Headphones are all down to the personal taste of the listener. Completely, in their entireity. Of course, you could say this were true of any piece of hi-fi equipment – but never is it more true than with headphones. One man’s grail is another’s trash. This is why trying before you buy is almost essential when it comes to the act of chosing your cans. Luckily for you, we knew this. We knew this from the start. And so we made sure that a fully funtional plug-in-and-play headphone bar was one of the key features to our newly refurbished showroom.
Therein, you will find a wide range of headphones, from the low to the mid to the high – and a selection of amps (and portable ones too!) for you to use with them. There is also a Spotify ready laptop on standby for you to test out a whole range of tunes. But of course, if you’d prefer to bring a player of some description in with you, we would welcome it.
So, lets get onto the good stuff. The gear! As of today: the 4th of June 2015, what are the main reasons for visiting our lovely headphone bar?
Let’s start with the…
Headphones
The Grados
Straight out of Grado Labs in Brooklyn NY, we are proud to have pretty much the entire upgraded Grado range for you to sample. Why? Because they’re fantastic – that’s why! We are huge Grado fans here at Audio Affair, and here are the reasons why…
SR80E
An upgraded version of Grado’s multiple award winning SR80i headphones, their most popular model ever (for good reason)! The SR80e will produce a sound that is pure Grado, with warm harmonic colors, rich full bodied vocals, excellent dynamics, and an ultra-smooth top end. Light and comfortable, the SR80e are ideal for even the longest of listening sessions!
SR125E
The upgraded version of the Grado SR125i headphones, designed to offer a better sound than the Grado SR80e at a lower price than the Grado SR225e.
SR225e
The latest version of the highly regarded Grado SR225i headphones, offering better sound than the Grado SR125e at a lower price than the Grado SR325e. The overall sonic improvement is unequivocal and the sound is, as always simply ‘Grado’.
SR325e
An upgraded version of the award winning Grado SR325is headphones – and the winners of the What Hi-fi Awards 2014″Best Home On Ears £150-£300″!
RS2e
The latest version of the award winning Grado RS2 headphones. A more affordable alterative to the Grado RS1e with better sound than the Grado SR325e.
RS1e
The upgraded version of the award winning Grado RS1 headphones. The highest model in the Grado line up with the smaller ear cups (which some say are more comfortable) and a less expensive alternative to the Grado GS1000e.
PS500e
The latest version of the original Grado PS500 headphones and the smaller of only 2 models in the “PS” range. A far more affordable alternative to the flagship Grado PS1000e.
GS1000e
An upgraded version of the award winning Grado GS1000i headphones. They sound better than ever – a real piece of hi-fi heaven!
PS1000e
The Grado pièce de résistance – and the phones pictured above! The latest, upgraded version of Grado’s flagship, award winning Grado PS1000i headphones. Still one of the best headphones we’ve ever heard. Simply stunning!
Sennhesier
65 years and hi-fi pedigree that even the most established brands envy! Sennheiser are masters of both sound collection and reproduction, and since they joined the consumers market they’ve been a househeld name.
Here are a few reasons why…
Momentums
Award winning headphones with an emphasis on feeling as well as listening, the stylish Momentum On Ear headphones are designed for listeners with a keen eye for aesthetics. They are also the winners of the What Hi-Fi Award 2013 “Best Portable On-Ears £200-300”!
HD700
These offer excellent value for money and are perfect for listeners who enjoy the sound profile of the HD600 or HD650 headphones; yet find the clarity (and price!) of the acclaimed Sennheiser HD800 a little too much.
Speaking of which…
HD800
As pictured above, Sennheiser’s flagship stands the test of time superbly. Some of the finest headphones money can buy – and well deserving of a place on the top shelf of our – and every other – headphone bar.
Oppo
Silicon Valley’s finest! We love Oppo – they are wonderfully versatile, yet never skimp on the quality. And that includes their marvellous contribution to the portable genre of hifi.
Ultrasone
German engineering… for your ears! Ultrasone are Ultra high-end, and man do they sound it.
Edition 5 Limited
A limited edition version of Ultrasone’s flagship Edition 5s. Simply stunning in everyway, and perfectly suited for a refined taste in both sound and style.
Beyerdynamic
Tesla T1
Tesla by name… The T1s are reference level headphones from Beyerdynamic, designed to generate significantly more sound pressure through redeveloped high-performance motors and offer stunning audio performance.
Headphone Amplifiers
From the portable to the stationary, we have a large range of amplifiers to mix and match your headphones with. Once again, this is a game of preference – one man’s tune is another man’s racket. The addition of a high quality amplifier makes all the difference to your listening experience – so why not take a look at a few of the things we have? Unlike the headphones on our headphone bar, our amps get changed around quite a lot, so it’s always worth giving us a shout to see what we have!
Oppo HA-1
One of our favourite pieces of equipment in the entire realm of hi-fi land. This headphone amp doubles as a high-level DAC, and has won so many awards we’ve lost count. Made by the wonderfully versatile Oppo, this is one of the finest ‘new’ headphone amplifiers we have come across, and it’s a permanent staple of our headphone bar.
If you want to take your ‘phones on the road, but keep that fine Oppo engineering, you might want to try…
Oppo HA-2
A beautifully designed portable headphone amplifier, perfectly matched with either Apple or Android devices. We’ve listened to ours with our iPhone and Macbook and it sounds incredible. One of the sleekest portable upgrades we’ve come across.
Lehmann Traveller
A portable amp so darn good we had to make it an Audio Affair UK exclusive. Yep – that’s right, you can only get it from us! Compact, classy and brilliant – you won’t find much better.
FiiO E18
Not quite so high-end, but still quite exceptional. FiiO Have really impressed us with their most recent run of portable treasures – great value for money, so much so they frequently out perform those at twice the price!
FiiO E12A
Perhaps the perfect balance between high-performance and good value. This is a sleek little amp that won’t hurt the bank balance, but will offer you endless amped-possibilities, and all portable.
Remember, our headphone bar changes. All the time. You’re free to drop by and try out any and all of the above – but if you’re after something specific it’s always worth checking with us before coming on down. Now, one question remains… what would you like to try first?