The Audeze Sine are designed by DesignWorks, which is an arm of BMW that designed the BMW X family and the bobsled for the US Olympic Bobsledding team.
The ear pads also feel premium, but they're a little firm. The shape of the pads doesn't quite rest comfortably on my ears, either. They weren't the most comfortable headphones I've worn.
For $500, you can buy the Sines that come with a cable that supports Apple's Lighting connector, as well a regular 3.5mm connector for traditional headphones jacks.
The Sine's Lightning cable has an in-line digital-to-analog converter (or DAC) that processes the analog audio signal from an iPhone or iPad to a digital signal, which can result in better sound. The DAC also has music controls.
You can switch the cables from Lightning to traditional headphone cable when you want to plug the Sines into your computer. It's not very practical to switch out the cables. I'd rather just use the traditional headphone cable for both my mobile device and computer.
Now onto the sound. The Audeze Sine use a different kind of driver, which is the part in headphones that actually produces sound.
Most headphones use coned or domed-shaped drivers, but the Audeze Sine use planar magnetic drivers, which are flat.
Audeze's planar magnetic driver is essentially an ultra-thin film made of the same material that's usually used for audio drivers. The film is sandwiched between two powerful magnets.
Audeze claims that using a flat driver versus a more common cone or dome driver allows the drivers to be larger at 80mm compared to the usual 40mm drivers in most headphones. Apparently, the larger 80mm driver produces better bass and a wider frequency response than the smaller 40mm drivers that you'll find in most headphones.
According to Audeze, the larger driver sandwiched between two magnets also makes for faster movement and more responsiveness than the traditional drivers, which are heavier.
I'm no audio engineer, so I can't confirm whether or not Audeze's claims are true, but I can say that they sound absolutely amazing.
The Audeze Sine headphones sound absolutely fantastic with the Lightning cable. Everything sounds exceptionally clear and balanced. However, bass heads might not be satisfied.
The bass isn't booming, but good bass isn't meant to boom. It's still very much present, and it sounds powerful and incredibly tight and clear. I heard bass notes that I never heard before in certain songs.
That said, the sound might be too balanced for bass heads who seek a lot of bass. Tracks with a lot of bass didn't sound quite as exciting as with other headphones that emphasize bass frequencies.
The Audeze Sine also produce a beautifully rich sound that envelops your ears with a full, warm sound.
Funnily enough, the Audeze Sine produce such a clear sound that they sometimes reveal poor recording quality on some tracks that aren't audible with pretty much every other pair of headphones I've used, like distortion from bass.
They don't quite sound as crisp and clear with the regular headphone cable, but they still sound fantastic.
There's an Audeze app, which you can use to update the Sine's firmware, but it doesn't seem to be essential. You can also fine-tune the equalization for different frequencies, but there's no preset. I just use Spotify's built-in equalizer.
Unfortunately, Audeze's large and thin driver allows a lot of external noise to leak through, which isn't good while walking around outside in a busy city or during a commute.
Despite the fact that you can get the Audeze Sine with a Lighting cable connector, which assumes you'll be using these headphone with one of Apple's mobile devices, they're not very good for mobile use because they let in a lot of external noise through the cups.
That means that all the clarity from Audeze's expensive drivers is drowned out by external noise, so it's not worth getting the Sine headphones unless you plan to use them in quiet places, like at home or the office. Yet, even the office can get a little too loud to really benefit from the Audeze Sine's beautiful sound.
Overall, the Audeze Sine are fantastic headphones for anyone who's looking for high-end headphones, but they do come with a few caveats.
They're not designed for noisy environments, so if you're looking for a high-end pair of headphones to use while you're out and about in a city, you should check out noise-cancelling headphones like the Bose Quiet Comfort 25.
However, if you're looking for a fantastic high-end pair to listen to at home that sound better than the Bose (and cost more), the Audeze Sine are worthy of your consideration.
If you want a good pair of headphones that don't cost as much as the Audeze, or even the Bose, you should check out other headphones like the Audio Technica ATH-M50X. Alternatively, if you want to go wireless, the Sony MDR-ZX770BN are fantastic, as are the Plantronics BackBeat Pro+.
The issues with comfort is a tricky one to comment on, as that's purely subjective because everyone's heads and ears are sized and shaped differently. So, it's a little hit or miss in terms of comfort.
