Michael Berk

Stephen Ambrose's music teacher father once posed a difficult question to his son: "What instrument don't they make anymore?" The younger Ambrose was stumped. "The chamber," his father responded. Ambrose filed the exchange away, not quite sure what to make of it, and went on to a career as a musician and sound engineer.

OK...I'll get this out of the way upfront. Despite the great reviews it's received, before I'd actually encountered it in person I was suspicious of the rCube. Arcam's a company I know and trust, they build a fantasic line of products (including some impressive all-in-one systems), and they know their wireless and DAC design.

Klipsch's Image One, the company's first on-the-ear headphone design, following in the footsteps of their successful Image line of in-ear models, are — like the Bowers & Wilkins P5 and Monster's Beats by Dr. Dre line — headphones conceived as lifestyle objects for the iPhone era, with all mod cons onboard, and styling points aplenty.