[mobbaddict]

I just tried out what you said about the two clicks and lord have mercy I can’t even fathom how someone could mess that up in a review (assuming that’s what the actual problem was).

Maybe there is plug variation because on my unit I’ve never had this issue. I never even knew there was two clicks until just now.

EDIT: is it bad that I kinda want to cyber bully Max Settings now??

I managed to reproduce the issue on mine but it seems so unlikely to happen. On mine you have to slightly pull the cable after hearing the first click. I tried both left and right sides. If there's no unit variation, I guess that could well happen since it happened to @CockatooDude. And indeed the stereo image is completely missing then.

 

[Heldaeus]

I managed to reproduce the issue on mine but it seems so unlikely to happen. On mine you have to slightly pull the cable after hearing the first click. I tried both left and right sides. If there's no unit variation, I guess that could well happen since it happened to @CockatooDude. And indeed the stereo image is completely missing then.

I just did some listening tests and just about every aspect of these headphones' SQ gets diminished when the jack isn't properly mounted. If the Planar sounded this way I would want nothing to do with it. Even things like transients are impeded by this mistake.

 

[CockatooDude]

@mobbaddict and @Heldaeus I'm glad you two managed to confirm my experience. It feels nice to have the issue resolved. Thankfully this should indicate the unit variation is lower than I initially had presumed it to be. One thing to note is that now the cable has gotten easier to plug in after I've plugged it in a couple of times. I guess Max Settings just wasn't overly thorough with testing the headphones. All that aside though I've been enjoying these headphones very much since I've gotten them. The headband pulls down a bit hard and the clamp is pretty tight compared to the non-existent clamp on my old HD598's I had been using previously, but now that they've loosened up and bit and I've gotten used to them they're quite comfortable, the large pads kind of hug my head which feels quite nice. Another thing I've learned from buying them however is that the 598's hold up surprisingly well, they're obviously not at the same level of dynamic range, impact, bass response, or detail, but the difference isn't night and day either. Sennheiser really knows how to tune headphones well, to the level where some tracks I've tried aren't that different on either. That said, other tracks that are well mastered really shine on the Avantones, the Blade Runner 2049 soundtrack especially was an incredible experience through these.

 

[mobbaddict]

@mobbaddict and @Heldaeus I'm glad you two managed to confirm my experience. It feels nice to have the issue resolved. Thankfully this should indicate the unit variation is lower than I initially had presumed it to be. One thing to note is that now the cable has gotten easier to plug in after I've plugged it in a couple of times. I guess Max Settings just wasn't overly thorough with testing the headphones. All that aside though I've been enjoying these headphones very much since I've gotten them. The headband pulls down a bit hard and the clamp is pretty tight compared to the non-existent clamp on my old HD598's I had been using previously, but now that they've loosened up and bit and I've gotten used to them they're quite comfortable, the large pads kind of hug my head which feels quite nice. Another thing I've learned from buying them however is that the 598's hold up surprisingly well, they're obviously not at the same level of dynamic range, impact, bass response, or detail, but the difference isn't night and day either. Sennheiser really knows how to tune headphones well, to the level where some tracks I've tried aren't that different on either. That said, other tracks that are well mastered really shine on the Avantones, the Blade Runner 2049 soundtrack especially was an incredible experience through these.

I agree, the classic Sennheisers hold up pretty well. If you upgrade the earpads, I think you will see that the technical gap can get bigger and the Avantone are much closer to higher-end offers in terms of transparency. But they're definitely in the same family of sound as the old school Sennheisers.

 

[Bitsir]

I agree, the classic Sennheisers hold up pretty well. If you upgrade the earpads, I think you will see that the technical gap can get bigger and the Avantone are much closer to higher-end offers in terms of transparency. But they're definitely in the same family of sound as the old school Sennheisers.

What earpads do you recommend for the Avantone Planar? And are there any sealing mods that should be done?

 

[mobbaddict]

What earpads do you recommend for the Avantone Planar? And are there any sealing mods that should be done?

I haven't done any mod on mine, I have just replaced the stock pads by the Brainwavz perforated pleather ones
https://www.brainwavzaudio.com/coll...headphone-memory-foam-earpads-oval-perforated
Is not really a long-term replacement as pleather doesn't provide the best timbre quality but a good cheap solution if you want to test by yourself. Then maybe try the Vesper custom-made pads that @Heldaeus got. To be honest I was a bit hesitant to keep the Planar before switching the pads, but the change was big enough to change my mind. I will upgrade shortly to similar pads from Dekoni or ZMF which are made of real leather.

 

[smorgar]

Regarding Max Settings review and the supposed cause could just simply be a wonky 6,35mm converter (1⁄4 in). I have had this happen to me a few times. The converter connector works flawless with all my equipment except one. It happened to me when I had the Philips X2. With one of all my 6,35mm plugs I got 0 bass. All the other frequency on the spectrum they sounded like they should but with no bass response at all. If I connected another headphone it was perfect like it should. If I changed to another of my say 50 6,35mm plugs it was fine.
I would say that its more likely a "faulty" converter (3,5mm -> 6,35mm) more than that he managed to plug them in wrong.
But on the other hand, that's just sloppy reviewing.

 

[Heldaeus]

What earpads do you recommend for the Avantone Planar? And are there any sealing mods that should be done?

The stock ear pads are fine if you seal them very well. I’ve written about this before.

 

[Bitsir]

The stock ear pads are fine if you seal them very well. I’ve written about this before.

Sorry, what is an effective way of sealing the pads?

 

[Heldaeus]

Sorry, what is an effective way of sealing the pads?

I personally have found that using a moldable putty tack creates the most effective and robust seal. To do this you’d have to remove the hook and loop Velcro from both the pads and baffles.

It’s actually a pretty easy mod.

 

[Bitsir]

Audio Chain:
Amarra Luxe - Bifrost 2 - Rupert Neve Headphone Amplifier - Avantone Planar.

(I am 99% sure I am underpowering these quite a bit so I am taking my own impressions with a grain of salt.)

Comfort:

Great! It isn't too heavy for me and the headband is nice and wide with a great suspension relief mechanism like the Nighthawk.
The pads are just big enough for my ears and they are not touching the drivers. Pads are soft and not too stiff either. I think these are very comfortable considering the weight.

Edit: A slight hotspot appeared after about 1 hour of wearing, went away after I adjusted the position of the headband.

Build Quality:

Not too sure yet. They feel sturdy enough when I hold them, yet I would not want to drop these or manhandle them in general because of the weight.
They look like they come were designed by IKEA though, minimal but extremely generic.

Sound Impressions:

Ok, so the positives first:

Nothing offensive to the sound signature or overall response, quite neutral, can't detect any unnatural sound aspects.
The tone is agreeable and so is the timbre. It is very smooth sounding and quite lush, there is absolutely no sibilance and the treble area is extremely well behaved if not too relaxed.
It's got good separation and good imaging stability. I hear a nice phantom center.

Here are the negatives:

The sound is quite muffled to me. What is worse is the dynamics, which are quite neutered. It is too laid back and sleepy from my perspective.
All of this contributes to lackluster detail retrieval and clarity. It does not give me the planar clarity that I typically associate with planar tech.)
There is very little depth or Z-axis differentiation to the sound placement. Everything sort of exist on the same plane.
The soundstage is quite narrow and very rarely extends outside the cups.


As it is now, I hear potential but I am not blown away.

I'm withholding final judgment though.

I need:
More powerful amplification.
New pads. (Deep leather pads)
Sealing of pads.
Burn-in.
Mental burn-in.

 

[ksb643]

Audio Chain:
Amarra Luxe - Bifrost 2 - Rupert Neve Headphone Amplifier - Avantone Planar.

(I am 99% sure I am underpowering these quite a bit so I am taking my own impressions with a grain of salt.)

Comfort:

Great! It isn't too heavy for me and the headband is nice and wide with a great suspension relief mechanism like the Nighthawk.
The pads are just big enough for my ears and they are not touching the drivers. Pads are soft and not too stiff either. I think these are very comfortable considering the weight.

Edit: A slight hotspot appeared after about 1 hour of wearing, went away after I adjusted the position of the headband.

Build Quality:

Not too sure yet. They feel sturdy enough when I hold them, yet I would not want to drop these or manhandle them in general because of the weight.
They look like they come were designed by IKEA though, minimal but extremely generic.

Sound Impressions:

Ok, so the positives first:

Nothing offensive to the sound signature or overall response, quite neutral, can't detect any unnatural sound aspects.
The tone is agreeable and so is the timbre. It is very smooth sounding and quite lush, there is absolutely no sibilance and the treble area is extremely well behaved if not too relaxed.
It's got good separation and good imaging stability. I hear a nice phantom center.

Here are the negatives:

The sound is quite muffled to me. What is worse is the dynamics, which are quite neutered. It is too laid back and sleepy from my perspective.
All of this contributes to lackluster detail retrieval and clarity. It does not give me the planar clarity that I typically associate with planar tech.)
There is very little depth or Z-axis differentiation to the sound placement. Everything sort of exist on the same plane.
The soundstage is quite narrow and very rarely extends outside the cups.


As it is now, I hear potential but I am not blown away.

I'm withholding final judgment though.

I need:
More powerful amplification.
New pads. (Deep leather pads)
Sealing of pads.
Burn-in.
Mental burn-in.

They love power. My Jot really open them up.

 

[mobbaddict]

Audio Chain:
Amarra Luxe - Bifrost 2 - Rupert Neve Headphone Amplifier - Avantone Planar.

(I am 99% sure I am underpowering these quite a bit so I am taking my own impressions with a grain of salt.)

Comfort:

Great! It isn't too heavy for me and the headband is nice and wide with a great suspension relief mechanism like the Nighthawk.
The pads are just big enough for my ears and they are not touching the drivers. Pads are soft and not too stiff either. I think these are very comfortable considering the weight.

Edit: A slight hotspot appeared after about 1 hour of wearing, went away after I adjusted the position of the headband.

Build Quality:

Not too sure yet. They feel sturdy enough when I hold them, yet I would not want to drop these or manhandle them in general because of the weight.
They look like they come were designed by IKEA though, minimal but extremely generic.

Sound Impressions:

Ok, so the positives first:

Nothing offensive to the sound signature or overall response, quite neutral, can't detect any unnatural sound aspects.
The tone is agreeable and so is the timbre. It is very smooth sounding and quite lush, there is absolutely no sibilance and the treble area is extremely well behaved if not too relaxed.
It's got good separation and good imaging stability. I hear a nice phantom center.

Here are the negatives:

The sound is quite muffled to me. What is worse is the dynamics, which are quite neutered. It is too laid back and sleepy from my perspective.
All of this contributes to lackluster detail retrieval and clarity. It does not give me the planar clarity that I typically associate with planar tech.)
There is very little depth or Z-axis differentiation to the sound placement. Everything sort of exist on the same plane.
The soundstage is quite narrow and very rarely extends outside the cups.


As it is now, I hear potential but I am not blown away.

I'm withholding final judgment though.

I need:
More powerful amplification.
New pads. (Deep leather pads)
Sealing of pads.
Burn-in.
Mental burn-in.

I'm positive you will be impressed if you apply all of these recommendations at the end. Or at least some of them It's a good sign if you like the balance and general presentation.

 

[Heldaeus]

Audio Chain:
Amarra Luxe - Bifrost 2 - Rupert Neve Headphone Amplifier - Avantone Planar.

(I am 99% sure I am underpowering these quite a bit so I am taking my own impressions with a grain of salt.)

Comfort:

Great! It isn't too heavy for me and the headband is nice and wide with a great suspension relief mechanism like the Nighthawk.
The pads are just big enough for my ears and they are not touching the drivers. Pads are soft and not too stiff either. I think these are very comfortable considering the weight.

Edit: A slight hotspot appeared after about 1 hour of wearing, went away after I adjusted the position of the headband.

Build Quality:

Not too sure yet. They feel sturdy enough when I hold them, yet I would not want to drop these or manhandle them in general because of the weight.
They look like they come were designed by IKEA though, minimal but extremely generic.

Sound Impressions:

Ok, so the positives first:

Nothing offensive to the sound signature or overall response, quite neutral, can't detect any unnatural sound aspects.
The tone is agreeable and so is the timbre. It is very smooth sounding and quite lush, there is absolutely no sibilance and the treble area is extremely well behaved if not too relaxed.
It's got good separation and good imaging stability. I hear a nice phantom center.

Here are the negatives:

The sound is quite muffled to me. What is worse is the dynamics, which are quite neutered. It is too laid back and sleepy from my perspective.
All of this contributes to lackluster detail retrieval and clarity. It does not give me the planar clarity that I typically associate with planar tech.)
There is very little depth or Z-axis differentiation to the sound placement. Everything sort of exist on the same plane.
The soundstage is quite narrow and very rarely extends outside the cups.


As it is now, I hear potential but I am not blown away.

I'm withholding final judgment though.

I need:
More powerful amplification.
New pads. (Deep leather pads)
Sealing of pads.
Burn-in.
Mental burn-in.

I’m going to write another review to describe what MY Planar sounds like because I genuinely believe this headphone is worth the $400 price tag once it’s been tweaked.

If anybody is interested in (and confided to) mailing their Planar to me for modding, then that can be arranged.

 

[ksb643]

I’m going to write another review to describe what MY Planar sounds like because I genuinely believe this headphone is worth the $400 price tag once it’s been tweaked.

If anybody is interested in (and confided to) mailing their Planar to me for modding, then that can be arranged.

Im definitely interested!