Ovidius TX-901 Review

I am always super excited to listen to a new open-back headphone that I have never heard before, especially if it’s planar. Ovdius is a new brand that doesn’t have the widest selection under its belt, but they are looking to come out swinging with their TX-901 model. This open-back planar headphone has a lot going for it and has garnered some good word of mouth recently. Let’s see if it deserves it.

What You Get

Not much is given to you aside from the bare essentials of the headphone. Its packaging presentation is pretty standard, as the headphones are secured by a cardboard box under a slipcase with plastic wrap around it. Inside are the headphones in foam protection with a separate box in the middle containing the headphone’s 3.5mm cable. The TX-901 supports balanced plugs but none are provided.

Look and Feel

With a build like this you expect the TX-901 to be in the thousands range, so to have this design for $499 is quite special. The thing that makes these headphones so unique is their combat armor shell that covers the frame of the TX-901 in metal. This makes the headphones extremely durable and provides some acoustic factors that will prove significant for the sound signature. From the covering of the ear cups, to the suspension headband, the TX-109 is built like a truck. While impressive, this notion of durability could lead you to believe the headphones are uncomfortable, which couldn’t be further from the truth. The earpads are perfectly sized and comfortable enough as a circumaural fit, and the suspension headband helps greatly with the weight distribution as well to make the headphones feel lighter.

Design

Underneath all that armor is a whopping 100mm planar driver, with an acoustic honeycomb structure. Its single cable is a detachable OCC made with silver palladium and features a mixed braid.

Soundstage

Open-back planar headphones feel like they need to reach this standard for spacious imaging and width. Some planar headphones like to over-extend and exaggerate their soundstages, but the TX-901 isn’t one of those signatures. Here, the width is fairly standard but competent in properly communicating the left and right channels equally. It never feels like it has a hard limit on how far it can stretch, but it sticks to a more focused space that presents the image in a natural bubble of sound. This creates an environment that is highly holographic, encapsulating its image around you rather than extending out into the ether. For intimate recordings and live performances in small venues, this can be the perfect stage for capturing that space. It’s a natural soundstage that positions its stereo field in a way where the sound elements appear like they are being performed to you rather than from a driver.

Low End

They might take their sweet time getting there, but when the bass wants to expand, it will. On the TX-901 you get this booming tonality that feels rich and plentiful, lifting tracks with a gripping vibration. While its presence is lush and meaty, it still keeps to a tight space, relegating its output to a more defined space in the sound signature. This makes it so the frequencies never bleed into the mids and create a clouded timbre. Clarity is easy to find here in the bass, all while texturing the frequencies with a pleasant smoothness that you can always groove with.

Mids

While there’s no real interference from the bass in the mids, its dominance definitely overshadows some of its presence. There’s a bit of a hollowness to it that makes some elements and it makes the mids lack a bit of energy. It’s only the upper mids that really start to show some identity and resolution. It helps vocals stand out more and gives a more apparent impact on hard-hitting instrumentals.

Highs

There is a more considerable spark to the treble than I was expecting, and it was a characteristic I happily welcomed in this sound signature. The highs here have a lot more life to them than the mids, delivering wispy details and splashy cymbals. It also extends the height of the sound signature quite well, enlarging the area of fidelity that can be achieved. The TX-901 uses this space to express a lively but restrained high-end timbre where you never have to worry about brightness or harshness.

Summary

Listening to the Ovidius TX-109 is a fun experience, as the headphones are full of texture and character to easily get lost in. It can turn out pickier than you might expect due to the darker sound profile and relaxed midrange timbre, but certain genes and even other forms of mixed media will prove it more than worthy of its price. That combat armor design is also an aspect that’s going to be hard to beat when considering other planar headphones around this price range, as it delivers on its promise of being one of the most well constructed and durable open-backs on the market today.

The Ovidius is available from Linsoul.