Headphones

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Written by: Brent Butterworth

Created: 15 March 2016

Originally published on SoundStage! Xperience

RBH Sound HP-2 measurements can be found by clicking this link.

With their HP-2 headphones, RBH Sound -- intentionally or otherwise -- makes a bold statement: Nobody gives a damn what your headphones look like, so neither should you. Instead, you should care what they sound like and how comfortable they are.

That is exactly the approach RBH took with the HP-2s. The industrial design is fairly generic, reminiscent of Bose’s model QC25. RBH seems to have invested, in top-notch drivers and comfortable padding, all the money they might have spent creating a new design. The drivers use diaphragms made of beryllium, a metal often used in high-end tweeters because it’s extremely light yet stiff. (It’s also brittle and toxic, which is why manufacturing with it is expensive.) The padding, covered in soft plastic, has the look and feel of what you’d see on headphones four times the HP-2s’ list price of $249 USD.

Read more: RBH Sound HP-2 Headphones

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Written by: Hans Wetzel

Created: 01 March 2016

Originally published on SoundStage! Xperience

Pryma 0|1 measurements can be found by clicking this link.

An ideal world would be meritocratic and egalitarian. Appearance wouldn’t matter. What truly counted would be what was inside each of us. Somewhere in the mooted multiverse such a reality probably exists, but it’s not the one we currently inhabit. Here, not only does one’s physical appearance matter, it’s been suggested that more good-looking people will, all else being equal, be perceived as more intelligent, friendly, and competent than the less good-looking. In fact, studies have shown that, on average, the better-looking get hired and promoted more often, and are paid more. Whether that’s fair or unfair, it might behoove me and you to get into better shape, shave regularly, and wear clothes that actually fit.

Read more: Pryma 0|1 Headphones

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Written by: Brent Butterworth

Created: 15 February 2016

Originally published on SoundStage! Xperience

HiFiMan Edition X measurements can be found by clicking this link.

I can’t believe I’m reviewing $1799 headphones that are considered a step-down model. The HiFiMan Edition X is a less-costly version of HiFiMan’s flagship headphones, the HE1000s ($2999), which I recently reviewed and truly loved. Except for color and materials, the Edition Xes look almost identical to the HE1000s, but they’re intended as a more practical product. Not only do they cost $1200 less, they’re touted as being sensitive enough that any smartphone can drive them.

Read more: HiFiMan Edition X Headphones

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Written by: Brent Butterworth

Created: 01 February 2016

Originally published on SoundStage! Xperience

JBL Everest Elite 700 headphones measurements can be found by clicking this link.

The JBL Everest Elite 700s are the most technologically advanced headphones I’ve tested. I can’t think of a significant feature they don’t have, but the most innovative is TruNote automatic calibration. TruNote uses an internally generated test tone and an internal microphone to evaluate the acoustical effects of your ears, and tunes the Everest Elite 700s’ frequency response to compensate for those effects. It’s basically a headphone version of the auto-calibration technologies, such as Audyssey MultEQ, found in most A/V receivers. This feature was launched earlier this year in the N90Q ($1499.95 USD), from AKG -- which, like JBL, is owned by Harman International.

Read more: JBL Everest Elite 700 Headphones

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Written by: Rad Bennett

Created: 01 February 2016

Originally published on SoundStage! Xperience

I’ve heard a rumor that this year’s new iPhones won’t have 3.5mm headphone jacks. Can this be why everyone and her brother seem suddenly to be making Bluetooth headphones? Less than a year ago, an Audio-Technica rep told me that A-T would probably never release a Bluetooth model. But they have released some in Japan, and this year, five models are available in the US: three in-ear and two over-ear versions of models already popular in wired versions. And right now I’m wearing Audio-Technica’s ATH-S700BT SonicFuel over-ear Bluetooth headphones ($129.95 USD).

Read more: Music Everywhere: Audio-Technica ATH-S700BT SonicFuel Bluetooth Headphones