The surge of rapper and celebrity headphones over the past five years or so has been annoying in the extreme to me. All the glam and glitter has been an enormous distraction from what the actual purpose of a headphone should be: to sound good. We're not going to be able to go backwards though, the fashionistas have raised the bar and a big, black, plastic blob on your head isn't going to cut it anymore. I just wish some company out there would be mature enough to make a headphone with tastefully balanced sound and sophisticated good looks.

With its new Momentum headphone, Sennheiser, it seems to me, is the adult in the room.

The inside of a great designer's head must be a very unusual place. On the one hand, the world is filled with clumsy, ugly, ill-formed objects. On the other, it's rife with opportunity for utility and beauty. The cacophony of internal dialog must be almost unbearable. Renowned designer Philippe Starck has turned his attention to untangling the mess that is Bluetooth headsets, and in collaboration with Parrot (a French company with significant experience in automotive Bluetooth devices) has developed the most unique wireless headset I've ever seen.

Boy, do I love it when a manufacturer builds a great product and then sticks with it. I've been listening to, and recommending the Denon AH-D2000, AH-D5000, and AH-D7000 headphones for years. I welcomed the chance to get some fresh samples of these fine cans from Denon, and I was double happy to find they've gotten even better over the years.

Even better? Yes! It does appear they've made some improvements over time. Let's have a look...

With about 27% of the population over age 50, and roughly 30% of all headphone purchases influenced by celebrity endorsement, I can understand why Koss turned away from the heavy competition for the younger generation's wallet and focussed their attention on the baby boomers with the introduction of their Tony Bennett headphones. Personally I prefer Tony Bennett to Dr. Dre, Ludacris, and 50 Cent, but I'm not sure the geriatric headphone buyers are really part of the 30% of purchasers who are influenced by celebrity endorsement.

Let's see how they sound.

Today, I start a journey into the wisdom of pop-culture ... oy vey. In the last few years of economic upheaval and outright disaster, the headphone market has flourished ... blossomed even ... it's the fastest growing product type in consumer audio. Why?

Damned rappers!

I can't tell you what a treat it is to measure and listen to the unusual headphones I get from enthusiasts. This time, rythmdevils from Head-Fi has sent in a couple of vintage AKG cans.

He's also a photographer, and has kindly allowed me to use his sweet pix of these two cans for the article. Very nice! Thanks!

I watch the Audio Technica high-end headphone line like a hawk. They're mostly far too bright for me, but they're so cool looking that I keep trying each time AT comes out with a new one because one of these days they'll make one I like, and I'm gonna jump on it when they do.

Now up to bat: the ATH-W1000x "Grandioso."

(Crosses fingers.)