All ears!
Lucky me, I recently reviewed three of the world's very best headphones, the Audio Technica ATH-W5000, Denon AH-D7000 and Sennheiser HD 800 for Home Entertainment, due in the September issue.
But the advancement of high-end headphones doesn't stand still and now I've heard something even better: The WooAudio WES headphone amplifier and Stax SR-007 Mk2 headphone.
A mini survey of ear-bogglingly good headphones and headphone amplifiers
I'd like to let you in on a little secret: You can buy terrific headphones for next to nothing. That's not to say they all sound great, but a bigger budget definitely buys better build and sound quality.
For this roundup I've selected three contenders for the world's best headphone: the Denon AH-D5000, Grado Labs GS-1000, and the Ultrasone Edition 9, plus a pair of headphone amplifiers, Benchmark's DAC1 USB and Woo Audio's WA5-LE.
When Digital Met Analog
Ditch the transistors and go tubing with old-fashioned, oh-so-analog vacuum tube audio gear from Peachtree Audio and Fatman.
What happens when a company updates a classic? Often disaster results, as anyone who ever sipped a New Coke or drove a Mustang II can attest. But occasionally the new version preserves the original’s magic while smoothing its minor imperfections, as anyone who owns a Mini Cooper will happily confirm.
Ultimate Hybrid
One of the fastest-growing product categories is high-end audio devices that decode digital audio from a computer or iPod.
This amuses me, as for years many in the high-end audio realm thought of the iPod somewhere above the Anti-Christ but just below one of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
Not sure which, maybe the green one.
Marantz goes for truth in nomenclature with their new Reference series
The Reference Series is Marantz's no-holds-barred line of audio components, which includes several amps, preamps, integrated amps, control amps and disc players.
The flagship components in my review system are two MA-9S2 monaural power amplifiers, the SC-7S2 Control Amplifier and the SA-7S1 CD/SACD player.
The Pass Laboratories INT-30A integrated amplifier doesn't do much, and that's what makes it great!
I've probably reviewed well over a hundred amplifiers, but I can't say I've ever really heard one. I'm always listening to an amplifier driving a speaker, so the sound is really the combination of the two.
I'm pretty sure Nelson Pass has not only listened to more amps and speakers than I have, he's designed more than a few of my favorite high-end amps.
