SoundStage! Solo | SoundStageSolo.com

Details: Written by: Brent Butterworth; Created: 10 February 2022

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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.

Details: Written by: Brent Butterworth; Created: 01 February 2022

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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.

Details: Written by: Brent Butterworth; Created: 20 January 2022

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I’d say that over the last ten years, there’s been more innovation in headphones and earphones than in any other segment of audio—and there’s a lot more coming. With the “wearables” and “hearables” trends, audio companies and tech companies are exploring new form factors, hearing-enhancement capabilities, and other new features that can turn headphones into a substantially different experience than what we’re used to. Considering that SoundStage! Solo focuses on products targeted at audiophiles, I generally don’t review these types of products here—but I decided to make an exception when I heard the Soundcore Frames.

Details: Written by: Brent Butterworth; Created: 20 December 2021

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My first “real” job was writing ads for a Dallas agency that handled Wilsonart decorative laminates. Wilsonart was number one in market share, yet they made it a rule never to innovate. They’d let competitors like Formica and DuPont come up with new ideas and build public awareness for them, then Wilsonart would launch something similar and out-distribute the other companies. Monoprice follows a similar plan with its headphones—a year or two after an innovative headphone technology comes out, Monoprice jumps in with a similar product at a lower price. The Monolith AMT headphones are the latest example.

Details: Written by: Brent Butterworth; Created: 10 December 2021

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There are all sorts of paths into the audio products biz, but one of the most tried and true is to start as a dealer. That’s what happened with the new Caspian headphones, which are sold by Apos Audio, an online retailer specializing in headphones and related gear. Although Apos has been offering its own line of cables for some time, the Caspians ($499, all prices USD) are the company’s first attempt at making a complex audio product.

Details: Written by: Brent Butterworth; Created: 20 November 2021

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I’ve become addicted to the Your Morning Coffee podcast, where two music industry vets examine current trends in their field. The key message they stress is that artists and labels have to re-evaluate their business practices continually. Headphone brands face the same challenge now, and for the same reason—the creator community is growing rapidly, new outlets are emerging every month, and the old ways of doing things are evolving or dying. The DT 900 Pro X headphones are part of Beyerdynamic’s answer to this challenge.