Наушники — AFUL Performer 8S

AFUL builds the Performer 8S as a tribrid earphone that places nine drivers in each earpiece and adds a user-switchable passive radiator. It sits in the Performer family next to the earlier Performer 8, a 1DD plus 7BA hybrid, and the smaller Performer 5. Its launch price was USD 389.99.

Key specs that matter

Every earpiece holds one dynamic driver, six balanced armatures, one micro planar magnetic driver and one passive radiator. AFUL quotes an impedance of 26 ohm with a tolerance of 20 percent, a sensitivity of 108 dB at 1 kHz and a frequency range of 10 Hz to 35 kHz. The detachable cable uses 0.78 mm two-pin connectors, measures 1.2 m and can be ordered with a 3.5 mm single-ended or a 4.4 mm balanced plug. Its conductors mix silver-plated 4N single-crystal copper with plain single-crystal copper in six strands totalling 392 cores. Each earpiece weighs about 6 g.

Engineering and use context

The passive radiator is the unusual part. A small vent beside it can be left open or closed, so the owner chooses between two low-frequency tunings without swapping filters. A round black sticker covers the vent when closed, and the box holds 20 spare stickers plus 6 rubber plugs for the same job. A circular clear window in the shell lets the radiator be seen. The signal is divided by an RLC network, which AFUL uses to correct the crossover behaviour between the four driver types, and the brand's RESInators micro-resonance technology targets unwanted peaks inside the acoustic path. The shells are printed from medical-grade resin with high-precision 3D printing, and the internal sound tubes are printed in the same process. The 5.7 mm resin nozzle ends in a metal grille. Faceplates are finished by hand with pearl pigment, silver glitter and randomly placed abalone fragments, a theme AFUL links to the planet Jupiter, so no two pairs match exactly. Nine pairs of ear tips and a leather hard case come in the package.

Pairing

Being easy to drive, the Performer 8S reaches normal listening levels from phones, dongle DACs and portable players without added gain, so the choice of plug matters more than output power. The balanced termination suits players with a balanced socket, while the single-ended version fits most phones, dongles and desktop headphone amplifiers. The standard two-pin sockets also accept aftermarket cables.

Alternatives

The AFUL Performer 8 is the related in-ear model from the same family, using one dynamic driver with seven balanced armatures and no passive radiator.