Erzetich Audio has made open and semi-open headphones since 2012, and never a closed-back — until now. The Pan, its first fully closed-back headphone, puts two 40mm titanium-coated dynamic drivers in each ear cup, at €1,700. The idea is simple: a sealed cup is hard to get right, so Erzetich gave itself more diaphragm area to work with — roughly 28% more than a single 50mm driver.
What’s New
The headline is the dual-driver layout. Each ear cup houses two 40mm titanium-coated dynamic drivers, giving a total diaphragm area of about 2,513 square millimetres — roughly 28% more than a single 50mm driver’s 1,963. The point is isolation without the usual closed-back compromises: a sealed cup fights its own resonances, and more diaphragm area is Erzetich’s way of keeping the sound relaxed rather than boxy. The company describes the result as relaxed and balanced, with detailed reproduction and well-defined high frequencies — its own words, and no independent listener has confirmed them yet.
The build follows the house style. The ear cups are resin and aluminium, in the same octagonal shape as the Phobos, and the headband is carbon fibre. The ear pads are leatherette, with no animal products. The name comes from the Greek god Pan, associated with nature, music and the wilderness, and the headphone’s logo incorporates the shape of a pan flute as a reference to the mythological figure.
At 64 ohms, the Pan is designed to work with both dedicated headphone amplifiers and portable digital audio players — a meaningful difference from the planar Phobos, which demands a serious amplifier. The cable ships with both a 4.4mm balanced connector and a 3.5mm single-ended connector, covering both use cases without an extra purchase. Erzetich places the Pan sonically between the Mania V2021 and the Phobos 4 in its range.
The Pan costs €1,700 and is available through the Erzetich online shop and dealers. No shipping date has been announced. It carries a 2-year warranty and is made in the EU.
Context
Erzetich Audio was founded in 2012 in Slovenia by Blaž Erzetič. Its first headphones, the Mania and the Phobos, launched together in 2018 and have been updated since — the Mania is now the V2024 at €1,199, the Phobos is the Phobos 4 at €1,999 — and the larger planar flagship, the Charybdis, arrived in 2023 at around €3,000. The Pan is the first closed-back in a range built on open and semi-open designs, and it fills the one gap in the line: listeners who need isolation — an office, a shared room, late nights, travel — have had no Erzetich to buy until now.
Compared to Predecessors and Current Rivals
| Pan | Mania V2024 | Phobos 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Driver | 2 × 40 mm titanium dynamic per cup | 50 mm titanium dynamic | 100 mm planar magnetic |
| Design | Closed-back, over-ear | Semi-open, over-ear | Open, over-ear |
| Impedance | 64 Ω | — | — |
| Ear cups | Resin + aluminium | Linden wood (original) | Resin + CNC-milled aluminium |
| Headband | Carbon fibre | Carbon fibre | Carbon fibre |
| Cable | 4.4 mm balanced + 3.5 mm SE included | Detachable | Detachable |
| Price | €1,700 | €1,199 | €1,999 |
The Pan sits between the two siblings in price — €1,199, then €1,700, then €1,999 — and in the range’s sound, by the company’s own positioning. The closed-back is the differentiator: neither sibling offers isolation. Against the wider market, €1,700 puts the Pan in serious closed-back territory, where the dual-driver layout is its argument for attention. The honest comparison will have to wait for the first listening impressions, which are not yet in the public record.
My Take (Paper Analysis)
On paper, the Pan is a thoughtful answer to a real problem: closed-back headphones fight their own sealed cups, and two smaller drivers with more total area is a credible way to keep the sound relaxed rather than boxy. The 64-ohm impedance and the included 4.4mm and 3.5mm cables make it genuinely portable-friendly, unlike the planar Phobos. What concerns me is how little is verified: no listening impressions in the public record yet, no shipping date, and no published weight or sensitivity. A dual-driver closed-back is an unusual design, and unusual designs need ears on them before judgment. The €1,700 price sits in serious closed-back territory. The honest position is this: if you need isolation and like Erzetich’s house sound, the Pan is the only way to get it from this maker. If you don’t need a closed-back, the Mania at €1,199 or the Phobos 4 at €1,999 are the known quantities.
Who Should Watch This
Erzetich owners who need a closed-back should look first: the Pan fills the one gap in the range. Anyone who listens in a shared room or travels and wants a high-end closed-back with a portable-friendly 64 ohms should watch the order window. Wait for the first listening impressions before buying — the design is unusual enough that ears matter more than the spec sheet.
