The HifiHeadphones team is pleased to announce the new Premium Open Back Headphone from Ultrasone, the Edition 12 is now available to be purchased on our website.
Ultrasone Edition 12 luxurious open-back headphones transport to an airy, three dimensional soundscape with extensive presence of trebles, mid-notes and bass. Edition 12 incorporate gold-plated transducers that are responsible for the imposing spatial quality of sound.
Tonally accurate harmonization, combined with the special capsule design, offers a professional sound experience. The acoustically redesigned ear-cups of the Edition 12 and their tonal fine-tuning result in a most neutral sound impression with more vivid perception of voices and instruments. With extensive presence of trebles, mid-notes and basses the Edition 12 exposes you to an impressive range of audio experiences.
These headphones, weighting only 282g caress the ears and head with silky textile and soft leather for superb wearer comfort. The head pad of the aluminium headband is covered with the dark grey leather of the Ethiopian long-haired sheep and the ear pads are covered with specially selected, very fine microvelour. This ultra-soft material blends sleekly into the airy sound reproduction.
Luxurious headphones with professional sound
S-Logic Plus Natural Surround Sound technology
Reduced emissions using the ULE standard (Ultra Low Emission)
The HifiHeadphones team is pleased to announce the new Portable Digital Audio Player & DAC from Astell and Kern, the AK100 is now available to be purchased on our website.
Uncompromising high-fidelity music playback at your fingertips: the Astell and Kern AK100 is the pinnacle of modern portable audio playback. Capable of Studio Mastering Quality sound, this portable player offers high-definition lossless music playback well beyond the realms of standard CD quality.
With the Astell&Kern AK100 listeners can enjoy music as it was intended to be heard with all it’s details and subtleties. Equipped with high-quality Wolfson DAC chip, the AK100 offers the highest levels of signal-to-noise ratio and lowest level of harmonic distortion for a highly detailed and realistic sound experience. The Astell&Kern AK100 can also be used as an external DAC via the Optical In/Out function.
The Astell&Kern AK100 is capable of playing all lossless music files offering high-definition music playback. Lossless music files are larger than standard music files and require more storage space. Astell&Kern AK100 carries an on-board memory of 32GB with additional dual micro SD card slots, making the internal memory expandable to 96GB.
An intuitive and responsive touch screen interface combined with traditional control buttons makes using the AK100 fast and easy. The user interface of the Astell&Kern focuses on quickly searching for and listening to songs. Housed in a robust case of black-anodized aluminium with a hairline finish, the AK100 represents a deep and defined craftsmanship
Features
Portable high-fidelity audio system with Mastering Quality Sound (MQS) playback
Up to 24bit/192kHz playback of high resolution audio files
Lossless playback for WAV, AIFF, FLAC, ALAC, APE, MP3, AAC, WMA and OGG music formats
Meets 100% of Hi-Fi audio specifications
Equipped with high-performance WOLFSON DAC chip
Optical DAC function for PC and MAC
Dual Micro SD card slot supports up to 96GB of total memory
User Interface with intuitive touch screen and control buttons
Digital volume control wheel with traditional analogue feel
Solid machined aluminium casing
The HifiHeadphones team is pleased to announce the new Portable Digital Audio Player & DAC from Astell and Kern, the AK120 is now available to be purchased on our website.
The Astell and Kern AK120 plays any music format with high-fidelity Mastering Quality Sound (MQS). Lossless music files no longer need to be confined to big set-ups with this portable audio system. Feel the phenomenal realism of high-definition lossless music through 24bit/192kHz sound processing that cannot be heard through a standard CD.
The incorporated Wolfson WM8740 digital-to-analogue converter chip is the world’s best performing high resolution DAC chip. Equipped with two DAC chips the AK120 independently separates the left and right channels and offer true dual-monaural audio with wide soundstage and full-bodied audio. Astell&Kern AK120 can also be used as an external DAC via USB or Optical In function.
To playback 24bit/192kHz files, it is essential for the Astell&Kern to have high-capacity memory. Astell&Kern AK120 carries an on-board memory of 64GB with additional dual micro SD card slots supporting up to 64GB of memory in each slot , making the internal memory expandable to 192GB.
Intuitive and responsive, the touch screen interface combined with integrated hardware control buttons makes using the AK120 fast and easy. The user interface of the Astell&Kern focuses on quickly searching for and listening to songs. The curved design of the volume wheel guard provides additional protection to the volume wheel.
Features
Portable high-fidelity audio system with Mastering Quality Sound (MQS) playback
Up to 24bit/192kHz playback of high resolution audio files
Lossless playback for WAV, AIFF, FLAC, ALAC, APE, MP3, AAC, WMA, OGG and DSD music formats
Meets 100% of Hi-Fi audio specifications
Equipped two high-performance Wolfson WM8740 24bit 192kHz DACs in a dual-mono configuration
USB / Optical DAC function for PC and MAC
Dual Micro SD card slot supports up to 192GB of total memory
User Interface with intuitive touch screen and control buttons
Digital volume control wheel with traditional analogue feel
Volume wheel guard provides protection
Elegant design and sturdy build, housed in a brushed aluminium case
The HifiHeadphones team is pleased to announce the new Open Back Audiophile Headphone from Audio-Technica, the ATH-AD700X is now available to be purchased on our website.
With overhauled looks and improved driver performance the ATH-AD700X represent Audio Technica’s latest revision of the acclaimed AD700. The soft and relaxed sound, with deep resonating bass and extended vocal projection offers a completely natural listening experience.
As with the predecessor, the AD700X incorporate a lightweight honeycomb aluminium casing, allowing these open-air headphones to produce no sense of pressure on the ears, resulting in a completely natural sensation. Newly designed 53mm drivers with bobbin-wound CCAW voice coils deliver spacious sound with superior highs and mids.
The included flexible raised-fabric earpads of the AD700X are also exceedingly comfortable and guarantee fatigue-free listening. Self-adjusting wing supports automatically adjust to your head size for easy-wearing listening comfort. A straight cord at the left earpiece terminates to a mini plug with included 6.35mm adapter.
Newly designed 53mm drivers reproduce clear treble and midrange
Bobbin-wound CCAW voice coils for superior power handling
Full open-air type headphones produce no sense of pressure on the ears
Lightweight aluminium honeycomb casing with excellent acoustic properties
Self-adjusting 3D Wing Support provides a comfortable listening experience
Flexible raised-fabric earpads offer excellent wearing comfort and durability
Highly conductive OFC single-sided cord with elastic TPE sheath to prevent tangles
Gold-plated stereo 3.5mm connector with 6.35mm adapter
So what’s the weakest link? I’m not talking about BBC quiz show tedium here, but something that every headphone enthusiast has probably asked at some point. If upgrading your system, whether it be portable or home-based, there is likely still something which is holding it back. Spending a grand on some sumptuous headphones is all very well, but they may be a waste of money if you are then plugging them straight into an iPod. Sound quality is limited in part to what the iPod can put out, and expensive headphones will simply reveal with greater resolution the flaws and limitations of the standard iPod DAC and amp.
For those who accept no compromise, there are bits of specialised kit which can take digital information from the iPod (from the 30-pin, or new lightning connections on the 5th gen. iPod) and process that into a much better quality analogue signal. This would need to be fed into an amplifier as the Algorhythm Solo -dB puts out a line-level signal only.
So what’s the dB for? This is a newer version of the original Algorhythm Solo which would work exclusively with Apple devices. Cypher Labs has upped the stakes and provided greater functionality by making these units compatible with the USB ports of Apple computers and PCs alike. Once drivers are installed, the computer will be able to use the unit as an external DAC, beating all pre-installed motherboard DACs to a pulp, and most aftermarket DACs as well.
I decided to check for myself what these things can do, so I put the Solo -dB against my M-Audio Audiophile 24bit/96kHz PCI sound card. If not already, this card is nearly ten years old; and although I have investigated upgrading there really is no need. It’s excellent, so the Solo -dB’s work is cut out.
And so was mine; there was likely a weak link in my chain elsewhere which made properly appreciating this level of quality a challenge. Perhaps with the cables/connections or the amps I was trying it with, the Fiio E12 or my old Behringer 802A mixing desk – neither of which are aimed at truly high-end ears. Looks like that’s my next upgrade.
However I did manage to perceive some difference through my HiFiMAN He-400s before fatigue set in, but not by listening to what was there; I listened to what there wasn’t. On The Sweet’s ‘Blockbuster Blitz’ I found it a real challenge to favour one or the other version (both PCI card and Algorhythm Solo going through the mixing desk at the same volume level) but on trying to analyse the space in between the instruments, I found that the glam snare drumroll parts definitely had a more 3D feel coming from the Algorhythm Solo; I could detect space all around them. From the M-Audio PCI card, the same parts had a flatter presentation.
Although the differences may be subtle, I am comparing a PCI card with all its requirements (like a desktop ball and chain) with a self-contained unit which can go in a pocket (albeit not a small one).
So if you are looking at upgrading your sound with some pricey headphones or a similar high-end gadget, just spare a thought for the entire chain. And if you can’t tell the difference between the iPod’s DAC and the Algorhythm Solo, perhaps you’re the weakest link!
Sennheiser have created the HDVD800 to excel the current levels of audio quality for audiophile listening. As the perfect match for Sennheiser’s audiophile headphones, the HDVD800 delivers a balanced sound image, maximum precision and impressive tonal spatiality with perfect conversion of digital to analogue signals.
D/A transducer for all common formats up to 24bit / 192kHz
D/A transducer can be used for CD and DVD players
AES/BU, S/PDIF, USB inputs
Symmetrical (XLR) and asymmetrical (RCA) analogue inputs
Sockets for four sets of headphones (two of which symmetrical)
Consistently symmetrical signal processing for maximum sound quality
The Hifiheadphones team is pleased to announce that the flagship full-sized model from Sennheiser, the HD800 is now available to be purchased on our website.
Decades of experience in innovative headphone technology and design have resulted in the creation of the HD800 flagship headphones in Sennheiser’s audiophile range. With the largest and most advanced drivers of any headphone on the market, together with cutting edge design, the HD800 set new standards in high-fidelity listening.
