As earphones become ubiquitous in our daily lives for music on the go, it becomes more important than ever to consider sound quality. Are we getting the best sound for our money? Probably not. Is there better audio available than what we get from our stock ear buds that came free with our smartphones? You […]
Phiaton MS 100 BA Balanced Armature earphones review Read More
With all the headphones I review, there’s only been one or two that were wireless. While I appreciate the convenience of Bluetooth, it’s not something I look forward to regarding headphones. Headphones are capable of revealing too much information in music and all the minuses of Bluetooth seem to be magnified when they are wireless.
Pendulumic Stance S1+ Bluetooth headphone review Read More
There are many factors that go into why one headphone is chosen over another: sound quality, comfort, looks or fashion—whatever. There are as many reasons as headphones to choose from. Recently, one company has designed a headphone that can be customized to a particular sound preference. Axel Audio has developed a system of taking a
Axel Soundscape headphone review Read More
Every time I write about Reid Heath Acoustic’s (RHA) in-ear headphones, it’s always about their “next big thing.” Each model seems to trump the previous one in interesting ways. Nice to see that nothing’s changed with RHA. Their new flagship earphone, the T10i (the i denotes a mic) certainly trumps everything before it. But this
RHA T10i in-ear headphone review Read More
Have you ever looked at a headphone website and thought, “I like the looks of this headphone, but the ear pads of this one are more comfortable and yet this one sounds better. If I could just mix and match…” Well, now you can—sort of. Aiaiai is known for their minimalist styling with choices of
Aiaiai lets you custom build your TMA headphone Read More
Everyone knows what headphones are and that they are usually not the most fashionable things you can wear. As headphones become an everyday accessory for many, the company Frends decided to cater to the female half of society with headphones that pay as much attention to fashion as they do to audio. Frends has a
Hear some Frends with benefits Read More
Up until now, any Bluetooth or Airplay speakers were dependent on the device that was doing the streaming, whether it be a laptop, smartphone or desktop computer. It’s no big deal that the new, portable auris zwing portable speaker/boombox does that, but it will also do it independently of any device—as in all by itself.
Auris zwings in the 21st century Read More
“If the rain comes comes, they run and hide their heads.” When I think of thinksound’s new Rain2 earphones, I always think of the iconic Beatles’ song, “Rain”. I don’t know why, except that the Rain2 earphones serve as a counterpoint to the song—in my head, at least. It means that while the song, “Rain,”
Thinksound Rain2 in-ear headphones review Read More
Apple doesn’t sell just any Bluetooth speaker in their online store, so Soen scored a coup of sorts with their new Transit XS portable—and mountable—Bluetooth speaker. The Transit XS is the smaller cousin to the original Transit. Besides its size, the XS model is different in a few ways from the bigger Transit. The XS
Soen Transit goes XS to be XL Read More
When reviewing headphones, earphones and speakers, there is always one constant throughout: A music source. Whether it’s vinyl, CD, iTunes, music burned in Apple Lossless, FLAC, Spotify/Pandora or even FM radio, the music has to come from somewhere. Then there’s the music player: iPhone/Android smartphone, various iPods, digital audio players, computer, home stereo. As you
Tidal Hi-Fi Music Streaming service review Read More
I’ll admit up front: this review will be short. After all, it’s a USB hub. How exciting can that be? Well … the Satechi Aluminum Premium 4-Port USB Clamp Hub is at least interesting. Satechi—known for making almost any geek accessory imaginable—was bothered by the hard-to-find USB ports Apple hides at the rear of their
Satechi Aluminum Premium 4-Port USB Clamp Hub review Read More
While unboxing the Blue Mo-Fi headphones, I was reminded of the door hinges on my wife’s 1997 Lexus SC300 sports coupe. See, the Lexus hinges are not your everyday hinge—they’re over-engineered so the large doors open and slide a bit forward which helps in tight parking spaces. Lexus reportedly spent over a million bucks developing
Blue Mo-Fi Headphones review Read More
To say that we are in the golden age of headphones is an understatement. There’s never been a better time to find excellent sounding headphones in almost every price range, especially the higher-priced headphones. When you include the countless names entering the market, you have a recipe for awesomeness. Adding to this aural soup-de-jour is
Master & Dynamic MH40 headphone review Read More
Let me state right up-front that I am not an eco-warrior or anything close. I own 3 chainsaws and don’t hesitate to use them on my 2 acres. That said, I do appreciate companies who use recycled materials where possible. Thinksound is such a company—and then some. They go out of their way to be
Thinksound On1 headphone monitor review Read More
Geneva Labs has been making many different high-end speakers for a while now. Even though they make many models, S, M, L, XL and XXL, they’ve all been box-shaped and visual clones of each other—only in different sizes. That’s about to change in a dramatic way. Geneva has introduced the the AeroSphère series, an audio
Geneva Sound Systems steps out of the box … literally Read More
Bang & Olufsen has always been about style as well as sound. Nothing else looks like a B&O product—nothing. You can spot them a mile away. As we transition into a world of personal listening, nothing has changed the B&O philosophy—to evoke senses (their words). The B&O H6 and H8 headphones certainly do that. They are simply
Bang & Olufsen work their design magic on headphones Read More
Picture this: You’re cruising down the street plugged into your smartphone but the power is beginning to run low. You want to keep listening, but you’re afraid of draining the battery completely if you do. Now, picture this: You just keep listening anyway because the headphone is charging your smartphone. You read that right. In
Headphones enter a new Phāz Read More
Lately, I’ve been considering upgrading my Onkyo stereo receiver. It’s about 8 years old and doesn’t have wifi, Bluetooth, USB or even HDMI. But it does have a nice sub output for my (even older) Pioneer subwoofer—but that’s another story. There have been countless times that I’ve wished I could easily stream my iPhone to
Audioengine B1 Bluetooth Music Receiver review Read More
One of the trends coming out of the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show is turning portable Bluetooth speakers into bigger portable Bluetooth speakers. It’s not a new trend, but it is increasing. Ultimate Ears has joined the fray with its new UE Megaboom speaker. Like the original Boom, the Megaboom blasts audio in 360°. The big
Ultimate Ears adds Mega to the Boom Read More
There’s an old saying: “You can never be too thin or too rich.” In today’s tech-driven world, I would like to add to that: “You can never have enough backup power.” It’s grammatically clumsy to be sure, but it’s also true. We are more dependent than ever on places to plug in and recharge our
iBattz Mojo BattStation Optimus 20400 review Read More