HiFiMAN Audivina Closed Back Headphones

The HiFiMAN Audivina is a closed-back planar magnetic studio headphone that aims for the wide soundstage of an acoustically perfect concert hall with the detail and intimacy of a jazz club. HiFiMAN’s NEO Supernano Diaphragm, Stealth Magnets and a curved resonance chamber combine with lacquered hardwood cups, and three cables are included for everything from a phone to a studio amplifier.

A concert hall in a closed cup

The curved resonance chamber, the finishing touch of the acoustic design, was inspired by the respected acoustic architecture of the Bayreuth Festival Theatre in Germany, whose multi-stage attenuation lets listeners hear a wide, detailed soundstage. In the Audivina, sound takes a circuitous route through the chamber, creating a wider soundstage than usual for a closed headphone at its price.

Stealth Magnets

Conventional magnets disturb the sound waves passing through them. The special shape of HiFiMAN’s Stealth Magnets lets the waves pass without generating interference, dramatically reducing wave-diffraction turbulence, for pure, accurate, full-range sound.

NEO supernano diaphragm

The NsD diaphragm is 80% thinner than previous designs, just 1–2 microns thick, for a faster, more detailed response while keeping a lush musicality.

Open-back soundstage, studio precision

Most headphones use a diffuse-field tuning that leaves them short of bass, so they are mostly used for playback checks. HiFiMAN says the Audivina’s full-range output, free of resonance and an introverted sound, makes it an ideal stand-in for large speakers when mixing and mastering. Its example is a chamber string quartet, one of the hardest things to mix, with the big volume difference between violins and cello and the erratic nature of the viola: the Audivina’s broad response and dynamics help the engineer judge EQ and the overall presentation.

Hardwood, metal and leatherette

The cups are made of hardwood, exquisitely lacquered and smooth as jade to the touch, with the wood’s natural pores visible through the varnish. The headband is CNC-machined from metal and hand-polished for comfort and durability, and the earpads are eco-friendly, silky leatherette with high-tech fabrics, for hours-long listening.

Three cables

Highly reliable sockets keep the contact resistance extremely low without affecting the signal path. In the box are a 1.5m 3.5mm cable for portable players, phones and computers, and 3m XLR balanced and 6.35mm cables for professional and audiophile amplifiers.

The name

Audivina combines “Audi”, meaning listening, with the Sanskrit “Vina”, a sitar: a traditional South Asian plucked string instrument whose frets the musician can move to suit the piece being played.

Good to know

• In the box: Audivina, three cables and a protective carry case.
• A lighter, more affordable version is the Audivina LE.