Headphones

Details

Written by: Brent Butterworth

Created: 10 March 2022

Write a comment

Sound:
Value:
(Read about our ratings)

Measurements can be found by clicking this link.

I think I know why there’s so much emphasis on closed-back audiophile headphones now. A couple of years ago, they were few and far between, but now they’re becoming almost as common as open-back audiophile headphones. My guess? The COVID-19 pandemic, and the increase in the amount of time families spend together, left people wanting some personal sonic space where others couldn’t annoy them without putting some effort into it. So I wasn’t too surprised to hear, after I’d reviewed the Monoprice Monolith M1570 open-back headphones, that the company also has a closed-back model, the M1570C (both $599.99, all prices USD).

Read more: Monoprice Monolith M1570C Headphones

Details

Written by: Brent Butterworth

Created: 01 March 2022

Write a comment

Sound:
Value:
(Read about our ratings)

Measurements can be found by clicking this link.

How many closed-back headphones are priced at $2000 and up? Not many. The Focal Stellias ($3000, all prices USD) come right to mind, and I suspected HiFiMan has a model, but I had to look it up—the HE-R10P headphones ($5499). Now Meze Audio is entering this tiny market with the new Liric, a closed-back, scaled-down, less-expensive version of its big, open-back Empyrean and Elite headphones.

Read more: Meze Audio Liric Headphones

Details

Written by: Brent Butterworth

Created: 20 February 2022

3 Comments

Sound:
Value:
(Read about our ratings)

Measurements can be found by clicking this link.

Grado reminds me of some of the musicians I’ve encountered. Most people I play gigs with show up on time, play whatever the leader wants, and do a solid job on most or all of the tunes that get called—but they don’t really stand out. There are a few, though, who maybe aren’t so reliable, or get fussy about what we play, or might suddenly sit out on a tune they don’t like—but blow my mind at least once per gig with the brilliant stuff they play. Grado’s the headphone equivalent of that. I’ve loved a few of its headphones, but some I’ve found too far outside the norm to enjoy. So when the company offered me the RS2x headphones for review, I had no idea whether or not I’d find them sonically simpatico with my ears.

Read more: Grado RS2x Headphones

Details

Written by: Brent Butterworth

Created: 10 February 2022

Write a comment

Sound:
Value:
(Read about our ratings)

Measurements can be found by clicking this link.

Sendy Audio is a China-based brand well known to headphone enthusiasts and totally unknown to anyone else. At a quick glance, Sendy’s new Apollo headphones ($499, all prices USD) look a lot like the Sendy Peacock headphones ($1499)—but a longer look tells you that there are big differences between these two models. A glance can’t tell me which headphones are better, but it does show me several reasons why one of them costs three times as much.

Read more: Sendy Audio Apollo Headphones

Details

Written by: Brent Butterworth

Created: 01 February 2022

5 Comments

Sound:
Value:
(Read about our ratings)

Measurements can be found by clicking this link.

I sure didn’t see this coming. Not just because the N⁰ 5909 headphones are the first to wear the Mark Levinson brand, but they’re also priced about twice as high as the next-most-expensive set of noise-canceling Bluetooth headphones.

Read more: Mark Levinson N⁰ 5909 Bluetooth Noise-Canceling Headphones