Planar

Hifiman HE1000 Stealth — The Flagship Planar Made Invisible

The original HE1000 put Hifiman on the flagship map; the Stealth Magnet version is the one that finally sorted out the diffraction problems that came with the territory. Swap the visible metal magnet arrays for acoustically transparent ones either side of a nanometre-thin diaphragm and, on paper at least, you get all the resolution with none of the comb-filtering side effects. In the ear it’s one of the most complete-sounding planars I’ve spent time with.

Audeze MM-100 — Manny Marroquin’s Budget Blueprint

Audeze’s collaborations with mix engineer Manny Marroquin have quietly become some of the best-value headphones the company makes, and the MM-100 is the second and cheapest of them. At $399 it takes the driver philosophy out of the pricier MM-500 and packages it into something light enough to actually wear on a flight, not just sit at a desk in. For a brand whose entry point used to mean the Audeze LCD-X, that’s a genuinely different proposition.

Hifiman Edition XS — Arya DNA at a Fraction of the Cost

Every so often a manufacturer accidentally makes their expensive flagship look overpriced. Hifiman did exactly that with the Edition XS — it borrows the teardrop shell and stealth-magnet driver architecture straight out of the Hifiman Arya, launched at $499 and now drifted to roughly $269 street. For a while this quietly obsoleted the Hifiman Sundara as the value planar to buy, and it hasn’t really been dethroned since.

FiiO FT1 Pro — Planar Bass Without the Premium

FiiO built its name on dongles and desktop DACs, so a full-size open-back planar felt like a stretch — until you see the price. £180-ish gets you a planar driver in a market where that used to mean queuing up next to a Hifiman Sundara or an ageing pair of HE400s. The FT1 Pro doesn’t reinvent anything, but it proves FiiO can build a proper pair of cans, not just amp them.

Final Audio D8000 Pro — Japanese Planar Flagship Territory

Final Audio is one of Japan’s most respected audio companies, and the D8000 Pro represents the pinnacle of their headphone engineering. This is flagship planar territory — a headphone that costs as much as a decent used car and promises performance to match. The question is whether it delivers, and the answer is complicated.

Build & Design

Imposing. The D8000 Pro is a large, heavy headphone at 523g with massive earcups that house the AFDS (Air Film Damping System) planar driver. The aluminium construction is beautifully machined, and the overall build quality is impeccable. Japanese attention to detail is evident everywhere — from the hinge mechanism to the cable connectors.

Audeze MM-500 — The Mixing Engineer’s Planar

The MM-500 is Audeze’s love letter to mixing and mastering engineers. Developed in consultation with Grammy-winning producer Manny Marroquin, this is a headphone designed specifically for professional work — and it happens to sound absolutely wonderful for music enjoyment too.

Build & Design

Lighter than the LCD-X at 510g, which is still substantial but manageable. The magnesium housing is a step up from Audeze’s usual aluminium, and the overall construction feels purposeful and professional. Comfort is improved over the LCD-X with redesigned earpads and better weight distribution. The suspension headband works well.

Hifiman Sundara — The Gateway Drug to Planar

Every audiophile hobby has its gateway moment — the product that opens a door you can never close again. For many headphone enthusiasts, the Hifiman Sundara is exactly that. It’s the headphone that makes you realise what planar magnetic drivers can do, and it does so at a price that doesn’t require selling a kidney.

Build & Design

Improved significantly over earlier revisions. The current Sundara has a metal headband, comfortable pads, and a build that feels more robust than Hifiman’s reputation might suggest. At 372g it’s manageable, and the oval earpads accommodate most ear sizes comfortably. It’s not going to win beauty contests, but it feels like it’ll last.

Moondrop Venus — Planar Surprise from the IEM Kings

Moondrop made their name in IEMs, producing some of the best budget and mid-range in-ears the hobby has ever seen. So when they announced a full-size planar magnetic headphone, the community raised a collective eyebrow. Could an IEM company really compete in the over-ear space? The Venus answers with a resounding yes.

Build & Design

The Venus has a striking, almost retro-futuristic look with its circular earcups and exposed planar driver grilles. Build quality is solid — mostly metal and plastic, with a comfortable suspension headband. At 505g it sits in the middle ground for planars. The earpads are a soft protein leather that seals well without excessive heat buildup.

Dan Clark Aeon 2 Noire — Closed Back Done Right

Finding a closed-back headphone that satisfies an open-back listener is like finding a sports car that’s also comfortable on the motorway — the compromises usually show. Dan Clark Audio’s Aeon 2 Noire is one of the rare exceptions. This planar magnetic closed-back manages to sound open, detailed, and musical whilst actually isolating you from the outside world.

Build & Design

Dan Clark’s folding design is genuinely clever. The Aeon 2 Noire collapses flat for travel, and the included carry case makes it one of the most portable serious headphones on the market. Build quality is excellent — the Nitinol memory metal headband returns to shape after flexing, and the overall construction feels durable without being heavy at 327g.

Audeze LCD-X 2021 — The Studio Planar That Rocks

The LCD-X has been on my radar since it became the go-to headphone for producers and mixing engineers who want planar detail without the analytical coldness. The 2021 revision addressed the tuning complaints of the original, and what Audeze delivered is, frankly, one of the most capable all-rounders in the planar world.

Build & Design

Let’s address weight first: 612g. Yes, it’s heavy. If you’re coming from a Sennheiser or a Koss PortaPro, the first time you put these on your head you’ll wonder if someone left a brick inside. That said, the suspension headband does a reasonable job of distributing the weight, and after twenty minutes you mostly forget about it. Mostly.