Views 42,551 There’s something about those affordable DAC/AMPs that makes me smile every time I hear one. They tend to be great value, but also mostly designed nicely with the user in mind. HP-1 DAC is the same, and for 130 USD you can have the ultimate DAC/AMP for an …
Amplifier – that part that takes the signal from a DAC and powers your Headphones, Speakers, IEMs, and even more.
You can find my reviews on amplifiers below, and the best amplifiers here: https://amzn.to/3GeTvSt
A. Amplifier
Shanling MW200 Bluetooth Neckband – Adapted For Music
Views 60,881 Today they finally convinced me to review a neckband in writing, so we’ll start with a Shanling. The price for the MW200 is 120 USD, and it is maid to be paired with IEMs based on the MMCX connector. This means that I’ll be pairing it with Final …
Versatility Ultimate – xDuoo XD-05 Plus DAC & Amplifier
Views 36,772 It is time to look into the most versatile of the midrange portable DAC/AMPs, namely the xDuoo XD-05 Plus. This one sports almost an entire WATT of power, and it will be compared to iFi xDSD, FiiO Q5s, Earmen TR-AMP, and paired with HIFIMAN Deva, FiiO FA9, and …
Refined Masterpiece – iBasso DX300 Music Player
Views 87,367 iBasso DX300 is iBasso’s flagship in 2021, and it is priced at 1200 USD. It comes with 4 DAC chips, Dual Batteries, Snapdragon 660, 6GB of RAM, and 128 GB of ROM, and interchangeable AMP modules. It will get compared to the best of the best, like iBasso’s …
New Level Of Awesome – Singxer SDA-2 Balanced DAC / Headphone AMP
Views 57,777 SDA-2 from Singxer is the Next Level of a Midrange DAC/AMP with balanced XLR outputs at the back, Hi-Res processing, a Balanced Headphone Output, and a price of 700 USD. It will get compared to the Mytek Brooklyn DAC+, M2Tech Young MK III, and Denafrips Ares II. For …
Warm, Forward & Blue – iFi Hip DAC / AMP
Views 56,476 iFi Hip DAC is a very pocket-friendly DAC/AMP from the UK-based producer iFi, and it comes with a full feature set, including a beautiful design, and is priced at 150 USD, making it one of the most affordable DAC/AMPs out there. It will be compared to Earmen TR-AMP, …
Class A In A Nutshell – Centrance DACport HD
Views 44,305 CEntrance DACport HD is a class-A portable DAC/AMP for smartphones, priced at 180 USD, making it one of the more expensive DAC/AMPs out there. It will be compared to Earstudio HUD100, FiiO BTR5, Periodic Audio Nickel AMP. It will also get paired with FiiO FA9, HIFIMAN Deva, MAS …
Best Thus Far – FiiO BTR5 LDAC & aptX HD Bluetooth Receiver Review
Views 34,021 BTR5 is probably the most complete Bluetooth DAC/AMP on the market right now, and it costs 110 USD at the moment of making this review. This means that it will get compared to Earstudio HUD100, Lotto Paw S1, and Topping E30, all of which are close enough in …
6000 Hands Of Awesome – Lotoo Paw S1 USB DAC/AMP Review
Views 50,712 If you’re curious what’s the point of the title, it refers to Lotoo’s 6000 series of DAPs, which I will be reviewing in the future as well (hopefully). The Lotoo Paw S1 is a nice DAC/AMP made for Android Smartphones, which is made to work wired, quite different …
King Of Affodable Power – FiiO K5 PRO Desktop DAC/AMP Review
Views 89,019 FiiO K5 PRO gives a nice boost to your desktop setup, by having a Desktop-Class DAC, a Heavy Duty Headphone Amplifier, and a friendly price point of just 150 USD. This makes it very easy to recommend for pairing with a large selection of Headphones, including Ultrasone Signature …
Victorious Machine – Earmen TR-AMP DAC/AMP Review
Views 57,723 Earmen TR-AMP is a really well-priced DAC/AMP for those who need a ton of power, but also great sonic performance on the go. It is currently priced at 250 USD, which makes it a direct competitor to iFi xDSD, which is priced at 400 USD, FiiO Q5s, which …
Sweetness Of The Analogue Sound – Hagerman Tuba Amplifier Review
Views 29,287 Hagerman Tuba is a very pragmatic Tube Based Amplifier, priced at 650 USD. It is designed to drive Grado and Sennheiser but also Audeze and Beyerdynamic, and it has a 5 or 35 OHM Output impedance making it work less well with IEMs than with headphones. There’s a good …
Unexpected Winner – Audio-GD Master 19 Headphone Amplifier Review
Views 53,228 Audio-GD Master 19 is a heavyweight headphone amplifier that costs the magical price of 880 USD. This makes it far less expensive than some of the direct competitors, and since the list includes Feliks Euforia, Wells Milo, Mytek Brooklyn DAC+, Aune S6 PRO, and iBasso DX220, you know …
Director Of Sound – Feliks Audio Euforia Tube Headphone Amplifier
Views 80,760 Feliks Euforia is a 2000-EURO Tube Amplifier for headphones, and it will be compared to Wells Milo, Mytek Brooklyn DAC+, Audio-GD Master 19, Aune S6 PRO, and Feliks Echo. Pairings will include Beyerdynamic Amiron, Sennheiser HD660S, Audeze LCD-MX4, and HIFIMAN Arya, Kennerton Thror, and the magical Crosszone CZ-1. …
Sound Science – JDS Labs Atom Headphone Amplifier Review
Views 56,237 JDS Labs Atom is a high-power Amplifier for headphones, made to drive almost anything under the sun, or under the moon, because it does have its limits. This being said, it is priced at 100 USD, where it doesn’t really have a lot of competition, even something like …
FiiO Q5S Modular DAC/AMP Review – Blessing In Smol Package
Views 21,077 FiiO Q5s is the update of the older Q5, but now has DSD Decoding, Bluetooth 5.0, and 4.4mm Balanced outputs from the get-go. Priced at 350 USD, this modular USB DAC/AMP has iFi xDSD, Earmen TR-AMP, and xDuoo XD-10 Poke as the main competitors. Based on popular request, …
Aune S6 PRO DAC / Balanced Headphone AMP Review – The Heavyweight Fighter
Views 54,377 Aune S6 PRO is a large Desktop DAC/ Balanced headphne amplifier, priced at 550 USD at the moment of writing this review. This makes it a competition for the likes of iFi iDSD Black Label, Pro-Ject Pre Box S2 Digital, and Burson Playmate. All of those are fairly …
Monster Power, Midrange Price – xDuoo TA10 USB DAC & Headphone Amplifier
Views 49,184 What happens when a company designs a really decent, or otherwise even awesome DAC and Tube Headphone Amplifier for just 290 USD, is xDuoo TA10. Given its price point, Burson PlayMate, Pre Box S2 Digital, and iFi xDSD are the main competitors for Today’s Review on an amazing …
Natural MQA DAC Performer – Pro-Ject Pre-Box S2 Digital DAC and PREAMP Review
Views 45,207 The Austrian Manufacturer Pro-Ject came out with another tiny, yet feature-rich DAC and Pre-AMP, named Pre-Box S2 Digital, capable of decoding MQA, DSD, and having a headphone output. Given its price point of about 400 USD, it will be compared to iFi xDSD, FiiO Q5s, and HIDIZS DH1000, …
Uber Nano Mini – Periodic Audio Nickel AMP
Views 55,559 Periodic Audio Nickel is a unique device of its own, a high-power mini mini Amplifier that’s the size of a dime. For its 300 USD price point, it has quite a few other amplifiers it has to beat before it has a place of its own, like iFi …
Power of Change – iFi iTube2 // iPower // DC iPurifier 2
Views 20,910 iFi iTube 2 is a preamplifier priced at 400 USD, and comes to enhance your home listening experience. If your setup doesn’t have a good quality power brick, you can always go for iPower from iFi, which is priced at 50 USD, and if you’re looking for something …
Music At Its Finest – Wells Milo Headphone Amplifier Review
Views 41,982 Wells Milo is a high-end Headphone Amplifier, meant to fight with the best, and it will be compared against the Mytek Brooklyn DAC+, paired with the Young MK III from M2Tech, and also compared with iBasso DX220 + AMP7, and the Luxman P-750U Headphone Amplifier. Introduction Wells …
More Powah – iFi xCan Amplifier Review
Views 51,437 All jokes connected to the xCan name were made already, so I went with something more organic this time around… iFi xCan is an Amplifier designed by iFi, which also features a Bluetooth Module, but which requires to be fed signal from an external DAC (basically receives a …
Sweet And Juicy – OVC Vacuum Tube Headphones
Views 28,624 OVC Headphones are a unique thing, a headphone that has an active Tube Amplification built inside the headphone itself. There are a ton of competitors in the 300 USD price range, which is supposed to be their price at the moment of writing this review, so they will …
Brilliant DAC + Headphone AMP Flagship – Mytek Brooklyn DAC+
Views 75,078 Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ is a proper flagship in terms of build quality, construction, design, and price. The price and definition leaves no space for error and it has to best everything I tested to this date to justify its rather steep price point, which is what I’m going …