iFi iPurifier2: USB clean-up value king in a pocketable size

Pros: Increased soundstage width and depth, better note definition, timing smears fixed, cleaner vocals and treble, price better than a midrange USB cable and gives greater performance boost Cons: Didn’t feel like it pushed higher end cables to their limits, not as good as Micro iUSB3.0 List Price: Acknowledgment The iPurifier2 was loaned to me... Continue Reading →

March 12, 2017 4

Airist Audio Heron 5: power and grace in form and function

Pros: articulate, silky smooth, neutral, black background like the dark side of the moon, power to spare Cons: doesn’t mate well with low impedance phones, no impedance measurements provided for low and high jacks, stepped attenuator volume control lacks sufficient steps and is noisy on step switches List Price: $1000 Acknowledgment Thanks Airist Audio for... Continue Reading →

March 10, 2017 1

Hanging out with “The Party”, Andy Shauf’s 2016 chill pop masterpiece

Andy Shauf's the party presents a story in 10 parts from 10 perspectives. It captures angst, tenderness, jealousy, and the awkwardness of being an outsider, all whilst keeping you riveted to the subtle arrangements of softly played guitar, chugging bass grooves, intertwining female and male vocals softly sung/spoke but with feeling, layered vocal dubs, piano,... Continue Reading →

March 8, 2017 0

Questyle CMA 600i: who needs a stack of components when CMA600i does it all so well? DSD256, fantastic clarity, plenty of drive. Heck yes, I want it.

Pros: Excellent clarity, dead silent noise floor, drives my HD600 as well as my Heron 5, balanced topology, clean pre-amp output, audibly excellent signal to noise ratio Cons: Soundstage could be wider (still average/above average), tiny indicator on volume control List price: £1199 from SCV Distribution or Audio Sanctuary in London ($1,299 in USA from... Continue Reading →

March 6, 2017 13

An interview with Lawrance of Unique Melody

Introduction Today I’m interviewing Lawrance of Unique Melody, makers of custom and universal IEMs with some rather unique designs. I contacted Lawrance via Unique Melody’s facebook page. In the past they were early adopters on making hybrid IEMs, those vaunted and mystical items that throw down multiple balanced armatures and one or more dynamic drivers.... Continue Reading →

March 5, 2017 5

Bristol Sound & Vision Show 2017: Dispatches from the 30th Anniversary event

Bristol Sound & Vision Show 2017 Saturday Report The big day…. Saturday 25th February Marriot Hotel Bristol City Centre Welcome to a rollercoaster ride through a dazzling array of vinyl to video £10 earphones to £120,000 headphones, of esoterica on the ground floor to hysteria on the 6th and everything in between… The Bristol Sound... Continue Reading →

March 3, 2017 0

RHA DACAMP L1: flexible like a yogi [with the right headphones]

Pros: Good tonality, 12 steps of treble and bass adjustment, lovely volume knob, good pairing with RHA CL1 and CL750, power output good for all IEMs, excellent format compatibility, fantastic sound when fed by a DAP Cons: Impedance too high on balanced output (4.4Ω), soundstage somewhat small compared to competition, amplification too weak for hungry... Continue Reading →

March 2, 2017 14

Ultimate Ears Reference Remastered (UERR): who says reference isn’t musical?

Pros: Airy big soundstage, lovely treble and bass, precision and speed, noise isolation, neutral tonality, excellent tool for reviewing, look awesome Cons: Can’t share how wonderful they sound with friends, can be a touch thick on some vocals List price: $999 (£870) Acknowledgment Thanks Mike Diaz at Ultimate Ears for supplying these as a review... Continue Reading →