between sets of mesh-like panels called stators. A very high bias voltage (580V in many models) is applied to the diaphragm, while an also high-voltage push-pull audio signal is fed to the stator panels. As the audio signal flows back and forth, the diaphragm is first repelled from one stator and attracted to the other (and then vice versa as the signal swings back and forth according to the demands of the music).

The benefits of electrostatic designs include extremely good responsive and exceptional transient speed, plus typically low distortion, given that diaphragms are very low in mass and driven over their entire surface area. Electrostatic headphone designers seek performance advances by looking for ways to reduce the mass of conductive diaphragms, to increase the openness of airflow through the mesh-like stator panels, to improve the rigidity of driver frames, and to look for ways and means of better controlling diaphragm-membrane resonance.

An Exemplary Model

Stax SR-009 ($5250) staxusa.com

A Survey of Six High-End Headphones

For many decades the Japanese firm Stax has been the acknowledged leader among electrostatic headphone makers, so that for some headphone enthusiasts the words “Stax” and “electrostatic” seem almost synonymous. The SR-009 is the best electrostatic headphone Stax has ever made, which is saying a mouthful when you consider the legendary models the firm has produced over the years. The SR-009 offers levels of transparency and detail that beggar both description and belief, and for this reason (and others) many audio journalists consider the SR-009 the best all-around headphone in the world.

The SR-009 is one of the most transparent and faithful-to-the-source transducers on the planet, offering mind-bending transient speed, wide- range frequency response, and both subtle or explosive dynamics on demand. As many critical listeners can attest, one does not listen to the SR-009 so much as through it, so that the sound one hears is governed more by the source and amplification components in use than by the headphone itself.

The SR-009 is every bit as revealing of inner details and textural nuances as today’s most accomplished loudspeakers, regardless of price. If $5250 seems a huge sum to invest in headphones, consider that to reach this same zenith of performance in loudspeakers could easily cost between 10x to 30x more. Caveat: Be aware that the SR-009 will require a (typically expensive) dedicated electrostatic headphone amp to give of its best.

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