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

XIAUDIO (Eleven Audio) Formula S: Power and clarity sublimated

Pros: Crystal clear, exceptional imaging and depth, resolution and detail (especially bass texture) power for HiFiMAN Susvara, grace for Focal Utopia, excellent outputs, built like a tank Cons: not for low impedance high sensitivity IEMs, price List Price: $3499 Product Website: http://www.theevolutionofsound.com/xiaudio-formula-s/ Introduction Alex Twister introduced me to Michael Xiao, proprietor of Eleven Audio, formerly... Continue Reading →

February 12, 2018 5

The HiFiMAN Susvara – a breathtakingly beautiful and breathtakingly expensive headphone

Pros: Detailed like an electron microscope, mostly flat frequency response, excellent sound stage height/depth/width, layering and instrument separation, incisive speed without excess, impeccable attack and decay, like being there (miniaturised) Cons: $6000, $6000, difficult to drive well (I still don’t know if I did) List Price: $6000 Product website: http://store.hifiman.com/index.php/susvara.html Introduction I’ve been a big... Continue Reading →

December 28, 2017 12

iFi Nano iDSD Black Label: great genes in this DAC family, wallet happy price

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 →