Views 92,516 This one is going to be good, a DAP costing about 1500 USD, with replaceable DAC / AMP modules, and with Astell & Kern software, so today’s review will be a full fledged, full-length one, with comparisons between SE180 and iBasso DX 300 (1200 USD), Lotoo Paw 6000 …
High End is where the effect of diminishing returns kicks in the hardest and you have to spend hundreds or thousand of USD to chase the last few details in music. This is where most of the fun is for enthusiasts, like in every hobby, but it can be a frustrating area, especially if you don’t have a lot of disposable income. The price range starts around 500 USD, and everything above is considered high-end in the audiophile hobby.
You can find my reviews on high end products below, and also the best high end products here: https://amzn.to/3zKGm1F
3. High End
Metalure Wave IEMs – Ultra Basshead Fun
Views 69,162 Those ones are IEMs I never expected to like, even less love as much as I do, but to give you a nice head start, they are basshead, priced at 600 USD, and will be compared with Campfire Vega 2020 (900 USD), NX Ears Baso (550 USD), Audeze …
Crosszone CZ-10 Headphones – Soundstage Excelsior
Views 76,763 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 …
Keces S3 DAC / Balanced AMP / Preamp – My Favorite Warm Performer
Views 75,646 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 …
Shanling M3X Music Player – Refine The Refined
Views 59,833 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 54,801 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 …
Zoom H5 Portable Handy Recorder – Beast Of A Mic
Views 39,966 Zoom H5 is a portable handy recorder / microphone, and it is priced at about 280 USD. I’ve been using it for months now, and it has been the source of audio in my videos, before being replaced with a Zoom F6, so today’s review will focus on …
Qualiton APR204 Preamplifier – Rev My Engine
Views 54,464 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 …
Denon AH-D7200 Dynamic Headphones – Unsupported Flagship
Views 31,885 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 …
FiiO FH5S Hybrid IEMs – Mid Centric Evolution
Views 75,708 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, …
Smyth A16 Realiser Headstand DAC / AMP – 3D Stage For Everyone
Views 76,782 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. …
FiiO FD5 Earphones – Power Of Dynamic Drivers
Views 48,107 FiiO has always known how to make interesting IEMS, and their FD5 is truly unique, even in the IEM world. For a company that used to purchase IEMs from third party vendors, they are really courageous to now make their own 12mm Be-coated Single Dynamic Driver IEM. In …
Soundaware A1X PRO Streamer/DAC/AMP – Big Boys Use Big Guns
Views 68,395 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 …
Audeze Euclid Planar IEMs – Closed Back Magnificence
Views 69,882 When a company decides to go all-in and work for years on a single IEM, they create something like Euclid. This is what absolute high-end looks and sounds like, and they are priced at 1300 USD, so they will get compared to other flagship IEMs like Campfire Dorado …
Lotoo Paw 6000 DAP Music Player – Excellence In Audio
Views 50,646 Lotoo Paw 6000 is the kind of DAP with a Touchscreen that makes me want to get it and use it every day, thanks to its simplistic yet really effective GUI or Graphical User Interface. It has tons of features, and it is priced at 1200 USD at …
Unique Melody 3DT (3D Terminator) – Sound Stage Exploded
Views 60,081 There’s something about Unique Melody that makes them one of the best IEM companies out there every single time we make a rank. They always made interesting IEMs, and 3DT is unique because it features three independent Dynamic Drivers. Just think about this! They cost about 400 USD …
Campfire Dorado 2020 IEMs – Detailed, Playful, Perfect
Views 44,051 Dorado 2020 is my favorite IEM thus far in 2020, and that is no surprise, since I stated it a few times online. It costs about 1100 USD, and it features two drivers, one custom Balanced Armature, and one 10mm ADLC Dynamic Driver. Given the price, Dorado2020 will …
Audio Analogue AAdac – Italian Master Design
Views 74,750 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 …
Spirit Torino Super Leggera – Blue Is The New Awesome
Views 69,538 Spirit Torino Super Leggera is a really unique headphone, made to sound and feel like an Italian Sports car, and it is priced at 2000 USD. The tech inside includes a Mono Drive Spirit System, and they have two cables made by Portento Audio, and will be compared …
Beyerdynamic T1 1st Generation – Spicy Headphone Experience
Views 67,914 Beyerdynamic’s T1 is a really old headphone now, and I just happened to get it from a friend, and thought I should share my in-depth written review about it with you~. This is was and will be a flagship with a hefty price tag of 1000 USD. They …
Rhapsodio Zombie IEMs – Bass Cannon Double Boost
Views 62,147 What do you hear from something that comes back from the dead?! That’s the question we’re going to try to answer today, with the review subject being Rhapsodio Zombie, a review I am doing so late you may consider me a zombie too. The MSRP or official price …
MAS X5i IEMs – Bass ThunderStorm
Views 70,242 MAS X5i is an IEM made for bassheads, by bassheads and people who love the bass! Did I mention that it has a good bass?! It is priced at 300 USD, and comes with a straight-down fit, something rare in today’s world? This means they’ll be compared to …
Ares Audio Sakeishi Cable – Connect Me To Music
Views 58,153 Cables?! Today we’re reviewing one of those high-end cables, Ares Audio Sakeishi, this one costing about 450 USD, and since I don’t really have many cable reviews to date, we’ll have to improvise and compare it to FiiO LC-2.5D Silver Cable, Dunu Hulk, and Meze 99 Silver Cables. …
iBasso IT07 In-Ear Monitors – Diamond In The Rough
Views 38,683 iBasso IT07 is iBasso’s Flagship IEM in 2021, and it comes with seven actual drivers, one of which is Dynamic Driver, and six Balanced Armature drivers. It is priced at 900 USD, and it will get compared to Final Audio A8000, Meze RAI Penta, Light Harmonic Mera Signature, …
Lime Ears Aether R IEMs – Double Faced Trickster
Views 58,014 Lime Ears Aether R is the flagship that took the world by surprise, an IEM made in Poland Europe, costing 1200 Euros, or about 1400 USD. They will get compared to Final Audio A8000, Meze Rai Penta, Clear Tune Monitors Da Vinci X, Lime Ears Model X, and …