Best Planar Magnetic Headphones Under $1,000 (used)


Hi all,

I wanted to share a selection of the best planar magnetic headphones that can be found for under $1,000 on the second-hand market.

https://www.linephaze.com/selection/4b8c0d08-f6fc-4ffb-b438-73749a4fa301

What are your thoughts? Do you see any obvious (or less obvious) candidates that are missing?

lionel_hersch

I like the Dan Clark planar headphones, but I confess, I haven't heard nearly all of the planar magnetic alternatives.  Their phones are very smooth sounding an are not overly bright on the top end.  

I’ve had the Hifiman Arya Stealths for several years and like them a lot.  I would categorize them as very neutral and a blank slate for whatever you wanna put in front of them, and they produce a very nice open and “outside the head” 3D soundstage with good recordings.  I’ve got an R2R DAC and Class A solid state headphone amp driving them and find it a to be a great combo with a very detailed yet natural overall sound.  That said, they are not inherently warm in any way so if you’re looking for added warmth or bass heft these are not for you, and I would most definitely not pair them with cheap electronics because any thinness, etch, and/or brittleness will come through as such.  I paid $1200 for a nice refurbished pair exactly four years ago (they retailed for $1600 at the time) and are now available new on Amazon for only $599.  That said, the Arya Organics are even better in some ways and are only $769 again on Amazon and would be high on my radar if I was shopping now.  Not sure how they’d compare to some of the newer “Unveiled” or “Nano” versions that are out there now, but I hope this is still a little helpful. 

I haven't heard the Dan Clarks but I have a pair of Anandas that I really like.

If you watch for them, you can regularly find HIFi Man sales for incredible discounts of up to 80% off.

HiFiMan Ananda Unveiled will slay anything you can buy used for $1000.00 and they are $550.00 new!