I dropped into the Kennerton office, and they’ve got some specialties: closed-back Arkona and open-back Vinneta. Both headphones models use a new driver. I immediately dragged them home to write a review. Today we’ll talk about Arkona, closed-back planar headphones for $3,277.
I didn’t have a chance to use any of the Aune products until recently, although I’ve read a lot of good reviews: their amplifiers usually have nice ratings on the Internet. That’s why I got curious when their first AR5000 headphones were announced in November 2023, and not just headphones but over-ear full-sized ones!
How much do you think any decent closed-back wired headphones could cost? All of a sudden, the JadeAudio’s collab with the FiiO gets released, and it’s a pretty unusual JT1 model. This is your answer to the above question. These cost around $50 at the AliExpress sale. Would you expect anything great from such a thing? I don’t know! I wouldn’t.
All because the manufacturer’s just released a couple of devices that interested me (not just headphones), so yes, Moondrop again. And today we’re taking a look at the planar Moondrop PARA headphones (the initial model name was Paradise). So, how much ‘Paradise’ is in those Moondrop PARA? Let’s see. Disclaimer: this review is probably the best review in the whole Internet. We don’t do worst, you know that.
As you guys may remember, I was absolutely charmed by the planar Kennerton Heartland headphones. That is, when their dynamic brother (sister?) version was announced, I got really excited. Because, you know, is it even possible to craft something better than the Heartland? But the Kennerton crew is as unpredictable and ambitious as ever.
As soon as I managed to find some time (and as the guys have said they’re ready for my awesomeness), I rushed to the Kennerton office to try the two of their new models – the Heartland and the HORS. So! I’ve tried the Heartland and asked… no, plagued the guys to lend those to me to try more and listen to and ultimately to write a pre-review.
Here are the headphones that I, again, was really waiting for. These are the Edifier wireless planar ones powered by Audeze technologies. And the symbolic STAX in the model name kind of suggests THINGS. Well, since closed-back planars with decent sound are something manufacturers don’t always achieve, it was double as interesting for me to take a look at this Edifier masterpiece.
There are different models of headphones I’d love to try SO much that I’m ready to buy them. Like, to spend literal money, not just get them for a test-n-review. And today I’m going to tell you about one such model. It’s HiFiMan Sundara – open back isodynamic headphones for around $280.
A year is not over yet and I have already got a new test fixture stand, and I am more than happy about it. I have switched now from a modified miniDSP EARS to a real test fixture, which is IEC711 complied: a coupler (IEC60318-4), artificial pinna, speficially calibrated microphone. So, now I can apply any target curve to frequency graphs without any recaltulations for real. An article about my new test fixture with all the detials – where to get it, how to use it and so on – is coming soon. Stay tuned. And for now you can check frequency graphs of almost all current Kennerton models from the new test fixture.
