Meet the cast of the Headphone industry:
GRADO
Grado is a small manufacturer based in Brooklyn, New York. They make headphones with a distinctive retro look. From their entry level model to their top of the line models all share the same design styling. They make limited-run, mostly discontinued models that are very sought after by headphone fans. Most people at one point in their headphone career have owned the SR60.
Sennheiser
The German company is probably the biggest headphone manufacturer in the world. They make hundreds of different models everybody’s needs. The average joe, the DJ wannabes, all the way to the most demanding ears have a Sennheiser models they can choose from. The most expensive headphone record is hold by Sennheiser Orpheus at $14,900.
AKG
The Austrian Company makes good headphones as well. Before a lot of their gear was mainly built for professional studios and recording people, but now they are going more mainstream with many consumer models. They are famous for their love-it-or-hate-it K701, as well as discontinued models such as the K1000 “earspeaker”, the K240 Sextett, the K501, and the K340.
Beyerdynamics (aka Beyer)
A fun alternative to Sennheiser and AKG, Beyer have some good and fun headphones. Their mostly popular for two models: DT770 and DT880, which comes in so many different versions and variations enough to keep even experts confused. Sadly, they lack a top-end model to compete at the top level. Their introducing a new Beyer T1 that supposedly will enter the $1000+ price bracket, but many people are sceptical about its performance.
Sony
Though generally their headphones are designed to be consumer-oriented and thought not worthy of the “audiophile” tag, they produced two legendary models that is the MDR-R10 (now discontinued, selling used for about $5000) and the Qualia 010 (now discontinued, selling used for about $2000).
Audio Technica
Now here is a Japanese company that still actively produces audiophile-oriented headphones for just about any budget, you can get an Audio Technica model that will gladly take on the Western manufacturer’s offerings.
STAX
The STAX name is foreign to people outside of this hobby. They are a small company in Japan manufacturing strictly electrostatic headphones that requires a special electrostatic amplifiers to run (meaning you can’t plug them into an Ipod or an AV Receiver). Their followers are very zealous of their products, and I have to say that they do make really good headphones. Their headphone system (headphone + amplifiers) start at $699. Since most hi-fi shops doesn’t carry STAX, your best bet is buying online through Audiocubes.
BOSE
Contrary to popular belief, BOSE is actually considered as an overpriced and lousy quality headphone. Though you can get better headphone for the money that BOSE is charging, I really don’t think they are that “unlistenable”.
BEATS by Dr. Dre
A new entry backed by Dr. Dre’s name. When it was introduced, audiophiles quickly dismissed the Monster-cable produced headphone. I had the chance to audition it, and I think more or less, they are similar to Bose but much more stylish.
Denon
Another alternative Japanese headphone company. Very popular with the D2000, D5000, and D7000 models. Aside from the D7000 which I haven’t heard, the D2000 and D5000 is mediocre and not worth of the “audiophile” tag in my opinion.
KOSS
John Koss supposedly created the first headphone. In the 80s, they came out with the PortaPro model, which is a very successful model and is still produced now. Other than the PortaPro and the high end ESP950 Electrostatic, Koss really doesn’t generate a lot of buzz these days.
SHURE
They were the ones that really makes IEM a mainstream product. With their background in the professional audio industry, Shure really knows how to make a good sounding IEM. Recently they entered the headphone market with the SRH240, SRH440, and SRH840 models.
Etymotics
Etymotics broke new grounds when they introduced the ER4-S IEM a few years ago. An in-ear-monitor that really pushed the boundary of portable audio when it was introduced. Based on the success of the ER4, they designed other newer models, while also working together with Altec Lansing to make Altec Lansing brand IEM with Etymotic technology behind it.
Ultimate Ears (UE)
UE, alongside Westone, is probably the most respected name in the IEM industry with models ranging from $100 to $1000 custom molded monitors. They hold the record to the most expensive IEM for a long time with the UE-11 priced at $1100.
Westone
Just like UE, Westone also offers IEMs to consumers as well as professional musicians. Recently they created a lot of news with their W3 and UM3x IEMs.
JH Audio
A new name in the IEM business came out with the JH13, today’s best of the best IEM. The man behind JH Audio is Jerry Harvey, actually the man who founded Ultimate Ears and was responsible for designing a lot of UE IEMs.
Skullcandy
More like fashion accessories than real audio headphones, Skullcandy has been growing quite a fanbase, though most of them are probably not from the Hi-Fi crowd.
Social poster
Downloads
- No documents for download.
Track comments via RSS 2.0 feed. Feel free to post the comment, or trackback from your web site.
Goldring
Not release too many headphones and IEM, until now, only release 3 model of headphone, 1 model of wireless headphone, and 2 IEMs. 3 model of headphones are dr50, dr100, and dr150. All of them have a detachable cable (mini-to-mini cable) which is designed by QED.
Thanks. Actually every electronics companies today makes headphones, including Creative, Asus, Apple (earbuds, and IEM), Pioneer, JVC, Technics, Behringer, Clarion, and even computer accessories brand Elecom. I think this list should focus on the “real” headphone maker.
But there are some names that I might want to add to the list: DBI, German Maestro, Sansui, and Skullcandy.
i cant see ultrasone there
Ugh. Ultrasone definitely needs to be on the list. Thanks!
i think JVC is a must too, this brand release many famous model like dx1000, ha-rx700 and already have more than 20 model of headphone full cans
and yes… don`t forget Philips
Koss doesn’t have any big contenders? I guess you haven’t heard the electrostatic ESP950. Its not argued by many that when combined with a Stax amp, they are up there if not above the Stax Lambda series.
Hi manaox. Thanks for the input. I guess I did miss on the ESP950 Electrostat. I will edit it in to the article.
Bro, alessandro, jade, klipsch, denon and last but not least Jecklin……
[...] The Headphone Companies [...]