Headphone Reviews

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Solid State Preamp ReviewsHeadphone Reviews
HeadRoom Max headphone amplifier
Wes Phillips  |  Feb 27, 1997  | 
My name is Wes and I enjoy listening to music on headphones.
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Solid State Preamp ReviewsBudget Component ReviewsHeadphone Reviews
HeadRoom Supreme headphone amplifier
John Atkinson  |  Jan 08, 1995  |  First Published: Jan 08, 1994  | 
"Uhh! What is it?" I was being prodded on the arm. Admittedly it was gentle, almost polite prodding, but prodding it still was, a rude disturbance of the cocoon I had woven around myself in seat 31J of the American Airlines MD-11 winging its way across the North Atlantic. I pushed Pause on the Discman, insensitively not waiting for an opportune cadence in the Brahms Piano Quintet that had been my erstwhile virtual reality.
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Solid State Preamp ReviewsBudget Component ReviewsHeadphone Reviews
HeadRoom Total BitHead headphone amplifier
Michael Fremer  |  Dec 26, 2004  | 
When, on his long-running TV variety show, Jackie Gleason used to order up some "traveling music" from music director Ray Bloch, he got a live orchestra's worth. But when Gleason, a composer and conductor in his own right (he wrote his show's unforgettable theme song, "Melancholy Serenade"), actually traveled, his listening options were severely limited compared to ours. By the time the comedian died in 1987, Sony had introduced the Walkman cassette player, but Apple's iPod was still more than a decade in the future.
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Cable ReviewsHeadphone Reviews
HeadRoom/Cardas Fat Pipe headphone cables
Wes Phillips  |  Nov 11, 2008  | 
When Audio Advisor's Wayne Schuurman contacted me about reviewing the Vincent Audio KHV-1pre headphone amplifier, I felt confident that I had everything I needed to handle the task, owning, as I do, both the AKG K701 and Sennheiser HD-650 headphones, which have long been my references. That oughta get 'er done, I thought.
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Headphone ReviewsInnerFidelity
HiFiMAN HE-5, HE-5LE, HE-6, and HE500 Planar Magnetic Headphones
Tyll Hertsens  |  May 22, 2011  | 
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com

Just a year and a half ago I walked into the CanJam area of RMAF, and right smack-dab in the middle was Fang Bian, head of Head Direct and the HiFiMAN brand of headphone gadgetry. Fang always has something new going on; I wondered what it would be this time. He smiled, stood, and cheerfully greeted me, then pointed towards center-stage on one of his tables.

"Would you like to hear my new planar magnetic headphones?"

You’ve got to be kidding me, I thought.

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Headphone ReviewsInnerFidelity
HiFiMAN Sundara Around-Ear Open Planar Magnetic Headphones
Tyll Hertsens  |  Mar 04, 2018  | 
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com

Like pretty much all headphone makers, I've found HiFiMAN planar magnetic headphones a little hit and miss. Some have been a too bright and sizzly, some have not had the build quality I'd like to see at the price. On the other hand there have been some really nice surprises. The HE1000 had an uncannily pleasant, floating in the clouds, sonic character, and the HE-400S was dandy at a very affordable price. One thing has been very consistant though, the folks at HiFiMAN keep trying...and that's turning out to be a very good thing.

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Headphone ReviewsInnerFidelity
House of Marley Exodus
Tyll Hertsens  |  Nov 11, 2011  | 
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com

Bob Marley's "Exodus" ... wow, what a great album. I must have heard it a thousand times. It's a total classic. Prior to receiving these, I wondered skeptically if Bob Marley "Exodus" the headphone would be a classic. Time will tell ...

... but I think they're off to a good start.

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Headphone ReviewsInnerFidelity
I Love These Headphones...The NAD VISO HP50
Tyll Hertsens  |  Nov 01, 2013  | 
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com

Okay, I know you're not supposed to give away the story in the headline...but I just can't help it. The NAD VISO HP50 is an awesome headphone!

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Headphone ReviewsInnerFidelity
I Made a Bad Call: MrSpeakers Ether C Flow Makes "Wall of Fame"
Tyll Hertsens  |  Dec 16, 2016  | 
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com

Weird how these things happen. Checks and balances make it right.

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Headphone ReviewsInnerFidelity
If it ain't broke...the Massdrop Sennheiser HD 6XX
Tyll Hertsens  |  Nov 03, 2016  | 
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com

Ooooooooo baby! If you don't have a Sennheiser HD 600 or HD 650, you need to read this!

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Budget Component ReviewsDigital Processor ReviewsHeadphone Reviews
iFi ZEN CAN headphone amplifier & ZEN DAC Signature V2 D/A processor
Julie Mullins  |  Dec 31, 2021  | 
It had been a while since I'd done any serious, critical listening through headphones. That changed when Editor Jim Austin asked if I wanted to review the iFi Audio ZEN Signature Set ($599). Figuring I could use more Zen in my life, I agreed.

UK-based iFi Audio, which operates under the auspices of the Abbington Global Group, has released several compact products in its ZEN series: DACs, headphone amps, a Bluetooth receiver, and a network streamer.

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Headphone ReviewsInnerFidelity
Jabra Move Sealed Bluetooth On Ear Headphones
Tyll Hertsens  |  Sep 09, 2017  | 
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com

Over time Jabra has moved from little Bluetooth dongles that dangle from one ear to sports headsets and is now entering the wider headphone world with straight-up headphone headsets. Or is it that the headphone world is moving towards phone headsets? It's hard to tell...welcome to convergence.

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Headphone ReviewsInnerFidelity
JBL Everest Elite 700 Wireless Noise Canceling Over-Ear Headphones
Tyll Hertsens  |  Feb 12, 2017  | 
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com

Sean Olive and his crew of researchers have been at it for a while now, and I reckon some their work should have trickled down into JBL products by now. One likely candidate is their recently released JBL Everest Elite 700, a wireless, noise canceling, over-ear headphone, which contain Harman's whiz-bang TruNote technology that is claimed to calibrate the headphone to the wearers ears. Let's check it out.

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Headphone ReviewsInnerFidelity
JBL Soundgear Personal Speaker
Tyll Hertsens  |  Dec 08, 2017  | 
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com

Not long ago I wrote enthusiastically about the Bose SoundWear Companion neck-worn speaker. It was my first experience with such a device and it was, and continues to be, a very pleasant one. Way better than I expected. So, I figured I should look into some of the other options for this new type of device.

JBL was kind enough to send me their Soundgear—a $100 less expensive alternative to the Bose. Having experience only one other device of this type, it's probably best just to compare and contrast the JBL directly with the Bose for this review.

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J. Gordon HoltHeadphone Reviews
Jecklin Float electrostatic headphones
J. Gordon Holt  |  Nov 11, 2013  |  First Published: Jun 01, 1975  | 
These are some of the most lusciously transparent-sounding headphones we've ever put on our ears, but we doubt that they will every enjoy much commercial success, for a couple of reasons.
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