Welcome to Audiophilia. We publish honest and accurate reviews of high end audio equipment and music.
All in Headphones
A restless night last month directed me to grab my iPhone for an email check. 4:30 a.m. A natural selection, of course. Atop my Inbox, a very pleasant review request from Meze Headphones. A perfectly timed email closest to the dawn.
Just a few years ago, the idea of a wireless headphone with quality sound and solid connectivity was a bit of a dream. The last couple of years have seen large steps taken with the connectivity, now using Bluetooth 4.0 and many (including the Momentum Wireless) supporting the aptX codec (improved sound when streaming over Bluetooth). All major and boutique manufacturers are coming out with wireless versions of their benchmark wired headphone.
After reviewing the outstanding Master & Dynamic MH40 Headphones at a price of $399, little did I know that soon after I would be amazed yet again by this savvy and forward-looking New York City company.
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.
There are several reasons why I got involved in reviewing these headphones. First, I gifted my trusty Grado 125 headphones to the son of my colleague Karl Sigman. Karl and his son Jason came over for a visit and Jason let it be known that he wanted to get Beats headphones for a birthday present, because ‘they are cool’. Peer pressure was a powerful motivator for the soon to be 12 year old.
In the world of audio, there are many types of audiophiles who hold widely varying opinions as to which format will provide the best sound. Tubes, transistors, digital or analogue are but a few areas of debate. I do not intend to take up any of those controversies here. For my purposes, there are basically two types of audiophiles, those who are fortunate enough to have dedicated sound rooms and, those who do not.
