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Breakthrough Electrostatic Technology

Featuring the most advanced electrostatic technology in decades, Audeze proudly introduces the CRBN electrostatic headphone (pronounced “carbon”), which features a new Patent-pending polymer film with suspended carbon nanotubes to eliminate problems commonly found in previous electrostatic designs. Originally developed for MRI medical applications, we've adapted those innovations for the audiophile version of CRBN, which top audio professionals have called the best sounding electrostatic headphone to-date.

Breakthrough Electrostatic Technology

With the biggest technological advance of electrostatics in decades, Audeze has patented a new polymer film with carbon nanotubes, and eliminates the problems of older designs with laminations and vacuum deposition. Originally developed for a product we designed for hospital MRI machines, our new CRBN (pronounced “Carbon”) electrostatic headphones are a superior solution. And yes, our new patented tech can be used in full-range speakers.

CRBN electrostatic front
CRBN electrostatic three quarters
CRBN electrostatic side
CRBN electrostatic yoke closeup
CRBN electrostatic front
CRBN electrostatic three quarters
CRBN electrostatic side
CRBN electrostatic yoke closeup

CRBN Electrostatic Headphones

215-EX-1121-00

This is a legacy product and no longer available for sale

$4,500.00
  • Patent-pending carbon nanotube film
  • Works with all 580 Volt Pro Bias amplifiers
  • Accurate low frequency performance
  • Excellent dynamic range
  • Lightweight and very comfortable
Golden Hardware Award seal with a shiny, silver appearance.
Golden Hardware Award seal with a shiny, silver appearance.
Golden Hardware Award seal with a shiny, silver appearance.
Golden Hardware Award seal with a shiny, silver appearance.
Golden Hardware Award seal with a shiny, silver appearance.
Golden Hardware Award seal with a shiny, silver appearance.
Golden Hardware Award seal with a shiny, silver appearance.
Golden Hardware Award seal with a shiny, silver appearance.
Golden Hardware Award seal with a shiny, silver appearance.
Golden Hardware Award seal with a shiny, silver appearance.

Designed with Purpose

Audeze originally developed this new technology working with Prof. Mark S. Cohen Ph.D., UCLA School of Medicine and his team, for use in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Typical ferrous metals could not be used, so we had to develop a new material, and that led us to patent a special thin film with suspended carbon nanotubes. This solves the problems associated with lamination and deposition on the film.

 


Read the Full Story

Carbon Nanotube Technology

The CRBN driver includes a revolutionary ultra-thin diaphragm with carbon nanotubes suspended inside the material – unlike other electrostatic diaphragms, there is no coating. Because the charge is distributed throughout the film, this results in a uniform driving force that reduces distortion and improves clarity, resolution and transparency.

More About CRBN Technology

Audeze earbuds with a play button and website link.

"It actually felt like I was in the room that it was recorded in."
Margaret Glaspy - Singer, Songwriter, Guitarist, Producer

Supreme Comfort

CRBN offers supreme comfort with its lightweight construction. At 470 grams, the minimalist design features materials such as magnesium and carbon fiber, which shaves off every gram while maintaining strength. The earpads are extra plush and slightly oversized, for a great seal and pillow-soft, cranium-cradling comfort.

A mannequin head with an earphone and a play button overlay.
Margaret Glaspy wearing CRBN

"It actually felt like I was in the room that it was recorded in."
Margaret Glaspy - Singer, Songwriter, Guitarist, Producer

CRBN Grille closeup

Elegant Design

CRBN is the ultimate in luxurious design, from the smooth curves of its uniquely etched grill to the depth of its finely polished marbled graphite acetate rings. Featuring hand-stitched premium leather, every detail has been fine-tuned, all the way down to the feel of the machined aluminum 5-pin connector.

580 Volt Compatibility

CRBN is compatible with “Stax Pro Bias” 580 Volt amplifiers such those from Woo Audio, Linear Tube Audio, Mjolnir Audio, Headamp, Stax (of course) and others. The cable is terminated with the industry standard 5-pin barrel connector for maximum compatibility.

View our list of tested amplifiers

CRBN with tube amp

What Sound Engineers and Musicians Think of CRBN

"These are at the top of the heap now, in 51 years of professional audio... it's an amazing experience."
- Ron Saint Germain, Recording and Mixing Engineer

"This is the most emotional headphone I've ever heard."
- Nate Wood, Drummer, Multi-instrumentalist, Mastering Engineer

"They have great specificity... detailed, never for a second harsh... I could see spending hours with them on without being fatigued."
- Tony Berg, Producer, Musician, Studio Owner (Sound City, Los Angeles)

What's included with CRBN
Specifications

Style

Over-ear, open-back

Transducer type

Push-pull electrostatic

Functional bias voltage

580 VDC Stax Pro Bias

Electrostatic capacitance

100 pF (including cable)

Diaphragm type

Ultra-thin custom carbon nanotube

Transducer size

120mm x 90mm

Frequency response

20Hz - 40kHz

Maximum SPL

>120dB

THD

<0.1% @ 90dB

Attached cable

2.5m OCC monocrystal copper, 5-pin Pro Bias

Housing

Magnesium, stainless steel and polymer acetate

Earpad material

Premium leather

Headband

Carbon fiber and premium leather

Weight

470g

Includes : CRBN Headphone | Premium Aluminum Travel Case | Certificate of Authenticity
See also - User Guides

Golden Hardware Award seal with a shiny, silver appearance.
Golden Hardware Award seal with a shiny, silver appearance.
Golden Hardware Award seal with a shiny, silver appearance.
Golden Hardware Award seal with a shiny, silver appearance.
Golden Hardware Award seal with a shiny, silver appearance.
Golden Hardware Award seal with a shiny, silver appearance.
Golden Hardware Award seal with a shiny, silver appearance.
Golden Hardware Award seal with a shiny, silver appearance.
Golden Hardware Award seal with a shiny, silver appearance.
Golden Hardware Award seal with a shiny, silver appearance.

Designed with Purpose

Audeze originally developed this new technology working with Prof. Mark S. Cohen Ph.D., UCLA School of Medicine and his team, for use in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Typical ferrous metals could not be used, so we had to develop a new material, and that led us to patent a special thin film with suspended carbon nanotubes. This solves the problems associated with lamination and deposition on the film.

 


Read the Full Story

Exploded view of electrostatic driver components in various colors and materials.

Carbon Nanotube Technology

The CRBN driver includes a revolutionary ultra-thin diaphragm with carbon nanotubes suspended inside the material – unlike other electrostatic diaphragms, there is no coating. Because the charge is distributed throughout the film, this results in a uniform driving force that reduces distortion and improves clarity, resolution and transparency.

More About CRBN Technology

Audeze earbuds with a play button and website link.
Margaret Glaspy wearing CRBN

"It actually felt like I was in the room that it was recorded in."
Margaret Glaspy - Singer, Songwriter, Guitarist, Producer

"It actually felt like I was in the room that it was recorded in."
Margaret Glaspy - Singer, Songwriter, Guitarist, Producer

Supreme Comfort

CRBN offers supreme comfort with its lightweight construction. At 470 grams, the minimalist design features materials such as magnesium and carbon fiber, which shaves off every gram while maintaining strength. The earpads are extra plush and slightly oversized, for a great seal and pillow-soft, cranium-cradling comfort.

A mannequin head with an earphone and a play button overlay.
CRBN Grille closeup

Elegant Design

CRBN is the ultimate in luxurious design, from the smooth curves of its uniquely etched grill to the depth of its finely polished marbled graphite acetate rings. Featuring hand-stitched premium leather, every detail has been fine-tuned, all the way down to the feel of the machined aluminum 5-pin connector.

CRBN with tube amp

580 Volt Compatibility

CRBN is compatible with “Stax Pro Bias” 580 Volt amplifiers such those from Woo Audio, Linear Tube Audio, Mjolnir Audio, Headamp, Stax (of course) and others. The cable is terminated with the industry standard 5-pin barrel connector for maximum compatibility.

View our list of tested amplifiers

What Sound Engineers and Musicians Think of CRBN

"These are at the top of the heap now, in 51 years of professional audio... it's an amazing experience."
- Ron Saint Germain, Recording and Mixing Engineer

"This is the most emotional headphone I've ever heard."
- Nate Wood, Drummer, Multi-instrumentalist, Mastering Engineer

"They have great specificity... detailed, never for a second harsh... I could see spending hours with them on without being fatigued."
- Tony Berg, Producer, Musician, Studio Owner (Sound City, Los Angeles)

What's included with CRBN
Specifications

Style

Over-ear, open-back

Transducer type

Push-pull electrostatic

Functional bias voltage

580 VDC Stax Pro Bias

Electrostatic capacitance

100 pF (including cable)

Diaphragm type

Ultra-thin custom carbon nanotube

Transducer size

120mm x 90mm

Frequency response

20Hz - 40kHz

Maximum SPL

>120dB

THD

<0.1% @ 90dB

Attached cable

2.5m OCC monocrystal copper, 5-pin Pro Bias

Housing

Magnesium, stainless steel and polymer acetate

Earpad material

Premium leather

Headband

Carbon fiber and premium leather

Weight

470g

Includes : CRBN Headphone | Premium Aluminum Travel Case | Certificate of Authenticity
See also - User Guides

Overall rating: 4.8333335 / 5 from 6 reviews.

AI Generated Review Summary

Summary topics

Review topics: ["issues","headphones","music","range"].

Review highlights

Reviews

Exceptional depth and musicality!

"These estats are very musical and revealing. The depth and imaging are astounding. Use a high caliber DAC and you won’t be disappointed. I’m using them with a crane song DAC and a modded stax 007t from mjolnir audio and all together, they are a match made in heaven. I do audio mastering work and this has changed the way I think about sound for delivery across various mediums. Striking a wonderful balance of silky depth and transparency.. there is an unbelievable amount of headroom before distortion, giving insight as to where problems are occurring in signal flow. Comfortability is all it’s hyped to be. I loose track of time when using them because I get lost in the music… this is a good problem. For context, I started the audeze journey with LCD 1s, and they are no slouch, especially from 100hZ-1kHz. The CRBNs offer something in a completely different stratosphere. Sibilance is now something I can discern with complete clarity. LF contouring and mono fold down integrity is true to form and honest. Cheers to the RD team at Audeze! You all have made something really special here."

— Ryan B. (5/5)

Beauty that brings tears

"I have had these headphones for over a year now. I have probably demoed them to over a hundred people. Every single person that hears them is astonished by the accuracy of their presentation. At least five people have cried when they heard how beautiful their favorite music is on these headphones. I don't know what else I need to say."

— Nathan H. (5/5)

First headphone that doe not need equilation

"Over the last 40 years I owned a lot ofheadphone, strting with the Stax Lamda Pro with diffuse field equilation according to international standrads. For a long time it was the onyl phone the was able to reproduces bowed srtring correctly. With many high end phones a stradivari violin sound like a cheap student instrument or a defekt instrument that needs immediatly beeing serviced by a violin maker. I produce recordings of violins, viola and cellos for violin maker to document their individual charakter. The CRBN is the first phone that allow3s you to exactly associate each recording with the individiual violin. The reason for this is that it correctly plays the frequency range fraom 1k to 4k correctly. A 1 million dollar stradivary differs from a 200 Dollar instrument by having 2-3 db more energy at 3Kherz. You may imagine what happens to a stardivai if you have a 6dB dip in that range, which today is tha case for most high end phones. Thanks to audeze that they provide thelovers of acustically produced classicalk music with such a alternitive. And yes you get the full body lower range for a big symphony orchester in addition."

— Jörg S. (5/5)

A headphone with soul

"In the time I've had the CRBN for so far, I found myself enjoying them more the more I listened to them. This is in direct contrast to how other e-stats have been (looking at you Stax!) and, honestly, MOST headphones I've owned. The longer I owned other estats, the harder it became to listen through an entire album. Instead of adapting, I became more critical of the brightness & thinness over time. The CRBN is a more refined headphone than it appears on the first listen. The presentation is so diffused that it has an extraordinary "filled-in" effect. The bubble of the soundstage is decently large but it has the illusion of seeming like it can create sound in all directions within it (up/down, diagonal), where as most headphones have a straight string from ear-to-ear, and images appear separate on that string. I heard a song on the CRBN where an instrument moved from the back of my head to the front - something I've never heard another headphone capable of. Instruments blend together, but in a musical way that enhances the harmony. Voices, for whatever reason, cut through the separation better and sound tonally correct. I find myself less fatigued, tapping my foot more, enjoying music. The only downside that Audeze needs to work on is that the drivers are sensitive to "sticking" or "farting" noise. This is more prevalent than with other e-stats. Amping requires lots of power. Don't go for this one unless you can stretch for a Headamp BHSE or Mjolnir Carbon."

— Kyle R. (5/5)

Rocks

"I'm listening to Anthrax's "The Sound of White Noise" and it sounds like it did the first time I heard it who knows how long ago. Using Fiio m17 DAC through Mal Valve Three MK4."

— John D. (5/5)

Surprisingly Planar-Esque Electrostat

"I was able to demo the CRBN on two different amps during CanJam recently and walked away incredibly impressed. The CRBN seems to almost nail the best attributes of eStats with near the bass impact of a planar magnetic. The CRBN was very mid-centric with a timbre in male vocals and guitars that was impressively true to life. The highs weren't sibilant or bright and actually quite subdued in the overall FR and the bass slammed near that of a traditional planar and much more than the SR-007 and SR-009S I had demo'd just prior. The headphone was incredibly fast and seemed to be very resolving. This was so compelling that I may look into the eStat world and purchasing an energizer."

— Dan M. (4/5)

Q&A