Audio

I’ve been on a long quest for the perfect true wireless bluetooth sports earbuds to replace my aging Jaybird X3s. By perfect, I mean: a. Cheap, but no so much so they sound terrible. More than $60 but less than $100. b. Bluetooth 5.0. c. Decent to good sound for the gym. d. Comfortable. e. Sweat proof. I knew from the beginning that it wasn’t an easy list to fulfill. I searched online and in audio stores for days, if not weeks, and after much trial and error, I think I found just what I was looking for: The Havit G1. ...

Quarks rating explanation here. Hardware Design Rating: 8.5/10 The DT 770 Studio are aimed at audio professionals and, as their name implies, they definitely belong in a music studio: mate black all over, thick and long cables, 6.35 mm audio plug (which can be unscrewed to reveal a 3.5 mm plug), metal frame band and big rugged plastic ear cups. They are the perfect combination of industrial and functional design. ...

Quarks rating explanation here. Hardware Design Rating: 8.5/10 It seems like every aspect of these headphones has been carefully thought out, with no superfluous lines or flashy colors. Beyerdynamic was able to make a pair of headphones that not only looks good, but that also feels good (and sounds even better, but more on that later). They represent the perfect combination of elegance, quality and industrial design. ...

Quarks rating explanation here. Hardware Design Rating: 7.5/10 The DT240 Pro do not deviate from Beyerdynamic’s sober and tasteful design. I would have liked to see more modern lines or glossy/metallic accents, but it’s obvious Beyerdynamic is aiming for the pro community with this release. The headphones are very comfortable. Also, being so lightweight makes you forget you have them on. At first, I thought they were on ear headphones, but they are actually over the ear, as they wrap your ears completely when wearing them. Although I didn’t have any problems, I can see people with larger ears feeling the cups’ cushioned area rubbing against the outer ears (much like on ear headphones). ...

Quarks rating explanation here. Hardware Design Rating: 9.5/10 True to Sennheiser’s core principles, the PXC-550’s are minimalistic and elegant. A matte finish and some chrome and silver accents on the cups add to the refined look. There are only three buttons: 2 sliders for controlling the NoiseGard level and bluetooth connection and one push button to circle through sound effects (more on that later). Buttons are discretely placed on the edge of the cups. All but the bluetooth connection slider are fairly easy to reach, even while wearing the headphones. One important feature is that there is no On/Off switch. The headphones are automatically turned on by rotating the earcups and putting them in the hearing position. Thus, they turn off automatically when collapsed. This is achieved through a couple of electric contacts in the earcups’ pivotal section (see below). ...