HiFiMAN Audivina Review

 

 

HiFiMAN Audivina Review

 

Introduction:

HiFiMAN was founded by Dr. Fang in New York – USA and is one of the most well-known personal audio companies in the audiophile word that offers a wide variety of Hi-Fi Reference and Premium class products like Portable Audio Players, Planar Magnetic & Dynamic Driver Headphones, Desktop Amplifiers, Earphones, IEM’s and TWS Headphones & Monitors.

The Audivina is HiFiMAN’s latest closed-back planar headphone that features the companies Stealth Magnet and NsD Technology, which is a combination of a NEO Supernano Diaphragm and a Stealth Magnet Design that is supported with a special curved resonance chamber inspired by the acoustic architecture of the Bayreuth Festival Theater in Germany.

 

Disclaimer:

I would like to thank HiFiMAN for providing the Audivina headphone as review sample. I am not affiliated with HiFiMAN beyond this review and all these words are reflecting my true and unaltered opinions about the product.

 

Price & Availability:

The actual price of HiFiMAN Audivina Closed-Back Planar headphone is 1.999.00 US$. More information’s about the availability can be found under the link bellow;

 

Package & Accessories:

The HiFiMAN Audivina is a fairly large headphone that came inside box made from recycled cardboard in brown color. On the top of the box is a black strip with the illustration of the Audivina and some product related brandings such like the “Stealth Magnets Design” and “NEO Supernano Diaphragm”.

Inside the box of the are the following items;

  • 1x HiFiMAN Audivina Closed-Back Planar Headphone
  • 3x Detachable cables (1x 3.5mm, 1x 6.35mm and 1x XLR termination)
  • 1x Protective Storage Case
  • 1x Print Materials

The HiFiMAN Audivina comes with a rich set of detachable cables that includes 1x 3.5mm, 1x 6.35mm and 1x cable with XLR termination.

The cables do sport a TPU insulation in black color that shows low amount of microphonic effect.All three cables do have 3.5mm male connectors with Left & Right indicators.

It is nice to see that the Audivina comes with a pretty useful protective headphone storage case, which is a nice addition.

 

Design, Build Quality & Comfort:

The HiFiMAN Audivina is a high-end Closed-Back Planar headphone that features the companies latest Stealth Magnet and NsD Technology. The name Audivina comes from the combination of the words “Audi” which means listening and the Sanskrit word “Vina” meaning sitar, which is a South Asian traditional plucked string instrument.

The Audivina has a pretty good overall built quality, which shows a combination of three main parts; the metal headband, the wooden ear-cups and the pleather ear pads. The total weight of the headphone is approx 470g.

One of the main highlights that the Audivina offers in terms of design is the wood grain ear-cups that do have a nicely smooth polished with a premium appearance.

The ear cups are fairly large in order to create room for the special curved resonance chamber that has been inspired by the acoustic architecture of the Bayreuth Festival Theater in Germany.

At the center of each ear cup surface is a HiFiMAN brand logo that has a silver metallic color.

Right at the bottom of each ear cup are the 3.5mm female sockets that do offer a tight connection with the plus of the detachable cables.

The Audivina comes with removable ear pads with a nice brown color that do have a protein leather outer layer, while the inner surface area that contacts your head is made from fabric material.

The ear pads do have a pretty soft padding that offers a quite comfortable experience even after longer listening periods.

The ear pads are relative easy to remove and replace thanks to the hook and loop design.

Once you remove the ear pad you will see HiFiMAN’s own developed NEO Supernano Diaphragm Planar Magnetic Driver units that are located behind a “Star Shaped” plastic part. The drivers do have a thin layer of fabric material on the top in order to protect the very thin NEO Supernano Diaphragm from dust.

The headband frame of the Audivina shows a combination material combination of spring steel, plastic and leather material that do have a sturdy look and feel.

It is pretty comfortable and the offers enough clamping force to keep it firmly on my average sized head, without to become uncomfortable, even after longer listening periods.

The crown is made from spring steel material with a polished metallic surface that is pretty bendable.

The stirrups of the headphone are made from a pretty durable sort of plastic material in grey color.

The right surface near the headband sports the Audivina branding, while the right surface has the HiFiMAN Logo on the top.

At the inner surface of the headband holders are the L (left) and R (Right) markings.

The leather headband in brown color has a perforated surface.

The overall build quality and the comfort of the Audivina closed-back headphones is decent.

 

Drivability & Pairing:

The HiFiMAN Audivina is a headphone with a quite power efficient planar magnetic driver unit that has an impedance of 20ohm and shows sensitivity of about 97dB that makes it to more efficient compared to older planar headphones. The HiBy R6 PRO II was able to drive the Audivina to pretty loud volume level, even some USB DAC/AMP dongles such like the Moondrop MoonRiver 2 TI works pretty well with the Audivina.

However, when I have switched to a Desktop type of Amplifier such like the HiFiMAN EF600 or the Topping DX5 Lite, I could clearly hear the true potential of the planar headphones. Especially the EF600 shows an impressive synergy with the Audivina that I highly recommend.

 

Isolation:

The HiFiMAN Audivina is a closed-back headphone, while I must say that the performance in terms of passive isolation on an average level, which was a big surprise for me. The sound leakage both from inside and from the outside of the ear cups is bit high.

 

Technical Specifications:

  • Headphone Type                   : Close-Back
  • Driver Type                            : Planar Magnetic Driver with NEO Supernano Diaphragm
  • Frequency Response            : 5 Hz – 50 kHz
  • Sensitivity                               : 97dB
  • Impedance                             : 20Ω
  • Connector Interface               : 3.5mm TRRS
  • Weight                                    : 470 grams

 

Equipment’s used for this review:

  • Headphones   : HiFiMAN Audivina
  • DAP’s              : HiBy R6 PRO II
  • DAC/Amplifier : HiFiMAN EF600, Topping DX5 Lite, Moondrop MoonRiver2 TI

 

Albums & tracks used for this review:

  • Adele – My Little Love (Spotify)
  • Randy Crawford – On Day I Will Fly Away (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
  • Hayley Westenra – Odyssey Album (Dezzer HiFi)
  • Dionne Warwick – Walk On By (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
  • Sarah McLachlan – Angel (Flac 24bit/48kHz)
  • Sertap Erener – Aşk (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
  • Edith Piaf – Non Je Ne Regrette Rien (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
  • Diana Krall – So Wonderful (DSF)
  • Aretha Franklin – I Say A Little Payer (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
  • Sonya Yoncheva – (Giuseppe Verdi) II Trovatore, ActI (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
  • George Michael – Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
  • David Bowie – Heroes (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
  • Elton John – Rocket Man ((Flac 24bit/96kHz)
  • Barry White – Just The Way You Are (Flac 24bit/48kHz)
  • Isaac Hayes – Walk On By (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
  • Sting – Englishman in New York – (Flac 24bit/48kHz)
  • Eric Clapton – Wonderful Tonight (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
  • B. King – Riding With The King (Tidal Hi-Fi)
  • Dave Gahan – Kingdom (Tidal Hi-Fi)
  • U2 – Sunday Bloody Sunday (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
  • Bro Safari, UFO! – Drama (Deezer HiFi)
  • Armin Van Buuren – Vini Vici (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
  • Daft Punk (feat. Panda Bear) – Doin’ it Right (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
  • Jo Blankenburg – Meraki (Spotify)
  • Lorde – Royals (Flac 24bit/48kHz)
  • Massive Attack – Angel (Flac 24bit/48kHz)
  • Toutant – Rebirth (Deezer HiFi)
  • Gogo Penguin – Raven (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
  • Gogo Penguin – Murmuration (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
  • Photek – The Hidden Camera (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
  • Portishead – It Could Be Sweet (Spotify)
  • Max Richter – On the Nature of Daylight (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
  • Charly Antolini – Duwadjuwandadu (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
  • Abel Korzeniowski – Dance For Me Wallis (Deezer HiFi)
  • Ferit Odman – Look, Stop & Listen (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
  • Chopin – Nocturn No. 20 In C-Sharp Minor (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
  • Fazıl Say – Nazım Oratoryosu (Live) (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
  • Vivaldi – Le QuarttroStagioni “The Four Season” (Deezer HiFi)
  • Otto Liebert & Luna Negra – The River (Flac 24bit/192kHz)
  • Lunatic Soul – The Passage (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
  • Deftones – My Own Summer (Shove it) (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
  • Metallica – Sad but True (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
  • Metallica – Master of Puppets (Flac 24bit/96kHz)
  • Opeth – Windowpane (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
  • Megadeth – Sweating Bullets (Tidal Hi-Fi)
  • Muse – Hysteria (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
  • Rush – Leave That Thing Alone (Flac 16bit/44.1kHz)
  • Slayer – Angel of Death (Spotify)
  • Liquid Tension Experiment 2 – Acid Rain (Spotify)
  • Yosi Horikawa – Bubbles (Spotify)

 

The Sound:

The HiFiMAN Audivina is an extreme detailed and open sounding planar headphone, which impressed me immediately with its very spacious and expansive presentation that I didn’t expected fro a closed-back headphone. The Audivina shows a tight, energetic bass response excellent sense of layering and quickness. The midrange offers a lot of information that has a focal point in the upper midrange that needs some burn-in. The treble range shows an excellent grade of presence and brilliance, while the level of resolution and extension meets my expectations from a closed-back headphone at this price level.

This review has been written after a burn-in period of approx 120 hours. My sound impressions below are mainly based on my experiences with sources like the HiFiMAN EF600 & Topping DX5 Lite desktop DAC/Amplifiers, Moondrop MoonRiver2 TI  USB DAC Dongle and HiBy R6 PRO II Digital Audio Player.

Bass:

The lower frequency region of the HiFiMAN Audivina stands out with its speed, control and resolution. The bass is produced in a pretty linear manner, with focal point in the midbass area that shows a natural and neutral response. The subbass region of the HiFiMAN Audivina is within the range that can be described as neutral. The sense of power, impact and extension of this area is on a moderate level. However, the main benefit of this tuning is that the Audivina doesn’t sounds muddy or bloated, even while listen to bass heavy genres such like electronic music and hip hop.

The midbass region of the Audivina sounds in general tight, well-controlled and doesn’t bleed into the midrange. This makes the Audivina suitable for music genres, including pop, rock and classical. The midbass area is shown with an excellent grade of speed and authority that was quite audible in songs with complex passages such like Gogo Penguin’s “Raven” and “Murmuration”. Instruments such like percussions are produced with a good sense of roundness and don’t show any remarkable negative conditions such like muddiness or mixings.

The general bass response of the HiFiMAN Audivina does not sound overly emphasized or recessed; it is instead presented in a natural and balanced manner, which makes it easy to listen to for longer listening periods. The Audivina’s bass goes down pretty low for a planar headphone, which makes it ideal for genres like classical and ambient music, where a lot of low-end information is present.

Midrange:

The HiFiMAN Audivina is a closed-back planar headphone that is equipped with companies Stealth Magnet Array technology, which allows a more linear frequency response in order to reduce unwanted distortion. The result what I do hear is a pretty natural, textured and detailed midrange presentation, especially when I have paired it with the HiFiMAN EF600 desktop DAC/Amplifier, which shows an impressive synergy.

The Audivina has a pleasing midrange tonality. Vocals do sound natural and smooth, while instruments are reproduced in a well-defined and textured manner. The lower midrange shows an adequate grade of depth and fullness when I do listen to male voices such like Barry White, Dave Gahan and David Bowie or to instruments such like a cello, viola or snare drum.

When it comes to the upper midrange of the Audivina, I can say that is noticeably more highlighted compared to the rest of the midrange spectrum, which is a common tuning concept for HiFiMAN Planar headphones. Female voices such like Edith Piaf, Adel or Aretha Franklin are shown in a pretty emotional and lively manner. Instruments like pianos, violins or trumpets on the other hand do sound quite crisp and detailed, while the extension is on a decent level. However, the upper midrange needs some intensive burn-in (approx 80 – 100 hours) in order to smoothen.

Treble:

The HiFiMAN Audivina offers a pretty accurate, detailed and extended treble response and does not exhibit any major peaks or dips that would otherwise cause sibilance or harshness. However, I do recommend leaving it for burn-in for about 80 hours. What I also really like about the treble tuning of the Audivina is that it does not roll-off too early or too much that would result in a lack of detail or sparkle.

The Audivina is able to resolve a lot of detail in the lower treble region that was audible while listen to songs like Megadeth’s “Sweating Bullets” and Charly Antolini’s “Duwadjuwandadu”The lower treble region of the HiFiMAN Audivina shows a good performance in terms of authority controlled. There is no remarkable sibilance or harshness, when I do listen to percussions such like cymbals or hi-hats.

The upper treble range of the Hifiman Audivina is well-extended and detailed. It is able to create a good amount of air and sparkle while listen to instruments like strings, woodwinds and brass instruments. This sound profile makes the Audivina to an ideal headphone choice for genres like jazz, classical, rock or pop music. The general treble presentation of the HiFiMAN Audivina can be described as highly detailed and airy, that shows also a good amount of sparkle.

Soundstage & Imaging:

The HiFiMAN Audivina is one of the best closed-back headphones I have reviewed in terms of soundstage performance and imaging thanks to its special curved resonance chamber that creates room for a holographic soundstage atmosphere. The Audivina offers a pretty realistic, wide and precise presentation with good sense of air and space between instruments. The HiFiMAN Audivina is also able to accurately reproduce the location of instruments in the soundstage that makes it easier to follow the details of the song.

 

Conclusion:

The HIFIMAN Audivina is a very esthetic looking closed-back planar headphone that offers a rare sonic combination of balance, openness and refinement. It is a stylish and comfortable headphone that reflects HiFiMAN’s craftsmanship and innovation when it comes to full sized headphones. All this features makes the Audivina to a great choice for those who looking for a closed-back headphone with a detailed and open sound profile.

 

Pros & Cons: 

  • + Excellent Overall Sound Performance
  • + Impressive Detail Retrieval
  • + Very Open and Wide Soundstage Atmosphere for a Closed-Back Headphone
  • + Design & Comfort
  • + 3 Cables with different type of Terminations (3.5mm, 6.35mm and XLR)
  • + Useful Storage Case
  • + Huge Ear Cups
  • + Average Passive Isolation
  • + Pricy

 

Thank you for the Read!

 

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