Linsoul HarmonicDyne Athena Semi-Closed Over-ear Wired HiFi Headphone with 50mm Dynamic Driver, Glass Faceplate, Detachable OCC Cable (HarmonicDyne Athena)

Product Information

Depending on headphone positioning, your own Head-Related Transfer Function (HRTF), and/or variation in headphone units, you may or may not detect the same peaks or dips. The glossy plastic used on the back of the ear cups and headband ends looks nice but easily collects fingerprints. Upgraded with an M-shaped side venting system rather than the traditional front and rear vents, to improve airflow and release the air trapped in the headphone.

I’ve had the chance to extensively test out the Athena over the past couple months, and I’m excited to share my thoughts in this review.HarmonicDyne has, in the past, produced some excellent headphones like the Zeus, which, I believe, satisfied a specific tuning niche whilst maintaining overall technical competence. Great effort is made on making the cable to improve the full range response and give you a joy of noise-free and pure listening.

Compared to traditional front and rear venting strategies, the M-shaped side ventilation improves airflow across the whole driver.

The foam and suede fabrics provide a soft seal without overheating my ears, even during longer listening sessions. It’s reflective, which looks very nice, but is also a fingerprint magnet, so take care with how you handle them. Admittedly, one could argue that the FR curve showcased in the ad is simply a depiction of how HarmonidDyne generally tunes their headphones (in other words, their tuning target), not a specific measurement of the Athena model’s actual FR. With that said, I also do feel like it is already a bit dampened, and perhaps EQ would help as well.

Directional awareness unsurprisingly defeats closed gaming headsets, with sounds whizzing convincingly past across a large arena.The problem is that it seems there are some reflections going on in the cups which case that rumble to come across as fatiguing, at least to me.