Articles
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Audio-Technica ATH-W3000ANV 50th Anniversary Headphones (Playback 57)
|You know a headphone is expensive when it has a serial number. Audio-Technica’s ATH-W3000ANV headphone review sample was #1505 (the MSRP for the headphone is $1,299.95, though street pricing may be considerably lower). As befits ...read more -
Stax SR-009 Electrostatic Earspeaker (Playback 54)
|For many decades the name Stax has been synonymous with top quality electrostatic headphones, and many discerning listeners have regarded their top models as among the best, if not the best, headphones presently available. Last ...read more -
Headphones, Earphones & Personal Audio at CES 2012, Part 2
|This is Part 2 of a four-part Playback report and new headphone, earphone, and personal audio products seen at CES 2012. This section of the report covers products from: Cambridge Audio, Cardas, Definitive Technology, Dynaudio, ...read more -
First Listen: HiFiMAN HE-400 Value-Priced Planar Magnetic Headphone
|Background Those of you who have followed high-end headphone reviews in Playback over the past several years know that we have been very favorably impressed by models we have tried from Audeze and HiFiMAN. Headphones ...read more -
Headphones, Earphones & Personal Audio at CES 2012, Part 4
|This is Part 4 of a four-part Playback report and new headphone, earphone, and personal audio products seen at CES 2012. This section of the report covers products from: Skullcandy, SMS Audio, Stax, Urbanears/Zounds, Velodyne, ...read more -
Headphones, Earphones & Personal Audio at CES 2012, Part 3
|This is Part 3 of a four-part Playback report and new headphone, earphone, and personal audio products seen at CES 2012. This section of the report covers products from: NuForce, Paradigm Shift, Phiaton, Polk Audio, ...read more -
Headphones, Earphones & Personal Audio at CES 2012, Part 1
|This is Part 1 of a four-part Playback report and new headphone, earphone, and personal audio products seen at CES 2012. This section of the report covers products from: ACS Custom, AKG, Alpha Design Labs/Furutech, ...read more -
Audeze LCD-2 Planar Magnetic Headphones (Playback 47)
|I first heard Audeze LCD-2 planar magnetic headphones ($945 – $995, depending on options chosen) about a year ago at a Can-Jam event organized by our friends at www.head-fi.org. When I visited the Audeze demonstration ...read more -
Can Jam/RMAF 2011 Report, Part 3
|This is Part 3 of a three-part Can-Jam report. Please check out Part 1 and Part 2. Qables •iCube V3—Portable Headphone Amp/DAC. ($799) A little over a year ago, Drew Baird of Moon Audio opened ...read more -
Can Jam/RMAF 2011 Report, Part 2
|This is Part 2 of a three-part Can-Jam report. Please check out Part 1 and Part 3. Fostex •HP-A8—Desktop headphone amplifier/32-bit DAC, shown in pre-production prototype form. (Due in early 2012, priced at about $2000). ...read more -
Can Jam/RMAF 2011 Report, Part 1
|This is Part 1 of a three-part Can-Jam report. Please check out Part 2 and Part 3. Audez’e •LCD-3—World-class planar magnetic headphone. ($1995) Those of you who have already heard Audeze’s famous LCD-2 headphones (especially ...read more -
Headphones and Personal Audio at CES 2011, Part 3
|This is part 3 of Chris Martens' 4-part CES personal audio coverage. Click here to read part 1. Click here to read part 2. Click here to read part 4. Kanto Kanto demonstrated an appealing ...read more -
V-MODA Crossfade M-80 On-Ear Headphone/Headset (Playback 49)
|V-MODA is one of those firms that at first blush seems to be European—right up until you discover the marketing tagline that proclaims the company’s headphones are “inspired in Italy, designed in Hollywood.” That fascinating ...read more -
Fischer Audio FA-002W Master Series High Edition Headphones (Playback 49)
|Fischer Audio is a relatively new European headphone manufacturer whose performance aspirations are high, but whose products are not yet well known in the U.S. Judging by the sample of the firm’s flagship Master-Series FA-002W ...read more -
High Performance Audio, CEDIA 2011—Part 1
|This is Part 1 of a four-part report on High-Performance Audio at CEDIA 2011, which highlights new products from: AKG, Anthem, Atlantic Technology, AudioQuest, Audio Research Corporation, Bryston, Canton, Cambridge Audio and Cary Audio. Part ...read more