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When the stewardess asks me if I'd like to buy a pair of headphones for two dollars, I usually say no thanks and smile. She has no idea how good a pair of custom in-ear monitors sound.

And then I thought, "Well, I really have no idea how good her headphones sound either." So, I bought a pair, and brought them home to test.

Oh my!

United Airlines Flight 962
I have been stranded on a plane once or twice before without the proper adapters, and had to use the headphones they have. It's an abominable experience.…

I've been listening to a lot of mid-priced, sealed headphones lately, and these just keep jumping out at me. They say DJ on the side and have a mono switch, but I'm not buying it ... these are just plain good headphones.

Pioneer, eh? Who'da thunk it.

The Pioneer HDJ-2000 ($450 MSRP, $349 Street)
This full-size, sealed headphone is designated as a DJ headphone by Pioneer; and they do have a mono switch, swiveling earpieces, and surprisingly small folding size. But there's simply no reason avid listeners should shy away…

Sound Quality
These are a moderately colored headphone, sounding somewhat warm with a mildly forward mid-range. The highs are fairly clear but for a bit of graininess, and being slightly withdrawn. Thankfully they do not have the dreaded biting highs so often found on headphones. The bass is not very well extended and the upper bass is very slightly accentuated; the overall sense is a warm but slightly murky sounding. The dynamic punch of the cans is good, and the highs are well enough articulated to provide some imaging.

Event though these cans are somewhat colored, I…

Out of the blue, a Sony PR agent dropped me an email.

"Sony has recently introduced the new high-quality Studio Monitor Series headphones that boast premium sound and technology, and I wanted to see if you are interested in reviewing them."

She referred to four headphones in her email (two full size sealed MDR-ZX700 ($119.99) and MDR-Z1000 ($499.99), and two IEMs MDR-EX600 ($199.99) and MDR-EX1000 ($499.99)), but only had the inexpensive ones for review samples at the moment.

Oh .... okay. I'll take the cheap…

Sound Quality
I really spent a lot of time listening to these headphones, and comparing them to two other heavy hitters in this category: the Shure SRH440 and Audio Technica ATH-M50.

I heard the ZX700 as having a moderately forward mid-range; slightly below average bass extension, but good articulation; and slightly grainy, but well-balanced, highs. For a headphone of this price, I felt the Sonys delivered a very nicely balanced sound.…

I'm a bit of a curmudgeon when it comes to the word "voicing." I want neutrality; I want absolute transparency; I want to hear exactly what's on the disk, nothing more nothing less. Problem is, it rarely, if ever, happens. Pretty much every headphone I've ever heard has its own character. I'm pretty sure most headphone makers shoot for neutral and miss; the resulting "voice" is a bit more random than by design in most cases, I suspect.

The folks at Spider Cable say they were shooting for a "voicing" with an "emphasis is on strong…

Sound Quality and Intended Application
I'll quote Ronny Tsai, President of Spider Cable, on the intent of the Realvoice IEM:

A brief recap: At the 2018 High End show in Munich, UK-based SME announced that they had taken steps to reintroduce the classic Garrard 301, a transcription turntable that's been out of production for more than half a century (footnote 1). At the time of its introduction—production began in 1953—success for the British-built 301 was instant. It was also enduring; it…

Before I retired at the end of March 2019, most of my eBook consumption took place on the subway as I commuted to…