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Highend Headphones - All Our Latest News & Reviews!

Hi all,

I think it is fair to say that Astell&Kern have been focusing on the higher end of the portable market since they first launched their range a couple of years ago but with the imminent launch of their new AK Jr player they will well and truly have all the bases covered as this new and smaller AK player is going to be priced at a very competitive £399.

It pretty much covers the same bases as its bigger brothers, so it can play 24/192 files and DSD 2.8Mhz and can also double up as a USB DAC when connected to a computer.

It uses a Wolfson DAC and has 64GB’s of internal storage which can be expanded to 128GB’s with a MicroSD card, it also offers a 3.1 inch touchscreen, aluminium case and a very slimline design which is no bigger than a current iPhone, I can see this being very popular indeed.

Needless to say that we have our demo model on order and it is expected to be available towards the end of May, so not too long to wait.

Please find more information below on our website and a few pictures -

http://www.highendheadphones.co.uk/astell-and-kern/astellampkern-ak-jr-portable-player









Cheers,
Paul.
 
Hi All,

Just a real quickie to let everyone know that Grado have given their popular GR10 and GR8 in-ears the ‘e’ treatment to now become the GR10e and GR8e in-earphones.

The GR10e’s are available now with the GR8e’s to follow shortly, I have ordered a pair of GR10e’s for demo if anyone would like to come and have a listen.

Lifted from Grado’s website is description of the improvements bought to these new models -

‘Learning never ends and the GR10e is a result of a constant desire to look at designs and materials and improve upon them. A higher level of precision and new materials allows for the performance of the GR10e to add frequency extension in both the high and low ranges as well as reducing distortion.’

Links to both models on our website -

http://www.highendheadphones.co.uk/in-earphones/grado-gr8e-in-earphones

http://www.highendheadphones.co.uk/grado-gr10e-in-earphones

Grado GR8e In-Ears





Grado GR10e In-Ears





Cheers,
Paul.
 


Hi All,

I have to admit that when it comes to headphones I have a soft spot for Stax as they really do offer something totally unique in the headphone arena, or should I say earspeaker arena. They offer a delicacy, speed and insight into the recording that most other headphones can only dream off, OK they are not perfect and you probably wouldn’t use them for heavy metal or dance music but with the most types of music they really do shine.

So the point of this blog is to announce the new SRS-5170 Kimik Stax system which basically comprises of the Stax SR-507 Earspeakers, the top of the range Lambda Earspeaker, matched with the SRM-006tS Energiser which has had the Kimik treatment. When a Stax Energiser is Kimik’d the standard valves are removed and replaced with high quality, cryogenically treated 6FQ7 tubes which also have E.A.T. Tube dampers fitted which achieve a lowering of the background noise thereby giving a more vivid presentation, then the Energiser is carefully set up with the bias, offset and balance checked using a special Stax test meter, so once all these upgrades are completed the Energiser gives an increase in performance across the full audio spectrum resulting in getting more from the 507′s.

Until recently buying the standard energiser with a pair of 507′s would have cost £2040 but with this new package you get the Kimik upgraded energiser and 507′s for £1895 making this a very good value highend headphone setup, just add a source and off you go.

We have this system on permanent demo if you’d like to come in for a listen, please find more information below -

http://www.highendheadphones.co.uk/headphones/stax-srs-5170-earspeaker-system





Cheers,
Paul.
 
Hi Everyone,

I think it is fair to say that we get our fair share of toys to play with in here but there is one product that I have eagerly been waiting for since announced a few months ago, the Chord Hugo TT. Well a courier has just delivered our demo model so I downed tools straight away and took a few pictures, it is now warming up nicely upstairs in our demo room ready for a good listen later, then it may well find its way into my van to take it home tonight for further testing :)

I’m pretty confident that this is one product that will be finding its way permanently into my home HiFi Setup as I can use it to feed my processor for digital music via an Aurender, via its balanced outputs it can feed a Stax Energiser + it can run a conventional set of headphones also like the Audeze LCD-3′s which Wendy would like for her headphone rig, so a very versatile piece of kit.

I have to say that it is beautifully built with a very solid feel thanks to its military grade aluminium chassis which sits perfectly with the Aurender servers, it really does ooze quality just like its smaller brother but this does feel like Hugo has grown up with proper full size inputs, a gorgeous remote, smooth volume control, it has definitely been worth the wait.

We will have a Hugo TT on permanent demo and at the moment we have 1 x Silver model in stock ready to go if anyone would like to jump the queue as these are sure to have a long’ish waiting list.

http://www.highendheadphones.co.uk/chord/chord-hugo-tt-desktop-dac-headphone-amplifier













The Perfect Partners, Hugo TT with Aurender X100L





Cheers,
Paul.
 
Hi All,

There is certainly no stopping Astell&Kern at the moment as at Munich yesterday they announced their new flagship portable player, the AK380, details are very scarce at the moment, other than what I have got from their website, please see below, more news as we get it, I’d imagine you won’t get any change from £3000 -

http://www.highendheadphones.co.uk/astell-and-kern/astellampkern-ak380-dual-dac-portable-player

Features:

  • 32bit/384kHz Bit to Bit Playback
  • Native DSD Playback
  • 20Band EQ/0.1dB steps
  • VCXO Reference Clock(200 Femto Seconds)
  • Extendible Docking connector
  • AK Connect App
  • Metal-touch sensor Home button
  • General Specifications:













The Balanced Dock Looks Interesting



Cheers,
Paul.
 


Hi All,

We had a couple of visitors yesterday from Final Audio Design, soon the be re-branded as Final, fresh from their showing at the Munich Highend Show at the weekend where they launched 2 very special new headphones, the Sonorous range which comprises of the Sonorous VIII and X, luckily they brought them in for us to listen to, even better they have left them with us for 1 week, these are the only pair of each in the world so we are very honoured.

The drivers alone have been in development for over 2 years, the designer explained to us yesterday that he really is trying to bring something new to the headphone market. We love their Pandora range, value for money wise I would say they are unbeatable, we have had customers compare the Pandora Hope VI at £549 to the Audeze LCD-3 at £1599 which is a really high accolade, so when Final bring out a very highend model you really do have to listen.

The Pandora range is known for its hybrid technology where a dynamic driver is used for mid/bass and a balanced armature is used for the higher frequencies, this really gives a very spacious sound, with the Sonorous range Final have developed a single dynamic driver that really does bring these 2 technologies into one driver.

Both Wendy and myself had a long listen and I have to say these headphones really are quite special, with Wendy particularly falling for the Sonorous X, she has got expensive tastes though I have to say. The things that were really noticeable was width to the sound, always difficult with a headphone, but there was real air and space around the presentation with a real sweet top end and very natural mid. It is hard to say that any headphone is worth £4000, but these really are very special indeed as they have a lovely organic and open sound with a very cohesive and balanced presentation.

One thing is for certain, photo’s really don’t do justice to how stunning they both look, it certainly sounds a bit OTT using Gold Leaf on the cups but there is no denying for these headphones it really works.

Comparing the VIII against the X really reminded me of going between the Stax SR-009′s and SR-007′s, both are obviously excellent but the VIII’s have a slightly darker presentation like the SR-007′s which I can see some people preferring, but for me once you’ve heard the X’s there is no going back, much like when you’ve heard the Stax SR-009′s.

So as I say we have kindly been lent both the new Sonorous VIII’s and X’s for a week so if you’d like to come in and have a listen please do get in touch, availability and pricing is still to be confirmed but one thing is sure, the Highend Headphone market has 2 extremely enjoyable and exciting new additions.

http://www.highendheadphones.co.uk/final-audio-design-sonorous-viii-headphones

http://www.highendheadphones.co.uk/final-audio-design-sonorous-x-headphones

Sonorous VIII





Sonorous X









Cheers,
Paul.
 


Hi All,

For sometime now we have been looking to bring on a range of headphone cables to offer our customers but for one reason or another it proved quite difficult to find the right brand to work with, then Nordost got in touch and brought along their Heimdall 2 cable. When it comes to changing cables on headphones you have to be very careful as you can totally change the characteristics of your chosen headphone, sometimes it can add more treble or make the bass too lean, I have seen it many times when customers buy a new cable without trying it first but don’t like how it changes the overall sound so end up selling it for a loss.

There is arguably no better manufacturer of highend cables in the world than Nordost and they obviously know what they are doing with cables for headphones, as we tested the Heimdall 2 on the Audeze LCD range of headphones and what the cable added was width to the soundstage, an air and openness whilst giving better separation, but at all times it retained that Audeze sound that so many people love, so the cable didn’t change the overall presentation but just made it more enjoyable and revealing.

Obviously cables are very subjective so please feel free to come in and try the Nordost cables and see how you find them, we are pretty sure though that you’ll be as impressed as we are. They are available for all the major headphone bands such as Audeze, HiFiMan, Sennheiser, OPPO, Abyss, Ultrasone, Nordost also do a range of Heimdall 2 extension cables and adaptors.

http://www.highendheadphones.co.uk/nordost





Cheers,
Paul.
 
Hi All,

Just a quickie to say that we now have Astell&Kern’s new entry level player on demo, the new AK Jr, At £399 it seems wrong to call it entry level as this really is a beautifully made product that just screams quality.

Compared to the other models higher up the range it is a much slimmer and lighter design with a different user interface but it is equally as intuitive and user friendly but most importantly it really does perform, it is perhaps not quite a refined as the AK100 but it will still run rings around an Ipod and also gives you the possibility to run all file types including DSD.

For me, if you partner this with the OPPO PM-3′s or Audeze’s new EL-8 headphones you really would have a very special portable system, of if you do want to get better sound try bolting on the OPPO HA-2 portable headphone amp or why not go the whole hog and add a Chord Hugo.

I have to say that the £250 - £600 area of the headphone and portable player market has really exploded and come alive over the last few months, the quality available now at these prices really is quite outstanding.

If you’d like to try any of the above combinations please get in touch to make an appointment. Below are some rather poor pictures of our demo AK Jr, the customer models don’t have the logo written on the front, although I think it is pretty cool :)

http://www.highendheadphones.co.uk/astell-and-kern/astellampkern-ak-jr-portable-player











Cheers,
Paul.
 
Hi All,

Well the portable player market has moved at a fair old pace lately, largely driven by Astell&Kern I think it is fair to say. A couple of years ago if you had said there would be a £3000 portable player you could put in your pocket you would have been laughed out of the building and I would have probably been laughing along with everyone else, but slowly and surely Astell&Kern have proved that Highend Audio really is possible from something you can carry in your pocket and can prove to be the main source for a Highend Home HiFi system.

The AK240 really moved the market up a level, it achieved fantastic sound quality, not sounding digital but pulled of the trick of keeping the detail and dynamics of digital but presented in a analogue fashion, well now enter the Astell&Kern AK380, not just a portable player but a very flexible Highend Source.

I have only had a quick listen as it has only just arrived but it is evident that somehow A&K have managed to move the goalposts again with what is achievable from a product of this size, first impressions are that it gives a more open sound than the AK240 with also better separation and space around everything, it also has a very capable EQ built in giving you the ability to really fine tune the original music files to suit your tastes and along with the AK Connect App you can stream via DNLA from your NAS direct to the AK380, very handy indeed.

As ever with A&K products it is beautifully packaged and built, it is larger than the AK240 but also offers a larger screen which is very nice once you start using it.

Anyway I won’t bang on anymore, needless to say we have the AK380 on demo now along with the full range from Astell&Kern so if you do want to come in to experience Highend Audio in your pocket please feel free to get in touch to book an appointment.

http://www.highendheadphones.co.uk/astell-and-kern/astellampkern-ak380-dual-dac-portable-player

http://www.highendheadphones.co.uk/astell-and-kern









AK240 Vs AK380



One Big Happy Family



Cheers,
Paul.
 


Hi All,

There has certainly been a lot of interest in AudioQuests first headphone so we are really pleased to now have the Nighthawk on permanent demonstration.

I would imagine everyone has heard of AudioQuest, best known for their range of quality interconnects, but now they have entered the world of headphones with the NightHawk, this is a headphone that has been widely anticipated amongst Head-Fiers as AudioQuest didn’t want to release just another headphone so have tried to bring something new and fresh to the market which they most certainly have.

Offering 3D printed latticework to help widen the soundstage, the cups are made from ‘Liquid Wood’ which is reclaimed wood fibre that is heated, liquefied, and processed in such a way that it can be injection moulded, there is an innovative headband, also being a cable company you get a very high quality cable along with a portable cable + a useful carry case amongst other features that make NightHawk standout from the crowd. This is a headphone which will challenge headphones costing much more. They are very light, extremely comfortable, offer very special imaging, insight and separation whilst presenting the music in a very organic way meaning to can wear them for hours without any fatigue.

We are big fans of NightHawk at Highend Headphones, they really do offer unparalleled value for money at £499 so please feel free to come in to experience how AudioQuest feel headphones should be done.

http://www.highendheadphones.co.uk/audioquest-headphones/audioquest-nighthawk-headphones











Cheers,
Paul.
 


Hi All,

We are really pleased to introduce Snugs to our portfolio, a new UK company using cutting edge technology to produce custom fit ear-tips for any in-earphone.

I think that it goes without saying that anyone who has used in-ears to enjoy their music knows how important it is to get a good seal with the right tip and how hard this can be, and sometimes can almost be impossible, this is due to everyones ears being hugely different profiles, the answer to this problem is to get a custom set of tips made.

Enter Snugs, the Savile Row of suits for your ears. Using state of the art 3D scanning technology Snugs will take a 3D model of your ear resulting in a custom set of ear tips made perfectly to fit you.

This gives many benefits, firstly this gives a far greater level of comfort, they will never fall out making them perfect for exercising with, Snugs tips will also hugely improve the sound quality thanks to that perfect seal which is so important, this seal also keeps outside noises out and your music in so not to annoy others and finally they come in a large range of colours and effects to fit all makes of earphones out there.

All this is available at a very reasonable price which we feel is a real no brainer if you use in-earphones so please get in touch with us for more information on how you can get your own custom Snugs ear tips.

Snugs @ Headzone 2015 - Free Prize Draw.

Snugs will also be part of Headzone that we are running at this years National Audio Show on Sept 19/20th so if you do want to get a custom set made to fit your in-earphones they will be there with their 3D scanner, I have had my ears scanned last week for my Shure SE-846′s, the whole process only takes 10 mins and there is no mess like the old days when getting mould done.

Also at the show Snugs will be running a competition to give away one pair of Custom Snugs on Saturday and another pair on Sunday so please pop by to say hello to find out more details.

http://www.highendheadphones.co.uk/snugs-custom-earphones

Headzone 2015 News

http://highendheadphones.tumblr.com/post/127776468969/national-audio-show-highend-headphones-1st













Cheers,
Paul.
 
Hi All,

Like many I have been waiting patiently to finally get our demo HiFiMan HE-1000′s in the building and at long last they arrived yesterday, just in time to take them to The National Audio Show this weekend as we run the Headphone department, hope to see you there.

Arguably these are the most exciting headphone release of 2015, if like us you are after the best sound quality possible from a headphone then these are probably already on your radar, they have had stunning reviews around the world with many people who have been lucky enough to listen to them declaring them a rival to my favourite headphone, the Stax SR-009′s. So needless to say last night I stayed late into the evening giving them a good listen and the reviews are right, the HE-1000′s are a very special headphone.

If there is one criticism of HiFiman in the past it is the build quality, but just lately this hasn’t been a problem and this is certainly the case with the HE-1000′s, they look very robust and have a far better system of connecting the cables to the headphones. Also these have got to be up there with the most comfortable headphones currently available, again rivalling the SR-009′s, you just don’t know you are wearing them.

They are not the easiest headphones to drive, I was switching back between the HE-1000′s and LCD-3′s, another pair of headphones that are not easy to drive, and there was quite a difference in volume between the 2 pairs with the HE-1000′s being much quieter, they are much easier to drive though than the legendary HE-6′s, but it is definitely going to be important to partner them with a quality headphone amp.

So how do they sound? The first thing that I noticed was the imaging and width to the soundstage, something the Sennheiser HD800′s are known for, these easily rival the 800′s and beat most other headphones, for overall sound quality, you do get great bass weight that is very tight and controlled and the overall balance is one that is very revealing but with a slight warmth that the Planar technology brings compared to the electrostatic sound of Stax. They almost fit quite nicely between the LCD-3′s, with there very natural and organic sound and the SR-009′s which are very delicate and open.

I would say these are up there with the best 3 headphones in the world at the moment, they are probably a slightly more forgiving headphone compared to the SR-009′s and will play a wider variety of music but there is still a magic to the SR-009′s that make them very special, it will really come down to personal preference, one of the real winning attributes of the HE-1000′s is that you have a wider variety of amps you can use compared to a Stax Energiser, this is my next quest, to find the perfect amp for the HE-1000′s, something like a Trilogy 933 should work a treat or a Chord Hugo TT, hopefully at the show this weekend Chord will have their new DAC / Headamp Dave on demo, now that could be a potent combination :)

Anyway below is a link to the HiFiMan HE-1000′s on our website, we now have a review part of the site so some product pages now have reviews, the HiFi Plus review can be read here -

http://www.highendheadphones.co.uk/hifiman/hifiman-he-1000-headphones

Unboxing - Its been a long wait.



















They’re certainly not small.



Cheers,
Paul.
 


Hi Everyone,

Well we are nearly all set for The National Audio Show this weekend, all that is left to do now is box pretty much the whole of Highend Headphones up and cram it in the van and then set it all up at Whittlebury Hall :)

We have 15 Manufacturer’s coming along with their own booths but the idea on our stand is to show some of the best headphone setups currently available, I will be setting up a system that is currently what I believe to be the best compromising of the Stax SR-009′s, a Hugo TT, an Aurender X100, A Isol-8 Substation LC all hooked up with Altas Asimi cables, this equates to a £20,000+ headphone system, should sound awesome :)

Also Chord Electronics have confirmed that they will have a working Dave DAC / Headphone Amp (£7995) on their stand, the best news is that our HiFiMan HE-1000′s arrived this week so I can not wait to try them on Dave, that really should be something quite special.

Finally don’t forget that we are offering 10% off any headphone purchases at the show, If you are going along I look forward to seeing you there.

Right time to start boxing up :)

Cheers,

Paul.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Original Post Below Which Seems To Have Disappeared.

Hi All,

I hope everyone has been enjoying the great British Summer, cough, cough, in between all the rain. Anyway this is just to announce a couple of headphone related events we are holding during September.

Headzone @ The National Audio Show - September 19th/20th.

First up is the National Audio Show at Whittlebury Hall near Silverstone, this is to be held over the weekend of September 19th/20th. Last year we ran the headphone part of the show, called Headzone, it went down really well so this year we are back there again but this year it will be a much bigger part of the show with many more manufacturer’s on board and all taking more space, so if you like your headphone listening as we do then this is the place to be with many new product launches and a chance to listen to the best selection of Highend Headphones anywhere in the county and a chance to talk to the manufacturer’s direct.

As last year any purchases made at the show regarding headphones willreceive a 10% discount on most products with only a couple of exceptions, please enquire for specifics.

Below are a list of the brands that Highend Headphones will be representing, all with their own booths or on our stand but all in Headzone to listen to -

  • Chord Electronics
  • Audeze
  • Astell&Kern
  • Stax
  • OPPO Digital
  • Ultrasone
  • Fostex
  • Schitt Audio
  • Audio Technica
  • Pioneer
  • Atlas Cables
  • Sennheiser
  • Final Audio Design
  • Lotoo
  • Snugs
  • AudioQuest
  • Trilogy
  • Mcintosh
  • HiFiMan
  • MrSpeakers
  • Grado
  • Abyss
  • Bryston
  • Burson
  • Beyerdynamic
  • Nordost
  • oBravo
  • Shure
  • SPL
  • T+A

Below is a link to more information regarding the National Audio Show, look forward to seeing you there -

https://www.chestergroup.org/nationalaudioshow/2015

Highend Headphones 1st Anniversary - September 26th!



Where did that year go? so the week following last years Audio Show we launched Highend Headphones, so again a week following the show we will now be celebrating our 1st anniversary with all the headphones on demo and some of the manufacturer’s present for you to chat to.

Its a great opportunity to come along and experience the best headphones currently available in a relaxed atmosphere, especially if you couldn’t make it along to the Audio Show, or if you had a listen at the show but would like to have a another listen to confirm your choice, as last year we will be offering 10% off again on this one day only for anyone who comes along and purchases, its just our way of taking the pressure off from having to decide at the show so you can go away, have a think then come along and have another listen if required.

It goes without saying that there will be refreshments served throughout the day and hopefully a birthday cake :) so hope to see you there.

www.highendheadphones.co.uk

Thanks,
Paul.
 


Hi All,

I just wanted to do a quick blog to say that we now have the MrSpeakers Ether Headphones on demo as I know a lot of people have been waiting fro these, the closed back versions, the ETHER C will be following in a couple of weeks.

It’s funny really as a couple of years ago a £1000 headphone would have been extremely highend, but over the last year or so everyone is releasing more and more expensive headphones and the £1000 price mark has kind of been forgotten, the ETHER’s come in at £1150 with the standard cable and £1250 with the upgraded cable so I really can see these being very popular indeed.

They are a Planar Magnetic design using a patent pending V-Planar design which is supposed to give a quicker reaction time with better dynamics, I’ve had a quick listen before we started running them in and they are certainly a really enjoyable listen giving great clarity but in a not too overly forward way, retaining a nice level of warmth.

Also the ETHER’s really are extremely comfortable and very light, definitely a headphone for long listening sessions. I guess you could say that we need another headphone brand like a hole in the head at Highend Headphones :) but we are really please to add MrSpeakers to our Portfolio as they really do bring something new to the market and I can see them being very popular indeed.

Below is a link to MrSpeakers on our website and a few unboxing pics, if you’d like to come in for a listen anytime then please feel free.

http://www.highendheadphones.co.uk/mr-speakers-headphones















Cheers,
Paul.
 
Hi All,

Now it is not often that I get too excited about a headphone at the £400 mark and yesterday when our stock of the new Sennheiser HD 630VB’s arrived I think it is fair to say that I wasn’t jumping for joy, but as they have something new, ie variable bass, I thought I would take them home to try, more to see how this was implemented really than a in depth listening session, well what can I say other than what a great headphone that has really taken me by surprise, after a 2 hour session I had to force myself to take them off to go to sleep.

Firstly it isn’t a small headphone but this is probably why it sounds so good thanks to the bigger drivers compared to most portable headphones, being a Sennheiser they are built like a tank, they are designed to work with smartphones so you can take calls and adjust volume on the headphone but most importantly these are a serious headphone for listening if you like a honest, high quality sound, they offer great detail and with the Variable bass you really can tailor the sound to just how you like it, in all honesty they are astonishing value.

The Variable bass really is a great idea, you basically twist a dial on the right cup to increase or lower the level of bass, I found that around 20% under maximum really was the sweet spot for me but then when I put some Muse on I upped to max and they really rocked :)

Another area where they really win is that they are the perfect match for Chord Electronics award winning new Mojo, if you are serious about music on the go I would say these 2 products are the perfect match, I love my Mojo and use it daily with Tidal from my phone and every night I have been taking home a different headphone to see what works best with Mojo, you can’t beat taking your work home :) and I have to say that these HD 630VB headphones are a brilliant match.

So anyway we have them on demo and whether for home use or for travelling at their price point of £399 I would say that the new HD 630VB headphones are unbeatable giving a highend sound which are comfortable, well made and being a closed back you can use them anywhere, I’ll certainly be taking them home again tonight :)

http://www.highendheadphones.co.uk/sennheiser/sennheiser-hd-630vb-headphones







Partnered With Chord's Mojo



Cheers,
Paul.

#headphones #sennheiser #chordelectronics #highendheadphones
 
Hi All,

I’m sure other HiFi Shops don’t get visitors like this :)

He was dumped near the shop so needless to say Wendy has adopted him and he now wakes us up daily at 4.30am at home :-(



I'm ready for all the Coq jokes btw :)

Cheers,
Paul.
 
Hi All,

I raided Wendy’s shop before breaking up for Christmas.

It’s going to be a fun few days :)





Have a Great Christmas Everyone!

Cheers,

Paul.
 
HI All,

I hope everyone had a great Christmas, I just thought that I would quickly update this with my listening impressions of DAVE after spending hours listening over Christmas with an Aurender as a source through the Stax SR-009s's, needless to say we got on very well and DAVE is most definitely one of my favourite Christmas guests who is welcome anytime :)

Firstly it was a great to have time over Christmas to have a proper listen, as a big Stax and Chord DAC fan I knew it would be good but I have to say it has to be the most natural sound I have ever heard over a headphone rig and most definitely the best I have ever heard the Stax SR-009′s.

One session I started listening at 9pm, finally urned it off at midnight, went to bed, couldn’t sleep as I kept thinking of more songs I couldn’t wait to listen to so got back up and carried on listening till 3am, it was certainly a very addictive system :) The only problem is that I am struggling to put into words what made it such a fantastic listen, as you would expect DAVE certainly extracted all the information out of the recordings and also gave great width to the SR-009′s but I think it is the effortless nature that it presents the music that makes it hard to put into words, it just sounds right, natural, organic and very engrossing, I really would struggle for anyone to not be impressed, I know the SR-009′s are not for everyone as they are very open, airy but don’t have the most powerful bass but with DAVE at the heart of it everything just sounded so together, see I’m struggling again :)

I can’t wait for the magazines to start reviewing DAVE to see how they describe it as I’m sure they will do a better job than me, I still think the the Hugo TT is the sweet spot in the Chord DAC range as you get a serious amount of performance for the money but DAVE just brings a more refined sound that really is quite infectious and once you’ve heard it there really is no going back.

Not a cheap system by any stretch of the imagination at around £16,000 but when I consider the level of sound quality and enjoyment it bought it is almost a bargain in highend audio terms.

Happy New Year everyone :)

Cheers,

Paul.
 


Hi All,

We are quite fussy about the portable players that we put on demo as we are such big fans of the Astell&Kern range so when a new player is launched it really does have to prove itself in a very competitive market, up until now we have only offered Astell&Kern as we still consider them the best players on the market, offering such a complete range, there really is something for everyone from the AK Jr to the AK380, but just recently we got a chance to try the new Pioneer XDP-100R and was instantly impressed, this is a fantastic player, especially when you consider the price of £499, so we were more than happy to put it on demo.

The main headline with the XDP-100R is that it is the first portable player to offer MQA, at the moment this isn’t too exciting as there is no material but that is all due to change very shortly with MQA having a big presence at CES this week, so it really is only a matter of time then in theory we should be able to stream 24 bit from sites like Tidal etc, very exciting :)

Other features of the XDP-100R are that you can use its 2 SD cards to give a huge 432GB of storage, it will support up to 24/384 + DSD, it is Android based with a huge Hi Res colour screen, Tidal, Qobuz & Deezer apps are built in, 16 hours battery life + it is beautifully build, it feels really solid, once you have it in your hand you really won’t believe it costs £499.

It also uses the ESS Sabre Dac so you get a nice, clean, open and musical sound that the Sabre Dacs are known for. For me though another option is to use it as a source and plug it into the Chord Mojo for a real lift in sound quality, the beauty of this set up is that you can use it as one device if you like but you can add the Mojo when you want to give a lift in performance but still use all the features and great screen that the XDP-100R offers, the best of both worlds really, all for £898, can’t be bad :)

It comes in white or black and we now have it in stock and on demo so please feel free to come in to give it a try, also try it with the Mojo, it really is an excellent combination.

http://www.highendheadphones.co.uk/pioneer-headphones/pioneer-xdp-100r-portable-hi-res-player









Cheers,
Paul.
 


HI There,

This is great news as we love Atlas cables and obviously we like our headphones, so to merge the 2 can only be a match made in heaven.

Joking aside though we have been working with Atlas for a few months now helping where we can so it gives us great pleasure to see the Zeno headphone upgrade cable from Atlas hit the market as for me I have found it frustrating for sometime now that in the US upgrade cables are easily obtainable but that just hasn’t been the case over here, so it is great that Atlas took on the challenge and have succeeded in bringing a cable to market that not only sounds great and is a substantial upgrade from the stock cable packaged with all headphones but have managed to offer it to pretty much all headphones with a detachable cable, this really is no mean feat as there are so many terminations available for all the headphones now.

We have pretty much all the relevant cables on demo and can be ordered to any length and with balanced or single ended terminations and the real beauty is the cost, they start at £145 for something like OPPO’s excellent PM-3 and goes up to around £265 for the HD800′s, standard length is 1.5m but you can go up by 0.5m lengths for just £10, so £20 per metre. At these prices I really think that if you love listening on headphones then it really is a no brainer as we have tried all the combinations and they really do offer a more open and refined sound in all instances, we have found bigger improvements on some compared to others but there are always gains to be had.

Being an Atlas product they are beautifully made, using Ohno Continuous Cast (OCC) copper conductors, and are also light and flexible, another important element for me with a headphone cable. Please see a few words below from Kevin Kelly, Managing Director at Atlas Cables, “With the popularity of high-end headphones set to increase and the owners looking to further refine the quality of their purchase, we felt we could add real benefits in increased sound quality and durability. By applying our trusted scientific and engineering process to this new product category, we firmly believe that Zeno gives listeners the opportunity to gain even more from their headphones with the results speaking for themselves.”

So please feel free to come in to try Atlas’s new Zeno cable on the headphone of your choice, I am confident once you have heard the difference it will bring you will be impressed.

http://www.highendheadphones.co.uk/atlas-cables/atlas-zeno-upgrade-headphone-cable





Cheers,
Paul.
 
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