Headphone Reviews

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Headphone ReviewsInnerFidelity
Time to Rethink Beats, the Solo2 is Excellent
Tyll Hertsens  |  Aug 15, 2014  |  0 comments
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com

Yes, I've been very vocal about my disappointment with Beats product, especially the original Solo.

Well, it's time to change my tune, and I'll be vocal about that too.

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Headphone ReviewsInnerFidelity
ToTL Madness! 24 Top-of-the-Line Custom In-Ear Monitors Reviewed
John Grandberg, Tyll Hertsens, ljokerl, Steve Guttenberg, Dinny FitzPatrick  |  May 04, 2013  |  0 comments
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com

It's extremely hard to compare custom IEMs. Few users have more than one pair, so direct personal comparisons are rare. They can't be measured by InnerFidelity because they don't fit in the measurement head's ears. What to do?

Damn the torpedos, full speed ahead! In this review 5 InnerFidelity writers, blessed with the generosity of manufacturers willing to put their ToTL CIEMs through the ringer do a massive comparative review of 24 of the worlds best custom in-ear monitors.

Epic!

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Headphone ReviewsInnerFidelity
Two in the Strike Zone: Focal Spirit Professional and Spirit Classic
Tyll Hertsens  |  Feb 10, 2014  |  0 comments
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com

Boy is it a good time to be in the market for a $300-$400 sealed headphone. Offerings like the Sennheiser Momentum, NAD VISO HP50, and B&W P7 provides consumers with some very good choices. Now you can add two more: The Focal Spirit Professional and The Focal Spirit Classic.

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Digital Processor ReviewsHeadphone ReviewsTurntable Reviews
Two June FollowUp Reviews
John Atkinson  |  May 24, 2021  |  First Published: Jun 01, 2021  |  1 comments
The June 2021 issue of Stereophile included followup reviews of two recommended components, both which deserved further investigation of what they had to offer: the dCS Bartók D/A processor and the Schiit Audio Sol turntable.
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Headphone ReviewsInnerFidelity
Two Vintage AKG Headphones: K240 Sextett and K340 Electrostatic Dynamic
Tyll Hertsens  |  Aug 23, 2011  |  0 comments
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com

I can't tell you what a treat it is to measure and listen to the unusual headphones I get from enthusiasts. This time, rythmdevils from Head-Fi has sent in a couple of vintage AKG cans.

He's also a photographer, and has kindly allowed me to use his sweet pix of these two cans for the article. Very nice! Thanks!

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Audacious AudioHeadphone Reviews
Ultimate Ears 18 Pro in-ear headphones
John Atkinson  |  Dec 27, 2010  |  0 comments
Headphone listening is hot these days, due not only to the ubiquity of the iPod as a music source but also because it is possible to get state-of-the-art headphone playback without having to have stupidly bottomless pockets. A plethora of affordable high-quality headphone amplifiers are available, and high-performance 'phones can be had for a few hundred dollars. Used with a computer or iPod to play uncompressed WAV or AIF files or losslessly compressed FLAC or Apple Lossless (ALAC) files, a headphone-based system can offer the audiophile on a budget seriously good sound.
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Headphone ReviewsInnerFidelity
Ultimate Ears Reference Remastered Custom In-Ear Monitors
John Grandberg  |  May 08, 2018  |  0 comments
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com

It's been nearly 5 years since ToTL Madness—our attempt to survey the growing custom IEM landscape and identify the best of the best. It's still a good read if you want to learn more about the history of the industry, the major players, and the strengths/weaknesses of these colorful little ear gems.

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Headphone Reviews
Ultimate Ears UE-10 Pro in-ear headphones
Wes Phillips  |  Oct 22, 2006  |  0 comments
All of a sudden, it seems there's a renaissance in in-ear monitors. Used to be there was just Etymotic, but now Etymotic, Shure, and Ultimate Ears are all producing high-performance in-ear headphones. It's almost enough to make me suspect we audiophiles have become a marketing juggernaut.
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Headphone Reviews
Ultimate Ears UE-11 Pro in-ear headphones
Wes Phillips  |  May 27, 2008  |  0 comments
Meeting strangers at social events, I've learned not to say that I write about hi-fi for a living. It's generally a conversation killer—unless your idea of scintillating repartee is "People make a living doing that?" (Short answer: Not many, and not really.)
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Budget Component ReviewsHeadphone Reviews
Ultimate Ears UE-5c in-ear headphones
John Atkinson  |  Dec 26, 2004  |  0 comments
"You need to keep still."
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Headphone ReviewsInnerFidelity
V-MODA Crossfade M-80 and V-80 True Blood Headphones
Tyll Hertsens  |  Nov 27, 2011  |  0 comments
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com

Call me out of touch with pop-culture, but I had no idea what the "True Blood" referred to on V-MODA's V-80 True Blood headphone. A quick Google and I know we have a new kind of celebrity headphone, one endorsed by a T.V. show about vampires. Fine with me because ...

... these headphones are AWESOME!

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Headphone ReviewsInnerFidelity
V-MODA Crossfade Wireless a Mixed Bag
Tyll Hertsens  |  Jan 30, 2016  |  0 comments
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com

In the end I think these are pretty good for a wireless headphone, but you're going to have to wade through a lot of mixed feelings from me to get there.

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Tube Preamp ReviewsBudget Component ReviewsHeadphone Reviews
Vincent Audio KHV-1pre headphone amplifier/preamplifier
Wes Phillips  |  Nov 12, 2008  |  0 comments
You know me. I'm not perzackly an audio slut, but I am easy. When Audio Advisor's Wayne Schuurman called me to pitch the Vincent KHV-1pre tube-transistor headphone amplifier, he pretty much had me at "tube" and "headphone." But I wasn't familiar with Vincent Audio.
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Budget Component ReviewsHeadphone Reviews
Westone 3 in-ear headphones
Jim Austin  |  Sep 21, 2009  |  0 comments
Designed to be used onstage by musicians monitoring their sound and mix, in-ear monitors (IEMs) such as the new Westone 3 are great in situations where you want to hear nothing but the music. They're small and portable, and their high efficiency and easy impedance load mean they work well with portable players. IEMs are better than electronic-feedback, noise-reducing, closed circumaural phones at blocking out airplane engine noise and annoying neighbors who want to chat. They're also more compact, sound better, and don't require batteries.
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Headphone ReviewsIntegrated Amp Reviews
Woo Audio WA5 integrated amplifier/headphone amplifier
Herb Reichert  |  Dec 29, 2016  |  5 comments
When I applied for this fabulist audio-preacher gig, John Atkinson protested, "But Herb, aren't you a triode-horn guy?"

"No, that was decades ago! Today I'm still a bit of a Brit-fi guy, but my mind remains wide open."

However: As a professional reviewer, I am biased toward affordable, lovingly engineered audio creations made by family businesses with traditional artisanal values. I enjoy solid-state as much as tubes—often more!

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