SOUNDAWARE P1 Headphone Amplifier Review: big power, big performance

Pros: Powerful (drives Susvara easily), clean neutral sound, transparent, compact, nice construction with no visible screws, attractive smokey glass display top, balanced inputs and outputs alongside single ended inputs and outputs, 2 gain settings Cons: Not very useful as pre-amp due to no remote control, not built for low impedance sensitive IEMs, input selection button... Continue Reading →

November 18, 2018 0

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 →

November 27, 2017 13

Arcam rHead: a solid black brick of audio goodness worth building on

Pros: Good power, excellent build quality, compact form factor, pairs well with IEMs all the way to full-size cans, nicely musical Cons: Stage depth not as great as my other amps, some details and natural edges are smoothed over Acknowledgment Thanks Arcam of Cambridge for including me in a UK tour in exchange for my... Continue Reading →