There’s a chance you’ve heard of dynamic drivers before when reading the spec sheet for a pair ofheadphones. A less common type, often found in more expensive audiophile headphones, is planar magnetic drivers. All drivers use magnets, but planar magnetic drivers use them in a specific way to produce a different kind of sound. These drivers are typically found in over-ear audiophile headphones and come with a hefty price tag. So, if you have some money to spend and want a different, high-quality sound from headphones like theEdifier Stax Spirit S5, they might be worth considering.
Here’s what you need to know about planar magnetic driver technology so you’re able to figure out if they’re the right choice for your next pair of headphones.
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1Planar magnetic drivers are constructed differently from your average dynamic driver
Different design makes for a different sound
Most headphones use dynamic drivers, which use a magnet to create a magnetic field that vibrates a coil attached to a membrane to produce sound. While both dynamic and planar magnetic drivers use magnets and coils, the way they’re constructed is pretty different.
In planar magnetic drivers, there’s a coil in a thin membrane, sandwiched between two sets of magnets that line up with the circuit in the membrane. Electric current runs through the coil, and that creates a magnetic field, which moves the membrane back and forth between the magnets, creating sound. So, the membrane with the coil inside moves back and forth between the magnets in planar magnetic drivers, rather than a single magnet moving a coil attached to a membrane like in dynamic drivers.
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2They’re more damage prone
More moving parts comes with the caveat of fragility
As a result of the way planar magnetic drivers are constructed, they tend to get damaged a lot more easily than other drivers. The components are quite fragile, since they employ small, thin, narrow magnets that tend to be very brittle, and use a very thin plastic membrane so it can easily move between the magnets along with the coil.
Due to the fact that the intricate design consists of so many layers and small moving parts, if you drop a pair of planar magnetic headphones, sit on them, step on them, or anything worse, you run the risk of doing some pretty bad damage to them. Considering how planar magnetic headphones tend to be more expensive, you really don’t want to risk damaging them.
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3They’re usually larger, heavier, and more expensive than most headphones
Planar magnetic headphones are not going to be your ideal commuter companion
The design of planar magnetic drivers requires more space, since there are two magnets and a diaphragm that needs to move, so these drivers are usually much larger than other types of drivers, and tend to be a lot heavier too. The drivers are also usually rectangular rather than circular, making for more space required, and a different shape than the average pair of headphones.
Because of this, planar magnetic headphones aren’t usually a great pair ofheadphonesfor taking on the go. They’re the kind of headphones you use at home to enjoy great sound for leisure, not the kind of headphones you take with you on the bus to work.
Related to the fact that these headphones are intricately designed and require a lot of space, they’re also quite a bit more expensive to produce, and as a result, moreexpensivefor the consumer.
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4Planar magnetic headphones have excellent sound reproduction and soundstage
They’re truly made for audiophiles
Given the way they’re constructed, you’ll get better sound, less distortion, and a wider soundstage from planar magnetic headphones than from most consumer headphones. Since the diaphragm is larger and allows for more movement between magnets than your garden variety dynamic driver would, you are able to get better bass frequencies out of planar magnetic headphones, and with less distortion, highs will sound a lot clearer as well.
You’re also likely to get a better, wider soundstage with planar magnetic headphones, especially if they’re open-back. Soundstage is, put simply, the feeling of space reproduced through your headphones. With a wider soundstage, you might feel a more spatial effect from your audio and be able to pick out individual instruments better than you would with a narrower soundstage.
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5You will likely need an amplifier to get the most out of them
With a higher power requirement, they normally need a bit of a boost
Planar magnetic headphones require a lot more power than the average pair of headphones, which means you will probably want to use an amplifier to get a better experience. Without an amp, you might not be able to get the headphones to a volume that satisfies you. This won’t always be the case, and it depends a lot on the impedance and sensitivity of your headphones, which you may find in the specs table for almost every pair of headphones on the manufacturer’s or seller’s website.
Put simply, impedance is the headphones' resistance to electric current, so higher impedance means more power is required for loud enough sound. Sensitivity is how loud a pair of headphones will play at a given level of power. So, given those numbers, you can determine how likely it is that you’ll need an amp. But if you buy a pair of planar magnetic headphones and feel that they just can’t get loud enough when plugged into your phone, computer, or personal audio device, that’s also a surefire sign you will need an amp.
