Pros: Bass boost switch is awesome and sure to be a huge crowd pleaser, excellent battery life and range, neutral presentation, flexibility, nice looks Cons: App is not useful, average soundstage, slightly recessed mids, some physical ear fatigue, bass cut switch is nasty List Price: $149.99 (Amazon) Rating Disclaimer: ratings are subjective. Audio quality and... Continue Reading →
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 →
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 →
The HiFiMAN Susvara – a breathtakingly beautiful and breathtakingly expensive headphone
Pros: Detailed like an electron microscope, mostly flat frequency response, excellent sound stage height/depth/width, layering and instrument separation, incisive speed without excess, impeccable attack and decay, like being there (miniaturised) Cons: $6000, $6000, difficult to drive well (I still don’t know if I did) List Price: $6000 Product website: http://store.hifiman.com/index.php/susvara.html Introduction I’ve been a big... Continue Reading →
iFi Nano iDSD Black Label: great genes in this DAC family, wallet happy price
Pros: Excellent transparent sound, small size, outstanding price, driving power for HD600, iEMatch built in, iPurifier built in, excellent 3.5mm line-out, two good filters, huge format compatibility Cons: Silk-screen writing is damn near impossible to read, doesn’t come with short OTG cable (one would be better than none), doesn’t come with USB3.0 adaptor so not... Continue Reading →
Indulgence Show London 2017: pure pleasure (part 2)
In our last installment you were treated, or tricked, as the now post Halloween landscape may have you assess, into reading a long piece about wires. This piece isn't so controversial. This piece is about sound treatment, gin, and joy—Pure Pleasure. The Indulgence Show was not a showcase of wires, that was my particular perversion.... Continue Reading →
Campfire Audio Andromeda – another stellar constellation from the stargazers at CA
Pros: Great value, classy metal build and accessory package, superbly balanced tuning, clarity, large and airy soundstage, neutral yet musical Cons: Sharp edges on the shell casing can cause discomfort for some, not for bassheads Introduction Anyone with more than a passing interest in high-end in ear audio gear costing more than $100 will most... Continue Reading →
64 Audio U8 – unboxing and initial impressions
Introduction I have always been fascinated by bass in music. That’s probably why I always feel a little bit of a fraud when someone calls me an “audiophile”, as my tastes quite often encompass a little more lower end substance than the current fashion for a more lean and mean sound. I can appreciate detail... Continue Reading →
Empire Ears Zeus-XR – the pinnacle of the pantheon
Pros: Sublime detail retrieval, very coherent tuning, switchable crossover modes, mid range clarity and expression, non fatiguing but truly transparent sound, superb build quality Cons: A little on the expensive side, prone to hiss with most sources, not a drastic difference between the two modes on some DAPs, not much else List Price: $2399 (empireears.com) Acknowledgment... Continue Reading →

