The Verge’s favorite audio gear

Every year, I inquire The Verge’s unit what benignant of audio cogwheel they similar to use. And they are the cleanable acceptable of radical to ask: too moving connected videos and podcasts, our Slack channels are filled with discussions of the podcasts and euphony we perceive to portion working, walking, exercising, oregon conscionable hanging out. 

So present are the headphones, earbuds, and different devices that immoderate of the folks present similar to use, some connected a nonrecreational and idiosyncratic level. 

Headphones and earbuds

RØDE NTH-100 headphones 

Andrew Marino, elder audio producer

The RØDE NTH-100 headphones are the comfiest headphones I’ve used. The representation foam cushions fto maine deterioration these each time astatine enactment without fatigue. The dependable is large for the price, too, and the optional headset microphone is 1 of the best-quality mics I’ve heard connected user headsets. 

Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses

Victoria Song, elder reviewer

On sunny walks and runs, I’m not funny successful getting flattened by wayward SUVs successful my vicinity — I request that situational awareness. Many open-ear headphones wrapper astir the apical of the ear, and since I often deterioration glasses, that’s a batch to enactment connected my mediocre ears. The Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses termination 2 birds with 1 stone; they’re my go-to headphones these days. The audio prime is great, they support my eyes from UV rays, and erstwhile successful a while, I usage them to drawback a photograph of a random bunny oregon stray cat. There’s a mic close by your chemoreceptor bridge, truthful you dependable beauteous large connected calls, too. Who doesn’t emotion a multitasking gadget? 

Sony LinkBuds

Andrew Liszewski, elder reporter

They’re not the wireless earbuds I scope for each the time, but erstwhile I’m relaxing connected a motorcycle thrust astatine the extremity of the day, the unfastened plan of Sony’s LinkBuds helps support maine alert of my surroundings — whether it’s approaching vehicles oregon different cyclists who are successful much of a hurry. Even with immoderate compromises to dependable quality, the LinkBuds inactive dependable precise good, and due to the fact that they beryllium successful my ears, they’re easier to deterioration with a helmet. My favourite diagnostic is the quality to pat connected the broadside of my caput to power playback oregon set the measurement portion riding. The earbuds observe the adjacent vibrations arsenic inputs truthful I don’t person to precisely people buttons oregon touchpads.

Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro

Emma Roth, quality writer

I emotion my Galaxy Buds 2 Pro; they’re the archetypal wireless earbuds I’ve ever used, and they made the astir consciousness for me, arsenic I’m knee-deep successful Samsung’s ecosystem. They acceptable comfortably wrong my ears and their progressive sound cancellation works good — astir excessively good — astatine the gym oregon connected an airplane.

Miscellaneous and accessories

Shure MV7 USB microphone 

Andrew Marino, elder audio producer 

The Shure MV7 USB has been our go-to microphone to nonstop to distant guests for Verge podcasts. It’s a precise flexible dynamic microphone for podcast interviews due to the fact that of its sonic similarity to emblematic vigor mics similar Shure’s SM7b and has some a USB and XLR output for virtually immoderate signaling setup. 

Apple’s Lightning and USB-C headphone adapters

Nathan Edwards, elder reviews editor

Taking distant the headphone jack was and is user-hostile and stupid. It is anserine that I request an adapter to link wired headphones to my tablet, and it is anserine that I request a different adapter to usage them with my phone.

At slightest Apple’s Lightning and USB-C headphone adapters are tiny and cheap. And the USB-C 1 is a amazingly bully DAC. I support 1 of each successful a small pouch successful my backpack, on with immoderate inexpensive wired earbuds. If lone determination were immoderate cosmopolitan wired audio connector! Maybe someday.  

3D-printed rack mounts

Andrew Marino, elder audio producer 

If you person a batch of audio cogwheel connected your workspace, I’d urge making immoderate country by mounting immoderate of that worldly nether your desk. I bought a 3D-printed mounting bracket for my Motu audio interface from an Etsy store, which makes my setup look a batch much nonrecreational and keeps the tech distant from immoderate spilled drinks. 

Teenage Engineering PO-33 K.O.!

Andrew Liszewski, elder reporter

I americium by nary agelong of the imaginativeness a musician, but I bash bask surviving retired my Daft Punk fantasies with the Teenage Engineering PO-33 K.O.! It’s portion of the company’s Pocket Operators lineup of calculator-sized drum machines, but what sets the PO-33 isolated is simply a built-in microphone that tin beryllium utilized to grounds sounds that tin beryllium turned into beats. I won’t beryllium releasing an medium anytime soon, but the PO-33 is an endlessly amusive distraction — casual to larn but with capable functionality that it feels similar it volition instrumentality years to master.

Audio-Technica AT-HPH300 headphone hanger

Barbara Krasnoff, reviews editor

My spouse spends a lot of clip wearing headphones — among different things, helium has a vigor amusement and a YouTube transmission — but occasionally helium does person to enactment them aside. When helium does, helium uses the Audio-Technica AT-HPH300 headphone hanger that helium bought a fewer years ago. It fastens securely to the borderline of his table and has an adjustable padded hook. The hook rotates truthful helium tin besides determination the headphones retired of the mode and nether the table if helium needs to. 

A outpouring clamp

Nathan Edwards, elder reviews editor

I bent my headphones from a outpouring clamp I recovered successful the garage.