This unusual looking headphone is Raal SR1a, the world’s first headphone to use ribbon tweeters. It has neither an enclosure or traditional ear cups. Instead, the headphone sits like a contraception on your head and soft cushions help angle the drivers at a distance from your ears. Folks old enough to remember the AKG K1000 will know what I mean. The SR1a sounds unlike typical headphones and require a speaker amplifier as well as a special interface box to work. The Raal SR1a, along with its interface box, costs $4,999.
The Fiio Q5s is a veritable audio Swiss pocket knife. It’s a portable headphone amplifier and DAC. But it also has Bluetooth wireless capability so you can stream wireless from your mobile device. It supports a wide range of wireless audio codecs too, including aptX, AAC, and even LDAC. As for outputs, there’s a 3.5mm single-ended output, a 2.5mm balanced output, and the latest 4.4mm Pentaconn balanced output. Its usual price is $579.
This was one of the best sounding setups we heard at CanJam 2019 Singapore. What we have here is the MrSpeakers Voce electrostatic headphone hooked up to a Woo Audio WES electrostatic headphone amplifier playing music from a Cyrus CD player. The MrSpeakers Voce is priced at $4,599 while the Woo Audio WES is $7,999.
Hands down one of the most exotic pairings at the show. The newly released $3,999 Focal Stellia - Focal’s new flagship closed-back headphone - and the $20,000 dCS Bartók - dCS’ first headphone amplifier and DAC. It sounds sublime. The Stellia is a noticeable step up from the Focal Elegia.
The Shock from Aroma Audio is an interesting IEM that features two electrostatic drivers and two balanced armature drivers. Despite having electrostatic drivers, it doesn’t require an energizer like most electrostatic headphones do. Instead, it uses a special driver designed from Sonion that has special circuitry that generates enough volts to drive the electrostatic drivers. The Shock retails for $1,999.
This is the Woo Audio WA11 portable solid state headphone and DAC. It features a fully-balanced topology and a Class-A design. The DAC used is the ESS Sabre ES9018M and supports high-res audio up to 24-bit/384kHz and DSD128. It also features the new 4.4mm Pentacoon balanced output. It has a built-in lithium-ion battery and has a claimed battery life of up to 6 hours. Power is rated at a maximum of 1.2W at 30 ohms. The Woo Audio WA11 is priced at $2,299.
The ZMF Aeolus is the long awaited open-back sequel to the company's immensely popular Atticus closed-back headphone. Like the Atticus, the Aeolus features the same proprietary ZMF TPE driver. It also features a beautiful handcrafted wooden ear cup. One neat thing about ZMF headphones is that the drivers are protected by a life-time warranty. Prices of the Aeolus start at $1,750 and vary depending on the choice of wood.
The Benchmark HPA4 amplifier is one of a handful of amplifiers in the market that features THX Achromatic Audio Amplifier (AAA) technology. In a nutshell, THX AAA aims to reduce harmonic, intermodulation, and crossover distortion. This allows the HPA4 to reach high output levels without distortion - useful for driving insensitive headphones like the Hifiman Susvara and Abyss AB-1266. It has a maximum power outupt of 6W into 16 ohms. The HPA4 is priced at $4,580.
Looking for a nice, compact DAP? Activo's palm-sized CT10 packs a quad-core CPU and adopts Astell&Kern's TERATON technology for great sound. Comes with a 3.4" touch display, and supports both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi too!
Also at the show, was Audiofly, an IEM maker from Australia who design their products for "musicians and music lovers alike". Pictured here is the AF1120 MK2, a six-driver in-ear monitor that's built for accuracy and clarity.
Beyerdynamic was at the show, and they had their latest Lagoon ANC wireless headphones up for demo. These are wireless headphones with active noise cancellation capabilities, that also feature MOSAYC sound personalization to compensate for frequencies you can't hear well. Find out more here!
FiiO was also at the show, and they had their M11 player out on display. This supports Two-way LDAC, has dual AK4493EQ DACs, and the Exynos 7872 processor to go with a gorgeous 5.15", 18:9 720p Incell Touch screen.
These gorgeous little zirconium buds are RHA's CL2 Planar, housing the world's most compact planar magnetic drivers. They come with a selection of cables and a Bluetooth neckband so you can use them either wired or wirelessly. Find out more about them here.
Talking about audiophile-quality sound and Sennheiser is never out of the mix. Here are their HD600 open dynamic headphones, gorgeous stereo headphones with open metal mesh earpiece covers for incredibly transparent sound. Neodymium ferrous magnet systems provide optimal sensitivity and a wide dynamic range.
Literally a heavy-duty Digital Audio Player, the Sony DMP-Z1 weighs 2.49kg, and measures 138.0 x 68.1 x 278.7 mm but comes with five battery cells that drive both the digital and analogue amplification circuits independently, thus minimizing any internal electromagnetic interference. Find out more about it here!
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