“We have wanted to launch an HDtracks streaming service for some time. In Lenbrook we have a partner with global reach to help us launch a service ensuring quality and consumer choice,“ says HDtracks co-founder David Chesky, who has been a leader in high-resolution audio alongside his brother Norman. “Fans will get to choose their format – either PCM/FLAC or MQA – in a service that will ensure high-resolution audio streaming whether you are in your home or on-the-go.”

AIRIA By MQA Labs

This unnamed service will be the first to incorporate a new wireless hi-res CODEC developed by MQA Labs. It promises a data-efficient solution to lossless streaming from the cloud or wirelessly from a device. You can expect low latency and a format-agnostic CODEC, with reliable audio quality and scalability.

“Our industry has been built by providing discerning music enthusiasts with choices while using innovation to advance digital music delivery,” explains Lenbrook’s Chief Strategy Officer, John Banks. “As audiophiles ourselves, it’s an exciting prospect to bring a service to life for the millions of global audiophiles that care so passionately about the quality of the music they listen to.”

Mike Jbara, VP and GM of Lenbrook Media Group adds, “Norman and David are the perfect partners for Lenbrook. Their experience and understanding of the high-end audio fan is unique and their history with quality and innovation speaks for itself. We are ready to embark on this journey with them and think music fans are going to love it.”

The service will be available across platforms. In addition to its own applications for mobile, the service will find its way into many of the world’s leading high-end audio ecosystems, apps, and brands, that count on service providers for their content.

For more information, you can check out Lenbrook Media Group’s website here.

The post A New Hi-Res Music Streaming Service Is On The Way From HDTracks & Lenbrook Media Group appeared first on Major HiFi.

Lafawndah – Ancestor Boy

This album’s never gotten the buzz I feel it deserves, and I’m still hoping it does eventually. Written, performed, and self produced with complete mastery by Paris-born artist Lafawndah, Ancestor Boy has a unique sole that pulls from countless musical regions and styles. Complex, cinematic drum patterns combine ambiguous electronic timbres and time-worn mallet hits, all accompanied by Lafawndah’s soaring vocal lines. There’s a feeling of fearlessness about the album. It seems to keep upping the intensity shamelessly, taking us through sweeping soundscapes, sprinkled with bird calls and vocal trills into chest-pounding beats, each section gilded with cascading synth lines. Ancestor Boy feels somewhere between the human and the fantastical, and offers its listeners a completely new flavor of ear candy. 

Resolution Availability: FLAC on Tidal

Eartheater – Trinity

Eartheater’s music feels like if a shimmering pearl were to undergo a radioactive transformation. Her album Trinity is a haunting, angelic electronic masterpiece. The album is equal parts ethereal, calming, and sinister. It’s definitely a high-end lovers album, with crisp, bright, reverb drenched vocals throughout. Eartheater specializes in very ambient, spacious compositions that explore strange vocal timbres, scuttling percussion, and hard hitting bass drums. This is a great album to explore tons of small details and intricacies, with each track featuring a new array of unique textural elements. Tracks like “Fontanel” and “Runoff” strike a good balance between head-banging and melt-into-your chair, while other tracks like “Solid Liquid Gas” explore a high-energy pop influence. Trinity is an enchanting album even if you find it a bit out of your comfort zone at first, as it’s quite hard to ignore once you’ve had a taste of it. 

Resolution Availability: FLAC on Tidal

Simian Mobile Disco – Murmurations 

Calling both techno and church choir lovers to this one. That’s right, this album has both. A collaboration between DJ duo Simian Mobile Disco and vocal group Deep Throat Choir, this enigma of an album is guaranteed to be unlike anything you or your headphones have ever encountered before. Using the massive choir’s sound, Murmurations brings a new level spirituality to dance music. The combination of rumbling techno beats with pitch bending vocal stacks creates a magical sense of space and drama throughout each track. Sonically, the album has beautiful mixes, giving the choir vocals a ton of space to spread out across the spectrum while allowing the techno drums and basslines to fill out the bottom area with hard impact and sub-filled rumbling. The album feels like the score of an apocalyptic movie at many points, combining two highly intense forms of music to create a newfound fire. 

Resolution Availability: FLAC on Tidal

Kadhja Bonet – Childqueen

Kadhja Bonet’s timeless, eclectic voice brings about a curious nostalgia. The emotional journey Childqueen takes the listener on brings together the sounds of R&B’s past, present, and future through her complex, colorful lens. Lush harmonies, velvety flute sections, and lofty string arrangements help ease us into the wondrous, mysterious world built by Bonet on this self-produced album. The vintage sounds and styles throughout are the perfect complement to meandering melodies and vaguely space-age touches, giving the listener many layers to explore. If you want something equally gripping in production, performance, and meaning, the poignant, poetic lyrics of Childqueen extend its grip far past its play time. It’s an album that may stick a few catchy melodies and life-lessons in your head, all calling you back to curl up while you’re surrounded by the warmth of Bonet’s comforting voice and dreamy writing. 

Resolution Availability: FLAC on Tidal

JIL – Emotional Heat 4A Cold Generation

An analogue synth lovers dream, JIL brings together the best of metallic, synthetic chords and intimate, organic vocals. An orchestra of 808s, sub-basses, and endless modulation, this album pulls from hip-hop, electronica, and pop, with a few dashes of 80s flavor. JIL’s lead singer holds the only voice fit to take on these monstrous, floor-shaking instrumentals, adding a powerful falsetto and huge vocal range that carries each song to new levels. There’s an electrifying balance of the industrial, abrasive, and tranquil throughout the synth-centric collection. If you want to hear music technology used to its nerdiest lengths while still creating a gripping, meaningful creation, Emotional Heat 4A Cold Generation effortlessly pulls nuance and passion from old circuitry, weaving together an album that shows the ability to find soulfulness in an increasingly technological, impersonal landscape. 

Resolution Availability: FLAC on Tidal

I started a thread here for anyone who’d like to share their current favorite listens and discuss music.

Check out my weekly updated playlist of my favorite music for HiFi listening on Tidal.

The post 5 Otherworldly Albums that Let Your Headphones Transport You appeared first on Major HiFi.

In addition, I’ll be starting some weekly-updated playlists of new releases and discoveries across genres I think are worth checking out and seeing how they translate on your system. It will be linked at the bottom. 

1. Choose Your Weapon – Hiatus Kaiyote

Hiatus Kaiyote has a polarizing sound, their music’s definitely not for everyone. But if it clicks with you, you’ll be hooked from your first listen. With strong roots in funk and jazz, they hop across genres in the blink of an eye, creating a sound that’s on a new level of eclectic. Their lead vocalist, Nai Palm, keeps her vocals raw and up front. She explores countless timbres on each track, sculpting ominous vocal stacks and harmonies. If you’re looking for intimate, high energy vocals, she’s got you covered. Her meandering melodies and inflections will challenge the dynamic range of whatever you’re listening on, as will the production of these otherworldly pieces. You’ll find the instrumentation of every Hiatus Kaiyote song utilizes a wide array of unexpected instruments and techniques, often pairing jazz guitars with screaming synths and blanketing classic keyboards in powerful synthetic percussion. Peaks and valleys are an essential part of the band’s sound, with atmospheric breakdowns on tracks like “Molasses” and “Breathing Underwater” providing lush soundscapes full of textures to explore. All of these complex pieces are masterfully mixed and come through with incredible clarity and body. Even if you don’t love all the writing of these songs, you’ll certainly appreciate their sonic capabilities. 

Resolution Availability: FLAC on Tidal

2. Travelogue – Joni Mitchell

Joni Mitchell is one of the most hailed songwriters of all time as you may well know. While I could write on and on about any of her albums, my most recent fixation has been on Travelogue. This album came out in 2002 and contains 22 orchestral renditions of some of Mitchell’s most praised work, all of them with rerecorded vocals. The contrast of Mitchell’s folky writing style and the huge, cinematic orchestra creates a sense of warmth and tranquility about Travelogue. I’ve found it especially great for exploring the soundstage and imaging of headphones, in addition to seeing how they translate this legendary vocalist. Mitchell projects with a level of power not found in many of these songs’ original recordings, the orchestral reconstructions often calling for added drama. This is one of those albums that never fails you. It feels like it sounds good on even my least favorite headphones, and blows me away when I’m playing it on the best of the best. The mixes on every track are vast and thundering, commanding attention as each song builds and shifts. Whether you’re a long time Joni Mitchell fan or have barely scratched the surface of her discography, Travelogue offers an unforgettable sonic palette. 

Resolution Availability: FLAC and MQA on Tidal 

3. Shabrang – Sevdaliza

Sonically, I could see this album rubbing some audiophiles the wrong way. Sevdaliza, an Iranian-Dutch vocalist and producer, adds an extremely specific impression to every piece of each track. What you may notice first is that the vocals on most of these mixes are bright, and I mean bright. There’s an unnatural level of high end added to many of the vocals on this album, giving them an enchanting, ethereal quality. With the right listening setup, her voice feels silky and often chill-inducing. Experimenting with synthetic ballads often reminiscent of other audiophile-loved artists like FKA Twigs and James Blake, Shabrang has a captivating, distinctively haunting sound. On “Joanna” deep sub bass underlies an eerie violin melody, creating a pleasant, captivating sharpness. On “All Rivers at Once,” Sevdaliza departs a bit from her primarily electronic sound into a more rock-influenced piece, while still keeping with her signature sound over rolling drum fills and destructed guitar plucks. On “Darkest Hour,” a somber piano ballad evolves into a dark techno-inspired groove carried by an expertly tailored analogue sound. I always put on a track or two from Shabrang when I want to see how well a pair of headphones can transport me, as this album truly creates a world of its own. 

Resolution availability: FlAC on Tidal and FLAC, AAC, Ogg Vorbis, ALAC, WAV, AIFF on Bandcamp

4. Shelter Island Heights – Scott James

This album is probably the least known on this list. Scott James is a relatively illusive artist, you won’t find much on him no matter how deep you dig. And his mysterious sound matches this description. He often reminds me of a modern day Nick Drake , with the combination of folk influence and more cinematic elements like string sections. This EP is full of hard-hitting drums, engulfing synths, and glistening guitars. It takes advantage of James’ powerful falsetto and ponderous writing. There’s a beautiful melancholy laced into Shelter Island Heights and presented through the lens of each song’s clean, rich production. You’ll find a lot of peculiar instrumentation and layering going on, with an idyllic harp cascading over the pumping rhythm of “Ropes” and a soaring string section carrying “Belvedere” only to give way to a synth pad filled breakdown. What makes this album such a satisfying listen is how thoughtful the composition and production is. It feels like each individual stem is constructed and mixed with extreme refinement and tightness in order to hit your auditory pleasure centers. It’s both relaxing and riveting; one of those albums you want to see translated as beautifully as possible on your headphones. To truly capture the scope of its divine instrumentation and James’ breathtaking voice is no easy task, but if your headphones manage to do it, it’s blissful. Shelter Island Heights feels like a well-kept secret: so vast and enigmatic you’d expect it to be known all over, but you’ll seldom meet anyone who’s heard it. 

Resolution Availability: FLAC on Tidal

5. Blood – Kelsey Lu

Long time collaborator of artists like Solange and Blood Orange, Kelsey Lu already had an impressive resume before she released her first full length solo album. Blood is packed full of emotional performances and impressive arrangements. Lu is a classically trained cellist, writing, performing, and recording meticulous string sections for many of her songs. Reminiscent of anomalistic artists like Kate Bush and Björk, we get many powerful, theatrical pieces from Lu throughout the album’s diverse sound. Blood ranges from alternative to pop to disco, all given a unique spin. You’ll find this album has a beautiful midrange due to Lu’s resonant voice and vibrant cello arrangements. Generous amounts of reverb give a misty air to each track. On the title track, you’ll be taken through unexpected chord changes and unique vocal runs. In “Poor Fake,” a highly-polished disco sound takes the album on a quick hiatus from its darker foundation, coming across like a modernized, sophisticated take on old dance floor classics. I’m not going to lie, this album isn’t mixed perfectly. There are numerous parts I always wish were tweaked a bit differently or cleaned up a bit more, but somehow I always come back to it when listening to new headphones or amps. The recordings on this albums retain so much beauty even through their imperfections, managing to thrive on most headphones I’ve used. 

Resolution Availability: FLAC on Tidal

I started a thread here for anyone who’d like to share their current favorite listens and discuss music.

Check out my weekly updated playlist of my favorite music for HiFi listening on Tidal.

The post 5 Albums For Bringing Out Your Headphones’ Full Potential appeared first on Major HiFi.

The problem is that not every reviewer relies on the same vocabulary to describe the sound of headphones. While one reviewer might talk about “transient response” or “speed,” another might talk about “note weight” or “development.” While one reviewer calls a headphone “hard,” another might call it “shouty.” While one calls a headphone “fast,” another might call it “bright.”

For those new to the world of audiophilia, I’ve written this absurdly long tome of an article as a primer to the way we talk about sound. However, those who’ve been around the block may also want to check out the later parts of the guide to see what I personally mean when I use certain words.

Measurements

Already the novice audiophile runs into an issue when they’re expected to understand the numerous graphs, charts, and squiggly lines that are put forward by many headphone review websites (but not MajorHifi – we’re working on it, though!). If you already know what all these measurements are, feel free to skip this section.

Sometimes, though, I’ll refer to measurements from other websites like InnerFidelity, DIY-Audio-Heaven, or crinacle’s in-ear fidelity.

Frequency response

A frequency response graph, like the one pictured above (taken from the Sennheiser HD800S review on DIY-Audio-Heaven), is a chart where the horizontal axis represents pitch, in Hertz, and the vertical axis represents volume, in decibels. We look at these graphs because no headphone is truly flat when it comes to frequency response – each headphone plays some pitches louder than others. And a headphone’s sound depends quite a bit on what its frequency response graph looks like.

A good deal of this article will be talking about how boosts at certain frequencies and cuts at others affect sound – and all of this is visible on a frequency response graph.

Other graphs

Besides the frequency response, we also look at things like impulse response, step response, and CSD plots. An impulse response basically displays what a headphone does in response to an extremely short blip of white noise, while a step response takes the integral of that, which demonstrates additional properties of a driver.

CSD stands for Cumulative Spectral Decay, and it is a three-dimensional plot. You can see one above, also taken from the DIY-Audio-Heaven HD800S review. The first two axes are essentially the same as in a frequency response graph; the third is time. When a headphone plays sound, its driver, being a physical object that carries momentum, can’t stop instanteneously, and in fact every driver stops at a different rate depending on pitch. A CSD displays how fast a headphone driver stops playing sound at each frequency.

When a headphone has a particularly long decay at a certain pitch, we call it “ringing” – and sometimes that ringing is audible, while sometimes it isn’t. But when I say a headphone has “ringing,” it means that a particular pitch overstays its welcome, muddying the sound.

Sine sweeps

Since I lack the tools to make my own frequency response graphs, I instead use a sine sweep. This is an easy way to test your own headphones at home for frequency response.

Most pitches that you hear played by instruments have overtones. They produce both a fundamental pitch (the note that you hear) and a number of pitches above that fundamental that influence the timbre of the sound. A sine wave, on the other hand, is just the principle pitch with no overtones, making it the best way to analyze the sound of a headphone.

Using a sine-tone generator, like this free one online, I move the slider up and down to check which frequencies are louder. This gives me a lot of information about how a headphone sounds, usually enough to review it. However, it’s not completely objective, as it depends on the structure of my ear.

Compensations and targets

You might think that an ideal headphone would be one with a completely flat frequency response, and that anything else is unrealistic. Unfortunately, it’s not quite that simple. Speakers are quite easy to measure – just put a microphone in a room, and if a speaker is flat, it has an accurate tonal balance.

Headphones, on the other hand, are harder to measure, and those difficulties with measurement present headphone manufacturers with a challenge. In fact, it turns out that a headphone that sounds “flat” actually doesn’t measure flat. For one thing, you have to have a significant boost at 3kHz to truly sound flat.

But also, scientists have created a number of different targets, each with its own claim to neutrality. The diffuse-field curve, for example, is the frequency response measured by a dummy head placed in a “diffuse field” – a room where sound comes equally from all directions.

And I could keep going with more targets and more about equalization, but there are other places you can read about this. I may write my own article on the subject one of these days.

Distortion

In a perfect recreation of an audio signal, every pitch will be recreated exactly as it is found in the original recording. But since drivers are imperfect objects that have weight and momentum, an exact rendering is unfortunately physically impossible. Distortion describes imperfections in the sound that exist beyond the frequency response.

I’ve already explained the concept of overtones, and distortion has a lot to do with that. Essentially, distortion is the addition of overtones beyond what’s in the original recording. Usually, it’s not severe enough to be audible beyond a sort of harshness or grating quality to the sound. However, occasionally, distortion can be audible, especially in the bass frequencies (more on that later).

Pictured above is a distortion graph for the HD800S. The red line represents the amount present of the 2nd harmonic; the other colors represent the rest of the harmonics. As you can see, the distortion levels of the HD800S are very low, generally below 0.2% – hence the HD800S’s reputation as an outstandingly resolving headphone.

The Listening Process

One of the greatest drawbacks of being a reviewer is the need to listen to the same tracks for every new headphone that you test. Every reviewer is familiar with the fatigue of listening to one of your favorite albums, over and over again, until it becomes almost unbearable. But that’s the thing: to know what a headphone sounds like, you need to listen to music that you know well.

Luckily for me, I have eclectic tastes, so my tracks cover a range different sounds and sensibilities. There’s:

• Joni Mitchell’s Refuge of the Roads for vocals and jangly guitars
• Led Zeppelin’s When the Levee Breaks and The Field’s Leave It for dynamic power
• Nico Niquo’s Timeless for soundstage
• Burial’s Ghost Hardware for bass extension
• Tim Hecker’s Counter Attack for bass cleanliness / Dungeoneering for midrange cleanliness
• Melt-Banana’s Schemes of the Tails for overall cleanliness and speed
• Eric Wubbels’s Katachi for natural timbre and clarity

There’s quite a few more, but those are some of the more specialized tracks on my playlist, and I’m always sure to hit those at some point during my review. Most headphones aren’t able to play all of these tracks equally well: one can tell quite a bit from which tracks a pair struggles on.

Bass

Subbass

The subbass comprises the very lowest of the low frequencies. These are the “rumble” frequencies, the frequencies that create the gut-punch effect of a good kick drum, and the slam of dubstep basslines. Subbass generally refers to the very lowest frequencies (down to 20Hz or below) to about 60Hz.

When talking about subbass, reviewers will often mention the “subbass extension” of a headphone. Essentially, many headphones (some types more than others) have what we call “roll-off,” which is a decrease in volume and clarity towards the bottom of the audio spectrum. A rolled-off headphone will sound less authoritative in the bass, and may render some bass frequencies inaudible, making them suboptimal for bass-heavy genres like EDM and pop.

In the subbass, I also frequently refer to “slam.” This is much less easily measurable than extension. To me, it refers to the sense of dynamics and speed of attack for sounds in the bass region. A headphone that really “slams” or “thumps” will provide an impression of moving a lot of air, very quickly, against my eardrum.

It’s important to note that some headphones with relatively quiet or even rolled-off bass can still slam, as long as they’re fast in the bass, and with low distortion. For example, the Focal Utopia is not the bassiest headphone, and has some roll-off – but when it comes to slam, it has it.

Midbass

From 60Hz to about 250Hz we have the “midbass,” the frequency range in which most acoustic or “real-world” bass frequencies are found. (Although not all – for reference, the lowest note that’s playable on a double bass is about 41 Hz.) This is a frequency range that’s often responsible for lending a headphone a sound of heft, weight, or body.

Many consumer-oriented headphones, like those from Beats and Bose, have a pronounced midbass region, producing a weighty, “fun” sound. This can leave some audiophile headphones sounding thin or dry in comparison, even when they’re completely neutral. When the midbass is overly pronounced, we often call it a “midbass hump,” because it looks on a FR graph like a big hump centered somewhere in the midbass.

The downside to a pronounced midbass is that it can obscure clarity. In addition, many lower-end drivers feature significant distortion in the midbass, which can allow it to “bleed” into the midrange (remember, distortion adds overtones, which can extend upward into the midrange). In this case, we call it “midbass bleed.”

Midrange

Lower midrange

For my purposes, I’ll call the region from about 250Hz to about 750 Hz the “lower midrange.” Never mind the fact that the upper end of this range isn’t actually that low – this is where most of the fundamental frequencies of instruments are going to be found. So this is the region that lends “body” to the sound.

Instruments with a pronounced lower midrange will sound warm, thick, or intimate. An overly-large emphasis on the lower midrange can make a headphone sound cloying, lacking in clarity, or dull. And a headphone with a recessed lower midrange can sound thin or lifeless.

In general, it’s really important to get this frequency band right – and significant boost or cut in this area will be audible, since instruments actually play notes that fall within it.

Mid-to-upper midrange

The upper midrange technically consists of anything above 2kHz, up to about 4kHz, or maybe slightly above. This might be the single most important area in determing the “timbre” of a headphone, so pay close attention.

The upper midrange, especially around 3-4kHz, is sometimes known as the “presence.” A boost or peak here will make instruments sound clearer, closer, and more, well, present. But headphone manufacturers walk a fine line here because this region can also sound very harsh and unpleasant when the levels get too high.

One phenomenon that we like to talk about in audio is “shout.” Shoutiness refers to a boost in the upper midrange that makes things sound unpleasant and…well, shouty, as if the headphones are yelling into your ear.

So you might think the safe thing to do in the upper midrange is to pull it back, and this is true, to an extent. Many consumer-tuned headphones do pull back the upper midrange – the Bowers & Wilkins PX5 that I recently reviewed is a good example. But this often results in a headphone that sounds boring, laid-back, and unengaging.

However, a cut at 3-4kHz combined with a boost at around 2-2.5kHz can create a very interesting effect. While the recession at 3-4kHz does take away presence and make instruments sound more distant, the slightly lower boost can achieve the clarity of the missing higher frequencies, allowing for a wider soundstage. The K701 from AKG is an example of a headphone that uses this trick to its advantage.

If there’s one thing to take away from this section, when it comes to the upper midrange…too much, it’s shouty and unpleasant; too little, it’s unclear and unengaging.

Treble

Most of the pitched content happens in the bass and the mids; once one gets to the treble region, starting around 4-5kHz and extending upward to the ceiling of human hearing (about 20kHz, slightly lower for most people), it becomes difficult, if not impossible, to pick out individual notes. Instead, the treble is reserved for unpitched sounds like cymbals, environmental noises, and the grain of the human voice, among others.

But that’s not to say that treble isn’t important. Bad treble can truly ruin a headphone.

It’s almost impossible to create a headphone with no peaks or dips in the treble response – even headphones that sell for thousands of dollars still have an emphasis on some frequencies over others.

One of the terms we reviewers will commonly refer to when describing treble response is “sibilance.” Sibilance refers to certain consonants, like “s,” “z,” and “sh,” that are produced without activating the vocal chords, and result in a higher-pitched burst of noise. In headphones with especially bright, jagged, or distorted treble response, these sounds can come across as piercing or fatiguing. So we call headphones that emphasize these sounds “sibilant.”

On the other hand, headphones with a subdued treble response, especially in the lower treble (say, around 6kHz), can sound flat, dull, or unrealistic. I will often refer to these headphones as “dark.” That’s not to say that a dark sound is always a bad thing – I consider the Audeze LCD-2 a “dark headphone,” and it’s unquestionably a great product. But I personally do prefer things on the brighter side.

Texture

Speed

You’ll probably see people referring to headphones as “fast” fairly frequently, and you might wonder what that means. While some reviewers (notably Tyll from InnerFidelity) use it differently, most people are referring to the ability to transition quickly and seamlessly between different sounds.

Headphones operate by using magnets to make their drivers move, producing sound. But these drivers have mass, and therefore momentum, so they won’t move perfectly in accordance with the incoming signal – they’ll lag behind, or they’ll bend and distort. “Speed” essentially refers to how far behind the signal the driver lags.

Of course, a slow headphone won’t actually sound slow, per se. Instead, textures get confused and blended together, especially in fast-paced, complex music. Ringing causes individual sounds to bleed into the next. So a slow headphone, like the old AKG K400 that I still use occasionally, will play slow music beautifully but won’t bring any clarity or separation to more complex, dynamic passages.

Detail

Speed has quite a bit to do with detail, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. Indeed, it’s possible for a headphone to be quite fast while still losing out on some detail. Detail also has quite a bit to do with the frequency response of a pair of headphones.

I still haven’t completely “cracked the code” on what aspects of the frequency response makes a headphone “detailed-sounding,” but headphones with forward treble tend to emphasize detail like tape hiss, and a slight boost somewhere in the upper midrange (especially around 2kHz) tends to help out. It’s also possible for a headphone to be detailed in one region, but lacking in detail in another – again this has to do with both speed and frequency response. For example, I could say a headphone is “lacking in mid-treble detail” because of either a dip in frequency response, a ringing edge or grain at a certain frequency, or both.

Soundstage

The first headphone I ever fell in love with was the Sennheiser HD558. After a lifetime of listening to music on tiny, on-ear noise-cancelling headphones, the HD558 was a revelation – and a big part of that revelation was my experience of the 558’s wide, expansive soundstage (at least, in comparison with my previous headphones). It’s true that headphones will never sound like speakers; they’ll also never replicate how sounds happen “in real life.” But to me, they have a captivating way of presenting sounds – they have a way of creating a private little world.

Since soundstage is mostly a psychoacoustic phenomenon, I personally consider it faintly ridiculous when viewers talk about how a certain thing is “4 inches tall” on one headphone, or “7 inches tall” on another. But it does seem possible, when listening to two headphones side-by-side, to determine things like imaging precision, and the depth, width, and height of the image.

No, you’ll never catch me using precise measurements to describe the dimensions of a soundstage. But I’ll still say things like “wider than it is high,” or “uncanny,” or “grandiose.” (And for your reference, the two kings of staging as I’ve heard it are the Sennheiser HD800 and the Final D8000 Pro.)

In Conclusion

If you’re just reading this article for fun, I hope you’ve enjoyed it. If you followed a link from a review, I hope this article has helped you understand all the crazy jargon that I use from time to time.

However, I hope to continue revising this article as I gain more and more experience with writing reviews. After all, the act of listening is a dynamic, ever-changing thing, and one never hears the same thing the exact same way twice.

If anything has been unclear, please leave a comment so I can update it – I would very much appreciate it! And thank you for reading MajorHifi.

The post How Headphones Sound (to me) appeared first on Major HiFi.

Positive Vibration XL Review

If you’re looking for a pair of environmentally-conscious headphones, look no further than the House of Marley. There a handful of other companies that use sustainably-sourced wood, but none as large or as comprehensive as the House of Marley.

You can visit the ‘Materials‘ page on their website to see the full scope, which includes bamboo, recycled plastics, recycled fiber, FSC certified wood, and more.

House of Marley is also partnered with One Tree Planted, a non-profit dedicated to global reforestation. Tree planting is one of the single best actions we can take to sequester carbon out of the atmosphere and mitigate the harmful effects of human-induced climate change. I strongly urge you visit their website, and read the book Kiss the Ground by Josh Tickell to educate yourself further.

Design

Even if you don’t care about where the materials came from, they make for a good looking pair of headphones. A $100 price tag typically guarantees cheap plastic, but the Positive XL is mostly fabric and brushed aluminum. The wood stamped Marley logo provides the finishing touch.

The headphones have a healthy weight, but remain incredibly comfortable on the head. They aren’t as snug as some other models, which means your ears have room to breath but outside noise also has room to enter. But I’d bet the durability of the Positive XL against its plastic counterparts any day.

Control buttons reside on the right earcup, and the box includes a cloth-threaded 3.5mm wire wrapped in twine. The headphones quick-charge by USB-C, and have a 24 hour battery life.

Functionality

The control panel rests on the back of the right earpiece, in a perfect spot for easy reach. The center button controls play/pause and power on/off, and the two volume buttons can also skip tracks when held down. Double tapping the center button activates the voice control. The scheme is easy to use and easy to remember.

Sound

Compared to other models at a similar price range, the Positive XL has a mellower sound with a more natural midrange.

Both the Sennheiser HD 4.40BT and the Sony WH-CH500 have more bass than the Positive XL, so bass fiends should look elsewhere. The Positive XL doesn’t sound thin, but the bass is much more relaxed and out-of-the-way than the other options.

The midrange is where the Positive XL really shines. Good instrument separation, and a totally natural sound. The midrange on the Sonys and Sennheisers sounded unnaturally altered by comparison; likely a result of the bass boost. It should come as no surprise that older and more intricate styles of music (like reggae) sound great on the Positive XL. But if you listen to modern pop or hip-hop, you may want a more boosted sound.

When switching to wired usage, the sound actually became less engaging. Music seems less vivid, and the soundstage more narrow. Wireless is definitely the way to go for the Positive XL. The wire does include a microphone, so you can still take phone calls if the headphone dies.

Conclusion

The strongest selling points on the Positive Vibration XL to me are the materials and the aesthetic. They look far more stylish than any other headphone in the pricepoint, and are probably more responsibly-sourced than any other headphone on the market, period.

I like the sound profile, but it will not be everybody’s cup of tea. The average consumer is looking for bass and volume, and the Positive XL is light in both respects. But fans of jazz, classical, vintage rock or reggae will feel right at home.

Pros- Sustainably sourced materials, great aesthetic, natural midrange.

Cons- Sound may be too relaxed for some tastes, little sound isolation.

Pick one up at the House of Marley.

MajorHifi may receive commission from retail offers. 

The post House of Marley Positive Vibration XL Review appeared first on Major HiFi.

Priced at an affordable $129, the ZEN is a desktop USB DAC/amp meant for home use. Both simple and versatile, the ZEN features a bypass switch for the volume control, single-ended and balanced cable connections, which allows for a multitude of uses in your audio chain.

DAC Specs

Utilizing a Burr-Brown DAC chip and XMOS chip for input processing, the ZEN supports hi-res PCM, ‘bit perfect’ DSD and MQA. So fans of ‘Masters’ quality streaming on Tidal should fret not! And extra picky users can even download different versions of iFi’s firmware to tweak the digital filters if they feel so inclined.

Analog Specs

The ZEN’s analog stage features C0G capacitors from TDK and a power supply IC from Texas instruments, chosen for high performance in audio applications. And if your headphones usually need some extra gain to drive them, the PowerMatch button will match the gain to their load level when engaged.

Also featured on the front panel is the analog TrueBass Boost, an evolution iFi’s well-known XBass circuit. For cans that just need that extra punch.

I/O

• Pentaconn 4.4mm Balanced (Front and Back)
• Single-Ended 6.3mm Headphone
• Single-Ended RCA (Left and Right)
• USB 3 (USB 2 Compatible)

So whether you’re hooking up in-ear monitors, headphones, an external preamp or active speakers, iFi can help you zen out.

Grab one at Audio46

The post iFi ZEN DAC Released- Be At One With Your Music appeared first on Major HiFi.

MajorHiFi Music Monday: BINX

BINX stopped to chat with MajorHiFi about her new single “Shockwaves” and last album “BUZZED.”

MajorHiFi: When and how did you come to choose your moniker BINX?
BINX: It was a nick name given to me by my brother while growing up. It means ‘Spirited’ because people always tell me I have a unique energy about me.

MH: What headphones do you use when recording? Traveling?
BINX:I use Apple Headphones just to listen to music on my phone. Recording headphones vary since I use different producers!

MH: When did you know you wanted to pursue music as a career?
BINX:I have always known! Since the first time I sang ‘Ruby Tuesday’ by The Rolling Stones when I was 2. I never stopped picking up a microphone.

MH: You’ve got an interesting sound, how do you describe it and how did you come to define it?
BINX:Thank you! It’s Burlesque Pop and Glam Rock with African Influences. It’s a mix of where I’m from and where I’m going.

MH: What inspires your sound? And your lyrics?
BINX:The Sun and whenever I discover a new artist I love, I write a new catalogue of music in the vein of theirs and my own sound. Therefore my music is like giving birth to different types of artists and genres.

My lyrics endure a lot more thought than the melody which comes naturally and quickly. I like to incorporate hidden messages and be as poetic as possible. My dad always says I’m like Bob Dylan because I make use of so many words!

MH: Are there any artists in particular that influence or inspire you now?
BINX:Everyone inspires me in some way. Brigitte Bardot is one of my biggest icons and we have similar styles/looks. Christina Aguilera’s vocal abilities. Beyonce for being good at basically everything. I love artists who push boundaries and embrace their quirkiest traits.

MH: Who is your favorite artist and why?
BINX:Too many! The Rolling Stones for their longevity of passion and energy and their branding. David Bowie for his Alter Ego and theatrics. Lana Del Rey for her lyrics. Britney Spears as a pop/dancer performer. [Lady] Gaga for her fashion sense shock value. Blink 182 is my favorite Pop Punk Band of all time.

MH: What was the creative process behind your album “Buzzed” and latest single “Shockwaves?”
BINX:“Buzzed” is an extremely emotional album because the music came shortly after I experienced the worst thing anyone could go through, loss. After almost losing myself completely, the album artwork depicts me standing with a bottle pouring myself back into my art and creativity. As I almost gave music up. The album talks of grieving, romantic heart break, falling in love and friendship. It’s a roller coaster of emotions.

“Shock Waves” is about Digi Dating in a modern world.

MH: You also have a fascination with bees, tell us more about this? When did it start? Why? How does your love of bees influence your brand?
BINX:I was stung three (which is my lucky number) times in one foot when I was younger. When I was ten I wanted to brand and market myself like The Rolling Stones so I decided to use a bee as my logo because I was ten at the time. I started dressing in black and yellow striped bikinis in and around the open mic scene in New York in order to stand out from the crowds of talent and it morphed into my own on stage alter ego known as, “The African Bee.”

Bees fascinate me because they are so small, yet their role in our world is immense. Therefore I decided to donate a percentage of my physical albums sales of my album, ‘Buzzed’ to help save the bees with Environment New York.

Also, Bumblebees defy the laws of physics. They shouldn’t be able to fly but they do. They inspire me to be and do whatever I deem possible.

MH: You also have a blog on your site highlighting other women, tell us more about this. When did you start? Why?
BINX:I started my “Shine A Light” [named after the Rolling Stones’song] blog in 2018. It highlights both men and women who are chasing after their dreams. Motivational speaking is a passion of mine and I wanted to give back in another way to encourage other people to do more of what they love and I also wanted to shine a light on other people who deserve to be recognized for the courage and dedication.

MH: You’ve recently accomplished so much (US Open, The New York Marathon, Webster Hall, Soho House, The South African Traditional Music Awards), how did you come to achieve some of these amazing opportunities?
BINX:Thank you! Those were some amazing performances. This year I was lucky enough to perform at the NAMM/Grammy Showcase party in Los Angeles and I recently performed a stadium show for ten thousand people in South Africa.

It all comes from consistent persistence, networking, the right place at the right time and not understanding the word, “No.”

MH: What is currently in the works for you? New single, album, tour, etc.?
BINX:Right now I am focusing on shows and growing my following after releasing my latest single, “Shock Waves.” I am scheduled to perform at UCLA’s Prom in June and The Peppermint Club at the end of June.

MH: What is your career trajectory and what else is in the works for you?
BINX:To continue to perform in front of larger crowds, tour internationally and release new music as often as possible and inspire as many people as possible while living my own dream! I want the people around me who I love so much to never feel like they are working another day in their lives. <3

Check out BINX’s website and blog at Binxofficial.com.

The post MajorHiFi Music Monday: BINX appeared first on Major HiFi.

MajorHiFi Music Monday Spotlight Playlist

Topaz Jones – Rap (New Age Funk)

The young lyricist out of New Jersey delivers thoughtful lyrics over the funkiest of beats. Influenced by his dad who was a funk musician and grandmother who formed a Motown group with her siblings, Jones’ music is brazen with funky overtones and laced with hints of ne-yo soul while his voice is all his own – smooth, distinct, and a little pithy. As of April 7th, Jones released a double-sided “tape” if you will with new singles “Cotton Fields” and “For The Better.” Taking to Facebook he wrote, “Cotton Fields & For The Better out now everywhere! 3rd and final installment of A Side/B Side. hope y’all dig it.”

Verite – Alt-Pop

New York’s very own alt-pop artists Verite is constantly lighting up the stage. Her effortless ability to sweep through low to high octaves over pulsing synths and dynamic treble makes for fun and easy listening (as well as singing along). With lyrics about love lost and growing into her own, Verite’s latest album “Somewhere In Between” showcases a darker and more mature artist. I’m here for it and you’ll probably be too. As are some of the top DJs, like R3hab, who remixed “Trouble” for a dancier vibe. Take a listen to her single “Phase Me Out” before she pops up at Billboard Hot 100 Festival this August.

Animal Years – Country

Looking for the fun-lovin’ toe-tapping country music that borders rock and pop somehow? Think The Lumineers and Sam Hunt. Well, Animal Years delivers just that. Their head-bobbing acoustic melodies paired with the sweet cries of the lead singer Mike McFadden make for perfect radio hits about nostalgia. This hipster band make tracks that either tug on your heart strings or make you want to dance in circles… or do both. Check out their track “Caroline” and let us know what reaction you have down below.

OWEL – Alt-Rock

A blend of soft (almost hushed) vocals from front-man Jay Sakong over alt-rock melodies, haunting keys, and moody synthesizers make for a unique and alluring listening experience with OWEL. The now four-part band delivers pained lyrics over a moody alt-rock indie vibe in their latest track “Too Young To Fall In Love.” The group is currently on tour in the midwest. If you won’t have a chance to see them live, definitely allow them to give you all the feels in the music video for TYTFIL below.

The post MajorHiFi Music Monday Spotlight Playlist appeared first on Major HiFi.

I’ve been a loyal Spotify subscriber for a few years now. But I’ve also listened to high resolution files, and they sounded fantastic. Being an audiophile, I naturally want the best sound I can get. Enter Tidal. A streaming service, much like Spotify, that provides FLAC files with its premium subscription. What the hell, I can dish out $20 a month if it means uncompromised sound. So, with excitement, I signed up for a trial subscription and listened to a song. It sounded great. But just out of interest, I decided to compare it to the same song on Spotify. Hmm. Maybe I heard a difference, but I wasn’t sure. So, I compared another song and got the same result; was I hearing a difference, or was my brain playing tricks on me? After a few obsessive comparisons, I came to the conclusion that I could hear very little difference, if any, between the two files. Can You Hear The Difference Between Spotify And High-Res? Well, there’s a test you can take to give you a definitive answer.

I should preface this article by saying that the headphones I used were my Westone W40’s. Not the best headphones on the market, but certainly an expensive, high quality model that relatively few people would be willing to dish out money for. I also wasn’t using a DAC. Still, was I losing my hearing? I’m a musician, and I review headphones for a living, so this was a terrifying possibility. I went online to see if other audiophiles had this problem. Sure enough, I found a bunch of musicians and audio professionals who were dumbfounded by the same discovery. One Googler directed me to an online program designed to test your ability to differentiate between a Spotify 320kbps file and a FLAC. So, I decided to take a short version of the test myself. After two tries, I received the same result; I came up with the correct answer only 54% of the time. The program concluded that I probably couldn’t hear the difference between 320kbps files and FLAC files. What the Freq! 

Utterly destroyed, I sent the test to two other headphone reviewers. One is a sound engineer, and the other a sound designer. Sound is what we do. Both reviewers took the test, and both received around the same result as I did. The sound engineer noted that on certain tracks, she received a 20% success rate, while on others, namely, “Hotel California,” she got a 100% success rate. Still, her overall score across song genres came to about 50%. The sound designer decided to take the test through his studio monitors. He also received the same test result of about 50%. Could this be? Three well trained pairs of ears, for the most part, unable to tell the difference between 320kbps files and a FLAC? I couldn’t believe it. Was it our “cheap” equipment or is there little, if any, discernible difference between a Spotofy file and a high-res file?

The next day, when I got to work, I took out a pair of Beyerdyamic 1990 Pro’s, arguably the most well-balanced and accurate headphones, specifically designed for critical listening and used by the world’s leading mixers and audio professionals. I also pulled out a Chord Mojo DAC/AMP, one of the best-selling and highly regarded DAC-AMP combos out there. Mustering up some courage, I hooked up all the equipment, which all together adds up to a value of almost 12 hundred bucks. I decided to try out the lengthiest version of the same test, which requires you to listen to 5 songs, 20 times per song. Here are my results:

Flesh & Bone by The Killers -50% correct

The Wilhelm Scream by James Blake – 50% correct

Give Life Back to Music by Daft Punk – 40% correct

Hotel California by The Eagles – 45% correct

Long Time Gone by Dixie Chicks – 75% correct

My total average score was 52%. I was sure I got the Dixie Chicks right because I thought I could hear more clarity in the guitars. Certainly, my highest score came from that song, but still, I only had it right 75% of the time.

Recent studies have been exploring whether expectation can have an effect on sound quality. The Hearing Review published an article on this topic, interviewing a scientist who was investigating this very phenomenon. Computational neuroscientist, Dr Emili Balaguer-Ballester stated that “Almost 80% of connections between central and pre-cortical areas during sound processing seem to be top-down, from the brain to the auditory peripheral system and not bottom-up, which is perhaps unexpected,” said Balaguer-Ballester. “As sound comes from an external stimulus, it would be fair to assume that most of our processing occurs from what we hear, but that is apparently not the case. What your brain expects to hear can be as important as the sound itself.” Are our ears telling us what we hear? Or is it our brains?

There’s a common term in psychology called, “the power of suggestion.” If someone or something suggests a certain outcome, your expectations of that outcome have an effect on the occurrence. If you’re listening to a high resolution file, naturally, you’re expecting it to sound better.

Maybe not all high resolution files are created equal. I have yet to compare a lossless compression FLAC file to a WAV file, for example. And I And I’m not saying that you, personally, cannot hear the difference between a FLAC and a 320kbps file. Perhaps you have unusually fantastic hearing. And if that’s the case, of course you would opt for a high resolution file over a Spotify subscription. So would I. But if you’re not part of that 1% with superhuman ears, you may want to take this test before investing a ton in high resolution files. It would be nice to confirm that your mind isn’t playing tricks on your ears: Take The Lossless File Sound Test  

The post Can You Hear The Difference Between Spotify and High-Res? appeared first on Major HiFi.

MajorHiFi Music Monday: Audiobox

Audiobox started with Colegrove and Flair who’ve been jamming together for over a decade. Around 2009, Colegrove decided to pick up guitar and vocals, subsequently forming Audiobox. Over the past 11 years, the band has evolved with a revolving door of around five different drummers before establishing the current stellar line-up of Matt Colegrove on vocals and guitar, Joe Flair on bass and vocals, Jason Maurer on drums and percussion, and Keith Randall on guitar and vocals.

As of lately, the four-part rock outfit is working on a follow-up album to their 2013 collection “Nothing to Write Home About.” Speaking on the project to come, Flair told MajorHiFi the new album showcases their range and a new and “exciting” sound from the band. “There are happier pop sounding tunes, others that are kick-you-in-the-teeth heavy, and every thing else in between!” he said, before adding, “I’m hoping that this new album leaves our listeners wanting more, and being as excited as we are about the new Audiobox sound.”

Audiobox’s Joe Flair took a moment to chat with MajorHiFi about their latest single and live performances.

MajorHiFi: What headphones does the band use when recording? Traveling?
Audiobox: We actually just started our own studio within the last year. We have a couple different kinds… though, I’d like to get a set of cohesive phones. Currently, we have an older pair of Bose, a pair of Sony’s, but I am particular to my Audio Technica ATH-M20X headphones for in the studio! When traveling we usually just talk each other’s ears off to stay awake on the road, haha.

MH: When did you each of you know you wanted to pursue music as a career?
Audiobox: Matt Colegrove decided he wanted to do music when he saw Petra at the Bloomsburg Fair when he was 10 years old. Joe Reichenbach (Flair) grew up in a household where his father was always in rock bands and had music ingrained into his life at a very young age. Picked up the bass and guitar at 12. One of Keith Randall’s first memories was climbing up on a drumset at one of his father’s gigs, he started taking lessons that year. He switched to guitar at 15 and has played ever since. Jason Maurer has been making noise and experimenting with instruments since he was a toddler.

MH: How did the band meet?
Audiobox: Matt and Joe have played in bands together for about 11 years now. Matt played drums in those older bands and after the last group fell apart, he decided to take up the guitar and vocals forming Audiobox… around 2009. After a few drummers that didn’t work out (5, if I can remember correctly), Joe ran into a friend who he hadn’t seen in a long time, Jason Maurer back in late 2011, and asked him to come jam and see what types of things we were doing. Almost instantly we were a functioning band again, and within a few weeks were back to playing full 3 hour gigs. The band was established as a power trio and played as such for about 6 years. More recently, we decided to add a fourth member, to play lead guitar. Last year we decided on our man, and pursued Keith Randall who is well known in our locale as a talented solo act and guitarist for other groups. He’s been finding his place in our sound, and things have really been sounding great with the current lineup!

MH: You are all influenced by so many artists? What artists are some of the band’s favorites and why?
Audiobox: There are very few bands we can ALL agree on, but one that we all seem to really enjoy is CLUTCH. Matt’s favorite and most influential artists are The Smashing Pumpkins, Prince, Michael Jackson, and Audio Adrenaline. For me), it’s Alter Bridge, Soundgarden, Royal Blood, Victor Wooten, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Keith says he has far too many influences to list and Maurer’s musical influences are anything that doesn’t make him hit the mute button.

MH: You’ve got an interesting sound, how do you describe it and how did you come to define it?
Audiobox: Thank you! We all come from very different musical backgrounds which gives us a very different approach to how we write music. We all listen to a wide variety of stuff but, stylistically, Matt has a lot of pop and 90’s alternative rock influence. Joe learned bass in a jazz-funk setting and also prefers a lot of harder rock. Maurer comes from a strong punk-rock background and has his own very unique taste in music, and Keith is more from a bluesy genre of music, also with very eclectic tastes.

MH: What inspires your sound?
Audiobox: I think a lot of it comes from what we are all currently listening to, but I think we really are good at inspiring each other. One of us will generally come with a song idea.. whether it’s a riff or a chord progression, and we will agree or disagree whether it’s something we want to continue working on. From there we kind of bend and shape it with our own eclectic styles and come out with a finished product that is purely Audiobox.

MH: Are there any artists in particular that influence or inspire you all now?
Audiobox: We’re all constantly inspired by many different artists/ genres of music. Just about every time we’re all together, we can’t go without someone saying “Hey have you heard of this band, album, song, new style of music…?” and if it’s something we’re interested in, we check it out… I think everything we listen to and enjoy plays a little part in what inspires us.

MH: You’re releasing a new album soon, what is the creative process behind it? What are some of the themes? What do you hope resonates with listeners? When will it be released?
Audiobox: We are definitely the type of band that has our music written before we go to the studio. Our first album ‘Nothing to Write Home About’ was written in its entirety before we ever started recording. I explained a little bit of the writing process earlier where someone (usually Matt) will come to us with an idea, and we will jam on it and create a song, each by adding their own individual, but cohesive, taste to it. The recording process has been lengthy. Somewhere in the realm of 12 simultaneously recorded drum tracks… tons of microphones on each guitar amp that we record. It really gives us a huge sound when we polish it up. Maurer just heard the recent progress with rhythm guitar and bass added on it for the first time, and all he could respond with was how big and full of a sound we are getting. It’s all being done in our own studio this time – which is challenging, but totally worth it, because we have full control on what it sounds like.

Matt writes a lot from things he’s experienced in his life and whatever is on his mind at the time. We have songs like “Sound Off” which is all about standing up for what you believe in… Other ones like ‘Damn’ which is about taking his wife and his Jeep out in the woods for some off-roading fun… “Collide” is an imaginative story about a man who’s lost the one he loves. If I recall “Break me Down” was originally written for a friend of Matt’s who is an MMA fighter. There are happier pop sounding tunes, others that are kick-you-in-the-teeth heavy, and every thing else in between! I’m hoping that this new album leaves our listeners wanting more, and being as excited as we are about the new Audiobox sound. We are shooting for a summertime release, we have a big original music event that we are putting on in August that would be a good time… if we can wait that long!

MH: I hear the band’s live performances are very entertaining, tell me what is it like to see you all live?
Audiobox: If you’re going to come watch our band, expect a party and to be entertained. We don’t show up to be background music. We like to get our crowds involved by making them sing with us, picking on members of the crowd, being personable with our fans, and dragging them up on stage with us to dance and sing!! We’ve even been known to buy out the shot tray and distribute it to people who want to have fun!

MH: What is your career trajectory and what else is in the works for you?
Audiobox: Getting this album recorded is top priority right now. We’re still working Keith into the band at this point, and things are going well! I think we’re all excited to see what new doors this album can open for us. As always, we never stop looking for new places to play, so we will continue playing shows and broadening our fan-base. Keith has been instrumental in a lot of the things we have been doing. A new website (www.audioboxmusic.net), constantly making us killer show posters, and initializing this big event we have coming up in August. I’m sure once we get through the summer, we will begin writing again, and continue gigging… it’s a vicious cycle.

Audiobox is looking to drop the album in the summer. Until then, if you’re in the northeast, you can check out one of their fun and interactive live performances at this schedule here.

MajorHiFi may receive commission through retail offers.

The post MajorHiFi Music Monday: Audiobox appeared first on Major HiFi.