Presentation and Design
Luxury is a word I’ll probably overuse in this review, but it’s the word that best captures the essence of the SolP. From the first time you touch the giant leather-textured display box, which houses the headphone and its two premium-made silver-plated oxygen-free copper stock cables, to the first time you lift the hefty (490g) yet somehow svelte frames of the headphone itself, everything you see and touch exudes luxury.
In truth, the presentation is probably a little grandiose for my liking, though I can see how the box would comfortably blend in with gallery-style books and other expensive ornaments in your luxury (there’s that word again) loft apartment or ski cabin. T+A didn’t bother supplying its customers with a compact travel case for the headphones; these are not designed for travel, nor are they intended to be hidden away.
Predominantly made from aluminium, the earcups and yokes are CNC’d with special machines that take up to an hour to extrude a single set from a solid block. The outer cups are made from a smoothly-finished anodised aluminium mesh, while the headband and pads are covered with a combination of synthetic leather and a rare allergen-free Alcantara, which as far as I’m told, is the only material used on the SolP that’s outsourced by T+A and not made in-house. A distinct red-coloured fabric mesh lines the inside of the earcups, and is supposedly responsible for some of the acoustic sound shaping of the pad design.
Handling the SolP reveals just how tight the tolerances for each component must be. Every piece fits together seamlessly, not a stray stitch or metallic glitch in sight. The earcups swivel smoothly on the yokes, allowing you to store the headphones flat in the box. While styling is subjective – to me perhaps a touch industrial-looking – this is unquestionably premium craftsmanship of the highest order, and perhaps the most precisely-engineered build of any high-end headphone I’ve seen, Meze Empyrean and Empyrean Elite included. It’s also incredibly robust, and while I’d have my heart in my throat if I dropped them, I’d also know there’s little chance that something as simple as a fall would damage these headphones.
On the head, the SolP are very comfortable, though not quite the most comfortable headphones I’ve worn. The Alcantara pads, while soft to the touch, are not as soft as the leather pads of Empyrean, or the ultra-soft sheepskin pads from Audeze or Sony. Clamp force is average, not too tight or too loose, and the padded headband distributes the weight quite evenly, ably assisted by the grip of the pads. The headband is rather large, though, and I found myself just about getting a good fit on the smallest setting.
Finally, the cable connectors – made from the same aluminium as the headphones – are styled on the Sennheiser HD 800 locking connector, except they’re recessed deep into the earcups, so aftermarket cables are more difficult to source. They only fit one way, and it may take you a few tries to seat them just right, but once they’re in they’re not letting go. If it feels like you’re plugged into a high-tech metal helmet, that’s because you are.
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4 Responses
Thank you for the great review! Would you mind sharing the settings you have used on the HA200 for your review?
Sure, it was mostly set on 18ohm, using the Fir2 filter.
Thank you. I’m using the BEZ2 filter, seems more natural to me. What about Loudness level you have settled with?
Varies for me, but SolP can go VERY loud without distorting, which is not great for hearing health! It’s also very clear at low listening levels. I generally listen at moderate volume.