Articles
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Hi-Fi+/TAS Can-Jam 2012 Report - Part 2
|For those of you not able to make it to Denver, CO for the 2012 Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, I’d like to let you in on a little secret. These days, by teaming with HeadFi.org, ...read more -
Shure SRH1840 Headphone (Playback 62)
|When Shure first entered the full-size headphone market its first efforts were all closed-back designs that offered good noise isolation and that were suitable for use in studio applications. Early on, Shure’s SRH840 caught our ...read more -
Audeze LCD3 Planar Magnetic Headphone (Playback 60)
|The product that put Audeze on the high-end audio map was the original LCD2 planar magnetic headphone ($995, click here to read our review), which won critical acclaim and sold well among knowledgeable, critical listeners. ...read more -
Focal Spirit One Headphone/Headset (Hi-Fi+)
|Any number of high-end loudspeaker manufacturers have entered, or contemplated entering, the high-performance headphone marketplace, and it is easy to understand why. For an entire generation of music enthusiasts, entry-level “hi-fi” systems are now more ...read more -
The Playback Guide to Full-Size Headphones
|DOWNLOAD NOW (PDF Version) (If you are having trouble downloading the PDF version of this Buyer's Guide please feel free to download the ZIP version located below) The Playback Guide to Full-Size Headphones is a ...read more -
Bowers & Wilkins P3 Headphone (Playback 59)
|The B&W P3 is the second full-size headphone in the B&W line, alongside the P5 headphone (click here to read the review) and the C5 earphone (click here to read the review). Priced at $100 ...read more -
Audio-Technica ATH-ANC9 Noise-Cancelling Headphone (Playback 59)
|Playback has long admired Audio-Technica’s ATH-ANC7 and ATH-ANC7b noise-cancelling ‘phones and now the ATH-ANC9 ($349.95) has raised the bar higher still, both in terms of sound quality and flexibility. Before we begin our review of ...read more -
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