When you are young, you desire certain items because all of your friends have them. I remember begging my Mum for those hideous sports trousers with the snaps all up the side of the legs, and when I got them, I hated how cold and uncomfortable they were. As you get older the opposite happens, and you begin to crave the things nobody else has. Aedle VK-2’s are beautifully handcrafted, limited production headphones with only one hundred units being created each month. All units are numbered consequently, and each pair comes with an metal ID card, including the serial number of your VK-2 and a unique code for registering for the two years warranty. The VK-2’s are handmade in Aedle’s Parisian workshop, Rue Campagne Première, from the CNC precision machined T6063 aluminium body, lambskin leather from south of France to the titanium drivers. Each box comes with the VK-2 headphones, 2 detachable magnetic earpads, 1.2m cable with mic & remote control, 1.8m cables, 6.5mm adapter, airplane adapter, cleaning fabric, and a dapper travel bag with leather trim and magnetic closure that complements the headphones (no cheap draw string bags here).

These headphones have a minimalist design, the metal and leather combination (particularly in the brown) create a striking, high-end look. The ear cups adjust in height by simply sliding up and down a rod and they rotate 90˚ so they can lay flat around your neck or in the storage bag. Due to my small head, I wear the headphones on their smallest setting and they won’t fully rotate on this setting, which means I have to slightly adjust them to store them away. The head band could do with a little more padding for my liking, just to make it more comfortable for longer periods of wear, also inserting the cable isn’t the easiest thing as its difficult to see or feel the direction of the hole. The VK-2’s use 40mm dynamic drivers made from titanium neodymium that create 32Ohms DCR, a 129Db sound pressure level and 20 Hz – 20 kHz frequency range. The sound is premium with crisp and clear tones with a comfortable level of bass, they do leak sound, but hey, that just means more people will gaze at them in jealousy (at least that’s how you can interpret those dirty looks on public transport). One last draw back is that the VK-2 are wired only, no Bluetooth option available, which maybe a problem for some. Apart from that, these are top end headphones, stunningly crafted with excellent sound quality. RRP $420

4.5 out of 5

But now

Pros

High quality materials

Minimalist stylish design

Premium accessories

Excellent sound quality

Cons

Wired only

Leaks sound

Ear cups don’t rotate fully when on the smallest size setting