“Amazon has since updated the web client to work with iOS devices. While it isn’t quite as nice as an actual app, it provides nearly all of the functionality that you could ask for. Even the multitasking music controls work flawlessly. Sound quality is said to be “great,” and the only part of it that is a little buggy seems to be the scrubbing capability.”

However, it seems to me that more people now have a view that music is just something to play in the car, at a dinner party and in a lift. Music no longer seems to be something to cherish and study, but merely a collection of notes designed to fill the silence.

Music was a continual subject of discussion up to about 10 years ago; we all knew who was number one in the charts, we all knew the major artists of the day and we all had our favourites who we would defend against criticism from others. I talk to young people today and they don’t do any of that; most that I speak to barely know who is in the charts and they don’t really care.

At some point in time music became an industry that is one among many rather than the predominant art form that everyone from 8 years old to 80 enjoyed. It disappeared from the TV, it disappeared from our consciousness and even disappeared from physical media with MP3 becoming the main form of delivery.

Music will always be important, but even I (the ultimate music snob) am starting to lose track of new releases from my favourite artists. I was shocked to see that Ween and They Might Be Giants had released albums I knew nothing about and this is an even bigger problem. The more obscure artists will find it much harder to be heard over the industry pushed Lady GaGa’s and we could end up with a complete lack of creativity and originality in the music world in comparison to what we have been used to.

The avenues open to new musicians are now so limited that it’s effectively iTunes or bust. And getting noticed on iTunes is akin to winning the lottery.

Even stranger is the volume of products that are on sale at discounted prices and in particular CDs and DVDs which are approaching iTunes levels which is of course a good thing. Technology also seems to be highly discounted and I came across a pair of Urban Guerilla headfunk headphones for £6 (previously £25). I admit that I wasn’t expecting much from a pair this cheap, but decided to pick them up as an impulse buy anyway. They came in a big box, which is usually enough to make me buy something, and I dropped in a bag and forgot about them for a couple of days.

When I remembered that I had bought them I took them out of the flimsy box and admired my purchase- it would be physically impossible to make them look and feel any more flimsy than they are. They are designed to look cool, but with no efforts made to include quality materials in any area. Not a good start. They remind me of the kind of headphones you get given on an airplane and all of a sudden £6 felt like an enormous amount of money when I considered the product in front of me.

Anyway, I gingerly put them over my head with more than a slight concern that they would snap and plugged them into my iPhone. I pressed play and waited for the airplane experience, but didn’t get one. What I got was a sound quality that is much deeper and more encompassing than the default iPhone headphones. What I got was a feeling of exceptional comfort that just felt right on my larger than average head. They work quite well and are a definite improvement over Apple’s stock effort which is something I did not expect at all.

The fact that they are over ear rather than in-ear will help to reproduce a more rounded sound, but I still didn’t expect the quality that came through. I am sure that the audiophiles among you will be scoffing at my saying anything positive about such a lowly set of headphones, but they really are not too bad and you even get an extension cable should you wish to plug them into a stereo system that is 10 feet away…

Should you buy them headphones for £6? Of course. Even if your delicate ears are too sensitive to cope with the sound, they are still an improvement over any bundled headphones I have tried in the past.

From Windows Phone Thoughts- “Okay, clearly we’ve all jumped the gun and read far too much into the article our friends at Bloomberg posted yesterday. Zune is NOT dead and is clearly alive and well, according to Dave Mclauchlan, Senior Business Development Manager for Zune Hardware. “I’ve had tweets, emails, PMs and phone calls. People offering condolences, checking in on me, etc… etc… Stop, stop, stop!” stated Mr. McLauchlan in a post earlier today. Sorry Zune, we didn’t mean to communicate your time-of-death prior to your heart actually being stopped. Really, we didn’t.”

iTunes, Amazon MP3 store and the rest: As we move away from CDs and start to want the instant gratification that these online stores offer it is difficult to see how the CD has a long term future. Pricing is one aspect and to this day I still see some CD’s in HMV priced at ridiculous levels.

Torrents: These sites are potentially damaging for music sales as well as films and many other physical media forms and it seems as though they are growing all of the time.

Online shopping: This was brought home to me last week when I went to my local post office to pick up a parcel I had missed. As I waited in the queue I noticed all of the boxes neatly arranged on shelves behind the counter and was surprised to see that over half of them bore the familiar Amazon logo and packaging. It was astonishing just how many had been sent by Amazon and brought home to me just how much lost business this image represented to the shops in the town centre, not 100 yards away.

If HMV was to disappear from the high street, this would leave a gaping hole because all of a sudden the outlets for CDs and DVDs reduces to virtually nothing. I live in a fairly large town with a huge shopping centre (that would be a mall to some of you) which sells almost everything you can imagine. The old curiosities remain such as why O2, T-Mobile, Vodafone, Carphone Warehouse, 3 and Phones4U choose to situate themselves all together and why the jewellery shops do the same thing, but despite a selection of hundreds of shops only HMV sells CDs and DVDs in a number worth thinking about. WH Smiths makes a tame effort with music, but only if you like easy listening and Jazz (shudder!) and it prices the CDs accordingly which is very high indeed.

If HMV went away I would have to go to Amazon, Play or another online retailer to buy a CD or DVD because there would be no other choice. And if this did happen it would drive me deeper into iTunes and Amazon MP3 thus completing the circle and eventually killing off physical media for good.

I am curious though as to if this situation is unique to the UK or if it is happening abroad as well? Feel free to let us all know via your comments.

It really is time you discovered the majestic smoothness of Mr Munch.

Imagine having access to just about any song you want, any time or any place you want it. Find new tracks, buy them, download them and move them around. Amazon MP3 for BlackBerry® smartphones is fun, easy and quick.

So, Apple’s big iTunes announcement turned out to be, as expected, the release of The Beatles back catalogue. Your views so far have been mixed and here is a selection-

Alloafan- “Yep, ’tis the fab Four – but at what price? £10.99 for an album you can get from Amazon (remastered CD) for £7.99. And £17.99 for the White album – it makes no sense at all.”

lazyboy- “Having said that, add in postage and packaging from Amazon, and the difference is nowhere near as great. Instant download and instant availability on all compatible devices are also benefits which cant be ignored. My entire audio and video collection is digital and can be streamed to any room in the house; to get that same convenience with the CD from Amazon, I’d have to rip all the tracks, convert all the videos, and still be left with the album notes and other artwork in a format that can’t be viewed on my computer or TV. Hassle.”

Yes, it is great to see The Beatles reach the digital era, but at £10.99 for each album (in the UK) it is a stupid product all round. I personally have a fully digital music collection, but I won’t buy an MP3 album for more than I can buy the CD. Instant download is an attraction, but we have had over 20 years to buy The Beatles CDs so that point is somewhat mute because most fans will already own the CDs.

It’s not the end of the world because no-one is forcing anyone to buy The Beatles in this format, but to me it seems to highlight one of the problems of the digital music industry, value. It has been a ‘long and winding road’ to get this far and the music is wonderful, but who in their right minds would buy this? It is going to help deliver lots of sales though, CD sales.

It’s easy to be cynical about the show and to call it a sideshow for people who would not have careers in music without it which is somewhat true, but it can be entertaining at times. My children love watching it on a Saturday night and I even found myself enjoying last week’s show. The standard was much higher than had come before although one of the contestants had a sore throat (happens an awful lot:)) and everyone said it was their last chance to do what they wanted to do with their lives. It was all so sad, I almost cried…

Anyway, you can download the X-Factor app if you have a compatible Nokia phone; Nokia 5228, 5230, 5530, C6, 5800, X6, N97 or N97 mini which gives you the latest news on what (has been carefully constructed to make things seem more interesting) has been happening.

If you want to purchase the performances from each Saturday night (for 99p each) you can do so, via iTunes. These tracks will obviously only be playable on ‘i’ devices.

So, if you have a particular Nokia phone you can download an app and if you have an Apple device you can download the songs. If you have a BlackBerry or Android smartphone you are completely out of luck and even with compatible phones you can only get half the experience. This is a good example of how difficult it is to cover the smartphone market these days because to produce an app for all platforms would be expensive and time consuming. I guess the songs could be offered on Amazon so that they are compatible with all devices, but does that have the kudos of iTunes which the X-Factor people are obviously looking for?

Either way, those who seriously like X-Factor are offered a fragmented experience which ultimately pleases no-one. Personally I don’t really care because I am highly unlikely to buy any of it, but for those that do care it doesn’t quite work.

Back to my iDevices. Both my headphones produced the best quality sound I had ever heard from them. That got me thinking and I started to explore the options. I bought  Sennheiser CX-400ii, Sony MDR-XB700 and a pair of Denon AH-C751. The specification is critical with portable devices. Let me explain. The ohm’s. 16 ohms are better than 32 ohms. The lower the level the easier the phone will be able to drive the headphones. But too low with blow the circuitry. 16 ohms is recommended as the lowest level. There are many headphones over 32 ohms. Avoid these. Then there is the sound pressure level. Don’t buy anything under 104db as again the lower the number the harder your phone will find driving your headphones. Anything over 110db is going to sound special, as the music will sound more musical, possess more energy and come to life. The last spec to note is the frequency response. Typically 20-20,000hz. The first number is how low (bass) and the last number is how high up the frequency. More on this later. Now lets look at each of the headphones.

Sennheiser CX-400ii

Available from – Various websites.

Price – Orginally £55, now as low as £20.

Product Features

High-end dynamic speaker systems with Neodymium magnets tuned for a natural sound reproduction
Superior fit in the ear canals offering highest attenuation of ambient noise (extended ear adapter set included)
Integrated volume control
Various accessories included: cable clip cable winder and carrying pouch
Optimised for MP3 iPod iPhone CD players and portable gaming systems
Noise isolating ear-canal phones with integrated volume control
Optimised for MP3 iPod iPhone CD players and portable gaming systems
Superior fit in the ear canals offering highest attenuation of ambient noise (extended ear adapter set included)
Various accessories included: cable clip cable winder and carrying pouch
2-year warranty

Technical Details

Frequency response-17-22,000 Hz
Impedance-16 Ohm
Sound pressure level-114dB (1 kHz/1 Vrms)
Connector-3.5mm gold plug-angled
Cable length-1.2m symmetrical

If you look at the specification, you will notice a high figure for Sound pressure level, only 16 ohms and a reasonable response range.

The first thing  I noticed about these headphones is how light they are. Great comfort and producing a good all round sound. They did sound coarse at first but after 20 hours burn in (left music playing through them for 20 hours) the sound warmed up. Also the headphones come with a very large number of buds and a custom fitting option and pouch too. A good budget option and a great upgrade from the included headphones. Next up.

Denon AH-C751

Available from – various

Price – Reduced from £150 to £90 at some stores.

Product Features

Highly rigid machined aluminium housing
Equal cable lengths are used for left and right channels to maximize sound quality.
Canal-type inner ear headphones reduce ambient noise
Tangle-resistant cable
Gold-plated stereo mini jack.
High-end in-ear canal earphone
Acoustic Optimiser sound pressure adjustment
Noise Isolating design
Tangle free cord
Aluminium body

Technical Details

Cord: 1.3m total (0.5m length plus 0.8m extension)
Driver Unit: 11mm Neodymium Magnet
Frequency Response: 12Hz-24KHz
Impedance: 16 ohms
Manufacturer Warranty: 2 Year
Max Input Level: 250mW
Sensitivity: 104dB/mW
Weight: 6.6g

If you examine the specs on these headphones, you will note that the frequency range is wider than the Sennheisers. The bass drops down to a staggering 12 Hz. These are real bad boys ear canals for bass. For some it might be too much, but I found it wonderful to hear the full spectrum range. At first play these really sound rubbish. But after burning in for 2 days, they suddenly changed into the most amazing set of headphones. Really dynamic and great at every type of music. I did find the weight uncomfortable again and the cord being in two sections somewhat annoying. However, later on I found a cure for the comfort using Comply T-400 Foam buds. More later. The build quality is top notch. A massive improvement over anything I have ever heard or used. Very precise with a deep soundstage.

Step 2 – Change the rubber buds to Comply Foam Buds

Available – Various places

Price -  £13 approx for 3 pairs.

Product Features

Soft “Memory” Foam shapes to your ear canal for a personalized fit – Thirty times softer than other types of foam tips
Wipeable for better hygiene and longer useful product life
Passive noise reduction filters out unwanted background noise
Soft comfort-Unique breathable memory foam is activated by body heat and becomes ultra soft, reducing irritation and fatigue
Stay-in-ear fit-expands to fill the ear canal completely, dramatically increasing retention and providing a secure in-ear fit for today’s active lifestyles
Enhanced audio performance-comply foam creates an optimal seal, funneling pure sound into the ear canal, enhancing the listening experience
Noise isolation-by sealing the ear canal, music can be enjoyed without raising the volume level to compensate for external noise

Technical Details

Compatible with: Apple Premium in-ear headphones, Altec Lansing Backbeat Series (Classic, Plus, Pro), Audio-Technica ATH Series (ANC3, CK1,, CK7, CK32, CK52, CKM50), Auvio 33-236, 33-237, 33-268, 33-271, 33-286, 33-289, Creative EP-630, EP-830, Denon AH Series (C252, c351, C452, C551, C700, C710, NC600), Grado GR8, Jaybired Endorphin Rush, Tiger Eyes, Kicker EB 71/71M, EB 101/101M, EB 141, Koss KEB24/KEB79, Memorex EB200A/EB300A, Monster Turbine/Turbine Pro, Panasonic RP-HJE300/RP-HC30, Philips SHE Series (8500, 9500, 9501, 9600, 9700, 9800) SHES8000, Plantronics Voyager 855, Radius Atomic Bass, Sennheiser CX95, CX300, CX400, CX500, IE6, IE7, IE8, MM50, Skullcandy Titan, Full Metal Jacket, INK’D, Smokin Buds, Riot, Holua, Asym, Striker, Sony MDR Series (AS40EX, EX32, EX51LP, EX55LP, EX71SLA, EX75, EX81LP, EX85LP, EX90LP, NC11, NC22) TDK EB900, Ultimate Ears Metro.Fi Series (100, 150. 170, 200), Super.Fi Series (4/4vi, 5/5vi), V-Moda Vibe, Vibe II, Vibe-duo, Bass freq, sport series, 2XL Bunny, Nuevo Sonido, Snake Eyes, Wrecking Ball (for complete listing:complyfoam.com)

Changing the rubber buds to foam made a large difference to comfort. Now I suffered no discomfort even for long periods. Bass was tighter too. When using for the first time they do feel a little odd. Also bear in mind you will not hear a damm thing once fitted. Only your music. So be careful if crossing roads !.

I tried these on the Sennheiser CX-400 and my old Sony EX-91. The sound and noise isolation was improved with them all. One other factor is that they do not last as long as rubber. Also with these fitted, I was able to halve the volume on the iPhone as all noise was isolated, thus protecting my ears from damage.

Sony MDR-XB700

Product Features

XXXL 50mm XB driver unit
Ultra thick pressure-relieving king-size urethane earpad cushions
360kJ/m3 high power neodymium magnet delivers powerful clear mid-range sounds
Tightly sealed acoustic design
Durable and lightweight 1.2m flat cord

Technical Details

Dynamic Type
Closed Type
Capacity (W) 3
Driver unit (mm) 50
Diaphragm PET
Frequency (Hz) 3 – 28,000
Sensitivity (dB/mW) 106
Magnet Neodymium (360kJ/m³)
Impedance (Ohm) 24

Warning. Look at the specification carefully. Not 32 ohm but 24 ohm so easier to drive, but not as easy as a 16 ohm headphone, but still excellent for a full size headphone. Sensitivity is good too at 106db. But the frequency range is monstrous. Bass drops to a numbing 3hz and the top end reaches up to 28,000. These produce bass at levels I have never heard. They are massive too. Huge pads that are very comfortable. The cord is short at 1.2m so only meant for portable devices, but it is a flat cord that doesn’t tangle. Neat. You also get a large black bag to store away from dust. In use they produce a sound as dramatic and wonderful for every type of music. Jazz, R&B, rock, classical all come alive. The build quality is excellent. Comparing these to the Denon’s, the Sony have much deeper bass but the Denon are tighter and more precise.

Improving the Sound Quality Step 3 – Use a LOD + Headphone Amp

Now you if you have an iPod, iPad or iPhone you can dramatically improve the sound quality with the use of a LOD (line out dock) and a Headphone amp. If you have an iPad you can do something even more spectacular. More on that in step 3.  If you look at the bottom of your iDevice you will see the dock connector. This emits a higher quality sound line out than the headphone socket.  There are many LODs and Headphone Amps that cost hundreds of pounds. However, bearing in mind the cost of the headphones, I believe there has to be some balance in cost. One company I have found that makes great affordable LODs and Amps is Fiio.

Fiio LOD L1 and Fiio Headphone Amp E5 – Total cost £20 approx

The Fiio E5 headphone amp is the size of the old iPod shuffle. It has a clip system in the rear to attach to your clothing. It includes a slide on/off bass boost button, on/off, volume up and down, headphone output and input and a mini usb charge connector. It come with 2 lengths of headphone connection cables. Plug one end from the headphone socket of your iDevice and the other end into the input connector of the E5. Then plug your headphones in and turn on. With all 3 headphones reviewed there was a remarkable difference, but most noticeable with the Sennheiser CX400ii. It was if I had a different set of cans. However, using the output of the iDevice is not the best solution. With the L1 cable shown above, this connects into the iDevice connector and then into the E5. The volume is now controlled from the E5. Your iDevice volume keys will not function. Once again there is a leap in sound. Run time is 20 hours. Sadly with the iPhone 4 there was electromagnetic feedback occasionally if the 2 gadgets were too close. In Airplane mode this was not a problem. I found that the Sony MDR XB-700 showed the least benefit of this headphone amp. Just think for a total outlay of £20 you can transform the sound that you listen too. And have the world’s smallest headphone amp.

However, there is a much better option.

Fiio LOD L3 and Fiio E7 Headphone Amp – Total cost £66 approx

The Fiio LOD L3 is made from PCOCC-A. This is a High Quality Signal Cable HPC – 22W  supplied by OYAIDE.  The cable is a newly-produced HPC-22W cable which has the ultrafine PCOCC-A conductors (80μ for a unit) for its high transmission property and usability. Rather than twisting whole wires, twenty of 0.08mm wires are unified in a unit and the three units are grouped as a conductor which is geometrically-stable. Herewith, it insures uniformity of wire structure, infilling of internal space and preventing deformation among the wires. Furthermore, its diameter is 0.3sq (AWG22) which is three times bigger than a regular cable. It provides you sharp attack and hi-speed response of the sound. For the insulator of HPC-22W, 0.18mm thick PFA (Teflon) is employed for its outstanding electric characteristic and lossless transmitting capability. PCOCC copper is a material that includes very few impurities and insures very low levels of signal disturbance. Because of its low incidence of grain boundaries, the signal passes without impediment or distortion. Heating and cooling the PCOCC wire under controlled circumstances yields a densely re-crystallized, highly pure structure called a μ conductor. The resulting product with a mirror finish applied is called PCOCC-A copper. This highly advanced product is made possible by the combined application of high technology and traditional Japanese craftsmanship.

FiiO E7 portable headphone amplifier with USB audio decoder (DAC). This product is designed to replace PC onboard soundcard that do not have enough output power for higher-end headphone. With USB audio decoding, amplification and audio output, the FiiO E7 can serve as both a professional headphone amplifier as well as an external USB soundcard.

Main Features

●USB audio decoding and output for PC, functioning as a high quality external USB soundcard*;

●Texas Instruments’ PCM2706 serves as USB receiver. For better sound quality, a Wolfson WM8740 serves as digital-to-analog convertor (DAC), pairing with a high performance operational amplifier from ADI for the DAC circuit;

●Build-in headphone amplifier utilizing AD8692 and Texas Instruments’ TPA6130A as pre- and power-amp for high performance, good resolution, low distortion, and powerful output;

●Standard 3.5mm stereo line-in jack for portable amplification with conventional audio source;

●Dual 3.5mm headphone output jack. Convenient design makes it easy to share music between two listeners;

●World’s first portable headphone amplifier with dual colors OLED display;

●Easy to use digital volume control function with great precision and channel balance;

●Build-in EQ for 3 levels of Bass Boost;

●Build-in rechargeable 1050 mAH Li-ion battery for 80 hours of continuous operation

●Quality anodized aluminum satin finish case design, small and compact, ideal to be wrapped together with digital audio player;

●User selectable USB charging function to help prolong battery lifespan and lower distortion from power supply circuit;

●User definable startup volume memory and maximum volume limiter to protect user from hearing damage due to loud volume;

●Automatic keylock feature;

●User definable sleep timer function and total runtime display

Specs

●Output Power:
150mW (16Ω); 16mW (300Ω)
●Headphone Impedance Range:
16 Ω ~ 300 Ω
●Signal to Noise Ratio:
≥95dB (A weighted) on line-in;
≥100dB (A weighted) on USB-in
●Distortion:
<0.009% (10mW)on line-in;
<0.008% (10mW) on USB-in
●Frequency Range:
10Hz ~ 1000KHz
●Power Supply:
Internal 1050mAH rechargeable Li-ion battery
●Recharging:
USB 5V DC 400mA
●Size:
96mm x 55mm x 15.5mm
●Weight:
100g

So what does all the specs actually mean. Well this amp can drive headphones that are over 32 ohms, actually 300 ohm headphones. It has 2 headphone sockets so you can have a friend listen at the same time. It has volume control stepped in 60 steps. 3 levels of bass boost. It can also plug into the usb port of your pc, and sound will play out into this amp. And with the L3 LOD cable the quality of sound is simply superb. Vocals, rock, opera anything just sound brilliant. The quality is so good, bass boost if off for all 3 headphones. My music is ripped now at 320 kbps too gain the full benefit of this setup. The other advantage of the E7 over the E5 is an 80 hour runtime, much better quality and use via the USB to PC option,  2 headphone sockets and no electromagnetic interference.  I have been listening to everything from opera, jazz, pop , rock, classical, instrumental. I even plugged it into my laptop and the sound was massively better than using the laptops own headphone socket.

The E7 comes with a host of accessories. A velvet pouch. A silicone case. A usb lead to charge it and connect to a pc. A Fiio band to link iphone and E7 together. And a headphone lead.

And remember, a headphone amp connected via a Line Out Dock, disconnects the iPod/iPhone/iPad volume keys. You must use the amps own volume keys.

To give you some idea of size of the E7 and E5, see photo below.

Now some magic – if you have an iPad – Step 4

So far using the LOD and Amps simply bypass the iDevices headphone amp circuits. But with the iPad using the E7 amp it is possible to bypass the iPads headphone amp and DAC electronics (Digital to Analogue). How, the the SD card reader and a usb lead that is supplied with the E7.  Connect as shown below and be prepared to be blown away. Soundstaging is on a new level. I am now able to hear stuff in the music now never heard before. Everything is just so much better. My iPad is now my reference audio machine with all my music on it too provides me with hours of listening pleasure.

Summary

On  budget, get the Sennheiser CX-400ii with the Fiio L1 and E5 setup.  Then upgrade. The Fiio E7 is worth every penny. For comfort use Comply buds.

By Gavin Fabiani-Laymond

But, like most others, I would certainly recommend trashing the earbuds that come with your phone! They are universally 3rd rate, and if you care about your music at all, you deserve better buds or cans. I’m not real keen on earbuds because they never stay in my ears and they let too much sound escape. My favourites are definitely IEMs like my IE-40′s, but the danger in these is that they block out all sound, so you definitely don’t want to use them while engaging in activities that require your attention – like driving or walking! Also, because they go directly into the ear canal, you need to ratchet the volume back quite a bit to avoid hearing damage.

BUT for the ultimate in listening experience, IEMs are the way to go when used sensibly and safely. They literally fill your head with sound and you hear all the nuances (and flaws) of your recorded music. The best IEMs are expensive – my IE-40s cost $400 when I bought them (although I believe both they and the UE Triple Fi Pros, of which the IE-40′s are a clone, are a bit cheaper now), but you needn’t spend this much. You can get decent IEMs for about $100 (sorry about using $s but I’m American and don’t know what the equivalent in Pounds is).

Second best, in my opinion, are open cans like my Senns and Grados. The Grados cost $60 and equal the sound of cans that cost double or even triple that amount. The sonic clarity of these phones is absolutely astounding. They do lack on the low end in “thump” and if you’re a basshead, don’t even consider them. The low end is there, it’s just not inflated by any stretch of the imagination. The Grados are also HUGE and, frankly, ugly. But the sound is divine. On the other hand, the Senns cost me $110 (and I think they’re cheaper now, as well) and they’re lightweight and quite attractive. They almost equal the Grados in sonic clarity, but have much more of a low end presence, although again, not inflated. I prefer the Grados particular for classical, orchestral and acoustic music because of their clarity and they don’t distort at all. The Senns I prefer for their superior comfort and better low end, although they don’t match the Grados in the high end for clarity. The Senns tend to be a bit too sibilant and bright on the high end for my ears.

It’s hard to describe the clarity and “aroundness” that open cans bring to music, but I find the soundstage of open cans to be fantastic. Downside – everyone around you gets to enjoy your music with you! There is no real isolation with these cans and they’re best used in quiet environments where you won’t disturb anyone!

Phones are a bit of a challenge for finding good ear/headphones because of the way we use them and the fact that they are go everywhere devices. Personally I think that anyone that owns a smartphone and cares about his/ear music quality should have two sets of cans: one for home/stationary environments and one for out and about. Spend your best money on your home cans. Consider IEMs or earphones (but not earbuds) for your out and about cans. There are many good brands and both categories, and no matter what you spend, you’re almost certain to find something better than the ones that came with your phone!

Donald

The iPhone 4 may be one of the very met portable music player ever, but when it comes to getting the best value mobile music it seems that iTunes is not the best place to go.

I randomly chose the following albums / collections at Amazon and iTunes and came up with the following UK prices. The fact that you can download from Amazon straight to your iTunes library takes the hassle away as well.

The Epic Masters (Shakin Stevens)  Amazon £27.99  iTunes £34.99
Aphrodite (Kylie Minogue) Amazon £7.00  iTunes £7.99
Set The Night On Fire (The Doors) Amazon £43.49  iTunes £44.99
Perception (The Doors) Amazon £37.99  iTunes £39.99
Recovery (Eminem) Amazon £5.00  iTunes £7.99
The Fame Monster (Lady GaGa) Amazon £5.79  iTunes £8.99

And yes, I really did search for a Shakin Stevens collection…

Spotify has introduced a new ‘ Unlimited’ plan for just 5 Euros per month.

“A few weeks back we released the next generation of Spotify and today we’re excited to offer you even more ways to get the most out of Spotify with the introduction of Spotify Open and Spotify Unlimited.

So if you’ve got friends who haven’t managed to get an invite but have been dying to get on Spotify, let them know about Spotify Open.”

“At the ripe age of 28, Jon Zimmer is sort of an old fogey. That is, he is obsessive about the sound quality of his music.

The last decade has brought an explosion in dazzling technological advances — including enhancements in surround sound, high definition television and 3-D — that have transformed the fan’s experience. There are improvements in the quality of media everywhere — except in music…”