Paul Barton of PSB was on hand to demonstrate the RoomFeel technology he uses in his headphones. "Headphone listeners listen to recorded music that was designed to be heard in a room," he said. Therefore, his RoomFeel technology adds a simulated room response to music.
Barton, who designs for NAD and Bluesound as well as PSB, conducts research for his 45-year-old company at the National Research Council in Ottawa. Shown were PSB feed-back and feed- forward noise-cancelling headphones ($399), with the latest Bluetooth technology, whose aptX-HD algorithm enables 24/48 transmission.
Driving the headphones was the NAD 3D 020 V2 hybrid digital headphone amplifier ($399), complete with 24/192 DAC. Steely Dan's "Hey Nineteen" sounded really smooth and warm, with a nice beat. I didn't listen for long, but what I heard was a joy. For more on these babies, see the write-up by Tyll Hertsens, who has spent much more time with Barton than I.
