Views 24,173 Ikko designed an IEM with a rather uninspired name for the presentation, as Obsidian does not necessarily explain the whole story, and the price of 160 USD is way lower than the quality I am hearing from the OH10. The main comparisons will be with Optimisation Elements Tita, …
Portable is an umbrella term that covers everything you can think of in the audiophile world, as long as it is designed to be used outdoors, or while on-the-go, as well as products that are intended to be transported with ease. Most headphones, IEMs as well as smaller DAC/AMPs are included.
You can find the best portables here: https://amzn.to/3ARD6lZ
Portable
Crosszone CZ-10 Headphones – Soundstage Excelsior
Views 76,818 CZ-10 is a breath of fresh air, as I’ve only reviewed open-back headphones for most of this year, so having something closed back, or at least semi open is refreshing. This is a proper Japanese headphone, high-end with all the bells and whistles, priced at 900 USD, and …
ZMI PurPods – Taking A Stab At Appl*
Views 66,474 The fantastic Purpods are a pair of Apple Airpods shaped TWS IEMS priced at 50 USD. I haven’t really reviewed many TWS IEMS so cheap, but decided it was way too expensive on my resources to make a video, so the full written review will focus on the …
iBasso IT01X IEMs – They Keep Coming
Views 29,996 iBasso has been on a roll for the entry-level price range, and the IT01X is the natural evolution after the original IT01 and IT01S. It comes at the price of 120 USD, and has a double sided driver, along with a helmholtz resonator like IE800 from the past. …
CCA CKX IEMs – Entry Level Drivers Abound
Views 19,603 It is that time of the year again, when, at 70 USD, a company decides to implement way too many drivers in an IEM, so we have a 7-driver configuration from CCA. There’s even one dynamic driver for the mids and lows, with two selections of BA drivers …
TRI Starsea – Sea Of Music
Views 62,411 Tri Starsea is the kind of IEM with a simple 2 BA + 1 DD Design, which sounds really nice. They are priced at 130 USD, so they will get compared to BQEYZ Spring 2, Etymotic ER3SE, and Shuoer Tape PRO. Introduction TRI is actually commanded and …
Optimisation Elements OElements Tita IEMs – BA Snap and Snap!
Views 70,645 Tita, and I hope autocorrect won’t turn this to t*ts, is an IEM made by Optimisation Elements, and it is based on a single Balanced Armature, priced at 170 USD, when you order it with the cable too. It is a direct competitor to the Spring 2 IEMs …
Keces S3 DAC / Balanced AMP / Preamp – My Favorite Warm Performer
Views 75,698 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 …
Unique Melody Mest MKii IEMs – New Flagship Quadbrid
Views 47,965 Truly a revolutionary piece, the MKii of Mest from Unique Melody is priced at 1500 USD at the moment of writing this full written review, and it features four types of driver technologies, made to sound the most coherent, detailed yet natural of all the IEMs out there. …
HIFIMAN RE400C – The Mythical Beast
Views 59,677 RE400C is an IEM with the connector on type-C and priced at 80 USD. They will only work with smartphones that have audio over type-C USB, and they are made for smartphones only. Given the design, I can’t compare them with anything, nor go for pairings, but I …
Pro-Ject DAC Box DS – (Un)Limited Smooth Performer
Views 68,612 Pro-Ject designed many DACs over the years, but the DAC BOX DS will surely remain in the history of mankind as one of the kindest, smoothest and most peaceful sounding DACs to ever exist. It is priced at 430 USD at the moment of writing this full written …
Shanling M3X Music Player – Refine The Refined
Views 59,897 Shanling M3X is a high-end DAP priced at 340 USD, with one microSD slot, Balanced output, MQA support, and up to 23 hours of battery life from a single charge. The main competition is going to include iBasso DX160, FiiO M11 PRO, Shanling M2X, and iFi xDSD. M3X …
Campfire Vega 2020 – Smooth Basshead Love
Views 54,827 Vega 2020 is the latest edition of a titanic IEM, and it is priced at 900 USD. It has one Full Range Dynamic Driver, with a 10 mm diaphragm, and a ceramic housing + stainless steel bores. The main competitors I’ll be comparing it with will be Campfire …
BQEYZ Spring 2 IEMs – Mastery Of Midrange
Views 58,751 Spring 2 is a high-quality IEM with 1 Piezzoelectric + 1 Dynamic Driver and a price point of 170 USD at the moment of writing this full written review. They come in two colors, either black, as presented in today’s review, or green lime which I would avoid …
NxEars Basso – Long Awaited, But Welcome
Views 29,474 NXEars Basso is an IEM made with 4 Balanced Armatures, a real copper face plate, and an MMCX Removable cable. They are priced at about 550 USD at the moment of writing this review, so they will be compared to fierce competition like iBasso IT07, Jomo Audio P3 …
Denon AH-D7200 Dynamic Headphones – Unsupported Flagship
Views 31,946 Denon AH-D7200 is the flagship Dynamic Headphone for Bassheads made by Denon. It is priced at 700 USD, and it will be compared to Beyerdynamic Amiron, Sennheiser HD660S, Dan Clark Aeon Flow, and Harmonic Dyne Zeus. Introduction Despite being extremely popular, large, and in-demand, Denon is the …
BGVP ArtMagic VG4 IEMs – Multi Levels Of Fun
Views 29,106 I figured it was a mighty time to post a review on those fairly detailed IEMS, so here we go with BGVP! They make some of the most desired Chifi IEMs, and today’s model is priced at just 230 USD! While most of their earlier models were sold …
Hiby R2 DAP Music Player – Uber Portability
Views 28,745 Hiby R2 is a tiny DAP with a really good price point, of about 100 USD. In today’s full-length review, it will be compared to Shanling M2X, FiiO M3 PRO, and ACME MF-01. It is aimed at IEM users and can be considered feature-rich, being able to decode …
FiiO FH5S Hybrid IEMs – Mid Centric Evolution
Views 75,736 FiiO FH5s is an upgrade of the original FH5, and this time around it has two dynamic drivers, and two Balanced armatures. It is priced at 280 and naturally has to be compared to FiiO FH5, FiiO FD5, but also to IEMs like Unique Melody 3DT, Kinera Freya, …
NF Audio NA2 – Transparent Shells Hide Music
Views 30,857 Nf Audio is a small company making entry-level IEMs, and they are supported by stores rather than directly, and they are priced quite affordably, at 100 USD. They are a dual-chamber Single Dynamic Driver IEM, and they will be compared with other entry-level IEMs, like Shuoer Tape PRO, …
Verum One MK II Headphones – Eastern Champion
Views 29,499 Verum One is a full sized over-the-ear planar magnetic headphone, priced at 350 USD. This makes them an upper midrange headphone, and they will be compared to other upper midrange headphones like HIFIMAN Deva, Sivga P2, Dan Clark Aeon Flow RT, and Verum One MK I. Pairings will …
Fostex TM-2 Bluetooth TWS IEMs – Audiophile Sports
Views 26,180 Fostex TM-2 is a TWS IEM that actually goes for and achieves the dream of the TWS world. It is priced at 300 USD at the moment of writing this full written review, but can be found at 200 USD in multiple locations, and they will be compared …
Earstudio HUD100 MK II DAC/AMP – All Grown Up
Views 41,628 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, …
Thieaudio Legacy 4 IEMs – The Perfectionistic Midranger
Views 28,119 Legacy 4 is a super mini flagship, priced at 200 USD, and comes with 1 Dynamic Driver and three Balanced Armatures. With a three-way crossover and a 2-way switch, this IEM promises us the moon for a tiny price, so we’ll judge it for its words. As it …
Smyth A16 Realiser Headstand DAC / AMP – 3D Stage For Everyone
Views 76,854 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. …