Today’s HIFIMAN is in full swing, and it is also a popular name in the HiFi field. However, the hardships of the early stage of the venture, the founder of HIFIMAN, the imitation of the imitation is still fresh. As an experimental static earphone at the beginning of the business, Jade’s research and development encountered various difficulties due to objective reasons such as the background of the times, and it was not successful. However, this has led to the development of HIFlMAN’s direction to lower the threshold of flat-panel headphones. After the integration of the technical application in the Jade development process into the flat-panel headphones, HIFlMAN’s first flat-panel headset HE5 was a great success. Everyone knows the story that follows. It can be said that the electrostatic headset is the heart of the founder of HIFIMAN. When the technology matures, HIFlMAN has introduced the Shangri-La and Shangri-La Jr electrostatic system to return to the field of electrostatic headphones. These two electrostatic earphone systems have been well received, bringing the increasingly marginalized electrostatic headphones back to everyone’s attention. In order to create a high-quality and affordable electrostatic headset system: more importantly, to pay tribute to the difficult entrepreneurial experience of the year, JadeII is now available.
The driving method of the electrostatic earphone relies on the electrostatic field and does not rely on the magnetic force at all. At the same time, electrostatic headphones need special amplification equipment to drive, the technical content is extremely high, and few manufacturers are willing to get involved. However, because of the extremely thin diaphragm, the electrostatic earphone has a very high resolution and exquisiteness, and has a very high frequency response, the so-called “quiet if the virgin, moving if the rabbit.” It’s no wonder that even if the electrostatic headphones have birth defects, they are still dumped by enthusiasts. JadeTr combines the technology of HIFlMAN’s flagship electrostatic earphone system Shangri-La and flat-panel headphones HE1000, with a 120mm x 80mm near-elliptical earphone unit. Compared with the 90mm diameter diaphragm of the mainstream electrostatic headphones, JadeII’s low frequency dive deeper, the sound quality will be better, and the high frequency compliance and precision of the electrostatic headphones will be fully demonstrated. It uses the same nano-scale diaphragm as Shangri-La, with a thickness of only 0.001mm, and is coated with a sub-micron material that is almost unaffected by humidity (it is said that the diaphragm can work normally after being soaked in water). This makes its frequency response up to 90kHz. In theory, every time the Jade II diaphragm vibrates, the light can only advance 3.3km in the vacuum. Providing high transmittance and stable quality plates on both sides of the diaphragm is the key to the success of electrostatic headphones. Therefore, HIFIMAN has designed a new metal root plate for JadeII, which is said to last longer than Japanese metal engraving plates. At the same time, Jade II also uses a hexagonal hollow mesh cover to ensure safe and reliable, which provides a good openness for JadeII, expands the sound field, and makes it easier to make sound.
The Jade II’s companion amp is equipped with two electrostatic headsets with five-pin plugs. Considering the positioning, the Jade II amp does not use a tube that maintains complex and expensive tubes. Instead, it uses transistors. However, it is said that it has largely succeeded in simulating the 6SN7+300B vacuum tube sound of Shangri-La. The outer casing is made of aluminum alloy and is solid and reliable. Compared with other static headphones, enthusiasts need to choose their own front-end equipment. JadeII has adopted the systematic design of headphones and amps from the beginning of design, which avoids a lot of debugging work and is convenient.
I didn’t have much contact with the electrostatic headphones before, but it just allowed me to judge Jade II’s voice more objectively without any subjective emotions. Compared with the flat-panel headphones of HIFIMAN at the same price, JadeII’s sound is rich in details, the sound quality is pure and clear, and the extremely low background noise makes me immediately associate the adjectives of “deep” and “quiet”. The extremely high sensitivity and frequency response make Jade II especially suitable for listening to strings. In the audition, the violin case is full of resonance, the overtones are rich and distinct, the strings are smooth and elegant, and even I am inexplicably a goose bump. Relatively speaking, in the popular music part, the difference between JadeII and flat-panel headphones is not too big. Although the sound is more clear, it is not as full as a flat-panel earphone, and it feels lacking a little emotion. You have to admit that the progress of flat-panel headphones over the years is indeed visible to the naked eye.
The JadeII package purchase price is cheaper, only 15888 yuan, which is regarded as the historical low price of the electrostatic headset system. Of course, you can also buy amps and headphones separately, but the price is not so cost-effective. As for the legendary electrostatic earphone system is not for your taste, I think you will still be more realistic after you have tasted the store.
