So how does this differ from “regular” headphones? Basically the idea is that instead of headphones that typically pass a digital sound source through a D/A converter or a portable amplifier, the Clarion ZH700FF will actually be able to do a digital-to-digital transfer from the sound source to the driver unit.
This means that the listener will be able to enjoy sound that is as close to the original signal as possible without any degradation along the way. Of course whether you’ll actually be able to tell the difference is an entirely different story, especially for casual listeners who might not be audiophiles.
The ZH700FF will also come with the world’s first floating flat driver that will make the headphones compatible with high-resolution audio sources up to 192 kHz/24-bit. Clarion is also claiming that the headphones do not need an amplifier to drive it, so plugging it straight into the PC, smartphones, or digital audio players is possible.