Cool and Confident: Mr. Speakers Ether Planar Magnetic Headphones
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com
Mr. Speakers first fully in-house designed and manufactured headphone seems to deliver quite nicely in the top-of-the-line category.
Creative Aurvana Live! A Classic Reincarnate
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com
Enthusiasts recently mourned the death of the Denon AH-D1001 --- a really good sounding sealed headphone at just above $100. Lament no more. This Foster OEM design (model 443741) has found rebirth as the Creative Aurvana Live!
The very good news: it's even better than before.
DIY Headphone Measurement Contest Winners!
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com
Having printed out the measurements for all 41 Do-It-Yourself modified headphones sent to me over the past year, I spread them out over my kitchen table and set to work picking the best and worst measuring of the bunch. I also picked what I thought were the coolest looking headphones. And I scrounged around my lab looking for all the headphones I might give away as prizes.
Let's see who got what ...
DIY Modified Aiwa HP-500 from Kabeer
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com
Kabeer - "I am located in UK, and I have some orthos. Im not sure if its very viable for me to get anything measured?"
Tyll - "I really can't spend too much money on this, so I've limited DIY Ortho testing to the U.S. to keep the shipping costs down. Sorry."
Kabeer - "Id really like to send my Aiwa to you to get measured. I think its pretty great :). Wualta wants to see their measurements too and has kindly offered to pay you the postage back to UK for them."
Tyll - "Okie Dokie. If Wualta wants to see the measurements, it must be good."
You see, while Wualta might be a crusty old curmudgeon, he's also one of the patron saints of Orthodynamic DIYers, and if he thinks something is worthwhile ... well, you just have to have a listen.
By golly, he's right on the mark again!
Does music help you get to sleep? Bedphones will work just fine!
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.comOne of the things that, it seems to me, separates headphone enthusiasts from traditional audiophiles is an interest in good inexpensive stuff, or devices with unusual utility. Think Koss Porta Pros or the Riva Turbo X. The Porta Pro has been delivering excellent sound quality for its very low $49 price for decades and for decades headphone enthusiasts have been praising their worth. And when the Riva Turbo X Bluetooth speaker showed up at CanJam a year or so ago, headphone hobbyists embraced it immediately as a great sounding portable speaker. These are cool little gadgets, and it seems to me headphone enthusiasts are more than willing to have a good hard look at them....no matter the cost.
Enter the Next Generation: Focal Elear Headphone
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com
THIS is what a $1000 headphone should be. Unapologetically masculine styling...and sexy; confidently strutting exquisite materials and build-quality; and delivering sound of a quality I've not heard before on any headphone. It walked in my office, swept all the headphones off my desk in one grand gesture, and said, "Here I am. Deal with it."
Etymotic Research ER-4S Canal Phone earspeakers
The cab's outside, the plane leaves in 50 minutes. Let's see...HeadRoom">http://www.stereophile.com//amplificationreviews/530/">HeadRoom Supreme, HeadRoom">http://www.stereophile.com//accessoryreviews/531/">HeadRoom Bag, portable CD player, CDs, Etymotic ER-4S Canal Phones....Oh, yeah—mustn't forget luggage or plane tickets. Guess I'm set to go.
Etymotic Research hf2 & hf5 in-ear headphones
Ah, how the times change. When I reviewed Etymotic Research's ER-4S in-ear headphones in the July 1995 Stereophile, they seemed expensive to me at $330, but well worth that seemingly high price: at the time, they were the best headphones I'd heard. Nowadays, with reference headphones costing well north of a kilobuck, the price of the ER-4S seems relatively reasonable.
Evaluation of Grado Stock and Modified Ear-Pads
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.comPromises Kept
My first post was an exercise in getting all the bits-and-pieces together to create content. In many ways this is my first real post here ... and I want to keep a promise. For years I've said I would measure the effects of the various headphone pads on Grado headphones; well, I am very glad to say finally: here it is.
My first post was an exercise in getting all the bits-and-pieces together to create content. In many ways this is my first real post here ... and I want to keep a promise. For years I've said I would measure the effects of the various headphone pads on Grado headphones; well, I am very glad to say finally: here it is.
Extraordinary DIY Electrostatic Headphones by Chinsettawong
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com
Headphone hobbyists are an ongoing source of amazement. A couple of years ago I spent a year measuring DIY headphones and the work was often very cool indeed. But this...I don't even know what to say.
Welcome to a couple of spectacular DIY electrostatic headphone builds by Chinsettawong!