MOONDROP enters the over-ear headphones market with the VENUS. It is an open-back set using in-house developed planar magnetic drivers that fit into an all-metal housing, to make for good build quality paired with balanced tonality and decent technicalities, for a reasonable price.
FiiO adds to its popular hybrid driver line of in-ear monitors with the new FH7S, featuring a large LCP dynamic driver and four custom Knowles BA drivers. Expect a grand unboxing experience in addition to a customizable sound signature courtesy tuning filters, making this FiiO FH7S review worthy of your time.
MOONDROP enters the competitive planar magnetic IEM market with the STELLARIS. It's an intricate set with novel drivers placed inside impressive looking and feeling shells, but weighed down by poor fit and tonality to make this a divisive product at best.
Focal updates its $5,000 flagship Utopia headphones with several changes both inside and out. It continues the use of innovative speaker drivers with a pure beryllium diaphragm and pairs it with a new voice coil, warmer tuning, and a cleaner aesthetic, which makes the Utopia one of the very best headphones on the market today.
The HYTE Eclipse HG10 is a $100 no-nonsense wireless gaming headset that aims to sound fun and engaging, without bogging your system down with unnecessary software. From design to performance, it feels like a breath of fresh air on the overflooded gaming headset market.
7Hz jumps aboard the collaboration train now with its latest planar IEM offering. The Dioko is more budget-friendly and thus part of its new Salnotes sub-brand, and is tuned with Crinacle's help to have a clean, resolving signature in mind while retaining the design language from the 7Hz Eternal.
Enter the world of custom in-ear monitors with the LETSHUOER EJ07M, as we explore the process of getting your own CIEMs beginning with ear impressions, a custom design, and the various pros and cons of going this route.
Focal enters the competitive wireless ANC headphones market with the all-new Bathys. It is a $799 audiophile-centric set of over-ear, closed-back headphones with hybrid ANC, physical controls, app-based customization, and even a dedicated USB DAC mode that aims for a punchy and satisfying sound you can take on the go.
ZEPHONE aims to use its 25 years of experience in the audio space to target a more premium headphones market. The all new ZEPHONE Tiger uses custom planar magnetic drivers in a novel chassis design, with the goal of providing an authentic and enjoyable listening experience without breaking the bank.
LETSHUOER partners with HiFiGo and audio personality Z Review to bring out a customized version of its popular S12 planar IEMs. The new Z12 comes in black or gold (or both) colors while also introducing a new modular cable and a slight bass boost, with the goal of a more balanced and fun tuning.
HIFIMAN updates its popular Ananda open-back planar magnetic set to include stealth magnet technology, also overhauling the unboxing experience. The new Ananda Stealth goes for a neutral-bright tuning and offers a comfortable, enjoyable listening experience for fans of jazz and classical music alike.
MOONDROP chills us with a new snow-themed variant of their popular Aria in-ear monitors. This version uses a different dynamic driver and has a cool aesthetic paired with a unique set of accessories to grab your eyes and also potentially your wallet.
The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro is an excellent gaming headset. While being analog, it comes with the GameDAC Gen 2, an external USB sound card with two USB-C inputs, and a host of exciting features.
Audeze and TechPowerUp both enter the untamed realm of electrostatic headphones with the CRBN. These $4500 headphones use patented transducers to produce one of the best bass responses I have ever heard, and this is paired with natural vocals reproduction inside a luxurious and highly comfortable chassis.
MUSE HiFi aims to make a strong debut in its own take on the planar magnetic driver IEMs formula with the MUSE HiFi Power. Using exclusive tweaks to the manufacturing process and drivers to create for a unique shell and acoustic chamber design results in a product you need to see to believe!
Ugreen aims to put its experience with high value, low cost electronic products into the audio space, with the HiTune T3 TWS earphones that also offer ANC and transparency modes at a wallet-friendly cost. They come in two color options, featuring touch controls and an interesting tuning you need to see to believe!
Sivga brings out a brand new dynamic driver using a beryllium-coated LCP diaphragm and installs it in a more premium set of headphones. The new Sivga SV023 puts out a warm, vocal-first tuning that is complemented by a wide dynamic range and good detail retrieval in addition to nice aesthetics and a satisfying accessory set too!
Symphonium Audio aims to re-establish what balanced armature drivers are capable of with its new flagship. The Symphonium Helios is the result of clever engineering and lots of elbow grease, and ends up being one of the most exciting IEM releases with good tuning, excellent technical performance, and much, much more!
The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless is quite possibly the best wireless gaming headset money can buy. It's sleek, superbly comfortable, jam-packed with well-implemented features, and sounds great!
HarmonicDyne moves into the premium planar magnetic headphone world with the over-ear HarmonicDyne G200 featuring custom drivers that compete favorably against others priced a lot more, comes with fantastic accessories, and yet has some issues that we will address and solve in this review!
We take a step back in time to see how the HE1000se, HIFIMAN's 2018 release, fares today as we step into the flagship class of planar magnetic headphones. This article also covers a bespoke, truly customizable cable from Hapa Audio, and the two look absolutely gorgeous together, too.
Edifier introduces the new STAX SPIRIT product line beginning with the S3 that uses custom planar magnetic drivers and Qualcomm technology to bring out a unique set of Bluetooth headphones. It boasts of excellent tuning and detailed sound with two sets of ear pads, a long 80 hour battery life with quick charging, and even app-based customization to make this a highly attractive option for audiophiles on the go.
Truthear joins an extremely competitive IEM market with its first set called ZERO. In collaboration with known IEM reviewer Crinacle, this set offers a rarely seen dual dynamic driver configuration tuned to the Harman in-ear target to carve a niche market for itself without hurting the wallet either!
DUNU is celebrating its 20th year since establishment by adopting lessons learned along the way and combining them with new engineering concepts for the all-new VULKAN. It is a hybrid set of IEMs using a unique 2 DD/4 BA configuration and offers a new take on the U-shaped tuning formula to make it stand out from the crowd.
Today, we examine the extremely popular Audeze LCD-X (2021) set of open-back headphones to see how well it meets both studio monitoring and general consumer needs as a standalone product and in combination with Audeze and Embody's Reveal+ plug-in for a truly personalized audio experience.
