A wider view of audio gear
What reviewers agree on.
Where they disagree. What matters to you.
A ribbon headphone almost everyone calls fast, detailed and spacious, and almost nobody calls finished: the treble, the tuning and the foam-and-steel build are where it divides people.
A Susvara-derived planar for about $320 — fast, resolving and wide, over a top end that half its listeners call air and the other half call glare.
A MEMS tweeter tuned to stay out of the spotlight — and fifty-odd reviewers arguing about whether it should have.
The post-Andrew Jones Debut that most reviewers call a budget benchmark — and a vocal minority call dull, bright or hard to drive.
The K17's chassis, knobs and streamer for a little over half the price — reviewers call it the value pick of the line; owners say the firmware took a year to catch up.
The smallest, cheapest way into Akai's keybed — everyone agrees it travels well; nobody agrees on how the keys feel.
The dictionary
A boost in the bass and lower mids that gives music a rich, cozy, easy-on-the-ears character.
The perceived three-dimensional space of a recording — how wide, deep, and tall the sound appears.
An emphasis on the upper midrange and treble — vivid, clear, and sometimes sharp.
An even-handed sound with no part of the spectrum pushed forward or held back — balanced and reference-like.
