The closed-back version of the Audeze EL-8 Titanium Planar Magnetic Headphones are Apple MFi certified and feature a Cipher cable, which offers a complete 24-bit high-resolution integrated AMP/DSP/DAC with Lightning connector. This exclusive Lightning cable streams high-definition audio digitally into any compatible Apple product, such as an iPhone, an iPad, or an iPod touch. An accompanying Audeze app is available and allows for custom EQ and sound presets. For non-Apple users, the headphones include a standard analog cable compatible with low-powered external headphone amplifiers or portable devices.
The Titanium headphones feature the company's proprietary single-sided Fluxor magnets to reduce weight while still achieving a magnetic flux density comparable to the LCD series of headphones to deliver a frequency response of 10 Hz to 50 kHz into a 30 ohm load. Instead of utilizing traditional dynamic cone drivers, the headphones implement a neodymium planar magnetic transducer design. Planar magnetic technology differs from traditional dynamic cone designs by suspending a thin, lightweight diaphragm within a parallel magnetic plane comprised of an array of magnets. The diaphragm is much lighter when compared to a traditional dynamic cone, and has a printed circuit spread across a thin-film substrate on the surface of the diaphragm, as opposed to a cone attached to a voice coil. When the audio signal from the amplifier reaches the circuit, it magnetizes the diaphragm within the field and produces sound.
The benefits of a planar magnetic design include faster transient response due to the lighter diaphragm, a wide frequency with low distortion, better heat dissipation, fewer moving parts for greater durability without the kind of sonic degradation that cones are susceptible to, and better amplifier compatibility because the circuit functions as an almost entirely restive load.
The magnetic structure creates a uniform magnetic field across the diaphragm without the need for additional ferromagnetic material traditionally found in other planar headphones to remove magnetic interference, reduce harmonic distortion, and lower overall weight. The headphones also feature Audeze's proprietary Fazor elements that guide and manage the flow of sound through the earcups for a more enveloping sound stage and improved frequency extension. In addition, these headphones utilize a proprietary Uniforce diaphragm that virtually eliminates all the breakup modes that are common in more traditional designs.
The EL-8 Titanium ship with the Apple Cipher cable, a 1/8 to 1/4" adapter, as well as a standard analog cable.