Phil's Superpower of Enthusiasm
A place to write about things I enjoy, for my own edification. Headphones, audio gear, albums, whiskey, wine, golden retrievers etc.
recent posts
- From the FAQ: Will you get better sound quality using a Noise Canceling headphone via the 3.5 mm analog cable?
- Dan Clark Audio Aeon x Closed (Drop collaboration)
- Hifiman HE400se: A Worthy Entry-Level Planar Headphone
- Phil’s Top Ten Albums of 2025
- The Sennheiser HD 490 Pro: my new reference open back? A warning shot at Sonova? Both?
Lawyer, unabashed nerd and geek. Purveyor and pusher of excellent sci-fi/fantasy, good food, and repartee. He/him. Dog dad/servant to @Goldendenali.
I’m experimenting with Amazon Affiliate status in an attempt to defray some of the costs of headphone reviews; Amazon links may be affiliate links (depending on whether or not I’ve figured out how to use them correctly). Please feel free to buy elsewhere; this is just one way to recoup the costs of this hobby.
Category: Uncategorized
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Bourbons/Wines
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[MSRP $149, purchased at full price in October on Amazon, price matched down to $80 in November when they went on Black Friday Sale. Currently $99.99 at most retailers). [Tl;dr: Great true wireless earbuds at the $99 price point, only okay at MSRP. Pretty good sound isolation, reasonable (but non-defeatable) active noise cancelation and passie…
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[December 2025 Pricing: $139 with updated Magsafe Case at Costco. May be cheaper elsewhere; I’m a little skeptical of some posted prices actually being the 3rd Gen and not the second.] [December 2025 update: I won a pair of these as a door prize at a conference, and I’ve been using them pretty regularly while…
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[$179.99 on Amazon, purchased on sale (which they regularly are on) and renewed for $109. These are the open-backed version of the DT 770 Pro (MSRP $160). Available in 80 and 250 Ohm versions.] [March 2023] Update September 2025: I really liked these headphones; they were the second real pair of audiophile-style headphones I’d ever…
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[MSRP $199, purchased on sale (which they regularly are on) for $179. These are identical to the Meze 99 Classics, which retail for $309.] [September 2025 update: While the 99 Noir are still a perfectly nice headphone, the shine is coming a little off as some great closed backs have hit the market over the…
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The Range–“Potential” (electronica) Brass Tracks–“Good Love” (electronica/jazz/hip-hop) The 1975–“I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware” (electro-pop) Dawn Golden–“Still Life” (electronica/ambient) Blood Orange–“Freetown Sound” (rock?) James Blake–“The Colour in Anything” (electronica/ambient) Phantogram–“Three” (electro-rock) Massive Attack–“Ritual Spirit EP” (trip-hop) Jack Garratt–“Phase” (electronica/rock/???) Various Artists–“Hamilton Mixtape” (broadway/hip-hop) Honorable mentions: School of…
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2017 was a year of change–much of it bad (pretty much everything political, other than the reawakening of liberal activism), and some of it good (new job, etc.). It was also a pretty good year for music. So here’s my top 10 (with four bonus albums) for 2017: Sylvan Esso “What Now” (alt rock/electro-pop–I’ve been…
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Janelle Monae–“Dirty Computer” (nothing else was even close) Brasstracks–“For Those Who Know, Pt. II EP” Kurt Vile–“Bottle It In” The National–“Boxer(Live in Brussels)” Marian Hill–“Unusual” Various Artists–“Black Panther The Album” Chvrches–“Love is Dead” Let’s Eat Grandma–“I’m All Ears” Lo Moon–“Lo Moon” twenty one pilots–“Trench” Little Dragon–“Lover Chanting EP” (couldn’t leave this off) Honorable mentions (things…
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Waiting to join an online birthday party for a dear friend, looking at a plate with five high-end ryes for my tasting pleasure (spoiler: Templeton’s 2018 barrel strength rye is better than it should be), seemed like it was finally time to pull the trigger on my 2020 top ten albums. What did I miss?…
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It was a pretty weird year in music for me, as I spent a lot of time trying to listen my way through my dad’s vinyl collection but still managed to hit more than 1,200 hours of music streaming along the way. That journey sent me down the rabbit hole pretty frequently on older artists…
Phil's Superpower of Enthusiasm 