HarmonicDyne Romantic Headphones Review – Airy Smooth Notes Of Sweet Memories
HarmonicDyne Romantic is a $339 USD pair of over-the-ear headphones with a bamboo driver at the core, romanticism inspired design and with a premium cable included in the package. Today we will review the Romantic and also compare them with other headphones including Thieaudio Cypher (399 USD), Kiwi Ears Atheia (349 USD) and HIFIMAN Audivina LE (399 USD).
Introduction
HarmonicDyne is now a household name from Linsoul, and it is one of the brands they are selling that is super popular with customers, produces headphones that even I personally like, and is reliable. The new Romantic is a model with a large 60mm bamboo driver and Linsoul is doing all the efforts possible to bring you the Romantic with a low price but high reliability, being one of the best shops you can purchase from. You can browse Linsoul on their own website, where they have multiple significant sales all throughout the year, but also on amazon or Aliexpress, if you’d rather use those websites for purchase.
As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases, and using the purchase links in my reviews helps me maintain this website and Youtube Channel. Audiophile-Heaven has no Ads and our Youtube Channel has no midroll ads, and our work is supported by Affiliate Links and Donations. Huge thanks to Linsoul and HarmonicDyne for providing the sample for this review, in exchange for my honest opinion.
Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/4n086rm
Aliexpress – https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_c3TRPEmX
Build Quality – Design
At their core, Harmonic Dyne romantic is a pair of headphones constructed around a self-developed high-stroke bamboo fiber driver, with a natural damping that holds the diaphragm moving with minimal distortion, and reduces harsh ringing effects. This is an open-back pair of headphones with a high-efficiency magnetic circuit system that has a 107 dB / mW of sensitivity. This means that it will be very easy to drive and should work well with portable DAC AMPs too.
Romantic is a bold name, but it comes from the design, which draws inspiration from 19th century Romantic ideals, rejecting cold industrial aesthetics. Earcups are shaped artisanally like mountain ridges turning the Romantic headphones into a beautiful object of art. Frame is made to be lightweight while the protein leather earpads with a soccer net fabric (basically fabric on the contact area with your head) will offer plush cushioning and breathability. Romantic comes with an adjustable headband that distributes the weight, but also with a thick and reliable silver-played oxygen-free copper 4-Strang 924 total cores, 231 per strand, cable that has a 4.4mm balanced jack connector.
Speaking of the technical data, although the SPL is very high at 107 dB / mW, the impedance is also quite high at 64 OHMs, which makes Harmonicdyne Romantic not that easy to drive, but also makes them not sensitive to source background noise. At the earcup side, they use dual 3.5mm standard connectors, so they will be compatible with most aftermarket cables and also they have a distortion of <0.2%, coming with one year of warranty, and 30-Day return policy on the Linsoul website. Currently, Harmonicdyne romantic is on pre-order, but the preorder period is not very long, at 3-4 days to order fulfillment.
Subjective Usage
Wearing the Romantic is one of the best experiences ever and for me, reviewing so many headphones in a short period of time, it feels like this is one of the very few headphones that actually has enough room for a larger head, but could fit a smaller one too.
Earpads are super nice for my ears, more than enough space to not have contact with the ear itself, while cable quality is incredibly good, and romantic feels superb to wear and handle. They have super nice earcups with a sharp model and feel high-end, refined.
There is no passive noise isolation and they leak all the sound that is playing to the outside. There is no driver flex and no void, they are very good for portable use, if you go on a relaxed walk, and if you have a source powerful enough to drive them well.
Sound Quality
Pairings – For this review, I have paired the HarmonicDyne Romantic with FiiO K17, XL, Argon Audio SA-2 Amplifier Driven by FiiO Warmer R2R, Acer Nitro 18 AI Laptop (with 3.5mm adapters), Hiby Digital M500, and Luxsin X9.
Romantic is really hard to drive and will straight-up eat power from most sources, and to get to a decent level, you have to really power it with an amplifier, as it can handle a lot of volume. This indicates that the driver is hard to move, and while the impedance detected will play a role, it is clearly not an efficient driver and you will need a powerful amplifier to power them.
Overall Signature – Harmonicdyne gave those headphones the name romantic, and to a good extent they do sound romantic, but it they are more mid centric and less bassy than what you’d expect and except for a slight lower midrange emphasis and a bit, it is mostly a neutral-balanced pair of headphones without much sub-bass or much treble, sounding really balanced and even. I would say they are a safe choice for everyone, it is a pleasing tuning that would work well with all music styles.
Bass – At their lowest, Romantic reaches 20 Hz, but it does not have a special focus on this range or the sub-bass. It keeps all bass rather linear and balanced relative to the midrange, having a slower, romantic style of bass that stays enjoyable regardless whether you’re doing rock, metal, classical or orchestral music. It has best synergy with vintage music and old rock, and works least with EDM and synthetic bass where the limited amount and slower speed is not the best combo.
Midrange – With a romantic voicing, Harmonicdyne gave their romantic headphones an enjoyable sound with a natural tone, balanced presence of the male voices, although female voices feel slightly recessed and less centric than male voices. It is a fairly laid-back and natural, balanced tuning that works well for all music styles, has a non-sibilant, slightly warm and groovy tone.
Treble – Top end is on the balanced – neutral side of things. It has a good bite, but it is not overly present and doesn’t go into the too savory and unsafe territory, instead being sharp, but not sibilant, presenting a different tonality of cymbal crash for every song, almost making Romantic a good mixing and mastering headphone. In fact, besides the bass being a bit slower, midrange and treble are fast in textures, resulting in a somewhat fast – analytical tuning that would do really well in a studio.
Dynamics And Textures – Harmonicdyne romantic has a natural dynamic range with minimal compression, allowing each song to sound either loud or quiet. In fact, they seem to handle both music with a lot of compression and music with no compression and a wide dynamic range really well. Texture is mostly fast in the midrange and the treble as the driver has no trouble moving fast when powered well, although bass is a bit slower and more rounded than the more analytical and detailed midrange and treb.
Loudness Saturation Gradient – Romantic handles really high volumes nicely, has minimal to no distortion even at over 120 dB, it has no bass distortion and the driver does not hit against the casing when you push them really hard. Volume control is exceptional at low volumes too, it is a headphone with huge headroom, but eats so much power to be driven well that it makes sense it would keep control up loud as the driver is under a lot of tension.
Soundstage – Harmonicdyne Romantic create a somewhat big soundstage, but it is not a strongly separated one, rather it has good lateral and stereo imaging, but layering is blended, producing a sound that works well with vintage music, rock, and romantic tracks, but does not sound analytical, digital or fatiguing.
Comparisons
HarmonicDyne Romantic vs HIFIMAN Audivina LE (339 USD vs 399 USD) – Audivina LE is one of the headphones that also has more than enough space for my ears inside the cups, and which feels comfortable. Audivina LE is the new version, but the cable is better on the Romantic and also is the package in general. Sonically, both need an insane amount of power to be driven well, but they sound quite different. While they have similar level of detail and headroom, as well as volume control, the tuning is very different with Audivina LE also having a very natural midrange, but sounding so much more V-Shaped, with an extreme amount of sub-bass and treble, a very energetic and engaging sound, a lot of vibrancy and energy, while Romantic plays it safe and sounds balanced, clean and free of fatigue in either direction. Audivina LE is very different from the original Audivina, if you heard that one.
HarmonicDyne Romantic vs ThieAudio Cypher (339 USD vs 399 USD) – Cypher is also an excellent headphone, a bit pricier than Romantic. Both have a nice cable and both are comfortable, but Romatnic is a bit heavier, also has more space for my ears inside, yet my ears don’t touch the earpads of either headphone. Both are open-back, have no passive isolation and leak everything to the outside world. Sonically, Cypher has more bass, more sub-bass in particular and also a bit more bite. Cypher is also more detailed, but it is pricier, and not quite as romantic sounding as HarmonicDyne Romantic. You will be happy if you go with either, and I would choose the one that has the more appealing design.
HarmonicDyne Romantic vs Kiwi Ears Atheia (339 USD vs 349 USD) – Atheia feels much simpler and makes romantic feel larger, more comfortable, with a much better comfort. The cable of Romantic is much better, and the entire headphone feels more refined, but Romantic has no passive noise isolation while Atheia isolates somewhat and leaks much less than Romantic. Sonically, romantic is far more detailed, reveals more, but sounds more balanced, with a far more natural midrange, while Atheia has a colored midrange, much thicker and warmer sound, both bass and midrange, with a more aggressive treble that can attack and bite, but has a higher distrotion.
Value – Conclusion
With a tag of 339 USD, Harmonicdyne romantic surely appeals to the right crowd with their insane comfort and frame, balanced tone that works well with all music, and just a general good package with a nice cable and detailed sound.
While the first pair of headphones to follow this kind of tuning from HarmonicDyne, Romantic is a great choice for those looking for a balanced tuning, a slower and balanced bass, strong lower midrange, a slightly thick and warm sound, and an airy, but controlled treble, giving in to the pleasure of vintage music, especially old rock and bands like Eagles.
PROs
- Undoubtedly one of the most comfortable headphones in the price range
- Also one of the best build quality you will find in this price range
- Super design and a nice earcup
- High quality cable included in the package
- Balanced romantic sound that does wonders for rock and vintage tracks
- Airy but balanced treble that is laid back enough to stay relaxing
- Handles volume really well and has huge headroom remaining
Cons
- Very hard to drive and eats a lot of power
Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/4n086rm
Aliexpress – https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_c3TRPEmX
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Full Playlist used for this review
We listened to more songs than those named in this playlist, but those are excellent for identifying a sonic signature. I recommend trying most of the songs from this playlist, especially if you’re searching for new music! The playlists are different for Spotify, Tidal and Youtube, and based on the songs I enjoy and are available on each!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_cjBXGmwSHSdGcwuc_bKbBDGHL4QvYBu
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5J3oloz8Riy9LxEGenOjQ0?si=979ba4f082414be7
https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/330fd544-8e5b-4839-bd35-676b2edbb3d5
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