IMR Acoustics R1 – unusual ceramic/beryllium hybrid with bags of tone

Pros: Smooth and organic sound signature, good all metal build, serious bass prowess, nice texture and weight to the sound, smooth and clear treble, very coherent and musical tuning, multiple tuning options with filters, capability to open up the soundstage with the open/closed port mechanism Cons: Not massive amounts of micro-detail, could potentially be a... Continue Reading →

September 11, 2017 6

Empire Ears Zeus-XR – the pinnacle of the pantheon

Pros: Sublime detail retrieval, very coherent tuning, switchable crossover modes, mid range clarity and expression, non fatiguing but truly transparent sound, superb build quality Cons: A little on the expensive side, prone to hiss with most sources, not a drastic difference between the two modes on some DAPs, not much else List Price: $2399 (empireears.com) Acknowledgment... Continue Reading →

August 30, 2017 4

CanJam London 2017: Effect Audio, FiiO, RHA, 64 Audio, 1More, iBasso, Final, Advanced, Kennerton (Part Two)

Sorry it's taken a while for me to get this post up. You can see the first set of impressions here. I had a job interview for a job that may enable more paying the bills and more fun purchases. Wish me luck! At the end of the first day of CanJam London 2017, I... Continue Reading →

July 28, 2017 7

Questyle QP2R – initial impressions (part 2 of 2)

Introduction This set of impressions follows on from my previous blog post about the QP2R (which you can find here), and concentrates mainly on the sonics and some comparisons with other gear. If you want to get the full picture, feel free to go back and read the first chapter - if you are the sort... Continue Reading →

July 19, 2017 2

Trinity Phantom Hunter – unboxing pictures

UPDATE 21/05/17 - new comparison pictures added against various IEMs (Campfire Vega, Andromeda etc) After one of the most awaited (to put it mildly) product launches on the Head-Fi forums, the Trinity Audio flagship 5-driver IEM (the Phantom Hunter) is now starting to arrive in mailboxes around the globe. If you are one of the many... Continue Reading →