T+A
T+A Solitaire P Planar-Magnetostatic Headphones
Solitaire P Headphones
The Solitaire P headphones
Our first headphones represent a new and ground-breaking development which pushes the magneto-static principle to the point of perfection. We have designed these open headphones with no hint of compromise and without regard to cost, for we had only one goal in mind: musical reproduction to the very highest standard of perfection.
The headphone transducer systems are of sophisticated construction, and all components and sub-assemblies are manufactured to the tightest of tolerances using precision tools. Wherever possible and sensible, the headphones employ aluminium components machined from solid metal. The ingenious construction of the diaphragms, drive magnets and sound guides linearises the sound field and the dispersion characteristics. Music is reproduced without distortion: the Solitaire P adds nothing and takes nothing away. Totally natural reproduction is the first commandment for all T+A devices.
Construction
Many planar-magnetic headphones exhibit significant inherent disadvantages, including low efficiency, high weight and – very often – very low impedance. From the outset we designed our headphones to avoid these problems. A crucial factor in this purpose was the adoption of a new approach to the problems. We invested considerable effort in the design, and insisted on the use of the finest materials. The headphones incorporate several close-tolerance sub-assemblies which fit together pefectly; they can only be manufactured using precision tools. These parts consist of high-strength plastics or carbon in accordance with their function, and are made to tolerances of a few hundredths of a millimetre in order to guarantee a perfect fit.
Material Selection
The open construction of the Solitaire P avoids the resonance problems of closed systems, and allows the diaphragm to vibrate unimpeded.
All sub-assemblies are attached to solid aluminium cups which are machined from solid using a precision 5-axis milling machine. The machining of a single cup takes more than an hour, starting from a 35 mm thick solid aluminium plate. The yokes and yoke connections are also machined from the solid. Although these sub-assemblies are very complex and difficult to produce, we decided to employ aluminium for them because it does not suffer from ageing problems, and always maintains its shape and strength.
Transducer
Our in-house transducer TPM 3100 is the beating heart of the Solitaire P. The TPM 3100 -just like the entire Solitaire P- was developed and is built in Herford.
The high-performance neodymium magnets are made with an accurately calculated segment shape as well as being precisely matched in length to suit the oval outline of the diaphragm; this ensures that the magnetic field lines generated have a homogeneous course, and that no air turbulence occurs; the airflow remains laminar at all times. The precise design of the retaining rings and the magnet mount maintains the diaphragm’s position accurately in the linear part of the magnetic field, ensuring that it is able to generate high sound pressures without distortion and with an enormous dynamic range, virtually devoid of inertia. This design also eliminates the need for supplementary opposed magnets, helping to keep the headphones’ weight low. The diaphragm is able to oscillate freely in the direction of the ear cushions, since there is no acoustic hindrance between the transducer diaphragm and the ear. The diaphragm itself consists of a special ultra-thin – and therefore ultra-lightweight – film, coated with an accurately routed and calculated conductor array whose impedance is around 80 Ohms.
Earpads
The ear and head cushions are hand-made, and manufactured for us by a specialist company here in Germany. They consist of allergen-free synthetic leather and Alcántara. For this reason they are very pleasant in contact with the skin even when the headphones are worn for long periods.
Headphone Cable
Of particular interest to us is the sound quality of the connecting cables. Ours are of symmetrical construction, with very low inductivity and capacitance, and designed with the optimum impedance. They consist of ultra-pure copper (OFC) conductors with a carefully defined silver layer. The four signal conductors are embedded in cotton threads, and permanently wrapped in a silver-plated woven shield. This construction isolates electro-magnetic influences, and damps mechanical resonances. The connectors are of the highest quality. Professional military-grade two-pole connectors are used in the headphones. The entire cable harness, including connectors and splitters, is encased and sheathed in a single manufacturing process, resulting in an extremely robust, durable cable which remains very flexible. The cable insulators consist of high-quality Hytrel® and TPE; these elastomers are free of PVC and latex, and are manufactured without the addition of toxic softening agents. Two cable sets are supplied with the headphones: one with a 6.3 mm barrel connector, and the second with a symmetrical 4.4 mm Pentaconn connector which offers optimum transfer resistance for the best possible sound quality. As you would expect, all contacts are gold-plated.
Specifications
Solitaire P Headphones
Transducer principle
Planar-magnetostatic
Impedance
80 Ohms
Frequency responce
5 Hz - 54 kHz
Distortion
< 0,015 % @ 100 dB
Maximum sound pressure level
> 130 dB
Transducer size
elliptic 110 x 80 mm
Type of construction
Open, over ear
Connectivity
Wired transmission (3m)
Version 1: unbalanced cable with 6.3 mm connector and balanced cable with 4.4 mm pentaconn connector
Version 2: unbalanced cable with 6.3 mm connector and blanced cable with 4-pin XLR connector
Material
Aluminum, steel, allergen-free synthetic leather, Alcantara
Weight
530 g excl. cable
Technical modifications reserved
Reviews
Robb Report 12/2022
Why These New Ultra-Premium Headphones Are Some of the Best We’ve Ever Tested
The Solitaire P headphones and HA 200 amplifier work together to reveal previously unheard layers of a recording.
Archynewsy 8/2022
T+A Solitaire P: Conclusion
The T+A Solitaire P is among the truly expensive headphones out there. Fortunately, they also sound heavenly! Sit down and get lost in the music!
Solitaire P is even more addictive than its little brother P-SE, with an even warmer tone. The bass is in a class of its own, and the lower midrange is simply magical. And it sounds extra good with T+A’s own amplifier, the HA 200.
The slightly laid-back midrange may not be for everyone, especially not those who want voices and instruments to come forward as far as possible. Sound engineers will probably also wonder about the sound balance. But many, including myself, will experience the sound as exclusively beautiful.
This is the sound of butter melting on a delicious tenderloin, here you just have to sit back and indulge in dreamland!
Audio Video Poland 1/2022
Solitaire P
According to our editor, these are the best headphones we have ever tested.
Audio Poland 11/2021
Planar Revelations
In this test there are only ... and as many as two models from one company. such
we don't make comparisons often, but this time they spoke for it
special arguments and to some extent chance.
On-mag.fr 4/2021
The German brand specializing in high-end audio T+A recently entered the home audio headset market with a very nice duo. Driven by the same ambition as usual, the Solitaire P planar headphones and the HA 200 headphone DAC/amp want to hit extremely hard and establish themselves as absolute references. What give cold sweats to the masters of the genre.
FWD 3/2021
The combination of the HA 200 and Solitaire P is very successful. It's a lighthearted, insightful experience to listen to music with this duo. The Solitaire P is also a very good pair of headphones, with a light, fast key that is almost reminiscent of an electrostat. Not quite the same, of course, but still very different from many dynamic and planar-magnetic rivals. The Solitaire P is one of the best headphones you can find right now, a huge achievement. But you can actually say the same about the Solitaire P-SE.
OF Poland 3/2021
HEADPHONE PEAK
Stereophile 2/2021
Solitaire P headphones and HA 200 headphone amplifier
After spending a couple of months with the Solitaire P and HA 200 I think T+A has beat the odds: Their first-try headphone products played with the best of the world´s best, at the uppermost point of the gold-tipped asteroid. Bravo T+A!
i-fidelity.net
ear candy
That's what I call a made-to-measure start, and rightly so. With the duo Solitaire P and HA 200, T+A wants to go nowhere else than to the top. No effort was too great for this, no technical and constructive challenge insurmountable. The set costs a lot of money, but in terms of sound, competitors will have to be measured against the Solitaire P and HA 200 in the future, because this feast for the ears sets standards.
Stereonet 12/2020
We are up in rarified air with the T+A Solitaire P. However, it doesn't cost that much more than Focal's Utopia, and it's about £30,000 less than Sennheiser's Orpheus if that's any consolation. Personally, I prefer the build and feel of the Solitaire P over the flagship Focal, but understand that this is a matter of taste.
What's less subjective is the sound, and I genuinely believe that the Solitaire P has now set the benchmark for planar magnetic headphones. It has incredible speed, insight and dynamic range – plus musicality in abundance. Factor in the almost supernatural comfort and this is a seriously special product that performs impeccably across so many areas.
For those who can't afford the not inconsiderable asking price, there is good news as I am told that we can expect more headphones at different price points to follow – including dynamic and electrostatic designs, as well as more head-fi electronics. Meanwhile, there's always the National Lottery.
Image Hifi 1/2021
Theory and inspiring application
The two high-end devices Solitaire P and HA 200 from T+A are not cheap. In view of the quality offered and the excellent implementation of future-oriented concepts, the price seems reasonable, especially when the proud owner can exploit all the possibilities of the HA 200. I am sure that the combination of Solitaire P and HA 200 will give him new insights into musical contexts and also a further development of his own tonal perception.
The Absolute Sound 1/2021
Solitaire P Headphones, German Ingenuity
The T+A Solitaire P headphones rank among the best, easiest-to-drive, most completely portable reference headphones I have had the pleasure of reviewing. Their superlatives include physical resilience, elegant looks, build-quality, comfort level, and, of course, sound. The Solitaire Ps fulfills all the requirements to be considered references. Are they perfect? Not quite. The headband’s click-stop adjustment system, while perhaps adequate for a sub-$300 headphone, doesn’t offer the high level of engineering you would expect, especially considering the refinement found in the rest of the headphone’s physical design. But the Solitaire Ps do everything else so well that it’s easy to work around the headband; I’d simply gaffer-tape it in place. So, if you are in the hunt for a pair of headphones that you can keep using for ten or twenty years, and you’re hard on headphones, I would strongly recommend trying the Solitaire Ps on for size. They can take it, and they sure can dish it out.
LowBeats 12/2020
Conclusion T+A Solitaire P and HA 200
Lot of money. A believer in speaker playback won't even flinch with interest. Which means: The target group for this amp and its headphones is finely tuned. Anyone who was allowed to experience the two, however, will lose faith and change sides with flying colors. I dare to say the superlative: This is the best amp/headphone combo I know. The price hurts. But you buy something like that for decades. 11,400 euros over 365 days times ten years – that's three euros and twelve cents a day. With that in mind, you can think about it again.
avforums.com 7/2020
Go big or go home
T+A has hit the ground running. This is the best headphone I’ve ever tested and it has a depth of talent that is almost unprecedented in terms of how it balances its talents and capabilities.
Simply incredible sonic performance.
Exceptionally well made.
Comfortably and surprisingly practical.
Stereoplay 8/2020
The sky of the possible
Inhale, exhale, press the start button. Then a world opens up. The Solitaire P puts the cherry on the cake - more information is not possible, more passion is just as difficult to imagine.
Diapason 7-8/2020
An absolutist vision of sound reproduction.
Audio 7/2020
First Strike
Bravo, T+A: a very successful debut. The Solitaire P turned out great, the HA 200 even better. Or to put it another way: As of today, there is no better headphone amplifier. This makes the HA 200 and the Solitaire P the new AUDIO references and tools.
Neutral tuned, tremendously precise.
Sound: 100 points
Equipment: very good
Service: very good
Processing: excellent
HiFi and Music Source 5/2020
Solitaire P - Hifi Review
These T+A Solitaire P headphones are the Rolls Royce of headphones….they are designed for the longer journey, enabling you to arrive without fatigue, knowing you’ve experienced the best your money can buy.
In substance, as I have already stated, the T+A Solitaire P headphones deliver a wonderfully warm sound with such fabulous detail and they have a soundstage to stand up for. I can award these headphones nothing less than ‘Outstanding’, 5 stars.
Forbes 5/2020 Mark Sparrow
These T+A Solitaire P Headphones Are Probably The Best You’ll Ever Hear.
Verdict: Thanks to some amazing technology involving advanced materials and clever placement of magnets, the T+A Solitaire P headphones set the benchmark for all other manufacturers of planar magnetic headphones to reach. Of course, like any high-end headphones, the Solitaires need an impeccable source because they are ruthless in the amount of detail they can reveal. If you feed substandard signals it will be no surprise if the music sounds as bad as it is. Cheap headphones can disguise a multitude of sonic sins. The musicality and abundant detail that these headphones offer is a pure delight. Normally, I can’t manage more than an hour or two of headphone listening at a time, but with these headphones not only could I listen all day in comfort, I knew my ears wouldn’t be fatigued and I could spend days rediscovering my favorite music, finding new sounds and instruments that I never knew were there. T+A may not be a household name in high-end audio, but it really deserves to be. If you are an ardent headphone fan and you want the very best that money can buy, I can heartily recommend T+A’s Solitaire P headphones.
HiFi News 6/2020
Musicalhead 5/2020
With the outstanding combination of SOLITAIRE P and HA200, the German high-end manufacturer T+A has thus achieved a veritable rocket launch into the international headphone segment, which one could not expect to such an extent.
Stereo 4/2020
Jumped very far
We put the test to the test with Peter Gabriel's "Come, talk to me" - and were flabbergasted. How rumbling and powerful the synthetic bass came along here in a dust-dry manner finally convinced us that Herford had by no means created a "me too" product, but that, as with the material expenditure, they had gone to great lengths in terms of sound . The "want to have" effect makes itself felt despite the price tag. T+A has achieved the almost impossible and developed a reference receiver from scratch.
Audionet 7/2020
Headfonics 6/2020
T+A Solitaire P Review
Owing to the ultra-low distortion (a record-breaking < 0.015% at 100 dB), the Solitaire P is a leader of micro-dynamics and capably highlights gradations in small volume changes.
Solitaire P Headphones
Transducer principle
Planar-magnetostatic
Impedance
80 Ohms
Frequency responce
5 Hz - 54 kHz
Distortion
< 0,015 % @ 100 dB
Maximum sound pressure level
> 130 dB
Transducer size
elliptic 110 x 80 mm
Type of construction
Open, over ear
Connectivity
Wired transmission (3m)
Version 1: unbalanced cable with 6.3 mm connector and balanced cable with 4.4 mm pentaconn connector
Version 2: unbalanced cable with 6.3 mm connector and blanced cable with 4-pin XLR connector
Material
Aluminum, steel, allergen-free synthetic leather, Alcantara
Weight
530 g excl. cable
