Acoustic Research AR-HA1 Planar Headphone

Sony MDR-R10? $2500 in 1989

 

Yikes, adjusted for inflation that's like $5000.

 

Looking forward to more impressions on this. It's the front runner right now for my first venture into proper open back headphones. I'm a sucker for the combination of "musical", "neutral" and "relatively reasonably priced" as descriptors.

 

You must be thinking of someone else. I still have the first issues of 'The Absolute Sound', and in issue 1 they tested the ADC XLM, price listed as $50, the Dayton-Wirht XG-8 speakers, $1,980, Double Advents, $120 each, etc.

 

Okay folks, some initial impressions and measurements of stock AR-H1...

First, let me say that I think this headphone is pretty good for the money but NOT great. Those looking for a completely smooth treble will want to look into MrSpeakers Aeon line. I've been using these with the Vali 2 for the moment. The peak at 10kHz can be an issue depending on recording and gear. I don't hear the dip at 4kHz being that much of an issue. It pushes the sound away from you giving better space to the music, kind of like the HD800. There are two issues with mine that are highlighted when listening to sine sweeps. The ridges around 500Hz are at different points, it's not a measurement artifact so I hear the sine sweep shift around as it goes through this area. The difference in bass is consistent between measurements but it's not much of an issue as bass frequencies are harder to localize and in listening the imbalance isn't as drastic.

Comfort is decent. The clamp from the cups keeps the headphones nicely in place and the self adjusting head strap can be pushed up off your head to minimize creating a hot spot. I do get fatigue after an hour or so but I'm used to very light clamping headphones. Their overall weight is light which is great as a portable option. They don't collapse though, so you'll need something like a Slappa case, which they JUST fit in, to transport them.

Here are stock measurements and comparisons to other planar headphones around their price point:












I like them as a portable listening option. They did need all of the juice from my Galaxy S5 so a good DAP or additional amp would be a good idea. I think some strategic felt mods will help with the treble peak.

 

Nice measurements and graphs, @cskippy

I was also very interested about this hp, because of favorable comments in rmaf thread. Indeed quite hesitant between this and aeon open.

It seems that arh1 has very good base extension and response.

Hope to hear more subjective impressions from you (or other early purchasers)!

 

I guess I am. I was sure it was HP in TAS, but you have yours to look at and I don't.

 

Kinda big to be really considered portable though...

 

"transportable" PM3 would be a better choice for portable.

 

Very nice job, thank you!

 

Some more impressions:

• They have a great sound stage for a planar, artificially created by the frequency response.
• Clamp and fit is just right for me, not too snug and not so loose they're going to fall off if you move your head around. They stay put.
• Light. The suspension strap isn't the greatest and you can still get a hot spot on your head after a while. You can push it up to ease the pressure.
• Ear pad depth is decent but not great. My ears brush against the metal driver slots. A thin foam pad would be good here both for comfort and attenuating the highs a touch
• Their sound is not neutral like the HD650 or Code Sex. I think the frequency response is a faithful representation of their sound. I compared them to some other really good headphones in the charts above.
• They have excellent bass extension.
• Impact and transient response is good but if you are used to dynamic driver slam and control you might be disappointed or need to adjust.
• I don't think they scale very well but they work well from a phone all the way up to the Aficionado.
• The 4kHz depression can make vocals and guitars sound a little too distant depending on how they're recorded.
• They have a slight V shape sound because of this.
• The treble peak is usually not an issue for me. For reference I can't stand TH-900, HD800, and most Beyers.

All in all a good sounding headphone. I'm not sure how competitive it is against something like the Aeon line but I prefer their sound to the Oppo PM3 which had a treble dagger around 9-10kHz.

 

Umm, Code Sex. I'l like to experience those headphones.

 

This name tells one everyhing he has to know in order to get interested, doesn't it?

 

@cskippy, I don't think you use eq but if you do these can sound really good. I trimmed some of that treble up there and warmed up the mids just a bit and ...

Also, running them out of the Aficionado was ^.

Still want tighter bass and I really don't like eq. If someone modded these to get tighter bass and trim some of that 10k up there then these would be dope. Specially at the price. I fact, they would murder it. Tonally I prefer the warmer AFO but these are better in terms of detail, staging, clarity, air, and openness. The thing is that the AFO bass is tighter even if the extension is not as great, and the treble, while not nearly as detailed is less annoying.

So my main question is what mods to people do to get tighter bass? It is not the loosest but still it is a little distracting. Now for the price, I cant think of a headphone that launched under 600 that was this technically capable save the 650.

This is how 599 should be performing.

 

Generally, dampening material on the inside of cups seems to be what folks have used on fostexes and the 650, but these are planars. Possibly some sort of wave guide might help the treble and different pads and possibly different, reenforced, or dampened cups might help the bass.

Also, make sure your power cables cost at least $250 or more, then you bass will sound better

 

I received a replacement sample since I found that the left side's lower bass output was caused by a weak seal with the pad and the cup. Here is the updated frequency response of the new AR-H1:


Average of first AR-H1 with leaky left pad in Red, Average of the second AR-H1 in green:


@gbeast has this current set for review.

 

Fab .gif!

 

@Tyll Hertsens review:
https://www.innerfidelity.com/content/acoustic-research-ar-h1-open-planar-magnetic-headphones

 

Interesting read and conclusions.

 

Tyll just shot that headphone in the back of the head. I expect them to be selling for $299 in 6 months.

Kind of what happened to the Nighthawk. Hope they come back with something better next time, more competition is always good.