PREFER EARPHONES? READ MORE: Best Earphones 2024

BEST ENTRY LEVEL HIGH-END

Audeze MM-100 – £399.00

The Audeze MM-100 is a versatile headphone designed for both studio engineers and music enjoyers on a budget. It can be driven by just about any source, making it ideal for life on the go. With its Audeze patented planar magnetic drivers, it delivers precise, studio-quality audio with incredible detail and clarity, making it ideal for mixing, mastering, or casual listening. The sound is stunning, especially when paired with a quality setup and completely outperforms anything else in its price bracket at just £399. Lightweight and comfortable, the MM-100 ensures long sessions are a breeze and gives an immersive listening experience to anyone who put them over their ears.

BEST BUDGET WIRED HEADPHONES

SoundMAGIC HP151- £88.99

The SoundMAGIC HP151 offers excellent audio quality with a balanced sound signature and impressive detail for its price. Its spacious soundstage and comfortable design make it an ideal choice for budget-conscious listeners seeking reliable, wired performance. Priced just under £90, it is a great pick for anyone looking to upgrade without breaking the bank.

BEST WIRELESS HEADPHONES

1More SonoFlow HQ51– £89.99

If earphones aren’t your thing, then the SonoFlow HQ51 makes a perfect upgrade choice under £100. With its extended 70 to 100-hour battery life, advanced ANC, The SonoFlow HQ51 also features an all new DLC 40mm dynamic driver. Comfortable to wear, it is equiped with Bluetooth 5.4 and has 12 EQ modes, it’s ideal for immersive listening at an affordable price. The SonoFlow is a great alternative challenger to the pricier options out there from Sony, Bose and Sennheiser.

final UX3000 ANC Wireless Headphones – £119

Final have really worked their magic here. Solid build quality, paired with great sound and effective ANC for under £120 is something rarely heard of. Add to that fantastic mic quality and you have an absolute bargain on offer. The UX3000 can be recommend to absolutely anyone looking for a portable over-ear headphone and you will only see smiles on their faces.

SoundMAGIC P23BT Portable Wireless Headphones – £49.99

How do they do it? SoundMAGIC have once again made a killer headphone for a super price. The P23BT doubles up as a headset too with the included cable and boom mic (great for home office or even gaming). In addition, the headphone is lightweight and comfortable. Add into the mixer an incredibly impressive battery life and a simple ease of use and you have got yourself a bargain. They sound full and warm yet never bass heavy. They really do sound incredible and for a Wireless on ear headphone what more could you want?

WATCH VIDEO: SoundMAGIC P23BT Wireless On Ear Headphone Review

READ MORE: Christmas Gift Guide 2024

BEST OVER-EAR HEADPHONES

5. Audeze LCD-X Planar Magnetic Full Size Headphones – £1149

The Audeze LCD-X are a real eye-catching headphone. For a retail price that seems crazy at first glance, the bottom line is that the price-performance ratio of this headphones is absolutely fantastic. Not only due to the impeccable manufacture, but also a robust construction, use of high-quality materials and wonderful, detailed sound Loved by Audiophiles and sound engineers alike. If you want to give yourself a birthday or Christmas present, you can safely consider surprising yourself with the Audeze LCD-X.

READ MORE: Audeze LCD-X Planar Magnetic Headphones

READ MORE: Christmas Gift Guide 2024

Audeze MM-500 Planar Magnetic Full Size Studio Headphones – £1699

Audeze MM-500 is designed to suit the requirements of long daily listening sessions under almost any condition. World-class studio monitor? Check. Quick reference on-the-go? No problem. Deep late-night listening? Done. With its ease of drive, comfortable fit and trustworthy sound, you can count on the MM-500 to deliver in every situation. The MM-500’s planar magnetic drivers provide realism that audio professionals like Manny “can’t live without.” With lightning-fast transients, accurate frequency response and trusted mix translation.

READ MORE: Audeze MM-500 Planar Magnetic Studio Headphones

Final D8000 – £2,999.00

Instead of going for the usual neutral-ish sound signature of most high-end models, Final instead decided to make the D8000 enjoyable, with very punchy and dynamic bass and impressive clarity across the board, the D8000 stand out from the crowd.

Audeze LCD-5 -£3,999.00

The Audeze LCD-5 is a masterpiece of audiophile engineering, delivering unmatched clarity, precision, and emotional depth to your music. Audeze’s Flagship LCD has a lightweight magnesium frame and the premium materials ensure long-lasting comfort, while the cutting-edge planar magnetic drivers reveal every nuance in your favorite tracks. For those seeking the pinnacle of sound reproduction and a transformative listening experience, the LCD-5 is still there, in a league of its own. Full Review

READ MORE: Christmas Gift Guide 2024

BEST GAMING HEADPHONES

Audeze Maxwell Ps5/Xbox – £319.00/£349.00.

The Audeze Maxwell redefines what a wireless gaming headset can be. With its planar magnetic drivers, it offers astonishingly clear, detailed sound that brings games and music to life. Combine this with ultra-low latency performance, an 80-hour battery, and a premium build, and you have a headset that’s as serious about sound as it is about gaming. The Maxwell remains the gold standard for serious gamers and audiophiles alike and a must have in 2024

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RHA S500 Earphone Review

RHA has a nice little thing going with its stainless steel capsules and fabric cables; it’s a good look. And as with fashion design, the models tend to get smaller all the time. However, the lightweight RHA S500 will never develop a cocaine habit, or punch a paparazzo.

Pros:

• Decent build
• Decent accessories
• Bass has a nice velvety quality
• Tiny capsules

Cons:

• Midrange may be too present for dance fans

Design and Appearance

You might expect a low-cost model to skimp on certain features and items, and compared to other RHA offerings this is certainly the case. However, RHA is always generous with its accessories no matter what you’re spending; included is a nice little drawstring pouch, a cable clip and seven pairs of eartips. Not bad.

The driver capsules are certainly a departure from designs such as the MA350, with teeny microdrivers keeping the capsule size to that of a balanced armature earphone. These earphones can be worn with the cable down, or with the cable over the ear; the small capsule size may offer an improvement for those who have found it difficult to get a good fit with larger designs.

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Durability and Build Quality

Build quality is much what we’ve come to expect from RHA; stainless steel is used for the driver capsules and jack housing, and the ‘joiner’ on the cable is made from durable plastic.

Strain reliefs are present on the cable where it meets jack and capsules, and the cable is braided between the jack and the joiner. Above the joiner, it’s rubber coated.

Comfort

There’s a good chance that you’ll forget these are in – the tiny capsules allow for a bit manoeuvring so the perfect fit can be achieved.

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VIDEO REVIEW: Our 10 Best Earphones to buy in 2017

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Sound Isolation

With the supplied silicone tips, the RHA S500 can cut down those pesky outside sounds very well, but aftermarket foam tips such as the Blackbird S20 will improve this.

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Sound Characteristics

The RHA S500 has a relatively smooth sound. If you want treble crunchiness, then the S500 is not for you. The action lies in the bass and the midrange with this model.

• Bass (e.g. punch, low extension):

With a good fit, the bass is big, wide, deep and low. It’s fairly tight and works well with the midrange; there is no sense of missing anything there. The bass quality has a mellow edge to it which this reviewer really likes; it’s similar to the bass on the Sennheiser IE800 so roll up if you want a taste of that high-end bass!

• Mids (e.g. vocals, acoustic instruments):

Midrange is emphasised relative to RHA’s similarly-priced offerings; rather than the bass and treble receiving a lift, the S500 has a full and present midrange. It can appear a little hard-edged at first but after a couple of minutes’ getting used to it, it sits very nicely with the rest of the presentation.

• Treble (e.g. high hats):

Treble is there of course, but serves only to extend the midrange if that makes sense. It sits low enough in the mix to give support and fill in those little details, but will never give a particularly bright and shimmery quality to proceedings.

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Soundstage and Separation

Soundstage is very nice; the sensation of width feels as if it’s down to the bass and midrange frequencies, making it feel as if things are jumping out of line and back again and keeping the ears on their er.. toes. Separation does less well as it relies more on high frequency information, but the S500 does a good job of keeping things from getting confused.

Music genres good for and why

The midrange presence makes the S500 most suitable for acoustic or live performances, or vocals. Dance music and R&B, etc. tends to have a bit of a hard edge which may not suit some, although the bass quality of the earphones makes up for this.

Summary

A very able earphone for the asking price; the RHA S500 is not typical of models in this price range with its present midrange so will be a good option for those who prefer acoustic or vocal recordings.

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