Views 3,383 iBasso DX180 is a $529 USD DAP Digital Audio Player with 4 CS43131 DAC chips, Snapdragon 665 SoC, Android 13 Operating System, and Dedicated USB DAC function. With a high driving power from the 4.4mm balanced headphone output, and low noise from the 3.5mm single ended output, DX180 …
Revealing
iFi hip-dac 3 Hifi Portable Headphone Amplifier – Hewn Titanium Shadow
Views 6,980 iFi hip-dac 3 is a $199 USD DAC and Headphone Amplifier, with a dark titanium color / what I would call coffee colored, and with a similar design as the ifi hip-dac2 that we reviewed before, but improved technical performance, and a smoother, less gaudy design. Today we …
SMSL PS200 HiFi High Fidelity DAC – Unpretentious Design, Alacrity Attack
Views 9,659 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 …
OneOdio OpenRock X Open Ear Air Conduction Earbuds – Resolution Finally Here
Views 11,455 OpenRock X is a $169 USD pair of Open Ear Air Conduction Earbuds Bluetooth earphones, with a long battery life, large dynamic driver, and with IPX5 Water resistance. Today we will review them and briefly compare them to the market, exploring whether the Air Conduction technology is finally …
Audeze MM-100 HIFI Planar Headphones – Bleeding Edge Planar Precision And Consistency
Views 11,932 Audeze MM-100 is a $399 USD pair of over-the-ear planar magnetic headphones, designed for studio usage and music lovers, with a heavily improved comfort compared to other studio headphones, with the epic Audeze build quality and a low impedance, and high SPL, designed to work well with any …
Crosszone CZ-10 Enhanced HIFI Headphones – Atmospheric Sonic Field Localization
Views 16,396 Crosszone CZ-10 Enhanced is a $995 USD pair of over-the-ear headphones made with the aim of creating the most pleasing sound and tuning, with a wide and natural soundstage, and they are a retuning of the original CZ-10, the enhanced version aiming to deliver a better sonic quality. …
MUSICIAN PEGASUS II R2R HiFi DAC – Revealer Of Hidden Worlds
Views 21,549 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), …
Burson Audio V7 Vivid PRO OP-AMP – Music Played In Supreme Layers
Views 14,534 Burson Audio V7 Vivid are a $169 USD pair of OP-AMPs, with both Dual and Single variants, designed by Burson Audio for DAC/AMPs with modular OP-AMP design, using the DIP8 Sockets. To get a full upgrade for Burson PlayMate 2, you require 2 pairs of OP-AMPs, a pair …
FiiO SP3 BT High Fidelity Active Desktop Speakers – Grandiose Dreams Of A Smooth Talker
Views 11,661 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 …
NF Audio NA2+ HIFI IEMs – Balance In Emergence
Views 17,290 Nf Audio Na2+ is a $169 USD Entry-Level IEM with a MC2L-10M Dynamic Driver at its heart, designed for a balanced user experience. Today we will review the new Na2 Plus and compare them to other entry-level IEMs, including iBasso 3T-154 (149 USD), HIDIZS MP145 (159 USD), and …
FiiO JD1 HIFI IEMs – Jade Audio Universe Of Metal Earphones
Views 8,300 FiiO JD1 is a $15 USD Entry-Level IEMS that we’re going to shortly review today and see where the ultra entry-level range is at right now, exploring whether you can settle there, or if you should pursue a higher range when in this hobby. Introduction FiiO wnts …
SoundPeats Air4 PRO aptX ANC IEMs – Snapdragon Sounds
Views 9,679 SoundPeats Air4 PRO is a $89 USD pair of TWS True Wireless Bluetooth Earbuds / IEMs, with silicone tips, full contact with the ear canal, and aptX Lossless sound offered by Snapdragon. They also have one of the most effective ANC implementations out there, as they can entirely …
SoundPeats Space HIFI Bluetooth Headphones – Graffiti Notes On Paper Walls
Views 14,224 SoundPeats Space is a $89 USD pair of Bluetooth Headphones, with long battery life, Hybrid Active Noise Canceling, and large 40mm dynamic drivers, that we are going to review today. As this is part of our entry-level range of reviews, we will focus on how each sounds like, …
SWEEAR HE-Live5 HIFI IEMs – Holy Driver Of Pure Bliss
Views 19,511 Sweear HE-Live5 is a $899 USD pair of IEMs with one 10mm custom dynamic driver, and 4 balanced armatures. They also come with a modular cable, high-end packaging, and a sound that will surely satisfy even the pickiest listener. Today we will review the Sweear HE-Live 5 and …
HIFIMAN Mini Shangri-La Headphone System – Brilliant Electrostatic HIFI Delight
Views 24,393 HIFIMAN Mini Shangri-La is a 2300 USD Electrostatic headphone system, composed of the Mini Shangri-La Headphones which cost 1100 USD, and the Electrostatic Amplifier which costs 1500 USD, with the system having a better price combined than if you bought each individually. Today we are going to review …
ZiiGaat x Fresh Reviews Arete – Frivolous Player Of Light Notes
Views 16,479 ZiiGaat x Fresh Reviews Arete is a $249 USD pair of IEMS or In-Ear Monitors with 5 drivers inside, 1 Dynamic Driver and 4 Balanced Armatures, which will be the focus of our review today. Since they follow a balanced tuning, we will explore how they fit in …
Topping A50 III Headphone Amplifier – Refinement And Power Minified
Views 19,298 Topping A50 III is a $199 USD Headphone Amplifier, recommended for purchase along with the Topping D50 III Dac which we have reviewed recently, and the headphone amplifier counterpart to that DAC. Today we will review the A50 III and compare it with other headphone amplifiers, including JDS …
iBasso D16 Taipan 1 Bit FPGA DAC AMP with 128 DACs – The Ultimate Listening Experience Of Cascaded 16 Sets of 8E PWM-DACs
Views 22,758 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 …
Astral Acoustics Eclipse IEM Cable – Light From Across The Universe
Views 14,272 Astral Acoustics Eclipse is a $950 USD HiFi IEM Cable with all connectors and terminations included, and today we will review the Eclipse, pairing it with multiple IEMs in the process. Given the price point, we will also compare Astral Acoustics Eclipse with multiple IEM cables, including Astral …
FiiO K11 R2R DAC Headphone Amplifier – Two Worlds Of Sound And Music
Views 12,504 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 …
FiiO KA11 by Jade Audio DAC/AMP Dongle – Mini CS43131 For The Win
Views 7,281 FiiO Ka11 is a $29 USD DAC / AMP / dongle with a nice ergonomic, high quality CS43131 DAC chip, and with up to 245 mW of power output per channel. Today we will review the Ka11 and explore how it sounds. Introduction Jade Audio is a …
Soundz Blade V2 Universal Greek HIFI IEMs – Dazzling Music Abound
Views 19,285 Soundz Blade V2 is a 750 EURO / $812 USD pair of high-end IEMs designed with a switch to either make the sound bright and neutral, perfect for monitoring, or add body, bass impact and more weight to music, turning it to a more enjoyable listening experience. Today …
ECdesigns PowerDAC-SX Stereo HIFI Integrated DAC – Ultimate Levels Of Power And Control
Views 27,619 ECdesigns PowerDAC-SX is a 3450 EURO / $3700 USD DAC which can directly drive speakers, and balanced headphones without using any amplifiers. It comes with a remote, and it is one of the most interesting and unique stereo sound reproduction solutions in the whole world. Today we will …
Creative Stage Air V2 HIFI Sound Bar – Slice Of Music
Views 9,538 Creative Stage Air V2 is a $49 USD Soundbar made for computers, with a battery that gives it 6 hours of battery life, 20W of Peak Power, and USB, 3.5mm and even Bluetooth inputs. Today we will take a look at and review the Stage Air V2 and …
Ricable Dedalus Speaker Elite Speaker Cable – Smoothly Shielded For HiFi Music Reproduction
Views 15,426 Ricable Dedalus Speaker Elite is a 882 EURO / $950 USD pair of cables for speakers, with this price tag being for today’s 3 meter pair, as the price is lower for 2 meters, at 778 EURO / $840 USD, and increasing up to 1095 EURO / $1185 …