Headphone Reviews

Barry White Ultrasonic Love

With a claimed frequency response of –10 Hz to 6 kHz, the Ultrasonic Loves are the only headphones capable of reproducing Mr. White’s deep, penetrating bass. Luscious velvet softly cushions each 8-inch driver from your face. Leopard-print walrus fur covers the headband. The use of pelts from a species threatened by global warming may raise a few eyebrows, but according to Dr. Lirpa, “Some wackos might be worried about the ‘environment,’ but a man’s comfort has to come first. Barry would have wanted it that way.”

With a weight of 65 pounds per side, the Loves are not for the faint of heart or weak of shoulder. Keeping true to the design practices of White’s heyday, the drivers feature paper cones and traditional earth magnets.

Maximum volume is 50 dB, chosen to match the level you would experience if Barry himself rose from the grave to whisper romantically into your ear. To test the low bass response, I listened to some high-resolution organ music. The pedal tones dipped down so low into the subsonics that I could feel the powerful sound deep in my chest, and lower. Of the near-field realism, Lauren said, “It feels like Barry White is inside me.”

Lirpa Labs Barry White Ultrasonic Love headphones $69