Views 59,712 Cables have always been a heated subject of conversation for music lovers, with some really passionate about them, and some reticent to speak their mind, and today’s cable is a 24 AWG, UP-OCC Copper Wire, priced at 999 USD. This places the Copper+ at the top of the …
Desktop Equipment is mainly made to be used at home or at your main desk, and it is not generally intended to be portable. This includes Speakers, DACs, AMPs, even Headphones, and desktop equipment is generally larger and / or needs access to a power outlet to work. HIFI products are generally considered desktop equipment, although you can find some which can be used portably.
You can find the best desktop equipment here: https://amzn.to/3QiOhdd
Desktop
Magna Hifi Mano ULTRA mkii Streamer – Digital To Digital Muse
Views 62,864 From one of Netherland’s best-known shops, Magna Hifi, we have the 1000 EUR / ~1200 USD Mano Ultra mkii Streamer, a Digital To Digital converter made to refine your listening experience, coming with full configurability form the factory, and today’s review will focus on how it can improve …
Astell&Kern A&Ultima SP2000T – Tube & Solid State Blends Musically
Views 100,886 The best part about reviewing a 2500 USD Music Player with Hybrid Tube – Solid State tech inside is that you can compare it to pretty much everything else, and you still know it is going to be a fun trip. Today’s review will focus on a true …
Hilidac Audirect Beam 2 DAC/AMP – MQA Blues Got Me Singing’
Views 41,185 You heard about Hilidac’s Audirect Beam, Whistle, and Atom PRO, now it is time for the second beam of enlightenment, Beam 2, with MQA and Hi-Res support, and priced at 100 USD, and which will be compared to FiiO BTR5 2021 (130 USD), iFi Hip DAC (150 USD), …
Violectric HPA V340 Headphone Amplifier / Preamplifier – German Musicality
Views 66,002 Germany has been the home to many technological wonders, and audio is part of that as well. The Violectric HPA V340 is priced at 1800 EURO, or roughly 2000 USD, and it is a full sized AMP, with PREAMP functions, high damping factor, and will be compared with …
iBasso DX240 – Sing Me The Sweetest Melody
Views 63,288 We’re reviewing the new iBasso DX240 today, a portable music player or Digital Audio Player (DAP), priced at 950 USD, and a iBasso is back on top, and wants to make sure that you can use the AMP modules ecosystem from their DX220, so the new one is …
HIDIZS H2 Bluetooth AMP – Smallest Receiver Out There
Views 26,607 We sometimes work on reviewing something that’s so tiny it gets lost in the queue, and this is the case with the 50 USD H2 Bluetooth Amplifier / Receiver from HIDIZS. This one doesn’t really have any comparisons I can make given its price, and the closest Bluetooth …
Arylic A50 Streaming Amplifier – Smol Boy Got Class
Views 52,987 Arylic A50 is a 220 USD Class-D Streaming Stereo Amplifier, or some kind of goose-camel-ostrich-cat that can do many jobs, in many inquisitive ways, but ends up being a pretty fun and good sounding unit in the end. Given its price and usage scenario, I can’t comment on …
HIFIMAN Arya Stealth Magnet Headphones – Exceedingly Musical
Views 74,271 You’re never too young nor too old to know about the truth of Arya, or the “:Noble One:”. Today’s headphone is a rework of the good old trusty Arya that I reviewed a while ago, and today’s 2021 version has the new Stealth Magnets technology from HIFIMAN, and …
SMSL AO200 Stereo Amplifier – Rabbit’s Foot, Either Quick Or Lucky
Views 65,242 S.M.S.L AO200 is a full sized, full powered 50W Speaker Stereo Amplifier priced at 280 USD, and designed with many features like a USB input, Bluetooth input, RCA and XLR inputs, and runs in class D. Today we will compare it to other stereo amplifiers, like Burson Funk …
FiiO BTR5 2021 – MQA Freedom At The End
Views 46,439 The title says it all, and we’re at the end of 2021, but the latest version of BTR5 has the 2021 monicker, support for MQA, and it is priced at 130 USD, which is a bit more than the 110 / 120 USD that the original costed at …
allo Audio Revolution DAC – Warm Autumn Evening Code
Views 41,555 allo Audio decided to make something special with their Revolution DAC, and this is going to cost about 260 USD for the basic variant, but you’ll need to pay about 320 USD if you want a remote control, and a Power Supply with it. Given its price point, …
Burson Funk Amplifier for Speakers, Headphones & IEMs – Let’s Jazz
Views 60,276 Burson Funk is a high-end amplifier for Stereo and Headphones, with a starting price of 550 USD, and depending on the configuration, able to reach 750 USD. It will be compared to other amplifiers, like Aune S6 PRO, Hagerman Tuba, and Audio-GD Master 19. Introduction I have …
Palab M1 Mini DAC/AMP – Beats The Chord In Music
Views 43,470 Palab M1 mini is a DAC/AMP made by Palab, and it is no secret that it is a mighty good one, with a price tag of 500 USD, MQA decoding abilities, and a Balanced output. The main comparisons included in today’s review will be with really capable competitors, …
Buchardt S400 Speakers – Music is Everywhere
Views 99,499 Buchardt S400 are a pair of speakers made with ingenious marketing and design, and they are sold for 1800 USD at the moment of writing this review. They will be compared with Aurender S5W, Edifier S1000DB, and Audioengine A5+. For driving the S400, we will have pairings with …
xDuoo MT-602 Tube Headphone Amp – Freak Trickster
Views 61,517 MT-602 is a headphone amplifier with tubes on a budget, priced at 100 USD, and it comes with two 6J1 Tubes, runs in class A, and will be compared to JDS Labs Atom AMP+, Soundavo HP-1 DAC-AMP, and xDuoo TA-10 Headphone AMP, also with tubes. Introduction xDuoo …
Tempotec E35 Sonata DAC/AMP – Glass Design Amplified
Views 50,007 Tempotec E35 Sonata is a DAC/AMP with the price tag of 80 USD, driverless operation, dual DACs, and 80mW of power at 32 OHMs. It will be compared to iBasso DC-01 (50 USD), FiiO M3 PRO (70 USD), FiiO BTR5 (110 USD). Introduction Tempotec has been a …
iBasso AMP12 Module for DX300 – Accelerate Towards The Future
Views 58,252 iBasso works on refining their DX300 DAP, and that starts with the best module available for it right now, which is AMP12, the natural evolution of the original module it comes with. Somehow, the default amp module was already better than what we had available for DX220 so …
JDS Labs Atom AMP+ – Uber Amplified Maximus
Views 73,868 JDS Labs Atom AMP+ is an amplifier made by JDS Labs from the USA, and priced at 100 USD at the moment of writing this review. I did not review many amplifiers in this price range, so the comparisons will include the original JDS Labs Atom, xDuoo TA-10, …
Keces S3 DAC / Balanced AMP / Preamp – My Favorite Warm Performer
Views 74,098 Keces S3 is a high-end top of the shelf DAC / Balanced Headphone Amplifier made in TAIWAN, and priced at 1300 USD. The comparison list will include Audio Analogue AAdac, Wells Milo, iBasso DX300, and Mytek Brooklyn DAC+. The pairing list will include HIFIMAN Arya, Rosson RAD-0, and …
Ocean Digital WR230S Internet DAB Radio – It Sounds Actually Good
Views 60,440 The concept of a DAB radio is nothing new, but at least to me, it is something I never reviewed or experienced before. WR230S is like a mini jukebox that you need to keep powered from the wall mains, and it is priced at about 170 USD. It …
Qualiton APR204 Preamplifier – Rev My Engine
Views 53,426 Qualiton APR204 is a Preamplifier made by a Hunarian company, the country known as Romania’s Best Friend, so I’ll be extra cautious to be perfectly neutral and objective towards it. The APR204 Preamplifier is priced at 2300 EUR, or 2300 USD, and it will get paired with a …
Earstudio HUD100 MK II DAC/AMP – All Grown Up
Views 40,905 HUD100 MK II is a DAC/AMP made by Earstudio as a response to their original, which was criticized by many including me in the full written review I posted before. The MK II is totally different, and it comes with more driving power, and a lower price point, …
Smyth A16 Realiser Headstand DAC / AMP – 3D Stage For Everyone
Views 74,964 Smyth A16 Realiser is a really unique product that deserves a longer and more complex review than my typical takes. It is priced at around 4000 USD at the moment of writing this full review, it is basically a DAC / AMP / DSP processor for 3D sound. …
Soundaware A1X PRO Streamer/DAC/AMP – Big Boys Use Big Guns
Views 66,678 Soundaware A1X PRO is the kind of Streamer that will go straight to your heart once you get to hear it, but first, we should talk about the price, which is 700 USD. This kind of price is not so huge even for DAC/AMPs nowadays, but A1X PRO …