So as of this writing (1/25/2020), if you try to look for reviews or public info on the radiante, aside from promo material, you'll find next to nothing. I actually ran into it by accident. My fostex TH-500RP had been sitting in a drawer unused for a few years, and I wanted to get around to modding it but never had time or energy. Finally, a couple months ago, I reached out to a well known modder based in Italy called spirit labs on facebook, to see if they could breathe life into my unimpressive fostex. I ended up speaking with a gentlemen named Andrea Ricci, and he informed me that spirit labs now has their own brand of headphones called spirit torino. Being based in China, I had no way of trying these out in person. But after spending a few days talking with Andrea, and discussing my sound preferences and what I'm looking for, I settled on purchasing a spirit torino radiante. Since I was blind buying a VERY expensive headphone, I insisted that I be allowed to return it if I'm unhappy. Andrea obliged, so I pulled the trigger. Roughly 2 weeks later I had the radiante in my possession.
Unboxing and Build Quality
Even though I purchased this headphone without listening first, I had seen a lot of pictures, and one of the things that sold me on giving them a shot was the outstanding build quality. The headphone arrived in a large wooden box that truly gave them a premium feel (sorry, you'll need to settle for my low quality cell phone photos... these are quick snaps).
These headphones are roughly medium sized, but they have some weight to them, about 370 grams according to the specs.
The stock cable is very high quality. I personally chose (and sort of regret) a 2.5mm balanced connection. I went with that specific connector as I planned to use these closed-backs mainly for mobile use with my phone, and I already have a few mobile dac/amps (9038S, DC-01) that use 2.5mm balanced. If I could do it again though, I would have gotten 4.4, but I digress. Anyway, the thing oozes "premium", from the unboxing, to the look, design, and feel of the headphones, to the quality of the stock cable. I love the look of the blue in person.
Fit
Very comfortable with the stock custom dakoni pads. Of the few reviews I could find of spirit torino products, a number of reviewers complained about weight and overall comfort. These were early reviews however, and Spirit Torino definitely addressed the comfort issues in their latest iterations.
side-by-side with the hifiman arya
They JUST fit over my big ears. They do clamp a tad hard, but not enough to be uncomfortable. There's also a bit of a pressure point at the top of my head, likely due to the headphone's weight distribution. So it's not like you don't feel them on your head. Despite this, they are still quite comfortable and easy to wear for long periods of time. I just have to remove them occasionally to relieve pressure from the bit of pressure I feel at the top of my head.
Sound
Here's where things get interesting. Sound is the most important part, and I will make a confession. I didn't like the sound when I first heard it. First of all, the bass seems to overpower everything. Mids and treble feel a bit dark and recessed. I was immediately taken aback and not really happy. It's a HUGE contrast to my other "premium" headphone, the hifiman arya. They couldn't be any more different, yet the arya is considered by many a benchmark premium headphone, so it gives at least give me something to go off of. However, after spending some time with the radiante, and doing some fairly light EQ, I love these things.
So let me break down the sound a little more.
Bass
These headphones slam HARD. Unlike anything I've ever heard. There's so much subbass, that it can feel at times that it has a slow decay. But in reality, I've just never heard a headphone with such a prominent yet controlled bass, I just didn't know what to think of it. You can physically feel kickdrums and deep bass notes. I actually touched the passive radiators when playing certain music, and I could feel them flexing like a subwoofer when the music hit certain notes. Pretty wild. Again, going from the arya, which has excellent, but not deep bass, this was just plain jarring. But man is it fun, especially when you've gotten over the brain burn-in period. The bass does not bleed into the mids. It's just plain deep and dynamic, though still overwhelming at times, depending on the recording.
Mids
Again, I wasn't a fan of the sound when I first got these, and the mids is one area that really didn't impress me. Detail retrieval isn't a strong suit of these, period. But one area it does excel is in instrument timbre and tonality. Strings instruments sound vibrant and natural. Mid-bass is fantastic and is really just an extension of how great the bass response is. Instrument separation is another area these excel in. You can pinpoint instruments. Even though these don't impress me with details, you can definitely hear every instrument in their place. Andrea mentioned his goal was to make a headphone that sounds like you're listening at a live concert, and I can see this where he was aiming. So anyway, for me, the mids needed to be EQed. I actually added a mid scoop in my EQ so I could address the biggest issue I had with the stock sound...
Treble
This is where I felt the most disappointed when I first heard these. I didn't like the treble at all, especially compared side-by-side with my arya. Again, not really a fair fight, but still, the radiante just sounded way too dark for my liking. The bass just made vocals, high hats, and any trace of sparkle sound a bit muddy. However, once I applied some EQ to give the treble a boost, I couldn't believe how well the radiante responded. Vocals sounded smooth and velvety (while still sounding a bit laid back). I could hear some sparkle. The bass was no longer overpowering everything. It transformed into an incredibly dynamic and engaging headphone, without being fatiguing. Additionally, I noticed more detailed was able to be retrieved. Boosting the treble with EQ made the radiante feel like a whole new headphone (in the best way possible).
Sourcing
These cans are 30 ohms and don't need that much power to be driven, however, they definitely respond well to power. To give them their best, I paired it with my smsl sp200 amp. In high gain I couldn't go past 7 oclock. In low gain it's plenty loud at 9-oclock. The 9038S in performance mode do a great job of driving these for mobile use. So in terms of source, these can be sufficiently driven by a powerful DAP or mobile DAC/amp, if you want to. Being that these are closed-back, this makes them great for taking on the road, or listening next to the wife in bed.
Soundstage and Conclusion
Soundstage is quite good for a closed-back. I touched on imaging at the beginning. The radiante has fantastic, pinpoint imaging. It's strange. Sometimes you feel like the stage is mostly close to you, but out of nowhere you'll hear a detail fly out of the corner of the sound field. You still feel like you're getting an intimate listening experience, but the imaging has a way of impressing me unexpectedly with it's depth and weight. That said, don't expect it to compete with an open-back in terms of distance or height. The soundstage is not tall, nor is it particularly wide. But it does absolutely have noticeable depth and layering, especially with well mastered material. Andrea's stated to me several times he wanted a "live concert" experience. I get where he's coming from, though with these I'd say it's an "intimate live concert". It's also worth noting that passive sound isolation is excellent. So these are proper closed-back and achieve the goal of keeping ambient sound out, and the music in.
So in conclusion, I really like the radiante after giving initially being put off by it. The owner Andrea Ricci seems to be anti-tuning for some reason, but for me, the EQ turned the sound from dark and lacking in treble energy, to incredibly fun and dynamic. Overall, I would describe these as fun sounding headphones, not neutral or reference-level. Not overly analytical or neutral by any means. The bass is what truly stands out. I have heard nothing like it. In my experience, most other headphone that are bass heavy just end up bleeding into the mids and sounding boomy. But these do bass in a way I've never experienced on a headphone, making them truly unique. Powerful and impactful, yet controlled. And for me, lightly scooping the mids and boosting the treble with EQ (effectively making them v-shaped... go ahead and trash me), makes the radiante sound truly special. Post EQ, I feel like most genres sound well to me, though jazz, hip hop, pop, and house particularly stand out strongly. With rock I need to tone down the bass a bit more to keep all the details prominent while still keeping the slam.
If you get a chance to demo these, do it. And if you aren't immediately wowed by the sound, don't be afraid to apply some EQ. It's what really made the difference for me. The unique sound + the unique and premium look definitely make me proud to own these. Also the fact that these are closed-back and fairly easy to drive are other huge plusses, seeing as premium closed-back headphones are not so easy to come by, and these can fill a void in my collection that has been missing.
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