The top audiophile earbuds market is an extremely competitive market that often uses performance specifications as a selling point. If you are a audiophile, you may be one of the many people trying to buy the best earbuds, but these are often highly competitive in prices. A few people, like myself, like to make this a process, by purchasing some very hard to find earbuds and simply make it their lifestyle.
1. Sennheiser Momentum Earbuds
As an audiophile, I will say that Sennheiser are in a class of their own. These are seriously expensive earbuds with a ton of high end features. There is a reason why they have made a ridiculous amount of noise in the audiophile world. These are just killer earbuds for the top end sound. They are wired so you don’t need a separate power cable and are designed for you to hear the highs, mids, lows, and treble. The bass has a very light touch which can work with a lot of music. The construction of these are top notch for top end sound.
The Sennheiser Momentum is one of the most popular model in the audiophile earbud segment. It has a 3.5mm XLR-A cable with a plug-and-play smart mic and impressive sound quality. They are by far the most affordable wireless model on the list, but they are still a very high-end wired earbud. They won’t harm your ears, but are nonetheless a top-notch pair of headphones. The cost is a bit on the higher side, but are well worth it, particularly if you’re looking to be audio-centric. Their overall sound signature has a lot of bass, which I personally like, though it isn’t as active as some others.
Their volume, balance and isolation are the best among any active earbuds I have heard. For most people, if they like the noise canceling, the noise isolation and overall quality of the noise isolation (99.9dB), then they will love them. The only issue I have with them is that their noise isolation is not perfect. If you regularly listen in front of a full house, or if you are driving hard on a highway, it may not be great for you. For those of you with active earbuds, listen to the latest of the Momentum Earbuds.
The sound is full and balanced, with great bass extension and clarity. The body is made of a solid metal alloy, while the cables are ultra-light and can be detached in just a few seconds. You will also love the balanced, accurate mids and highs, along with very good noise isolation.
Sennheiser also makes high-end headphones called the Momentum line that are specifically aimed at the higher end audiophile. The momentum earbuds are powered by a rechargeable lithium ion battery, so you don’t have to worry about running out of juice when you’re listening to music. With their styling and ultra-quicker rechargeable batteries, these earbuds can go from perfect to “love” in just 5 hours. If you’re a singer or a DJ, the unique design of the momentum earbuds make it easy for you to customize your setup.
Moreover, the updated packaging has been repositioned to show the new design. But it’s not just the packaging that’s an improvement. Sennheiser now incorporates the largest size ear tip in its standard line-up. This taping point enhances the exceptional audio quality. The cable itself is made of a single material, ensuring durability and durability that you can count on. These guys have been at the top of the industry for a long time now, and their Momentum Earbuds are no exception. The tonality is also a little off for some audiophiles. On the plus side, this audio is AMAZING, so you needn’t go with the cheap boxes.
The metal baseplate is pretty flimsy and for some reason it came loose, resulting in it falling out of my ear during normal use. The included cables for the earbuds are made of a flexible polymer and the quality is great, but they are also quite cheap. While I don’t think the material is great, it certainly doesn’t seem to be adversely affected by my listening habits. The Momentum Earbuds have a huge sounding bass unit that is centered around the other 2.5 mm input jack. It is one of the most impressive bass drivers I have heard, I mean they are much better than most of the others out there.
Summary
Sennheiser Momentum Earbuds is a pair of earbuds designed specifically for professional use. They are lightweight and sport all the best design features and components, in an effort to get more enjoyment out of what can be a rather expensive gadget. The speakers are controlled by software, allowing them to switch between four virtual speakers in either balanced or unbalanced mode. This design allows the Sennheiser to work with numerous types of material, without having to limit their earbud’s range of motion by means of plastic. It’s an impressive design that makes the Sennheiser brand top choices
2. Bowers & Wilkins C5 Series 2 Earbuds
The Bowers & Wilkins C5 Series 2 Earbuds have a soft cushion polyethylene earpiece with metal mesh ear pads. These earbuds are constructed with soft silicone ear tip, which provides excellent durability and comfort while the earbud is worn. In addition, these earbuds are designed with a 5-ply driver, which can handle lower impedance and shallower bass. One of the most sought after headphones on the market these earbuds also use the best design, comfort, and sound quality in this price range. The very best feature about these is that they have a built-in remote that provides multiple options to control music and phone calls from the buds.
The proprietary memory foam memory channels provide deep bass absorption that reduces wind noise. They offer high-quality sound that covers both bass and treble frequencies – just like a natural, organic sound. The C5 series sports new durable yet flexible ear hooks and adjustable and comfortable headband that prevent snagging, slipping and breakage, as well as a sturdy and energy-efficient base that maintains absolute silence.
The main feature that will make or break your headphones is their noise isolation. Bowers & Wilkins is a huge brand name on audiophile headphones, and Bowers & Wilkins has proven itself to be one of the best brands out there when it comes to headphones for certain genres of music. I love how this headphones is extremely well sealed, which makes it very hard for the sounds to get in the way. Sound isolation is something that is incredibly important in headphones and it’s something that I greatly appreciate when choosing headphones for certain tracks.
Made from genuine materials, the earbuds with eartips are designed with integrated quick release clips on the tips of the ear tips that make the cork tips easily pop off and on for a clean removal. The snug fit is ideal for all-day use. With their large-format silicone tips and grippy rubber flanges for enhanced sound and comfort, these earbuds are excellent for both TV listening and gaming. So if you’re looking for a pair of custom-fit earbuds that are comfortable and waterproof to prevent water damage, give the Bowers & Wilkins C5 Series 2 earbuds a try.
In fact, the Bowers & Wilkins C5 Series 2 Earbuds incorporate Bluetooth 4.2 Low Energy connectivity with dual microphones for excellent calls quality.
Furthermore, Bowers & Wilkins C5 Series 2 Earbuds features Premium Craftsmanship. The C5 Series 2 Earbuds are made from genuine leather and finished with BOTH gold and silver design accents.
Innovative Soundfidelity
When it comes to music, you need to know your gear. That’s why the C5 series borrows a sound design philosophy from a select few of Bowers & Wilkins’ past and present products, namely the older C2 and C4 series. This includes a proprietary engine called Balanced Armature Technology (BAT), which is widely credited for improvements in treble and bass, too. One of the standout things about this particular cabling setup is that you can adjust the capacitance in every earcup individually. You can get your pick from RHA, Etymotic, Alpha Dog, One-Ear, Denon and DUNU. They feature Dolby Atmos processing which enhances the audio quality, and provide the ability to connect two types of amplifiers: a combo amp and sub, or to use two separate amplifiers in a 2-channel configuration. The design features two drivers with individually wrapped cables, making it possible to match up the sound to your personal tastes.
Finally, the C5 Series 2 Earbuds include DTS Headphone:X decoding for an immersive audio experience. While the C5 Series 2 Earbuds are the flagship earbuds on the market, the C5 Series 2 earbuds are priced to compete against the Bowers & Wilkins C7. If you are looking to buy an earbud and headphones that are worthy of high-end equipment, then Bowers & Wilkins are your choice. The earbuds can be used to respond to Siri commands or to play music via Bluetooth to one another.
Summary
The Bowers & Wilkins C5 Series 2 Earbuds are without doubt the best headphones for listening to high-end audiophile sound in an attractive, and stylish manner. Unfortunately, the high-quality sound and great aesthetics may lead to high case-loss rate. The earbuds from Bowers & Wilkins are absolutely worth considering and don’t make any compromises. The C5-series are the perfect balance of quality and price. Compared with the entry level Bowers & Wilkins earbuds, the B&W C5-series are more expensive, but more reliable and a great deal less noisy.
RHA T20i (Black): HiFi Noise Isolating Earbuds
The RHA T20i uses three drivers to make a sound that rivals some of the priciest, high-end soundpieces out there. With four drivers and one subwoofer, the T20i produces an incredibly sound that’s relatively realistic and enjoyable. This is only the latest in a long line of highly acclaimed headphones from RHA, and it’s clear that this is still the company to beat when it comes to high-end headphone-listening experience. The six-lead sports a 19mm external travel tweeter that produces a solid, natural, and pleasing sound with a slight-to-moderate bass boost.
The earbuds are made of composite-resin material and are water-resistant. They weigh just under 3 oz. and will work well in the hot summer months. The T20i has a screw-on cable with a one-button remote control, and can be worn comfortably without restrictions in the winter iced-over climate. The comfortable design is visible and not too stiff, and the sound quality is rich and clear.
What makes the T20i stand out from the rest of the team is the remote-capability. The push-button remote works well and has a strong sense of mission to reach out and touch your ears. It doesn’t hurt to play one of the unit’s pre-loaded songs with a pina colada or coffee. Thanks to the 3300mAh battery, you won’t have to wait more than a few minutes to charge up. The earbuds have a volume button for line level, button to mute, button to show battery level and light to indicate mute.
There is also a headphone jack for use with a wired or Bluetooth headset. In addition to the high-end specs, the RHA T20i also comes with a 99.9% sRGB color accuracy rating , a large 41mm driver, a flatter-than-flat impedance curve, and stunningly good battery life of about 10 hours. On the downside, though, the two-button remote could use some improvements (one thumb control is not as good as two), and the build quality is not as impressive as that of the Airpods.
The headphones are made to block ambient noise -you can listen without disturbing anyone or living room. RHA has put its heart and soul into the headphones with so much effort and sacrifice to make them true audiophile quality. The ear pads are waterproof, sweat-proof, and even deal with cold conditions. The T20i have a noise-isolating 3.5 mm plug. While the T20i has a memory wire-tuned, the plug is still very much on the risk side. On-the-fly headphone parameter adjustments can be made to remove or add sound problems, but only with some experience.
The noise cancelling features are my favourite on these buds as they are very comfortable and work in conjunction with the noise cancelling technology to cancel out noise nicely. Although it is meant to be an audiophile earbud, the speakers are only adequate and the bass is extremely weak. The audio quality at this price-point is not even acceptable.
Since its Microphone isn’t great, don’t rely on voice commands or anything of that nature to listen to music. The microphone itself is great though, and so much that you’ll be quite satisfied with these for some work. Even if your voice commands don’t work all the time, when it does, the mic gets lost, so you can’t always rely on voice commands to talk to Siri to turn on your lights or like Pandora. Still, these are for serious enthusiasts, and if you want voice commands to turn on music and a metronome or stop an alarm, these are better than all the others. Their sound quality is slightly better than average, which is in keeping with all the best-sounding audiophile headphones on the market (not all of them made by RHA).
Also, the RHA T20i isn’t fully waterproof, that means a lot of moisture can damage the inside drivers. For that reason, it isn’t suitable for rainy days, whether you’re outdoors or in an enclosed environment. For that, the company recommends the T20p, a much more suitable model. These are noise-isolating and noise-blocking earbuds. This is one feature that few other brands offer. It’s important to note that this feature does not mean these are completely noise-isolating. It simply means they are designed to block out excessive outside noise while you are listening to music. This is because their construction is so good that the external environment will not be heard at all by the electronics of the earbuds
Summay
Because of its performance in the current Elear firmware, the RHA T20i might be one of the best choices. RHA really deserve the lower score here, because they are the only company offering a headset in this price range with an amplifier and USB connectivity. The T20i is not perfect, but it definitely wins in every other key area. It comes with 5 different ear buds for in-line streaming or the device and has a beautiful, well-crafted overall design.
