Headphones

Getting Ziggy With It
Playing the 2003 Super Audio CD release of David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust... [EMI 521 9002] through the Dethonray/Austrian Audio combination took me all the way back to the ‘shock of the new’ when I first heard the album on its release. The close-focused sound reveals just how the combination of big ambition and superb musical performances work to create what is a concept album still best understood by playing it in its entirety. Some 52 years on it’s still a stunning set, and even more so when given the up-close treatment by a fine pair of headphones well-driven – after all, that’s how I listened all those years back, but never with this level of quality.

Neither do the demands of largescale classical music faze this amp whatsoever, as was clear when playing the recent Iván Fischer/Budapest Festival Orchestra release of Beethoven’s Third [Channel Classics download]. Via the open-backed Austrian Audio headphones, the scale of the orchestra was as impressive as the speed and definition, not to mention the openness and space in the sound.

Dramatic Listening
What’s more, you don’t have to play ultra-high-resolution files for the M1 to impress – nor even music. Of late I’ve been somewhat taken with the quality of some of the podcasts becoming available, notably those from the Goalhanger stable, founded by former England captain Gary Lineker. Having started out with ‘talking head’ discussion shows, it’s now making impressive, atmospheric drama documentaries such as Wars That Shaped The World and Sherlock & Co, its clever reimagining of Conan Doyle’s detective.

While these programmes are effective enough when Bluetoothed from a smartphone to a pair of in-ears, they take on even greater life when played through a good pair of headphones driven by an amplifier such as the Listening M1. What the producers call ‘dynamic, immersive audio’ certainly lives up to its claim, frequently surprising the listener with the way the ambience envelops, and the sudden sound effects. And that’s a true sign of fine headphones, driven well.

Hi-Fi News Verdict
Whatever you play, the Listening M1 will deliver with a good pair of headphones – it may not be the only high-end headphone amp, and is far from the most affordable, but it’s a welcome addition to the ‘head-fi’ arena with its style and performance. However, more work on the manual is needed to bring added quality to the whole offering, and clear up some of the confusions in the setup and operation.

Sound Quality: 82%