The clarity and resolution really is impressive. That, in combination with the explosive dynamic range makes for a lively, vivid sound experience. All that detail can get fatiguing though as the crystalline (but very pure and refined) treble can easily draw too much attention to itself with anything less than top-notch recordings. It's not a peaky nor harsh treble, but it is a prominent feature of the Utopia. Bass extension is better than any other non-planar open back I know of. Bass quality is very good, albeit *slightly* lacking in heft with just...

  Still burning-in, but I can already say they are by far the best sounding IEM's I've ever heard. Fantastically clear/clean through the mids and treble - tremendous detail resolution without things sounding harsh or clinical. Treble is precise, rich, coherent and extended. Never piercing or bordering on overly bright to these ears, unless it's a crap recording of course.  Midrange is where it's really at. Delicate, full-bodied and airy sounding. Vocals sound crisp, velvety smooth and true in tone. Maybe the best midrange I've heard...

If performance is based solely on ultimate transparency, then this is the best headphone I've ever owned and/or listened to. That includes the SR-009. Superb clarity and resolution without any hint of treble brightness or fatigue. Its purity of tone is simply astonishing; it's smooth, organic, airy and fast all at the same time. It adds little to nothing of its own, and neither does it subtract anything from the richness of the music. And for an electrostatic headphone, the bass performance is superb. Tight (!), fast and impactful with plenty of...

Just as I thought it couldn't get much better than the KEF M500 as far as headphones to plug in your smartphone goes, Bowers & Wilkins update their range with the P7.      Design & build quality   When you first unbox the P7 and see it laying there folded in its tilted presentation, you instantly know you are dealing with quality of seldom seen measures. The all leather and metal built P7 smells like a brand new car when you take it out of the box and B&W have paid attention to every little detail. The design is basically a larger and...

Introduction  Until now, my pick for the best sounding portable headphone has been the Sennheiser Momentum. While slightly mellow overall with a noticeably forward bass and laid-back treble, until now the Momentum has provided a naturalness and transparency unrivaled by any competitor I've had the chance to try out. This includes Sony MDR-1R, Focal Spirit One, Logitech UE6000, B&W P5, Denon D600, Bose QC15, Sennheiser HD25, Amperior, Audio technica ATH-M50 and even the expensive Ultrasone Edition 8 (do I even need to include any of the Beats by...

Truly a fine comeback for Sony. The phone is put together with a precision you normally don't find with Android phones and it feels sleek and premium in the hand. It has a very clean, modern look to it and the overall visual impression is as good - if not better - than Apples latest iPhones. The weight feels just perfect; light enough to not feel bulky and hefty enough to not feel cheap. Compared to Samsung's plastic phones, this is miles beyond.     The 5 inch display is a thrill to watch overall. The Full-HD resolution allows for an extremely...

On sound alone, the Sennheiser Momentums are worth every penny. But aside from being wonderful sounding, the elegant design is beautiful and luxuriant with stainless steel band, real leather and quality plastic cups in a nice, dark bronze finish. The standard cable is also very high quality, with a substantial metal remote attached to it.  The case isn't as large and bulky as I expected from reviews, and it's sturdy enough to keep the headphones safe under most circumstances.  They are very comfortable. The light weight and the materials inside...

I am a quite happy D600 owner. They are not neutral by any means but as a general-purpose headphone the sound suits my needs. Loads of super-deep bass, nice midrange tonality and an open if somewhat troublesome high-end. The best thing is that they are great portable companions, with good fit, good isolation, iPod-made cable and the fact that they are very easy to drive. I think they are worth what I paid for them (bought them on a discount weekend) When I first held the new Denon flagship D7100 in my hands the first thing that struck me was the...

When I tried the AKG K3003 and disliked the clinical presentation, I decided to try another high-praised universal IEM - the Shure SE535. I've read a lot about how these things have "bottomless bass", "fantastic mids" and "lots of detail".    Well, one thing is true. The midrange is great. These have a mellow, grain-free and natural midrange presentation. They are held back, however, by the rolled-off treble response and poor soundstage (like always with IEMs IMO). The result is surprisingly congested and dark sound, lacking in air, detail and...

This is a fairly large, heavy headphone amp that has no problem in driving two LCD-2s at the same time. The volume knob is smooth and satisfying to use, but I've found the amp suffers from hissing noise when touching the knob if not connected to a grounded outlet. So keep that in mind.    It's rock solid and it looks nice on my desk but the design is nothing ground-breaking.   Compared to amps like the Lehmann BCL or Burson HA-160, this one has a warmer, smoother tone. Things sound big and airy and there's an analogue feel when listening to...

EDITED! Picked these up for a special price after listening in store and liking what I heard very much. A clear, clean sound with a really fun bass response. A very different sound compared to my HD 800 and I liked the idea of a headphone that made you tap your feet. First of all the Denon D600 is an extremely comfortable headphone. The pressure on the head is spot-on for a closed can and the well shaped, memory-foam earpads feel wonderful. Only a slight headband pressure and heat issues usually present with closed headphones keep them under a...

First of all these look and feel like an expensive headphone. They have a nice weight to them and the leather, fine brushed aluminum and memory foam earpads all breathe quality.    They are fairly comfortable thanks to the soft pads, but the moderate clamping force coupled with the leather heats up the ears within 5 minutes.  I expected a little more for the price. They aren't really hi-fi headphones, there just isn't the resolution on offer. The sound is smooth and warm, with an emphasized bass that goes deep but lacks refinement. The treble...

  Compared to most of the competition, this is inarguably a wonderful headphone and I do enjoy it. But sonically, it does not compete with a well-driven O2 mk1 to my ears. I simply find the O2's richer and more involving tone to be more natural.   The 009 is more alike the Lambda series than the Omega series. It's no harder to power than the Lambdas and the sound signature is reminiscent, but probably a step up in refinement, soundstaging and bass extension/impact. In general though, the sound is typical STAX. Natural, agile and very detailed...

No one having heard them all will disagree with this: these are hands down the best of the Beats headphones.  I'd say they're what the beats should have been in the beginning. They are very cool looking, but also breath quality. I think the are the most attractive of the bunch, with nice blend of red and black and cool, stealth-like matte finish. Materials are top notch. These feel seriously solid. Build quality is every bit as good as you'd expect for the price. They're also lightweight so thats a good thing (unlike the PROs).    Where they...

Well... these aren't exactly bad. They're just... well, boring.    The bass is actually good if you take these for what they are (a bass heavy DJ-can). The bass pressure is MASSIVE. I have not heard (or felt) this kind of monster bass in a headphone before. It's well controlled (probably because of the extremely rigid chassis). It goes fairly deep and hits with massive power. Almost feels like the bass is shattering your bones.... If you're a basshead you won't find better.    Not saying the bass is really high-quality, it's absolutely not as...

I've heard these once. All I did was shaking my head. They didn't sound piercing so technically they weren't painful to listen to but oh boy did they sound bad!  Weird, muffled bass that lacks depth and sounds like you've turned the mid-bass up using a badly implemented digital EQ? - Check.    Thin, recessed, muddy mids? - Check   Recessed treble with the resolution of airplane earbuds? - Check.    Really no reason to buy these for anyone. I'd say they're worth maybe... 30 bucks. But they are more expensive then the Audio technica M50...

  I purchased this headphone for full retail price a couple of years ago, and in the beginning, I felt very positive about it. But things change, and as I got to try many other high end offering by other manufacturers, as I got to try this headphone with different amps, sources, cables and so forth, I have come to the conclusion that this headphone is perhaps the most overhyped piece of audio gear in the head-fi industry. The truth hurts, but you learn from your mistakes.    As controversial as it may be, I felt the need to change my positive...

These shiny, luxurious little in-ear monitors that come in a very exclusive box sure feel very expensive in terms of look and feel. They shells attach behind your earlobes and rest comfortably there. This is the most comfortable in-ear headphone I've worn.    They can be driven from an iPhone as well as an amp, sound will not be any different.    The sound of these didn't impress. They have that clean, clinical sound yet lack the clarity to sit at this price range. The midrange is fairly neutral, but also quite flat sounding. The treble...

A large, hefty bit of planar magnetic goodness. Wood, metal and leather construction is very nice. A bit heavy for prolonged use though, can cause discomfort on top of your head.  It has already been said. Fantastic bass that should appeal to everyone, a very smooth and full-bodied midrange and a pleasant, nonobtrusive natural sounding treble. Very refined with low distortion and high detail, if not quite as spectacular in this regard as electrostatics. Some may find them a little to the dark side, lacking that airy openness.  I think this is...

I bought these on a trip, mostly for noise cancelling on the airplane, and because my previous portable headphone broke. I was fully aware that I was buying an overpriced headphone, as far as sound quality goes. I compared the sound of these to a friend's 50 dollar skullcandy, and the only relevant difference was treble and bass quantity between the two. So here's a review, where I won't review the cans as if they were my 1000 dollar Sennheisers, but for what they actually are.   First of all, the beats are attractive, in a fashion-like way. The...