SoundStage! Solo | SoundStageSolo.com

Details: Written by: Brent Butterworth; Created: 01 June 2019

Sound: 1/2
Value:
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Measurements can be found by clicking this link.

There are precisely 3.74 zillion Chinese companies now trying to get in on the US headphone/earphone market. Many are selling earphones for less than $25 USD, which is why you don’t see them reviewed here. The Simgot EN700 Pros don’t fit that mold at all -- they list for the relatively high (and weirdly non-round) sum of $146. While the EN700 Pros have fairly large enclosures, and look like sophisticated earphones holding multiple drivers, each earpiece has just a single 10mm dynamic driver. What the EN700 Pros do have in common with less-expensive models from Chinese brands is that they’re sold almost entirely through Amazon. Also, they have a strange and seemingly inexplicable brand name.

Read more: Simgot EN700 Pro Earphones

Details: Written by: Brent Butterworth; Created: 20 May 2019

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Measurements can be found by clicking this link.

Apple lives in a whole different world than the rest of the headphone industry. The company shipped about 25 million units of the AirPods true wireless earphones in 2018, and it’s projected to sell double that number in 2019 and quadruple that number in 2021. Why should audiophiles care? For lots of reasons -- just one of which is that today’s best audio engineers will see those numbers and know they can make a lot more money (and find more interesting work) designing true wireless products than trying to do something fresh in the well-established, fast-shrinking world of passive headphones. That’s where the 1More E1026BT-I Stylish True Wireless earphones ($99.99 USD) come in.

Details: Written by: Brent Butterworth; Created: 20 March 2019

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Measurements can be found by clicking this link.

It’s hardly unusual when audio enthusiasts and writers reflexively reject new technology -- I’m sad to say it has become the reaction I expect. That’s why I was so surprised to see even some of the most reactionary audio writers embrace Sennheiser’s new Momentum True Wireless earphones ($299.95 USD).

Details: Written by: Brent Butterworth; Created: 10 December 2018

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Measurements can be found by clicking this link.

It’s difficult for audio companies to differentiate themselves, because there are so many of them and most of the good ideas have already been done. That’s why I so admire companies that find a different approach. One of those is Akoustyx, a new company I first encountered at the 2018 Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, and the manufacturer of the R-220 earphones ($199.99 USD) reviewed here. Instead of spinning stories of some specious sonic “secret sauce,” Akoustyx focuses on making sure its earphones fit properly in your ears and stay in place once you get them in.

Read more: Akoustyx R-220 Earphones

Details: Written by: Brent Butterworth; Created: 01 December 2018

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Measurements can be found by clicking this link.

Reviewers' Choice Under normal circumstances, I’d have been reluctant to review the Campfire Audio Solaris earphones. Why did I relent? Because I’d had such a positive experience with the company’s Comet earphones, and because company founder Ken Ball’s pitch for the Solarises sounded so proud and impassioned, I didn’t even bother to find out what they were before I agreed to the review.

Details: Written by: Brent Butterworth; Created: 01 November 2018

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Measurements can be found by clicking this link.

“Wired headphones have really tanked for us,” a sales manager for a large and respected headphone maker told me at the recent Rocky Mountain Audio Fest. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised, considering that Apple took the headphone jacks off new iPhones two years ago -- and that there are countless Bluetooth headphones and earphones now available at affordable prices. Still, cables have their utility, which is why Acoustic Research’s AR-E010 earphones ($249.99 USD) let you change from wireless to wired operation in just a few seconds.