[jude]

Check Out Head-Fi's Summer 2012 Buying Guide!​

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Click on the image above to download the Head-Fi Summer Buying Guide!​

 

IMPORTANT NOTE: The Guide is best viewed by downloading it and viewing it in a PDF reader, not directly in your browser.​

 
Since the release of last year's Holiday Gift Guide, many new headphone hi-fi and personal audio products have been released--and I've also had the chance to listen to some outstanding gear since then (old and new) that I hadn't previously heard--so I thought it was a great time for an update to the Guide. This, the 2012 Head-Fi Summer Buying Guide, is the result!
 
Are you looking for some great headphone audio and personal audio gift ideas for someone special? Or for you? Then download the 2012 Head-Fi Summer Buying Guide by clicking on the cover photo above, or by using the link at the bottom of this post.
 
As before, this buying guide is not intended as an encyclopedia of all the world's headphone hi-fi and personal audio products; but, rather, a look at some of this community's favorite products, and, in most cases, products I have direct experience using and listening to.
 
Thanks to all of the Head-Fi members whose quotes we used (with their permission) throughout the guide.
 
And thanks to the following companies who sponsored the 2012 Head-Fi Summer Buying Guide!
 
 

NuForce​

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ALO Audio​

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V-MODA​

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JH Audio​

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Head-Direct​

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Moon Audio​

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FiiO​

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Audiofly​

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Lab Kable​

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ASUS​

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Audeze
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CLICK HERE to download the 2012 Head-Fi Summer Buying Guide!​

  

 

[AyeCee]

Awesome, having a good read now. Looks really interesting. Great work!

 

[Steve Eddy]

Looks great!
 
Though when I load the PDF into my browser, I just get the "hand" icon with a down arrow, and can only go to the next page. No other options seem to be available. Works fine when I download and pull it up in Acrobat.
 
se

 

[putente]

Nice one, jude! Congratulations to everyone involved in the making... 

 

[Caffinefreedave]

Doesn't work at all for me the Fall guide didn't either.

 

[KG Jag]

Yes--the format/structure is significantly less user friendly than the norm.

 

[AyeCee]

Are you guys using chrome? It worked fine for me within my chrome browser, It was a bit choppy and slow, but it is a pretty full on PDF so that is understandable. 

 

[Sweden]

Are all these product from paying sponsors?
I get a error message when opening the PDF in PDF viewer. 

 

[KG Jag]

Quote:

Are you guys using chrome? It worked fine for me within my chrome browser, It was a bit choppy and slow, but it is a pretty full on PDF so that is understandable. 

 
In my case, Firefox--but had to go to IE for a little more/better control.

 

[bowei006]

It was choppy too, so I downloaded it and opened it up in Sumatra!
 
Thanks to the sponsors...and HEad-Fi's premier sponsor- NuForce
 
Would've been nice to see the E12 in there as well, but unlike the E02i, it's not even near release date yet

 

[putente]

Try downloading and open with Acrobat Reader X, instead of opening directly within the browser. Works great... 

 

[AyeCee]

Quote:

Are all these product from paying sponsors?

I'm not too sure. My suspicion is that the paid sponsor pages are the pages where a whole page is dedicated to a product, and doesn't have the same font that is used on the majority of the products. EG: the JH16/3A system, Audiofly, ALO #MySetup, Asus xonar essence, etc you get the idea

 

[jude]

Quote:

Are all these product from paying sponsors?

 
Absolutely not. I don't sell the ads--that's handled by other people entirely. I do, however, write the guide.
 
In the first two categories, I just did a quick count: I think there are 31 headphones in the over-ear category, 12 or 13 of which are from sponsors. I think one of the bigger headphone stories this year is Philips, so they got a longer writeup, and a full page. They are not a sponsor of the guide, and they are not a sponsor of this site.
 
In the second category (gaming), two of three are made by sponsors.
 
In custom in-ears, five of seven are made by sponsors.
 
In universal-fit in-ears, I think three four of 12 are made by sponsors, but I'd have to confirm all of these numbers by looking at the list of sponsors.
 
So, again, long answer short: No.
 
Regarding user-friendliness of the format: We'll await more feedback, but can reevaluate how its laid out and formatted.

 

[sridhar3]

Damn good work, Jude!  Thanks for this one.

 

[alarion]

This is just what I needed 

Excellent work!