Think sound quality are the only things people care about when purchasing headphones and in this case, ear buds? Well, it shouldn’t be any surprise that the answer to that question is actually a pretty loud and resounding “No”. Hell, if it where, half of Japan’s headphone business would be wiped out. Their at times odd fascination with the more “creative” side of headphone design has created some of the more elaborate designs...

First there was the phenomenon of headphones shrunk into earbuds. Then came dual drivers and noise canceling. 3 drivers left me drooling while 4 drivers started to sound crazy. Well, throw your previous notion of  “crazy” out of the window because Ultimate Ears is kicking up the driver-per-ear race (didn’t know that there was a race) another notch with their Ultimate Ears 18 Pro. So what’s so great about the $1,350 UE 18 Pro? If you strive for...

Headphones may seem like a dime a dozen. In reality, the field is quite like that. Though a few rare gems do stand out here and there. Audio Technica has generally been known for their higher end headphones. This year however, AT was eager to show off their new QuietPoint ANT-ANC3 in-ear phones with noise reduction technology. It just so happens that the first 100 members of press received a free pair of the ANT-ANC3′s. How do they stack up? After some initial...

**Posting via phone, sorry for bad formatting if visible…* While I wouldn’t exactly consider myself a super high end audiophile, I admit that I certainly enjoy a superior sound. Before CES, I hadn’t heard of HiFiMan. And for good reason, at $800 and the size of an old Sony Walkman cassette player means this isn’t going to be mass market. However, for those with a choosy ear, the HiFiMan HM-801 is worth a solid look. The main innards include...

While I wouldn’t exactly consider myself a super high end audiophile, I admit that I certainly enjoy a superior sound. Before CES, I hadn’t heard of HiFiMan. And for good reason, at $800 and the size of an old Sony Walkman cassette player means this isn’t going to be mass market. However, for those with a choosy ear, the HiFiMan HM-801 is worth a solid look. The main innards include Burr-Brown PCM1704 DAC’s, OP627 chips, direct connection to amps...