Tagged: headphones

Open-back headphones leak sound both ways. Here's how much, when it genuinely matters in a share house or apartment, and when it's a non-issue.

Most multiroom systems are designed around speakers in rooms. Here's how to build a headphone zone into that same ecosystem without gutting the sound.

Headphones bypass room acoustics for the direct sound, but the room you sit in still shapes fatigue, focus and what you hear. Here's why.

Multiroom systems are built around speakers in rooms. Here's how to get a proper headphone zone out of the same network, without losing resolution.

What actually changes when you stream to headphones: service quality settings, exclusive mode, and the DAC steps that matter more than the app you use.

A sequencing guide for headphone systems: what actually improves sound at each stage, and why buying in the wrong order wastes money.

One box or two? Hannah Reid cuts through the marketing to explain when a combined DAC/amp unit is smart and when separates genuinely pull ahead.

Closed-back headphones promise isolation, but the acoustic trade-offs are real. Hannah Reid explains what you're giving up — and when it's worth it.

Choosing a headphone amp isn't just about budget. Nell Shaw explains how power, output impedance and circuit topology interact with your specific headphones.

USB audio is more complex than a simple cable swap. Nell Shaw breaks down drivers, transfer modes and what actually matters for headphone listeners connecting a DAC to a computer.

Building a desktop headphone rig that actually performs means more than buying good cans. Jonno Fraser walks through the chain from source to ear.

Headphone EQ is one of the most powerful tools available to personal audio listeners — but most people either ignore it or overdo it. Nell Shaw explains how to do it right.

Balanced headphone outputs are everywhere on serious desktop rigs now. But do they actually change what you hear, or just justify a pricier cable? Sofia Laurent finds out.

Electrostatic and planar magnetic headphones sound unlike anything dynamic drivers produce — but they impose real system requirements. Sofia Laurent explains what you actually need to drive them properly.

Discrete Class A, op-amp, tube hybrid or pure valve — Jonno Fraser breaks down what headphone amp topologies actually do and how to choose the right one.

Hi-res, MQA, lossless, lossy — the format wars are loud and mostly confusing. Here's what actually changes what you hear through headphones.

Sensitivity and impedance numbers look simple until your expensive headphones sound terrible from a phone. Priya Anand explains what the specs actually mean.

Trying to decide between IEMs and full-size headphones on a tight budget? Dave Okafor breaks down where each format punches hardest below $500.

Output impedance shapes how your headphones actually sound. Theo Mensah explains the engineering behind the number and what it means for IEMs, planars and dynamic cans.

Nell Shaw cuts through the confusion around digital interconnects — USB, optical, coaxial and AES/EBU — and explains which genuinely affects what you hear.

Open-backs sound better on paper, closed-backs work in the real world. Sofia Laurent on how to choose honestly — and when the answer is both.

Sofia Laurent explains how to build a genuinely high-end headphone and desktop audio system — from transducer choice to amping, DACs and desk setup.

Audeze'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 arrives at $899 as a titanium-bodied, single-driver flagship IEM. Is its 10mm composite dynamic the antidote to multi-driver complexity?

Astell&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?

Final's DX10000 CL debuted at Winter Headphone Festival Mini 2026 with a 26mm CVD pure solid diamond dome — and a price to match its ambition.

The StereoNET Australian Hi-Fi & AV Show returns to Melbourne's Pullman Albert Park in October 2026 — here's what's confirmed and why you should already be planning your trip.

At NAMM 2026, Audeze relaunched its reference open-back as the LCD-5s — the first planar magnetic headphone to use SLAM airflow-control tech born in the 2024 CRBN2 electrostatic.

xMEMS hit two milestones around CES 2026: Cypress entered mass production as the first MEMS driver for ANC earbuds, and Sycamore became the world's first silicon full-range loudspeaker. We explain how

HiFiMan debuted the HE1000 WiFi and Arya WiFi at CanJam NYC 2026 — open-back planars with onboard R2R DACs that use Wi-Fi as the primary wireless link. Here's why that matters.

Google's Android 16 update put Auracast on Pixel phones. Here's what LE Audio and LC3 actually mean for your headphones and wallet.

Xiaomi Buds 6 and EarFun Wave Pro X bring bit-exact CD-quality Bluetooth under EUR 150. Here's what aptX Lossless actually requires — and why it matters.

Kiwi Ears launched the Halcyon on Kickstarter on 2 May 2026, claiming it's the world's first 1DD + MEMS + 3BA tribrid IEM. We examine what that means and why MEMS matters.