Audeze iSine 10 and 20 are world's first in-ear planar magnetic headphones

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These planar magnetic in-ear headphones look like nothing else on the market, and Audeze is promising they sound like nothing else either.

Audeze is well known for its planar magnetic headphones but has previously focused on mid- to high-end over-ear designs, from the EL-8 to the LCD-3. Now, for the first time, the company has squeezed its headphone tech into in-ear headphones.

The iSine 10 and iSine 20 earphones sport 30mm planar magnetic diaphragms, while keeping the weight down to just 20g - even if they're still one of the more obtrusive-looking pair of earphones you're likely to see.

That light weight will help to ensure they remain comfortable despite the larger-than-average in-ear design - we can testify they do feel comfortable - and an over-ear hook design will aim to keep them in place.

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Audeze's first in-ear headphones come in two takes, the iSine 10 ($399) and the iSine 20 ($599) - the latter boasting a longer Uniforce voice coil in an effort to further improve the sound quality.

Both pairs come with Audeze's Cipher Lightning cable, delivering 24-bit digital audio from an iPhone, iPad or iPod, and coming complete with an in-line amp and DAC - just in time for Apple to remove the 3.5mm headphone jack on the next iPhone. The Audeze iOS app allows you to customise your sound experience even further.

MORE: 9 of the best in-ear headphones

Joe Cox
Joe Cox
Content Director

Joe is the Content Director for What Hi-Fi? and Future’s Product Testing, having previously been the Global Editor-in-Chief of What Hi-Fi?. He has worked on What Hi-Fi? across the print magazine and website for almost 20 years, writing news, reviews and features on everything from turntables to TVs, headphones to hi-fi separates. He has covered product launch events across the world, from Apple to Technics, Sony and Samsung; reported from CES, the Bristol Show, and Munich High End for many years; and written for sites such as the BBC, Stuff, and the Guardian. In his spare time, he enjoys expanding his vinyl collection and cycling (not at the same time).