Introduction I never expected that I’d be reviewing two USB-C dongles when I already have a pretty good phone for audio, but here I am with two units bestowed by HiFiGo to compare in the circa $50 portable DAC/Amp market. I’m looking forward to seeing how these do in a quick set of tests. Specifications... Continue Reading →
Acoustune This was the stall I most wanted to spend time at over the course of the weekend, after becoming a recent convert to the Acoustune "house sound" with the acquisition of one of their older models (the HS1503al) off another Head-Fi'er on eBay recently. For the uninitiated, Acoustune are a Japanese brand that specialise... Continue Reading →
Pros: Remarkably detailed, natural treble extension, deep bass extension, speed to dominate even the fastest tracks, flexible tuning with dB-Go and ‘Dual Tone’ cable, big soundstage, timbre, bass texture, revealing details previously unnoticed and giving new life to old music, can battle with full size headphones for stage Cons: large universal shell, price, cable is... Continue Reading →
Pros: Transparent, balanced sound, excellent resolution, great layering, impressive stage width and depth, speedy, dB-GO module, flexible tune-able sound (copper for warmth/bass body, silver for resolution and space) Cons: large universal shell, price, cable is a touch heavy on the ear, cable housing could be softer material, midrange touch back of neutral List Price: $2099... Continue Reading →
Pros: Bass that competes with good dynamic drivers, silky mids, tiny shell size, excellent Rhapsodio cable, excellent overall build quality, good selection of tips, custom same price as universal, very competitive value proposition Cons: Rhapsodio cable currently only available single-ended, source dependent sonic precision, some sources will be too warm for some, trades some detail... Continue Reading →
Pros: beautiful natural timbre, full body without sacrificing detail, big driving power, solid and sexy construction, awesome volume knob, top-loaded audio outputs, format compatibility Cons: small screen, wheel control, hiss with a few IEMs (especially out of 2.5mm), no wireless connectivity (Bluetooth, DLNA, streaming, etc.) List Price: £1199 (Audio Sanctuary), $1299 (Todd The Vinyl Junkie)... Continue Reading →
Pros: I can listen to sensitive IEMs on the Questyle QP2R now without being swallowed by hiss, nice diamond dust feel and look to the casing, simple to use, lightweight, takes pressure off of 2.5mm jack Cons: 2.5mm jack isn’t flush with barrel, original iEMatch less expensive List Price: $69 Product Website: https://ifi-audio.com/portfolio-view/accessory-iematch2-5 Rating Disclaimer:... Continue Reading →
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 →
Pros: Excellent tonality, good soundstage width, very detailed, balanced output with good power, solid build quality, leather case (not included by default everywhere) Cons: Horrible app implementation, navigation niggles, DLNA music app sounds substantially worse than standard music app, tiny hardware buttons, wobbly volume knob Price: $899 (€899) (Haven’t found UK shop with it yet)... Continue Reading →
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