Headphone Reviews

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Headphone ReviewsThe Entry Level
The Entry Level #36
Stephen Mejias  |  Dec 12, 2013  |  8 comments
In an August 21 post to his popular Lefsetz Letter blog, music-industry analyst Bob Lefsetz shared with his readers the great and often surprising joy of listening to music through a good set of headphones, specifically the open-back, planar-magnetic Audeze LCD-2. Lefsetz clearly does not mess around: He went straight to the top of the headphone hierarchy. If you're at all familiar with the exciting world of headphone listening, you've heard of Audeze (pronounced odyssey). Since their impressive debut at the 2009 Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, the young audio company has drawn from hi-fi critics and enthusiasts the sort of rave reviews typically reserved for the most respected brands.
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Budget Component ReviewsHeadphone ReviewsThe Entry Level
The Entry Level #39
Stephen Mejias  |  Mar 12, 2014  |  First Published: Mar 01, 2014  |  12 comments
In his article on the future of audio engineering in this issue, John La Grou tells us—succinctly and correctly, I think—that we are rapidly moving from a culture of handheld devices to one of headworn devices. He postulates that by perhaps as early as 2025, rather than being actively sought out, most audio/video media will be delivered, like milk or the newspaper—but delivered not to our front doors, but more or less straight to our brains. Fascinating? Sure. Frightening? Kinda, yeah.
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Headphone ReviewsInnerFidelity
The Etherial Mr. Speakers Ether Flow
Tyll Hertsens  |  Aug 18, 2016  |  0 comments
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com

I had only two days with a pre-production Ether Flow before my house was invaded by the French. I was quite enjoying the pre-production Flow, but the Focal Elear and Utopia turned my world upside down. By the time Dan Clark, CEO and Founder of Mr. Speakers, sent the production unit my world was in a bit of an uproar. Though I didn't mention them, the Flow was ever present in my listening tests...it kept whispering to me, "It's not about "The Best" anymore, it's about character."

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Headphone ReviewsInnerFidelity
The Exceptionally Pleasing HiFiMAN HE1000 Planar Magnetic Headphone
Tyll Hertsens  |  Nov 20, 2015  |  0 comments
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com

I'd like to believe that neutrality, low-distortion, and excellence in transient response is what leads to a satisfying listening experience.

The HE1000 makes me question that belief.

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The Fifth ElementHeadphone ReviewsStand and Rack Reviews
The Fifth Element #16
John Marks  |  Mar 23, 2003  |  0 comments
The lease said about my and my fathers trip from the Bureau of Manhattan to our new home the soonest mended. In some way ether I or he got balled up on the grand concorpse and next thing you know we was thretning to swoop down on Pittsfield.
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The Fifth ElementMusic and Recording FeaturesHeadphone Reviews
The Fifth Element #30
John Marks  |  Jun 26, 2005  |  0 comments
Morten Lauridsen's magisterial work for chorus and orchestra, Lux aeterna, appears in a fresh new recording, in truly excellent sound, on England's Hyperion label. The vocal ensemble Polyphony is accompanied by the Britten Sinfonia; both are led by Stephen Layton. Better yet, in addition to the CD-only version, there is a separate SACD/CD hybrid release (Hyperion SACDA67449), meaning that it is backwardly-compatible with CD players. Furthermore, the SACD layer contains a surround-sound program in addition to the stereo one.
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The Fifth ElementHeadphone Reviews
The Fifth Element #42
John Marks  |  Jul 08, 2007  |  First Published: Jun 08, 2007  |  0 comments
The recording project I've mentioned before in this column, that of documenting the historical and significant pipe organs of Rhode Island, is finally (!) in the can. (Except that today, of course, we no longer use cans. Or tape, for that matter.) It has been a learning and growing experience for us all—more than a dozen remote-location recording dates, spread over eight months.
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Stand Loudspeaker ReviewsThe Fifth ElementHeadphone Reviews
The Fifth Element #45
John Marks  |  Dec 29, 2007  |  0 comments
I want to start this year's gift recommendations by briefly revisiting the results of my Musical Cultural Literacy for Americans write-in competition, which ran in the April issue. All 12 winning entries of 12 selections each are posted online (footnote 1).
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The Fifth ElementHi-Rez Disc Player/Transport ReviewsHeadphone Reviews
The Fifth Element #58
John Marks  |  Feb 26, 2010  |  0 comments
February is traditionally the month for music features, so I start this column with some recordings you really should hear. This year I had a greater-than-usual number of worthy candidates for "Records To Die For." Which discs got named as R2D4s and which got column coverage was, to quote the Iron Duke, a near-run thing.
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The Fifth ElementDigital Processor ReviewsHeadphone ReviewsComputer Audio Reviews
The Fifth Element #69
John Marks  |  Dec 20, 2011  |  5 comments
I've been reading a fascinating book, Leonard Shlain's The Alphabet Versus the Goddess: The Conflict Between Word and Image (New York: Viking, 1998). Shlain's thesis is that the invention of the alphabet was the cause of immense changes in primitive society, upsetting previously widespread norms of gender equality and horizontal (rather than hierarchical) social relations in general.
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Headphone ReviewsInnerFidelity
The Handsome Philips Fidelio L1
Tyll Hertsens  |  May 01, 2012  |  0 comments
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com

Headphones have changed a lot over the last 20 years. First they were accessories; then they were legit listening devices but as ugly as an outhouse; then they were bright plastic necklaces and a rapper's gravy train; but of late, they're becoming a very human interface to our tunes, designed to sound good, look good, and feel good.

The Philips Fidelio L1 is a perfect example of such a headphone.

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Headphone ReviewsInnerFidelity
The HiFiMAN Edition X is Delightful from Portable Players
Tyll Hertsens  |  Apr 24, 2016  |  0 comments
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com

HiFiMAN touts this headphone as great for direct play from portable devices—and I'll agree, it does play very well directly from a tablet or phone. Pretty nice not to have the burden and expense of having to carry around a portable amp, but at $1800 it doesn't really seem like a more affordable solution. And then, it's an open headphone while most portable cans are sealed to get rid of environmental noise. So...this is a flagship headphone for use with portable devices indoors? I'm not sure what to think...let's work through the details.

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Headphone ReviewsInnerFidelity
The Historic Beyerdynamic DT 48 E (25 ohm)
Tyll Hertsens  |  Apr 28, 2011  |  0 comments
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com

Yes, historic. The Beyerdynamic DT 48 model has been in continuous production in a variety of forms since 1937. That's pretty historic ... I can't even remotely think of another headphone like that.

Let's take a look ...

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Headphone ReviewsInnerFidelity
The Incisive Audio Technica ATH-MSR7
Tyll Hertsens  |  Feb 28, 2015  |  0 comments
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com

Saw these at CES with their official "Hi-Res Audio" sticker. My mind's first thought? "Yeah right, like "Digital Ready" meant anything either."

Turns out the label is pretty darned accurate.

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Headphone ReviewsInnerFidelity
The Inexpensive and Great Sounding Beyerdynamic DTX 350 m
Tyll Hertsens  |  Jul 15, 2016  |  0 comments
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com

Were it not for the fact that I'm about to tell you so, there's nothing that would clue you in: The Beyerdynamic DTX 350 m ($59) looks about like any cheap plastic headphone you might run across at WalMart...but beauty runs deep with this one. Check it out.

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