Introduction   The portable on-ear or over-the-ear headphone market is, I admit, not something that I’m especially familiar with. I recognize that there is a strong bias towards consumer-tuning in the $50-$300 price-range, with these usually closed cans having emphasis on the low-end with a rolled off high-end. Detail and resolution are generally eschewed for a lively sound that would easily find itself as powering the soundtrack of your daily commute.   My experience with the Audio Technica M-50X in the past was not very much to my liking, as...

  As I switch back and forth between the various amps in my possession, all plugged into my Schiit Gungnir DAC simultaneously, I come to further appreciate the nuances in different options of driving headphones. Each amp gives me a certain sound to it, and all are driving my headphones and earbuds well enough, but there is more to it than that.   I’d like to thank IFI for sending me this review loaner for my honest opinion.     Specifications   Gain: 0dB, 12dB and 24dB user-selectable   Signal to Noise Ratio: >123dB (A)   Total Harmonic...

 

  Introduction   It’s 1:35 AM and I’m listening to “Wicked Games” by The Weeknd on the Mee Audio Pinnacle P1 in-ear monitors. Although not the sound signature that I find myself drawn to in general, I find the experience enjoyable – as the vocal layering is presented in a satisfying and full manner. As the soulful, and rather pained, vocal carries the song – I find that the earphones hit the right notes when it comes to how the tenor voice comes through.   I have not covered many IEMs before, and I fully admit that I am not quite familiar with...

  Introduction:   God, this hype.   As primarily a headphones guy, I had never even heard of Focal before this summer. Shortly before attending the London Can Jam in August, the hype regarding the new Focal Utopia ($4000) and Elear ($1000) had reached a fever pitch – so much so that I put it high on my list of items to try out. Turns out that so did everybody else.   Four seats at the venue were constantly occupied, the two at Focal’s booth and the two at Moon Audio’s booth – who also had a Utopia and Elear. In between the two, I had some...

  Background   I would like to start this off by stating that this is not a review of the Sennheiser HD800, but rather a review of “possibilities.” Yes, this is not the stock HD800 I am going to be discussing, but rather one with the Superdupont Resonator mod installed. In short, the mod helps to tame a well-documented treble peak in the headphones that can put off many listeners.   When I started in the headphones game, with my Beyerdynamic DT990 in 2012, it seemed that the HD800 was the most coveted headphones that I saw on internet forums...

  Background   It’s safe to say that Massdrop has played a decent role in both introducing new products to the headphone community while highlighting others through their group-purchase system. The headphone I’m going to tackle today is their collaboration with Austrian manufacturer AKG, a Chinese-made version of their K702 65th Anniversary Edition rebranded as the K7XX that retails for $199 on the site. I had been interested in this headphone for some time now as praise has been showered on it for its price-to-performance ratio – with special...

  Background   When was the last time you used a pair of earbuds? Perhaps you use your Apple Earpods at work to remain inconspicuous, or maybe you are one of the many who have purchased the VE Monk out of curiosity and adhere to that. I have reviewed the latter before and added my declaration of its stellar sound quality for a low price to the many, many impressions that have made their way online in the past year or so. I consider the Monks to be a great marketing tool along with being a great product, it generates interests in the capabilities...

  Background   It was a curious moment in my recent history of trying out various headphones, the day I first put on the Meze 99 Classics. I already knew, judging from other reviews, that I wasn’t in for a neutral experience, but rather one with a “fun” sound signature. Yet again, I find myself reviewing such a headphone – but this time I ran into far fewer shortcomings than I have in the past.   The idea of this sound signature is that neutrality be damned, music is for pleasurable listening. They accentuate traits that sound enticing, vibrant...

  Background   To some, it may seem pointless to do a review of the Hifiman HE-500 in June of 2016, years after it was phased out in favour of their new product line – specifically the HE-560. However, I feel that this can be a useful guide for those looking to pick up one on the used market, as I did.   My previous experience with a Hifiman product was in January this year when I bought myself a HE-400i and it was my first set of planar magnetic headphones. I’ve since sold them and moved on to other cans, but I missed the speed that it had...

Cavalli Audio will not sell the Liquid Carbon headphone amp anymore, with the second and final run ending a month ago, but I hope the following is useful to those looking to pick one up on the used market.     Background:   My Schiit Asgard 2 had served me very well from when I purchased it in mid-2013 to earlier this spring, when I found that it made my ZMF Vibro Mk. I sound a bit too stuffy – an overabundance of warmth due to both headphone and amp being of warm sound signatures. I then opted for a more neutral Schiit Magni 2, which fared...

  I am a big fan of overachieving gear of any kind. What I mean by overachieving is the “they sound way too good for the price” factor. This is a highly subjective mindset because the worth of an item is not based primarily on its cost but rather its overall performance, aesthetics and compatibility with the end user. However, some items are just almost “too good to be true” for their price – such as the VE Monk and Monk Plus by Chinese company Venture Electronics which deliver astounding quality for $5, a well-documented fact in the portable audio...

    When the TH-X00 first appeared on my radar last year, I had only a little knowledge of who Fostex were and their wide reach in the audio game. I saw Massdrop advertise the headphones as $399, marked down from $1000, and wondered what the quality must be. At the time, I was switching between a Sennheiser HD600 and a Beyerdynamic DT990 600 Ohm as my daily drivers, with more emphasis on the former.   About a half-year later, I finally have a pair in my possession. By this time, Massdrop is on their third run of the mahogany version and have just...

  It is nearing two months since I was introduced to the original Monk earbuds by Venture Electronics. They left quite the impression on me and my views on price-to-performance ratio in audio gear, not to mention reviving a medium that I had long since abandoned. In fact, I believe my last experience with earbuds was in 2005 when I had an Apple iPod. I then found a pair of Sennheiser PX-100’s and never looked back at earbuds again.     That is, until this March when a classmate let me demo his, run from an Ibasso DX90. In those short moments, I...

  In the audio world, nobody can say we don’t have a tonne of choice available to us. Some audition gear with slight differences to find the piece that truly stands out to them. This customizable experience is what drives enthusiasts in this hobby.     But what of the everyman? What of the student on a tight budget who needs the best “bang for your buck” experience? Some will point at the O2, but I would honestly recommend the Magni 2 instead in its basic form – the non-Uber $99 version.     One reason for this is that the O2 has a slightly...

    Ask yourself this question, what do you seek from a pair of headphones? Now I know this may seem like a strange question, as most of you probably have multiple pairs for different purposes – but what draws you to your favourite pair?   Is it neutrality? I’d guess you absolutely love the likes of the Sennheiser HD600 then.   Is it accurate imaging, a huge soundstage and an analytical and revealing sound? Well then the Sennheiser HD800S must be what you seek.   You can see where I’m going with this, and I’m only using Sennheiser...