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 ...
The Very Adult Sennheiser Momentum
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com
The surge of rapper and celebrity headphones over the past five years or so has been annoying in the extreme to me. All the glam and glitter has been an enormous distraction from what the actual purpose of a headphone should be: to sound good. We're not going to be able to go backwards though, the fashionistas have raised the bar and a big, black, plastic blob on your head isn't going to cut it anymore. I just wish some company out there would be mature enough to make a headphone with tastefully balanced sound and sophisticated good looks.
With its new Momentum headphone, Sennheiser, it seems to me, is the adult in the room.
The Very Important Sennheiser HD 580, HD 600, and HD 650
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com
Arguably the most important audiophile headphones of the last two decades, the Sennheiser HD 580/600/650 family of headphones have a history of being both revered and maligned by headphone enthusiasts. I must admit to falling in and out of love with them numerous times.
What a long, strange trip it's been.
The Very Well Balanced Noontec Zoro II HD
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.comIn late 2011 I reviewed the Monster Beats Solo and found it simply horrible. Knowing there were a bunch of Chinese knock-offs, I set out to find one better than the original. I eventually stumbled onto and reviewed the Noontec Zoro. I found it much better. The subsequent Noontec Zoro HD was better yet. Fast forward to the middle of last year, and Beat releases their next generation headphones including the Solo2, which I loved.
The Wonderfully Competent AKG K550 Sealed Headphone
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com
Full-sized, sealed headphones are a bugaboo. They're either too woolly or boomy sounding, or they're too uneven, or they don't seal well enough. Sealed headphones are just plain hard to make sound good. Darn few that jump through those hoops and work well enough to be worth the money.
Wanna watch the K550 make the leap?
Three Modified Grados
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com
Some modified Grado cans have shown up in the lab. I don't know what my problem was getting to them in a timely manner, maybe it's my dislike in general for Grado cans, maybe it was the trouble I was having getting my corporate shipping set up, but I've finally managed to get around to listening and writing this post.
Oh, well, here we go ...
Time to Rethink Beats, the Solo2 is Excellent
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com
Yes, I've been very vocal about my disappointment with Beats product, especially the original Solo.
Well, it's time to change my tune, and I'll be vocal about that too.
ToTL Madness! 24 Top-of-the-Line Custom In-Ear Monitors Reviewed
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com
It's extremely hard to compare custom IEMs. Few users have more than one pair, so direct personal comparisons are rare. They can't be measured by InnerFidelity because they don't fit in the measurement head's ears. What to do?
Damn the torpedos, full speed ahead! In this review 5 InnerFidelity writers, blessed with the generosity of manufacturers willing to put their ToTL CIEMs through the ringer do a massive comparative review of 24 of the worlds best custom in-ear monitors.
Epic!
Two in the Strike Zone: Focal Spirit Professional and Spirit Classic
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com
Boy is it a good time to be in the market for a $300-$400 sealed headphone. Offerings like the Sennheiser Momentum, NAD VISO HP50, and B&W P7 provides consumers with some very good choices. Now you can add two more: The Focal Spirit Professional and The Focal Spirit Classic.