KS Distribution has announced they have been appointed as a UK distributor for Comply Foam ear tips and earphone products. Based near Brighton on the South Coast of England, KS Distribution is a specialist distributor of headphone and earphone audio products.
KS Distribution is to be distributing products to independent audio retailers in the UK and Ireland.
Utilising a unique ultra soft foam that is activated by body heat, Comply Foam eartips provide excellent comfort, fit and performance and can be fitted to many brands of earphone, such as Sennheiser, Denon, Skullcandy, Ultimate Ears and many more.
About KS Distribution
A leading audio electronics distributor, KS Distribution specialises in bringing innovative products to the UK market and providing a World class service to their customers. Offering a carefully selected range of products for home and mobile listening, KS Distribution are a highly focused team whose primary aim is to develop strong partnerships with retailers and manufacturers.
Comply Foam is a trademark of Hearing Components Inc of Minnesota, USA.An expert in making connections to the ear using innovative foam solutions, Hearing Components focuses on developing innovative products that improve the listening experience. A 3M spin-off founded in 1990 by Dr. Robert Oliveira serve the military, consumer, aviation, audiology and industrial markets. The patented technology was developed through several grants by the National Institutes of Health to improve and protect hearing. HearingComponents is located in the Twin Cities suburb of Oakdale, Minnesota.
This article aims to briefly compare Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7 full size headphones with the new ATH-ANC3 in ear sound isolating noise cancelling earphones.
Noise Cancelling or Sound Isolating?
Noise cancelling headphones are an excellent choice for air travel and noisy environments, such as computer rooms. The clever electronics in these headphones and earphones does an excellent job of cutting out the low end rumble of aircraft engines and whirring fans.
However, be aware that a new highbred earphone is now available that offers the best of active noise cancelling technology, as well as the passive noise blocking of in-ear sound isolating earphones.
Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7 Active Noise Cancelling Headphones
Audio-Technica or Bose?
So, what noise cancelling headphone manufacturer should you trust? Should you choose a model from the expensive, and highly regarded, Bose noise cancelling headphones range? Or alternatively should you try the far cheaper Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7?
Only launched onto the UK market in 2007, Audio-Technica’s noise cancelling headphones have quickly become recognised as the best value noise cancelling headphones available.
Audio-Technica initially launched the ATH-ANC7 full size noise cancelling heapdhone, and soon afterwards developed the ATH-ANC3 in-ear headphone. Very quickly the ANC7 has become know for offering performance equalling, and possibly surpassing, Bose QC2 or QC3 noise cancelling headphones.
Noise Cancelling & Noise Isolating
Instead of full size noise cancelling headphones, you may be looking for an in-ear earphone that also offers active noise cancelling functionality. This type of earphone gives the best of both worlds.
Active noise cancelling electronics does an excellent job of removing low frequency, constant noise, but is not so good at cancelling out high frequency irregular noise. On the other hand, sound isolating earphones are good at removing high frequency sounds, but struggle to seal out low frequency noise. Therefore, the match between active noise cancelling and an in-ear sound isolating earphone is actually very good.
Audio-Technica ATH-ANC3 Active and Passive Nois Cancelling Earphones
The Audio-Technica ANC3 is an excellent quality earphone and based on feedback from customers who have tried the ANC3 in flight we can highly recommend this incredible little earphone.
Here at the HiFi Headphones store we thought we were crazy about headphones. That is until we were sent this mad, but very clever, music video that is being entered into Moby’s competition for his new song “Ooh Yeah”.
The clever guys at Beshart Design Entertainment have made an animated music video to accompany Moby’s song “Ooh Yeah” that involves lots of dancing Sennheiser HD280 headphones. Read their own description of how the video came about:
“A few weeks ago we heard about moby’s video contest for his new song ooh yeah. We started fooling around with our old sennheiser HD 280 Pro in front of a camera and made it dance. Pleased with the result, but we wanted more! We contacted sennheiser belgium and 2 weeks later we received 2 boxes filled with sennheisers. The HD 650 is by far the best set of headphones I ever had the joy to listen to, but when it comes to making them dance, the HD 280 Pro has no competition.”
“To make a long story short… in 4 days we improvised a small photo studio in our office, made 8 sennheisers HD 280 Pro dance, took over 1500 pictures with two camera’s and edited them all to the beat of moby’s new song ‘ooh yeah’.”
You can see the animated music video of Moby’s Ooh Yeah yourself at the following link:
WeSC Headphones – cool Swedish retro headphone styling
The incredible looking WeSC headphones range is now available from the HiFi Headphones store. WeSC are on to a winner as they have developed a range of retro and street style headphones with decent sound quality to back up their good looks.
WeSC (We are the Superlative Conspiracy – pronounced wee-S-C) is a Swedish brand that is better known for designing rather cool looking clothing. WeSC have translated their definitive style onto the range of headphones. WeSC headphones certainly have a distinctive retro style that ensures they really stand out from the crowd.
Do WeSC Headphones Sound Any Good?
So how do the WeSC headphones sound? When we tested our first batch of WeSC headphones we were also positively surprised by the build and sound quality. Often with street style headphones the audio performance is seriously lacking and often the build quality is disappointing, but WeSC seem to have paid attention to the sonic abilities of their headphones as much as the physical build.
WeSC Oboe Activist
Which model – Oboe, Oboe Activist or Bongo?
It would be easy to label the WeSC headphone range as purely fashion accessories, but actually they don’t sound bad at all. While not the last word in audiophile excellence, the WeSC range have a very well balanced sound with plenty of musical detail present.
The bottom of the range WeSC Oboe headphone sounds very capable, but in our opinion the WeSC Oboe Activist series delivers slightly better clarity. There is yet more improvement in audio detail with the WeSC Bongo headphone, which also has a slightly better fit due to the soft comfortable earpads.
Sleek Audio SA6 – The headphone revolution has just begun!
For the first time it’s possible to tune an In Ear Monitor (IEM) style headphone to enhance the listening experience. The new Sleek Audio SA6 Headphones are the first fully customizable headphone that can be tuned to alter the frequency response of the earphone within the ear canal.
Based on 30 years experience in the hearing aid industry, Sleek Audio’s Mark and Jason Krywko developed the SA6 to be fully customizable, enabling headphone owners for the first time to be able to alter frequency response to suit the their individual musical taste and to match their ears.
The miniature SA6 has an innovative multi-stage Variable Equalization System (VQ), which allows complete customization of the sound, giving the owner the freedom to control the bass and treble response as they wish.
More Innovative Design
The innovations don’t stop there. The Sleek Audio SA6 has a cord that can be detached from the headphone body, which for the style conscience means the colour can be changed to match clothes or their MP3 player. More practically the headphone cable can be swapped to replace a cord that has been accidentally crushed or broken.
When Sleek Audio designed the SA6 they scrapped the conventional thinking that more drivers or larger speakers are better, and instead researched ways to accomplish the same broad frequency response while still delivering a product a fraction the size of their competitors. The result is a miniature earphone that sounds silky smooth and musical, with excellent comfort and ergonomics to create the best listening experience.
Exciting Future Wireless Plans
Sleek Audio doesn’t plan on stopping at the SA6 In Ear Monitor headphone. Jason Krywko and his team are busy developing a wireless upgrade for the SA6, due to for launch in late 2008. It will be possible to simply unclick the wired cable and attach a wireless receiver, meaning existing SA6 owners will not have to fork out for a new setup and owners who buy the wireless model will also be able to connect with wires. Sleek Audio plans to make all models compatible with their interchangeable cable and wireless setup.
Sleek Audio SA6 Reviews
Below are a selection of reviews of the Sleek Audio SA6:
Grado high end headphones sometimes get labelled with the term ‘audiophile’. The word audiophile may send shivers up your spine, but it’s just a word that has been used to describe discerning high end audio enthusiasts who take their music listening very seriously, and Grado headphones do deserve to be taken seriously.
Our first listening tests with a sample from the range of Grado open back headphones has left us wondering why we didn’t take a listen before.
During initial listening tests we’ve been very impressed by the sounds coming out of these distinctively retro looking ‘cans’ (an affectionate name for headphones). We love the energetic and up front sound that appears to be the hallmark of the Grado headphone range.
Below are a few highlights from the Grado headphone line-up.
Grado iGrado – iPod streetstyle headphones
Even the humble bottom of the range iGrado street style headphone really does sound very good indeed. When you compare the iGrado with the rather cheap and muddy sounding standard iPod earbuds you realise that excellent headphones don’t actually need to cost a fortune.
Grado iGrado
While the iGrado styling is distinctly unique and maybe not to everyone’s taste, nobody can deny the performance knocks spots off the competition.
Grado GS1000 – top of the range
If you are looking for sonic perfection then the incredible top of the range Grado GS1000 will actually cost a small fortune. The sound coming out of the GS1000 is, however, quite astonishing. If you are looking for perfection in a headphone then the Grado GS1000 has to be quite near to it.
Grado GS1000
With good Hi-Fi equipment the Grado GS1000 can sound on a par with far more expensive speakers. On a personal note the GS1000 has reminded me why I get so excited about headphones.
Grado SR225 – best headphones available at this price?
Somewhere near the middle of the Grado headphone range is the rather nice sounding Grado SR225. Compared with the budget priced Grado SR60, the SR225 is a much more refined sounding headphone.
The Grado SR225 is a low impedance headphones, so it is quite possible to drive it with a low spec headphone output, as found on portable players like the iPod and laptops.
Grado SR225
Without a dedicated headphone amplifier the SR225 will give a stunning performance, with solid bass extension and high end intensity that will make you sit up and pay attention. On the other hand, with a good quality headphone amplifier the Grado SR225 will open up and you will experience a new level of sonic detail and even tighter bass response.
KS Distribution has today announced they have been appointed as the UK distributor for Sleek Audio earphone products. Based in Brighton on the South Coast of England, KS Distribution is a distributor of audio headphone and earphone related products.
Sleek Audio’s SA6 earphone is the first fully customisable headphone that can be custom tuned to alter the frequency response of the earphone within the ear canal.
Based on 30 years experience in the hearing aid industry, Sleek Audio’s Mark and Jason Krywko have developed the SA6 to be fully customisable, enabling headphone owners for the first time to be able to alter frequency response to suit the their individual musical taste and to match their ears.
About KS Distribution
A leading audio electronics distributor, KS Distribution specialises in bringing innovative products to the UK market and providing a World class service to their customers. Offering a carefully selected range of products for home and mobile listening, KS Distribution are a highly focused team whose primary aim is to develop strong partnerships with retailers and manufacturers.
Sleek Audio is a personal audio company dedicated to creating “Music in Tune with You.” Creators of the first ever acoustically customisable earphones, Sleek Audio are driven from decades of experience in the custom hearing aid and audio industry. Sleek Audio products are designed for high-performance use with all MP3 players including iPod® and Zune®.
If you appreciate high quality audio and feel that listening to your iPod is a bit of compromise, then the British built Graham Slee Voyager Headphone Amp is an ideal solution. As most high end audio enthusiasts will quickly tell you, the iPod’s headphone output is actually pretty bad at driving many headphones. The Graham Slee Voyager gives an iPod the extra grunt that enables it to easily drive high quality headphones, such as the Sennheiser HD650, with added warmth and fullness and without distortion.
As well as allowing the iPod to drive higher end Hi-Fi headphones, the Graham Slee Voyager is a also perfect for driving lower impedance earphones and headphones. The Voyager headphone amplifier features a contour switch to equalise street-wear headphones, emulating the sound you get from “home” or Hi-Fi headphones – putting back that missing bottom-end bass and replacing the usual scratchy highs with the whole clarity that makes this portable headphone amplifier “hard to switch-off”.
About Graham Slee
The Voyager headphone amp has been developed and produced in the UK by the team at Graham Slee based in South Yorkshire. Graham Slee have a long history manufacturing high end phono amplifiers and headphone amplifiers. The Graham Slee Voyager is their first step into the world of portable audio, but this is fast becoming a major part of the business.
We often get asked about earphone and headphone safety here at the HiFi Headphones store.
The question is, are in-ear headphones safe, and do they cause hearing loss or damage? Especially of concern is the safety of children if they listen with earphones for long periods of time.
In-ear sound isolating earphones (also known as ear canal earphones or in-ear monitors – IEMs) create a seal within the ear canal that blocks out external noise. The concern is whether ear canal earphones cause sound pressure levels that are too high and therefore cause hearing damage. Below is our opinion on the subject.
Poor Fitting Ear Buds
If you listen with badly fitting earbuds, such the standard iPod ear buds, then there is a tendency to increase volume to drown out external noises. This means you are exposing your ears to unnecessarily high sound pressure levels.
If you wear correctly fitted ear canal headphones that seal out external noise you have a lower volume delivered to your ear drum as you are not competing with the external noise.
De-Sensitisation Of Your Ears
A good way to illustrate this is the example of listening to the radio while driving a car on a long journey. Because of the external road noise you gradually turn the volume up and up to drown it out. The following day you come back to your car parked on the street, turn the key and get quite a shock when you hear how loud the radio is. While you were driving the previous day your ears became de-sensitised to the increases in volume level. This is what happens with poorly fitting earphones.
Air Tight Seal – does it create too much pressure?
So, if it’s true that ear canal earphone form an “air-tight seal” then surely no matter what level the volume is the pressure between the earphone and the ear membrane has nowhere to release itself and is, therefore, dangerous to the fragile ear membrane?
No, not at all. Your eardrum experiences pressure differences all the time – that’s how it works! When a sound wave hits your eardrum, it causes a momentary increase in air pressure on that side of the eardrum, which causes the eardrum to move and the volume of the sound you hear is proportional to the pressure. Your eardrum can’t tell whether the pressure it experiences is due to a speaker 3 metres away or an earphone transducer 1cm away, and it doesn’t really matter – the only real difference is that the transducer is only having to move a very small volume of air to get the same effect as the speaker moving a very large volume of air.
If you were to seal a full size bass driver in an airtight seal to your eardrum and turn that on then yes, you could massively over pressurise the eardrum – but the miniature transducer in an ear canal earphone only moves tiny distances by comparison, and so it only introduces tiny changes in pressure.
Headphone Safety Summary
Exposure to high sound pressure levels for any period of time can permanently damage your hearing. Obviously you should always take care when listening with headphones or earphones. Many famous musicians have admitted that they have permanently damaged their ears by listening to headphones in studios for extended periods of time at unnecessarily high volume levels.
Our opinion is that a good quality set of ear canal earphones that fit well are safer than a poorly fitting set of standard iPod ear buds.
Choosing the best DJ headphones can be difficult – it’s a big decision. If you’re a DJ then you will no doubt be very careful about the headphones you choose for monitoring. While it’s possible to DJ with a pair of ordinary Hi-Fi headphones, you will likely not be very happy with the result.
DJ monitoring has some very specific requirements, which are quite different to other types of listening. This article is meant to offer some advice with choosing the best pair of DJ headphone. DJing presents a tough listening environment and you will need to ensure you have the right equipment to be successful and get the most out of it.
Below are a few key points to think about when choosing DJ headphones.
Good isolation from external sound
While you cue up the next track you need to be able to monitor without interference from the sound being played over the speakers, so headphones with good sound isolation are a must
Good DJ headphones are nearly always of the closed back (or sealed) design, which means you can focus on getting the beats matched perfectly without any external distractions.
Swivel earcups
When you think you got the beat match spot on you will want to compare the beats of your new tune with the sound coming out of the speakers. Swivel earcups are a convenient way of monitoring the audio coming through the speakers. You just rotate one earcup and hey presto you can hear your new track and the existing track. Also convenient for chatting with friends nearby while you mix!
For example the Sennheiser HD25 DJ headphones have rotating earcups and also conveniently have a headphone cable that comes from a single earcup, meaning you are less likely to get tangled up in the cord when you are jumping up and down behind the decks.
Sennheiser HD25 DJ Headphones
Clarity at high volume levels
The listening environment while DJing is often very noisy, even if it’s just at home with the speakers turned up loud. You will need your DJ headphones to be able to cut through the external noise and this may mean turning them up loud for short periods. A good quality pair of DJ headphones are able to be driven at high volumes without distortion.
Some DJ headphones may even sound a little biased towards mids and treble, which is to help you distinguish audio cues in the music.
Long term listening comfort
As a DJ you may have to wear your headphones for hours at a time, so headphone fit and comfort are vital. Ears that are hurting will not help your mixing skills. The best DJ headphones have comfortable earpads and are lightweight.
More Information
The HiFi Headphones store has a big selection of DJ headphones from many of the best headphone brands, including Technics and Sennheiser.
Protect your expensive Grado headphones with a high quality case
We’ve just taken delivery of the official Grado headphone case. Grado headphones come supplied in cheap cardboard box packaging, which is definitely not up to the task of protecting expensive headphones from day to day wear and tear.
The official Grado Headphone Carry Case is well made and designed to store your Grado headphones safely when not in use, or while travelling.
The Grado carry case has a moulded interior to fit all models, except the iGrado and GS1000. The case is designed to fit the following models:
If you travel often by aeroplane or long distance train and you have a passion for music it’s likely you’ve considered (or maybe already own) a pair of active noise cancelling headphones. The clever electronics in these headphones does an excellent job of removing the low frequency boom of aircraft engines, train air conditioning and any other consistent rumbling noises. While some feel the addition of this electronics interferes with the quality of audio reproduction, there is no doubt that the technology is impressive and very effective at reducing low frequency noise.
The obvious choice for many when it comes to noise cancelling headphones is the Bose range. The Bose Quiet Comfort noise cancelling headphones have long been regarded as the standard by which other noise cancelling headphones should be measured. This domination of the market has meant that Bose has been able to justify a hefty price tag for their superior technology.
In recent years manufacturers such as Sennheiser, Panasonic and others have to some degree caught up with Bose, but many feel Bose still have the upper hand with their noise cancelling technology..
Upon opening the box the ANC7’s are immediately impressive, with excellent build quality and a comfortable fit on most ears. The headphone ear cups have a rather handy pivoting link to the headband that means they can be folded 90 degrees for convenient storage of the headset. Also included with the headphones is a useful airline connection adapter, the single AAA battery needed to power the active electronics and a practical carry case to protect your headphones.
Audio-Technica’s ATH-ANC7 Quietpoint noise cancelling headphones come in a full size headset package with sealed (or closed) ear cups to help reduce high frequency noise from leaking in, while the active electronics handle the suppression of low frequency noise. The ear cups do not completely enclose the ears, but instead rest on the outer ear with soft pads that mould to fit comfortably on most ears.
Clever Cable Design
The headphone connection cable design of the ANC7’s is worth a mention. The convenient 1.6 metre cable is terminated with a full size 6.35mm (1/4”) jack at the source end and a 3.5mm (1/8”) mini jack at the headphone end. While the length is perfect for using with a portable music player on the move, the use of standard connectors means the cable can be easily replaced with a longer item for other applications such as home or office listening. The ANC7’s can also be used without the cable attached to just perform noise cancelling duties – handy if you are looking to get some sleep on a long flight.
How Do They Sound?
The quality of audio reproduction is excellent. The sealed ear cup headphone design means there is very little bass leakage and the lower frequency response is very strong. Moving through the mid-range and high frequencies the sound is pure and crisp and very accurate.
The closed back design does give the sound an enclosed character, which owners of good quality open back headphones may find immediately noticeable. The difference between open and closed back headphones can be compared to listening to a band in a large open concert hall and then hearing the same band playing a small intimate venue – it’s just different. There is no doubt that the ANC7’s close back design does change the character of the sound, but without the sealed ear cups the listener would be disturbed by high frequency external noise.
The headphone buying advice area of the HiFi Headphones online store has been expanded to include a whole load more information, which we hope will help when you are trying to choose a new pair of headphones. The aim of this part of the website is to inform and educate visitors through easy to read buying guides, reviews and explanations of headphone technology. We also have some other very exciting developments waiting in the wings, which we can’t talk about right now.
Check out the following headphone and earphone buying information:
Headphone Buying Tips – tips and advice on factors that may influence your decision when buying headphones.
Also in the headphone buying advice section of the website we have added a Guide to Headphone Types, which so far has information and descriptions of the following types of headphones:
We thrive on feedback from website visitors and customers, so if you have any comments (positive or negative) about our buying guides and headphone information please let us know. You can contact us through the HiFi Headphones email form or by commenting on this blog. We’d love to hear from you!
Shure have a long heritage of designing microphones and earphones for the professional audio industry. Shure’s build quality is normally excellent, you get good value for money and their headphones come with a reassuring 2 year Shure warranty. Shure’s previous range of ear canal headphones (EC2 and EC3) were generally very well regarded and the SE range is the evolutionary next step.
So let’s see what they have to offer…
Shure SE110 and SE210 – entry level
Currently the entry level in-ear headphone is the Shure SE110 sound isolating earphone. The SE110 is a very worthwhile upgrade from standard iPod headphones. You will be able to hear detail in your music that you simply could not hear before. Saying that the SE110 does lack the bass punch that many listeners expect when upgrading to a more ‘expensive’ pair of headphones.
Shure SE110
The Shure SE210 earphone adds another layer of definition and a small amount more bass response than the SE110. For the modest difference in price it really is worth upgrading to the SE210’s.
Shure SE210
Both the SE110 and SE210 earphones are very sensitive and you may find that you have to watch the volume levels. For example when listening to an iPod Nano I found that anywhere over half volume is too much for extended periods. With the standard iPod headphones I regularly listened upto 75% volume. This is partly due to the fact that they are sound isolating and your music is not competing with the sounds around you, but is also due to the sensitivity of the headphones. It’s unlikely you will want a headphone amp with either the Shure SE110’s or SE210 headphones.
Shure SE310 – midrange
The Shure SE310 earphone is still just a single armature driver design, but the sonic clarity is absolutely spot on. The single speaker design gives the SE310 the advantage that it’s smaller than it’s bigger brothers (the SE420 and SE530). This mid-range offering from Shure has quite a bit of competition, including the Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5 Pro, but holds it’s own with the best of them.
Shure SE310
While the SE range are ideal iPod headphones you will only really get the best from your headphones when listening to uncompressed (e.g. AAC and FLAC) digital music. If you try listening to poor quality, low bitrate MP3’s you may be disappointed by all the sonic artefacts you can hear in your music, e.g. normally resulting in a ‘crunchy’ sound. If uncompressed audio is not possible then 192Kbps is really a minimum when listening with good quality in ear sound isolating headphones.
Shure SE420 – audiophile quality with twin micro-speakers
This is the first in Shure’s range to introduce the idea of more than one driver within the earphone, much like a multi-way speaker. The Shure SE420 earphone utilizes a dual armature driver, with the lows driven by one driver and the high frequencies driven by another dedicated speaker. The result is an extra clean punch to the bass and a slightly more accurate response across the board than the single driver SE310. Compared to the Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5 Pro the SE420’s bass response is stronger and overall slightly warmer sounding. If your preference is for clean and accurate response then you may prefer the UE 5 Pro.
Shure SE420
Shure SE530 – top of the range
The flagship in-ear-monitor from Shure is currently the spectacular Shure SE530 earphone. Whilst not cheap, this headphone really is the pinnacle of consumer ear canal headphone technology. The earphone utilizes three tiny micro-drivers, just like a three way HiFi speaker. The end result is an extremely accurate, dynamic earphone with deep, powerful bass response.
The fact that the Shure SE530 headphone contains three speakers does increase the size a little, but the earphone is very comfortable to wear for long periods and is as easy to fit as the other Shure models.
Shure SE530
The bottom line is that the SE530 is one of the best in-ear headphones you will find. The SE530’s sound absolutely stunning, with accurate response across the full frequency range and when called for a deep powerful bass response.
We’re proud to announce that the HiFi Headphones Store now has a brand new Headphone Buyer’s Guide with lots of expert advice from the experts at HiFi Headphones. This area of the website currently holds a headphone selection guide with a subsection for each of the main types of headphone and earphone. The guide can be found at the following link:
We plan to include additional sections to the buyers guide in the coming months, including some headphone reviews (by type) and a selection guide by application, e.g. DJ Headphones, iPod Headphones, Travelling Headphones, etc.
As always we love to hear from our customers, so let us know if there is anything you would find particularly informative in this area of the website.
