Not only Austrian Audio has been making headlines with increasingly new and sometimes larger headphone drivers. But is there really something to it?
Bigger = Better?
The size of the drivers does have a significant influence on sound quality, wearing comfort, and possible use cases, but there are specific advantages and disadvantages.
40 mm drivers allow a more compact and lightweight headphone design, which improves comfort—especially during long listening sessions. They provide a good balance between bass, mids, and highs, making them versatile for different music genres. They also require less power and work well with mobile devices without an additional amplifier. Another major advantage is the greater flexibility in driver placement due to the smaller size.
Depending on the materials used, they can also deliver high dynamic performance, meaning loud and quiet sounds can be differentiated more clearly.
Of course, compared with larger drivers, they may deliver less powerful bass depending on the design, which can become noticeable with bass-heavy music.
50 mm drivers provide stronger bass than 40 mm drivers, which can be advantageous for certain music styles.
However, the larger drivers make the headphones heavier, which can reduce comfort during extended use.
They also generally require more power to perform optimally and may not work as well with mobile devices without an amplifier. Even for Austrian Audio, pairing the headphones with their own amplifier is often the recommended choice.
60 mm drivers, currently among the largest used in headphones, are intended to deliver very powerful and deep bass reproduction, ideal for music genres with strong low frequencies. It is also often claimed that the larger diaphragm area creates a very wide soundstage and detailed reproduction, making the sound appear more natural and spatial.
My opinion on this:
In my view, there is nothing that cannot be achieved with a well-designed 40 mm driver. By selecting specific coatings, the acoustic characteristics can be radically altered while maintaining the advantages of small installation space and low weight.
The lightest device with a 40 mm driver weighs less than 200 grams. With 50 mm drivers, the Signature PURE—at under 300 grams—is already considered lightweight. With 60 mm drivers, the weight quickly approaches 400 grams.
Personally, I always return with enthusiasm to the 40 mm driver. In fact, our GTC driver in the Founders Series impresses me even more than the planar magnetic drivers used by some other manufacturers. And for our S-LOGIC system, 40 mm is ideally suited anyway.
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