sennheiser

The market for quality headphones is still growing by leaps and bounds, so there are lots of new brands getting into the game.

When Hifiman introduced the HE-5 headphone in 2009, I was so impressed I compared it with $1,000+ models from Audio Technica, Denon, Grado, Sennheiser, and Ultrasone, and the upstart company's headphone model more than held its own.

More recently I looked at the Hifiman HE-500 headphones ($699), and compared them with one of the best headphones in the world, the Audeze LCD-2 ($945). That one's low bass felt more solid and had superior impact, but the HE-500's midrange and treble were more detailed and present.

The HE-300 ($249) shares the HE-500's styling, but uses more conventional driver technology. It's lighter in weight (270 grams), has a leather headband and soft velvet earpads, and comes with a user-replaceable 9-foot-long cable terminated with a 3.5mm plug (and there's a 6.3mm adaptor). The long cable is bulky and a little stiff, but since it's user-replaceable, HE-300 owners may find shorter, more flexible alternatives. The headphone comes with a sturdy padded storage case. Comfort over long listening sessions was good, but not up to full-size Sennheiser headphone standards. That company has a real knack for making comfy headphones. … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Budget shoppers need not apply

Sennheiser announced today at CES 2012 a new pair of headphones, the HD 700,which are designed to please your ears at the expense of your bank account. At the price of around $1,000, they're not for everybody, obviously.

However, for those who can afford it, Sennheiser said the high-end headphones offer plenty of excitement.… Read more

LAS VEGAS -- Sennheiser, the German maker of headphone and audio products, announced today at CES 2012 a pair of head phone designed to take the style "from the club scene onto the streets," called Amperior.

The audio specialist says the new Amperior is based on the high-end HD 25 DJ headphones and comes with aluminum finish and have been optimized for connection to an iPad, iPhone and iPod. They also comes with a microphone for easy telephoning.

According to Sennheiser, the new rugged rugged headphones can deal with an extremely high sound pressure level and offer professional-level … Read more

The Rocky Mountain Audio Fest 2011, held last week at the Denver Marriott Tech Center Hotel, not only showcased a vast array of high-end audio designs, there was a special headphone-oriented show within the show called CanJam. It was a fantastic opportunity to sample the world's best headphones and headphone amplifiers.

The energy in the CanJam ballroom was palpable. There's no doubt the headphone market is still expanding at a rapid rate, and anyone who spent some time listening to the latest crop of cutting-edge products had to come away from the experience shaken and stirred. … Read more

I recently wrote about Musical Fidelity's M1 HPA headphone amp. It sounded spectacular, on par with what I'd expect to hear from a $799 high-end amp. It's expensive, but a significant portion of its retail price is the result of its gorgeous chassis and excellent build quality. Right, just like with all luxury goods--cars, watches, and hi-fis--some portion of the price is just for show, but doesn't enhance the performance capabilities of the product. When people buy luxury goods, they better look the part.

I love the sound of the Musical Fidelity amp and recommend it … Read more

Bass may be the single most important sound characteristic people focus on when auditioning headphones. There's either not enough or too much bass, or it's too thick or boomy, and getting just the right balance can be tricky. I like bass, but it has to be clear and well-defined, and Audio Technica's new ATH-WS55 full-size headphones ($100) are exceptional in that regard. Before you get the wrong idea, the ATH-WS55's midrange and treble are just as pure and detailed as the bass.

It's a lightweight (165 gram) design and features Audio-Technica's new Double Air … Read more

I've been a fan of Musical Fidelity from its beginnings in the early 1980s. The British company's original 30-watt-per-channel stereo A1 integrated amplifier was a hit with budget-minded audiophiles back in the day, and it also offered seriously expensive gear.

Musical Fidelity started making headphone amplifiers long before the current headphones craze started. The model we're looking at today is Musical Fidelity's pure Class A M1 HPA headphone amp ($799).

The HPA has very low output impedance (below 1 ohm), so Musical Fidelity claims it can "drive" any headphones with ease. The circuit is a fully discrete Class A design, with no op-amps in the audio path, so it's built like a small high-end power amp. The HPA has two inputs--line and USB--and there's a variable output, so the HPA can be used as a stereo preamplifier in a hi-fi system. It has two 6.3mm headphone jacks on the front panel.

Some previous generations of Musical Fidelity's styling were a little over the top for my taste, but the M1 HPA is understated and very classy. … Read more

Investing in an aftermarket pair of headphones is a quick and easy solution to improve the music listening experience on a mobile music player, but plenty of people feel uncomfortable jamming a tiny ear bud deep into their ear canals. Of course, a tight seal and close proximity to the eardrums offer the potential for the highest-resolution sound quality, but earpad and full-size headphones are also suitable for acoustic isolation and don't require minute fit adjustments the way in-ear-canal headphones do.

Here we've listed a handful of our favorite on-ear headphones that constitute the ideal marriage of lightweight … Read more

For most people bass quality and quantity loom large when judging headphone performance. Bass supplies the music's weight and power, so bass-shy headphones can sound thin and tinny.

Sure, the same argument could be made about speakers, but their bass is perceived in very different ways than headphone bass. Speaker bass is literally visceral, your whole body feels it, and you hear it filling the room you are in. Subwoofer bass is even more visceral, and there's no headphone equivalent for that.

So while a decent set of headphones can play low-bass frequencies that are in subwoofer territory, … Read more