All apologies for the delay. This is supposed to be a weekly round-up, not a 2.5-weekly 🙂 So here we go with a super-sized version:
We have some recurring segments, news-related action, review round-ups, opinions and audio-learnings. I am trying to keep the format fluid, so not all segments will appear every week. Especially in this case where we have two weeks worth of material, the Forums and Streaming Services will be included in next week’s edition 🙂
NEW HEADPHONES
Sennheiser wants you to know they can be fashionable too! In a new partnership with Dior Homme, they have revealed four stylized and color-matched headphone products in a totally non-Beats black/red color scheme. A home setup with an amplifier and over-ears, along with a portable setup with bluetooth and earphones. Get hyped up for them at …Hype Beast 🙂
The brand new V-Moda Crossfade Wireless 2 (second generation) model may have inadvertently revealed the price range of what Qualcomm charges (or how much it costs a manufacturer) to use the apt-X bluetooth technology. In a move that will create some confusion among potential buyers, V-Moda’s new Crossfade II are not all created the same. They are available in three color schemes, but only one of them supports Qualcomm’s Apt-X, the Rose Gold color scheme and it costs $20 more than the other two, $350 versus $330. Interestingly, it is Apt-X, not “Apt-X HD”, which probably costs more to license 🙂
If you don’t need Apt-X, this new release will likely push down the prices of the first generation which is currently around $300. There is a precedent for this already, when the wireless came out, the prices of the wired M100 went down.
V-Moda’s Val Kolton dropped by Head-Fi to discuss this new model in the 11 minute video YouTube-embedded below:
Speaking of V-Moda, in case you missed it last summer, they are now part of Roland.
This is a SPOILER! If you don’t want to be spoiled about the big Samsung Unpacked announcement on March 29, there are many leaked pictures of the AKG earphones that will be included with the new Galaxy S8 flagship. SPOILERS here! 🙂
HEADPHONE REVIEWS
This section is only a sampling of the action. It is not intended to be a comprehensive listing of every review out there. Having said that, if there are any reviews or reviewers you’d like to see included here (including your own), please leave a comment or use the contact form.
Metal571 is back in SennheiserLandia with a new 17-minute comparison/discussion of the HD-650, HD-600 and HD-580. You can also find it YouTube-embedded below:
Knock, on wood! Denon wood. Their DH 7200 get tested out and *spoiler alert* Headphone Guru thinks this is the return to the Denon magical sound. Trigger warning: the website has graphical banner ads on both sides of the article 🙂
So many Fiios, so little time, but Headfonics found plenty of time to take a look at the A5 portable DAC. This is a two-page review, so don’t miss out the second page which includes comparisons.
Many love reading about flagships even though they have no plans to buy them ever, because flagships. To satisfy that curiosity, the latest Katz Corner invites a five-person panel to weigh-in on the Focal Utopia vs Audeze LCD-4 comparison. Adding the price of those two headphones, you can probably buy a VE Monk earbud for almost every child in Rhode Island [not a scientifically accurate joke!]
The driver-count wars are inevitable as everything measurable is fair play among the marketing elites 😉 And while 1More jumped on four drivers, Monoprice is just now jumping on the triple driver hype train with their new XXX Triple Driver IEMs which get tested out at Verum Sonus, which I believe is latin for No Snake Oil 🙂 [not a linguistically accurate joke!]
Come on feel the noise, or lack thereof. Tyll here (okay, Tyll there) at the Innerfidelity YouTube has a half hour video talking about AKG’s semi-confusing $1500 flagship-type-thing, aka the N90Q. One would hope that the new Harman owners can help Harman-AKG sort their line-up, but then again, when you consider the Samsung line-up, get ready for the AKG Galaxy N90Q MEGA Active Alpha Note (Harman Limited Deluxe Edition) 🙂
BUYER GUIDES
Catalogs and buyer guides catch our eye for whatever reasons [insert psychology citations here]. The Stereophile group of companies are back with their 2017 Recommended Components edition. Scroll further down over there to the thumbnails of the different categories. Their guide uses a “$$$ Class $$$” sub-grouping for each category. Spoiler alert, this is their headphones segment.
LEARNINGS
Poly wants a cracker. Okay, no more of that joke. Chord Electronics is making practical use of their YouTube channel by offering many short tutorials on how to make the most of their new Poly modular add-on to their portable amps.
Speaking of which, Moon Audio outlines the differences between the first and second generation of the Chord Hugos.
If you like the Zeos way of doing things, he has a 40+ minute video on cable making.
OPINIONS
Android Authority users opine in a poll and in the comments on whether they would buy a new smartphone without a headphone jack. The poll is still open, you have to vote to see the results. SPOILER ALERT: 60% are an unconditional no, and another 20% a conflicted yes-no.
The Verge is embracing click-bait trolling, no one uses digital audio players they claim 🙂
In another 18 minute video, Zeos opines on snake oil in the audiophile world, while Stereophile (dares not talk about snake oil because $advertises$) but talks about the pitfalls of vinyl album collecting 🙂
Speaking of which, the Headphone List shares their take on the high-end cable market. Trigger warning: four figure cables are discussed!
NEWSY!
Because the RIIA loves ruining everyone’s life, they have now convinced a (probably digitally-clueless) court that CDN providers like Cloudfare are not exempt from DMCA. Let’s shut down the highways because criminals use them too!