Audiophilepure

https://www.hifichoice.com/content/grado-hemp-headphones

The Hemp Headphone doesn’t lack muscle either. In contrast to the mood music of Max Richter and Sweet Honey In The Rock, I finish off with the Queen-meets-Rush extravaganza of Knights Of Cydonia by Muse. The galloping drum-beat is crisp and precise, and the mariachi horns – so often lost in the mix – shine bright and clear, evoking the Sergio Leone westerns that inspired the track. Matt Bellamy’s shrieking falsetto sets the mood and then the headbanging guitar riff charges off into the sunset like the proverbial bat out of hell. The open-back design requires a certain amount of solitude to eliminate outside distractions – and avoid annoying your family – but the clarity and poise of the Hemp Headphone will certainly ensure that you enjoy your splendid isolation.

The SRM-D10 11 is compact and quite portable. It is solid and heavy for its size. It must be magic that the engineers at STAX use to pack a small device with a battery, a high-quality DAC, and electronics that can produce enough voltage to drive any of the Pro versions of the STAX line of Earspeakers. The volume is full and loud at the 10 o’clock position on the dial. Turning the volume halfway was almost too loud. The quality of the audio produced by the DAC on this portable is detailed, warm, and lush. The soundstage and placement of instruments are wide and precise. If I was blindfolded and listened to this, I wouldn’t be able to tell you which unit it was. The run-time between charges is around 4.5 hours, I’ve been told, and you cannot use it while charging.

Compared to other closed-back planar headphones that I have on hand like the Dan Clark Audio Aeon 2 Noire, the Stealth, and the Meze Lyric, the HIFIMAN Audivina headphones paint a more expansive sonic picture. Not quite as diffuse (which may not be the best word) as a proper open-back set of headphones, but noticeably bigger than closed. The closed-back headphones I mentioned above are some of my favorites of the breed and don’t sound overly closed-in by any means, but with each one of them, I can tell that there is a rough spatial limit to how big or wide the music gets when I listen. It’s not something that became readily apparent until I compared each of them directly with the Audivina, which exceeds all of them on that one characteristic. If you are a classical music lover, I think you will be particularly impressed with how the Audivina headphones reproduce everything from a smaller chamber ensemble to a full-on orchestra. The added dimension that these headphones imbue on the music makes it seem more like you are listening to good, capable speakers as opposed to headphones.

The new HEDD AMT driver now is more precise and lighter than before. It has been reconstructed from the ground up, and it according to HEDD ensures that every sonic detail is more vivid and lifelike than ever before. With their VVT – Variable Velocity Transformation, HEDD allows the AMT driver to achieve even frequency response across the entire audio spectrum. You can find out more about the AMT drivers on HEDD’s website linked above.

HEDDphone TWO is the culmination of three years of relentless R&D. Every aspect has been refined for an unparalleled audio experience.

The changes however are not only driver related. There also is a new carbon-fiber headband which is ultra-light and durable. We also have an ergonomic head pad which reduces pressure, and there is a smart strap system which adjusts the shape and tension. The PU leather ear pads are comfortable, even with glasses and the TWO features forward-facing connections producing a more natural cable direction.

https://www.audiophilia.com/reviews/2023/8/22/unity-headphones

I found “Ballet Music” from Faust on Qobuz, at 24/88.2, a king of audiophile recordings. From the opening low brass invocation to the triangles and upper woodwinds’ answer, and then the delicate violins on the main theme, the playback was superb. And very detailed. This was among the best sounds I’ve heard, wires or no wires. Very impressive.

On Miles Davis’ Live Around the World, “Time After Time” (Cyndi Lauper cover) reminded me, that even though time and troubles had cost Miles at least a couple of steps (and under so much Unity scrutiny, it reminded me how much I dislike “whoop whoop” posers when it’s quiet and the artist has played one note), Miles still has enough in his tank to break your heart. Cyndi Lauper never had it so good. The clarity afforded this track by the Unity allowed me to hear every embouchure move no matter how minute. Exquisite sound and artistry.

The thick foam earpads are shaped to be thicker at the back and thinner at the front, helping to ensure a good seal completely around the ears. The pads are swathed in a soft tan leatherette while the contact patches are covered in breathable fabric. The interior of the pads is also covered in leatherette but, in addition, are perforated. The result of all these design attributes is to provide the HIFIMAN Audivina with an expansive soundstage and an experience more akin to open-back headphones.

The weight of the Audivina at 470 grams, while not featherweight, should be completely comfortable for the average person to manage for a few hours. I felt no fatigue from their weight at all. The clamping force of the headphones was quite reasonable and didn’t seem to cause any discomfort to me either.

The Atrium Closed has a fresh take on ADS damping and introduces the concept of gradual diffusion through multi-weighted materials and zoned sonic diffusion. ADS for closed headphones was developed in concert with the Atrium Open to address the joy of owning a closed headphone that isolates completely, provides satisfying sub-bass rumble, and has the musical linearity for any content in your collection. An acoustic damper is implemented utilizing a variable radius (flat or arched) and specific distance from the driver. The space created here allows for greater perceived depth through both diffusion and driver placement. The Atrium Closed damping system is equivalent to an artists favored brush or a writers proclivity for an analog typewriter. Zach Mehrbach utilizes ADS as a malleable tool to achieve the absolute pinnacle of sound from our proprietary drivers and headphone enclosures. The clarity, resolution, space and impact are byproducts of exhaustive measurements and listening tests to achieve an amazing headphone experience.