The In-Ear-Monitor (IEM) company VISION EARS was founded by Marcel Schoenen, a former guitarist and singer for the band SUIDAKRA (folk-metal), and Amin Karimpour, a design and IEM enthusiast with an "exceptional love for detail1." The two met while working for a leading German IEM company. And it would be a shared vision—for quality, product... Read More »
Alex Rosson, as many may know, was one of the founders of the Audeze line of planar magnetic headphones, which instigated quite an audio revolution at the debut of its first and then successive models. Alex would, however, step down as CEO of Audeze to pursue other opportunities, before accepting a position with Shinola—a luxury... Read More »
Linear Tube Audio has a delicious solution for our headphone amplifier needs—the microZOTL MZ3. We love it! Let me tell you why it now has a well-deserved home in Ann's study. Prologue… I've written previously about our journey into headphone-only audio as the result of our retirement, downsizing, and move into apartment living. We found... Read More »
Six months ago, I was an infrequent headphone user. At best I listened to an old set of ear buds with balance armatures while riding the elliptical during one my very infrequent visits to the gym. Did I possess a decent pair of closed-back circumaural headphones? Check. Had I attended headphone shows and been exposed... Read More »
Finally! Bluetooth IEM monitors that present real music in real space without wires! Grado has done it and I am mightily impressed. Surpassing the performance of all other Bluetooth IEMs I have heard or auditioned, the new awesome GT220 Headphones are more authoritative, realistic, smoother, offer a more extended top and bottom end, and present... Read More »
ZMF Vérité Closed, ZMF Wooden Case, Cable Bag, and Warrantee Card ZMF has become one of the most well-known names in the head-fi community, producing headphones that sound incredibly good, and perform well above their price tag. They have excellent design that relies on exotic wood finishes, and a passionate team led by Zach and... Read More »
In the audio world, a dealer relationship is still fairly common. As more businesses go online, dealers are adapting and making their products available online as well. Some manufacturers are even starting to forgo dealers and have started selling direct to their customers. The result, when done well, is more performance per dollar. This is... Read More »
Background In this time of Covid 19 it was apt that I was given the opportunity to review a product from a small company headed by a dog named Lutz. Cottage industry is the name of the game, and Sparkos Labs is an outfit out of Westminster Colorado, United States that was born from a... Read More »
A little over a year ago I was making my way through the headphone hall at AXPONA 2019, and spotted the Meze Audio booth. I wasn't familiar with Meze, but their offerings looked interesting and I enjoyed listening to their 99 Classics for a few minutes. In the past year or so I've been leaning... Read More »
Worth The Wait: Meze delivers an artful and meticulously crafted masterpiece. Review By Dave Hanson With this article, Positive Feedback continues its content-sharing relationship with Enjoy the Music. Dave Hanson shares his thoughts on the Meze Rai Penta In-Ear Monitors. Dr. David W. Robinson, Editor-in-Chief I first encountered the Meze Rai Penta ($1099) at CanJam SoCal in 2018,... Read More »
The Hifiman HE1000SE Headphones in all its glory Preamble Those who know me know that I am a big fan of Hifiman. One of the first high-end headphones I ever fell in love with was the HE500. I have also owned the HE400 and the HE560. I have also reviewed the Ananda BT, and currently... Read More »
When I got an email from CEntrance letting me know that their Cerene dB headphones, which are touted as both recording studio and audiophile grade cans, were available for review, my interest was piqued. CEntrance is known for great performance at a fair price. At $179, the Cerene dBs fall in an interesting price range... Read More »
Focal are a company who need no introduction in the world of Hi-End audio. With a well-established vertically integrated base, the French company have developed a strong foothold in an already saturated marketplace. Originally versed in loudspeaker technology, the brand have made use of their extensive R&D knowledge to create a line-up of game-changing headphones.... Read More »
With just a decade of experience, 64 Audio have quickly grown to become a tour de force in the world of portable audio. Part of their ascension has stemmed from their firm desire to challenge traditional audio standards with innovations and ground-breaking technologies. The pinnacle of their knowledge has culminated in the Tubeless In-Ear Audio... Read More »
Following the success of the impeccably designed and tonally agreeable Meze Empyrean headphones, the Meze Audio Rai Penta IEMs were established with the same decisive vision of a marriage of comfort, aesthetics, and sound. Culminating from three years of research and development, the Rai Pentas—as their name suggests—packs five drivers in a seamlessly hybrid topology.... Read More »
It is always great to see humble boutique companies produce high-quality artisan products that can compete with those from far larger firms. One such company—ZMF Headphones—have been producing premium wood-crafted heirlooms that have charmed the audiophile community for the best part of five years. Based in Chicago and headed by Zach Mehrbach, each headphone is... Read More »
Creating a killer pair of headphones which appeals to a broad spectrum of listeners, musical tastes, and listening preferences, is no mean feat. It requires a hard to achieve blend of sonics, aesthetics, build quality, convenience, comfort, and cost. Too much of one thing or too little of another and the experience can quickly begin... Read More »
The last 2 years of computer audio (2017 – 2019) for listeners and musicians have been unlike anything I have seen or heard since the earliest exciting and revolutionary days of the introduction of DSD as SACDs into the market which I participated with as an album (SACD The Window released in 2003). After the... Read More »
This review took a little longer than I thought. I originally found out about this amp from my colleague Robert Levi, and could not resist sending EveAnna Manley an email to see if I could procure a review model. She was more than willing to send it out with the 250 monoblocks that I also... Read More »