SoundStage! Solo | SoundStageSolo.com

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

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Reviewers' Choice Meze Audio has the weirdest line of headphones. They include affordable stuff priced in the low three figures, but from there, they leap boldly to the $2000 Liric, the $2999 Empyrean, and the $4000 Elite headphones. Yeesh! What’s the audiophile to do if they’re neither as pathetically broke as an audio reviewer nor as absurdly oversupplied with disposable income as an audio manufacturer? Fortunately, Meze now has an answer: the 109 Pro headphones for $799 (all prices USD).

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

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Reviewers' Choice Howdaya buy high-end headphones these days? That might have been an easy question five or ten years ago, but now there are so many brands and so many models and so many options. Open-back or closed-back? Dynamic drivers or planar-magnetic drivers? Standard impedance or high impedance? High sensitivity or low sensitivity? I’ve heard probably every possible combination of these things—and heard them all work. And not work. So what did I think when I saw the Sivga SV023 headphones, a dynamic-driver, open-back design with high sensitivity and high impedance? Nothing. I knew I’d just have to listen to them—and measure them—and hope for the best.

Read more: Sivga SV023 Headphones

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

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I can tell we’re deep into the headphone boom because so many hot brands that emerged a decade ago have—well, not necessarily fallen, but certainly ceded the spotlight to others. I can think of a bunch, such as SOL Republic, Skullcandy, Soul Electronics . . . and Phiaton, a brand I remember liking the last time I reviewed one of its products . . . seven years ago. So when I got a PR pitch for the new 900 Legacy, a set of noise-canceling Bluetooth headphones, I was eager to see what Phiaton’s been up to—and whether the brand had retained the safe’n’sane, neutral-sounding voicings I remember it for.

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

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Whether your notions about the Technics brand come from decades-old memories or familiarity with the products the company has made since its 2014 relaunch, you probably think of Technics as a provider of fairly trad gear, such as turntables and stereo components. That’s why reading the webpage for the EAH-A800 headphones came as such a surprise to me. I wouldn’t say the EAH-A800s ($349.99, all prices USD) are the highest-tech headphones I’ve encountered, but they’re way up there—with advanced noise-canceling systems for playback and for phone calls, and one of the most capable control apps I’ve seen.

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

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Reviewers' Choice I’m gonna guess that as an audio enthusiast, you’re not that familiar with Edifier. Although the company makes the best under-$500/pair powered speaker I’ve ever tested or measured—the S1000MKII—it’s never really targeted audiophiles. But the new Stax Spirit S3 Bluetooth headphones seem tailor-made for SoundStage! Solo readers.

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

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When the pandemic hit two years ago, I took even greater joy in walking my dog, because it was one of my few chances to get outside—and I enjoyed the walks even more when I had some good headphones or earphones to listen to. So the HiFiMan Devas—excellent planar-magnetic headphones with a snap-on Bluetooth adapter—came along at just the right time. I thought the Devas were almost perfect, especially at $299 (all prices USD). Now HiFiMan has an updated version, dubbed the Deva Pro, that appears to be almost the same except for the color, the inclusion of a different Bluetooth dongle, and the price—which is $30 higher.