Planar
Planar launches as they land. Efficiency claims matter as much as price here: a planar that needs a bigger amplifier costs more than its sticker says.
FiiO shows the FT15, an open-back planar expected to replace the FT5
Shown at CanJam London with expected UK pricing around £499, the FT15 continues FiiO's push into full-size open-back planars.
HiFiMAN relaunches the HE6 Remastered at $1,899, and it still needs a big amplifier
The remaster revives the original HE6 driver design and fits HiFiMAN's second-generation composite headband, but does nothing to soften the amplifier demands the original was notorious for.
Dan Clark Audio announces the ÆON CORE, an $899 closed-back planar
DCA puts what it calls its most efficient driver yet into a closed-back ÆON chassis at $899, with a revised reference tuning.
Audeze announces the MM-520, successor to the MM-500
The $1,699 successor to the MM-500 adds Audeze's SLAM airflow technology to a 90 mm open-back planar, developed again with mixing engineer Manny Marroquin.
These are announcements, not verdicts. Nothing here is measured until a unit reaches the rig. For tested planar, see Planar reviews. Back to all new releases.