Katz's Corner Episode 10: Mid-Priced Sealed Headphone Survey
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.comHooo boy! Bob pulls out all the stops in his latest episode.
This is a little treasure trove of incisive opinion on a bunch of pretty darn good $150-$500 full-size sealed headphones.
Katz's Corner Episode 11: The Oppo Explosion
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com
Bob Katz has fallen in love with the Oppo PM-3 and HA-2. A rather long review, but hey, he's in love. Waxing prosaic is part of the deal.
Katz's Corner Episode 16: The Smoking Gun
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.comAfter those episodes, conspiracy theories have abounded: Did somehow my brainwaves have managed to influence five strong-minded individuals in my direction. Was it valid for Bob to use different amplifiers for the two headphones? And why did Bob and Tyll's findings on the Utopia and LCD-4 differ so much?
Let's find out!
Katz's Corner Episode 17: Perfecting Perfection
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.comToday I'd like to discuss what I mean by sonic perfection or sonic neutrality. Most audiophiles have observed that excellent playback systems of different manufacturers can sound radically different! Even the most accurate loudspeakers are subtly voiced and are different sounding. But how can there be more than one "right"? Philosophically speaking, two different-sounding playback systems can't both be "right": one of them must be correct and the other must be incorrect! Or maybe both are wrong!
Katz's Corner Episode 18: Icelandic Wonder
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.comI have a love affair with my Stax SR-007 Mk2 phones, which I judge to be superior, smoother, more musical and accurate than the expensive SR-009 model. What's with Stax? For them "better" seems to mean brighter, but why manufacture an even brighter headphone when the 007 model already sounds too bright? Stax seems to be obsessed with detail at the expense of musicality or even accuracy. But after-market amplifiers have sweetened that tune to a great extent.
Katz's Corner Episode 20: How Insensitive!
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.comThese specifications confuse consumers, who would be forced to use logarithms and equations to answer the basic questions. We need to make headphone sensitivity and amplifier level specs more user-friendly, useable, interchangeable and effective. So I think it's high time to ditch both sensitivity approaches, and we can do better than both Sennheiser and the IEC if we start thinking outside the box!
Katz's Corner Episode 21: How Insensitive! Part 2
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.comSo today we'll pick up on this principle and briefly compare the sound qualities of six very different headphone amplifiers, concentrating on their headroom, impact, perceived loudness, detail, and depth. Then, in the next episode, I'll try to make sense of the listening and see if there is any correlation between what we measure and what we hear. Don't expect a miraclelistening versus measurements is an ongoing debate, but in Episode 22 I promise to reveal some tantalizing clues!
Katz's Corner Episode 21: How Insensitive! Part 3
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.comMay I have a drumroll, please! Here is the expanded amplifier measurement chart, presenting the essential measurements in a way that consumers can actually use, without forcing them to become engineers. At first it appears to be a daunting looking chart, but consumers will be presented with only a few of these measurements.
Katz's Corner Episode 23: A Big Step Forward
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.comI was planning on presenting the next episode in my "How Insensitive" series, but that'll have to wait till next time because a wonderful new toy has just arrived straight from the technical geniuses in Hong Kong. Today we're going to introduce you to a powerful new and affordable investigative tool: The MiniDSP EARS Headphone Jig, costing $179 USD. MiniDSP has been manufacturing audio-related DSP products since 2009. Led by charismatic Frenchman Tony Rouget, MiniDSP has made some innovative and affordable audio amplifiers, digital equalizers, DACs, calibrated measurement microphones and measurement tools.
Katz's Corner Episode 24: Pass Labs HPA-1 Headphone Amplifier
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.comNelson Pass's Lab has produced an impeccable headphone amplifier with more than enough power, that's quiet, solid, and very clean. Several other reviewers have reflected on this excellent amplifier, but I want to weigh in with my unique sonic perspective and also measurements of its performance.