Eleanor Shaw
I'm Eleanor — most people call me Nell. I came to this from the studio side, so I spend more time with headphones on my head than speakers in a room, and I've learned to hear the difference between detail and brightness pretending to be detail. I'm obsessive about fit and comfort, because the best-sounding headphone in the world is useless if it's clamping your skull after twenty minutes. I review everything from $200 daily-drivers to silly flagship planars.
4 published articles · most recent May 8, 2026
I'm Eleanor — most people call me Nell. I came to this from the studio side, so I spend more time with headphones on my head than speakers in a room.
I've learned to hear the difference between detail and brightness pretending to be detail — and I'm obsessive about fit and comfort, because the best-sounding headphone in the world is useless if it's clamping your skull after twenty minutes.
I review everything from $200 daily-drivers to silly flagship planars.
Articles by Eleanor Shaw
Audeze's LCD-5s brings SLAM bass technology to its $4,500 flagship planarAudeze's LCD-5s arrives with SLAM acoustic bass technology — a passive, non-DSP system promising deeper, tighter low frequencies on its $4,500 open-back flagship planar.
Meze Audio's ASTRU: An $899 Titanium Single-Dynamic-Driver Flagship IEM That Bucks the TrendMeze Audio's ASTRU arrives at $899 as a titanium-bodied, single-driver flagship IEM. Is its 10mm composite dynamic the antidote to multi-driver complexity?
Astell&Kern AK HC5 review: a flagship AK4499EX DAC chip in a $450 dongleAstell&Kern's AK HC5 dongle brings the flagship AK4499EX DAC chip and an OLED display to your pocket for $450. Is it the serious listener's ultimate USB-C companion?
Active Room Treatment goes mainstream: Dirac Live ART explainedDirac Live ART uses MIMO technology to let speakers work as a coordinated acoustic network, reducing low-frequency decay — and it's now in a $3,500 miniDSP unit. Here's what it means for AU buyers.