Mitchell & Johnson MJ1 & HP1 Headphones

From Mitchell & Johnson, an exciting new hi-fi company out of London, the MJ1 and HP1 headphones allow you to enjoy the sound of an electrostatic headphone without having to own a specialized electrostatic amplifier. They do this with an electret driver, which works like an electrostatic driver but is permanently charged using a special diaphragm that can store and utilize this charge in everyday use. The headphones' vintage-inspired look is complete with rectangular ear cups made of real walnut wood, and three detachable cables have you covered for different uses. You’ll get a 5-meter partially coiled cable for home use, and two shorter cables for portable use—one with a mic and one without.

The Headfonia  review says, “The thing is that the JP1’s upper midrange is … spot on. The MJ1 preserves enough of that while capitalising on a smooth bass-to-midrange transition zone. It’s not got the bigger, soft-edged, Grado PS1000–esque lows of the JP1. In its way, it’s the sort of bass that Final Audio invented in their original 1601 horn-speaker series earphones: mids up front, bass at a droop, and high highs giving way to vocal-anchored upper mids. The MJ1 has that sort of presentation, but better normalised so that its extremes push toward parity with the mids.”