Diamonds are formed of carbon (C) atoms that have been placed under extremely high temperatures and pressures that exist naturally very deep beneath the earth’s surface. This natural process from carbon to diamond takes an incredibly long time—about 2 billion years.

Although widely prized for their beauty as jewelry and treasured since BC, they possess other qualities such as extraordinary hardness that are ideal for various industrial applications including audio, such as diamond styli for phono cartridges. They also, under normal everyday conditions, will last forever. Fortunately, scientists can mimic the process in the laboratory, ‘growing’ diamonds in a matter of weeks. These lab-grown diamonds have essentially the same chemical, physical, and optical properties as the natural ones—but still are expensive.

New York City based Master & Dynamic is a unique company. While not aiming for the highest ‘audiophile’ quality in the universe—together with the very high prices that go along with that—they, instead, produce superb sounding audio products displaying a savvy mix of fashion, art and modern culture. They even partner with legendary companies such as Leica Camera and make a special series of headphones in honour of legendary musicians such as Michael Jackson. The result? Gorgeous products of audiophile quality in both sound and construction that engenders pride of ownership. In their own words, ‘We are a New York City based premium audio brand with a deep passion for building beautifully crafted, richly appointed, technically sophisticated sound tools for creative minds.’. How true, and I would add ‘at reasonable prices’.

While the high-end headphone market is now at the thousands of dollars per pair level, Master & Dynamic’s most expensive headphones (MW60 over-the-ear) are only $549 per pair and can be used wirelessly or with wire, and their flagship over-the-ear model is the MH40 at only $399; I use both as my reference. All come in different colours, too. More recently, they have been making earphones, and here I will cover their newest high-tech pair, the stunning looking MW07 True Wireless Earphones at $299. (Keep in mind that at audio shows, I get to listen to earbuds (yes, earbuds) that cost more than $2000 per pair.) Many thanks to Andrew Gretchko and to Jonathan Levine (Founder and CEO of Master & Dynamic) for sending me a pair for review. In line with their sense of fashion, you can buy them at Bloomingdale’s department store, among others, as well as directly from their website (linked below).

Although in general I do not use in-ear headphones (buds) for personal use, I occasionally try them out at audio shows. The prices for some can be staggering at times, even exceeding $2000 per pair! But there are many fine ones that are reasonably priced, too. At the recent February 2017 CANJAM New York City show, I spotted Periodic Audio. They are easy to find: Their presentation reminds one of a hospital or a scientific lab with even the Periodic Table of chemical elements boldly shown, and the friendly and knowledgeable staff are dressed in classic white laboratory coats. The company started in 2016, they are quite new, and worthy of attention.

Periodic Audio make three models, each one referred to as an ‘In-Ear Monitor’ (IEM) and each one is named after the metal chemical element used in its diaphragm material. The least expensive is the Mg (Magnesium) at $99 (frequency response 20 Hz to 30 kHz), second is the Ti (Titanium) at $199 (frequency response 16 Hz to 30 kHz) and finally the Be (Beryllium) at $299 (frequency response 12 Hz to 45 kHz). [Photo of Be in header -- Ed].

Over the last year and a half, I have been paying careful attention to stereo headphones. Before then, I had a kind of ‘who cares’ attitude towards them. I ruled that a fine stereo system at home with excellent speakers and such was all one needs—using headphones was audio blasphemy. But the recent surge in high-quality headphones together with specialized amps for accommodating them wowed me in sound quality, turned me around and caused me to reevaluate my stand.