At a quick glance, the RHA SA950i on ear headphones look like they want to accomplish everything a headset can possibly do. Priced at $59.99, the headphones qualify as an entry-level model, yet their maker boasts that they deliver professional grade audio quality and superb ergonomics. To top things off, the RHA SA950i come with a pretty sweet three-year warranty.

Founded in 2008, the British audio company Reid Heath Acoustics’ (RHA) team spent three years in product research and development before releasing a product to the market. Based in Glasgow, Scotland, the young company has already established a name for itself by offering affordable, high-quality products and superb customer service – enough to make me plenty curious to put the RHA SA950i headset through its paces. Read more »

The Klipsch Image S4A (II) headset, as its name kindly suggests is the second generation of the manufacturer’s in-ear headphones, designed specifically for use with Android devices. Part of the company’s award-winning Image Series, the headphones aim to deliver good balance between sound quality, ergonomics, and price.

Klipsch products have been among the benchmarks in their field for a good reason – the company is one of the first in the United States to manufacture premium audio speakers. With a product range covering everything from in-ear headphones to professional cinema speakers, and heritage going back to the 1940s, there was plenty to look forward to when I opened the Klipsch Image S4A (II) box. Read more »

The Phiaton Moderna MS 200 are the Korean manufacturer’s top of the line in-ear headphones. Made from exotic materials such as carbon fiber and featuring eye-catching design, the headphones aim to offer enough value for money to sway you away from the offerings of the well-established premium brands.

This not the first time I’m spending quality time with a Phiaton product. A couple of months back, I was impressed by the Phiaton PS 210 BTNC wireless headset. Naturally, given my past experience, I approached the MS 200 with high expectations. Join me to find out if the headset could live up to them. Read more »

The House of Marley Zion headphones are the young company’s flagship in-ear product. Carrying the heritage of the reggae icon Bob Marley, the earbuds combine earth-friendly, yet premium materials, and eye-catching design, to go with serious sound aspirations and ambition to succeed in today’s ultra-competitive market.

The House of Marley isn’t the typical personal audio brand, endorsed by a music artist. The company’s products support 1Love – the charitable organization of Bob Marley’s family which is dedicated to supporting youth, planet and peace. In a nutshell, the company’s products make you feel good about your purchase well before you have connected them to your device of choice. Let’s find out if they are worth your money by taking a closer look at the Zion earbuds. Read more »

There’s hardly any doubt that Marshall audio products have achieved cult status after decades of being the sound equipment of choice for legendary music artists of all genres. The company has also made an entry into the highly lucrative market for audio headphones with the Minor line of earbuds and the Major on-ear collection. Given Marshall’s reputation for quality, I barely hesitated when I got a chance to spend time with a pair of its on-ear creations.

The Marshall Major Pitch Black headphones are fairly affordable for the brand cachet they carry – a lot of major retailers sell them for under $100. Now, let’s find out if they are worth your hard-earned money. Read more »

As an offspring of the Korean manufacturer Cresyn, Phiaton Corporation comes with an extensive heritage in the field of audio headphones. Phiaton products combine premium build quality, modern design, and affordable prices and the PS 210 BTNC in-ear headphones are no exception. The Bluetooth 3.0 headset offers true noise-cancelling capability, which, given its price tag, sounds almost too good to be true.

Frankly, I have shied away from Bluetooth headphones for quite some time now. The last time I sported a pair was back in 2007, when I paired my trusty Sony Ericsson W950 with a Walkman headset. The experience was horrific as the headphones combined high price, poor audio output, and unbearable battery life – enough to keep me away from wireless sound for a good while. With the Phiaton offering looking this good on paper, I decided to give it a try. Read on to find out if the headset is as good as its specs suggest. Read more »

Honestly, I highly doubt that a Martin Logan product would be on your list if you were on the market for premium earbuds. This is understandable as the Mikros 70 is the company’s first pair of those to come to the market. However, Martin Logan’s pedigree of manufacturing high-quality speakers whose price tag can top the MSRP of a family sedan was enough to grab my attention.

Logically, the iOS products compatible Martin Logan Mikros 70 are not entry-level earbuds. Priced at $149.99, the headset sits in one of the most competitive segments on the market, with plenty of well-established players facing it. I am now going to find out if the Mikros 70 has what it takes to get its own piece of the action. Read more »

The first time I experienced a pair of V-Moda headphones was back in 2008 when I enjoyed my time with a pair of the company’s earbuds. At the time, V-Moda headphones were already well known for their blend of premium quality and sound despite the company’s young age.

This time around, I got a chance to spend some quality time with a pair of the V-Moda Crossfade M-80 on-ear headphones. Priced in the $200 range, V-Moda’s premium offering aims to sway potential users away from the well-established Beats Audio Solo, and therefore enough to get me curious. Read more »

JAYS of Sweden brings a rare, but welcome Scandinavian approach to personal audio products. The Stockholm-based company offers headphones which along with being well-made, sport an affordable price.

Quite frankly, my only experience with Scandianavian-flavored headphones has been trying out Bang & Olufsen headphones in a store. The goodies from the Danish company are well known for their quality and design, but also come with hefty price tag. In the case of JAYS of Sweden, I got a chance to try out the a-JAYS One+ and the a-JAYS Four. Both headsets are priced slightly above the $50 range, which was enough to get me curious. Read more »

My first experience with JLab Audio headphones goes a few years back, when I tried a pair of the company’s highly affordable JBuds. Priced at only $9.99, the earbuds certainly did not blow me away with acoustic supremacy. They were however, way too cheap to get any sort of criticism.

Recently, I got a chance to spend some quality time with two of the company’s premium offerings – the JBuds J6M and J.Fi.M Acoustic. Read more »

When I first heard of the recently founded headphone maker Sol Republic, my first thought was if there was any room left on the market for a new supplier of premium headphones. The U.S. market in particular is dominated by Beats Audio – the company with Dr. Dre as its face, followed by several competitors. In a nutshell – it is not the friendliest environment to launch a new product, given the already established competition.

Once I found out more about the newcomer however, its aspirations began to make a lot more sense. Sol Republic (by the way, Sol stands for “soundtrack of life”, not something related to the sun) is founded by Read more »