Golden Ears: HIFIMAN Audivina Review
HIFIMAN is one of the kings of the planar magnetic headphone market, but most of its headphones use open-backs to deliver a spacious listening experience. The Audivina is out to change that, bringing gorgeous, yet massive, closed-back wooden earcups designed to provide a wide, detailed soundstage. HIFIMAN has positioned these as studio headphones, so accuracy and balance are also the name of the game.
At $1,999, it’s safe to say that these are designed for professionals and dedicated audiophiles. They deliver on their promises, offering an excellent, but not perfect, listening experience. And at this price, they’re certainly the purview of our Golden Ears review column, so join us as well look at exactly what you get for such a big investment.
If nothing else, the HIFIMAN Audivina looks the part of a two-thousand dollar pair of headphones. It has a unique look, a blend between the company’s $5,500 R10P (another closed-back planar) and its line of egg-shaped headphones, including the Arya , Ananda , and Edition XS . Its hardback earcups, brown cushions, and silver hardware exude class. While the packaging is simple, eco-friendly cardboard, it only takes a moment to see that they’re not your average pair of headphones.
Their design is refined, but their appeal isn’t rooted in what’s happening on the outside. While most of HIFIMAN’s line-up is open-back (the back of the earcups is open to let sound pass through) to elicit a more spacious listening experience, the Audivina is closed off, instead embracing isolation. In fact, the company has pitched these headphones as being great for studio use because of that isolation, a balanced tuning fit for mastering, and a resonance-chamber earcup design that still creates a
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