[justin w.]

The new Spirit Torino Radiante closed-back headphone with external passive radiator, a new headphone out of Italy, just won the Gold award at the 2019 Fujiya Avic headphone festival in Tokyo for headphones over 200,000 yen.

We had a demo of this headphone recently and I was sad to see it go (a rare thing when we have just about every headphone around here, including an Orpheus). But luckily, our shipment is arriving from Italy in a few days and these will be available in North American exclusively from HeadAmp!

We'll be bringing these to the DC Head-fi meet on Dec 15. Initially, we'll only have a few pairs.

If you've heard these please leave your impressions here. Video coming once our shipment arrives

 

[justin w.]

Here's the limited edition 1706 version of the Radiante. I'm thinking we will start a loaner tour and get some impressions going. Each person can sign their name to the stand and we can fill it up. Who's in?

 

[Lucamusic81]

hi, I am a happy owner of the splendid headphones Spirit Torino Radiante version 1706.
The headphones were listened to both at home, in the office and on the road (on the subway, train and on foot).
In none of these situations have I found the headphones uncomfortable or heavy to wear. Even walking on foot, the possession of headphones remains stable in order not to affect listening.
I listen to the headphones every day for about 3 hours.
The headphones were suppressed after a first fast listening at 24 hours of pink noise.
For the perception, in the case of the Astell AK70 I find that the ideal volume volume for "energetic" listening is 130/150 in most recordings. In the case of recordings a little higher even around 110-120, adequate pressure is obtained.
In the case of low recordings or passages less "forte fortissimo" I resorted to the whole volume of the AK70.
The insulation with the pads designed with "Dekoni" is excellent.
I listen to the "Radiante" with all genres of music from classical music to rock and electronics.
In all my plays I preferred the + 2db diaphragm setup.
The piano has a full-bodied and defined sound. I improved the performance by joining AK70 + Aune B1s.
The fast passages from low to high notes do not disappoint and remain defined and decisive.
Con il setup del diagramma a 0db il pianoforte a volumi alti rimaneva eccessivo e leggermente invasivo sulle altre note.
Listening to the Organ is truly impressive. Even with the few millwatts of the AK70
The soundstage in the case of live jazz listening is excellent near an open headphones. The position of the individual instruments is perceived.
The soundstage in the first track of the album "live at '' SOMEDAY '' in Tokyo" by B.Watson - T.Made & Tokyo L. Big Band gives the feeling of the jazz club
Listening to Rock music is truly exciting a real pleasure the more you listen and the more you want to listen even at high volumes it does not tire listening.
The drums in Dire Straits' "Money For Nothing" is decidedly clean and never excessive.
I find the album "SanFrancisco Symphony And Metallica - S&M" very interesting both for the recording and for the musical event itself. Listening takes you inside the concert!

 

[Infoseeker]

I'm confused does this use a special chamber in the cup to tune the sound? Like how companies like Final Audio like to play around with.

Or is it using some proprietary driver that is not a dynamic driver?

 

[Lucamusic81]

The Radiante shares with the entire range of Spirit Torino headphones the drive that is made to our specifications by the magician of the Headphone drives Jaco Burger,
as well as the factory tuning with damping material, additional magnets and the ventilation holes provided by the project.

The passive radiator is the keystone of the entire project and allows the headset to simulate a larger load volume and optimize the movement of the drive,
ensuring a low-range performance typical of Spirit Torino headphones.

https://www.spiritradiante.com/

 

[Infoseeker]

For those like myself who had no idea what that passive radiator meant.

 

[Lucamusic81]

the operation of the passive driver of the radiant does not have the same function as the passive driver of the video. in the video it aims to increase the low range, in the "radiante" it aims to better manage the low range by increasing control and speed

 

[Infoseeker]

The new Spirit Torino Radiante closed-back headphone with external passive radiator, a new headphone out of Italy, just won the Gold award at the 2019 Fujiya Avic headphone festival in Tokyo for headphones over 200,000 yen.

We had a demo of this headphone recently and I was sad to see it go (a rare thing when we have just about every headphone around here, including an Orpheus). But luckily, our shipment is arriving from Italy in a few days and these will be available in North American exclusively from HeadAmp!

We'll be bringing these to the DC Head-fi meet on Dec 15. Initially, we'll only have a few pairs.

If you've heard these please leave your impressions here. Video coming once our shipment arrives

Your website doesn't have the 4.4mm balanced option in the drop down menu forbthe Spirit stuff.

 

[Arcamera]

These look great. Can anyone offer a comparison between the Spirit open and closed-back models?

 

[Lucamusic81]

the main difference between the "radiante" and the open headphones of the Spirit catalog is the soundstage. also for this it improves passing from the "superleggera", "grande" and "twin-pulse" and the various ragnar versions. the "radiante" is certainly to be preferred in case of mobile use or need of greater insulation.

 

[Lucamusic81]

to the Spirit catalog a new semi-closed cap is being added, its name: "Titano"

 

[Arcamera]

Thanks for the info. I guess the top of the line of the Spirit headphones would be the Ragnar?

 

[Lucamusic81]

ragnar is not a line of headphones, it is the enhanced version of each model. currently there are: superleggera ragnar, twin pulse regnar. Spirit Torino's top headset is the twin-pulse ragnar

 

[Infoseeker]

I bought a used Twin Pulse that the previous owner had the company officially upgrade to a Ragnar.

It is pretty good. No peaks anywhere. And good mids and very good highs extension without being metallic/simbilant.

Spoiler

The bass profile is the only thing that needs tweaking. But lowering things in the bass is an easy eq fix that won't stress a source.

UPDATE: If you have a good source/amp with enough power to drive these the bass is perfect.

Very good. Of course there is diminishing returns for price, but definitely a very good high end product.

With no peaks they are probably a more professional set than an audiophile set.

 

[justin w.]

One of our customers posted a lengthy review on our site of the Radiante 1706 today (review also applies to the regular Radiante). Here is the text below:


2020-07-05
An exciting (semi) closed back headphone.

This is a very unique headphone. It was the closed back pair I had been looking for for years. I currently own a few open back planars (He1000se, and Ether 2), and was looking for something closed back, and preferably dynamic. I was looking into the focal stellia for a long time, and was really going for it until the perfect timing these cans had in being released in US. I was looking for something very bass heavy, but easily EQ'd to take some bass away. I was not too keen on the sennheiser hd820 because it seemed to me like a less open hd800s (which is not quite my cup of tea, although does have the best soundstage, and some of the best imaging ever.), and the Ether C Flow was tempting but they were another pair, to me, that was a great open back sounding closed back. which is fine, but between the 2 phones I had, being the most open was not the most important thing to me.

And boy do these headphones live up to every reason I wanted them. They do start off very bass heavy without any eq. Which was exactly what I wanted. I want to be clear, these are the best headphones I have ever listened to for metal, even without any eq, they are just stellar for genres of thick, thumping bass. the dynamics of the thump is so physical it almost seems violent. which is perfect for metal, and dubstep, and edm, and rap and other Bass heavy genres where the most of the atmosphere is made up by bass. Attempting to EQ them, I was blown away.

out of box, these headphones are warm and dark. not for everyone, but for my other pairs, it fit right in. the brilliant thing about these, is that if you take down the bass some, and increase the treble a bit, these quickly became the most detailed closed back headphone I have ever heard, besides the stellia, which is known for detail and dynamics. things appeared in the music I could not hear with my ether 2's. not quite as much detail as the he1000se, but as of this moment I cant name another headphone that does. These headphones were to top off my collection with a closed back, easily eq'd dynamic pair of headphones, and these are exactly that.

There are 2 downsides to this headphone total, which for me is not enough to bring down from 5 stars to 4, but may be for some people. the first is they are pretty dang heavy. they are not uncomfortable per se, but my ether 2's and he1000se are both on an entire other comfort level. the second being it does have a slight disadvantage in soundstage due to being a closed back headphone. as open back as they are, and can be, when there is a full choir singing and no other accompaniment, the sound will bounce around on the inside a little bit, making it hard to make out the details of the choir. If instruments are added, this takes away the excess resonance, however it does exist in tracks involving just a choir. the reason for this being that they really are just closed back headphones, and no matter what, the isolation you benefit from will take away from certain aspects of the sound. and although this does better than every other closed back I've listened to (minus the hd820), it Is an issue with closedback headphones in general, that open headphones will always reign supreme. I needed a closed back pair, so this was not an issue with me.

Overall, this is an incredible set of headphones, albeit for certain tastes. it has VERY FEW weaknesses if you are willing to EQ them, and when you do, they compete with open backs on soundstage, imaging, separation, and clarity. If not, you really would only need these if you enjoy bass heavy music. and as it stands, these are the undisputed kings of metal, which is a resounding win in my book.

https://www.headamp.com/products/spirit-radiante-1706