SoundStage! Solo | SoundStageSolo.com

Details: Written by: AJ Wykes; Created: 01 September 2025

Sound:
Value:
(Read about our ratings)

Reviewers' Choice I’m generally skeptical of headphones with four-figure price tags. Meze Audio’s open-back Poet headphones cost US$2000, CA$2799, £1899, or €2000, but it’s a well-established fact that sound quality does not correlate with price. And no matter how fancy the appearance of a pair of headphones, you can’t actually see them in use, unless you plan to listen in front of a mirror! But then again, you don’t get to appreciate the exterior styling of a sports car while you’re driving it, either.

Read more: Meze Audio Poet Headphones

Details: Written by: Geoffrey Morrison; Created: 15 August 2025

2 Comments

Sound: 1/2
Value: 1/2
(Read about our ratings)

Bowers & Wilkins headphones are, for the most part, a niche within a niche, leaning toward the “premium” end of the mainstream market. The Px7 S3 headphones (US$449, CA$599, £399, €429), for instance, cost a bit more than similar options from Bose and Sony. Within that first niche of price, they’re unquestionably for the basshead niche.

Details: Written by: Geoffrey Morrison; Created: 15 July 2025

Write a comment

Sound:
Value:
(Read about our ratings)

With everything getting more expensive and no reprieve in sight, I enjoy checking out headphones that offer a bit of luxe for not a lot of bucks (or quality for not a lot of quid, depending on your longitude). The JLab Epic Lux Lab Editions fill that bill, with features of higher-end headphones, including noise canceling, wireless charging, Bluetooth 5.4 with LDAC support, and wired playback, but cost a bit less than the heavy hitters in the category (US$199.99, CA$299.99, £199, €240, as of late June 2025). Inside are 32mm drivers, outside are touch controls, and they even come with a stylish carrying case.

Details: Written by: AJ Wykes; Created: 01 July 2025

Write a comment

Sound:
Value:
(Read about our ratings)

Last year, the acclaimed French loudspeaker manufacturer Focal released two passive, wired headphone models, both of which take aesthetic cues and utilize the drivers from the popular Bathys wireless headphones with ANC. I reviewed the open-back Hadenys headphones on Solo in April, and was impressed. This month, I’m offering my thoughts on that model’s closed-back sibling, the Azurys (US$599, CA$699, £499, €549).

Read more: Focal Azurys Headphones

Details: Written by: Geoffrey Morrison; Created: 15 June 2025

Write a comment

Sound:
Value:
(Read about our ratings)

Sendy Audio, along with its parent company Sivga, has a mixed record here at SoundStage! Solo. Brent Butterworth wasn’t a fan of the Apollo headphones, giving them a 3.5/10 for sound quality, but he really liked the Peacocks, giving them a 9.5/10, which earned them a Reviewers’ Choice award. I thought the Luans were OK, but I liked the P2 Pro headphones more. So I had no idea what I was in for with the new Aiva 2 headphones ($599, all prices in USD).

Details: Written by: Geoffrey Morrison; Created: 15 April 2025

Write a comment

Sound (music): 1/2
Sound (voice): 1/2
Value:
(Read about our ratings)

The Shokz OpenMeet headset is a bit different from what we normally cover here at Solo, but no less interesting. Shokz, if you’re not familiar, is best known for bone-conduction workout and swim earphones. As you can see from the photos, that’s not what this headset is. The OpenMeet uses a combination of bone conduction and “air conduction,” aka traditional drivers, for a lightweight solution for people who spend long hours in Zoom meetings and on calls. Because it’s open, the earcups sit in front of your ears, so you can also hear the world around you. Since the headset doesn’t cover your ears at all, and in fact barely touches your head, your ears never get hot.