What Is Planar Magnet And Why Is Everyone Speakin' About It?
Planar Magnetic Bluetooth Headphones
With a premium, luxury aesthetic and impressively accurate sound reproduction, these headphones offer an immersive listening experience. These headphones are designed for audiophiles who demand the highest fidelity from their music.
RHA has created a revolutionary technology that reduces distortion to an imperceptible 0.5 percent. The CL2 features the ten millimeter planar magnetic driver, suspended above two magnetic arrays that are matched.
Accuracy
Planar magnetic headphones utilize diaphragms with ultra-thin diaphragms bonded to unlike traditional headphones, which use cones and moving voice coils to move air. This allows them better accuracy and crystal clarity. The headphones that are planar are more expensive, bigger and more difficult to power than their dynamic counterparts. This is why they don't dominate the market.
Fortunately, boutique audio brands like Audeze and HIFIMAN are constantly developing and introducing new models that make the best of this exciting technology. The most recent model of the Audeze LCD-5 headphones for instance is less bassy and more balanced than its predecessors, yet still retaining the high resolution and clarity. The soundstage is also larger and revealing, allowing you to hear things you didn't before, and also enjoy your favorite models in a fresh light.
A larger soundstage also creates an impression of depth and location. The spherical driver in modern closed-back magnetic headphones such as the Oppo PM-3 may also make them sound too wide, especially when the sound is shifted from left to right. The HIFIMAN HIFIMAN is built with a more symmetrical shape to give a more precise stereo sound.
While the benefits of an expanded soundstage are obvious, most users will find that they prefer more neutral and balanced tuning to their headphones. This is the reason that most magnetic headphones made for planar use come with both open-back and closed-back models, with the former having the more traditional and practical design that can be used on a regular basis.
Precision
The magnetic drivers that are planar in RHA's newest CL2 headphones provide incredible sound quality and precision. Their compact ten millimeter driver features a 16-micrometer dial which is perfectly suspended over two matched magnet fields for superior reproduction.
The diaphragm has a much more homogeneous molecular structure than traditional cone drivers, which means that there's less distortion across the frequency range. This results in an unnatural dynamic response.
To reduce distortion even further the diaphragm was encased in a precision-machined aluminum housing. The result is light and durable with a smooth inner surface that encourages uninterrupted flow of audio waves from the microphone to the speakers.
magnetic earphones come together to create headphones that sound great regardless of the volume you are playing it at. The soundstage is huge and covers your headspace with a clear separation between sounds that gives your music a sense depth.
The Glasgow-based company uses top materials to create the CL2 headphones. Zirconium dioxide is utilized as a virtually indestructible material used to protect jet engines and make synthetic diamonds. The resulting ultra-thin, black stainless-steel housings are durable and scratch resistant with unique matte finish made using superheated plasma and powdered dye.
The CL2s are the first portable planar magnetic headphones to provide wireless listening due to their Bluemini adapter and Bluetooth 4.1 support for aptX and AAC streaming. The CL2s also feature detachable 3.5mm or balanced 2.5mm cables, and copper cores that are oxygen-free to ensure that analogue audio signals are delivered to the headphones without distortion.
Soundstage
A large and spacious soundstage is among the most sought-after characteristics among audiophiles. Unlike some listeners who are content jamming Taylor Swift over laptop speakers audiophiles require a wide and detailed soundstage that allows them to completely immerse themselves in the music.
The quality of a soundstage is largely dependent on the headphones and their acoustics. Understanding how headphones are designed and constructed is crucial to achieving the best soundstage from them. The design of the earpads, the headband, as well as the microphone play a major part in the soundstage.
For example, the size of a headband plays an important role in how open and spacious the soundstage is. A larger headband will result in an expanded soundstage and less distortion. The quality of the earpads is also a factor. The earpads should be comfortable and provide an excellent seal to cut down on resonance and unwanted noise.
The clarity of each instrument is an additional aspect of the soundstage of headphones. A crisp soundstage allows you to clearly distinguish the instruments and vocals in the song, even at high volume. Similarly, the clarity of the bass is crucial to the overall sound quality.
This means that the bass response of planar magnetic headphones generally is superior to those of dynamic drivers. While dynamic drivers have a smaller diaphragm which vibrates in response to the electric impulses sent by the voice coil Planar drivers feature larger magnets that move the entire diaphragm. This creates a flat sound wavefront rather than the focused spherical one found in dynamic drivers, which helps localize sound more precisely when it enters the ear.
A flat sound wavefront also requires more power than one that is circular, which is why headphones with planar designs use bigger magnets, and need more powerful amplifiers. This is the reason why the planar magnetic headphones are typically a bit heavier and bigger than dynamic headphones.
Distortion
The distortion you hear in your headphones is caused by a voice coil which is constantly moving back and forth, compressing and releasing air around the speaker diaphragm. This causes the diaphragm's points to move out-of-phase which results in distortion and muddy sound. Planar magnetic headphones have lower distortion rates because the drivers apply the same driving force to the entire flat surface. This results in low distortion even at high volume.
Planar headphones also have wide frequency response. They are able to reproduce a wide range of frequencies ranging from low bass to high treble. Additionally, they are able to provide a fast transient response, meaning they respond quickly to changes in the audio signal.
Planar headphones are an excellent choice however they can be difficult to drive using an external amplifier. This is because they typically have larger magnet arrays than dynamic headphones and require more power to operate. There are, however, high-quality planar headphones that can be used directly from mobile devices and desktop audio players.
The CL2 Planar from RHA utilizes an oxygen-free copper core as well as customized neodymium magnets to provide high efficiency. They are compatible with all Bluetooth devices and can be used wirelessly or with wired connections. The cables are available in 3.5mm and balanced 2.5mm and premium materials. They are also braided for durability and strength.
There are many choices for Bluetooth headphones that are planar or a pair of high-quality headphones to listen to music. It is important to consider your budget and listening preferences before making a decision. It's tempting to get the most expensive headphones, but you might find they don't sound quite as good as a pair of less expensive headphones.
Leakage
As the name suggests the headphones are planar. They use a flat membrane that is surrounded by magnetic fields to produce sound. They also have a diaphragm, which is typically less than the size of a dynamic driver. They can provide a more rich sound and more detail than their larger counterparts. They also require more power. Certain headphones that are planar, like the HIFIMAN Deva can be powered by phones on mobiles. However, to get the highest sound quality, most headphones require a headphone amplifier.
Planar magnetic headphones leak more sound because of their bidirectional movement than headphones using an audio transducer with a voicecoil. They are therefore not recommended for public use, particularly when you don't want to disrupt other people. This is avoided by selecting closed-back headphones that have a tight seal, which stops sound from entering.