ThieAudio held back on sending out a review sample of its new Wraith open-back planar magnetic set of headphones until its newly developed sets of custom ear pads were ready. The current retail SKU now allows for the end user to go with any of three first-party ear pads that provide different levels of seal and comfort which also affect the sound signature slightly. The new velour pads in particular do help address some of the tonality issues the Wraith has with the stock hybrid ear pads and I do see potential with the skeleton that unfortunately has a few poorly functioning organs. The hook-and-loop fasteners (better known as Velcro) install mechanism for the ear pads was a mistake here that results in not only some potential confusion and a less-than-perfect ear pad alignment, but also clearly a weaker seal, given the bass drop-off experienced here that results in the loss of the bass extension feature that most planar magnetic sets can boast over dynamic driver offerings.

This in itself could be salvaged, if not even made to be a positive point to help distinguish the ThieAudio Wraith from the vast majority of other such planar magnetic sets that are sounding same-y, had the company managed to nail the rest of the frequency response. Unfortunately there are more misses than hits here and the drivers themselves are not worth the effort to EQ to get the tonality to your desire either—which itself is a chore based on my experience. The problem here is not just how there are competitors which offer better value for money, but that I see inherent faults with the Wraith that require a bigger overhaul than just providing new ear pads. Get new drivers, change the ear pad install mechanism, and spend some more time on tuning the next headphones similar to what you have managed to do with your excellent IEMs released recently. Then perhaps, ThieAudio, I will be happy to take another look at your over-ear offerings.