Design philosophy of a revolution in planar headphones

CENTAURI is our first planar headphone, in the development of which we strived to offer something different than what has previously been found in the planar headphone market.

So far, the development of planar headphones has focused on the ever-growing driver, which inevitably plays a major role.

The dimensions of the diaphragm and the inherent deformability of the structure that supports the rows of magnets result in a low dynamic efficiency of the headphone system, which tends to deform under the high stress on the diaphragm, which by nature does not is very light and has a certain inertia.

This results in a sound image in which the energetic dynamic contrasts in the mid and low range are softened and the sense of rhythm is lost.

The other big problem related to driver size is that it doesn't leave room for the pressure equalization holes between the headphone's acoustic chambers, so one has to resort to simplified designs that offer a sealed ear chamber, which is a creates an imbalance in the movement of the membrane.


This design feature also leads to a major problem with our ears: As soon as the headphones are placed with a cushion in a sealed chamber, the eardrum experiences pressure and changes the high-frequency response, which triggers the typical cave effect .

For our headphones, we focused on finding a lightweight but very stiff planar driver support plate that would not deform under the dynamic loading of the powerful planar driver with N52 class neodymium magnets on either side of the diaphragm.

We've introduced a new composite material called Texalwood, which involves pouring epoxy into a sheet of poplar plywood and two sheets of Texalium (aluminum-loaded fiberglass).

This new support is designed to accommodate the ventilation system of the VPS pad and the pressure equalization holes, allowing the membrane to move in both directions of movement with a symmetrical resistance.

An advanced pad for an important headphone

It is important to understand that the pad accounts for 50% of headphone designs and cannot be easily adjusted from one design to another.

Centauri is a large headphone that allows the proprietary Ventilation Pad System to be deployed through an outwardly curved trumpet in place of the usual vents.

Made of Alcantara and leather, the Centauri pad is large, leaving room for large ears and creating a listening space that creates an impressive sound stage.

The Centauri pad attachment system is another first for Spirit and allows for quick release through magnets attached to the frame.

In this way, you can carry out replacement and normal maintenance extremely easily.

A multi-layer wood system frame made of walnut wood and a Texawood driver frame to optimize dynamics

To maximize the dynamic performance of the planar headphone, which is the real Achilles' heel compared to traditional dynamic systems due to the limited range of movement of the planar diaphragm, we took advantage of the concept of the inertial frame, which further optimizes the dynamic efficiency index of the system.

In order to trigger the concept of the inertial frame, it is necessary to achieve a minimum mass of the static parts of the headphone frame to provide adequate inertia when subjected to the thrusts determined by the accelerations of the planar driver's diaphragm.

This inert mass was obtained by exploiting the technique of the multi-layer wood system introduced in Mistral, which envisages a laminated wood structure, which in this project allowed the choice of a compact and rigid walnut wood.

The support plate of the high-performance isodynamic driver is made of Texawood composite material, which guarantees high rigidity against dynamic impacts.

A developed pad for an important headphone

It's important to understand that padding is 50% of a headphone's design and cannot easily be adjusted from one design to another.

Centauri is a large headphone and offers the option of using the proprietary Ventilation Pad System through an outward-facing trumpet instead of the usual vents.

The Centauri's pad, made of Alcantara and leather, is large, leaving room for large ears and creating a listening space that creates an impressive sound stage

.

The Centauri Pad's attachment system is another Spirit first and allows for quick release via magnets attached to the frame. In this way you can carry out replacement and ordinary maintenance with great ease.

The quality of materials and research are in our DNA

Centauri offers exceptional comfort thanks to the revolutionary stainless steel headband that can be shaped to provide desired pressure on the ears and the exhaust band that adapts to your head

A technologically advanced earpad

We developed the Centauri cushions in close cooperation with Dekoni, the leading manufacturer of ear cushions for headphones. Shape, inclination, surface treatment. nothing was left to chance.

But the choice of materials is the real highlight of this project.
Very fine leather for the side panels, identical to the leather used for the headband.

Alcantara for the part that rests on the ear. Alcantara is not only a top-of-the-line Made in Italy product, it also guarantees an exceptional performance package: you will see this when you wear the headphones for several hours.

For enthusiasts, the choice of cabling is a complex decision.
Centauri offers the possibility to choose between two different wiring technologies, depending on what you want to hear.

If listening quality is your priority, then the Professional cable is the right choice.

The Professional cable has a four-wire braid of Ofc class 5 coaxial cable with a very high section, which allows you to avoid two soldering points and one contact point of the connector, ensuring optimal current transport for a listening quality is guaranteed at a professional level.

If you value versatility, we recommend that you opt for the Spirit by Portento detachable cable, which, with its double section, guarantees optimal performance even with portable devices.

If you value versatility, we recommend the Spirit by portento removable harness, which, with its double structure, guarantees optimal performance even with portable devices.

Open, semi-closed or closed-back headphones?

Spirit will help you choose the headphones that best suit your needs.

Open headphones offer a maximum of naturalness and openness of the sound, but do not insulate against external noise and scatter the sound to the outside.

Semi-closed headphones are open headphones with shields that partially restrict the transmission of sound to and from the outside.

Closed headphones isolate sound from the outside world, have a great extension of low frequencies but are less natural and lose that airiness that makes you forget you're wearing headphones.