Apos Audio is very proud to announce their first full-size, open-back headphone. Welcome the Caspian!
This isn’t your ordinary headphone release, designed in cooperation with Sandu Vitalie, the founder and lead editor of SoundNews and Valentin Kazanzhi, the CEO of Kennerton Audio, Apos aim to create a truly substantial product. The goal was to create a timeless, hand-built headphone from sustainable materials with a musical sound and merciless detail retrieval.
It sports all-natural oak cups that are milled symmetrically from a single piece of wood for maximum visual and acoustic symmetry. This experience is topped off with hand-stitched lambskin leather earpads with 1-inch memory foam padding and a comfortable oval profile. The headband and yoke are made from anodized black stainless steel with similar leather and memory foam trim. The team aimed to provide style, quality and strength without excess weight.
Like many of Kennerton’s headphones, the Caspian sports a dynamic driver with a huge 50mm diaphragm diameter, which was the largest available to the company at this time. These are visible through the large steel grills marked with the Apos “A”, the only branding on the headphones. The acoustically transparent cloth keeps out dust without colouring the sound.
Speaking of which, the team set out to provide a fun-sounding signature with the Caspian rather than something linear or analytical. They did so through a 5dB bass shelf from 20 – 200 Hz with peak emphasis at 48 Hz for added kick and rumble but minimal midrange bleed. The midrange focuses on immersion and realism and appears to be a smooth voicing though further real world testing will tell. The team also wanted an airy and sparkly top-end with zero fatiguing properties. They realised this through 7 and 15 dB valleys between 2 and 7 kHz that protect sensitive parts of your hearing while keeping upper-treble sparkle alive.
With such an experienced team and looks based on the venerable Kennerton Vali, the hype is real! You can read more about the development process on Apos’ blog here and see the product page going live on the 17th here.
