Lear BAMDAS5 – it’s the ‘m’ for madness injected into badass. Badass madness. BAMDAS5.

When I first heard about the BAMDAS5 (Bearing Array Multi Driver Acoustic Structure) from Lear Audio out of Hong Kong, I thought: those crazy bastards! This could change everything. I immediately started peppering CEO and lead designer Tatco Ma for more details on his mad scientist experiment. I've been talking to Tatco ever since I... Continue Reading →

January 26, 2018 1

Focal Utopia: unboxing and initial impressions

After reviewing the HiFiMAN Susvara, I wondered, and I'm sure many readers on this blog wondered, which of the Focal Utopia and the Susvara would be king of the mountain. Unfortunately, during the Susvara review, I didn't have both on hand to compare. Now I do, but I'm not going to tell you the result... Continue Reading →

January 22, 2018 1

Unique Melody ME.1: a spacious stage with an organic and euphonic sound

Pros: Big sound stage, smooth organic sound, no harshness to be found, euphonic, comfortable, open but not leaky Cons: Some detail is lost to give the euphonic sound, not extended on either side of the audio spectrum, source has bigger than average impact on sound (matching is important), isolation, big shell will not fit some... Continue Reading →

January 15, 2018 6

Empire Ears Athena – the goddess of Olympus

Ratings Pros: Impeccable build quality, balanced but musical tuning, incredible sense of smoothness, good note weight, fantastic midrange, good clarity Cons: May lack air in the treble for some, can take a little time to adjust to the tuning, extension/quantity in the sub bass area could be better Price (as of Dec 2017): $1299 Website: Empire Ears... Continue Reading →