In a room full of audiophiles and hundreds of headphone gear, baby steps feel like a sensory free-fall. But once you’ve experienced that weightlessness of your headphone zone, there’s no turning back. For me, it happened around the time I had Lingus playing into my head through the Audeze LCD-5, the brand’s flagship planar magnetic headphones.
Seconds into the song and it was like I was right there at the studio in Utrecht, when Snarky Puppy recorded that piece of musical genius. All around me, I had people losing themselves in renditions of My Heart Will Go On, Rolling in the Deep, Vaan Varuvan, Hotel California, and Pathala Pathala — all made all too real through the likes of Sennheiser, Meze, HiFiMan, Blan and Focal. Thanks to the return of Headphone Connect to home grounds.
What began as a fun alternative to round-the-year physical stores or stiff and formal marketing extravaganza, Headphone Zone’s particular brand of experience events has become a much sought-after delight for audiophiles. And after a gap of two pandemic years, it’s back to assuage the auditory needs of Chennai’s music enthusiasts. “We held our very first Headphone Connect in Mumbai in a microbrewery-pub. We had beer, pizza, and maybe 25 headphones. And 50 people showed up. That started this crazy history; we’ve done 50 events since,” recounts Kamna Karamchandani, a co-founder of Headphone Zone.
This time around, there were at least 100 headphones at hand. From a range of basic in-ear headphones priced below Rs 2,000 to electrostatic driver headphones ranging up to a few lakhs. And not one was free for the taking, with audiophiles of all kinds taking the time out to experience the quality it has to offer.
“To me, you don’t have to get technical when listening to headphones. It has to make you believe that the artist you’re listening to is right in front of you. If that happens successfully, then you know the headphone did their job. That to me is the only objective way to measure how good something sounds,” narrates Raghav Somani, CEO of Headphone Zone.
Many around the room were experiencing the very same process in their own headphone zones. Berty Ashley had come all the way from Bangalore to sample this for a second time. People like Abilash and Shri were first-timers, channelling their musical interests in this avenue.
As much as it offers people a platform to sample high-end, sparsely-available headphones before they invest in its purchase, it has also allowed the city’s audiophiles to find each other and bond over their common interests. When Headphone Connect returns to Chennai in December, members of this crowd will become regulars.