advertisement


Highend Headphones - All Our Latest News & Reviews!

Hi All,

Just a quickie to say that at the moment we have the new Fostex HP-V8 valve headamp on demo, this amp really is a monster weighing in at around 31kg’s with a size to match it’s weight and costing £7199, this is one serious analogue headphone amp, but what you do get is a beautifully screwed together amp that just oozes quality.

But I have to say that it most definitely performs, using the new Sennheiser HD800S’s for listening I have to say it is probably the best sounding amp I have ever heard giving a very neutral and detailed sound but with real grip, punch and control, it really did get the best from the HD800S’s, you can just sense the power there, no wonder the called it a ‘V8′ :)

We only have it on loan for a while but if you are interested to hear what a £7000+ valve headamp sounds like please do get in touch to make an appointment.

http://www.highendheadphones.co.uk/fostex-headphones/fostex-hp-v8-vacuum-tube-headphone-amplifier







Cheers,
Paul.
 
Hi All,

Just a quickie to say that we now have Audeze’s new Sine headphones on demo, I always felt that the EL-8′s were a little too big and heavy to be truly portable well this is Audeze’s answer, a Planar headphone that is designed to be portable and I have to say they really are excellent.

I took them home last night to try on my Mojo with Tidal running from my phone and was really impressed, firstly they are extremely well made and robust, when I first saw them I wasn’t overly sure on the styling but once you have them in your hands you can’t help but be impressed, yes they are quite understated, Beats they are certainly not :) but they just ooze quality, things like the headband adjustment is so smooth with the right amount of resistance, the leather covering on the ear-cups is pure class, you can tell BMW styling were involved with the design again.

But obviously being well made is pointless if they don’t deliver on the sound quality front, well needless to say Audeze have got it right again, firstly they deliver a very open, clean and detailed sound, very un-closed back like to be honest and the bass is very extended but also punchy and tight, what I really liked though was the soundstage, especially for a small on-ear headphone, they really do deliver some width. Also another important feature is comfort, I have struggled in the past with on-ears but the triangle design cup really seems to work, giving a great seal from outside noise and giving great comfort at the same time.

The OPPO PM-3′s have been our portable headphone of choice up until now, a great headphone, but now it looks like they have a true competitor, luckily both sound very different indeed so I can see people finding it quite easy to choose between the PM-3′s and Sines, the OPPO’s give a warmer presentation with the Sines being more open and dynamic.

We now have the Sines on permanent demo and in stock ready to take away so please feel free to come in for a demo, priced at £399 I really don’t know how they make them for the money to be honest.

http://www.highendheadphones.co.uk/audeze/audeze-sine-on-ear-headphones



















Cheers,
Paul.
 


Hi all,

I think it is far to say that the headphone market and in particular the headphone amplifier market has become a very crowded place recently, in fact we have had a clear out lately selling on some of our headphone amps as there was just too much choice which can become very confusing.

But being a headphone enthusiast I am always on the look out for anything that can add something different to the market and to be fair when Questyle was mentioned to me I really wasn’t that interested as the last thing I needed was another headphone electronics brand but I was curious about their ‘Current Mode Amplification’ and that you can run 2 of their analogue headphone amps in a mono block configuration which as far as I know is a first, but in HiFi running an amp for each speaker makes perfect sense so why not with headphones.

So I started of with the Questyle CMA600i which I now consider the headphone amplifier bargain of the century, basically a DAC & Headphone amplifier that sounds absolutely gorgeous, offers single ended and balanced outputs and remote control all for £1089 and when you actually see the build quality you really will wonder how they do it for the money, these really are beautifully made, but then they are built by Foxconn who build something called the iPhone for Apple, hence the similar colours of the Questyle kit.

So anyway after being very impressed with the 600i I tried the CMA800R which is Questyle’s analogue headphone amplifier, instantly I was impressed with the full and rich sound it gave, this is thanks to the way the power is delivered with the Current Mode Amplification, it certainly gives a very natural sound, from that moment I was converted, Questyle really do seem to know what they are doing.

As well as their normal range Questyle do their ‘Golden Series’ which are similar products but use hand selected components and ceramic PCB’s to give even better sound quality so I couldn’t resist but to put a full reference system on demo comprising of a 4 Pack Golden Series rack of 2 x CMA800R’s in mono configuration, the CMA800P Pre-amp which was actually commissioned by Stax as a Pre-amp for the SR-009′s and the matching DAC, in total this comes to a value of £10,746 but as far as I am concerned this a truly reference headphone rig that would take some serious beating.

I spent the other night listening to the Abyss AB-1266 headphones on it in full balanced mode and I have never heard these headphones sound this good, full bodied, detailed, layered, controlled but with an over riding analogue sound quality that just oozed effortlessness, for anyone who loves listening on headphones then I strongly recommend you listen to a 4 Pack Golden Rack, saying that the CMA600i still has the same over riding quality but is nearly £10,000 cheaper so Questyle really do cater for most budgets.

Finally I should also mention their portable player, the QP1r which has been getting excellent reviews and is a real challenger to Astell&Kern on both audio and build quality.

I won’t ramble on anymore but needless to say from someone not really interested what Questyle had to offer they have well and truly converted me into a true believer. We have the full range on demo so please feel free to come in for a listen.

Below are a few pictures and a link to the full range on our Highend Headphones website -

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

Questyle CMA600i DAC & Amp





Questyle CMA800R Amplifier







Full Reference Golden Series 4 Pack!









Cheers,
Paul.
 


Hi All,

I just thought I would post that I had a chance yesterday to listen to the new Tribute 7 Headphones from Ultrasone and I have to say the more I listen to Ultrasone headphones the more I like them, they really do offer a presentation that is right up my street.

I am very lucky that I do get to hear a lot of headphones but when I put the Tribute 7′s on I really didn’t want to take them off and that was listening to Guns and Roses, not the best recorded music out there, but on the Tribute 7′s it really did sound amazing, brilliant detail but it was the bass that impressed, very fast, clean and controlled and all from a closed back, I really believe now that the days of closed back being a compromise are long gone, well if done properly that is and when it comes to closed back headphones there is no one better than Ultrasone in my opinion.

The only drawback with the Tribute 7′s is that they are limited to 777 pairs worldwide and there are only 4 pairs in the UK available so if you want a Highend Closed Back Headphone that is neutral, revealing with tight and punchy base then you really do need to act fast as the UK allocation really isn’t going to be around for long, if you would like to hear a pair please feel free to get in touch to arrange a demo, below is a link to more information -

http://www.highendheadphones.co.uk/ultrasone/ultrasone-tribute-7-headphones













Cheers,
Paul.
 


Hi All,

One of our favourite digital headphone amps is the excellent Questyle CMA600i, and there has never been a better time to consider it as Questyle are offering a trade in value of £100 against it if you trade in any headphone related product, to be honest it has always been a bit of a bargain so it is even more so now.

What makes it so good? well firstly is uses Questyle’s patented Current Mode Amplification which gives a very natural and analogue sound whilst retaining all the detail, it really does give a very easy to listen to presentation, then there is the DAC section which is state of the art and offers up to DSD 256 with no converting to PCM, it also has 2 x single ended outputs and a 4 pin stereo balanced output, put this together with its stunning build quality you really do have a headphone amp that is unbeatable for the price, then you just have to choose what headphones to partner with it, the new Focal Elear’s would make a great partner, or perhaps the Sennheiser HD800S’s.

Anyway if you feel this is something you would like to consider please feel free to get in touch or please feel free to come in for a demo anytime.

http://www.highendheadphones.co.uk/questyle/questyle-audio-cma600i-dac-with-headphone-amplifier

Thanks,

Paul.
 


Hi All,

This is just a quick message to say that at long last we now have the Focal Utopia headphones on permanent demo, along with the Focal Elear’s and MrSpeakers Ether Flow open and Closed backs, I just wanted to mention this as there has been an unbelievable demand for all 4 pairs of these headphones and it is only today that we actually got a pair of Utopia’s to put on demo as Focal have been really caught out by the demand.

I can honestly say that in 4 years of selling headphones, since HiFi Lounge launched, I have never seen demand like it for the Focal headphones, both the Utopia’s and Elear’s have been ridiculously popular, but to be fair both are setting new benchmarks at what is available at their respective price points and I have to say a special mention to the Utopia’s, all the hype is very much deserved and are worth every penny of their £3400 asking price, the funny thing is that not one part of the listening experience stands out, whereas on a Stax SR-009 you would highlight the amazing detail, insight and clarity and on the LCD-4 you would mention the amazing mid range and solid bass, with the Utopia the whole balance is absolutely perfect, I can totally understand why in this month HiFi+ review they called the Utopia a ‘Masterpiece’ not something you hear very often in this game.



Likewise the new MrSpeakers Ether Flow Closed and Open back headphones have been very popular indeed, I think it is fair to say that the Ether C Flows are now the best closed back headphone currently available and I know this is a big consideration for a lot of people.

Although we have all these headphones on permanent demo getting actual stock isn’t exactly free flowing at the moment as I don’t think Focal or MrSpeakers really expected this level of demand, I heard the other day that Focal are only making 5 pairs of Utopia’s a day to meet the worlds demand so I can only imagine the pressure they must be under at the moment, I suggest that if you are interested then all we need is a 10% deposit to get you in the queue but at least they are starting to trickle through now, alternatively please feel free to come in for a demo anytime.

Any questions please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

http://www.highendheadphones.co.uk/focal-headphones

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

Thanks,

Paul.
 


Hi All,

This week I bought the Nordost Heimdall II cable for the Focal Utopia headphones, more for myself to be honest as an experiment but I thought I would just scribble down my thoughts for other Utopia owners who may find it useful.

Basically as many of you will know I love listening on headphones and have been enjoying the Stax SR-009′s for a few years now, like many though once the new Focal Utopia headphones were released I found myself using them more and more as my headphone of choice, but, and this is only a but because I was coming from SR-009′s, I just wished the Utopia’s were a little more open in their signature, I never expected to be able to achieve that sweet top end of the SR-009′s but then the Utopia’s bass weight and mid range really do take some beating so if I could just get a bit more from them then I could see myself going over to the Utopia’s full time.

In the past we have had great results swapping stock cables that come with headphones for the Nordost Heimdall II cable, but it does seem to work better on some headphones than others, for example in my opinion it transforms the Audeze LCD-3 into a much better headphone but didn’t really seem to make much difference on the Sennheiser HD800S’s, so I was hoping that adding the Heimdall II to the Utopia’s would give the same gains as you get with the LCD-3′s.

So last night I hooked up an Aurender into Chord’s DAVE which fed my favourite headphone amp, the Trilogy 933, then lined up a few of my favourite demo tracks and quite excitedly started listening to see how the Heimdall II effected the Utopia’s with everything crossed hoping for the result I wanted, I spent around 10 mins with the stock cable then swapped to the Heimdall II.



Starting with Massive Attacks Teardrop as usual as the opening minute really is an excellent demo piece, the fist thing I noticed was the better definition and attack on the bass notes, everything seemed to start and stop more precisely, this was a good start, then as the track grew you could definitely hear better seperation between all the notes, Teardrop is quite a busy song so this really was quite apparent and then when Elizabeth Frazer’s vocal comes in it really was crystal clear.

So this really was a good start so I went back to the stock cable and admittedly it still sounded great but I just didn’t feel quite so involved with the music then after 15 minutes I went back to the Heimdall II and to sound quite cliched it really did sound like a Veil had been lifted, for me the Heimdall II really does make the Utopia a far more enjoyable listen, it definitely give better clarity, separation and attack but the word that kept coming to mind to some it all up is that it just gives better definition, whereas the the stock cable is probably a little more forgiving and warmer in it’s presentation which I guess I could see some preferring.

So if you are a Utopia user and would like a more open sound with better definition then I would most definitely recommend trying the Heimdall II, I just couldn’t use them now with the stock cable knowing what an improvement it brings as for me using the Heimdall II really unleashes the performance of the Utopia and really shows what they are capable of, it is almost as if Focal went with the safe option with their stock cable.

For my final SR-009 v Utopia shootout I listened to Lorde’s Royals and yes the 009′s gave a wider soundstage with a beautiful airy and open top end but about 1 minute from the end there is a great driving bass segment and the Utopia’s with Heimdall had so much depth that the difference was quite shocking, so for me I still think there is a case for owning both the SR-009′s and Utopia’s if the budget could take it but for an all rounder then the Utopia with Heimdall II really is tough to beat.

Needless to say I will be buying another Heimdall II for demo for the shop as the one I currently have will be staying at home :) so if you do fancy coming in to try it on the Utopia’s anytime please feel free.

http://www.highendheadphones.co.uk/focal-headphones/focal-utopia-headphones

http://www.highendheadphones.co.uk/nordost/nordost-heimdall-2-headphone-cable

Cheers,

Paul.
 


Hi All,

Big news this one as it is not everyday that Stax release a new product but especially a new Energiser, since we started HFL this is the first new Energiser we have seen and more importantly this is a new reference flagship energiser so plenty to get excited about for us Stax enthusiasts out there.

Although the Stax SRM-007tII Kimik energiser is really great it has been known that there is definitely more performance to be got from the Stax SR-009′s and SR-007′s with many people importing amps from the likes of Blue Hawaii and Woo Audio so it is really great that Stax now have their own offering which from early reports really does get more body, bass weight and detail from the SR-009′s, for me this is great news as I have been a SR-009 user for a while now but just recently have gone over to the Utopia’s so if a fuller sound can be achieved from the SR-009′s then that will certainly be very welcome and will make things very interesting when comparing to the Utopia’s.

Basically the new SRM-T8000 is a hybrid design so uses a couple of 6922 valves for the pre-amp stage with class A power for the amplification and also now has a volume bypass option so if you are using something like a Chord DAVE or Hugo TT you can use the volume on these giving an improvement in sound quality and also remote volume control which can be very useful for a lot of people.

The SRM-T8000 is due around July time, is priced £3895 for silver and £4194 for black, we are taking pre-orders now with a £400 deposit and we will have one on permanent demo as soon as possible.

Exciting times for Stax enthusiasts out there :)

http://www.highendheadphones.co.uk/stax/stax-srm-t8000-hybrid-reference-energiser









Cheers,
Paul.
 


Hi All,

This is a real quicky as I promised a lot of people that I would stick up a quick blog once we have the new MrSpeakers Aeon’s in and I am glad to say that they arrived yesterday, we have sold most of our first batch but we do have a few free stock if anyone wants to grab a pair.

I really believe that these set the new benchmark for a headphone under £1000 and really do offer one of the best, if not the best, closed back portable headphones, firstly they look quite discreet, are pretty light, are extremely comfortable, possibly the most comfortable headphones I have tried but most importantly they sound excellent giving a large slice of the Ether Flows for a fraction of the cost so they really do come highly recommended.

http://www.highendheadphones.co.uk/mr-speakers-headphones/mrspeakers-aeon-closed-back-headphones

If you’d like a demo please feel free to pop in anytime.



Cheers,
Paul.
 
Hi All,

Well it has become big news when Focal announce a new headphone after the amazing success of the Elear and Utopia so it is great news that yesterday they announced their new ‘Clear’ headphone, I have listened to these and basically they are a more open sound compared to the Elear and really sit quite nicely between the Elear and Utopia and in presentation, priced at £1399 these are going to be very popular indeed.

You can read more below, we will have these on permanent demo anytime soon so please get in touch to arrange a demo -

http://www.highendheadphones.co.uk/focal-headphones/focal-clear-headphones













Cheers,
Paul.
 


Hi All,

Just a really quick one to say that we now have Sennheiser’s much anticipated new headphone amp, the HDV 820, now on permanent demo + we have just taken delivery of Sennheiser’s follow up to one of the most popular headphones of all time, the HD 660 S which now supersedes the HD 650, I really have lost count of the amount of people that come in here that own HD 650′s and at £429 for the HD 660 S I can really seeing these being equally as popular as the 650 over the years to come, especially as they do sound really good.

http://www.highendheadphones.co.uk/sennheiser/sennheiser-hdv-820-headphone-amplifier

http://www.highendheadphones.co.uk/sennheiser/sennheiser-hd-660-s-headphones









Anyway if either of these are of any interest please feel free to come in for a listen.

MrSpeakers Aeon Flow Open Backs Now Here!

In more headphone related news I am pleased to say that we now also have the new MrSpeakers Aeon Flow Open Back Headphones on demo and again very much like the closed back version I can see these being very popular as they really do get close the the Ether Flows in performance but at almost half the price, not overly sure that it is such a good business move for MrSpeakers but it great news for headphone enthusiasts :)

http://www.highendheadphones.co.uk/mr-speakers-headphones/mrspeakers-aeon-flow-open-back-headphones



Cheers,
Paul.
 
Wendy's Sennheiser Factory Tour!



Hi All,

At the moment Wendy is on a jolly, sorry I mean working hard, in Germany as a guest of Sennheiser, today was a factory tour amongst other things + she got to listen to the new Orpheus HE1, a snip at £54,000, we have been mad enough to have ordered one for permanent demo so watch this space as it is very special indeed, hopefully we’ll have it at Highend Headphones in time for Christmas.

Please find a few pictures from Wendy’s trip so far -













Cheers,
Paul.

 
Quite Possibly The Coolest Display Stand Ever!

So Wendy is now back from her trip to Germany as a guest of Sennheiser and whilst out there she ordered our demo Orpheus and to be fair when she showed me this video of the stand that comes with it I got a little excited myself, I know the headphones are amazing but this has to be one of the coolest stands ever :)






Cheers,
Paul.
 
New MrSpeakers Voce Electrostatic Headphones On Demo, A Stax Rival Maybe?

Hi Everyone,

To be fair it has been a while since I have done a headphone un-boxing, normally I leave this to Wendy, but in all honesty I haven’t been this excited about a new headphone for a very long time, this is 2 fold really, firstly MrSpeakers have really made a name for themselves in producing extremely good headphones and secondly as I am a big fan of Stax Electrostatic headphones so the fact that MrSpeakers have produced their own Electrostatic headphone has to make you sit up and take notice.

Stax are celebrating their 80th Anniversary this year and in reality no one has really rivalled them when it comes to Electrostatic Headphones, for whatever reason they have pretty much had the market to themselves so I am really keen to find out how MrSpeakers takes the challenge to Stax.

Firstly you have to be impressed with the quality of the packaging, basically the Voce come in their own Walnut presentation and storage case which is such a brilliant idea, also another neat touch which MrSpeakers use with their other headphones is the ability to put in ‘Tuning Filters’ in the ear cup to tailor the sound to your own personal taste, so this is a very flexible headphone.

They are also very light and comfortable and appear to be very well made. Now being an Electrostatic they need their own Energiser to drive them, MrSpeakers doesn’t produce this part but you can use them with many different Energiser’s on the market including any of the Stax range.

I have only un-boxed them 30 mins ago and will be running them in on our Trilogy H1 energiser but I couldn’t resist to have a quick listen, instantly it is a sound I know I will like, there is something about an Electrostatic headphone that is captivating, a spacious and airy sound that dynamic’s and Planar’s just can’t match, I will let them run in for a couple of days before making any concrete conclusions but at the moment I would say MrSpeakers really do seem to be a welcome addition to the Electrostatic market.

http://hifilounge.co.uk/mrspeakers-voce-electrostatic-headphones

















Abyss AB-1266 Phi Now On Demo

In other headphone news I am really pleased to say that we now have the new and improved Abyss AB-1266 Phi headphones on permanent demo, personally I would say that the AB-1266 are up their with the Stax SR-009 and Focal Utopia as the best headphones out there.

According to Abyss they say - ‘The new version AB-1266 Phi refines the sonic virtues of Abyss with greater transparency to the source, further improved low frequency impact and resolution, and vocals as alive as can be.’ And who am I to argue :) seriously though they are incredibly good.

http://hifilounge.co.uk/abyss-ab-1266-phi-headphones





So if you fancy coming in to try out either the Voce or Abyss just get in touch to book an appointment.

Cheers,

Paul.
 
Stax Announce A New Flagship Earspeaker - The SR-009S



Hi Everyone,

So as far as I am concerned when it comes to headphone news it doesn’t get any bigger than this as a Stax SR-009 user myself, as part of their 80th Anniversary year Stax have just announced their new Flagship Earspeaker, the Stax SR-009S based on the brilliant SR-009 but using a new lighter diaphragm and revised thinner chassis to help with any colouration this brings.

Personally I am hoping for the same amazing transparency of the SR-009 but with a little more bass weight like the brilliant SR-L700′s, early reports seem to indicate though that they are a slightly smoother and rounded version of the SR-009 whilst retailing the same level of space and air, very much like Sennheiser did with the HD800S compared to the HD800.

The SR-009′s will still stay in the range as they will offer a different presentation so Stax still feel they are a relevant alternative, just a different flavour if you like. Price is yet to be confirmed but is likely to be around £4000, needless to say I have ordered our demo pair so we should have them around summer time, apparently Stax are only making 100 pairs to start with for the whole world then will make them in small amounts each month so it looks like they are not going to be the easiest headphones to get hold of.

Personally I can see these being very popular indeed, especially when you think how many SR-009 users there are out there, partnered with a Trilogy H1 or Stax T8000 Energiser I can see the SR-009S soon becoming the reference for many headphone enthusiasts out there, for one I can’t wait to get my hands on them :)

For more information or to order a pair please feel free to give me a ring, more info below -

http://www.highendheadphones.co.uk/stax/stax-sr-009s-electrostatic-earspeakers







Cheers,
Paul.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


advertisement


Back
Top