The HiFiMAN MegaMini – now in plastic, with a far better $99 price

Pros: Tiny form factor, excellent build quality, nice looking, good even keeled sound, easy UI and intuitive control scheme, excellent value at $99 Cons: no external DAC, no gapless (on the way?), limited playlist capability, somewhat thin sound, dismal battery life (especially with HiRes) List Price: $99 Product website: http://store.hifiman.com/index.php/hifiman-megamini-high-res-music-player-531.html Rating disclaimer: ratings for audio... Continue Reading →

December 9, 2017 0

Massdrop x MEE Audio Pinnacle PX: the MEE Pinnacle P1 gets even more affordable

Pros: Stellar balanced sound, an absolute steal at $113.99, top of the class instrument separation in the price tier Cons: Difficult to drive, your phone won't do it justice, abandon all hope ye' iPhone as source people. Average soundstage. List Price: $113.99 Acknowledgement The Massdrop x MEE Pinnacle PX was supplied to me by Massdrop in exchange... Continue Reading →

July 4, 2017 1

RHA s500i and ma750: A tale of two sisters, the Thin White Duke and the Fat Bottomed Girl, excellent sound in two affordable flavours (A blast from the past review)

Blast from the past reviews Before we started up Audio Primate, many of us reviewed a ton of products on Head-Fi. Some of these reviews were great lyrically but terrible from a technique perspective, others were in touch with a past time, but tough to update. As reviewers, we have grown. Blast from the past... Continue Reading →

July 2, 2017 17

Mee Pinnacle P1: breath rarified sound in this price bracket

Pros: Clear, transparent sound, detailed, tight measured bass, sveldt and sexy metal shell, top tier price to performance ratio, brilliant accessories Cons: power hungry to get full performance, can be a touch bright List price: $199 (£139) Acknowledgment Thanks Tony at HiFi Headphones for letting me participate in the UK tour. It was fun as always.... Continue Reading →

June 9, 2017 4

HiFiMan SuperMini: Pint-sized nuclear powerplant for your ears in a Snickers bar size

Pros: Tiny form factor, excellent build quality, nice looking, easy UI and intuitive control scheme, ton of power, good battery life Cons: no external DAC, no line-out, no gapless (on the way?), limited playlist capability, screen protector unusable List price: $399 Acknowledgment Thank you HiFiMAN for providing this review sample in exchange for my honest... Continue Reading →

March 24, 2017 3

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

iFi Micro iCAN SE: Powerful, clear, excellent sound with some sonic flexibility

Pros: enough power to drive the HE-6/AKG K1000/name it to sufficient volume, very good sound, flexibility for different sound preferences, good value Cons: sounds dull without switches engaged, demanding headphones don’t reach potential in spite of copious power, lesser amps may sound better with lower demanding gear Acknowledgment Thanks iFi for lending me this review... Continue Reading →