― Love For Music & Technology ―
DAC or Digital To Analogue converter is a class of device that does just this – converts the data from the digital domain, or files, to the analogue domain, or variations of voltage and power that a transducer or IEM / Headphone can further convert to sonic waves.
You can find my reviews on DACs below, and also the best DACs here: https://amzn.to/3r3NuCj
Views 9,051 FiiO S15 is a $999 USD High-End Streamer with a Preamplifier output, digital output, and a Flagship AKM DAC combo at the core, running an AK 4191 and an AK 4499EX dac combo. With a Snapdragon 660, Android 12, 35W Low-Noise Power Supply and a large 7.84″ Display, …
Views 8,751 FiiO K17 is the $899 USD Desktop DAC / Headphone Amplifier which employs a Flagship AKM DAC solution, relying on AK4191 + AK4499EX*2 DACs, combined with an extremely powerful 4000mW + 4000mW headphone amplifier inside. Today we will review the K17 and compare it with other similarly priced …
Views 3,781 SMSL C200PRO is a $199 USD DAC / Headphone AMP made for stereo setups, sold and fulfilled by Aoshida, with an ES9039Q2M DAC chip at the core. Today we will review the C200PRO and see how it fits in the rich market of today’s world. Introduction Aoshida …
Views 7,169 High-End Munich is coming to an end and today we cover the last ever audiophile event to take place in the Bavarian City, as this year we’re seeing changes for every aspect of audio, many new interesting technological advancements, as well as new products from companies, while others …
Views 16,933 TempoTec March V-M5 is a $220 USD Desktop Bluetooth DAC / Headphone Amplifier with a Dual DAC chip inside, LDAC support, and a limited version available with a beautiful wooden veneer case. Today we will review the March V and briefly compare it with the desktop DAC / …
Views 33,735 Shanling EH2 is a $369 USD desktop DAC / Headphone Amplifier with an In-House Developed 24-Bit R2R DAC, Extra Powerful Amplifier with a 4.3W driving power for a 32 OHM impedance, and with an external DC12V Power Supply. Today we take a look at the EH2, and compare …
Views 66,848 Rose Technics RT-5000 is a $699 USD Desktop DAC and Headphone Amplifier by ROSESELSA with a wooden face, golden accents, High-End Dual ESS9038PRO DACs inside, and 10 Texas Instruments Amplifier Chips inside. Today we will review the RT5000 and compare it with other similarly priced DAC/AMPs, including Burson …
Views 32,727 Shanling EH1 is a $219 USD Entry-Level DAC / Headphone AMP designed for desktop usage, with a Cirrus Logic CS43198 DAC at the heart, and up to 1015mW at 32 OHMs of driving power, and with a 4.4mm headphone output too. Today we will review the EH1 and …
Views 34,227 FiiO BTR17 is a $199 USD portable Bluetooth DAC, Headphone Amplifier that can be used as a desktop DAC/AMP, wired and wireless, and which has both a single ended and a balanced headphone output. With a flagship Dual DAC ES9096Q and a maximum driving power of 650mW x2 …
Views 31,117 Fosi Audio MC351 is a $202 USD (for the variant we’re testing with the 32V Power Supply) DAC, Integrated Headphone Amplifier, with a VU Meter, Bluetooth Receiver, and it has a 2.1 Channels configuration, including both speaker outputs and an output for both a different pair of active …
Views 36,742 Fosi Audio ZD3 is a $219 USD desktop DAC with a high performance ES9039Q2M DAC at the heart, XLR output, Trigger input and output, and which also allows Tube Rolling. Toda we will study the sound and design of the ZD3, how it works in multiple sonic systems, …
Views 37,562 With the winter holidays drawing us closer to each other and to our families, it is time to be grateful that we survived another year, that we got to listen to so much excellent music, to meet so many new awesome people, and to explore this wonderful hobby …
Views 29,008 Creative Sound Blaster G8 is a $149 USD desktop DAC / AMP with a Dual DAC inside, Hi-Res decoding support, and Proprietary XAMP dedicated amplifier. Today we will review the G8 and explore how it works, how it sounds like and if it would make a good purchase …
Views 37,177 SMSL B200 is a $85 USD Bluetooth Receiver and DAC, with a very rectangular design, and a 2.33″ display at the front. Today we will explore the B200, what it is, how it works, and how it sounds. Introduction SMSL is one of the most popular Chifi …
Views 32,178 Loxjie A40 is a $255 USD entry-level Integrated Power Amplifier with a huge driving power per channel, HDMI ARC input, USB input, Aux Input, Phono input, and with both a Speaker Output and a Headphone Output. Today we will explore the diverse and boundless world of the A40 …
Views 55,992 HIFIMAN EF500 is a $459 USD Desktop Headphone Amplifier, DAC, Streamer based on the novel Hymalaya R2R DACs developed by HIFIMAN, known to surpass the venerable PCM1704K. Today we will review the EF500 and also compare it with other DAC/AMPs including HIFIMAN EF499 (299 USD), Burson PlayMate2 (544 …
Views 78,854 HIFIMAN EF499 is a $299 USD Entry-Level R-2R DAC / Headphone Amplifier, with a powerful 4.35 W headphone output, and a full-black, vertical design. Given the price point, and the quality of the unit, we will also compare the EF499 with other similarly priced DAC / AMPs, including …
Views 33,238 NeoHipo DC10 is a $79 USD desktop DAC with a USB, Optical and Coaxial input, and an RCA Line out, here to give you a clean and crisp sound. Today we will review the DC10 and explore whether it is worth integrating in your stereo system. Introduction …
Views 45,423 Creative Sound Blaster AE-9 is a $350 USD PCIe Internal Sound Card with an external console controller, a full audio kit designed to be your DAC/AMP with a rich selection of software features, as well as lots of driving power, Xamp, BiAMP, Line Out, and many more features …
Views 32,008 SMSL PS200 is a $89 USD Multi Function Audio Converter with Bluetooth 5.0 input, DSD512 Support, MQA-CD support, and with an ES9039Q2M DAC at the heart for decoding the input signals. With all the signals going through the XMOS Xu316 popular USB interface, today we will review the …
Views 57,097 Musician Pegasus II is an R2R $1099 USD DAC sold and fulfilled by Aoshida, and produced by Musician. Today we will review and explore the Pegasus II and compare it to other high-end flagship DACs, including Dethonray Listening M1 (2599 USD), Denafrips Ares II R2R DAC (800 USD), …
Views 45,557 KAEI TAP-1 DACs is a $329 USD DAC / Headphone Amplifier, with Dual CS43131 DACs inside, a Tube Preamplifier stage, and a solid state amplifier stage with modular OP-AMPs, that allow you to fine tune and change the sound. The unit can come in multiple variations, with DACs …
Views 57,136 FiiO SP3 BT is a $349 USD pair of Hifi Speakers made for desktop nearfield monitoring, with 80W of Power, a 3.5″ Carbon Fibre Midrange driver and an 1″ Silk Tweeter. Today we will review the SP3 BT and compare them to other speakers and audio solutions that …
Views 89,041 iBasso D16 is a $1499 USD Digital to Analog Converter and Super Class A Headphone Amplifier, designed as a portable unit, with what I consider to be the most unique DAC tech we have seen this year. I am talking about 1Bit DACs, with 16 sets of cascaded …
Views 33,928 FiiO K11 R2R is a $169 USD DAC and Headphone Amplifier with an R2R or RRR DAC inside, lots of driving power, and as we will explore today, a very colorful, dynamic and punchy sound, not necessarily characteristic of R2R, but enjoyable and fun nonetheless. Instead of the …
Copyrighted (C) to www.audiophile-heaven.com