Closer Examination

HarmonicDyne dedicates an entire paragraph on the product page to the cable which ships with the Athena, which helps shed more light on this quite nice to handle cable. It uses a 3.5 mm single-ended TRS connector on the source end and we get a 3.5 mm to 6.35 mm (1/4") adapter for use with more prosumer equipment. I also appreciated the faux leather cable minder that makes you feel this is a premium cable too, and it matches the brown color scheme well enough. The connector housings are made of thin machined aluminium with a knurled finish and there is plenty of strain relief. The cable itself uses four strands of OCC (Ohno Continuous Cast) high-purity copper with 33 strands of 80 µm thick wiring and 38 strands of 60 µm thick wiring used in a co-axial manner. The insulation layer is thick enough to come off smooth to the touch without affecting functionality given the lack of any microphonics in use, although it can be somewhat resistant to re-shaping. The splitter is wide and has the HarmonicDyne logo on it with the two channels then terminating in 3.5 mm TRS connectors again with similar housing hardware as on the source side. There are L/R markings here to help identify the left and right channels and the metal plugs are gold-plated for oxidation resistance.


The HarmonicDyne Athena is a set of headphones that clearly shares some DNA with the Zeus and Poseidon I have here, but switches out the metal and wood components used for the chassis in favor of plastic and glass. It makes for a product that may look cheaper in the hands but also far more relatable to those who have ever used a smart phone. In that sense, the Athena feels more familiar too given the glossy materials and the shine/reflectiveness. The materials used are thankfully not a fingerprint magnet and the darker colors also help here. It's also a relatively low profile set of headphones which further maintains the cleaner aesthetics going on. The headband has a ridged plastic trim at the top, a steel band underneath, and foam-filled cushions at the bottom which adds comfort when placed on top of your head. The foam padding feels sufficient enough and the lining itself feels plenty durable for regular use, although I would not have minded a wider contact surface. The headband meets the ear cups and yokes by the side where we see L/R markings again and the assembly itself is done with screws in place to make for a potentially simple replacement/mod/repair system.


I mentioned before how there's a steel band inside the headband adding to the pre-curved shape and for further structural integrity. Sizing the headband comes in the form of sliding the glossy plastic sections on the top outwards similar to how the HarmonicDyne Zeus and Poseidon used wood panels. The gripped central plastic trim helps with this process too and exposing the steel band on the right side shows the HarmonicDyne logo as well as the serial number of your specific unit. There are several notched steps cut into the steel band allowing you to easily size both sides to the same level and we have enough steps here to suit users with head sizes small or large alike.


There are articulating points where the frame meets the ear cups allowing for some cup swivel on the Athena in either direction. This is enough to accommodate ear positioning on the side of your head and also helps place the headphones flat on one side too making me think there was a missed opportunity here to pair the Athena with a slim carry case, or at least sell one separately. There are also some foam pads added where the ear cups hit the yokes to prevent any clacking noise. Additionally, the ear cups also rotate up and down around the C-clamp securing them in place to add to the high probability of getting a secure, comfortable fit for many.


Now we get to the ear cups and the modern aesthetics design is seen front and center. HarmonicDyne is using actual glass—not sure how scratch resistant it is—as a cover over the closed surfaces here. Underneath is branding with the company logo on both sides and placed on a darker background which goes from looking black to a dark blue depending on the incident light. The glossy plastic sections on the headband matches the finish and colors quite well too. Looking directly here might make you think this is a completely closed-back set of headphones. However, HarmonicDyne has added side venting with relatively large vents all around the ear cups to where the Athena is better classified as a semi-closed, or rather semi-open, set of headphones. The cups and pads are large enough to make the Athena a comfortably over-ear set too.


The ear cups do not touch each other in standard use and thus rely on applied clamp force from your head pushing them apart further. In practice I had no issues getting a secure fit all around the ears. The ear pads are simple enough to remove and attach as seen above, and they have an integrated mesh screen to help prevent contaminants from entering the drivers. Note how the dynamic drivers are angled with respect to the plane of the ear cups similar to what HarmonicDyne has done with its other dynamic driver headphones, this helps direct the sound more parallel to your ear canals. There is a baffle around and the driver itself has a protective guard applied as a geometric pattern over the 50 mm diaphragm which is quite neat to look at already with its darker surround and the gold-colored magnet/voice coil. After all testing was completed, I disassembled one of the ear cups by removing the four Phillips-head screws securing it in place. This now reveals one of the better internal cables used in headphones with a pair of two thick copper cables going from the outer connect to the dynamic driver itself. The solder quality is also quite nice so this seems to be an exception to the rule wherein people talk about using expensive, thick cables outside but forget that the internal cabling is quite shoddy and/or thin at best.


The stock pads have a suede finish on the outside with perforations in the inside that should help with unwanted resonances in the the ear concha. The opening is oval shaped and large enough to easily accommodate larger ears too. The pads seem uniformly thick all around, and quite thick + plush at that, as opposed to those with deliberate contouring to account for different gaps around the ears—especially more in the back of the ear relative to the front. The pad installation mechanism means you can easily swap out to many aftermarket pads, but keep in mind that HarmonicDyne tuned the Athena paired with these stock pads.


On the bottom of the ear cups is where we find small cutouts for the cable connectors which point directly down rather than being angled outward that would have helped position the cable connectors away from your neck and shoulders. There was clearly enough room inside the ear cups to do so! The cable connectors are also slightly longer than average to where there is a non-zero chance they will hit your neck/shoulders, an aftermarket cable may well be necessary if so—a taller headphones stand is still a good idea for this reason. The cable is 2 m long so it can be used stationary on a desk with sources placed further away but does mean it can be on the longer side for portable use. I paired it with desktop DAC/amps primarily but did try it with a few DAPs too when just lounging at home.