Audiophilepure

Clearly, the Audeze CRBN is a revolutionary monitor. With EQ I think it can take on any other rival, whether magnetic or electrostatic, in any frequency range. Electrostatic phones require a heavy, dedicated amplifier, so of course I use more portable headphones for outside or bedroom listening. But in the studio and listening room I now use a single headphone for both pleasure and reference listening: The Audeze CRBN, equalized if possible to Bob’s EQ. It is the most transparent, musical and accurate headphone I’ve ever heard. Bob’s EQ is designed to perceptually match the calibrated loudspeakers in the mastering suite, where thousands of masters approved by artists and producers have been made. Thus, you will not only be able to enjoy the music, you can judge recordings like a mastering engineer. No second-guessing the headphone response. I urge you to check out the Audeze CRBN.

The perfect ZMF sound may lie somewhere in between the imaginary combination of the Atrium and the Verite, but the two share far more similarities than they do differences. For those looking for their first $2k+ headphone, make sure you check out Atrium if you have the opportunity. For those looking to add to their collection of high end headphones, the Atrium is a must have. It brings something different to the fold. Maybe a little something more than a dynamic driver is willing to give, and definitely something different than a planar can. In the end, it’s not attempting to be either, and why should it? The bespoke nature of the exterior echoes the subtlety of the sound quality. Natural, well constructed and reliable. An outstanding fit for a wide variety of listening rigs. Well done.

The Meze LIRIC comes across as neutral. On tracks I know very well I could not sense any form of frequency shaping toward warmth or coolness. Ideally, that’s what I want in high-quality headphones. Let the music and the recording speak for themselves.

When I compared the headphones to some more expensive products I had, the Liric’s held their own. Headphones at the same or a similar price sounded just a cut below the quality of the Liric’s, and some less expensive headphones, like the Apple EarPods, could not complete either in bass or smooth high frequencies.

None of the headphones I had on hand could compete on comfort due to the light weight of the LIRIC headphones, although I found some of the foam pads on competing headphones a little softer against my ears, exerting less pressure. That’s not to say the Meze LIRIC is uncomfortable. Far from it.

The Grado RS2x doesn’t deviate too far from the Grado house sound or looks. It’s a vintage feel that is slightly less aggressive than some of the company’s other models. Credit could be due to the new driver or wood choice, but the entire scene makes for a fairly desirable canvas in the lineup. If you also like to tweak and tinker, the cup design allows for plenty of opportunity to easily swap out the earpads for other options. It offers an extended hand to all Grado fans looking to move up the line from ultra high value, entry level models. Like the rest of high end audio, diminishing returns are found as you set your gaze upward, but plenty of fun and listenability still await your hard earned dollars. If you are a fan of the Grado sound, you owe it to yourself to hear the R2x. It’s one of the best takes I’ve ever heard on the subject.

the first thing I noticed about the Clear Mg was its exquisite tonal balance. While some may find Focal’s lively tuning of the presence region (upper mids) a little too forward, I reveled in it, as it brought any music I played through these headphones to life.

With the right source and headphone amplifier, the HIFIMAN Aryas can deliver an engrossing musical performance with power, subtlety, and nuance. You will hear quite a lot of microdetail and spatial cues as you find yourself lost in an expansive soundstage of musical experience. This is what I experienced with I paired the Aryas with the $3,799USD Naim Uniti HE, but the seventeen-year-old Benchmark DAC1 got me pretty close to that experience as well. And on top of all of that, they are comfortable. I wore them for hours on end with no discomfort.

If you are looking for a buy-it-for-life headphone purchase and a solid investment, then the HIFIMAN Arya Stealth Magnet planar headphones should definitely be on your short list. Just be prepared to realize you may want to upgrade other components in your system.

The Edition XS sounds very clear, focused, fast, detailed and natural with a good sense of warmth and body. The headphone ticks a lot of boxes, especially for its price, and I personally couldn’t find an obvious weakness in its overall presentation.

It has good tonality, resolution, imaging, and proper texture and transparency. For 500 bucks, this is basically a flawless headphone by my experience. It present a pretty neutral sound overall with slightly energetic mids and bright treble.

The BRAVURA treads lightly over the same ground, benefitting from that subtle DSP; that ‘modified pseudo-diffuse field’ frequency response curve, which already created a remarkably natural presentation. Having heard what the Sonoma M1 can do, this was the key ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ part of the overall performance and remains unchanged between Sonoma M1 Headphone and BRAVURA. This yields an even greater consistency to a system that is already inherently consistent, but the combination of BRAVURA and the DSP on the Sonoma M1 Amp has an additional level of clarity and tonal precision that most other headphone systems fail to get close to achieving. This comes over as sublime clarity and extension to voices, such as that of Joyce DiDonato [Stella De Napoli, Erato]. Here, she sounds on peak form, which is impressive because she always sounds on peak form, but the BRAVURA just lets her get on with singing with absolute clarity and extension. A true delight… as it was with the Sonoma M1 Headphone.