T+A Elektroakustik is one of those brands you may not have heard of and yet it’s one of Germany’s leading high-end audio specialists. The Herford-based company has used the High End Show in Munich to announce the expansion of its well-regarded headphone portfolio with the launch of the Solitaire T model.
The Solitaire T are audiophile wired headphones with Bluetooth wireless functionality and ANC (Active Noise Cancelation). Conradin Amft is T+A’s COO and he’s been launching the new headphones: “With the Solitaire P and P-SE models, we succeeded in producing a range of reference headphones, but with the Solitaire T we set ourselves a new and exciting challenge.”
The company’s engineers set out to create a new pair of passive headphones using a special 42mm transducer and cellulose diaphragm. T+A claims the stiffness and lightness of the new transducer produce a lively and dynamic performance with a carefully optimized low bass. The Solitaire T has airy trebles and clear mids with a distinctive bass that T+A says never sounds aggressive.
These are the first fold-up design that T+A has used in the Solitaire range. The Solitaire T bridge … [+]
T+A
To provide a great sound quality outside the home, the designers of the Solitaire T headphones added a Qualcomm QCC 5127 Bluetooth chipset with support for the latest high-end audio codecs such as LDAC and aptX HD. Paired with an Esstech ES9218 Sabre DAC, the Solitaire T is intended to bridge the gap between wired and wireless sound quality.
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T+A’s development director is Jörg Küpper. He found that the primary challenge in producing these new headphones was the suppression of the passive and active noise. “Careful selection of damping materials minimizes a major part of the unwanted noise in the mid and treble range without electronic assistance,” he explained.
An active noise suppression circuit can be switched on if required to intentionally eliminate low bass frequencies which cannot be damped using passive means. T+A claims that the result is the complete absence of loud background noise or hiss behind the music.
Available in white/silver and black/silver colorways, the new Solitaire T from T+A are the first … [+]
T+A
The engineers at this family business had a third concern: ease of operation. Every step and every interaction can be felt by the user and is linked to clear feedback messages. The headphones also have touch-sensitive buttons and a dedicated transparency field, which enables ambient sound to be switched on quickly. There’s also a large touch-sensitive interaction field and the spoken feedback messages have been recorded using a real human rather than a digital voice.
The headphone housing is manufactured from high-quality aluminum and synthetic compound plus vegan leathers. The Solitaire T will be available in two colorways: a white/silver version and a black/silver option. Design elements brought over from T+A’s Solitaire P headphones include chamfered ear cups.
Pricing & Availability: The new T+A Solitaire T will be available from July 2022 via the company’s network of specialist retailers. The price will be $1,600 / £1,200 / €1,300.
More info: www.ta-hifi.de
