Grace Notes

Nothing steps up your game like a pair of custom earphones. They’re usually priced so high that customs were reserved for only the most devoted audiophiles. Snugs, a company out of London, England is making them accessible to the masses by creating custom ear tips, and partnering with Echobox to match them to the Nomad Titanium Earphones(MSRP $399).

While traversing the CES show floor, listening to products is usually an exercise in futility - nothing sounds good with so much chaos around you, and who has time to stop and really listen to anything? Amidst the noise of this CES, however, taking a moment to slip on a pair of the new MrSpeakers ETHER Flow headphones was an escape into musical paradise, and one of the best listening experiences I’ve had in Vegas in years.

Noise-cancelling headphones are must-haves for most frequent travelers, and the AKG N60 NC Wireless headphones are the must-have headphones.

Who says your ears have to be covered up while listening to music? The JBL Soundgear wraps around the neck, leaving your unencumbered ears free to enjoy a conversation, the sounds of nature, or just to keep an ear on the kids while immersing yourself in music.

The Explorer audio player from Echobox, crafted from solid blocks of luxurious wood, is easily the most attractive player on the CES show floor. While most companies are making blocky (or triangularly - looking at you, Mr. Young) plastic players, the Explorer looks more like a flask of aged whiskey than a piece of high-end audio gear.

Amid the glitz and glamour of the 2016 Art Basel show in Miami, Florida, Sennheiser, the historic headphone and microphone manufacturer was showcasing for the glitterati in attendance a display of their AMBEO technology with a concert recording utilizing over 120 microphones in a 3D array played back over a 9.1 system featuring Neumann speakers. They were also auditioning the stunning $55,000 HE 1 headphone and amplifier, with a solid Carrerra marble chassis and vacuum tubes that dramatically rise up out of the unit as they warm up. Sound & Vision sat down with the delightful co-CEO’s of Sennheiser, Daniel and Andreas Sennheiser to talk about where they see the company founded by their grandfather 75 years ago heading into the future.