My two weeks with the Audivina has come to an end. Thanks to April and the team at HIFIMAN; it has been a pleasure, as always.

No other reviews were read prior to listening impressions being recorded.

Most of my listening was done with an iBasso DX90 DAP. Alternative sources were a Cambridge Audio DacMagic 100 into JDS Atom, or a variety of USB-C headphone adaptors for listening from a phone.

Comparisons were made with the Sennheiser HD-6XX, Beyerdynamic DT-990 Premium and 64 Audio U10 in-ear monitors.

Like everyone, I have personal preferences when it comes to headphones. I like headphones that adhere relatively closely to Harman neutral, with a touch of mid- or sub-bass emphasis. I'm a stickler for detail retrieval, but don't mind have the need for a massive soundstage.

Packaging: love the carry case, useful selection of included cables.
Aesthetics: personal preference I guess, but the bright orange stain on the wood doesn't do it for me. I like the brushed aluminium and tan leather combo, though.
Fit/Comfort: I love HIFIMAN headbands in general, and this is no exception. Despite being a weighty headphone, the leather strap and pads make it a pleasure for longer listening sessions. Personally, I'd want more clamping force. I'd only wear these seated, as the just move around too much any time I even think about shifting position.
Isolation: I'm no expert when it comes to closed-back headphones, but I expected more. There's significant sound leakage both ways. I can pretty clearly hear external noise (although I do listen very quietly) and there's enough bleed outside that I wouldn't wear these in a library or in bed with my wife.
Device matching: surprisingly flexible. I could happily use even cheap USB-C headphone converters and get to a reasonable volume without any wonky tonal shifts or excessive noise.

Tone:

I think to do the review justice, this needs to be done in two parts: flat and EQ.

The first time I put these on my head, it was not what I expected. I could hear a huge dip in the 200Hz region, sitting between the upper bass and lower midrange frequencies. I didn't need to look at a frequency response chart to hear it, and I doubt anyone who has spent time EQ'ing music will need to either. Additionally, there was a small mid-bass hump and a spike in the treble at around 5Khz. The combination gives what I can only describe as a wonky frequency response. One of my go-to testing tracks is 'I Don't Trust Myself With Loving You' by John Mayer. It exemplified the issues with the frequency response perfectly. Mayer's throaty vocals were rendered hoarse and lacking in any body or weight by the 200Hz dip. The off-beat closed high-hat and was thrown forward in the mix by the treble spike, and not in a pleasant way

Needless to say, I was initially disappointed. I spent the first week listening without EQ, and psychological burn-in acclimatized me somewhat to the signature. However, I still felt there was something lacking in the vocal reproduction given the 200Hz dip. I mostly listen to indie, rock, hip-hop and 60s-70s jazz, and male vocals, electric guitars and brass instruments just weren't being presented in the way I like. I did enjoy the it with tracks where the vocals were less prominent, or female vocalists sitting higher in the midrange. 'Beachin' by Piri and Tommy worked particularly well. However, most vocal performances felt hollow.

Enter the equalizer. The DX-90 has a 10-band EQ which was sufficient to target some of the 'problem' areas. +1 dB at 33Hz, -1 at 63Hz, +2 at 100Hz, +3 at 330Hz, +1 at 630Hz, 0 at 1Khz, -1 at 3.3KHz, -1 at 6.3KHz, 0 at 10KHz, +1 at 16KHz.

Now, we have a different beast. The bass rumbled and hit hard, if still lacking the cleanliness of the best planars (e.g. LCD-3F, HE-1000). The lower midrange still had a throaty quality, but was now much closer to natural. Gone was the problematic treble spike, and there was a little bit more air up in the highest registers. We were now in the realm of what I'd consider to be a very tastefully-tuned, mildly V-shaped headphone. All genres of music were now listenable, and even male-vocal heavy pop music (e.g. The National) was accurately reproduced. Electronic music lost some of its excitement with this EQ setting, but this was a worthwhile trade-off in my view.

Technicalities: generally good. Soundstage was surprisingly broad for a closed-back, handily better than the HD-6XX and roughly on-par with the DT-990. Detail retrieval was good, although I think part of this was artificially coming from the lower-mid dip and treble spike. With that EQ'd out, it was still impressive, if not quite on-par with the U10. I didn't have an HD-800 on hand, but the Audivina didn't feel in the same league.


Summary: the HIFIMAN Audivina is a comfortable, technically capable full-sized headphone. It doesn't have the noise isolation that I want from a closed-back headphone, but the lighter clamping force makes it comfortable for long listens. Without EQ, the 200Hz dip makes vocals and brass instruments hollow and lacking authority, and a spike around 5KHz is too spicy for my tastes. But if you're comfortable using an EQ to iron out the wonky frequency response, an excellent all-round headphone can be found.

I was given the opportunity to try the Rai Penta as part of a world tour. Thanks to Andy for the opportunity.

The Rai Penta was used primarily with an iBasso DX-90 for portable use and JDS Atom at home. Tips were Comply foam. IEMs used for comparison were the Shure SE-846, 64 Audio U-10 and Hifiman RE-2000. My own supply of Comply foam tips used on all IEMs.

Fit: square external shell but nicely rounded on the internal aspect. Comfortable, reasonably secure. Metal is very nice to look at but can be uncomfortably cold to wear initially on cooler days. Below-average isolation, suited for inside use but not public transport or live performance.

Cable: supple, well-made, few microphonics but tangle-prone. Not as bad as the 64 Audio stock cable in that respect.

Bass: weighted toward mid-bass rather than sub-bass. Tight, good slam compared to all of the above with the exception of the pure DD RE-20. My personal preference is for a little more sub-bass extension, but that is subjective.

Mid-range: well balanced, no frequencies in particular jumping out or sitting too far back in the mix. Some bleed from bass into lower-mids. Never harsh or unpleasant.

Treble: weighted towards the lower frequencies, limited extension up above 8k. Result is a sound that is never overly bright, but does lack a bit of sparkle, especially on cymbals and brushes.

Technicalities: decent instrument separation, better than RE-2000 and SE-846 but not up to U10 standards. Soundstage is modest.

Drivability: played nicely with desktop and mobile sources. Easily driven, not overly revealing of poorly recorded music or sources. More sensitive than most of the above IEMs, but very little hiss.


Summary: over-all, I think the Rai Penta a good all-rounder. It does everything well. There are not real weak points (unless you're a big fan of sub-bass). The frequency response is well balanced. It's comfortable. I think the biggest issue for me is that it was just a bit boring in comparison to my other IEMs. The RE-2000 is deeply flawed, but exciting. The SE-846 has that deep, rich bass. The U10 is a techincal beast with sub-bass and upper treble extension to give it some energy. Overall, it's not an IEM I will miss particularly. However, if I were asked for a recommendation for someone who doesn't have a lot of IEM experience and no preferences in terms of frequency response, the Rai Penta would get a recommendation for me.