new kid on the block: headphone.guru

Other than the new kid's referencing the world's stupidest widely used English dictionary in an LP accessory review, headphone.guru looks to be a great site. It covers bases far beyond typical reviews.

Here are a few more reasons to follow headphone.guru: 

1. its pass-through domain, ".guru", is awesome. 
2. it updates multiple times a day and is easy to navigate.
3. it covers music, too.
4. it's got a load of well-respected names writing for it.
5. its design is attractively terse.

If the above isn't enough, headphone.guru, fully passes the radio test (a test that ohm-image.net horribly fails). My only hope is that it refrains from becoming a hifi circle jerk. 

headphone

dot

guru

Check it: headphone.guru

OHM AIR episode #1: Ten Hundred

Lachlan Tsang (of Lachlan Likes a Thing fame) costars in the very first episode of OHM AIR. It's a vicarious trip through audiophile hate points like BEATS BY DRE, BOSE, and the iPod shuffle. (For the interested, we take on which alcohols are good for writing.)

Relevant talking points:

Beats By Dre
Bose
iPod shuffle

There's a lot of great content coming up and I've hired seventeen voice trainers. I've also been asked to quit drinking. Ho hum.

Be sure to follow.

acrylic earphones - shouty upper treble

Yesterday, I was asked the following question by a member of Head-Fi with whom I had been having an ongoing discussion about the Vorzüge PURE II headphone amplifier. 

“I noticed that you have done reviews on both the TG334 and the s-em6, and i was wondering how they compared? Im thinking of getting the s-em6 as someone is selling it cheaply. Also, another concern i have is that being a BA in acryllic shell, i was worried if it might have the pronounced shouty upper midrange that i find in many CIEM demos, something which the guys at **** told me was caused by the acryllic resonant properties.”

Here is what I have to say:

1. The combination of balanced armature earphones and acrylic shells do not cause shouty upper treble.
2. Never trust what representatives of certain companies/technologies say about competing companies/technologies.

NOTE: My review of the FitEar ToGo!334 is at TouchMyApps. My review of the Earsonics S-EM6 is at Headfonia.

Both earphones are good. Only one is great. That is the ToGo!334. What I love most about it isn't its sound, though it is very good; it is FitEar's incessant drive for perfection. Clean shells, clean wiring, strong cables, excellent use of both acrylic and titanium in the output tubes- these are tenets of the FitEar philosophy.

The S-EM6 is more moody, has lusher vocals, and, I feel, is more suited to jazz, vocalists, folk, and certain live music. It fits less well than the ToGo!334, has fiddlier ear pieces, and isn't made to the same exacting standards. Atomistically, I vastly prefer its moodiness for certain music. The S-EM6 may not be as clean sounding in certain frequencies, but it is more fun than the ToGo!334 for certain types of music. 

But holistically, if I were to slap down +1.000- USD on an earphone, it would be one that inspired me from both a sound and a build perspective. Currently, ToGo!334 is hard to find. I hear from some people that it has a waiting list. The good news is that if you ever decide to sell it, you likely can recoup all of the costs. Those are the marks of a good investment.

Certain FitEar earphones hold their value very well. But if it came down to sound preference only, I'd probably side with S-EM6. That is personal. But my favourite Earsonics is the SM64. My favourite universal of all time is probably the Grado GR10, whose beautiful shiny body and clean, yet foot-tapping sound mates well with almost every of my favourite albums. It's also a LOT less expensive than the other two options.

As for CIEMs sounding shouty, they can. But that has nothing to do with balanced armatures. Ditto acrylic. It's part and parcel of the acoustic philosophy to which the manufacturer adheres. First: CIEM demos use universal tips for which they were not designed. Second: universal type earphones engage neither the outer nor the inner ear in the same way as customs. Demos will never sound exactly like the final products. They may, in fact, sound quite different. This is an unsolvable problem with CIEM earphones.

Finally, never take a representative of a certain company at her word. Her job is to convince you to buy the things her company make. And she will do her best to convince you that the technologies her company produce are best. 

It is possible that they may be. It is just as possible that she is blowing wind up your ass. 

Headfonia: Cypher Labs Picollo

At long last, Lieven's and my sweet sweet together review of Cypher Labs's Picollo (which I previewed last month) is up at Headfonia. Picollo is an impressive amp in both form and function. 

This is totally an aside, but I think Cypher Labs's need of a good still-life photographer.

You can read the entire thing here: CYPHERLABS PICOLLO: OLD SCHOOL ANALOG

Head to Cypher Labs for more information.

e-earphone to open world's first CIEM specialty shop

Starting tomorrow, e-Earphone will open the world's first CIEM specialty shop, under their shop. Impressions cost 5.400- ¥, or about 54- USD. Cash only. Akihabara only.

The timing couldn't be more perfect; I'll be in town to meet a mate from Woodbridge, Ontario. I was thinking of dropping green on a new impression or two anyway.

And my friend will be 'farting' around Akihabara... whatever that means. Just in case, I asked him not to come to the basement of e-Earphone's building where things will go down. 

Details here (Japanese text)

Why hearing protection matters

“Hearing protection is central to our enjoying music and life to its fullest.”

Preach it, Cymba.

“Well, it’s no secret that hearing protection companies understand acoustics quite well, and end up creating very capable and isolating IEMs. Etymotic and Phonak’s (now defunct) Audeo are two very clear examples.”

Yep and more yep. On pages two and three, Sinocelt goes on to describe a number of musician's and other earplugs, and the affect they have on music. Why hearing protection matters is an important article. And um, Chase Emory, turn the volume down a bit, eh?

This will be (insert company name)'s downfall

John Gruber concludes the above about the cable industry, citing an article by The Verge about Comcast's efforts to lock customers into their service. But his next sentence:

“No company with such disregard for their own customers will succeed for long.”

could be said of 

This is the world's first mass-produced balanced earphone

While essentially Sennheiser MX300 clones, and cheap pack-ins, the above earphones were the world's first mass-market balanced earphones. They came with the Sharp MD-DR7, which works great as a cheap-ass 16-bit DAC for AK100/120/240 devices and which I remember at Headfonia. Best of all, these phones used the standard 3,5mm plug wired for TRRS.

Sadly, no upgrade options existed in 2002. Today they do, but, as I explain, today we battle against myriad competing headphone jacks/plugs and company locked-down formats. It's more the Wild West than ever it was.

Read the entire article at Headfonia: Back To The Future Friday: The World’s First Balanced Earphones