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The Pioneer HDJ-2000 Headphone

This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com

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…

The Pioneer HDJ-2000 Headphone Page 2

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 The highs are fairly clear but for a bit of graininess, and being slightly withdrawn.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…

The Sony MDR-ZX700

This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com

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…

The Sony MDR-ZX700 Page 2

Photo of the rather complex baffle plate with angled driver and various venting. It looks like a lot of thought went into this design.

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.…

Spider Cable Realvoice In-Ear Headphones

This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com

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…

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Inside the Realvoice, you can see the slightly angled driver from the rear. Also note the small acoustic filter on the rear cover port.

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

"We didn’t name our earphone 'realvoice' by accident, it can represent singers’ true voice." The Realvoice IEM was designed to bring out the natural timbre of the human voice. Given my penchant for neutrality, and vast experience listening to "voiced" headphones that sound miserable, I was highly suspicious. Well, color…

Listening #204: the New Garrard 301

Some loss of innocence is expected with both age and experience. Because I tick both boxes, and in spite of my best efforts to the contrary, I'm often a bit blasé in the face of new review samples. I wasn't with this one.

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…

Listening #204: the New Garrard 301 Page 2

The 301 fastens to the plinth with four bolts that pass down through its cast-aluminum chassis; the chassis is isolated from the plinth with thick, pliant washers, both above and below the wooden slab—here is the explanation why, in all the photos we've seen of the new 301, there appears to be a slight gap between the motor unit and the top surface of the plinth—and the bolts are secured from beneath with thicker-than-average nuts, just as I've seen on most original Garrards. I wasn't surprised to note that those nuts were scarcely more than finger tight, given my own observations that the…

AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt USB D/A-headphone amplifier

Unlike the world of recorded music, where streaming has decimated sales of physical products, book publishing is seeing the reverse trend: sales of eBooks are declining while those of both hardback and paperback books are recovering. I have been a book junkie all my life—the two long walls of my listening room are lined with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and I have many boxes of books in storage—but these days almost all my book reading is with the Kindle app on my iPad mini.

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

AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt USB D/A-headphone amplifier Page 2

I replaced the NightHawks with the brighter-balanced Audeze LCD-Xes I bought after reviewing them in March 2014, and despite the apparent incongruity of using $1500 headphones with a $300 D/A headphone amplifier, the pairing worked well. The double bass solo on Bill Evans's rendering of "Green Dolphin Street" (from Some Other Time: The Lost Session from the Black Forest, 16/44.1 Qobuz stream from Resonance Records) was reproduced with solidity and low-frequency weight; Evans's piano was way forward in the mix but didn't sound overly aggressive even when I played the music loud.

As you…