One of the cool things about the internet is we can now easily discover new products from around the world without leaving our house. Being an audio junkie, I’m always searching for new and interesting gear. One search led me to France where audio company Aëdle (pronounced ā-duhl) hand-assembles a beautiful and minimalist designed headphone. It’s this attention to detail that makes Aëdle interesting and unique, because most headphones – regardless of where they’re designed – are made in China. Aëdle has two models: The VK-1 Classic and the VK-1 Carbon. The Classic is light brown leather with bright, brushed aluminum, while the Carbon has stealthy black leather with black anodized aluminum. Aluminum parts are sculpted one at a time from a solid aluminum ingot. The headband and cushions are hand-sewn using lambskin leather. Both headphones have identical technical specs: 40 mm titanium diaphragm with neodymium magnet and have a frequency response of 20 – 20k Hz with 0.5% total harmonic distortion – in other words, good stuff. Each VK-1 comes with a detachable cable and a travel pouch with airline and 6.5 mm adapters. The Aëdle VK-1 Classic and Carbon are available directly from Aëdle for $380 US plus shipping.
