Products are listed in alphabetical order within classes, each followed by a brief description of its performance characteristics and a note indicating the issue of Stereophile in which its review, and in some cases Follow-Up reports, appeared; ie, "Vol.42 No.6" indicates our June 2019 issue.
Stereophile's Recommended Components listing is concerned mainly with products available in the US through the usual hi-fi retail…
The classes each cover a wide range of performance. Carefully read our descriptions here, the original reviews, and (heaven forbid) reviews in other magazines to put together a short list of components to choose from. Evaluate your room, your source material and front-end(s), your speakers, and your tastes. With luck, you may come up with a selection to audition at your favorite dealer(s). "Recommended Components" will not tell you what to buy any more than Consumer Reports would presume to tell you whom to marry! Heaven forbid.
Class A
Best…
A+
TechDAS Air Force One Premium: $162,000 w/titanium upper platter
The standard version of the TechDAS Air Force One turntable was awarded an A+ and sat atop these ratings for six years. Now MF has auditioned the Premium version of same, which betters the original AFO with a motorized air pump and automatic, continuous pressure-monitoring system for its air-suspension mechanism. MF's review sample also featured an optional titanium upper platter. (Without the latter, the AFO Premium sells for $145,000.) Auditioned with a Graham Engineering Elite tonearm, the AFO…
Beats Studio Wireless ($349)
The recent Beats refresh of their headphone products has been welcome in sight and sound. The product line over-all has dramatically improved the build quality, styling, and sound quality of Beats products.
The new Studio and Studio Wireless are very good looking headphones, available in many colors, and solidly built. Earpads apear to be of very good quality protein leather over memory foam, and are quite comfortable. Headphone adjustability, folding mechanisms, accessories are all top notch.
The Beats Studio Wireless can be…
Sony MDR-1RBT ($399)
Without doubt, the Sony MDR-1RBT is supremely comfortable and a beautiful headphone. It's also among the most expensive.
Unfortunately, I find it leaves quite a bit to be desired when it comes to sound quality. Bass is reasonably tight, but tends to be rather one-note in nature and modestly overemphasized. Mid an treble response is somewhat disjointed and uneven, lacking a sense of smoothness and clarity. Treble, however, does seem to articulate fairly well; cymbals are fairly natural sounding without extraneous noise.
The Sony MDR-1RBT…
Parrot Zik 2.0 ($399)
Wow! This is an amazing headphone. It's got a few trouble spots, but it's also the most fully-featured BT headset one could buy.
The look is spectacular. The headband and ear capsules are covered in protein leather and are available in six colors (black, blue, orange, yellow, tan, and off-white). Headband arms are injection molded metal.
One power button is present, remaining controls (pause, play, track forward, phone answer, etc) are effected by swiping motions on the outside of the right ear capsule. Sensors in the right ear-pad detect…
Pendulumic Stance S1 ($199)
Arriving on the scene about a year and a half ago, Pendulumic intends to produce a high-quality wireless listening experience at a low price, and have been promoting these cans at THE Show Newport and CanJam@RMANF as a good choice for enthusiasts. I found them a bit of a mixed bag.
The styling of the Stance 1 is a bit old school and ordinary, but I think I prefer it over the other $199 headphones in this survey. The finish on plastic parts is a nice dark-copper semi-matte paint. Headband and ear pads are a good grade of protein leather.…
Koss BT540i ($199)
Looking very much like their ProDJ100, the Koss BT540i is...well, not very stylish. Val Kolton of V-Moda with his "no circles or plastic" mantra would cringe. Circular ear capsules, circular pads, and, but for the headband sliders and a few bits here or there, plastic and pleather everywhere. Yeah, this is a very plain looking headphone.
Earpieces rotate flat for storage in the included hard-shell case, but they can also folded inward to become quite compact should you want to do without the somewhat bulky travel case.
The other odd thing…
Scosche RH1060 ($199)
If the Koss BT540i is a Plain Jane, then the Scosche RH1060 is a big, fat drag queen. A bulbous and cumbersome agglomeration of curvaceous gloss black plastic with shiny bits as accents. Fortunately, other than their garish looks, they're a pretty nice BT headphone at this price.
Earpieces fold up and inward for storage and transport in the included hard-side clam-shell case. Ear pads are real leather covered with memory foam underneath, and are fairly spacious providing a comfortable, though a bit warm, fit. Headband pad touches only at the top…
MEElectronics Air-Fi Matrix2 AF62 ($129)
Oh. My. Goodness. This is an awesome BT headphone! And at the $90
price you can get at Amazon, this is a ridiculously good value proposition. Ed Note: Price is rapidly changing upward at the moment, get 'em while they're cheap.
One might be tempted to chuckle at the carbon fiber pattern imprinted in the cheap vinyl padded coverings on the outside of the ear pieces and headband, but upon reflection I've decided it's a pretty masterful way of using low-cost materials. Similarly, the matte black plastic of the rest of the…