![]() Apr 12th, 2023 ASUS GeForce RTX 4070 Dual Review. ![]() Apr 12th, 2023 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Founders Edition Review.The solder quality is also quite nice so this seems to be an exception to the rule wherein people talk about using expensive, thick cables outside but forget that the internal cabling is quite shoddy and/or thin at best. This now reveals one of the better internal cables used in headphones with a pair of two thick copper cables going from the outer connect to the dynamic driver itself. After all testing was completed, I disassembled one of the ear cups by removing the four Phillips-head screws securing it in place. There is a baffle around and the driver itself has a protective guard applied as a geometric pattern over the 50 mm diaphragm which is quite neat to look at already with its darker surround and the gold-colored magnet/voice coil. Note how the dynamic drivers are angled with respect to the plane of the ear cups similar to what HarmonicDyne has done with its other dynamic driver headphones, this helps direct the sound more parallel to your ear canals. The ear pads are simple enough to remove and attach as seen above, and they have an integrated mesh screen to help prevent contaminants from entering the drivers. In practice I had no issues getting a secure fit all around the ears. The ear cups do not touch each other in standard use and thus rely on applied clamp force from your head pushing them apart further. The headband meets the ear cups and yokes by the side where we see L/R markings again and the assembly itself is done with screws in place to make for a potentially simple replacement/mod/repair system. The foam padding feels sufficient enough and the lining itself feels plenty durable for regular use, although I would not have minded a wider contact surface. The headband has a ridged plastic trim at the top, a steel band underneath, and foam-filled cushions at the bottom which adds comfort when placed on top of your head. It's also a relatively low profile set of headphones which further maintains the cleaner aesthetics going on. The materials used are thankfully not a fingerprint magnet and the darker colors also help here. In that sense, the Athena feels more familiar too given the glossy materials and the shine/reflectiveness. It makes for a product that may look cheaper in the hands but also far more relatable to those who have ever used a smart phone. The HarmonicDyne Athena is a set of headphones that clearly shares some DNA with the Zeus and Poseidon I have here, but switches out the metal and wood components used for the chassis in favor of plastic and glass. There are L/R markings here to help identify the left and right channels and the metal plugs are gold-plated for oxidation resistance. The splitter is wide and has the HarmonicDyne logo on it with the two channels then terminating in 3.5 mm TRS connectors again with similar housing hardware as on the source side. The insulation layer is thick enough to come off smooth to the touch without affecting functionality given the lack of any microphonics in use, although it can be somewhat resistant to re-shaping. The cable itself uses four strands of OCC (Ohno Continuous Cast) high-purity copper with 33 strands of 80 µm thick wiring and 38 strands of 60 µm thick wiring used in a co-axial manner. The connector housings are made of thin machined aluminium with a knurled finish and there is plenty of strain relief. I also appreciated the faux leather cable minder that makes you feel this is a premium cable too, and it matches the brown color scheme well enough. It uses a 3.5 mm single-ended TRS connector on the source end and we get a 3.5 mm to 6.35 mm (1/4") adapter for use with more prosumer equipment. HarmonicDyne dedicates an entire paragraph on the product page to the cable which ships with the Athena, which helps shed more light on this quite nice to handle cable.
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