Select Comparisons
The following comparisons were completed using the Ferrum WANLDA GSE and the dCS Lina Network DAC as my main sources with a mix of the HIFIMAN Shangri-La Jr, a modified Stax SRM-T1 and an SRM-007tII energizer.
Audeze CRBN
Launched in 2021 the Audeze CRBN was the debut electrostatic model in this range and a Top Gear Best Headphones Co-Award winner for that same year.
Technical
I have highlighted a lot of the technical differences already so I will not go into huge detail. Suffice it to say, the CRBN2 main attraction is the SLAM technology.
SLAM is delivered via a visible gold or bronze ring integrated into the CRBN2 cup. This ring is engineered with physical channels between the pads and the driver that create an audible boost of 6 dB over the CRBN equivalent low-end via acoustically modulating the low-frequency response without added distortion.
It also does an excellent job of eliminating a lot of ‘crackle’ from uneven pressure points when placing the headphones on your head, something which my initial production run CRBN suffers from.
The CRBN2 is much more resistant to induced or inadvertent pressure, for example, pushing your hands up against the cups with a small amount of force will have little to no effect on the performance of the drivers.
Both 580 VDC Stax Pro Bias open-back headphones use the same 120x90mm sized electrostatic transducer. However, the CRBN2’s carbon nanotube-embedded driver film has gone through a refinement process for enhanced imaging and placement.
Design
An almost exact match in design language and cable save for some obvious color changes and one nuanced change that you feel immediately when you put the CRBN2 on your head.
In some ways, the CRBN2 follows the LCD-4z aesthetic, looking darker and more opulent in its visuals compared to the silver and black of the CRBN.
The injection of the additional bronze/gold on the rods, grills, SLAM ring, and screw heads pimps it up a bit and almost makes the original CRBN looks a tad plain in comparison. Adding the stabilizing pillar to the carbon fiber headband introduces more rigidity to the CRBN2 frame over the original.
The only thing I am not keen on with the CRBN2 finishing is the bronzed stitching on the pressure strap underneath. It is a big garish for me with the original CRBN straps more muted tones getting my vote.
The most significant physical difference is the wearing experience of the CRBN2 over the original. The headband seems to have been reduced somewhat in width so the frame subjectively feels narrower and shorter in dimensions.
That has the effect of bringing the CRBN2 cups up and off the neck more than the original as well as subtly enhancing the overall lateral clamp. That is a good thing because the original CRBN sank a bit more with a looser fit, thus feeling less secure.
Performance
Every recording on the CRBN2 sounds smoother and firmer than the CRBN. Below 80Hz the CRBN does not have the same presence or tactile feel, though it has a similar mid-to-upper bass fullness.
That means instruments that stretch across the low-end frequencies can image closely on both headphones until the sub-bass kicks in on the CRBN2.
It makes a huge difference, particularly on the SRM-007tII fed by the Lina Network DAC which produces a much stronger albeit less controlled fundamental frequency than the Shangri-La Jr energizer pairing. I suspect the CRBN2 is more source-sensitive compared to the CRBN in that respect.
There is also a slightly smoother, albeit darker midrange tone from the CRBN2 than the original. Notes are firmer, courtesy of the enhanced fundamental frequency when called upon, with a slightly stronger vocal presence around 1k but a shade taken off the ear gain region from 2-4k.
The net effect is the original sound a little more aggressive in the mids for vocal presence, perhaps taking away a little perceived space between you and the stage as a result. The CRBN2 pushes it back slightly but also brings down the CRBN’s lower treble peak in favor of a better upper treble extension.
The net effect is a smoother, denser mids delivery from the CRBN2, slightly more rounded tonally but with good staging depth and space for vocals to be heard.
The CRBN2 treble headroom is better but for those who like a lot of treble fill, the original has a bit more, sounding subjectively brighter over the upper mids.
One final remark on dynamic range. This is where I felt the CRBN2 did better with its taller and deeper soundstage allowing for subtle low-end notes to come through with more clarity and impact than the original.
Dan Clark Audio CORINA
The Dan Clark Audio CORINA is the successor to the company’s debut electrostatic driver headphones, the VOCE. It was launched in 2023 and won the Top Gear Best Open Back Headphones award that same year.
Technical
Both of these open-back electrostatic headphones draw on and improve on drivers used in previous generation versions. The CORINA uses the VOCE’s 88mm driver, and the CRBN2 uses the CRBN’s 120x90mm variant.
And it’s all about air and soundwaves or how they manage it to produce a certain type of desired tuning that is at the center of the driver revisions in these headphones. With the CRBN2 it’s SLAM and the efforts to stamp out the crackling sound and enhance the sub-bass potential of the driver.
The CORINA introduces the Advanced Metamaterial Tuning System, or AMTS, from the company’s planar headphone line.
Like the CRBN2 ring, this is a physical change and looks like a ‘honeycombed wedge’ in front of the driver. It is used to control waveguides and diffusion as well as integrating quarter-wave and programmable Helmholtz resonators to control high-frequency standing waves and resonance.
Unlike SLAM, which focuses on the bass response, the CORINA AMTS is programmed to deliver a natural midrange free from traditional electrostatic treble spiking overtones. The commonality is that they both sound quite different from their predecessors.
Design
This is one competitive aspect of these two headphones. Both are comfortable, relatively lightweight with just a 15g difference between them and look so different from traditional electrostatic headphones.
I will give the edge to CORINA because of how simple and clean the engineering is with those lightweight Nitinol headbands and the cushioned pressure strap just underneath. It does give the CRBN2 a comparatively overly elaborate feel to its headband adjustment system.
That being said, the articulation of the CRBN2 adjustment system is superior. Both of these headphones sit well on my head but if there are those out there with longer heads and more unusual fitting requirements then the CRBN2 cups’ 180-degree rotation might have an advantage.
The fitting on both feels slightly different due to the ovoid versus classic round cup shaping. The pressure distribution on my head of these two feels very close subjectively with the CRBN2 just coming down a bit more on the jawline than the CORINA’s round cups.
Perhaps a slight difference from the CORINA is on the vertical side due to the use of elasticity in the pressure strap adjusters rather than physical rods. Neither feels insecure when on the head and moving around.
One thing that is not mentioned that much is the quasi-detachable nature of CORINA’s stock cable. You can unscrew it which is very helpful should it ever develop a problem and needs to be repaired or replaced without having to send the entire headphone on an RMA.
Performance
These two headphones are competitively close though they do not sound the same. In the CORINA review, I remarked that both the original CRBN and the DCA tuning were aiming for a similar smooth sound signature with good vocal presence and decent weight.
With the CRBN2, Audeze has enhanced the weight and created a denser sound which places the CORINA comparatively more on the neutral side of the coin this time, at least when it comes to bass presence.
Once you go below 100Hz the CRBN2 has around 6-8 dB additional volume right down to 20Hz and you can hear that difference on well-master recordings such as Peter Gabriel’s Four Kinds of Horses” from his I/O album when it hits its extended low-end notes
In this track, the CORINA has some excellent space and control but more of a neutral punch and a slightly drier decay than the richer, more voluptuous CRBN2’s bass presentation.
You can also hear some of that power translate into Peter’s vocal performance. The CORINA has a little more 4-5k and 8-10k fill which delivers a lighter contrast on his singing placing it subjectively higher up in your perception of the soundstage placement.
Whereas the CRBN2’s stronger 1-2k elevation and heavier fundamental frequency thicken the vocal tone, adding a bit more texture, and imaging the vocal closer and lower down.
Since this track has some relatively quiet passages with elaborated mixing on the backing instruments I would bias to the CORINA’s additional width and enhanced upper-mids clarity if I am a percussion fan.
The CRBN2 sounds a little softer on background instrumentation, courtesy of a more relaxed set of upper mids reducing percussion bite. However, for vocal texture, staging depth, and power the CRBN2 has an edge over the CORINA.
HIFIMAN Shangri-La Jr
The HIFIMAN Shangri-La Jr was launched in mid-2019 with our review coming out in 2021. Like the CRBN and the CORINA, the Shangri-La Jr was a Top Gear Best Headphones Award winner in 2021.
Technical
Consistent with the previous two open-back electrostatic headphone comparisons, the Shangri-la Jr driver is drawn from a previous incarnation.
However, rather than pushing up from a relatively similar, albeit older model as is the case of the CRBN2, the Shangri-La Jr driver is a trickle-down from the company’s summit-fi Shangri-La system.
So there are compromises rather than improvements but given the driver being compromised on is about $18k it’s debatable if that is a negative.
There are no publicly listed dimensions for the Shangri-La Jr driver other than being a smaller circular version of the large oval diaphragm inside the Shangri-La driver.
Both headphones have a strong diaphragm focus but very different pitches. Slim is a big push for HIFIMAN in all their diaphragm designs meaning the Jr has a nanoparticle coating on a very thin ‘nanotech’ diaphragm at just 0.001m in diameter.
Audeze is not as precise in the thickness measurement for their driver simply stating it as ultra-thin but since it’s a similar driver to the CRBN it should be around 1.5 to 2.2 microns,(0.0011mm to 0.0022mm), thick.
One thing to note is the tuning goal from both companies and how it has seeped into the implementation of these two drivers.
HIFIMAN goes for speed, articulation, and detail and thus a traditionally taut diaphragm with more tension. That’s been a goal in most HIFIMAN creations, especially the high-end planars.
Audeze, on the other hand, wanted to tease out a better bass response as one of their primary goals with the new SLAM technology inside the CRBN2 doubling down on that intent. That means less tension on the CRBN diaphragm and more airflow management to create a stronger bass response.
Design
The Jr design is probably the ideal HIFIMAN design iteration for comfort with its spin-off from the OG Susvara design. I tend to gravitate to this shape rather than some of the newer single headband variations they came out with recently.
It does look quite different from the CRBN2 with its smaller lightweight form factor also significantly lighter at 374g compared to 480g. The Jr feels lighter on my head and has a slightly more balanced feel for pressure due to its smaller dimensions.
The CRBN2 improved lateral clamp, shorter cup overhand, and lush pads produce a comfortable and secure fit however, you will notice how much bigger it feels than the HIFIMAN when wearing it.
The Shangri-La Jr finishing quality is much better than I suspect you might think for a HIFIMAN headphone. It’s not an elaborate design but if you have handled the Susvara you will feel at home with the electrostatic variant’s excellent articulation and smooth adjuster system.
However, CRBN2 aesthetics and engineering have a clear edge, especially on the materials used. For example, leather versus protein leather, carbon fiber versus spring steel, and some slight creaking versus a smooth articulation on those fancier new bronze adjuster rods.
The final point is the cable quality with the Jr losing out here using the same design and materials as the lower-class Mini Shangri-La. It is light, and easy to manage but flimsy compared to the CRBN2’s sturdier cloth-jacketed version.
Performance
These two delivered highly contrasting performances with strengths in very different areas.
The Shangri-La Jr is tuned with more treble presence from 6k upwards, at times up to 6-8 dB more elevation than the CRBN2. It also has stronger ear gain FR from 3-5k but a much flatter bass response with an equivalent 6-8 dB drop sub 80hz down to 20Hz.
Combined, the Shangri-La leans neutral to bright whereas the CRBN2 is richer and weightier but comparatively darker through the upper-mids and highs with a more rounded tone.
The heightened treble response of the HIFIMAN also adds a lot more tonal contrast and upper-register percussion ‘bite’ in the process.
Its taut and quick driver excursion delivers plenty of speed and resolution but with less low-end power and a thinner note through the mids, it can sound more analytical without a smooth-sounding tube energizer pairing.
The CRBN2’s denser sound, more appeasing coloration, and excellent bass depth are going to delight Audeze LCD Series fans a lot more than the Shangri-La Jr. It is more flexible for modern pop and rock genres and comes very close to the classic Audeze house sound in that respect.
The same could be said for HIFIMAN fans and the Jr. It’s more of a traditional approach to electrostatic tuning with a cleaner, airier sounding experience, and bags of space making it more suitable for complex classical or high-fidelity recordings that do not rely on a heavy fundamental to drive the music.
My Verdict
The Audeze CRBN2 ‘doubles down’ on the excellent promise of the original with one of the best low-end performances from an electrostatic headphone I have heard to date.
Combined with a smoother, beefier tonal character, improved headroom, and a comfier fit on the head, it’s a worthy replacement for an already-worthy set of headphones.
However, if you are wedded to the classic airy treble sparkle of more traditional electrostatic headphones, the CRBN2 is not for you.
Original owners who fancy a crack at the CRBN2 can do so by shipping in their precious to Audeze and receiving an upgrade in looks and sound for $995. If you liked what you heard from any of the shows the CRBN2 was showcased in then that’s a bargain in my books.
I will end this review by wondering aloud if the CRBN2 is now the best representation of the older or ‘classic’ Audeze sound that some hardcore LCD series fans have greatly missed. It would be ironic indeed for it to be reborn in an electrostatic headphone rather than a planar.
Audeze CRBN2 Technical Specifications
- Style Over-ear, open-back
- Transducer-type Push-pull electrostatic
- Functional bias voltage 580 VDC Stax Pro Bias
- Electrostatic capacitance 100 pF (including cable)
- Diaphragm type Ultra-thin polyimide film with infused carbon nanotubes
- Diaphragm management SLAM Technology for earcup pressure relief and bass enhancement
- Transducer size 120mm x 90mm
- Frequency response 10Hz – 40kHz
- Maximum SPL >120dB
- THD <0.1% @ 90dB
- Sensitivity 100dB, 1KHz, 100V RMS
- Attached cable 2.5m OCC monocrystal copper, 5-pin Pro Bias
- Housing Magnesium, stainless steel, and polymer acetate
- Earpad material Premium leather
- Headband Carbon fiber and premium leather
- Weight 480g
