HIGH END MUNICH 2024 REPORT – OSCAR CHECKS OUT THE WORLD OF HEADPHONES AND HEADFI EXHIBITS
MEZE AUDIO EMPYREAN II PLANAR MAGNETIC HEADPHONES
The Meze Audio Empyrean II are the Romanian HiFi brand’s newest planar magnetic headphones.
SENNHEISER OPENS AUDIOPHILE EXPERIENCE CENTRE IN TULLAMORE, IRELAND
Sennheiser audiophile headphones have been manufactured in the company’s own factory in Tullamore, Ireland for over 30 years, making it the core of Sennheiser’s audiophile headphone innovation.
DAN CLARK AUDIO CORINA ELECTROSTATIC HEADPHONE REVIEW
Dan Clark Audio Corina electrostatic headphones are at the top end of the head-fi marketplace given their price of nearly £5000. Janine Elliot takes a listen for HiFi PiG
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THE NEW SENNHEISER HD 660S2 PROMISES AN AUDIOPHILE EXPERIENCE AT AN AFFORDABLE PRICE
Sennheiser’s new HD 660S2 has been designed as an upgrade to its predecessor, specifically responding to the requests of audiophiles.
DAN CLARK AUDIO STEALTH HEADPHONES REVIEW
Dan Clark Audio Stealth headphones are built in California, distributed in the UK by Electromod and cost £4100. Janine Elliot takes a listen to this high-end headphone and seems to be rather enamoured by it.
ERZETICH MANIA HEADPHONES REVIEW
Stuart Smith tries on the new Erzetich Mania headphones costing €1199 for size. More »
MEZE EMPYREAN HEADPHONES REVIEW
Meze Empyrean Headphones are clearly a high-end headphone with a price tag of £2699. Dan Worth takes a listen.
Hifi Pig’s Millennial Scribbler Harry Smith pops along to Can Jam 2019. Read more… More »
Quad has never made a headphone before and so we were delighted to hear about, and get the chance to try, their ERA 1 planar cans costing £599. Janine Elliot takes a listen. More »
For the first time Munich High End also played host to Can Jam Europe. The event was held just over the road from the MOC and attracted more than 2000 people, proof indeed that the market for headphones and portable audio is continuing to be a healthy one. Here’s a photographic tour of the event which promises to grow in coming years. Congratulations to Juliane Thummel and her team for a job brilliantly done. More »
Following the release of last year’s award-winning Flares® PRO earphones, British brand Flare Audio now offer the affordable Flares® JET. More »
At CES 2017, new consumer audio brand Meters Music kicks off the roll-out of its range of home audio devices with the launch of the OV-1 headphones. The OV-1s feature “a high-quality and exquisitely engineered design with a dash of studio cool, via their unique, fully- functioning VU meters, together with a sound performance designed by the team – from parent company Ashdown Engineering – who make musical instrument amplifiers for many of the world’s biggest bands.” More »
The Onkyo H500M headphones are part of the latest range from audio makers. With their promise of portability and bringing out the best of your high res digital library, has Onkyo bitten off more than it can chew?
These days it’s all about the high resolution, lossless digital audio for those that care about how their music sounds on the move. There are many players to choose from or DACs (digital analogue convertors) that will do their best to improve what comes out your phone. But what about headphones?
Check out the review at GadgetyNews.
California’s Noble Audio will be showing its full range and offering free impression-taking for its custom products at CanJam London 2015 this weekend. Noble Audio will be presenting demonstration models of the Noble 3, Noble 4, Noble 5, Noble 6, the ten-driver Kaiser 10U and the new Savant IEMs.
Noble Audio’s UK agent, Gisele Flower, a high-profile professional audiologist with a regular consultancy in Harley Street, will also be on-hand offering free impression-taking (worth £50) for any purchase from the custom product line. Gisele is known as the ‘musician’s audiologist’ and her clients include some of the world’s best-known musicians and bands. Gisele will be at CanJam on Saturday the 29th for a limited period. The free impression-taking is available on a first-come first-served basis.
CanJam London 2015, Hotel Russell, 1-8 Russell Square, London, WC1B 5BE
Saturday, August 29th, 2015, 9am to 6pm
Sunday, August 30th, 2015, 9am to 5pm
ER4S, ER4PT and HF series of isolator earphones from Etymotic Research have just been launched onto the UK
market. Unlike most earphones Etymotic earphones are designed to be inserted inside the actual ear canal. The airtight seal created by the earphone’s custom-designed ear tips allow highly-focused sound waves to reach the ear drums and the bass response does not dissipate. The noise isolation of 35 dB – 42 dB is documented as being the highest of any earphones or headphones on the market today meaning the volume level need not be as high as regular non-noise isolating earphones, reducing the risk of ear damage.
The HF3 and HF5 earphones are very compact and useful for frequent travelling and going to the gym. The high accuracy and sound isolation of the ER4S have made these earphones popular with musicians, recording engineers and audiophiles. The ER4PT earphones are intended for sound engineers and audiophiles and come equipped with extra accessories and adapters.
HF5 Earphones – £99.95
HF3 Earphones (With remote and mic supported with iPhone 3Gs – iPhone 5s, iPad & iPad mini) – £119.95
ER4PT Earphones – £299
ER4S Earphones – £199.99
Audio-Technica is introducing noise-cancelling technology at what seems a truly accessible £149 price point. The 
ATH-ANC70 headphones are say Audio-Technica ideal for smartphone, tablet and laptop use as well as in-flight movies and enjoyment of your music at home.
The noise cancelling circuit is powered by a single battery and you can choose to have music or simply enjoy the enhanced silence once the noise-cancelling mode is turned on.
The ATH-ANC70 headphones fold flat for easy transport in a laptop bag or satchel and can be used to take phone calls thanks to a built-in yet hidden microphone.
High-end distributor Decent Audio is delighted to add the Audeze (pronounced Odyssey) LCD-3 planar magnetic 
headphone to its portfolio.
Audeze headphones are manufactured in the USA and every Audeze headphone is individually tested, burned-in and measured with the written results are included with each headphone.
Unlike a conventional drive unit in which the diaphragm is attached to a voice coil (either at its centre in the case of a cone, or at its edge in the case of a dome), a planar magnetic diaphragm has a printed voice-coil spread across its entire surface. When the voice coil is energised with an audio signal, it interacts with the magnetic field and produces an electromagnetic force that moves the diaphragm, thus creating sound.
Audeze employs a number of proprietary techniques deigned to improve on basic planar magnetic design. These include the integration of unique, ultra-thin diaphragms and stronger, more optimised magnetic fields and circuit patterns.
The Audeze LCD-3:
· “Is designed to be the best headphone ever created”.
· Has a thinner planar magnetic diaphragm and more efficient magnetic structure than the renowned Audeze LCD-2.
· Features hand-crafted zebrano wood ear cups.
· Comes with lambskin or artificial suede ear pads.
The good people at Deco Audio, the Aylesbury based hi-fi outlet will be holding their “Headonism” 2012 event on 
Saturday 27th October between 10:30 and 17:30.
They will have a wide range of headphones and headphone amplifiers for you to try out from the more affordable end of the scale to the much more high-end.
Headphones on the day will be from:
Sennheiser, ( HD500 series up to and including the top of the range HD700 and HD800 headphones and the new Momentum headphones, as will the top of the range wireless RS220 system.) Stax, Hi-
Headphone amplifiers on demonstration will include models from Rega, Edwards Audio, Project, Hi-
Free refreshments will be available throughout the day and there will be representatives from various manufacturers on hand to answer any questions you may have and even better Deco Audio are encouraging yu to bring along your own CDs, LPs and iPods.
Please feel very welcome to bring along your own CDs, LPs and iPods (etc).
AKG has announced the ‘AKG by Tiesto’ range of headphones. 
The K67 Tiesto is a compact, on ear, closed-back design with 40 mm drivers and – like its siblings –a 3D-Axis folding mechanism enabling flat storage. Next up, is the K167 Tiesto, which uses an over ear, closed-back design and the top of the range is the K267 Tiesto an over-ear, closed-back design featuring adjustable bass boost. The K267 Tiesto also incorporates an innovative DualPlug system that lets you connect the cable to the left or right side of the ‘phones.
For those that don’t know, Tiesto is one of the most influential DJs in the world. His achievements have ranged from playing at the opening of the 2004 Olympics to an audience of billions, to Grammy Award nominations and the coveted title of ‘Greatest DJ Of All Time’, bestowed on him by Mixmag.
The K67 Tiesto and K167 Tiesto go on sale in the UK during September, while the K267 Tiesto arrives in November.
Recommended retail prices are £99, £199, and £329.
Harmon Kardon release today a series of 4 headphones with a 5th due shortly.
The BT (pictured) is an over the ear wireless headphone that features Bluetooth equipped with a built-in microphone, AAC and apt-X wireless coding and user-exchangeable headbands to allow for a better fit. Price for the BT is 220£.
The 170£ CL is said to blend sophistication and simplicity in an over the ear design and comes with an Apple 3-button remote.
The AEs are an in-ear design made from an aluminium alloy that is said to give superior acoustic dampening and will cost 130£.
The NI is the cheapest of the new releases at 90£ and is again an in-ear design featuring a 9mm driver system which is said to offer sonic clarity even at low levels.
The final headphone, yet to be released is a noise cancelling design and will sell for 300£.
Having just bought a new pair of lovely “audiophile headphones” I thought “Why keep your headphones stuffed into a cupboard or drawer, getting the cable and the cable extension tangled up?” The house is already a bit of a sty after all and i really don’t need any more clutter! 
Having spent so much of my hard earned cash I want them in plain sight, on a bookshelf or right next to my hi-fi where I can get at them with ease? In short I want to show them off a bit whilst having them close at hand. A quick search found CA Electronics, a Dutch manufacturer of connectors, isolators, damping plates, loudspeakers and hand-made, hand coated headphone stands that look very nicely made indeed.
Each headphones stand is powder coated by hand which provides a very durable finish to maximize the stand’s longevity.
The HS-1 looks just the job and is described as being the “perfect stand for any headphone”. It’s made of 3mm thick curved aluminium, stands about 25ch high and is about 10cm deep. The stand has been designed so that the curve of the stand supports the headband and the narrow end holds the ear-pads in place. The slight flexibility of the stand is said to leave headphones resting in a natural position when not in use and CA claim this will enhance a headphones lifespan.
