The HarmonicDyne Zeus Elite review sample was kindly provided free of charge. I didn’t receive monetary or any other kind of compensation and I don’t use affiliate links. The price of the headphone is $379 and can you can but it from Linsoul.
HarmonicDyne
HarmonicDyne is a brand run and sold by Linsoul as part of their commitment to offer great audio quality at affordable prices. Their portfolio includes full sized headphones, like the Poseidon and the Zeus Elite, and two earphones, the Devil and the P.D.1.
HarmonicDyne Zeus Elite
The HarmonicDyne Zeus Elite is the successor of the Zeus, featuring many improvements and innovations over the previous model.
The Zeus Elite has been upgraded with a new 50mm long-stroke layered diaphragm which is composed of two layers of inert composite film sheets that are held together by a layer of acoustic adhesive in between to stabilize the membrane.The diaphragm is paired with an ultralight Japanese Daichi CCAW premium voice coil.
This sandwich design ensures more uniform vibrations across the membrane and reduced distortions that can result from segmented reverberations. This linear performance enhances the clarity and definition in the sound, while allowing greater dynamic range.
Design and build quality
The headphone is constructed by a combination of wood, metal and mostly plastic materials. The ear-cups are made from dark Zebra wood and they have aluminum alloy protective grills with a beautiful looking engraved pattern to them.
All other parts of the headphone are made from thick plastic that doesn’t look too premium. The inner frame of the headband is reinforced with a stainless steel sheet.
The materials used and the overall feel of the Zeus Elite are not strictly speaking “Elite” and there is still room for improvement.
Wearing comfort
The headphone weighs 360g so it is lightweight and comfortable enough with a medium clamping force, just enough to keep it stable on the head.
The headband has a generous layer of soft padding but oddly enough the weight is not that evenly distributed and mainly sits at the top of the head, so it may cause a hotspot after a couple hours of use.
The user replaceable ear pads are soft and well cushioned with thick memory foam but the inner space is not big enough to accommodate larger ears.
The overall feeling of the HarmonicDyne Zeus Elite is that of a mostly comfortable and lightweight headphone with just a couple of minor issues.
Cables
The HarmonicDyne Zeus Elite comes with two premium custom cables made with a combination of single crystal copper and silver-plated copper wires for a more balanced sound. The cable attaching system features the 3.5mm plug interface thus allowing for easy cable exchanges.
Both cables have balanced plugs, one is 4-pin XLR and the other 4.4mm. For some strange reason a 6.35mm adapter is not included thus making it impossible to use the headphone with single ended sources unless you buy an aftermarket cable or adapter.
The cables are extremely well made, they are thick and sturdy with minimal microphonic noise but they are also weighty and not very practical for portable use.
Accessories
The headphone and the two cables come stored inside a plastic briefcase.
Power requirements and associated gear
The impedance of the HarmonicDyne Zeus Elite is 32Ω@1KHz with a sensitivity of 105dB/Vrms@1KHz so it is very easy to drive without much power requirements. I have mostly used portable sources like the FiiO M11S, the iBasso DX170 and the Cayin RU7. As per usual practice the headphone was left playing music for about 100 hours before listening evaluation.
Listening impressions
This section includes a brief comparison with the Sennheiser HD650.
The Zeus Elite has a rather balanced tuning with great bass presence that extends well into the first octave. The low-end is clear and well defined without much mid-bass emphasis and it doesn’t bleed into the mid-range. The tonality is quite natural and most instruments sound realistic without any excessive coloring.
The headphone sounds very impactful and dynamic without much cup reverb. The bass is fast, tight and controlled but not the most layered. Still the bass line gets well resolved without giving the impression of sounding as one-note.
The mid-range reminds a lot of the Sennheiser HD650 albeit it is not of the same quality when it comes to resolution and refinement. But the tuning is quite similar with present mids and a slight upper-mids emphasis that gives extra bite to certain voices and instruments. There is plenty of clarity and harmonic resolution, the overall timbre is quite natural and realistic with good layering and definition.
Same goes for the treble where again, the tuning reminds a lot of the Sennheiser HD650. This is not the most energetic or sparkling headphone, the sound signature is rather smooth and polite but there is still enough light and clarity in the higher frequencies that additionally have the benefit of sounding natural and forgiving. There is some lack of refinement when compared to the HD650, the higher frequencies have a touch of roughness on their texture and a comparative lack in resolution while fine-detail retrieval is not that deep.
What an open sounding headphone the Zeus Elite is, much better than the Sennheiser HD650 in this regard. It has a surprisingly spacious and extended soundstage with a speaker-like grandness. There is plenty of depth layering with good positioning accuracy and great communication of the ambient atmosphere, qualities that set the Zeus Elite ahead from the competition.
The HarmonicDyne Zeus Elite is like the Sennheiser HD650 on steroids when it comes to low-end extension, dynamics and soundstage but not that resolving and refined. It is a headphone that does well with all kinds of music from pop and rock to large scale symphonic and choral works. It offers an engaging listening experience with a great sense of musicality and a nice touch of warmness and politeness.
In the end
The HarmonicDyne Zeus Elite is a good headphone that can hold its own against the mainstream competition.
Actually it reminds a lot of the Sennheiser HD650 and although it might not be as refined or resolving, it compensates by adding bass extension and soundstage size.
The Zeus Elite is a headphone with a balanced tuning and strong bass presence that rewards its owner with an engaging listening experience backed by competitive technicalities. Build quality can be rather improved but it is lightweight and comes with two well made cables and a carrying briefcase, at a very competitive price.
Copyright – Petros Laskis 2023.
+ Balanced and smooth tuning + Strong bass presence + Dynamic and impactful + Good clarity + Immersive soundstage + Accurate imaging + Lightweight and mostly comfortable + Two very well made cables + Carrying briefcase + Competitive price - Not the most refined or resolving - Slight roughness on the treble - Heavy cables - No single ended adapter - Uneven weight distribution - Not very roomy ear pads
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