Audio
Headphone and audio gear news — DACs, amps, drivers, and sound tech.
FiiO K17 R2R Pro: Ladder DAC Tech Finally Hits the Mass Market
FiiO has unveiled the K17 R2R Pro, a 5+24-bit resistor ladder DAC and headphone amp with 4,000mW balanced output, built-in streaming, and a sub-$1,000 target price — bringing genuine R2R architecture into a segment previously owned by boutique makers charging twice as much.
Sennheiser HD 480 Pro: The Closed-Back That Finally Gets Monitoring Right
Sennheiser's new HD 480 Pro shares its 38mm drivers with the open-back HD 490 Pro but wraps them in a closed-back design engineered to actually measure flat — not just sound flat. At $399, it's directly targeting the compromise that has defined professional monitoring headphones for decades.
Audeze's SLAM Technology Reaches $499 — The Whole Lineup Gets It at AXPONA 2026
At AXPONA 2026, Audeze debuted the $499 LCD-S20 — a closed-back planar magnetic with their SLAM acoustic technology — while rolling SLAM out across the LCD-5s, CRBN2, and Maxwell 2. Flagship bass physics is no longer a flagship price.
DUNU Mortise: A $430 Open-Back with Black Walnut Cups and Carbon Fiber Drivers
DUNU enters the open-back headphone market with the Mortise — a $430 pair featuring 50mm carbon fiber dynamic drivers housed in precision-machined North American black walnut earcups.