ESS 422H Headphones

Featuring a 40-millimeter moving-coil dynamic driver and ESS’s Art of AMT technology, the 422H headphones deliver a full range of natural sound. Describing the improved multi-fold Air Motion Transformer, Major HiFi  says: “It pushes currents back and forth in a way that prevents air from escaping in the wrong direction. The smaller motion range allows for a very rapid response rate. It’s similar technology to an electrostatic driver. But because of the folded design, more air is moved than would be by a cone or electrostatic driver. This, together with the small motion range, allows the design to act as a larger driver. Basically, the result is less sound distortion and ‘sound as clear as light.’” The headphones fold for easy on-the-go use. Due to the nature of the real wood enclosures, no two pairs are exactly alike.  

The Audio Beatnik says, “The actual sound of the 422Hs is closer to planar-style headphones, say the Audeze LCD line or Magneplanar and similar speakers. They offer a coherent soundstage from left to right that sometimes seemed to reach out beyond the enclosures themselves, similar to how open headphones sound. And the highs were crystal clear, maybe a little more forward than the rest of the spectrum, but they were not sharp or cutting unless they needed to be."