Wi-fi headphones and earbuds might have taken a lot of the limelight lately, however their wired counterparts nonetheless have loads to supply, as our 2023 What Hello-Fi? Award winners testify to.
Whereas the Bluetooth market is slightly livelier in the intervening time due to the large demand for wi-fi wearable audio, the perfect performance-per-pound (or greenback) pairs can really be discovered inside the realm of fine old school wires. Returning for a back-to-back Awards seize are the superb Austrian Audio Hello-X15 funds over-ears, the open-backed Grado SR325x over-ears (pictured under) and the supremely well-priced SoundMagic E11C in-ears. Additionally again for one more win are the masterful Shure Aonic 3, a sensational pair of wired earbuds that showcase the corporate’s pre-eminence on this specific subject.
What we do have, although, is a brand new pretender to the throne, and it comes within the type of the reasonably fantastic Røde NTH-100 over-ear headphones (pictured prime). We have been dazzled by the NTH-100 after they arrived late final yr. They demonstrated you can get a pair of wired headphones that give you each eloquent, revealing and thrilling sound with out sacrificing real element. For his or her launch worth (£149 / $149 / AU$249), our minds have been considerably blown.
The pleasing factor about this specific class, nonetheless, is that there is one thing to go well with all tastes and budgets (supplied you have not been conditioned to view wires with worry, loathing and contempt). They will not be glamorous, however the SoundMagic E11C are a sparklingly entertaining pair of earbuds that, for £50 / $50 / AU$100, characterize astonishing worth for cash and a wise improve on any cellphone/pill bundled earbuds you is perhaps utilizing.
If you happen to’re keen to spend a bit extra, the Shure Aonic 3 stay our favorite wired in-ears as you cross the three-figure mark, a place they’ve held courtesy of their unequalled vibrant, detailed and cohesive sound presentation.
If you happen to’re eager on over-ears as a substitute, the gifted and reasonably priced Austrian Audio Hello-X15 proceed to impress throughout the board; they sound elegant, they seem to be a pleasure to make use of and, better of all, you can most likely now choose them up for simply shy of £100 / $100. Or in case your funds can stretch and you do not thoughts some sound leakage throughout your at-home listening classes, our veteran open-backed favourites, the Grado SR325x, proceed to be the over-ears to beat at their specific worth level.
It is a very, very robust checklist of Award winners within the wired headphones class this yr, comprised primarily of returning fashions that, regardless of our thorough testing of dozens of worthwhile opponents, are nonetheless the best examples of their kind and worth in the marketplace this yr. The one newbies are the Røde NTH-100, and when you won’t have even heard of the Australian model (who is healthier often known as a producer of microphones), you may undoubtedly need to hear its debut headphones.
Can the beginner NTH-100 go all the way in which to win the class’s Product of the Yr award, or will it’s an outdated canine that proves it nonetheless is aware of all the perfect methods? You’ve got solely a handful of weeks earlier than we reveal all, with each What Hello-Fi? Product of the Yr gong in each class, plus some particular ‘further’ awards, set to be introduced on the official ceremony on Wednesday fifteenth November. We will not wait.
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See each What Hello-Fi? Awards 2023 winner proper right here
See our full checklist of the perfect wired headphones
Q Acoustics, PMC and Bowers & Wilkins star in What Hello-Fi?’s 2023 speaker awards
