Noble Kaiser Encore: balanced bliss distilled into a soaring aerie of superlatives

Pros: Vast soundstage with natural placement—doesn’t sound like an IEM, natural body, perfect timbre, speedy, micro-details-a-poppin Cons: Hiss on many sources; pinholes on the small side, making aftermarket cables a bit scary; potential side effects of purchase: living with one kidney, spousal waves of wrath, incredulous friends List price: $1850 (£1699) Acknowledgment Thanks @BangkokKid, otherwise... Continue Reading →

March 20, 2017 12

Aune M1S: one of the most transparent DAPs I have heard, and only $249

Pros: It sounds amazing: black background, excellent dynamics, accurate and spacious stage, brilliant tonal accuracy; good line-out function; 2.5mm balanced out; 3 gain levels; excellent power output; intuitive control scheme; build quality; price Cons: No tag based browsing even though it reads tags, CUE based gapless (annoying), no EQ, no standalone DAC, no USB OTG, buttons... Continue Reading →