Headphones

Lindemann adds to its anniversary range with a headphone amp that has plenty of get up and go

We’ve seen some innovative wireless headphone designs from US-based Master & Dynamic such as the MW50+ 2-in-1 (HFC 438) that came with interchangeable earpads and provided a wired connection too. In its latest in-ear design, the MW07 is committed to the wireless connectivity route and leaps onto the ‘true wireless’ bandwagon, with a compact set of Bluetooth in-ears that simply sit inside your ear canal without any wires whatsoever.

Worthing-based Flare Audio already has a number of low-cost in-ear designs, but the Flares Pro is the first model to grab our attention and is aimed at audio aficionados. It can be connected directly to a player using the supplied cable fitted with a 3. 5mm jack plug or wirelessly using the lightweight clip-on Bluetooth DAC/receiver with aptX support, which claims 12 hours battery life when charged via USB. Everything is supplied inside a multi-layered, cube-shaped box with three sizes (small, medium and large) for each of the Earfoams Everyday, Universal and Audiophile ear-tips, plus there’s a fabric carry case that fits neatly into a pocket for life on the road.

Perhaps better known for its full-size headphone models than its in-ear designs, Audio-Technica has been increasing its offerings of late. The ATH-LS70iS is the more expensive of two ‘Live Sound’ models and uses two serially mounted carbon-coated dynamic drivers to reduce its housing size and increase the radiating area.

No sooner has Sennheiser’s impressive IE 800 S in-ear headphone (HFC 434) appeared than another high-specification model breaks cover. For AKG though, this isn’t new ground. The company released its £1,000 K3003i in 2012 and the new flagship reviewed here actually sees it positioned a step further down the pricing ladder at £800.

Many audio enthusiasts have several sets of headphones for different situations. A lightweight pair is ideal when you’re working out, while a larger on-ear model can provide better sound quality while still being portable enough to carry around when you’re on the move. And, when you get home, you can wallow in the more immersive sound of a big set of over-ear cans.

Audeze is best known as manufacturer of full-size headphones that use planar magnetic driver technology to achieve thin and lightweight units with the voice coil printed into them, resulting in a large radiating area with little mass. The iSINE 10 is the first in-ear to make use of such a driver. Making such a design work in an in-ear form is no small undertaking. By the standards of a normal planar magnetic driver, the 30mm unit used here is tiny but still larger than the ear canal utilised by in-ear models.