My Headphone Plan for 2019

I’ve slowed down my overall focus on headphone and gaming headset reviews, with an eye towards a more diverse set of content.

Going forward, you’ll still find headphone reviews here on World Bolding. But you’ll also find game and tech reviews, and other content that doesn’t fit the “Lifestyle/Expanded Look” stuff I’m writing over on Medium. And maybe one of these days I’ll finally post some more original fiction or game programming content!

Here’s my plan for headphone stuff, both for the next few months and for this year in general.

JANUARY

My Second Favorite Headphone- The Aurvana Live!

This will be a feature all about Creative’s Aurvana Live!, the only headphone I’ve ever used with an exclamation mark in the name.

Budget Wooden Headphones: E-mu Walnut Review

There’s a whole host of budget wooden-cupped headphones out there, and I’ve been meaning to get into them for a while. Wood is no longer solely the domain of Massdrop exclusive Fostex variants! The E-mu Systems Walnut is a modified Aurvana Live from Creative’s Chan Ming Tat. Over the last few years, Creative has revived their dormant E-mu brand name and given their legendary designer free reign to make some cool wooden headphones across all price ranges. I’m for it!

Razer Nari Review

I would have had this one up sooner…but I can’t decide which of the three Razer Nari models I want to buy. Once I figure that out, I’ll be reviewing it. The physical size of this headset is a bit outside the boundaries of reasonable, but everything else about it seems great.

FEBRUARY

Budget Wooden Headphones: Sivga Insert Model Number Here

Just like how Razer makes three Razer Naris, Sivga makes about a million budget pairs of wooden headphones. They’ve always been loved among budget audiophiles, and they got a shot in the arm recently when Z Reviews went crazy for them. Once I figure out which model I’d like to get, I’ll be taking a look at one.

FUTURE MONTHS

Beyerdynamic DT 1770 or 1990 Review

For about a year now, I’ve been putting off buying one of Beyerdynamic’s Tesla Driver-containing successors to their famous studio lineup.

Both of these pairs retail for a fair bit more than I’d normally spend on audio equipment, but considering my love of the 770, 880, and 990, these two have always had my interest. I know that the 1770 is hated for its sibilance, and that the 1990 has the more preferred sound of the two…but I’ve been known to enjoy a little crazy sibilance here and there.

The only other thing that’s stopped me is a few scattered reports of durability issues. Once I get all of this thinking sorted out, I’ll dive in.

Sennheiser HD 25

I’ve only heard an HD 25 once. I don’t like on-ear headphones very much because I wear glasses and I find most of them pinchy. But the HD 25 is legendary for a reason, and it’s the only closed-back that Sennheiser’s ever made which has a sterling reputation among a wide variety of audio pros.

I like a whole lot of things about it but I’ve always avoided it due to the fit. Soon I shall avoid no longer!

If I could justify it, I’d buy the broadcast-focused HD 26 instead just for its incredible-looking pads. But I don’t think I want to make that jump.

Sennheiser GSP 500

Everyone online, and I mean every single tech reviewer that covered it, loved the way the GSP 500 sounded. I suspect that its tuning and driver unit are based on the legendary HD 600 platform, because that’s the only thing in Sennheiser’s catalog that could generate such universal praise at this sort of price point.

Its cloth pads are the only part of the package that have had me holding off. It’s nice that they’re priced a little cheaper than the 600.

Massdrop Headphones?

I put a question mark there because I’m still a little bit leery of Massdrop for stupid reasons. I had a great experience with my 58X’s, but they don’t have quite the same shipping or support conveniences that Amazon offers.

Then again, I guess I shouldn’t expect that given their amazing prices and exceptional exclusives.

I’m curious about both their E-mu Purpleheart and their various takes on the Fostex TH series of headphones. The latter series is something I’d not normally spend the money for, but I really live the biodynamic driver inside the 443741/Aurvana Live platform, and I’d love to hear its bigger brother someday. Folks have also had some issues with the wood quality in these headphones…so again, the question mark,

That’s it. That’s all I’ve got so far! Thanks for reading! If you want to follow me on Twitter, here ya go.