T+A Solitaire P Planar Magnetic Headphones

The Solitaire P is T+A's flagship open-back planar-magnetostatic headphone and the culmination of more than three decades of planar transducer engineering. T+A's involvement with planar technology dates to 1983, when their founder developed the company's first planar-electrostatic transducer for the legendary Solitaire OEC active loudspeaker. That accumulated expertise — refined through generations of planar-electrostatic mid-range and treble drivers in the current Solitaire CWT loudspeaker range — informs every aspect of the Solitaire P's design. It sits at the pinnacle of the T+A headphone range, above the Solitaire P-SE, and was designed and assembled entirely in Herford, Germany.

Construction

Many planar-magnetic headphones suffer from low efficiency, excessive weight, and very low impedance. T+A addressed each of these problems from first principles. The earcup enclosures are machined from solid 35 mm aluminium plate on a precision 5-axis CNC milling machine; each cup requires more than an hour of machining time. The yokes and yoke connections are likewise machined from solid aluminium — a material chosen specifically for its dimensional stability and resistance to ageing. High-strength plastics and carbon-fibre components, manufactured to tolerances of a few hundredths of a millimetre, complete the structural assembly. The open-back configuration eliminates the resonance problems inherent in closed designs and allows the diaphragm to vibrate without acoustic obstruction.

In-House Transducer: TPM 3100

The beating heart of the Solitaire P is T+A's own TPM 3100 transducer, developed and manufactured in-house at Herford. The high-performance neodymium magnets are precisely shaped and matched in length to suit the oval diaphragm outline, ensuring homogeneous magnetic field lines and laminar airflow with no turbulence. The retaining rings and magnet mount maintain the diaphragm accurately within the linear region of the magnetic field, enabling high sound pressures without distortion and with virtually no inertia. This geometry also eliminates the need for supplementary opposed magnets, helping to keep overall weight low.

The diaphragm itself is an ultra-thin, ultra-lightweight polymer film coated with a precisely routed conductor array, giving an impedance of around 80 Ohms — far higher than many competing planar designs and therefore compatible with a wider range of amplifiers. The result is a transducer with an extraordinarily wide dynamic range, maximum SPL exceeding 130 dB, and vanishingly low distortion: below 0.015% at 100 dB.

Headphone Cable

Two cable sets are included, both 3 metres in length. Version 1 provides an unbalanced 6.3 mm jack alongside a balanced 4.4 mm Pentaconn connector; Version 2 substitutes a balanced 4-pin XLR in place of the Pentaconn. Both cables are of symmetrical construction, with four OFC copper conductors carrying a carefully specified silver layer, embedded in cotton threads and wrapped in a silver-plated woven shield that rejects electromagnetic interference and damps mechanical resonances. The insulation — Hytrel® and TPE — is free of PVC, latex, and toxic plasticisers. Professional military-grade two-pole connectors are used at the headphone end, and all contacts are gold-plated.

Earpads and Comfort

The ear and headband cushions are hand-made in Germany by a specialist manufacturer, using allergen-free synthetic leather and Alcantara. The combination provides a comfortable, secure fit during extended listening sessions.