Sennheiser HD569 Around Ear Sealed Headphones
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.comSennheiser has been "remastering" their line-up for the past little while and I've been itching to get a little ear time on some of the more affordable models. In a marvelous turn of events, they sent me a couple of boxes filled with headphones for me to measure, evaluate, and cherry pick for for good values. Here's the first one...
Sennheiser Noise Canceling Headphones: PXC 550 Wireless; HD 4.5 BTNC; HD1 Wireless; and HD1 On-Ear Wireless
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.comAbout this time last year I reviewed the then new Sennheiser PXC 550 BTNC over-ear, noise canceling headphones in hopes that someone would manage to unseat the Bose Quiet Comfort 35. Didn't happen. The Sennheiser had some great features, but in the end it was just too bright for me.
Recently I got a few more Sennheiser wireless noise cancelers and I found they too seemed overly bright. Now I consider Sennheiser the world's best headphone manufacturer. They've got a lot of experience under their belt, so when I hear a batch of Sennheisers, from differing product lines, that all seem too bright and have a quite similar measured response, I've got to question myself. Maybe they know something that I don't.
Sennheiser PX 200-II Headphone and PX 200-IIi Headset
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.comThe Sennheiser PX 200-IIi (MSRP $149.95) is a general-purpose headset, ideally suited and convenient for kids, students, and casual home, office, and travel use. It’s light and small, very well built, and will easily survive unending rounds between backpack, computer desk, and kitchen junk drawer. Best of all, it packs neatly into a very small size with a unique folding design making it only slightly larger than a pair of sunglasses when stowed.
Sennheiser PXC 550 Noise Canceling Bluetooth Headphones
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com
Shots fired!
Sennheiser's new PXC 550 ($399) Bluetooth noise canceling headphone is a direct shot across the bow of Bose's battleship Quiet Comfort 35 ($349) dominance of noise canceling headphones, which I reviewed very positively. Not only do Bose own a big chunk of that market, they consistently, in my opinion, have the best isolation and sound quality performance. Let's see if Sennheiser can put a dent in that armored hull.
Shakin' it with the Subpac S2 Headphone Subwoofer
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com
Over the years I've tried a number of headphone subwoofer gadgets. Most didn't work well at all. The Subpac S2 is a whole 'nother story.
Shure In-Ear Series SE215, SE315, SE425, and SE535
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com
Evolution is not like a car wash; it's not some process with a beginning, a middle, and an end. It's messy; it makes mistakes; sometimes it moves in a particular direction; sometimes it just goes in circles refining things. Evolution doesn't really know where it's going until it gets there.
Since 1997 Shure has been evolving its line of in-ear headphones. It seems to me they've both run in circles on the ergonomics, and made a bee-line for good sound. Let me explain.
Skullcandy Crusher Wireless Over-Ear Sealed Headphones with Haptic Bass Drivers
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.comFor those of you who just stumbled across this InnerFidelity review as you were looking for information about the Skullcandy Crusher Wireless, welcome! InnerFidelity is a website for hard core headphone enthusiasts and it's likely you've never read headphone reviews like the ones here. I'll be going on in some detail about the technicalities of this headphone and that will probably bore you. So, I'll save you some time. I don't think the Crusher is a good sounding headphone, even for bass-heads. Let me recommend you take a look at the InnerFidelity reviews of the comparably priced Sennheiser HD 4.40 BT ($149) and the more expensive but better sounding Beats Solo3 Wireless ($299).
For the rest of you headphone geeks, I'm sure you've not been chomping at the bit for a Crusher audition, but given the haptic (vibration) transducer intended to produce the feeling of low bass response, I think it's a headphone worthy of a little satisfied curiosity. Let's have a look.
Skullcandy Mix Master
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.comI've got an open invitation to visit Skullcandy's headphone R&D labs in Park City Utah ... and I'll be taking them up on it sometime soon. Why? Because I want to see what they're doing that let them build a few darn good sounding headphones lately.
The Mix Master is one of them.
Skullcandy Roc Nation Aviator
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.comOh Nooooos!
I was at the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this year for my first face-to-face meetings with my new boss and his boss from Source Interlink Media about the InnerFidelity start-up, when out of the blue the boss's boss says, "Say, I've got a meeting with Skullcandy this afternoon, you should come." Ruh roh. We high-end headphone geeks don't take too kindly to headphones painted up with pink kitties and cartoon monkeys, so I try to opt out gracefully, "Aw, geez, I dunno, they're not really my thing. They're pretty and all, and Skullcandy is a very popular maker, but I think I'm more interested in the more serious and sound quality oriented brands." *silence* "You should come." "Yes, boss..."
I was at the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this year for my first face-to-face meetings with my new boss and his boss from Source Interlink Media about the InnerFidelity start-up, when out of the blue the boss's boss says, "Say, I've got a meeting with Skullcandy this afternoon, you should come." Ruh roh. We high-end headphone geeks don't take too kindly to headphones painted up with pink kitties and cartoon monkeys, so I try to opt out gracefully, "Aw, geez, I dunno, they're not really my thing. They're pretty and all, and Skullcandy is a very popular maker, but I think I'm more interested in the more serious and sound quality oriented brands." *silence* "You should come." "Yes, boss..."
SOL Republic Tracks
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com
The Little Monster himself, Keven Lee (son of Head Monster Noel Lee), jumped out on his own to start a new low-cost headphone company: SOL Republic. Their first headphone, the Tracks is a bit of a mixed bag, but quite interesting nonetheless.
Let's have a look and listen...