Today, James reviews the HIFIMAN ISVARNA, a new high-end set of semi-closed headphones with a unique dynamic and planar driver combo. They are priced at $2899.
Disclaimer: I received this sample in exchange for my honest opinion. Headfonics is an independent website with no affiliate links or status. I thank the team at HIFIMAN for their support.
Click here to read more about the HIFIMAN products we have previously reviewed on Headfonics.
This article follows our current scoring guidelines which you can read in more detail here.
The ISVARNA is a new and unique semi-closed headphone from HIFIMAN, blending planar and proprietary dynamic driver technologies to deliver a stronger, punchier bass while retaining delicate, precise performance in the upper end.
Positioned slightly above the HE1000 Unveiled, it is the first full-size hybrid headphone design announced, marking an ambitious move with a special phase-correcting design employed.
The technology and design involved are undoubtedly innovative, but how effective will these two technologies be when blended in a semi-closed headphone design? Let’s examine if HIFIMAN can extract the best from both worlds and bring them together.
Features
The HIFIMAN ISVARNA is semi-closed back in design, blending planar and dynamic drivers with a two-way crossover.
It has an impedance rating of 16 Ω, which is quite low, and a sensitivity of 93 dB/mW, suggesting that powerful amplification is required to reach sufficient loudness.
The driver sizes are unspecified, but likely derived from other existing models. The planar driver is equipped with rounded Stealth Magnets for superior diffraction control and a Nanometer Thickness Diaphragm.
Just as traditional speakers that separate the tweeter from the full-range driver(s) to maximize the frequency range, HIFIMAN also employs a similar approach.
They further refine their planar designs by introducing an additional dynamic driver to handle the low end of the spectrum, with a specially engineered driver placement angle that directs both drivers towards the ear simultaneously, resolving potential phase misalignments.
Design
The ISVARNA diverges significantly from its predecessors, featuring a rounded housing and futuristic shape reminiscent of the Sony R10, facilitating the placement of two drivers at a unique angle.
Its grey-silver color scheme, coupled with a polished stainless frame looks very sturdy and complements the theme “ISVARNA,” signifying ‘thunderstorm’ in Romanian.
Despite its numerous magnets and dual drivers housed within aluminum, the ISVARNA remains surprisingly light at 462g.
Sporting a vent on the backside of the earcups, it embraces a semi-open design, while the remaining framework echoes elements of the HE1000 series, incorporating a similar form factor and leather headband that can be easily adjusted.
Noteworthy is the presence of an arrow on the earcups, indicating the front side, a thoughtful and practical addition to its design.
Comfort & Isolation
The weight of the ISVARNA is relatively light considering its size, and the round earcups wrap comfortably around the ears.
The design of the frame ensures weight is distributed evenly across the head, making long listening sessions comfortable. The headphones provide a good seal with adequate clamping force, enhancing bass delivery.
With its semi-open design and a hidden side vent at the back, the ISVARNA offers decent passive isolation, allowing some ambient noise to filter through making it ideal for indoor listening environments.
Stock Cable
I found it surprising that the ISVARNA package includes three thick cables designed for various usage scenarios:
- A 1.5m long cable with a 3.5mm termination
- A 3m long cable with an XLR termination
- A 3m long cable with a 6.35mm termination
Although the cables have a substantial gauge, the materials used are unspecified by HIFIMAN. It might be a bit ambitious to desire a 4.4mm cable, which could be more practical than the 3.5mm option, as additional power could greatly benefit the design.
It would be intriguing to test the ISVARNA with powerful portable sources using a 4.4mm output.
Packaging & Accessories
The ISVARNA comes packaged in a generously padded gift box with a metallic cover, a familiar sight for many. Alongside the three cables that occupy a significant portion of the interior space, there is a user manual booklet included.
The compact size of the gift box makes it convenient for storing the ISVARNA when not in use, offering a practical storage solution for the headphones.
Sound Impressions
After a 100-hour burn-in period, the HIFIMAN ISVARNA was paired with various devices including the HIFIMAN EF500, FiiO’s K19, the RME ADI-2 Pro, and xDuoo’s XD05 Pro, yielding the following impressions.
Summary
The ISVARNA adeptly addresses issues faced by single-planar designs, by seamlessly blending strong airiness and fullness in the low end with dynamic drivers, resulting in more organic vocal reproduction.
The tuning of the ISVARNA can be likened to a W-shape, slightly laid-back signature, emphasizing the two ends with a tilt towards the lower frequencies, and without perceptible speed differences between the two drivers.
Even at higher volumes, the sound remains quite cohesive, dense in the low end, undistorted, and dynamically engaging.
Bass
The bass of the ISVARNA has an airy decay that adds depth and liveliness. When tested with the EF500, the low end proved smooth, and engaging, exhibiting a deeper quality with detailed decay and harmonics.
For intensive drum works, the attack felt robust, with a clear and sustained decay in the air. The precision is notable, emanating from a specific point in the headroom.
The bass delivers more energy, body, texture, and crucially, a more natural timbre compared to the usual precision and speed-oriented bass of planar headphones.
During tests involving large ensembles with a mix of instruments, the ISVARNA delivers powerful and immersive bass without bleeding into the mids, maintaining distinct separation power in the output.
The crossover design effectively ensures precise and fast presentation of elements from the mid-bass onwards, around the 4-500Hz range.
Across various sources, the bass on the ISVARNA remains impactful and deep, responding more swiftly and cleanly to higher gain settings, producing a solid thump and rumbles to be easily heard.
It also maintains a dynamic sound profile even with less potent sources, albeit with a potential slight hollowing out of the mids and a less clean decay.
Compared to pure planar designs known for their clinical accuracy, the ISVARNA is more friendly with R&B and bass instruments, rendering them with better dynamics and body without degrading the sense of definition.
It may sound fatter in the bass than pure planars, but it also introduces a more euphonic quality without compromising the balance or naturalness of the sound output. Overall, it sounds satisfactorily coherent while boosting the bass presence.
Mids
Hybrid designs often emphasize the lower and upper frequencies, a characteristic shared by the ISVARNA, although this does not mean the mid-range is neglected.
Vocals are gently rendered, showing good separation from the potent lows. Even darker voices remain distinct amidst heavy drumming and strong basslines, with vocals slightly recessed to create a more spacious and neutral ambiance.
This tuning prevents other instruments in the track from sounding veiled, which allows genres like instrumental and classical music to be enjoyed.
For vocals, the fundamental vocal frequencies appear to lie within the crossover region, imbuing them with richer tones and thickness.
This richness tends to favor darker voices, granting them more prominence compared to weaker or cleaner voices that may feel slightly laid-back though some might favor using EQ for stronger penetration.
Powerful voices exhibit a well-defined and dynamic quality as the pitch rises, experiencing little compression, while weaker voices may feel slightly less effortlessly presented.
The ISVARNA’s tuning synergizes effectively with solid-state gear, infusing the output with a broader spectrum of colors than pure planar designs, particularly enriching the low end.
When paired with R2R DACs or tube amps that are known for their delicate mid-range colorings and harmonic richness, vocals gain depth, and instruments acquire greater resonance and complexity.
Treble
The treble response of the ISVARNA exhibits a pleasing brilliance while effectively suppressing sibilance, with a dip in the vocal sibilance zone and around 5-6Hz so vocals aren’t too forwarded.
Strings and sharper voices are rendered sharply without peaking, striking a nice balance between roundedness and energy.
The treble is finely tuned to capture the brilliance of instruments like trumpets and saxophones, keeping them textured and controlled without distortion, while cymbals are presented in a clear yet non-intrusive manner.
The amplitude of the treble is notably close to that of the lows, if not equally energetic, and can become more prominent when driven by powerful gear, which helps maintain cleaner bass.
The treble remains well-controlled when driven by stronger amplifiers, ensuring great dynamics without compromising clarity in the bass or treble, and without excessively suppressing the mids that contribute to better coherence.
Staging & Dynamics
With its semi-closed design and extended treble, the ISVARNA creates a fairly expansive soundstage where instruments are clearly positioned and defined, accompanied by vividness in the upper frequencies.
The placement of the crossover in the ISVARNA appears well-optimized, allowing vocals and instruments in the midrange to maintain distinct positions and definitions.
This results in bass with good depth and a moderate recovery speed, contrasting with planars that can feel more agile but less detailed. The textured treble enhances the reproduction of reverbs and micro-details, contributing to a more realistic soundstage with improved depth.
The vocal presentation on the ISVARNA strikes a balance, remaining neither excessively forward nor recessed, offering clear definition and ample body without sounding hollow or veiled.
Vocals are distinctly positioned and darker voices may sound fuller and more substantial, while weaker voices or softer instruments may sound more spread out.
Click on page 2 below for my recommended pairings and selected comparisons.
