Our gadget-crazy Japanese friends are at it again: NTT is developing headphones that sense eye position in order to create hands-free control of … well any number of things.

“Controlling the operation of remote devices with the flick of an eye may sound like science fiction, but it’s all in a day’s work for Dr. Masaaki Fukumoto, Executive Research Engineer at NTT DOCOMO’s Frontier Technology Research Group, where ongoing research promises to revolutionize the way we interact with technologies to make our daily lives more convenient and enjoyable.”

Certainly such a technology would be hugely beneficial to paraplegics and those who have lost the use of their arms (what a wonderful thing), but I shudder to think of bluetooth headset implementations and people driving while rolling their eyes to adjust the volume of their iPod.

One wonders how many gizmos the average person will own in the future … and whether we’re doomed to drown in wall warts.

You may have heard about the new Adidas co-branded headphones at Sennheiser offered in the 680 line. News of the new Adidas cans was all over the net, but did you know there are two other related lines? The 880 line which appears on the Sennheiser web site in the premium portable earbud category, and the 990 line which appears with the moniker Expression Line on the site.

The relationship is that all three new lines were designed by BMW Group DesignworksUSA. The story of the design effort is here, but I think the real story is that even Sennheiser — one of, if not the premier headphone maker in the world — is stepping up their game in the fashion department.

The sophisticated look of the CX 880 in-ear headphone is stylishly understated.

While I really don’t care one way or the other, the number of headphones that are selling as fashion statements is rapidly on the increase. If the blossoming market of consumers for fashion headphones is not exposed to better quality sound, we will have lost an opportunity to expose these listeners to better quality sound. I’m very glad Sennheiser is competing on this basis because I’m confident they are not going to forget to build good sounding headphones as they strive to make their headphones more fashionable as well.

I think it’s important that the headphone market not be split in two with audio quality remaining within the pro and enthusiast arena, and fashion headphone competition making its way out to the broader consumer market. I applaud Sennheiser for their efforts to make sexy looking headphones and I look forward to looking good while I listen … well, looking a little better anyway — it would take a lot more than cool headphones to make me look good.

The new Sennheise 980 cans designed by DesignworksUSA are very cool looking.

Read about the best headphones on the planet here.

There’s really no such thing as “The World’s Best Headphones.” For starters, the best headphones for travel are not the best for your listening room. Headphone utility is highly application specific, so no one headphone will be best for all uses. And second, everyone has different ears and tastes, so even within one application there may be more than one headphone at the top of the heap. Nonetheless, there are clearly some world-class headphones out there, and we thought it would be fun to give them a rundown.

Click on the headings to read the full review!

Read more »

Grados top-of-the-line GS1000 and PS1000.

Listen carefully … and you’ll hear the popcorn popping throughout Headphonedom.

“Tyll’s going to talk about Grado headphones in his blog!!! And he’s doing it in the “World’s Best Headphones” section!?  Oh, this is going to be good.”

You see, I’m not a Grado fan, it’s not a secret, and I’m not alone. There’s a big bunch of headphone enthusiasts that can only shake their head and wonder what all the Grado fuss is about. On the other hand, there are just as many headphone enthusiasts that love Grado headphones and are rabid fans of the Brooklyn headphone maker. Simply put, there is no other brand of headphones that divides the headphone world so clearly and strongly as does Grado.
Read more »

Man, what a shindig! HeadRoom was graciously invited by Noel Lee and Monster Cable to Hollywood CA on January 27 for a Producers/Engineers Grammy Week event featuring the launch of Monster TurbinePRO Copper in-ear headphones.

Ivy and Jorge flank the head Monster Noel Lee.

The guest of honor was Island Records founder Chris Blackwell and the highlight of the evening was an acoustic performance by Daniel Lanois and Trixie Whitley’s visionary new project, Black Dub. In attendance were Ivy Burford, HeadRoom’s Marketing Manager, and, yours truly, Jorge Cervera HeadRoom Sales & Service Manager, escorted by Monster Sales Manager Courtney Sisson and Monster Sales Director Deena Ghazarian.

Courtney Sisson, a National Sales Monster, with Ivy and Jorge. Courtney is is great to work with, and an even better hostess. Thanks Courtney!

HeadRoom was asked by the Monster team to serve as industry representatives for their TurbinePRO earphones, their recently released in-ear monitors designed to deliver the most neutral timbral reproduction and accurate audio response possible in a single-driver armature. As one of the few experts who’ve been able to compare the TurbinePROs to a vast array of other in-ear products, our HeadRoom testimonial to the TurbinePRO’s analytical clarity, dynamic range extension, and musical neutrality was key to Monster’s presentation at this important event, which is held annually in support of the film & record industry’s most well-known producers, recordists, and audio engineers.

Jorge demo'ing some incredible new software from Melodyne.

After a fabulous dinner at one of L.A.’s most chic watering holes, we wandered around the infamous Village Recorder Studios complex in West Hollywood gnoshing fine hors d’ouevres and sipping acai martinis while checking out all the new cutting-edge stuff happening in pro audio — like the amazing Melodyne software program (proTools watch out!), the new gear from Vox Amplification & Guitars, or the re-issue of classic Linn electro drums. Of course, it was Monster’s room that seemed the most consistently packed to the rafters as musicians like Jackson Browne, Jimmy Jam, Blondie Chaplin from The Rolling Stones, and ‘monstrous’ Steely Dan/Michael Jackson drummer Ricky Lawson communed with Monster founder Noel Lee and listened to the TurbinePRO earphones. Celebrities or not, all who got a chance to spend some ear time with the TurbinePro seemed transported to that place where music remains as pure as the artists intended it.

The Monsters sure knows how to throw a party!

The Beyerdynamic Tesla T1 Look, feel, and sound world class!

Woah!!! Stop the presses! Here’s a late entry in the race from Beyerdynamic to be a “World’s Best Headphone:” The T1. Even though we haven’t had time to measure it yet (I will soon, and will post results) there’s no doubt that this new headphone is not only the best that Beyer has ever produced, but that it firmly finds a position in the small family of headphones that are truly world class.

Read more »

Beautiful and round in the fashionable iWhite of the day.

The AKG K701 makes the “World’s Best Headphones” list because that’s what they tried so hard to be, and though they didn’t quite succeed, they did manage to make some running room for competition, and they did take the blush of the Sennheiser HD 600/HD650 rose.

Read more »

Koss Financial Woes

In preparing for her defense in the alleged $31 million fraud against Koss, Sue Sachdeva’s attorneys have made multiple moves to protect their clients medical records, and may try to use mental illness as a defense. One would think that, if true, stealing tens of millions of dollars for clothes is crazy at face value — hopefully that’s not a good enough excuse.

More here.

Audio Technica AT-HA35i Expected to be introduced in Japan next month, the Audio Technica AT-HA35i will dock your iPod and take the digital information from the device for higher quality listening. Figure on a roughly $500 price tag. Rear panel shows a digital output. Wooohooo! More here, and here.

No headphone partying allowed!

In 2008, a group of demonstrators who were “listening to music on headphones and dancing to honor “the individualist spirit for which Jefferson is known,” were told to stop by park officials. When Mary B. Oberwetter, one of the demonstrators, refused and asked why she was arrested. Charges were later dropped.

Then, in 2009, Mary sued claiming her free speech rights were curtailed. Last week U.S. District Judge John D. Bates ruled the memorial is not a public forum for demonstration:

“”The purpose of the memorial is to publicize Thomas Jefferson’s legacy, so that critics and supporters alike may contemplate his place in history,” Bates wrote. “The Park Service prohibits all demonstrations in the interior of the memorial, in order to maintain ‘an atmosphere of calm, tranquillity, and reverence.’

More here, but long story short: Headphone partying in dead guy’s memorials is not allowed.

Wasn’t on my agenda.

That’s the headphone news for the day.

Keep Listening!

It seems so obvious. “You want to listen to your music to pump you up, but in order to do that you’ve got to actually drown out the background noise,” says Dr. Hodgetts, a University of Alberta researcher who recently published  a paper in the International Journal of Audiology titled, “What is the influence of background noise and exercise on the listening levels of iPod users?” He found, “You want to listen to your music to pump you up, but in order to do that you’ve got to actually drown out the background noise,” no surprise.

The Etymotic hf5 seals deep and sounds terrific.

He observed stock iPod ear buds “allow too much background noise in. And so, if you get a set of headphones … that just seal the ear canal, then you immediately cut out the background noise and you allow the vast majority of listeners to listen at a much safer level.”

Seems obvious. What’s not so obvious is that there are basically two different types of in-ear headphones: those that seal deep and those that seal shallow.  The shallow seating kind split the difference between isolation and remaining aware of your surroundings and are good for outdoor exercise where it’s good to retain a little more situational awareness.  But for indoor time at the gym (also air and train travel), where you really want to shut out outside noise, the deep seating style is preferable.

Shure in-ear cans seal deep and have many tips to choose from.

I suggest the Lines of products from Shure and Etymotic, which all seal more deeply in the ear. Both brands have a variety of ear tip styles; you may have to experiment some to find a perfect match for your ear. When you do, both the isolation and the sound will be much better, and you’ll be able to enjoyably listen without turning your music up to unsafe levels.

Dr. Hodgets paper may be purchased here; news on this topic may be found here, here, and here.

Hi All! A new category here: Headphone News.  Normally, news stories will appear as it happens, but since this is the first post we’ll need to play catch up with a couple of bigger stories.

Koss Senior Exec Steals Millions, but Looks Good in the Process.

The first reports started coming in the day before Christmas: Sujata “Sue” Sachdeva, V.P. of Finance for Koss Corp. had been arrested Dec. 21 for wire fraud after allegedly embezzling some $4.5 million from the company over the previous three months. By Jan 1, it had became apparent the pilfering may extend back to fiscal 2006 and amount to over $20 million, making this likely the largest case of embezzlement in the U.S. in 2009. Currently, total losses to the alleged fraud are estimated to amount to some $31 million dollars.

Evidently Mrs. Sachdeva’s six figure salary couldn’t quite cover her cloths shopping addiction. She is reported to have many millions of dollars in apparel and jewelry purchases at high-end salons, including more than $1.3 million at Valentina in Mequon, $670,000 at Au Courant in Glendale and $649,000 at Zita in Whitefish Bay, all Wisconsin stores. A short review of some of her purchases can be found here. Apparantly, she would regularly have her assistants at Koss wire company funds to pay down her American Express card. Monthy payments averaged over $400,000!

Koss has now fired Grant Thornton LLC, it’s independent auditing firm; no surprise there as none of the previous audit reports proffered any adverse opinions. A stunning result considering Koss is a relatively small company reporting net sales of roughly $40/year and the losses due to the alleged crimes running about 10% of net sales and 200% of profits. More info here. Grant Thornton has fired back a response; Baker Tilly Virchow Krause has recently been retain by Koss as their new audit firm.

Obviously, this did not bode well for Koss’ stock prices. Koss halted trading on the NASDAQ (symbol: KOSS) on Dec. 21 2009 when the stock price was $5.51, and resumed trading on Jan 11, 2010 at $4.19, a 24% devaluation. But worse yet, as the magnitude of the multi-year crime became apparent, and stockholders recalled the ever decreasing stock prices over the last four years (about $14 in 2006, $10 in 2007, $6 in 2008) wallets began to open, and calls to lawyers were placed.

Koss shareholder have retained numerous law firms including Brualdi Law Firm, P.C., Goldman Scarlato & Karon, P.C., Holzer Holzer & Fistel, LLC, and Dyer & Berens LLP, to begin a class action suit “on behalf of investors who purchased Koss Corporation securities (NASDAQ: KOSS) between July 12, 2005 and December 21, 2009, inclusive (the “Class Period”).”

Federal investigators have received their warrants, and have begun to rifle through Sachdeva’s properties finding ” statues, paintings, Waterford crystal, luggage from Louis Vuitton and Canyon, chandeliers, crystal vases, glassware, 34 fur coats and 461 pairs of shoes.” (More here.) Koss has released preliminary data on the total amounts of “unauthorized transactions, the results were:

FY 2005:        $2,195,477

FY 2006:        $2,227,669

FY 2007:        $3,160,310

FY 2008:        $5,040,968

FY 2009:        $8,485,937

Q1 FY 2010:     $5,326,305

Q2 FY 2010:     $4,917,005

On Jan 21, 2010, Sujata “Sue” Sachdeva was indicted on six counts of wire fraud by a grand jury, and is accused of embezzling $31 million and purchasing millions of dollars in furs, purses, shoes, jewelry and airline tickets. If convicted, Sachdeva could face up to 120 years in prison and $1.5 million in fines and restitution.

On a personal note, I find this whole story tragic.  One of the headphone market’s most important and long-lived players now finds itself in peril due to one persons gluttonous and habitual crime. I deeply hope Koss can find their way through this mess and can continue to grace us with their affordable headphone products. We can only hope.

Obviously I’ll be watching this one; more news as it becomes available.

Fashion Over Function

Sure, there's plenty of room to make headphones a little more fashionable.

Another story that seems to be gathering momentum in the headphone world is the ever increasing number of headphones being introduced touting fashion as their major selling point. Call me old school, but for me headphones are an audio transducer, whose sole job is to transfer the artist’s music to the inside of my head … under various use applications (travel, exercise, bed, etc).  But the purchasing public has some other criteria in mind as  evidenced by the success of fashion centric headphones of late.  That’s fine as far as I’m concerned, anything that gets consumers spending money on a superior listening experience — even if it’s how you look while you’re having it — will stimulate competition among manufacturers, who will eventually get around to competing with better sound quality. Nothing wrong with that.

V-Moda has long been at it in this area, and their current iVibe is very cool looking. Had it not been for the lousy economy of 2009 the ruckus last year raised in the headphone market by Monster would have been a roar; and I think the Jamz may be the first of the “great headphones” of the decade. This year, however, there is a veritable explosion of headphones above cheap price levels being sold on fashion, design, or brand. Here are a few:

Urbanears

Just one of the 14 available colors with Urbanears

This Scandanavian collective is introducing three headphones in a rainbow of colors. Their mission statement includes, “Urbanears promotes a deeper connection to color, form and people while providing the freedom to transcend individuality and unify the sound experience.”  Not sure I quite understand it, but you’ll note they did get around to the sound part.

First of the three headphones is the full sized closed Plattan, then the ear-pad sized Tanto, followed up by the ear-clip style Medis, which is a truly unusual looking headphone I’d love to get my hands on. All three available in over a dozen colors, and marketed with their Frequency Response measurements*!?

*The Medus measurement indicates it is a “preliminary curve,” regardless, color me excited.

WESC

WESC's PICK-UP looks like a cartoon version of the Koss Porta-Pro. Another Scandanavian company, WESC (WeAreTheSuperlativeConspiricy) is a Swedish clothing and fashion company with dozens of stores worldwide trying on headphones for size. Maybe I’m getting old, but their website is one of the single most confusing experiences I’ve had in a while.  Though I did like their “store locator.”

Monster The new Jamz and Lil'Jamz look good, and sound terrific. As mentioned previously, Monster has been coming on strong. While I would characterise the sound quality as uneven, the quality of work as a fashion project coming from Noel Lee and his monsters is astonishing. I think the Studio is a dandy headphone, and the Lady Gaga’s sound okay. But the shocker for me lately has been the Jamz and Lil’ Jamz; these are very good sounding little headphones at a very good price.  Monster is going to sell a boatload of them.

Sennheiser / Adidas The PMX 680 Sports has plenty of swoosh in it! Headphone audiophile kvetching was unwarrented this year regarding Sennheiser’s big CES announcement launching a line of products co-branded with Adidas. After all, last year gave us the awsome HD 800 — six months late, but still, maybe the world’s best headphone should get them a little grace.  I’ll add however that recent refreshes of old product lines has brought us the  PX 100-II and CX 300-II, two unbelievably good headphones in their category, and the likewize stunning new line of wireless headphones, RS 160, RS 170, RS 180.  I think it’s great that Sennheiser, a company known for excellence in headphones, and especially for building great sounding headphones, is teaming up with a brand that has the big daddy, mass market punch. This small sampling of new fashion conscious headphone sales is the tipping point for the popularity of after market headphones. We’re going to see a LOT of attention on headphones in the future … get ready for an onslaught of headphones.