Views 61,774 Moondrop Illumination is the flagship high-end IEM refined by the waifu-loving company Moondrop. They sent everything they had at us in hands of beautiful anime girls, now it is time for them to send a flagship, and Illumination is priced accordingly at 800 USD, so they will be …
Fun
ddHifi Janus IEMs – Two Faced Soldier
Views 27,470 ddHifi Janus Climbs to the top, it’s the IEM that can use both 2-Pin and MMCX connectors, a two faced joker in my review list. The official name can be a handful, as it’s also called E2020A. It comes with a really nice default cable, and is priced …
IKKO Meteor OH1 IEMs – Interstellar Traveler
Views 57,161 Meteor is the second IEM I am reviewing from IKKO, after their Obsidian, and this one has a great price tag too, just 140 USD. This means that they will be compared to IKKO Obsidian OH10, but also with NF Audio NM2+, and TRI Starsea. Introduction IKKO …
Avantone Planar Pro Headphones – Red Team Is Winning
Views 67,291 Avantone Pro Planar is the latest headphone from Europe, with a Planar technology behind, but without the pocket-emptying price that most of those have. The unit I’m reviewing today is red and ready to fight, and they have to be compared to other headphones costing around 450 USD …
Sendy Audio Peacock – Flagship Of Music
Views 73,218 Sendy Audio Peacock is the latest headphone from Sendy Audio and it is priced at about 1500 USD at the moment of writing this full written review (USA), and 1750 USD (Europe after taxes). The main comparisons will be with Kennerton Thror (3000 USD), Audeze LCD MX4 (3000 …
Palab M1 Mini DAC/AMP – Beats The Chord In Music
Views 44,780 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, …
Soundmagic ST80 Sport Earphones – Not So Fast, Punk
Views 66,719 ST80 is the new sporty IEM from Soundmagic, a company focused on an awesome selection of products. This one is a really entry-level one, priced at 56 USD, and today’s review will mostly focus on it as my collection of reviews about products priced similarly is rather thin. …
MU6 Ring Bone / Air Conduction Earbud – Sport or Stop
Views 40,604 MU6 ring is an air conduction earbud thingy that is supposed to sit on your ear and provide music, and is priced at 80 USD at the moment of writing this full written review. Given the fact that I do not know of anything that is in the …
Tempotec E35 Sonata DAC/AMP – Glass Design Amplified
Views 50,471 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 …
HIFIMAN HE400SE Planar Headphones – Bright As The Sun
Views 66,259 We have a really nicely priced headphone here, with a price tag of about 200 USD in most places (after tax and shipping). I will be comparing HE400SE with HIFIMAN Sundara (350 USD), Sivga Phoenix (250 USD), and Soundmagic HP1000 (300 USD). Most of the competitors are more …
Astell & Kern A&Futura SE180 Music Player – Alpha DAP Incoming
Views 92,374 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 …
Effect Audio EVO 1 Series Cable – To The Maximum Cables
Views 67,485 Even More Cables should be the title for today’s written review as I take a deeper dive with EVO One from Effect Audio, one of the oldest and most trusted cable makers in the whole world. Today’s cable costs about 440 USD, and it will be compared to …
Valco VMK20 Bluetooth Headphones – Lived Up To Expectations
Views 59,465 Valco is a new company, who made a very interesting headphone named VMK20, and priced at 180 USD. The main competitors for the VMK20 headphone will be HIFIMAN Deva (300 USD), Master & Dynamic MH40 Wireless (250 USD), and Sennheiser Momentum 3 (400 USD). Introduction There is …
Metalure Wave IEMs – Ultra Basshead Fun
Views 69,099 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 …
HIDIZS MS2 Rainbow IEMs – Multitude Of Colorful Sounds
Views 69,895 If you’re looking for beautiful IEMS, look no further, with Ms2 Rainbow being probably the most beautiful IEM you can get without spending a fortune. They cost about 90 USD at the moment of writing this review, and they are going to be compared with iBasso IT01X (120 …
IKKO OH10 Obsidian IEMs – Detail Resolution Maxima
Views 24,110 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, …
iBasso AMP12 Module for DX300 – Accelerate Towards The Future
Views 58,898 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 …
Crosszone CZ-10 Headphones – Soundstage Excelsior
Views 76,643 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 …
iBasso IT01X IEMs – They Keep Coming
Views 29,895 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. …
JDS Labs Atom AMP+ – Uber Amplified Maximus
Views 74,948 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, …
TRI Starsea – Sea Of Music
Views 62,330 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 70,589 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 75,516 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 47,827 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. …
Earstudio ES100 MKII – Bluetooth Receiver Extends My EQ
Views 40,742 Eartstudio ES100 MKII is an older bluetooth receiver, but one that everyone loved, and is priced at 90 USD at the moment of writing this full written review. It will be compared to FiiO BTR5, FiiO BTR3K, and Qudelix 5K. Introduction Earstudio is a really nice company, …