(2012) Headphones and Related
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- Parent Category: 2012 SoundStage! Network Equipment Buying Guide
- Category: (2012) Headphones and Related
Price: $595
Website: www.beyerdynamic.de
S. Andrea said: Their greatest strengths are levels of focus, clarity, and detail that are rare among dynamic headphones. Their closed-back design only augments that sense of detail, and seems to have no adverse consequences. If you strive to hear everything that's on your recordings, the Beyerdynamic T 70s should definitely be on your audition list.
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The gist: For the discriminating classical listener.
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- Parent Category: 2012 SoundStage! Network Equipment Buying Guide
- Category: (2012) Headphones and Related
Price: $199
Website: www.bowers-wilkins.com
S. Andrea said: If you come to the P3s from a pair of earbuds or the average small headphones, you’ll likely be amazed at how much bigger and more open they sound. And when you turn up the volume, they won’t complain -- they’ll just get more enveloping. Bowers & Wilkins’ P3 headphones offer a very satisfying sound wrapped up in a stylish, go-anywhere package.
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The gist: 801s wrapped around your ears?
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- Parent Category: 2012 SoundStage! Network Equipment Buying Guide
- Category: (2012) Headphones and Related
Price: $249
Website: www.head-direct.com
Vade said: Overall, the HiFiMAN HM-601 has definite pluses that will need to be weighed carefully to determine whether it’s the right audiophile-quality portable player for you.
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The gist: Pretty good portable player but then there's the iPod to consider.
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- Parent Category: 2012 SoundStage! Network Equipment Buying Guide
- Category: (2012) Headphones and Related
Price: $399
Website: www.head-direct.com
Vade said: With the lowest price of any current planar-magnetic headphone, and with sound rivaling or surpassing that of many other headphones in its price range, the HiFiMAN HE-400s are flaming bargains. I have no trouble giving them a Reviewers’ Choice award.
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The gist: Electrostatic headphones at an ambitious price point.
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- Parent Category: 2012 SoundStage! Network Equipment Buying Guide
- Category: (2012) Headphones and Related
Price: $44.99
Website: www.kinivo.com
Rad said: The Kinivo BTH220s offered very exciting, very good sound, as well as the freedom of wireless Bluetooth. (Warning: Once you’ve experienced this freedom, you maybe never want to be wired again!) And they cost amazingly little. Amazon sells them for $29.95, but you can probably find them for less. At that price they’re a true bargain, and high on my value-for-dollar list. I’m happy to have rediscovered them.
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The gist: Good sounding wireless ‘phones for a pittance.
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- Parent Category: 2012 SoundStage! Network Equipment Buying Guide
- Category: (2012) Headphones and Related
Price: $399
Website: www.logitech.com
Rad said: Logitech’s UE 9000s have a lot going for them. They’re solidly built, have a shiny, gleaming appearance, provide excellent sound whether used wired or wireless, and come with a practical carrying case and a better-than-usual warranty. What’s not to like?
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The gist: Wireless and neutral 'phones.
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- Parent Category: 2012 SoundStage! Network Equipment Buying Guide
- Category: (2012) Headphones and Related
Price: $149 per pair
Website: www.martinlogan.com
S. Andrea said: The Mikros 70s’ detail and clarity are excellent with small- to medium-scale music. Though they won’t substitute for studio headphones for more complex fare, they won’t discourage you from listening to such recordings. The Mikros 70 delivers a sonic balance that strives to please, regardless of musical selection or driving equipment. Tastes varying as they do, there’s no guarantee that you’ll like the flavor of sound offered by the Mikros 70s -- but I sure did.
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The gist: The vaunted speaker company makes a pretty good earphone.
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- Parent Category: 2012 SoundStage! Network Equipment Buying Guide
- Category: (2012) Headphones and Related
Price: $69.95
Website: www.polkaudio.com
Rad said: They’re comfortable, durable, and intuitive to use. Polk provides different earpads to fit different folks and situations, and the ’phones provide solid, evenly balanced sound with great overall clarity.
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The gist: Designed to enhance your workout experience.
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- Parent Category: 2012 SoundStage! Network Equipment Buying Guide
- Category: (2012) Headphones and Related
Price: $349.95
Website: www.polkaudio.com
Rad said: Polk Audio’s UltraFocus 8000 active noise-canceling headphones offer much. They sounded better than any of the commuter headphones I’ve auditioned, and are easy to operate. They’re smartly and simply designed, with superior build quality.
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The gist: Knockout headphones from the venerable loudspeaker company.
- Details
- Parent Category: 2012 SoundStage! Network Equipment Buying Guide
- Category: (2012) Headphones and Related
Price: $399
Website: www.psbspeakers.com
S. Andrea said: They provide extremely powerful yet well-controlled bass, an exceptionally even midrange, and a top end that deftly walks the line between delivering the necessary musical information and exposing the foibles of many contemporary recordings and portable players. Given a good recording, they also deliver a more spacious, more immersive soundfield than you might expect from such relatively small ’phones. Add to that the fact that you don’t need to buy or carry around an additional headphone amp to enjoy all of those benefits, and PSB’s M4U 2s make a very compelling case to the audiophile who thinks that great sound isn’t only for the home.
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The gist: Paul Barton takes on a new genre of product with great success.
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- Parent Category: 2012 SoundStage! Network Equipment Buying Guide
- Category: (2012) Headphones and Related
Price: $59.95
Website: www.rha-audio.com
Rad said: The RHA SA950i headphones are a genuine bargain. They will give you an ampleness of bass and a balance of sound that are usually heard only from headphones costing much more. They’re light, comfortable, stylish, have a detachable cord, and a terrific warranty. If you’re on a budget but still want excellent sound, especially good bass, these could easily be the headphones for you.
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The gist: Cheap’n’good headphones from Scotland.
- Details
- Parent Category: 2012 SoundStage! Network Equipment Buying Guide
- Category: (2012) Headphones and Related
Price: $399.95
Website: www.smsaudio.com
Rad said: I liked the SMS Sync by 50s. They’re comfortable and have good overall sound quality, especially with vocal music. But for a $399.95 pair of headphones, they have too many big and little problems -- the worst being the drifting Kleer signal and how little they masked outside noises -- for me to recommend them without hesitation.
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The gist: Worth closer to 50 cents than 400 bucks.
- Details
- Parent Category: 2012 SoundStage! Network Equipment Buying Guide
- Category: (2012) Headphones and Related
Price: $1099
Website: www.stax.co.jp
S. Andrea said: If you value detail, transparency, openness, and timbres and textures just to the warm side of realistic, regardless of volume level or musical complexity, then the combination of Stax SR-507 Lambda Signature headphones and WooAudio GES amplifier is far and away the best I’ve heard. You may be able to do better, but I have a feeling that it will cost you a lot more.
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The gist: The reference electrostatic headphones.
- Details
- Parent Category: 2012 SoundStage! Network Equipment Buying Guide
- Category: (2012) Headphones and Related
Price: $299
Website: www.trendsaudio.com
S. Andrea said: It impressed me with its low noise and ample power. Most of all, I appreciated the ability of the PA-10.1D to change its character so completely when I changed tubes. Given the huge variety of compatible tubes available at reasonable prices, the buyer of the PA-10.1D will enjoy great latitude in tailoring the sound to his or her preference, or in changing it as the mood strikes. Such flexibility, combined with well-executed circuitry and very respectable build quality, make the Trends Audio PA-10.1D a good value.
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The gist: The little box that could.
- Details
- Parent Category: 2012 SoundStage! Network Equipment Buying Guide
- Category: (2012) Headphones and Related
Price: $1450
Website: www.wooaudio.com
S. Andrea said: If you value detail, transparency, openness, and timbres and textures just to the warm side of realistic, regardless of volume level or musical complexity, then the combination of Stax SR-507 Lambda Signature headphones and WooAudio GES amplifier is far and away the best I’ve heard. You may be able to do better, but I have a feeling that it will cost you a lot more.
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The gist: A perfect match for Stax headphones.