Spirit Torino Mistral Pro – the wooden wonder

Intro and acknowledgement I heard and purchased the Mistral Pro at Canjam London 2022 at a discounted price, direct from the Spirit Torino representatives there. No input was sought or received as to the content of this review - all opinions (however misguided) are my own. My thanks go to the team at Spirit Torino,... Continue Reading →

January 22, 2023 0

Spirit Torino Mistral Pro – the wooden wonder

January 22, 2023 0

HiFiMAN Jade II Electrostatic Headphone and Amplifier Review: inviting electrostat

Pros: Silky mids, balanced sound signature, fluid and detailed treble, treble that contrasts favourably to other electrostats, comfortable earpads, lightweight, that cool jade green dust-cover on the drivers Cons: Tangle prone flat cable, amp isn’t completely silent and takes several hours to warm up (leave it on if you like listening), not as comfortable as... Continue Reading →

December 2, 2019 0

SendyAudio Aiva review: luxurious and energetic

Pros: rocking guitars, pristine percussion and treble, nicely textured bass, excellent resolution, great speed, it’s ravishingly beautiful, high quality cable with stock 4.4mm balanced and included adapter to 3.5mm single-ended, cheekily awesome case, everything about it screams quality, best overall package in this price range, driveable off of my LG V30 and also some USB-C... Continue Reading →

November 11, 2019 7

oBravo Cupid – first impressions of something unexpected and brilliant

Would you believe me if I told you that I'm enjoying the £249 oBravo Cupid as much as any oBravo I've listened to? The oBravo line-up is notoriously picky with amplification, including the £8999 Ra C-Cu. Each of the ERIB and EAMT hybrid series has several flavours with different sound according to housing material (warm wood, neutral... Continue Reading →

June 9, 2019 7

RHA CL2 in-ear planar magnetic, with wireless and balanced, coming September

RHA is bringing new tech out! Yay! CL2, baby! I get excited when new tech comes out. I geeked out over graphene when I first heard about it on twitter. I geeked out when I heard about the Unique Melody ME.1, and I thought it was pretty cool when RHA released a ceramic shelled, dynamic... Continue Reading →

August 28, 2018 0

Audeze iSINE 10 – a DSPlanar in ear experience

Pros: Open sound, that planar bass texture, clarity resolution for the price, no distortion audible at any volume, ability to take EQ like a chameleon Cons: Fit is fiddly, lack of isolation, need EQ applied to sound their best (either Cipher cable or parametric) List Price: $399 Product Website: https://www.audeze.com/products/isine-series/isine10-ear-headphone Rating Disclaimer: ratings are subjective.... Continue Reading →

March 29, 2018 0

Advanced Alpha: unboxing and initial impressions

I initially met the folks at Advanced at CanJam London 2017. I actually had mixed them up in my head as Advanced Acousticwerkes (AAW), and had them in my schedule for the 2nd day as a must visit. I was confused, but at least I was half right. Advanced surprised me as much as any... Continue Reading →

February 15, 2018 3

Unique Melody ME.1: a spacious stage with an organic and euphonic sound

Pros: Big sound stage, smooth organic sound, no harshness to be found, euphonic, comfortable, open but not leaky Cons: Some detail is lost to give the euphonic sound, not extended on either side of the audio spectrum, source has bigger than average impact on sound (matching is important), isolation, big shell will not fit some... Continue Reading →