[KCXT]

I'm very happy to own these, they're right up my alley.

Agreed - they're quality headphones.

Unfortunately though I can't get past the lumps in the headband of the pair that I have and am sending them back. I fully admit it might be a 'Princess and the Pea' situation where it hits my head just so and causes discomfort, and I wouldn't discourage anyone else from buying them for this reason. I thoroughly enjoy the sound and no one else seems to be impacted by this design element.

I am though very glad to have tried them and might pick up another pair down the road if I tire of my DT1990s.

 

[HardstyleLoco96]

I thought it was missing a ton of sub bass first as well, but I think the drivers need broken in and the bass extension changes dramatically.

I thought so as well. But the more I used them, the better the sub bass became. I also noticed feeding them more clean power seems to help a good fair amount.

 

[HardstyleLoco96]

I've been completely satisfied with the stock bass performance even with my rap and electronic selections. Headband issues aside I totally agree that this headphone performs as advertised, and even better.

My main genre is electronic. Listening to the Outside Agenecy, Sinith, Ultraform, and a bunch of others, the Planar has beyond more than enough low end, at times it kicks seriously hard when the song calls for it. Even with the Rap music I listen to, beyond enough. Wu Tang, Cypress Hill, damn some stuff really gets me going.

 

[HardstyleLoco96]

One thing I'm satisfied with is Avantone Pros marketing. They say the Planars frequency range is 30Hz to 30kHz but in my testing, with enough power, you can definitely hear down to 20hz (the headphone rattles slightly though). So, this is reinforcing the idea in my mind that they're trying to be honest.

I said this on an earlier post. A lot of companies say the headphone can go down to 20hz to 40khz or higher. When in reality they don't. Example. The LCD-X. It says the treble extends higher than the Avantone Planar, but from my testing and listening, nope the Planar has fhe better extension. To some people, it may seem other headphones have better extension, but in reality they just have elevated treble. The Planar has very very good treble extension. On that test I did, I could hear 17khz starting. That is extremely good.

 

[WyldRage]

I don't know if this was posted here, but someone on the Headphones forum has posted a short review with measurements here: https://forum.headphones.com/t/whats-in-the-box/1765/2604

 

[Heldaeus]

I don't know if this was posted here, but someone on the Headphones forum has posted a short review with measurements here: https://forum.headphones.com/t/whats-in-the-box/1765/2604

Mini DSP E.A.R.S. Isn’t the best rig but it’s better than nothing. Those measurements are very interesting and they look similar to what I imagined the FR would be except for the peak at 4.5K which of course is an artifact of the measurement rig. Oh yeah, plus the roll-off at 45Hz sounds more dramatic than these measurements indicate.

Here are Oratorys measurements of the LCD-2C for comparison: https://www.dropbox.com/s/4341dbn3nrcou4k/Audeze LCD-2 Classic.pdf?dl=0

 

[Heldaeus]

Just messaged Oratory1990 and he said that he’s waiting on a pair of Planars to come in the mail.

 

[Mink]

They arrived!
1st impressions: heavy! but toterable. I have this 'bump' in the headband as well, but it doesn't bother me. :
Sound: darker and smoother than the HD650s. Very very smooth, even 'natural grain' that is recorded in the mix seems absent. Vocals are upfront, similar to the HD650s. Soundstage width is similar to the HD650s. Depth I am not sure yet. Bass is not punchy, but not woolly either. Their timbre is without any edge. Not that it sounds smeared or plasticky, but any sort of 'hardness' is absent. With it they lack some dynamic punch.
Again, these are 1st impressions only.

 

[KPzypher]

They arrived!
1st impressions: heavy! but toterable. I have this 'bump' in the headband as well, but it doesn't bother me. :
Sound: darker and smoother than the HD650s. Very very smooth, even 'natural grain' that is recorded in the mix seems absent. Vocals are upfront, similar to the HD650s. Soundstage width is similar to the HD650s. Depth I am not sure yet. Bass is not punchy, but not woolly either. Their timbre is without any edge. Not that it sounds smeared or plasticky, but any sort of 'hardness' is absent. With it they lack some dynamic punch.
Again, these are 1st impressions only.

Im glad you finally got em. That took a while didn't it? Yes these are heavy. They aren't too far off from my Verite in weight, but somehow feel way heavier on my head. Soundstage wise, these seem quite narrow to me.

 

[trellus]

I briefly listened to the Avantone Pro Planar owned by @Helden Hoierman who was cool enough to meet for some headphone listening -- I found them to be very neutral, not particularly heavy (but then again I wear the LCD-2 daily and those don't bother me so perhaps I'm not the most "neutral" observer in terms of headphone weight lol), and probably closest to the most neutral headphones I've heard. They're definitely still on my "to buy" list. They are comfortable, inoffensive, a pleasant listen.

 

[Mink]

Im glad you finally got em. That took a while didn't it? Yes these are heavy. They aren't too far off from my Verite in weight, but somehow feel way heavier on my head. Soundstage wise, these seem quite narrow to me.

Yes, a bit longer than expected, but still not that long, almost 3 weeks.We consumers in this day and age are rather spoiled aren't we? We expect next day delivery and only at times we are at home But yes, soundstage isn't particularly wide, but I don't find it that narrow either. Just the good old HD650s type.
So far I like what I am hearing.

 

[Mink]

With classical music the Avantone Planars sit right in the middle regarding sound stage between the HD650s and Fidelio X3s.
The sound is more evenly spread out than the HD650s, with better imaging ans layering but a bit less wide than the Fidelio X3s.
Dynamically they are very similar, but the X3s have more punch and with the wider sound stage dynamics can sound more surprising and pleasing to my ears.
The Planars seem to have a peak around 1-2 Khz (or maybe this is the 1st pair that is dead neutral in that range?) which can make instrumental/classical music sound a bit tinny. Well at least their timbre is somewhat off in comparison with the Fidelio X3s (which have a dip around 1-2K) and the HD650s.
With pop and vocal heavy music the Planars appear to be the smoothest headphones I ever heard, with classical however they can sound a bit weird, not shouty, nor really tinny, but just less controlled, and with these I don't mean in a dynamical way, but regarding resonance.

 

[Mink]

Is this the 1st time I have experienced PRaT? Maybe it still is a bulls***t description and did it just pop up in my head, but I do have some sense of what people mean by fast transient speeds. The decay of sounds, in hi hats and snare drums is faster than I ever experienced with my other headphones.
Partner this with a tight and fast bass and you'll get that groovy pace, rhythm and timing? Oh yeah, baby
Now serious: these are truly remarkable with pop and rock, no doubt about it.

But still, very early impressions

 

[Heldaeus]

I agree that they are heavy, the weight is very well distributed though as opposed to my M1060s that are lighter but most of their weight is in the cups. This is embarrassing to say but I have a test of my own that I call the "air guitar" test, which is as it sounds, I basically listen to a fun song and pretend to play guitar. Stupid as it may seem it's useful for seeing how well a headphone distributes its weight and the Planar never really fails at this test. It stays on my head and in the same position.

I'll segway this into the build quality of my unit. For one, I'm not missing any parts or washers but the right yolk is definitely less tight where it is attached to the headband. But, it doesn't feel like it's going to eventually loosen more of fall off; the screw is very tight. This problem is completely fixable and in fact I just tightened that right yolk which in turn has improved the clamping pressure to be more even.

Some of you guys acted like the only plastic on the build was in the wire that goes through the headband but that is'nt the case on my unit. The frame that is between the pads and the rear grill is completely plastic, sturdy plastic, but plastic nonetheless. Everywhere else the Planar is metal.

 

[Mink]

I agree that they are heavy, the weight is very well distributed though as opposed to my M1060s that are lighter but most of their weight is in the cups. This is embarrassing to say but I have a test of my own that I call the "air guitar" test, which is as it sounds, I basically listen to a fun song and pretend to play guitar. Stupid as it may seem it's useful for seeing how well a headphone distributes its weight and the Planar never really fails at this test. It stays on my head and in the same position.

I'll segway this into the build quality of my unit. For one, I'm not missing any parts or washers but the right yolk is definitely less tight where it is attached to the headband. But, it doesn't feel like it's going to eventually loosen more of fall off; the screw is very tight. This problem is completely fixable and in fact I just tightened that right yolk which in turn has improved the clamping pressure to be more even.

Some of you guys acted like the only plastic on the build was in the wire that goes through the headband but that is'nt the case on my unit. The frame that is between the pads and the rear grill is completely plastic, sturdy plastic, but plastic nonetheless. Everywhere else the Planar is metal.

Yes they are well built, I agree. But still I would treat them gently.
I find them very comfortable to wear, the weight distribution is indeed great.

Does anyone know in what situation I should use the two plug cable over the one plug? Since these Planars work with the one plug cable I see no use for the other cable...