Headphones

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Written by: Geoffrey Morrison

Created: 01 May 2023

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I remember the first time I heard Audeze headphones. It was several years ago, with some predecessors of the LCD-5s, the LCD-3s. I unboxed them with the reverence that something of their stature deserved. I once bought a used Porsche for $2000. These were 50 percent more than that, and I could hold them in my hand. Far less rust, though, to be fair. I connected them up, put on an SACD (remember those?), turned off the lights, and transcended to another plane of existence. What an experience. I hadn’t planned to spend a few hours listening to every SACD and DVD-Audio I had, but that’s how the night went down. I still have those headphones. They’re great.

Read more: Audeze LCD-5 Headphones

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Written by: Geoffrey Morrison

Created: 01 March 2023

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When it comes to noise-canceling headphones, the big three come to mind: Bose, Sennheiser, and Sony. There are countless more, to be sure, but headphones from these three are the heavy hitters. At the very least, they’re the ones people should consider first, and then move outward from there if necessary. Each generation typically gets a little better, with sometimes subtle, sometimes not-so-subtle changes to the sound, and with the NC giving each a particular character.

Read more: Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless Headphones

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Written by: Brent Butterworth

Created: 20 January 2023

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What do you do after you’ve created the perfect audio product? Most audiophiles would counter that there is no perfect audio product, but I wonder. There are plenty of component categories—amplifiers, preamps, cables, and others—in which the best from 30 years ago are 100 percent sonically competitive with anything made today. And one possible definition of perfection is that your work can’t be improved upon. Focal’s original Utopia headphones, introduced in 2016, were probably as close as anyone’s come to perfection in headphones—but at the 2022 CanJam SoCal, Focal announced that it had improved on the Utopias. The new model is still named Utopia ($4999, all prices USD), but to distinguish it from the old model (which we’ll be referring to frequently), we’re going to refer to it in this review and the measurements as Utopia 2022.

Read more: Focal Utopia 2022 Headphones

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Written by: Brent Butterworth

Created: 20 December 2022

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The Crosszone CZ-10 headphones are special for me, because I have a soft spot in my heart for crosstalk cancellation. You don’t hear that said a lot, but some of my warmest memories of past audio experiences involved crosstalk cancellation. I remember reading about it in Stereo Review, years before audio rose from my hobby to my career. If you told me then that I’d someday get a one-on-one lesson about crosstalk cancellation from Bob Carver, whose face often popped up in ads in Stereo Review, I wouldn’t have believed it. Nor would I have believed I’d get my first demo of multiple-driver crosstalk cancellation from Matthew Polk, in his own home—the same guy who always wore his lab coat in Polk’s Stereo Review ads. The Crosszone CZ-10s, though, are my first chance to hear multi-driver crosstalk cancellation in headphones. Interesting products like these—along with the next book by Robert Caro and new flavors of Pop-Tarts—are what give me the inspiration to keep on living.

Read more: Crosszone CZ-10 Headphones

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Written by: Brent Butterworth

Created: 10 December 2022

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Inflation’s a big concern these days, but maybe not in audio. The excellent JBL 305P MkII powered speakers I use for mixing recordings are down to $108 each right now (all prices in USD). You can get full-on tube amps—with a tube rectifier, no less—for $299. And it’s just as good in headphones, where you can get the beautifully crafted, rosewood-backed Sivga Oriole headphones for just $199, or in dark zebrano wood for the same price. If you’d shown me these five years ago, I’d have assumed they cost at least $500.

Read more: Sivga Oriole Headphones