Tech

These hi-fi earbuds are as pretty as they are expensive

But what did you expect when two audiophile powerhouses team up?

An earbud collaboration between Astell & Kern and Campfire Audio. Headphones. Audio. Music. Hi-fi.

Earbuds have come a long way since they first hit the market, going from crappy-sounding, uncomfortable hunks of plastic to... much-better sounding, noise-cancelling, if still a bit uncomfortable hunks of plastic AND metal.

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The newest boutique offering, however, looks like it could blow most of the competition (and your wallet) away thanks to a Voltron-like collaboration between two of the best in the business.

Say hello to the AK Solaris X in-ear monitors...

The AK Solaris X comes courtesy of a collaboration between Astell&Kern, and Campfire Audio — two of the top audiophile companies on the market.

Based on Campfire Audio’s Solaris X earbuds that debuted last year, the partnership’s new offering has been specially updated and configured to achieve the best performance from A&K’s premium portable audio players like their A&Futura SE180.

Astell&Kern

AK Solaris X earphones feature newly designed, single balanced armature drivers, alongside Campfire Audio’s impressive Tuned Acoustic Expansion Chamber (TAEC) to get the best out of high frequencies. Mids and lows will get their own armature updates, as well as a “specially-tuned” 10mm dynamic driver.

That connecting wire cable is 2.5mm of pure silver, by the way. They also come with a “handmade cork case” from a boutique shop in Portugal, too...

$1500

The price of a pair of AK Solaris X earphones

And that’s not including the $700-$4000 you’ll need to drop on an Astell&Kern player to get the full effect... so yeah, the AK Solaris X earphones are a bit niche, but hey, we can still admire them from afar.

Those who can afford to pony up that kind of cash can also probably afford a ticket to the UK, where the AK Solaris X will be exclusively available in Harrods and Selfridges stores next month.

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