Pros: Generally crowd-pleasing sound signature: not bright like RHA’s other products, more warmth; forgiving sound signature; ceramic shell is pretty, nearly indestructible, and ergonomic; 3 good cables included alongside tons of tips; build quality; 3 year warranty; active customer service Cons: soft veil over the mids, some mid-bass emphasis and minor bleed, needs more treble... Continue Reading →
WAVAYA Tria Live! Review: balanced beautiful porcelain
Pros: balanced sound, crisp clear mids, good bass texture, value for money, beautiful leather case, Linum BaX cable has fantastic ergonomics and has a solid tour-proof connector, less wax build-up and better thermal management with porcelain vs. acrylic Cons: case not big enough for most aftermarket cables, case not a bombproof piece of tour kit,... Continue Reading →
WAVAYA Octa: a porcelain dream
Pros: Superlative upper mids, superlative treble, cymbals and violins are voiced wonderfully, drum timbre, excellent instrument separation, good stage depth, nice looks, well-controlled bass with good extension, beautiful leather case, Linum SuperBaX cable has great sound and fantastic ergonomics, less wax build-up with porcelain Cons: touch of warmth can lean a bit away from neutral,... Continue Reading →
Unique Melody Mason V3 review: mastering the details at terminal velocity
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 →
Unique Melody Mentor V3 Review: brilliantly balanced and imminently flexible
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 →
HiFiMAN RE2000 Gold and Silver: fantastic audio quality, fubar construction
Pros: Well controlled extended bass, tight linear sound, impressive stage width, excellent resolution and dynamics, lovely timbre Cons: Slight recession in mids, poor shell design for mid to small size ears, there are better built IEMs for under $200 List Price: $1500 (Silver), $2000 (Gold) Product Website: RE2000 Silver, RE2000 (Gold) Pros and cons are... Continue Reading →
Kumitate Lab KL-Sirius: four sweet drivers in a sexy acrylic shell
Pros: Silky mids, delicate treble, scale with upgrades, excellent technical performance, good stage width and depth Cons: Reference bass (meaning light), minimal sub-bass, lack of accessories, stock cable is too thin List Price: $800.00 (¥90,000 JPY) Product Website: http://www.kumitatelab.com/kl-sirius/?sl=en Rating Disclaimer: ratings are subjective. Audio quality and value do not mean the same thing across... Continue Reading →
Flares Pro: the best Bluetooth headphones I’ve heard
Pros: Extraordinarily clear in Bluetooth, excellent resolution and speed, accurate timbre, black background, completely non-fatiguing, tiny and comfortable, cool packaging, super ergonomic tips, great Bluetooth range and battery life Cons: rolled off sub-bass, microphonic cable, USB micro, prone to electrical interference in Bluetooth, ugly poor quality cables List Price: £349 ($399) Product Website: https://www.flareaudio.com/products/flares Rating... Continue Reading →
Questyle QP2R: my favourite digital audio player
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 →