Views 23,514 Hiby FC5 is a DAC/AMP with MQA Decoding, priced at 159 USD, and has one balanced output in the form of 4.4mm, 125MW of power per channel at 32 OHMs, a LED data rate indicator, and a type-C USB port. It will be compared to other DAC/AMPs in …
Entry-Level products are those friendly with your pockets, and the kind of products you want to have at the beginning of your audio journey. Here, each dollar brings huge improvements, and the higher you climb on the price ladder early on, the better your overall performance is.
You can find my reviews on entry-level products below, and also the best entry-level products here: https://amzn.to/3faO37O
1. Entry Level
Pamu Unique / Scroll Plus TWS IEMS – Natural Chameleon Sounds
Views 28,001 Pamu Unique and Scroll Plus are TWS IEMs priced at 89 USD and 50 USD respectively, and they are the first customizable TWS IEMs, or rather TWS IEMs that offer a customizable carrying case. Introduction Pamu or Padmate tech is a company known for Bluetooth products, and …
Astrotec Vesna IEMs – Low Entry, High Performance
Views 43,663 Vesna is the most affordable Chifi IEM that I reviewed to date, or which I think I will be reviewing. It costs about 20 USD, and it has a single dynamic driver, non-detachable cable, but comes with a nice carrying pouch. Introduction Astrotec is an entry-level Chifi …
IKKO ARC ITB05 Bluetooth Necklace Cable – Cyber Musician
Views 50,094 If you’re into necklace style Bluetooth IEMs, ITB05 should be cool for you, as it has a pocket-friendly price of 129 USD. It will be compared to the Shanling MW200 (120 USD), FiiO UTWS3 (80 USD), and 1More Dual Driver ANC PRO EHD9001BA (150 USD). Introduction IKKO …
FiiO FD1 IEMs – Warmer, Thicker, Effect
Views 52,576 FiiO FD1 is an entry-level IEM priced at 59.99 USD, with a single 10mm dynamic driver, plated with Beryllium, using N50 2-way magnets and celluloid faceplates. Given the price point, it will be compared to Tin Hifi Audio T3 Plus (70 USD), KBEar Robin (55 USD), and HIDIZS …
Periodic Audio Rhodium Dongle DAC – Diminutive Music Shaper
Views 42,859 Priced at 49 USD, Rhodium is one of the smallest and discreet dongle DAC/AMPs made to date, with 32Bit / 384 kHz decoding abilities. It features a fairly low power output, of 31mW, so it will be suited for usage with IEMS and portable headphones. Introduction Periodic …
Tingker TK300 IEMS – Delayed But Never Forgotten
Views 63,655 Priced at 99 USD, we have a high quality IEM from China, and Audiosense, the same company who made the mighty AQ3, the new Tingker TK300. With Dual Knowles Balanced Armatures, and a Dynamic driver hybrid configuration. It will be compared to Tin Audio T5 (130 USD), IKKO …
Arylic S10 Multiroom Steamer – Awesome Sound & Shape
Views 18,244 Arylic S10 is the entry to Streaming, and it is a unit priced at 79 USD, a diminutive design, and RJ45 LAN Port, Line In, Line Out and a remote included in the package. Given the price point, I have not reviewed many streamers around the price point, …
KBEar Aurora – Arctic Sunrise
Views 53,966 KBEar Aurora is a high quality IEM priced at 169 USD, available from Amazon, and comes with a large 10mm single dynamic driver, and a nice thick blue cable. They will be compared to other high quality IEMs including Dunu Falcon PRO (220 USD), Linsoul 7Hz Timeless (220 …
IKKO Zerda ITM01 Dongle DAC AMP – Music Movie Game Changer
Views 24,639 Ikko designed a new DAC/AMP with a pocket-friendly price point of 59 USD, under the Zerda naming. It features a high-quality decoding chip or DAC, and a magnetic detachable cable with a proprietary interface. The main competitors, given the price point, will be iBasso DC05 (69 USD), Soundmagic …
HIFI Expert Yamaha TW-E3B TWS IEMs – Music Composer Strikes
Views 54,106 Yamaha TW-E3B is a high quality TWS IEM priced at about 99.4 USD internationally, available in multiple colors, and provided to us by the awesome HIFI Expert shop in Romania. Given the very universal price point, they will be compared to other high quality TWS IEMS, including GravaStar …
Shanling UA1 Dongle DAC – Rhombus Sounds
Views 52,282 We’re having a look at Shanling UA1, a dongle USB DAC priced at 45 USD, making it one of the most affordable DAC/AMPs, so today’s mini review will focus on the sound of UA1, as within this price point there are far too few competitors capable of the …
iBasso DC05 DAC/AMP Dongle – Power For Androids
Views 60,931 iBasso comes back to the entry-level to help music lovers enjoy their passion, DC05 being a 69 USD Dongle DAC/AMP with a Dual ES9219C DAC, and capable of decoding MQA up to 16X, and 140mW output power. I will also be comparing DC05 to Spectra X2 from Maktar (200 …
FiiO FD3 IEMs – Budget Sparks
Views 65,670 Priced at 109 USD, FiiO FD3 is a universal IEM with a large 12mm single DLC dynamic driver and a semi open design. It will be compared to iBasso iT01X (120 USD), Tin Audio T5 (130 USD), IKKO OH1 Meteor (140 USD). Introduction After the commercial success …
BLON BL-B60 Dynamic Headphones – Low Notes Jumping
Views 41,384 BLON BL-B60 or WGZBLON B60 is the latest headphone from BLON priced at 155 USD. The company is mainly known for making Chifi IEMS, selling through Linsoul and other ChiFi gateway shops. We have interesting features, like a large 50mm Dynamic Driver, along with a nice default cable. …
GravaStar Sirius Pro / Pro+ TWS IEMS – Gaming Edge Performance
Views 53,392 Gravastar Sirius Pro+ is a TWS IEM made for gamers, priced at 150 USD. They have 5 drivers inside, one large 7.2mm dynamic driver, and 4 Knowles Balanced Armatures, to power the Pro+, along with dynamic lights and Ultra Low Latency. Given the price point of the Sirius …
OneOdio Monitor 60 – Huge Cans For My Soul
Views 25,879 OneOdio Monitor 60 is a high-quality monitoring headphone priced at about 80 USD at the moment of writing this review, made for music producers, DJs and artists on a budget. It features a 50mm full-sized dynamic driver, and it will be compared to Sivga SV021 (150 USD), Dekoni …
HIFI Walker H2 Music Player – Retro Chinese DAP
Views 76,358 Today’s review will focus on the 125 USD HIFI Walker H2, a DAP with a navigation wheel, Hi-Res play abilities, and support for up to 256GB microSD cards. It will be compared with other entry-level DAPs like Shanling M3X (340 USD), Hiby R2 (100 USD), Surfans F20 (125 …
Tin T3 Plus IEMs – Chifi’s Getting Hotter
Views 41,713 Tin T3 Plus is a natural upgrade to Tin HIFI’s Line of IEMs, and it now comes with an excellent aesthetic, but also the same pocket-friendly price point of 70 USD all of the TinHIFI’s IEMs have been hovering around since they’ve been launched. It will be compared …
Dunu Falcon PRO – Prime Performer, Music Reformer
Views 42,604 It isn’t every day that I get to review something truly impressive, and Dunu has always delivered before, at least sonically. Today we will study how the 220 USD Falcon Pro IEMs sound like, and whether the comfort of the new Dunu IEMs lives up to their sonic …
Astrotec S80 – Freedom, But At What Cost
Views 62,367 S80 is the latest TWS IEM from Astrotec, and is priced at 90 USD, featuring a dynamic driver, Bluetooth 5.0, and Type-C USB connectors. The main comparisons I am going to make will be with ZMI PurPods PRO (95 USD). Introduction Astrotec is a pretty popular company …
Tranya B530 PRO TWS IEMs – Alien Sounds
Views 48,619 Tranya B530 PRO is a TWS IEM that I happily got to review on Video already, and it is priced at 60 USD, comes with a pretty cool-looking case, and will be compared with ZMI PurPods (50 USD). Introduction Tranya is a company that had the advantage …
Hilidac Audirect Beam 2 DAC/AMP – MQA Blues Got Me Singing’
Views 41,867 You heard about Hilidac’s Audirect Beam, Whistle, and Atom PRO, now it is time for the second beam of enlightenment, Beam 2, with MQA and Hi-Res support, and priced at 100 USD, and which will be compared to FiiO BTR5 2021 (130 USD), iFi Hip DAC (150 USD), …
Soundmagic A30 DAC/AMP – Baguette Of Sonics
Views 61,798 Soundmagic A30 is a baguette-shaped DAC/AMP, just like NextDrive ones, and it is priced at 30 EUR / 50 USD. This would make it technically one of the most affordable DAC/AMP I reviewed to date, and I know very few DAC/AMPs at 50 USD to compare it to, …
KBEar Robin IEMs – 5 Drivers, Bass Sub Focus
Views 20,726 Today’s review will focus on KBEar Robin, an IEM with 5 drivers, 1 dynamic and 4 balanced armatures, and with a price tag of 55 USD, sold and fulfilled directly by the company. Given the entry-level price, I will focus on the IEMs and the sound, along with …