More new music is here, mostly from November, a few late October releases that were too good to pass up. I’ve done something a bit different – each album has a short blurb from myself, as well as a genre tag.
Capital AudioFest this year was an interesting bag. I did not expect to find as many new and prototype headphones as I did at such a relatively small show. In that regard the show really lived up to it’s slogan as the ‘Premiere East Coast Audio Show.’
Audio Technica has long been a major headphone manufacturer, though the true high-end, or ‘summit-fi’ of the headphone world has never seemed to look upon them particularly favorably.
SPL’s Phonitor line is unusual in that it is one of only a handful of products that truly positions itself as both a professional tool and a consumer-ready luxury.
CAF this year was awash with vinyl front ends, something which is a little bit unusual for headphone playback. I’ve seen it start to take more prominence in many headphone listeners rigs however, as LPs becomes more popular with audiophiles of the personal audio disposition.
The LTA headphone zone at CAF was full of some of the best headphones on the market, as well as some brand-new and prototype models. Among these were two new headphones from a company called Aurorus Audio.
My first stop upon arriving at Capital Audio Fest was the Headamp booth, for no other reason than it’s proximity. The show sprawls across several levels of levels, and the headphone vendors were likewise spread across various floors, mingling with stereo rooms and the vinyl marketplace.
One thing the Bluetooth and wireless headphone market nowadays isn’t lacking is choice. When I was sent a pair of Focal Stellia’s, my contacts at Focal also offered a pair of the Focal Sphear Wireless for review, and I figured this was a perfect opportunity to see what Focal has done with their more mainstream offerings in recent years.
The Falcon is Noble’s first True Wireless IEM, and has a laundry list of cool design features; dual carbon layer drivers, Bluetooth 5.0, Qualcomm APTx, and TrueWireless stereo plus. The real treat though is the price, which is a very reasonable $156 USD.