Small audio gear, honestly assessed
Reviews of in-ear monitors, earphones and portable headphones — with the price you would actually pay today, not the launch MSRP. Plus the part most reviews skip: what streaming, codecs and compression do to a recording long before it reaches the driver.
Specifications and quotations come from named sources and are linked. Where I have not used something myself, I say so. More about how this works.
Latest
- Where Short-Form Video Audio Actually Comes From (and Why It Sounds Compressed)
The audio in a vertical video has usually been through three lossy encoders before it reaches your ear. Here is the chain, what each stage costs, and which parts you can do anything about.
- In-Ear Monitor Fit Guide: Why Most People Use the Wrong Ear Tips
The ear tip is the cheapest component in the box and the one that changes the sound most. How to test your seal, choose a size, and know when foam is the right answer.
- MP3 vs Lossless on Cheap Earphones: Can You Actually Hear the Difference?
The honest answer depends far more on the bitrate than on the earphone. What the large blind tests actually found, where the audible threshold sits, and why your gear is rarely the bottleneck.
- Bullet-Shaped and Novelty Earbuds: Do They Actually Sound Good?
Metal housings, unusual shapes and premium finishes are what sell novelty earphones. None of those things is what determines how they sound. Here is what actually does.
- How the Munitio NINES Went Around the World: Anatomy of a 2010 Gadget Launch
One product, one photograph, and coverage in ten countries across two separate waves six months apart. A look at how a novelty earphone got more press than most phones, and what actually did the work.
- Munitio NINES Review: The 9mm Bullet Earphones Are Still on Sale in 2026
Machined copper-alloy housings shaped like nine-millimetre rounds, a Kevlar-reinforced cable, and a sound signature that divides people. A look at what the NINES actually deliver at $199, and at the Pro30 and Pro40 that followed.