True audiophiles have been known to stop at nothing in their quest for the best audio playback equipment. It should come as no surprise, that these very audiophiles coined the term ‘high fidelity’ or ‘hi-fi’ audio systems. A good hi-fi system would possess the capacity to reproduce sounds that were identical to the sound in its original performance.
When using a hi-fi headset, the ultimate victory is to leave the listener wondering whether they were listening to a recording or experiencing a live performance. If you are willing to loosen your purse strings and go all the way in the quest for glory, here are some headphones that we think you should consider.
The Bowers & Wilkins PX7 comes with the biggest ever drivers in the company’s headphone collection. These headphones boast of 43mm drivers and are capable of cancelling noise out and keeping your music/movie experiences free from the outside world. The PX7 is also adaptive. If you lift your earcup to listen to someone talk to you, it will automatically pause the music and resume it the moment you put the cup back. And the battery life is a whopping 30 hours. The body is made from woven carbon fibre composite making it almost impermeable to everyday wear and tear while channelling nothing but pure sound to your ears.
When it comes to finding a good pair of high-fidelity headphones, you will be expected to cough up a lot of dough. With its affordable price point, the Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro does grab the right kind of eyeballs. But the budget pricing does not mean that the 990 Pro takes a hit where quality is concerned. When it comes to sound quality, this beauty shines with both vocals and instruments sounding well-emphasised. It comes in a full black body, with the only exceptions being the brand name and the grey memory foam earpads that are ridiculously comfortable. All in all, the DT 990 Pro proves worthy of much more than its pricing.
While most planar magnetic headphones come with an open-back design, the Audeze Sine comes with a closed-back design. In fact, it is also one of the first few planar magnetic headphones that have been optimised for use with mobile phones. What also sets it apart is that the Sine is hailed as the first ‘on-ear’ headphone in the world that uses planar magnetic technology. This technology uses magnetic drivers that produce sounds that are open and coherent and provide for the lowest possible distortion. With the Sine on your ears, guitar strums in your favourite track will be neatly defined while the drum snares on high notes will give you just enough bite.
Sennheiser is a brand that promises quality and perfection when it comes to sound and they deliver this with their HD 820 Over-Ear headphones too. With a 58mm driver, the HD 820 proudly flaunts this driver unit with a concave Gorilla glass that doubles up as a design element to make this product closed-back. Once you get over the innovative design and get down to checking on the sound, you will be greeted with a full-bodied balance in tones and frequencies which makes it easy to use the HD 820 for long hours of listening pleasure without any fatigue whatsoever.