Hold the presses. Wipe the floor. Rehinge the jaw. Retiring the op-amp'd portable and upgrading to the dual-differential aune with eight discrete output transistors was a real difference maker. Pick hyperbolic expression of choice. Take it to the bank. Cash in. The end. For the small print, continue on. In the simplest of terms, sonic scale shot from M to XL then bolted on true sub bass of slightly elephantine proportions particularly for the JT7. Its scenery now felt darker, wetter and more billowy; more than the dynamic. Perhaps that's because planar LF seemed to linger ever so slightly, giving it a redolent hyper-DSD or faint echo-chamber feel. Stage width was surprisingly developed. For the JT3 the muscular class A amp mostly ratcheted up control to banish its prior softness. The whole demeanour perked up. Possibly because I had entered mis-biased towards a budget planar, I was caught out more by how the JT7 scaled up as though the aune had intensified its materializer beam. Whilst this presentation arguably erred on the side of elasticity with extended fades and a certain looseness in the low bass, it was an undeniably fun non-fatiguing tuning that simply sounded big and whomped like HP's willow; at low gain's 19.

At aune's N7 sticker, this was still a quite realistic combo repeatable by prospective punters willing to go beyond portable basics. I've not kept tabs on the state of the DAP art. It's a genre that's escalated its green far beyond this beefy class A stationary specimen. I can't tell you which specific portable luxo player might mirror this aune's performance. In my digs it simply took a gig from just a bit ho-hum to a budget humdinger recognized and appreciated by even an extremist with up to €10K cans but no knowledge of what realistic expectations to levy at 1/100th the ask. Given the gap's insanity, I went full-on bat crap and jacked the JT twins into my Kinki Studio THR-1 with its pair of speaker-grade lateral Exicon Mosfets per side. That dried out some of the aune's wetter looser atmospherics but on raw down-low amplitude had the planar remain on the spectrum's plump side. It made Michael Brook's ambient Cobalt Blue impressive fun. On this type fare the lower resolution compared to my radical standards didn't really telegraph beyond the generally softer separation which rendered the panorama more as watercolour washes than acrylic edging. How likely is it that someone with €129 headphones will diet on Mahler and Strauss?

Extracting from my multi-tiered ancillary experiments, I take away that the JT3 and JT7 are tuned for a darker, texturally generous, softer bassier vibe of medium selectivity which remains in place no matter what though certainly is tempered by degrees depending on the preceding hardware's pedigree. What started out as easy listening on a €349 DAP scaled up to rather beyond its station I thought – even though (cough) I've not been to that station in eons. In self-serving fairness, I had no notion what I agreed to when FiiO asked me to test two new Jadeaudio headphones in the wake of my FT7 review. The latter had me in an enthusiastic mood so my 'yes' came quick and furious. In hindsight I'm not certain how useful that was. No matter the shopped price point, buyers have a right to reviews with competitive comments. If those are MIA, what's left? An extended 'it lives' Frankenstein tome? That's your call to make.

Here's mine: I didn't know that a proper planarmagnetic could be had for 2½ tanks of petrol in my little two-door Volvo. The salient word is proper. I found nothing at all wrong with Jadeaudio's JT7. That beyond it more resolution awaits is the nature of this thing. So is that the target shopper won't know and not feel shorted whatsoever. FiiO have anticipated potential shortcomings in likely drive electronics with these transducers' gentler mellower softer-edged tuning whilst happy sensitivity will tango on battery power and narrow-chested opamps. In closing, a CNN op-ed that day commented bitingly on the Chinese economy's growth since the Trumpian tariffs took effect. Looking at Jadeaudio's new JT3 and JT7, the 'how' is no mystery.

Everyone appreciates a fabulous value, not just the myopic citizens of Magastan…