Yearly, I ask The Verge’s employees what sort of audio gear they like to make use of. And they’re the proper set of individuals to ask: in addition to engaged on movies and podcasts, our Slack channels are stuffed with discussions of the podcasts and music we take heed to whereas working, strolling, exercising, or simply hanging out.
So listed below are the headphones, earbuds, and different units that a number of the of us right here like to make use of, each on knowledgeable and private degree.
Headphones and earbuds
RØDE NTH-100 headphones
Andrew Marino, senior audio producer
The RØDE NTH-100 headphones are the comfiest headphones I’ve used. The reminiscence foam cushions let me put on these all day at work with out fatigue. The sound is nice for the worth, too, and the optionally available headset microphone is among the best-quality mics I’ve heard on shopper headsets.
Ray-Ban Meta Good Glasses
Victoria Track, senior reviewer
On sunny walks and runs, I’m not excited about getting flattened by wayward SUVs in my neighborhood — I want that situational consciousness. Many open-ear headphones wrap across the high of the ear, and since I typically put on glasses, that’s rather a lot to placed on my poor ears. The Ray-Ban Meta Good Glasses kill two birds with one stone; they’re my go-to headphones as of late. The audio high quality is nice, they defend my eyes from UV rays, and every now and then, I take advantage of them to snap a photograph of a random bunny or stray cat. There’s a mic proper by your nostril bridge, so that you sound fairly nice on calls, too. Who doesn’t love a multitasking gadget?
Sony LinkBuds
Andrew Liszewski, senior reporter
They’re not the wi-fi earbuds I attain for on a regular basis, however after I’m enjoyable on a motorbike journey on the finish of the day, the open design of Sony’s LinkBuds helps preserve me conscious of my environment — whether or not it’s approaching autos or different cyclists who’re in additional of a rush. Even with some compromises to sound high quality, the LinkBuds nonetheless sound superb, and since they sit in my ears, they’re simpler to put on with a helmet. My favourite function is the flexibility to faucet on the facet of my head to regulate playback or modify the amount whereas using. The earbuds detect the close by vibrations as inputs so I don’t have to exactly goal buttons or touchpads.
Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Professional
I like my Galaxy Buds 2 Professional; they’re the primary wi-fi earbuds I’ve ever used, they usually made probably the most sense for me, as I’m knee-deep in Samsung’s ecosystem. They match comfortably inside my ears and their lively noise cancellation works effectively — nearly too effectively — on the fitness center or on an airplane.
Miscellaneous and equipment
Shure MV7 USB microphone
Andrew Marino, senior audio producer
The Shure MV7 USB has been our go-to microphone to ship to distant friends for Verge podcasts. It’s a really versatile dynamic microphone for podcast interviews due to its sonic similarity to typical radio mics like Shure’s SM7b and has each a USB and XLR output for nearly any recording setup.
Apple’s Lightning and USB-C headphone adapters
Nathan Edwards, senior critiques editor
Taking away the headphone jack was and is user-hostile and silly. It’s silly that I want an adapter to attach wired headphones to my pill, and it’s silly that I want a completely different adapter to make use of them with my cellphone.
Not less than Apple’s Lightning and USB-C headphone adapters are small and low-cost. And the USB-C one is a surprisingly good DAC. I preserve one in all every in a little bit pouch in my backpack, together with some low-cost wired earbuds. If solely there have been some common wired audio connector! Possibly sometime.
3D-printed rack mounts
Andrew Marino, senior audio producer
$19
Motu provides desk mounting brackets for quite a lot of audio interfaces, getting them out of the best way of your different tools.
In case you have a variety of audio gear in your workspace, I’d suggest making some room by mounting a few of that stuff below your desk. I purchased a 3D-printed mounting bracket for my Motu audio interface from an Etsy retailer, which makes my setup look much more skilled and retains the tech away from any spilled drinks.
Teenage Engineering PO-33 Ok.O.!
Andrew Liszewski, senior reporter
I’m by no stretch of the creativeness a musician, however I do get pleasure from dwelling out my Daft Punk fantasies with the Teenage Engineering PO-33 Ok.O.! It’s a part of the corporate’s Pocket Operators lineup of calculator-sized drum machines, however what units the PO-33 aside is a built-in microphone that can be utilized to document sounds that may be changed into beats. I received’t be releasing an album anytime quickly, however the PO-33 is an endlessly enjoyable distraction — straightforward to be taught however with sufficient performance that it looks like it should take years to grasp.
Audio-Technica AT-HPH300 headphone hanger
Barbara Krasnoff, critiques editor
My associate spends a lot of time carrying headphones — amongst different issues, he has a radio present and a YouTube channel — however sometimes he does need to put them apart. When he does, he makes use of the Audio-Technica AT-HPH300 headphone hanger that he purchased a number of years in the past. It fastens securely to the sting of his desk and has an adjustable padded hook. The hook rotates so he can even transfer the headphones out of the best way and below the desk if he must.
A spring clamp
Nathan Edwards, senior critiques editor
I hold my headphones from a spring clamp I discovered within the storage.