Audiophilepure

I really enjoyed my time with Audeze CRBN² Electrostatic Headphones. With the CRBN² Audeze have transformed their electrostatic flagship offering from a headphone I appreciated to a headphone I loved. It has the linearity of the better Planar Magnetic headphones with the speed and detail of an electrostatic, and frankly a dynamic range and deep bass response often only associated with dynamic headphones. If you are a CRBN owner and an audio purist like me you are definitely going to want to pay for the upgrade, though you may want to hear them first as they are a fairly radical departure from the standard Audeze sound, much in the way that the MM-500 is.

As I explored the Arya Unveiled and its numerous capabilities, I kept thinking “Wow, these are really fun!” Some headphones seem made for “serious” analytical enjoyment and absolutely have their place. I have headphones like that, and it can be a sublime experience. Often, however, I’m ready to sit by the fire and kick back and enjoy music from my laptop without thinking “Gee this would sound great if they just had more power to drive them”. The Arya Unveiled are easy to drive and don’t require pristine recordings to sound their best. If someone was going to have only one set of headphones that aren’t going to require taking out a bank loan to purchase but can sound great on all kinds of music, and devices, I think the Arya Unveiled is a serious contender for being that headphone.

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In this section ze check out what the brands say about their own gear, and Abyss describes the JOAL’s sound as follows:

Every Track Feels Like a Master Recording! JOAL’s ability to extract the most subtle audible details from music and movies—recreating the space of the original recording—is uncanny. It’s like listening straight from the master tape, no matter the vintage or genre.

With a huge, open soundstage, incredible depth, and precise layering, JOAL lets you hear the space around every instrument and vocalist, making every listen an immersive experience.

These are interesting releases from Focal. And also, my first experience with headphones from their brand. The price for what you get is interesting as there are many options at this level. The Cambridge P100 comes to mind, and that is a wireless ANC headphone that is much more flexible and can be fine-tuned with an app. Still, for the money, these are very solid entries for Focal. They sound great and having a choice between open or closed-back should appeal to a wide variety of people.