high end headphones

Despite the HD 660S’s standing as one of the world’s popular audiophile headphones, some customers nevertheless wanted one very specific enhancement: even deeper bass. Because whether it’s a thunderous crescendo of timpani or the pulsating beat of electronic dance music, there is nothing like accurate, powerful sub bass to infuse your listening with drama. Audiophiles—and anyone looking for comfortable, non-fatiguing, high-end headphones—can now get even more impact and emotion from the HD 660S2. The headphone’s warm, relaxed tone is reflected by their timeless styling with elegant bronze accents. With its open-back design and outstanding comfort, the HD 660S2 is also destined to be a favorite for long listening sessions. This version builds on all the strengths of its formidable predecessor. The same world-class precision and resolution still let you pick out individual instruments like with no other headphone. Or experience the joy of discovering sonic details in recordings you’ve known for years—now underscored with more and deeper low end. Indeed, the standard-setter for extended listening has now become the standard-setter for extended bass as well. Enhancing this heralded audio design without detracting from its many strengths was, however, a daunting task. So, our engineers set out to systematically identify and exploit every opportunity in their quest to improve on the acclaimed HD 660S design. We adjusted the compliance of the surround, for instance, dropping the resonance frequency to 70 Hz. Considerable effort went into optimizing the airflow around the transducer. The coil in the HD 660S2 has also been revised to match the legendary HD 600 & 650, resulting in an impedance of 300 ohms. The coil offers a high magnetic force and electrical damping for a clean impulse response. It also increases sensitivity over the entire frequency spectrum by using the magnet’s air gap more efficiently. Taken together, these efforts and more have paid off in spades. Sound pressure at the lowest octaves has doubled. Now, you can feel the music more than ever before—with all the depth and weight that ultra-low frequencies invoke. The lowest A on the piano (27.5 Hz) or the pounding root note of a bass drum (45-60 Hz) are just as big, expansive, and imposing as if they were live. The unique combination of impactful bass combined with the warm tuning and smooth treble will be a revelation for audiophile listeners. It’s an even better way to lose yourself in comfortable, non-fatiguing, high-end sound—while feeling its full low-end power.

The IE 900 from Sennheiser sets a new benchmark in portable audio fidelity through technical innovation (X3R), meticulous attention to detail, and an uncompromising demand for perfection. Every aspect of the IE 900 has been engineered to work in harmony to achieve the desired acoustic tuning and to reduce resonances and masking effects. Its acoustic design ensures brilliant, natural high-end sound reproduction and reveals even the finest details in the music

For the housings of the ATH-AWAS over-ear wooden headphones, we’ve selected the rare Asada Zakura (Japanese cherry) wood. Renowned for its use in high-end audio speakers due to its fine acoustic characteristics and durability, the striking red Asada Zakura suppresses unwanted resonance inside the earcups for clear, natural sound reproduction. The half-gloss finish, applied by hand, accentuates the wood’s gentle grain and warm beauty. The headphones are equipped with exclusive 53 mm drivers with powerful magnetic circuitry, integrated pure-iron yoke, DLC (diamond-like carbon) coating, and 6N-OFC (high-purity, oxygen-free copper) voice coils for exceptional full-range audio reproduction. Our exclusive D.A.D.S. (Double Air Damping System), which divides the housing structure into two separate acoustic chambers, ensures smooth, accurate bass response. The arms that hold the housings are made from a lightweight, highly rigid magnesium alloy. The arms are angled to provide the best possible fit with excellent earcup seal. The comfortable fit is enhanced by smooth, synthetic leather earpads and headband. The headphones also feature A2DC (Audio Designed Detachable Coaxial) jacks for secure connection to the two included 3.0 m (9.8') detachable cables. One cable has a 6.3 mm (1/4") gold-plated stereo plug for use with standard audio equipment. The other cable features a 4-pin XLRM balanced connector for use with the latest high-fidelity equipment to achieve better channel separation. While many listeners may believe that high-resolution audio came along with the introduction of the Compact Disc in 1982, constraints on the disc’s storage space always prevented CD audio (standardized at 44.1 kHz/16-bit) from fully and completely reproducing the original recorded sound. The advent and subsequent popularity of MP3s only made this problem more pronounced – the necessary compression of these files causes audio information to be lost, thus greatly reducing the audio quality. But with lossless audio file formats, faster Internet speeds, and storage space increasingly easy to come by (and in ever-smaller packages), the push is on to create audio equipment capable of capturing and reproducing true Hi-Res Audio, generally considered to be 96 kHz/24-bit or better. The Hi-Res Audio logo certifies that a product meets the Hi-Res Audio standards. Per these standards, headphones must have transducer frequency performance to at least 40 kHz. As a producer of these types of audiophile headphones since 1972, Audio-Technica is well-positioned to provide audio solutions that meet the demands of Hi-Res Audio media formats, allowing for the full reproduction of their extended sonic characteristics.

For audiophiles there wasn’t any doubt: When it came to circumaural headphones the very best sound required an open back design. This axiom has now been rendered obsolete by the youngest member of the Sennheiser Audiophile Range: The closed dynamic HD 820 employ an innovative technology that makes them sound breathtakingly transparent and natural. Developed and made in Germany, they offer an incredibly realistic, natural sound field and also stand apart by the extraordinary attention given to every detail of their design. Their soft comfortable microfiber ear pads are hand crafted, providing excellent attenuation of ambient noise, while the robust metal headband includes an inner damping element. Get ready for an unparalleled listening experience. Developed and manufactured in Germany, the HD 820 is a closed, reference-grade audiophile headphone that a combines an innovative glass reflector and Ring Radiator transducer technology for a benchmark listening experience as vivid as it is uninterrupted. The HD 820 fuses Sennheiser's bleeding-edge acoustic capabilities with exceptional reduction of ambient noise. Until now, the audiophile headphone experience could only begin with an open back design or loudspeakers. The HD 820 sacrifices neither detail nor sound field by using breakthrough acoustical systems in a closed, dynamic headphone. The reference-class experience of the HD 820 is achieved with the use of precision concave glass reflectors, one capping each earcup. These functional plates reflect energy from the rear of the driver to a specially tuned absorber system, allowing the waves to mimic the behavior of open headphones such as the HD 800 S. The result is a sound stage never before experienced in a sealed headphone. The headphone’s vibration damping headband provides complete stability while reducing crosstalk. What you put into the HD 820 is precisely what you will get out of it. Each transducer is manufactured, tested, and measured to an extremely tight tolerance to ensure the most dependable performance out of the box. Each HD 820 also includes the frequency response plot unique to that set’s serial number, sparing no resource to help you retrieve the most critical details from every corner of your music collection. The 56mm Ring Radiator transducer found in the HD 820 leverages the key benefit of a large diaphragm speaker—air displacement. Both outer and inner edges of the “ring” are secured to the drive unit to keep it rigid for fast rest and response times. The result is accurate response spanning the entire frequency spectrum.