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Sound-Checking the Latest Headphones

These headphones make big promises: mind-blowing sound, cheap noise reduction, the ability to hear what´s around you without removing your buds. Here´s how they actually perform

Ultrasone iCans (above)

$130; ultrasone.com

Reviewed by Joe Brown

The Claim: The off-center drivers bounce sound off the cartilage of your outer ear instead of shooting it into your inner ear, to make the music seem more like it's coming from speakers.

The Test: I listened to upward of 80 hours of music, from 128-bit MP3 files to vinyl to DVD-audio discs.

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