This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com
With about 27% of the population over age 50, and roughly 30% of all headphone purchases influenced by celebrity endorsement, I can understand why Koss turned away from the heavy competition for the younger generation's wallet and focussed their attention on the baby boomers with the introduction of their Tony Bennett headphones. Personally I prefer Tony Bennett to Dr. Dre, Ludacris, and 50 Cent, but I'm not sure the geriatric headphone buyers are really part of the 30% of purchasers who are influenced by celebrity endorsement.
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 ...
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com
When I first saw the Monster Beats by Dr. Dre Solo ($199 MSRP) I thought they might be the most beautiful headphones I’d ever seen. The fit and finish is stellar; the styling superb; they fold beautifully; the cable is pure sex; they’re comfortable … the Solos are just gorgeous. At the time I thought, “These may be the headphone of the year!”
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com
I've got an open invitation to visit Skullcandy's headphone R&D labs in Park City Utah ... and I'll be taking them up on it sometime soon. Why? Because I want to see what they're doing that let them build a few darn good sounding headphones lately.
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com
Quincy Jones has it going on, and I liked their higher-end Quincy Jones Q701 when I reviewed it a while ago. But now we come to a very small, sealed portable headphone, the Quincy Jones Q460.
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 ...
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com
At the bottom end of the Soul by Ludacris headphone line is the SL100. I was impressed by the more expensive SL150, and hopeful for another good showing here.
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com
After spending time with the Beats by Dre Solo HD (high definition or heavily distorted, I'm not sure) it was a real pleasure to acquaint myself with the Soul by Ludacris SL150.
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com
I'm making ready to head off to RMAF, but I certainly didn't want to shirk my duties measuring Stax headphones, and getting them back to their rightful owners.
This story originally appeared at InnerFidelity.com
Editor's Note: This article was nearly complete when I read of Steve Jobs's death last night. I think the conclusions herein are telling of his passion for making "insanely great" products ... right down to the last detail.
A couple of weeks ago, Steve Guttenberg wrote an article on his Audiophiliac blog entitled, "The Worst-Sounding Audio Product." In it he "aimed [his] sights on the worst sounding product regularly used by millions of people:" the stock Apple iPod ear-bud headphones. There may be some truth in that, but he also said, "Apple is an amazingly innovative company, but it's incapable of selling a decent set of headphones under its own name."