SJY Zeph Open-Back Headphones Review: Music Through Magnets
SJY Zeph Open-Back Headphones Review: Music Through Magnets
SJY Zeph 开放式耳机评测：磁力驱动的音乐盛宴
$1,200 $999 at SJY 售价：1,200 美元（现价 999 美元，SJY 官网）
Rating: 9/10 评分：9/10
TIRED: Relatively heavy. The 4.4mm balanced jack requires a powerful headphone amp most people won’t already own. 缺点： 重量相对较重。4.4mm 平衡接口需要大功率耳机放大器，大多数普通用户可能并不具备。
WIREDFun and unique handmade headphones. Comfortable. Lively sound with exquisite detail. Should prove durable as the minimalist design means fewer parts to degrade or break. 优点： 有趣且独特的手工耳机。佩戴舒适。声音生动，细节精致。极简设计意味着更少的易损部件，耐用性值得期待。
How much of a difference can the earpads on a set of headphones really make? The idea of getting a noticeable sonic difference based on the size and shape of thin pieces of foam under leather or velour sounds like audiophile snake oil. 耳机耳罩到底能对音质产生多大影响？仅仅通过改变皮革或丝绒下方的薄泡沫垫的尺寸和形状，就能带来明显的音质差异，这听起来简直像是发烧友圈的“伪科学”。
As a fan of vintage electrostatic headphones, I’ve confidently operated under this belief by chintzing out and buying replacement earpads of roughly the right size and shape rather than ponying up $100 or more for OEM. It never occurred to me that this might have been a mistake until I tested SJY’s new Zeph open-backed planar magnetic headphones. 作为复古静电耳机的粉丝，我一直深信这一点，为了省钱，我总是购买尺寸和形状大致相符的第三方替换耳罩，而不是花 100 美元甚至更多去买原厂配件。直到我测试了 SJY 新款 Zeph 开放式平板磁力耳机，我才意识到这可能是一个错误。
The end result is far from a gimmick—they’re among my favorite pair of headphones of all the ones I’ve ever used. 最终的结果绝非噱头——它们已成为我用过的所有耳机中最喜欢的一款。
Magnetic Sound 磁力之声
Most consumer headphones and speakers reproduce sound by vibrating a cone using a wire coil. But the Zeph is different. It’s a planar magnetic headphone, which means it uses a magnetic field to vibrate a flat, thin diaphragm to reproduce sound. These have a faster and more accurate sound but are generally thought to sacrifice some punch on lower bass frequencies. Planar magnetics are a growing category that is expected to more than double in the next decade—even if these headphones remain niche today. 大多数消费级耳机和扬声器通过线圈驱动锥盆振动来发声。但 Zeph 不同，它是一款平板磁力耳机，利用磁场驱动平坦的薄膜振动来还原声音。这种耳机声音响应更快、更精准，但通常被认为在低频冲击力上有所牺牲。平板磁力耳机是一个正在增长的品类，预计在未来十年内规模将翻倍——尽管目前它们仍属于小众产品。
I’ve owned a few pairs of planar magnetics and am generally a fan because I like loads of detail in my music. True to form, the Zeph has exceptional detail and frequently delivers the hyper-real quality I look for in headphones of this range. It aced my favorite reference test, which is being able to hear Keith Moon move around on a squeaky stool during the opening of “Won’t Get Fooled Again.” On Radiohead’s “Daydreaming” from A Moon Shaped Pool, the glockenspiel pierces through the piano and loops with a shimmery quality. Listen closely, and you can hear the metronome in the left channel (and that’s all with the less-detailed holes-in-front orientation). The precision and texture here is unprecedented. Meanwhile, there is plenty of low-end for my taste—I get a thick, bouncy bass when clicking forward to “Identikit.” 我拥有过几副平板磁力耳机，并且非常喜欢它们，因为我追求音乐中的丰富细节。Zeph 确实不负众望，细节表现卓越，经常能呈现出我在此价位耳机中所追求的那种“超真实”质感。它通过了我最喜欢的参考测试：在《Won’t Get Fooled Again》的开头，我能清晰地听到 Keith Moon 在吱吱作响的凳子上挪动身体。在 Radiohead 的《Daydreaming》中，钟琴声穿透钢琴声，伴随着闪烁的质感循环。仔细聆听，你甚至能听到左声道里的节拍器声（这还是在细节表现较弱的“孔在前”模式下）。这种精准度和质感是前所未有的。同时，低频表现也完全符合我的口味——当我切换到《Identikit》时，能感受到厚实且富有弹性的低音。
Note, though, that planar magnetic headphones generally require more amplification than standard headphones, and the Zeph is relatively power-hungry. It will demand at least a watt per channel, or preferably more. I have a handful of headphone amps and DAC dongles lying around, but only one device that can drive the Zephs. That’s a Creative Soundblaster X5 that has a balanced 4.4-mm headphone port. The 4.4-mm port is pretty standard on audiophile equipment these days, but it’s worth a warning to regular folks who are accustomed to standard 3.5-mm and 6.3-mm headphone jacks. You won’t be able to buy these headphones and plug them into even a standard stereo receiver. 不过需要注意的是，平板磁力耳机通常比普通耳机需要更大的推力，Zeph 对功率的需求相对较高。它每声道至少需要 1 瓦的功率，最好更多。我手头有几个耳机放大器和 DAC 转接头，但只有一个设备能驱动 Zeph，那就是带有 4.4mm 平衡耳机接口的 Creative Soundblaster X5。4.4mm 接口在如今的发烧设备上很常见，但对于习惯了 3.5mm 和 6.3mm 标准接口的普通用户来说，这需要特别提醒。你买回这款耳机后，是无法直接插在普通立体声接收器上使用的。
Thin Mint 轻薄之选
The Zeph’s magnetic earpads are flippable, with one side having pinprick-thick microperforations and the other being smooth. You can tweak the sonic signature by swapping the seam from down to up. If the size with holes is in front of your ear, the tuning becomes slightly colder and wider, with added pop to instruments. Flip the pads over so that the millimeter-thick holes are behind your ear and the sound signature is a tad warmer and more cohesive, with mixes sounding more blended. Zeph 的磁吸式耳罩可以翻转，一面有针尖大小的微孔，另一面则是平滑的。你可以通过改变接缝的方向（朝下或朝上）来微调声音特征。如果带孔的一面朝前，调音会变得稍微冷峻、声场更宽，乐器的表现更突出。将耳罩翻转，让孔位处于耳后，声音特征会变得更温暖、更连贯，混音听起来也更融合。
The disparity is relatively subtle—like the difference between a martini that’s stirred (holes in front) as opposed to shaken (holes in the back)—but it’s definitely audible. I tend to prefer headphones with an expansive soundstage and lots of detail. Though with the SJY, I find the slightly warmer and more natural sound more inviting for long listening sessions. And these are headphones that can live comfortably on your head for long stretches. 这种差异相对微妙——就像搅拌（孔在前）和摇晃（孔在后）的马提尼之间的区别——但绝对是可以听出来的。我个人倾向于声场开阔、细节丰富的耳机。不过对于 SJY，我发现稍微温暖、自然的声音在长时间聆听时更具吸引力。而且，这款耳机确实非常适合长时间佩戴。
The impact of the simple switch of earpad orientation is made possible partly because of the design’s arch minimalism. The design was intended to have as few pieces as possible and to hold them rigidly in place with the goal of achieving purity of sound. The aluminum chassis, diaphragm, and driver all measure low, single-digit millimeters. The entire body that clips onto the pads combined is only as thick as a typical monthly magazine in 2026. 这种简单的耳罩翻转能产生音质变化，部分归功于其极致简约的设计。该设计旨在尽可能减少零件数量，并将其牢固固定，以实现声音的纯净度。铝制框架、振膜和驱动单元的厚度均仅为个位数毫米。扣上耳罩后的整个机身厚度，仅相当于 2026 年的一本普通月刊杂志。
Because of that, these headphones feel more like a carbon steel pocketknife in the hand than a pair of ANC Bluetooth headphones. They have an impressive sturdiness and don’t feel like something you’ll worry about breaking if you fall asleep with them on. They do weigh more than a pound—at 570 grams with their cable, they’re almost 40 percent heavier than AirPods Max. They come with a padded case that has a generous layer of foam for protection and a braided cable. 正因如此，这款耳机拿在手里更像是一把碳钢折叠刀，而不是一副主动降噪蓝牙耳机。它有着令人印象深刻的坚固感，即使戴着它睡着了也不用担心会弄坏。它的重量确实超过了一磅——连同线材重达 570 克，比 AirPods Max 重了近 40%。包装内附带一个带有厚实泡沫保护层的收纳盒和一根编织线。
Despite their relative heft, I’ve had them perched on my head very consistently since the testers arrived. That’s mainly due to the detailed sound they render from the many gigs of too rarely used 24-bit Hi-Res FLACs on my desktop, as headphones like this can make old songs sound new again. And if it starts to sound old again? Just flip those earpads to have the holes on the other side, and it’s a whole new ballgame. 尽管重量不轻，但自从测试样机寄到后，我一直频繁地佩戴它。这主要是因为它能从我电脑里那些平时很少听的 24-bit 高解析度 FLAC 文件中还原出丰富的细节，让老歌听起来焕然一新。如果听腻了怎么办？只需翻转耳罩，换个孔位，又是一番全新的听感体验。
Curve Killers 曲线终结者
The flippable earpads are also made possible by the way they’ve been tuned. High-end wired headphones are having a bit of a renaissance, growing slowly while the rest of the audiophile market dies off around them. But they are also getting more homogenized. That’s because the major makers are aiming to tune their products along the Harman Curve, a guideline for the ideal earphone frequency response built from extensive scientific research, including blind listening. 可翻转耳罩的设计也得益于其独特的调音方式。高端有线耳机正在经历复兴，在发烧音响市场整体萎缩的环境下缓慢增长。但它们也变得越来越同质化。这是因为各大厂商都在致力于按照“哈曼曲线”（Harman Curve）来调音，这是一种基于包括盲听在内的大量科学研究而建立的理想耳机频率响应指南。
While the Harman Curve is controversial among enthusiasts on message boards, i… 虽然哈曼曲线在论坛的发烧友中颇具争议，但我……