"Palma's heart is its 50mm dynamic driver with neodymium magnet and 26mm voice coil. Its central dome is pressed rigid cellulose which prevents deformation during motion and reduces IMD. An ultra-thin polyamide suspension ring reduces inertia and mechanical fatigue for very high power without saturation. Low Ω and sub 0.1mH voice-coil inductance guarantee optimal results even with amplifiers of low damping as is usually the case with integrated amplifiers that use a passive attenuator on their headphone output." The model's three letters DHS are short for dual headphone system. Published bandwidth is 2-35'000Hz open-backed, 10-30'000Hz closed.

Palma publish the time delay of sealed-mode back reflections at 0.1 milliseconds: blue is the sealed response, orange the open-backed.

As a reader pointed out, my personal headfi path took me from dynamics like Sennheiser's HD800, Beyerdynamic's T1 and sundry AudioTechnica and Grado to planars from Audeze, Final and HifiMan to ribbons from Raal. What began on purely dynamic footing crossed over to larger thin-film transducers. Having settled down with Final's D8000 on my desktop, Raal 1995 Immanis in the main system and HifiMan Susvara upstairs, I've not investigated the current state of the dynamic art from the likes of Focal; or how Sennheiser evolved since that original long-sold HD800. The dynamic cans I do have are a Meze 109 Pro and entry-level FiiO FT3 32Ω; nothing of extreme ambition. Just so, having reviewed a few upscale Meze planars, it's been my observation that the more mature far more ubiquitous dynamic concept of their 109 Pro can hang with its planar stablemates; for far less. This new Palma would be my first unapologetically ambitious dynamic design in a long while. Fairly or unfairly, I'd judge it against still far costlier isodynamics and ribbons. Regardless, was a Damascus moment ahead?

Whilst still in hardware name-dropping mode, this stationary listener's challenging headphones demand potent amps so a Cen.Grand Silver Fox, COS H1, Enleum AMP-23R, FiiO R7, iFi iDSD Pro Signature and Kinki THR-1. Because ours is a WiFi-free household, even a smartphone is verboten. My only portable can opener is an entry-level Shanling M3 Ultra. For something wicked, I also had a temp sample of the LessLoss FoH. An SAEQ Hyperion Ge amp was inbound, an LTA Velo still on hand from its feature review. That's the menagerie which awaited my visitor from Palma de Mallorca. I'd definitely have to play some Concha Buika; the last song from Alondra de la Parra's Olé Mexico which Buika shares with Lila Downs and Pitingo. She was born in Palma.

The DHS-1 arrived in this box from which emerged the black carrying case.