écoute TH2

Most headphones, écoute audio argues, simplify their signal path to save space and cost, often sharing circuitry between the left and right channels. The company says this flattens the soundstage and blurs imaging. The TH2 is its attempt to carry a hi-fi-style architecture into a portable design, and the maker describes it as the only headphone to combine a built-in tube preamp with a dual-mono layout.

Tubes and separate channels

At the centre is the Korg Nutube 6P1, a dual-triode vacuum tube that the maker says provides true analog amplification rather than digital emulation. Each channel gets its own dedicated tube and analog front end. According to écoute, the Nutube 6P1 avoids the heat and fragility of conventional tubes and is rated for a 30,000-hour lifespan. From the tube preamp through the following solid-state analog amplifier, the left and right paths are physically separated, an approach the company likens to rack-mounted hi-fi gear.

Channel separation continues upstream. The DAC supports 32-bit/384kHz, and the maker says its chipset contains two independent DAC cores, one per channel, so the signal is not shared by a common processor at the conversion stage.

Tuning, connectivity and hardware

The écoute Tuning App for iOS and Android offers an 8-band parametric EQ applied at firmware level inside the DSP, with up to ±12dB per band. Presets are stored in the headphones and, the maker says, apply across all inputs. Wireless playback uses Bluetooth 5.3 with LDAC at up to 990kbps and 24-bit/96kHz, plus AAC and SBC. Wired options are USB-C for lossless digital input and a 3.5mm jack that works in both active and passive modes.

• 40mm titanium-coated Mylar drivers
• Billet-machined aluminium housing; the maker says no plastic is used
• Modular design with replaceable ear pads and headband wrap
• Hybrid suspension headband; weight 424g
• Hybrid ANC and transparency mode
• 1600mAh battery, rated for 20+ hours of use
• Gunmetal & Grey or Nickel & Brown finishes; a Charcoal option is planned as a stretch goal

écoute says the TH2 builds on two years of production experience and user feedback from the TH1, with claimed improvements to bass depth, treble extension, resolution, noise control, passive isolation and shielding of the tube stage. The campaign cites praise from sound engineer Henri Zalamea and an Editor's Choice award from Magnetic Magazine; Modern-G has not independently verified these claims or evaluated the headphones.