Earphones

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Written by: Brent Butterworth

Created: 10 July 2022

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Periodic Audio makes one of the most unusual lines of earphones in the audio biz. They all look basically the same; what distinguishes them—and provides the names for the products—is the material used in the diaphragms of the dynamic drivers. The company just released the third version of its earphone line, keeping the designations and the basic concepts, but employing a new material for the enclosure of the Mgv3 earphones ($199, all prices USD) and the other models in its line.

Read more: Periodic Audio Mgv3 Earphones

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Written by: Brent Butterworth

Created: 20 June 2022

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I get pitches to review new true wireless earphones almost every day. Most seem like perfectly fine products, but there’s nothing special enough about them to warrant a review. The AXS Audio Professional Earbuds ($149, all prices USD) don’t look any different from most other true wireless earphones, but their pedigree got me interested. They’re made by a team who formerly led Riva Audio, which built some of the best Bluetooth speakers yet made.

Read more: AXS Audio Professional Earbuds True Wireless Earphones

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Written by: Brent Butterworth

Created: 10 June 2022

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The TinHiFi T3 Plus earphones will be the last of the “Chi-Fi” models I’ll review for a while—and they’re in many ways the most interesting, because they’re the priciest of the bunch (typically $79.99 USD) and also the simplest, with just one 10mm dynamic driver per earpiece. This bare-bones design sets the T3 Pluses in stark contrast to earphones such as the CCA C10s, KZ x Crinacle CRNs, and NiceHCK DB3s, which are $30 to $50 less expensive yet have far more drivers—three per earpiece for the latter two, and five per earpiece for the C10s.

Read more: TinHiFi T3 Plus Earphones

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Written by: Brent Butterworth

Created: 01 June 2022

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I first got excited about high-end audio in the hospital. I was on an IV for a week, and a fellow editor at Video magazine brought me copies of The Absolute Sound, Stereophile, and HiFi Heretic magazine. The first two I had a hard time relating to, but HiFi Heretic hooked me with its passion and its real-world attitude; the mag’s name referred to the founder’s rejection of the notion that you have to spend a fortune to get good sound. My recent reviews of affordable “Chi-Fi” earphones—the CCA C10s, KZ x Crinacle CRNs, and now the NiceHCK DB3s—have brought back some of that excitement I felt 30 years ago.

Read more: NiceHCK DB3 Earphones

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Written by: Brent Butterworth

Created: 01 May 2022

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Reviewing the CCA C10 earphones a few months ago led me down a rabbit hole—and I’m glad it did. The CCA C10s incorporate four balanced-armature drivers and one dynamic bass driver per earpiece, yet they cost just $40.99 (all prices USD). After I ordered those from Amazon, I noticed another “Chi-Fi” model that was perhaps even more appealing: the KZ x Crinacle CRN earphones. Initially known as the ZEX-Pro earphones, the $38.99 (and often lower on Amazon) CRNs incorporate a single balanced-armature tweeter, a 10mm dynamic driver for the bass, and an electret electrostatic driver (basically a miniaturized, permanently charged version of the giant panel drivers found in MartinLogan and Quad planar speakers) for the mids.

Read more: KZ x Crinacle CRN Earphones