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If you want a hand-built, closed-back wooden flagship with a warm, resonance-tamed dynamic driver and a balanced cable in the box, choose Audio-Technica ATH-AWKT Closed-Back Dynamic; if you need a wide, open-back planar soundstage with a huge 88 mm diaphragm and a gentle, natural midrange, choose SENDYAUDIO Peacock Gold Planar.
• Audio-Technica ATH-AWKT — biggest strength: Kokutan (striped ebony) closed-back housings, hand-finished with a half-gloss coat, that suppress unwanted resonance, paired with a 53 mm dynamic driver and German Permendur magnetic circuitry for a powerful, wide sound field.
• Audio-Technica ATH-AWKT — biggest trade-off: It is a wired, closed-back, 48-ohm headphone with no noise control, the heavier of the two on paper, and it ships with two 3.0 m cables — one 6.3 mm single-ended, one 4-pin XLRM balanced — which is a desk setup, not a pocket one.
• SENDYAUDIO Peacock Gold Planar — biggest strength: An 88 mm planar magnetic diaphragm made of ultra-thin, high-rigidity composite material, tuned for a natural, delicate, gentle midrange and vocals, with an open-back wood cup design for an airier presentation.
• SENDYAUDIO Peacock Gold Planar — biggest trade-off: Open-back means it leaks sound both ways, it also has no noise control, it covers a narrower stated frequency range, and it is a wired 6.35 mm-only headphone at 50 ohms.
• Who each pick is for: Pick the ATH-AWKT if you want a closed, isolating, hand-assembled wooden headphone for focused listening at a desk; pick the Peacock Gold if you want an open-back planar for a quiet room where soundstage and vocal texture matter more than isolation.
The ATH-AWKT is a statement piece built around its housing. Audio-Technica uses Kokutan — striped ebony — a dense Japanese hardwood long associated with woodwind instruments and pianos, precisely because dense wood tames unwanted resonance. In a closed-back design that matters even more, since the cup is doing double duty: it has to keep your music in and the room out, and it has to do so without adding its own coloration. The half-gloss finish is applied by hand, and the grain is meant to deepen with age, so this is a headphone you are supposed to keep, not cycle through.
Under the wood sits a 53 mm dynamic driver with German Permendur magnetic circuitry and a strong magnet, plus a D.A.D.S. (Double Air Damping System) structure for deep bass. The diaphragm uses a lightweight titanium flange so it reacts to the signal quickly, and the voice coil is 6N-OFC high-purity oxygen-free copper for clean signal transfer. The stated frequency range is 5 – 45,000 Hz at 48 ohms. Cables attach via A2DC detachable coaxial connectors, and you get two 3.0 m runs: one with a 6.3 mm gold-plated stereo plug, one with a 4-pin XLRM balanced connector. The magnesium alloy arm is angled for a good seal, and the earpads and headband are stitched sheepskin. Every wooden Audio-Technica headphone is hand-assembled in Japan.
Buy it if you listen at a desk, want isolation from a closed back, and you value a resonance-controlled, natural sound with real bass weight — or if you already own a balanced amplifier and want to use the XLRM cable immediately. Skip it if you need portability, want active noise cancellation, or you dislike the idea of a heavy, wood-cupped headphone on your head for hours. There is no noise control here, so isolation comes from the closed cups and the seal alone.
The Peacock Gold Planar takes the opposite approach: instead of a closed wooden chamber, it uses an open-back wood cup and a planar magnetic driver. The headline number is an 88 mm diaphragm made from an ultra-thin, high-rigidity composite material, which SENDYAUDIO pairs with what it describes as high-efficiency electroacoustic energy conversion. In plain terms, a large planar diaphragm moves a lot of air evenly across its surface, which is why open-back planars are usually described as having a spacious, layered presentation.
The tuning target here is clearly the midrange. SENDYAUDIO describes the mids and vocals as natural, delicate and gentle, with the original sound presented vividly — that is a "let the recording breathe" philosophy rather than a bass-forward one. Impedance is 50 ohms, the jack is 6.35 mm, and the connection is wired. The finish is a gold-toned wood cup, and the brand backs it with a 12-month warranty.
Buy it if you have a quiet room, you care most about vocal texture, instrumental separation and an open, airy stage, and you want a planar magnetic headphone with a genuinely large diaphragm. Skip it if you share a room, record with a microphone nearby, or need to block out traffic, fans or chatter — an open back leaks both directions and there is no noise control. Also skip it if you want the flexibility of a balanced cable option, since the ATH-AWKT gives you that and this one does not list it.
• Best for isolation → Audio-Technica ATH-AWKT Closed-Back Dynamic. Closed-back wooden cups versus an open-back design is the single biggest practical difference here.
• Best for soundstage and air → SENDYAUDIO Peacock Gold Planar. Open-back plus an 88 mm planar diaphragm is the combination built for width and separation.
• Best for vocal and midrange focus → SENDYAUDIO Peacock Gold Planar. Its stated tuning is explicitly natural, delicate and gentle in the mids.
• Best for bass depth and slam → Audio-Technica ATH-AWKT Closed-Back Dynamic. The D.A.D.S. structure and Permendur magnetic circuit are aimed squarely at deep, controlled low end.
• Best for cable flexibility → Audio-Technica ATH-AWKT Closed-Back Dynamic. Two detachable 3.0 m cables, including a 4-pin XLRM balanced option, versus a single 6.35 mm wired connection.
• Best for build and long-term ownership → Audio-Technica ATH-AWKT Closed-Back Dynamic. Hand-applied half-gloss finish, sheepskin pads and hand-assembly in Japan; the wood is meant to age with you.
• Best for a shared or noisy space → Audio-Technica ATH-AWKT Closed-Back Dynamic. If sound leakage is a problem, closed back wins by default.
• Best for a dedicated quiet listening room → SENDYAUDIO Peacock Gold Planar. That is the environment where an open planar actually makes sense.
• Best for driver technology curiosity → a genuine split. A 53 mm dynamic with titanium flange and 6N-OFC coil versus an 88 mm ultra-thin composite planar — these are two different philosophies, not two versions of the same thing.
In my opinion, I would buy the Audio-Technica ATH-AWKT Closed-Back Dynamic. The reason is not that the Peacock Gold is worse — it is that the ATH-AWKT is the more versatile headphone for how most people actually listen. Closed-back means I can use it in a normal room, the two included cables cover both single-ended and balanced setups, and the combination of a resonance-suppressing striped ebony housing, a 53 mm dynamic driver, D.A.D.S. bass tuning and a 5 – 45,000 Hz range points to a sound that works across genres rather than only with acoustic and vocal material.
The Peacock Gold Planar is the better pick if you specifically want an open-back planar for a quiet room and you prioritize midrange delicacy and stage width above everything else. That is a real preference, just a narrower one. For a single do-everything wooden headphone, I would go with Audio-Technica.
The Audio-Technica ATH-AWKT. It is closed-back with wooden cups designed to suppress resonance and keep sound contained, while the Peacock Gold is open-back and will leak sound in both directions.
No. Both list noise control as "None." Isolation on the ATH-AWKT comes from its closed-back cups and angled magnesium alloy arm for a good seal; the Peacock Gold Planar has no isolation by design.
The ATH-AWKT uses a 53 mm dynamic driver with a titanium flange, 6N-OFC voice coil and Permendur magnetic circuit, tuned for powerful bass and a wide field. The Peacock Gold uses an 88 mm ultra-thin composite planar diaphragm aimed at natural, delicate mids and vocals.
Yes with the Audio-Technica ATH-AWKT — it ships with two detachable 3.0 m A2DC cables, one 6.3 mm and one 4-pin XLRM balanced. The SENDYAUDIO Peacock Gold Planar lists only a 6.35 mm wired connection.
I do not quote prices here because they move around. Check the current price on Amazon for both and weigh the ATH-AWKT's two cables, closed-back isolation and hand-finished wooden build against the Peacock Gold's 88 mm planar driver and open-back presentation.
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