[disastermouse]

The Ollo S4X had a bit less of a roll off on the sub bass but I felt the Planar still had more detail with a touch more mid bass impact. The S4X sounded more flat on the lower mids but also a touch thinner when compared to the Planar. The plannar sounded more neutral on the upper mids to lower treble, also having a bit more thickness. In the treble, they both were very very close, maybe the S4X having a touch more energy but the Planar having a bit more extension. When it came to detail, the Planar easily wins for me. The S4X seemed to be push details forward where as the Planar presents detail more effortlesly and has much more micro and textural detail going on. Imaging is very close between the two but separation I felt the Planar did the better job. Soundstage goes to the Planar, it felt wider, deeper and taller. Transients easily the Planar wins here as well. Dynamics I'd say both are equal. Comfort goes to the S4X. When it comes to power requirments, they both are close but the S4X always felt to get louder quicker. Both of them are great headphones and performing way above their asking price. But I feel if the S4X was priced at $350 then it would be harder competition. At $450 USD for the S4X and the Planar at $400. I just feel the Planar gives the better value. But if you value comfort, I will say the S4X will be more listenable for longer sessions. The Planar feels more sturdy and tank like though but is heavier.

Can someone compare these to the Edition XS (my current main headphone). I had to EQ upper mids back into the EDX. I have a S4X and it was my main headphone until I got the Edition XS.

 

[disastermouse]

HE-500 gets my vote for these criteria.

Better have power to drive them

 

[disastermouse]

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.


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

So I’ve EQ’ed the XS for a slight rise starting at 1.2khz and going to 2.5khz (less than 3.5 db, though I used to have it at 3db), and that wide sound stage is specifically the effect of the scooped mids. The problem is with the XS you lose a lot of vocal presence and detail to pay for the stage. I hear this is a common HiFiMan issue.

 

[plmon]

Can someone compare these to the Edition XS (my current main headphone). I had to EQ upper mids back into the EDX. I have a S4X and it was my main headphone until I got the Edition XS.

They don't sound quite as spacious and immersive as the Edition XS, but they make up for it with very good layering. It's easy to pick apart all the instruments and sounds in the mix. The main difference I'd say in terms of tonal balance is the darker treble. I prefer the midrange of the Avantones, but their sound overall ends up being noticeably more "blunted" than the Edition XS. Things like cymbal crashes, the snap of drums, and strings sound more muted and dull (though you can easily EQ that back up as well).

 

[disastermouse]

They don't sound quite as spacious and immersive as the Edition XS, but they make up for it with very good layering. It's easy to pick apart all the instruments and sounds in the mix. The main difference I'd say in terms of tonal balance is the darker treble. I prefer the midrange of the Avantones, but their sound overall ends up being noticeably more "blunted" than the Edition XS. Things like cymbal crashes, the snap of drums, and strings sound more muted and dull (though you can easily EQ that back up as well).

I’ve already had to EQ the Edition XS to bring up the mids from 1.5–2.5khz. This reduces the spaciousness somewhat, but the mids were absolutely absent otherwise in the XS in my chain. My chain also makes the XS ever so slightly “chalky” at around 6-8khz unless that 1.5-2.5khz area is lifted (1.5-2db).

 

[mjobolks]

Hello everyone, I have had my planars for quite some time at this point and while I have continued to fall more in love with them over time I've been curious what a powerful amp could do to these bad boys. (Currently only 160mw out of a 3.5mm on my dap) I do understand that these are very efficient (And single ended) so maybe this is just a redundancy but if there is any amps that would pair well let me know. Currently looking at used THX AAA one's as I have heard they to a degree, I'm sure small but none the less fill in the stage, though on the other hand I have been intrigued by tubes for a while now. To be honest I am afraid that the majority of hybrids tube amps just don't make enough difference to justify a purchase. I am willing to spend around 400, maybe more maybe less, dollars on an amp. This amp should and most likely will stay with me for a while and hopefully power many headphones. Anyhow I'll stop rambling now.

 

[ManuCV]

Hello everyone, I have had my planars for quite some time at this point and while I have continued to fall more in love with them over time I've been curious what a powerful amp could do to these bad boys. (Currently only 160mw out of a 3.5mm on my dap) I do understand that these are very efficient (And single ended) so maybe this is just a redundancy but if there is any amps that would pair well let me know. Currently looking at used THX AAA one's as I have heard they to a degree, I'm sure small but none the less fill in the stage, though on the other hand I have been intrigued by tubes for a while now. To be honest I am afraid that the majority of hybrids tube amps just don't make enough difference to justify a purchase. I am willing to spend around 400, maybe more maybe less, dollars on an amp. This amp should and most likely will stay with me for a while and hopefully power many headphones. Anyhow I'll stop rambling now.

Hi, I use the SMSL SP200 with the Planars and to my ears they pair nicely. These headphones really shine (for me) at louder volumes without going crazy, that is - take good care of your ears. I rarely use them without an amp or dac in between and I can't compare A/B with/without amp. They also work great with the Qdelix 5K.

 

[disastermouse]

Hi, I use the SMSL SP200 with the Planars and to my ears they pair nicely. These headphones really shine (for me) at louder volumes without going crazy, that is - take good care of your ears. I rarely use them without an amp or dac in between and I can't compare A/B with/without amp. They also work great with the Qdelix 5K.

My Avantone Planar the II come tomorrow. I’m currently using a LittleDot MkII SE, but LittlDot makes a new DAC/AMP called the LD-ZERO that looks pretty good. I like that it coverts a signal to LDAC too, so if you have LDAC Bluetooth headphones, you can use them with it:

https://www.linsoul.com/products/little-dot-ld-zero

 

[Retro Plus]

Hello everyone, I have had my planars for quite some time at this point and while I have continued to fall more in love with them over time I've been curious what a powerful amp could do to these bad boys. (Currently only 160mw out of a 3.5mm on my dap) I do understand that these are very efficient (And single ended) so maybe this is just a redundancy but if there is any amps that would pair well let me know. Currently looking at used THX AAA one's as I have heard they to a degree, I'm sure small but none the less fill in the stage, though on the other hand I have been intrigued by tubes for a while now. To be honest I am afraid that the majority of hybrids tube amps just don't make enough difference to justify a purchase. I am willing to spend around 400, maybe more maybe less, dollars on an amp. This amp should and most likely will stay with me for a while and hopefully power many headphones. Anyhow I'll stop rambling now.

I personally use a Topping L30ii, but i found they could easily be powered to a perfectly enjoyable listening level with a much weaker amplifier (such as the one found in the Focusrite 2i2). Something like the Topping L30ii would be more than enough to power them to the point where you could easily cause permanent hearing loss, as these aren't hard headphones to drive. I personally find that low gain near max volume on the L30ii is enough for me, for most though medium gain on an L30ii would be ideal.

 

[disastermouse]

I personally use a Topping L30ii, but i found they could easily be powered to a perfectly enjoyable listening level with a much weaker amplifier (such as the one found in the Focusrite 2i2). Something like the Topping L30ii would be more than enough to power them to the point where you could easily cause permanent hearing loss, as these aren't hard headphones to drive. I personally find that low gain near max volume on the L30ii is enough for me, for most though medium gain on an L30ii would be ideal.

Power isn’t all about gain. While low volume is the most obvious sign of an underpowered driver, dynamics will also suffer without adequate power. I’m going to do comparisons driving my Planars (when they arrive) on both my RU6 dongle and my LittleDot MkIII SE. If it’s anything like my Edition XS, the RU6 will technically get sufficient volume from Planars using my MacBook, but it’ll be woefully insufficient to truly drive the Planar.

I’ll grant you the Edition XS isn’t the most efficient planar headphone, despite the low resistance. Sensitivity is not great

 

[mjobolks]

I personally use a Topping L30ii, but i found they could easily be powered to a perfectly enjoyable listening level with a much weaker amplifier (such as the one found in the Focusrite 2i2). Something like the Topping L30ii would be more than enough to power them to the point where you could easily cause permanent hearing loss, as these aren't hard headphones to drive. I personally find that low gain near max volume on the L30ii is enough for me, for most though medium gain on an L30ii would be ideal.

Thanks for your input! Your pfp is making me think of how good a closed back avantone could be.

 

[joanferva]

Oooo fantastic to know

Hello. I've seen you've done a good job modding the Avantone planar. I wanted to experiment something with mine (a paint job) and have been unable to remove the grills. What's the trick? Thanks!

 

[mjobolks]

Recently I've been messing around with crossfeed as I find when music hard pans to one channel it can be uncomfortable. To my ears the Jan Meier filter in peace sounded the most natural and organic while also preventing that ear tickle. After a while messing around with EQ I decided that with the previously mentioned filter and a low shelf of 3db at 60hz I have found my sweet spot. I've been mainly listening to jazz music but to me this sounds the most life like and enjoyable. Wondering if you guys have any experience with crossfeeds and or any more tips to get even better tonality and realism?

 

[mobbaddict]

Recently I've been messing around with crossfeed as I find when music hard pans to one channel it can be uncomfortable. To my ears the Jan Meier filter in peace sounded the most natural and organic while also preventing that ear tickle. After a while messing around with EQ I decided that with the previously mentioned filter and a low shelf of 3db at 60hz I have found my sweet spot. I've been mainly listening to jazz music but to me this sounds the most life like and enjoyable. Wondering if you guys have any experience with crossfeeds and or any more tips to get even better tonality and realism?

IMO the Planar sounds more realistic with perforated leather pads, it can be an improvement if you like a darker tonality than the stock one. However the difficulty is to find pads that match the shape of the Planar.

 

[Haden2866]

Hi, I've just ordered a pair of Planar Pros - got a good offer on fleabay for a new black pair. Serial # >800, so hopefully with the metal headband revision.
Really looking forward to hearing these - my first planars.
What's the current thinking on pads? Can anyone link me to a recommendation?
TIA, Haden