Headphone Reviews

World's Best Headphone: The Focal Utopia

Tyll Hertsens Aug 08, 2016 First Published: Aug 08, 2016

This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com

And then, at 21 second in, right after she sings, "When God gave out rhythm...", two chords are gently played on the piano. My goodness, I've never heard such sensitively percussive, harmonically rich, filled with weight and substance sound from a piano. Most astonishing is the interplay of tones, harmonics, and intermodulation making the whole of the chord a rich textured wave of sound. I was transfixed until track's end.

Headphone Reviews InnerFidelity

Enter the Next Generation: Focal Elear Headphone

Tyll Hertsens Jul 28, 2016 First Published: Jul 28, 2016

This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com

THIS is what a $1000 headphone should be. Unapologetically masculine styling...and sexy; confidently strutting exquisite materials and build-quality; and delivering sound of a quality I've not heard before on any headphone. It walked in my office, swept all the headphones off my desk in one grand gesture, and said, "Here I am. Deal with it."

Headphone Reviews InnerFidelity

The Outstanding Bose Quiet Comfort 35 Wireless Noise Canceling Headphone

Tyll Hertsens Jul 22, 2016 First Published: Jul 22, 2016

This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com

"Value packed" is not a word I typically use to describe a headphone. I really thought the Beyerdynamic DTX 350 m was great for the money; definitely a good value...but not packed with value. Sennheiser's HD 600 is an extraordinary value...but no carry case; doesn't have a mic/remote; isn't useful portably. Still a great headphone and an extraordinary value, but packed with value? Okay, maybe. HD 800 S? Great headphone, but no friggen way anything over $700 is "value packed." The Quiet Comfort 35, on the other hand? Oh yeah, this thing will be a delightful traveling companion with technological, comfort, convenience, and solid sound quality characteristics abundantly.

Headphone Reviews InnerFidelity

The Inexpensive and Great Sounding Beyerdynamic DTX 350 m

Tyll Hertsens Jul 15, 2016 First Published: Jul 15, 2016

This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com

Were it not for the fact that I'm about to tell you so, there's nothing that would clue you in: The Beyerdynamic DTX 350 m ($59) looks about like any cheap plastic headphone you might run across at WalMart...but beauty runs deep with this one. Check it out.

Headphone Reviews

Stax SR-Lambda Pro headphones

Dick Olsher, J. Gordon Holt, John Atkinson Jul 12, 2016 First Published: Sep 01, 1984

Stax Kogyo, a small audio company by Japanese standards, has been for the past 15 years steadfastly refining and redefining the electrostatic headphone. The SR-Lambda Pro is their current flagship model, and at a 1984 US list price of $780 it also represents a very substantial investment in headphone technology.

Headphone Reviews

A Tale of Four Headphones

John Atkinson Jul 06, 2016 First Published: May 01, 1991

I do quite a bit of headphone listening during the day, making use of their convenience to shut out the office hubbub while I get down to serious copy editing. The system I use is modesta pair of no-longer-available Sennheiser HD420SLs driven by an Advent 300 receiver I bought for $75, with CD source provided by a Denon DCD-1500 IIbut I get quite a bit of musical satisfaction from it.

Headphone Reviews InnerFidelity

The E-Mu Walnut: A Creative Aurvana Live! Woodied-Up

Tyll Hertsens Jul 02, 2016 First Published: Jul 02, 2016

This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com

Originating with the Foster OEM design (model 443741, page H-4 of this .pdf) and seeing the light of day first as the Denon AD-H1001, then the Creative Aurvana Live! (CAL!), this model has now been refreshed as the E-Mu Walnut. This is a lovely example of a companyin this case Creative Technologies in the form of its subsidiary company E-Mu Systemsrecognizing they have a solid-performer on their hands, and incrementally improving it. I wish I saw this more often.

Audacious Audio Headphone Reviews

Audeze LCD-4 headphones

John Atkinson Jun 21, 2016 First Published: Jun 21, 2016

Life is too short to put up with poor-sounding headphones, I mused the other morning, during my 60-minute commute on the NYC subway. All around me, straphangers gripped smartphones and listened to multicolored Beats, noise-canceling Boses, white Apple earbuds, and, only rarely, Sennheisers and Grados.

Headphone Reviews

Pass Labs HPA-1 headphone amplifier

John Atkinson Jun 16, 2016 First Published: Jun 16, 2016

When Pass Labs is mentioned, it's natural to think of its founder, iconic engineer Nelson Pass. But Nelson heads a team of engineers at the California company: Their XP-30 preamplifier, which I enthusiastically reviewed in April 2013, was designed by Wayne Colburn; and the subject of this review, the HPA-1 headphone amplifier, is the first Pass Labs product designed by Jam Somasundram, former director of engineering for Cary Audio. Somasundram joined Pass Labs in July 2013; he spent a year working on the HPA-1, which was shown at the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show, in Las Vegas, but not formally launched until the 2016 CES, at a hefty $3500.

Headphone Reviews InnerFidelity

Does music help you get to sleep? Bedphones will work just fine!

Tyll Hertsens May 20, 2016 First Published: May 20, 2016

This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com

One of the things that, it seems to me, separates headphone enthusiasts from traditional audiophiles is an interest in good inexpensive stuff, or devices with unusual utility. Think Koss Porta Pros or the Riva Turbo X. The Porta Pro has been delivering excellent sound quality for its very low $49 price for decades and for decades headphone enthusiasts have been praising their worth. And when the Riva Turbo X Bluetooth speaker showed up at CanJam a year or so ago, headphone hobbyists embraced it immediately as a great sounding portable speaker. These are cool little gadgets, and it seems to me headphone enthusiasts are more than willing to have a good hard look at them....no matter the cost.