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Desktop Equipment is mainly made to be used at home or at your main desk, and it is not generally intended to be portable. This includes Speakers, DACs, AMPs, even Headphones, and desktop equipment is generally larger and / or needs access to a power outlet to work. HIFI products are generally considered desktop equipment, although you can find some which can be used portably.
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S.M.S.L AO200 is a full sized, full powered 50W Speaker Stereo Amplifier priced at 280 USD, and designed with many features like a USB input, Bluetooth input, RCA and XLR inputs, and runs in class D. Today we will compare it to other stereo amplifiers, like Burson Funk (550 USD), …
The title says it all, and we’re at the end of 2021, but the latest version of BTR5 has the 2021 monicker, support for MQA, and it is priced at 130 USD, which is a bit more than the 110 / 120 USD that the original costed at launch, but …
allo Audio decided to make something special with their Revolution DAC, and this is going to cost about 260 USD for the basic variant, but you’ll need to pay about 320 USD if you want a remote control, and a Power Supply with it. Given its price point, it will …
Burson Funk is a high-end amplifier for Stereo and Headphones, with a starting price of 550 USD, and depending on the configuration, able to reach 750 USD. It will be compared to other amplifiers, like Aune S6 PRO, Hagerman Tuba, and Audio-GD Master 19. Introduction I have always been …
Palab M1 mini is a DAC/AMP made by Palab, and it is no secret that it is a mighty good one, with a price tag of 500 USD, MQA decoding abilities, and a Balanced output. The main comparisons included in today’s review will be with really capable competitors, Chord Mojo, …
Buchardt S400 are a pair of speakers made with ingenious marketing and design, and they are sold for 1800 USD at the moment of writing this review. They will be compared with Aurender S5W, Edifier S1000DB, and Audioengine A5+. For driving the S400, we will have pairings with Roksan Caspian …
MT-602 is a headphone amplifier with tubes on a budget, priced at 100 USD, and it comes with two 6J1 Tubes, runs in class A, and will be compared to JDS Labs Atom AMP+, Soundavo HP-1 DAC-AMP, and xDuoo TA-10 Headphone AMP, also with tubes. Introduction xDuoo generally does …
Tempotec E35 Sonata is a DAC/AMP with the price tag of 80 USD, driverless operation, dual DACs, and 80mW of power at 32 OHMs. It will be compared to iBasso DC-01 (50 USD), FiiO M3 PRO (70 USD), FiiO BTR5 (110 USD). Introduction Tempotec has been a long standing …
iBasso works on refining their DX300 DAP, and that starts with the best module available for it right now, which is AMP12, the natural evolution of the original module it comes with. Somehow, the default amp module was already better than what we had available for DX220 so far, so …
JDS Labs Atom AMP+ is an amplifier made by JDS Labs from the USA, and priced at 100 USD at the moment of writing this review. I did not review many amplifiers in this price range, so the comparisons will include the original JDS Labs Atom, xDuoo TA-10, and Soundavo …
Keces S3 is a high-end top of the shelf DAC / Balanced Headphone Amplifier made in TAIWAN, and priced at 1300 USD. The comparison list will include Audio Analogue AAdac, Wells Milo, iBasso DX300, and Mytek Brooklyn DAC+. The pairing list will include HIFIMAN Arya, Rosson RAD-0, and Audeze LCD-MX4. …
The concept of a DAB radio is nothing new, but at least to me, it is something I never reviewed or experienced before. WR230S is like a mini jukebox that you need to keep powered from the wall mains, and it is priced at about 170 USD. It can be …
Qualiton APR204 is a Preamplifier made by a Hunarian company, the country known as Romania’s Best Friend, so I’ll be extra cautious to be perfectly neutral and objective towards it. The APR204 Preamplifier is priced at 2300 EUR, or 2300 USD, and it will get paired with a series of …
HUD100 MK II is a DAC/AMP made by Earstudio as a response to their original, which was criticized by many including me in the full written review I posted before. The MK II is totally different, and it comes with more driving power, and a lower price point, along with …
Smyth A16 Realiser is a really unique product that deserves a longer and more complex review than my typical takes. It is priced at around 4000 USD at the moment of writing this full review, it is basically a DAC / AMP / DSP processor for 3D sound. It has …
Soundaware A1X PRO is the kind of Streamer that will go straight to your heart once you get to hear it, but first, we should talk about the price, which is 700 USD. This kind of price is not so huge even for DAC/AMPs nowadays, but A1X PRO is a …
I always said it is time to rebel against the system, and someone finally did, by building the Rebel AMP. They rebelled against all those big time companies making headphone amps, by making something which should overtake them, despite being made by a single guy. Rebel AMP is a full …
AAdac is the masterpiece DAC made in Italy by Audio Analogue, and is meant mainly to be combined with their amplifiers, and CD players, which have a similar aesthetic. It is priced at 3500 EUR or about 4000 USD, and is part of their Pure Line, so it will compete …
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 entry-level, plus …
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 Audio A8000, …
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 iBasso SR-2. …
FiiO BTA30 is the offspring of their successful BTR5 and BTR3K Bluetooth receivers. It also has all the bluetooth codecs, and is priced pretty pocket-friendly at 90 USD at the moment. It comes with SBC, aptX, aptX LL, aptX HD, and LDAC, and it will get compared to the Sound …
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 own DX220, …
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 the pairings …
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, Earstudio HUD100, …
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