[owatito]

It doesn’t seem like the design has changed. If you’re careful they won’t break but I’ll put money on that they will. WAY earlier in this thread someone designed a replacement part for the headband and from my experience it worked great.

Thanks friend, I appreciate the information.

 

[owatito]

Current Avantone Planar have steel straps. The problem has been fixed for at least a year. The headphone is now very robust.

Thank you very much, it gives me more confidence to buy them.

 

[joegreat99]

Thank you very much, it gives me more confidence to buy them.

Well, I got my Planar Black last week and yesterday I started the exploration of them...

First the bad and ugly topics:

• Smell and evaporation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) - non of my other headsets has this strong and strange smell (comes from the ear pads and headband) - I really wonder that nobody tells you this in the reviews as these could be also poisoning!
• Right ear pad just fall off - I grabbed the headset at the headband and the right ear pad just fall off! The glue still look sticky and I pressed it back in place - hope it will stay there.
• Included cables are stiff and microphonic - basically unusable - need to use another cable (good that it's standard 3.5mm).
• Already known from reviews: very heavy and does not stay in place when you move your head

To me it looks like the quality standards are quite low at Avantone...

Now the first sound impressions:

• Overall the Planar sound balanced with reduced heights - not as dark as HD650 but in this direction
• The (deep) lows are rounded and not very present - overall the lows are a bit muddy
• The mids have a little harsh "add-on" - this gives woman voices a forwarding sound, but also removes the smoothness of the mids

Compared to the Meze 109 Pro the Planar sound is quite disappointing!

Given the evaporation and bad smell, I could only test a half hour - will do more when the VOCs are evaporated (in a few weeks hopefully).
I hope that a burn-in will tune the sound a bit into the right direction - otherwise the Planar will be soon on sale...

 

[mobbaddict]

I got some aftermarket Focal pads recently for my Quad era-1 which happen to work quite well with the Avantone too... They're made of leather and fully perforated. IMO leather is needed to get decent bass with planars in general (that also applies to my HD600) and the perforations also help keep the headphone as transparent as possible.
This combination makes the bass tight and deep on the Avantone, though it's still a bit on the shy side. I think a bit of extra width would help with the bass but it's difficult to find larger pads with perforations. It's still an improvement over the stock pads IMO. The sound is more laid-back, focused and crispy. Very similar to switching to leather pads on the HD600.
The tone on the Planar is really great by the way, they just need better freaking pads.

 

[bo4v4]

Has anyone had the chance to compare it to the Edition XS?

Coming back to this, I had the chance to test drive them myself by now. Leaving these impression of my little trained ears for the future lost wanderer:

I can use the Planar without EQ, but I have to dial down the treble on the XS. While applying some EQ lifts the veil (somewhat), I prefer to use the Planars without at present.

The XS is lighter and in general feels barely clamping, more like touching the side of your head. However, I find the headband of the XS producing a hot spot on the top quicker then the Planar. Minimal padding, e.g. a bandana/buff, prevents that leather lump hot spot of the Planar. With my head this is rather optional. I can wear the Planars for 3-4 hours after which I just slightly shift them. Overall they are equally comfortable but with different weaknesses. I prefer the Planar but would appreciate if they would reduce some weight.

Sound stage is wider on the XS. In general these had some initial airy feeling, as if the sound would engulf me, lightly. Those had the potential to let you forget you were wearing headphones, whereas the Planars will rather embrace you physically. This fairy/airy feeling effect did not last / wore down after a brief while so I did not get "surprised" anymore. What remained was a sound that seemed to float above me, hanging in the air / coming from a stage that is elevated. This produced also a feeling of missing...body in the sound. The lows seemed "detached" / not connected from the highs.

I preferred the fuller and more intimate presentation of the Planars. Also they were less sharp when gaming (non-competitive). I wonder if my DX3 Pro+ is a bit thin sounding and therefore not the best pairing for the XS. YMMV as this is totally subjective of course. Overall, to my ears (and with my hardware), both are on the same level, they "simply" provide different ways of serving you the sound.

Given the evaporation and bad smell, I could only test a half hour - will do more when the VOCs are evaporated (in a few weeks hopefully).

Here it was not the headphone itself, but the box or rather that foam rubber inlay inside that caused this.

 

[sofastreamer]

over one month after last post and getting them, these have replaced every other of my open over ear headphones, phenomenal neutrality tuning. ruler flat to my ears at least and this phantastic holographic instrument placment without shrinking the instruments to toy sizes.
about comfort: i have a very big head and just put them over their own box for three nights, and now they disappear after wearing them for a few minutes.

 

[Lokiiami]

over one month after last post and getting them, these have replaced every other of my open over ear headphones, phenomenal neutrality tuning. ruler flat to my ears at least and this phantastic holographic instrument placment without shrinking the instruments to toy sizes.

I'm so close in getting them however users mentioned the trebles are rolled off very early, what's your experience in the lower and upper treble area?

 

[Lokiiami]

I've been listening to the Avantone Planar headphones for an hour and I just do not want to remove them. It's like wearing a fancy Michelin star dish on your ears, except it costs as much as a trip and a meal at the food court. And the best part? You can add in soy sauce and chili and it still won't ruin the flavor - in fact, it even make it better! It's like a party in your mouth, but for your ears. The range of flavors is so wide, it's like having a buffet for your ears. And the best part? It's all natural - no artificial flavors here.

 

[Retro Plus]

I've been listening to the Avantone Planar headphones for an hour and I just do not want to remove them. It's like wearing a fancy Michelin star dish on your ears, except it costs as much as a trip and a meal at the food court. And the best part? You can add in soy sauce and chili and it still won't ruin the flavor - in fact, it even make it better! It's like a party in your mouth, but for your ears. The range of flavors is so wide, it's like having a buffet for your ears. And the best part? It's all natural - no artificial flavors here.

Nice description, they do indeed take EQ well. That's something that i love about these headphones, it feels like EQ works twice as well with them because they can handle it.

 

[Lokiiami]

Nice description, they do indeed take EQ well. That's something that i love about these headphones, it feels like EQ works twice as well with them because they can handle it.

I'm truly susprised how well it sounded in terms detail retrieval and air. Some headphones are artificially boosted and doesn't sound natural. The track I love to test this on is https://spotify.link/fbxJ3GrXCyb. At 3.5 secs into the song there's a faint breathe from through the nostril of somebody and not many headphones can reproduce that clearly. And this is before EQ.
And you are right it takes EQ wonderfully without any distortion. The bass slam and impact is amazing for a open ear. Together with the X-bass feature on the zen can amp and slight EQ on the quedelix 5k, I'm blow away... It ticks all the box in terms of bass, mids, highs, imaging and detail retrievals and at a very good price of $399.00

 

[Lokiiami]

These headphones are truly remarkable - To me...the best I've ever listened to, even surpassing the HEDD, HD800S, Meze Empyrean, 109 Pro, and ZMF Eikon. However, there's a caveat: they require EQ adjustment and the X-bass feature turned on with the Ifi Zen Can. When the X-bass feature is turned off, I increase the EQ for lower frequencies.

The headphones initially sound flat with a slight midrange boost, but they are highly receptive to EQ. In fact, they respond incredibly well to EQ adjustments without distortion or veiling of details. After some minor tweaking, I've gotten the sound signature I want.

Moreover, these headphones are among the most detailed I've ever heard. For instance, in the song "Smooth Operator" by Karen Souza, I could clearly hear the faint sound of someone's breathing at 3.5 seconds into the track. With the X-bass feature and slight EQ adjustment, even mild bass enthusiasts will find the sound quality superb, with surreal impact and quantity.

The highs are also extremely natural and detailed, without any sibilance. I tested this with songs like "Jaguar" by Victoria Monet and "Code Cool" by Patricia Barber, which sounded incredibly authentic and realistic.

The headphones are already mid-centric, so I didn't adjust much in that range. Both male and female vocals sound perfectly forward and full-bodied. The soundstage is not artificial, and the imaging is exceptional - instruments can be pinpointed not just around the head, but also in terms of height and depth.

At $399, these Avantone Pro Planar headphones are an absolute steal, but there is the catch of requiring EQ adjustment for a more exciting and enjoyable sound while maintaining the integrity of the mids and vocals.

 

[Angel III]

I've always equalized the Avantone Planar and they sound divine, similar to large floorstanding speakers. Very beautiful in voices and piano.

 

[SUSSUS AMOGUS]

I got some Kali IN5-C speakers, and let me tell you they blow these headphones out of the water for bass timbre, but that's like saying water is wet, of course you can't beat a 5-in woofer with a 70mm driver. For everything else, these headphones go head to head with those speakers, even matching with my friend's custom $20,000 speakers if I EQ.

The headphones have largely been replaced by speakers now, but nothing comes close to these for ASMR- the richness, the imaging, the texture: ****ing amazing

 

[Retro Plus]

I got some Kali IN5-C speakers, and let me tell you they blow these headphones out of the water for bass timbre, but that's like saying water is wet, of course you can't beat a 5-in woofer with a 70mm driver. For everything else, these headphones go head to head with those speakers, even matching with my friend's custom $20,000 speakers if I EQ.

The headphones have largely been replaced by speakers now, but nothing comes close to these for ASMR- the richness, the imaging, the texture: ****ing amazing

It's funny you should mention ASMR specifically, i tried some ASMR stuff like with crumpling paper, binural stuff (like the virtual barber shop) and the sense of space is so accurate with these headphones. There were a few times where i jumped because the audio reproduction was just that accurate.
My favourite binaural demo for these is definitely this video It's a walk around New York City in binaural audio, try it for yourself.

 

[mobbaddict]

These headphones are truly remarkable - To me...the best I've ever listened to, even surpassing the HEDD, HD800S, Meze Empyrean, 109 Pro, and ZMF Eikon. However, there's a caveat: they require EQ adjustment and the X-bass feature turned on with the Ifi Zen Can. When the X-bass feature is turned off, I increase the EQ for lower frequencies.

The headphones initially sound flat with a slight midrange boost, but they are highly receptive to EQ. In fact, they respond incredibly well to EQ adjustments without distortion or veiling of details. After some minor tweaking, I've gotten the sound signature I want.

Moreover, these headphones are among the most detailed I've ever heard. For instance, in the song "Smooth Operator" by Karen Souza, I could clearly hear the faint sound of someone's breathing at 3.5 seconds into the track. With the X-bass feature and slight EQ adjustment, even mild bass enthusiasts will find the sound quality superb, with surreal impact and quantity.

The highs are also extremely natural and detailed, without any sibilance. I tested this with songs like "Jaguar" by Victoria Monet and "Code Cool" by Patricia Barber, which sounded incredibly authentic and realistic.

The headphones are already mid-centric, so I didn't adjust much in that range. Both male and female vocals sound perfectly forward and full-bodied. The soundstage is not artificial, and the imaging is exceptional - instruments can be pinpointed not just around the head, but also in terms of height and depth.

At $399, these Avantone Pro Planar headphones are an absolute steal, but there is the catch of requiring EQ adjustment for a more exciting and enjoyable sound while maintaining the integrity of the mids and vocals.

Try putting perforated leather pads on these, it works wonders IMO for improving bass impact and I would even say imaging as well. It slightly tames the overall tonality too, which is not a bad change.