The headphone market continues to grow as we store more and more of our music and movies on smartphones and tablets so buying a pair of decent headphones is a real investment. Remember, because the sound is controlled and custom designed for the space inside each earphone, a pair of over ear headphones deliver a sound experience that often beat speakers that cost twice as much as they are not tuned for your living space. Naturally, you can move furniture and adjust your room accordingly but who wants to do that when a pair of headphones offer great sound with a minimum of fuss?

We tested these headphones on smartphones, tablets and a high-end all-in-one hi-fi from Naim called UnitiLite. Music playback from a computer was helped with the aid of a small Arcam rPac headphone amp gadget which helps bring your PC or Mac sound up to a level appreciated by these impressive cans. By Richard Melville.