The Sony MDR-XB300, MDR-XB500, and MDR-XB700 Extra Bass Headphones
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com
While perusing for new headphones to measure among HeadRoom's huge stock of sales team demo cans, my eyes fell upon the trio of Sony extra bass headphones. Having spent quite a bit of time lately with celebrity headphones that have exaggerated bass, I thought this might be a good time to hear Sony's take.
Nah, they don't need a celebrity endorsements, one of these cans thumps like mad.
The Sony MDR-ZX700
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com
Out of the blue, a Sony PR agent dropped me an email.
"Sony has recently introduced the new high-quality Studio Monitor Series headphones that boast premium sound and technology, and I wanted to see if you are interested in reviewing them."
She referred to four headphones in her email (two full size sealed MDR-ZX700 ($119.99) and MDR-Z1000 ($499.99), and two IEMs MDR-EX600 ($199.99) and MDR-EX1000 ($499.99), but only had the inexpensive ones for review samples at the moment.
Oh .... okay. I'll take the cheap ones and have a listen. Glad I did.
The Spectacularly Yummy Audeze LCD-2 and LCD-3
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com
So, a couple of guys get together, have a close look at planar magnetic headphone drivers, and come to the conclusion that they could build something much better than the vintage drivers available. It turns out good ... so good they reckon they should move forward to build world class headphones. Yeah ... right.
Yeah right, is right!
The Striking Master & Dynamic MH40 Sealed Around-Ear Headphone
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com
Just imagine yourself knee-to-knee with the lead sax player in a 21 piece jazz orchestra.
The MH40 is sorta like that.
The Sumptuous and Sonorous Bowers & Wilkins P7
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com
Of course they're gorgeous looking, B&W just doesn't make stuff that's not drop-dead sexy. The big surprise here is how good they sound...how damned good they sound in some ways!
The Surprisingly Good Logitech UE6000 and UE9000
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com
Logitech has recently stepped up it's game in the world of personal audio with an entirely new line of Logitech UE branded products. There's plenty of muscle there to do the job well, the question is: Can a mouse company apply it with the finesse needed to really produce well balanced audio products?
Fortunately, Ultimate Ears is in the mix, and it seems to me the mouse has some pretty good ears now.
The Technologically Impressive LCD-4 Planar Magnetic Headphone
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.comA technological tour de force. But sound quality is the question.
The Terrific HiFiMAN HE400S Planar Magnetic Headphones
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com
Watch out HD 600, there's a new headphone in town.
The Ultrasone Edition 10
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com
I’ve heard so many conflicting opinions on the Ultrasone Edition 10 that I just had to get my hands on a pair. At $2,749, you’d reckon the praise ought to be a little more consistent. So I gave my buddy Todd (the Vinyl Junkie) a call to see if he had a pair I could play with, and sure enough, he had a slightly used pair for me to audition.
Wow! What an experience!
The Venerable Koss Porta Pro
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com
Long before I became professionally involved with headphones, the Koss Porta Pro was a great little portable headphone. In fact, it was one of the first headphones designed particularly for portable applications. It has remained relatively unchanged to this day ...
... thank goodness. If it ain't broke ...