Most Expensive Headphones

If you’re like me, you think the point of headphones is to be able to listen to music on the go. Clearly, though, that isn’t the case for some audiophiles. The world’s most expensive headphones are hardly portable.

Sennheiser, a leading manufacturer of studio and stage microphones, created a limited number of what have been called the best headphones in the world. That’s right, only 300 of these headphones exist—possibly because they’re handmade. The set includes a high-end vacuum tube amplifier with an all-valve signal path and equally high-end electrostatic headphones with gold connectors.

The most expensive headphones in the world originally retailed for around $15,000 and can still be found for less than $30,000. Of course, if you plan on hooking them up to your iPod, you’ll need to leave the amp at home.

Another pair of expensive headphones, the ULTRASONE Edition 9 Limited Edition S-Logic Natural Surround Sound Headphones, come with some cool features. The S-Logic natural surround sound takes the sound out of the headphones and into the room around you for a three-dimensional sound similar to a live concert. Less stress is put on your eardrums because pressure is decreases by up to 40% (3-4dB), allegedly reducing the risk of hearing damage.

Ultrasone’s expensive headphones also utilize ULE technology with an MU metal shield that reduces radiation by up to 98%. . The ULTRASONE Edition 9 Limited Edition S-Logic Natural Surround Sound Headphones are certainly a luxury to be had by the most discriminating audiophile. At a retail price of $1499.00, they’d better sound good.

[Source: Most-Expensive Journal]

Most Expensive Two-Way Speaker System

Two-way speakers—speakers with only woofers and tweeters and no midrange drivers—don’t get a lot of love from the high-end audio industry. Once you’re spending big bucks on loudspeakers, it seems like you might as well go with three- or even four-way speakers. That hasn’t stopped Audio Note from releasing their high-end AN/E two-way speaker systems.

While we previously reported Bower and Wilkins’ Signature Diamond system as the most expensive two-way speaker system in the world, its price is dwarfed by that of the Audio Note AN/E SOGON system.

Audio Note’s watchword seems to be “efficiency.” Well, at more than 95 decibels at 1 Watt, the AN/E certainly delivers. The AN/E SOGON is housed in a cabinet designed for both driver dispersion and bass output and has frequency bandwidth from 18 Hz to 23 kHz at -6 dB. It features AN silver foil caps, ALNICO woofer and tweeter magnets (as available) and braided strands of Audio Note’s 99.99% pure silver SOGON cables.

This luxury two-way speaker system is priced at $125,000, but several less expensive versions of the AN/E are available.

Source: Most-Expensive Journal]

Most Expensive iPod Accessory

It’s larger than some living room furniture and over 170 lbs—not exactly a mobile device—but it may just be the world’s most expensive iPod accessory. Switzerland-based Geneva’s GenevaSound Home Theater system embodies the concepts for which Apple has become famous—utility and simplicity.

Each GenevaSound system is completely housed in a lacquered wooden cabinet that not only belies the sophistication of its inner workings but also ensures the sound is natural and warm. The Home Theater features seven individually powered speakers—2 x 1″ tweeters, 4 x 5 1/4″ woofers and a 12″ sub-woofer—and an equal number of digital hi-fi 100-Watt amplifiers. The horizontal surface is 66” x 21”, so there’s ample space for a high-definition television, Xbox 360, Playstation 3 or whatever else you want to put on it. The system also features a CD player, FM Radio, and both digital and analog line-in.

It also has a universal iPod/iPhone dock that can deliver both audio and video output from your iPod to your home theater.

Am I stretching the definition of “iPod accessory”? Perhaps I am, but kindly note that nearly every promotional image of this extraordinary piece of equipment features one of Apple’s iconic devices and the word “iPod” displayed on the GenevaSound’s display.

The most expensive iPod accessory in the world has a retail price of $3,999. Geneva also produces GenevaSound System Models M, L and XL—audio systems intended for rooms sized from small/medium to extra large—for $799-$1,449.

[Source: Most-Expensive Journal]

Most Expensive Car Audio System

Looking for a top of the line audio system to put in your spacious new SUV? Why not try the world’s most expensive car audio system? Up and coming luxury audio system creators Rogue Acoustics made a splash when they unveiled their premiere car audio system, the RA:1K.

While the RA:1K is highly customizable, the majority of systems will be installed with nine or ten drivers—four tweeters, four mid-range drivers and one or two subwoofers. These will be supported with up to six amplifiers capable of delivering extraordinarily clear sound at equally extraordinary volumes (0.0008% harmonic distortion at 100 watts and a signal-to-noise ratio higher than 115dB). All of these features will ensure that your car stereo will sound better than it ever has.

Additionally, the central amp will include a cellular connection allowing Rogue technicians to remotely tune the system or even disable it if it’s stolen. The system can even diagnose itself and, if necessary, automatically request that a service appointment be scheduled.

The most basic version of the most expensive car audio system can be purchased for $72,000, but a serious audiophile can spend over $300,000 on all the bells and whistles that may be included.

Prior to the unveiling of the Rogue Acoustics Audio System, Critical Mass’ CES5.1 Electrostatic Surround Sound System was the most expensive car audio system available. It was lauded for the twelve relatively small electrostatic speakers included in the system; such speakers are normally quite large. In fact, the system outfitted four seats with independent left, right and center drivers while a single pair of rear speakers and a UL12 subwoofer dominated the back of the car. Only ten of these systems were made and they were priced at $259,000.

[Source: Most-Expensive Journal

Most Expensive Home Entertainment Center

Would you settle for an enormous widescreen television and 7.1 surround sound system? What if you’re a sound engineer, producer and multimillionaire? Thus is the case with Jeremy Kipnis and the world’s most expensive home entertainment center.

The audio portion of the system includes thirty-seven Snell and MuRata speakers attached to thirty-five Mark Levinson, McIntosh and Crown Audio amplifiers as well as thirteen Theta Digital surround sound processers. For video, Kipnis chose a professional-grade Sony video projector and an 18-by-10-foot laboratory-grade motion picture screen. He doesn’t need to worry about media formats, either; the multitude of players included in his system can play Blu-ray discs, HD DVDs, CDs, DVDs, Laserdiscs and even VHS tapes. In case that isn’t enough, there’s a SATA drive that holds 72 hours of HD footage and a PlayStation 3. There’s even a kind of swordfish-shaped model ship thing.

All told, the most expensive home entertainment center in the world set Mr. Kipnis back a mere $6 million. Considering the sheer number of devices that make up the system, I’d say that’s a bargain.

Picture Elements:
Sony SRX-S110 Professional Video Projector (4,096-by-2,160)
Stewart 18-by-10-foot Snowmatte 1.0 Gain Laboratory-Grade Motion Picture Screen

Players and Sources:
Sony BDP-S1 Blu-ray Player
Sony PlayStation 3 Gaming Console
Toshiba HD-XA1 HD DVD Player
JVC HMDH-5U D-VHS Recorder
SATA Drive (72 HDTV Hours Total)
Mark Levinson N° 51 DVD/CD Media Player
Pioneer HLD-X0 Hi-Vision HDTV MUSE Laserdisc Player

Surround Processing and Decoding:
Theta Digital Generation VIII 32-bit 8x Oversampling Dual Processors (13)

Amplification:
Mark Levinson N° 33h Amplifiers (2)
McIntosh MC-2102 Amplifiers (30)
Crown Macro Reference Gold Amplifiers (3)

Speakers:
Snell 1800 THX Music & Cinema Reference Subwoofers (16)
Snell THX Music & Cinema Reference Towers (8)
MuRata ES103A Super Tweeters (10)
Snell THX Music & Cinema Reference LCR-2800 Center-Channel Speakers (3)

[Source: Most-Expensive Journal]

Most Expensive MP3 Player

The TrekStor MP3 player i.Beat

The mp3 player has one gigabyte of memory, a battery life of 25 hours, and supports MP3, WMA, WAV, ASF, OGG audio files. But what really makes this an expensive mp3 player is the exterior. The TrekStor MP3 player i.Beat organix Gold is cast in 18 carat gold and adorned with 63 diamonds (one carat). The gadget also has a modest chain ornamented with aquamarine gems. The exclusive, unique player was presented to the public for the first time at CeBIT, the world’s largest IT trade fair in Germany.

Jewelers Wenthe in Mannheim/Germany put over 100 hours of meticulous handcraft into the most expensive mp3 player making it an exquisite piece of jewelry. This mp3 player may never become the most popular, but TrekStor has recently decided to produce a limited series of this magnificent gadget for those who would buy the most expensive mp3 player in the world.