The Drop + SMSL HO150X is the successor of the venerable Drop THX AAA 789 achromatic headphone amplifier. This time Drop have partnered with SMSL engineers who took the output power of the brand’s highly regarded HO200 amplifier and fit it into the smaller HO100 form factor. They also made sure to add several requested features, including balanced inputs and outputs, a dedicated preamp circuit for active speakers, and an intuitive three-position gain switch. The final product is the Drop + SMSL HO150X linear amplifier. The Drop + SMSL HO150X...

The UA1 Plus is the third generation of Shanling’s entry level USB DAC dongle after the original UA1 and the UA1 Pro. Both the original and the Pro models came with a single ESS DAC chip, the ES9281P in the former and the ES9219C in the later. Instead, the new model is now equipped with dual CS43131 DAC chips and a separate CT7601 USB receiver that supports decoding up to 768kHz/32bit PCM and DSD256. The new UA1 Plus also features a detachable cable design and has one 3.5mm headphone output that can provide 80mW/32Ω of maximum power. The UA1 Plus is...

This is a brief review of the Aune S9c Pro, all-in-one DAC and headphones amplifier. You can read the full review in my website. Build quality and appearance The Aune S9c Pro is quite compact and suitable for desktop use. The chassis is made from aluminum that helps to further isolate the circuit from electromagnetic interference. The unit is sturdy and very well made with a fine sand-blasted finish that is available in black and silver. The S9c Pro adopts the Aune trademark arc-shape design which is classic, simplistic and beautiful looking...

This is a brief review of the ddHiFi M120B Lightning / USB-C Earphone Upgrade Cable with Microphone and DAC. You can read the full review in my website. Sound performance The ddHiFi M120B offers an instant sound quality upgrade over all generic 3.5mm phone outputs unless you own something with a dedicated audio circuit. The sound it produces is surprisingly crystal clear and noise free with great transparency for an entry level DAC. The M102B doesn’t add any coloration to the sound and it pairs well with all earphones. The sound is balanced...

This is a brief review of the Jade Audio JW1 - open principle ear-buds. You can access the full review in my website. Build quality and fit The earbuds together with the ear-hooks are entirely made from hard plastic. Build quality is very good for the category and the JW1 is available in black and white. The Jade Audio JW1 is very comfortable to wear but only if you have small ears. The main drawback of the JW1 design is that the size of the earbuds together with the ear-hooks is really small, the main body of the earbud has 3.5cm of length and...

This is a review of the Hidizs MS3 which retails for $119 and you can buy it from Hidizs online shop. The Hidizs MS3 is a hybrid in-ear monitor with two BA and a single dynamic driver. It also features the replaceable pneumatic sound tuning filter design that allows the user to experience three slightly different sound profiles by just changing the nozzle filters. Build quality and fit The Hidizs MS3 design resembles that of the Hidizs MS5. It is a beautiful, stylish and extremely well made earphone. The ear-shells are anatomically shaped and...

This is a review of the Penon Tail USB DAC dongle that retails for $74.90 for the version without a cable. The Penon Tail is a USB DAC dongle with dual CS43131 DAC chips and two headphone outputs that supports PCM up to 384KHz/32bit and DSD256. To read the full technical documentation please follow this link. Accessories The Tail comes with a small carrying pouch made from real leather and a high quality detachable cable which is slightly longer than usual. Upon placing your order you can select between a USB type C to C or type C to Lighting...

This is a brief summary of my Soundz Avant review. Click the link to read the full review. Executive summary Soundz is an in-ear monitors manufacturer based in Greece where all earphones are handmade in their own private facilities. Soundz is well known both in the domestic and international pro-markets where some of the best singers and musicians are using their in-ear monitors. The company is now expanding their line to reach deeper into the audiophile community. Two such products are the brand new, 8-driver Flame and their flagship, the...

This is a brief version of my LETSHUOER Cadenza review. Executive summary The LETSHUOER Cadenza is hybrid IEM 12 drivers, a six-way electronic crossover and five acoustic bores. It uses a 10mm LSS Kevlar dome driver for the bass, Sonion composite mid-woofer drivers, Sonion composite mid-tweeter drivers, Knowles composite tweeter drivers and Sonion composite super tweeter drivers. The actual number of the drivers used per each frequency range is not disclosed to the public. The Cadenza is lightweight and compact sized for an earphone that houses...

You can read the full 7Hz Legato review by clicking the link. Executive summary The 7Hz Legato is a dual-driver in-ear monitor featuring two high-performance dynamic drivers on each side. The pair houses a 12mm and another 6mm dynamic driver where the 12mm one acts as a woofer and the 6mm driver is kept responsible for the midrange and treble response. The 7Hz Legato includes a unique crossover design along with 8 Japan-made audio-grade Tantalum capacitors to provide high precision and stable performance. The unique crossover is...

This is a brief summary of the FiiO M15S review as published in ichos-reviews website. Executive summary The FiiO M15S ($999) is the successor of the FiiO M15 which used to be the company’s flagship. The sweet spot in their catalogue since the M17 is $1799 and the M11 Plus ESS is $699. The FiiO M15S uses one piece of the flagship ES9038PRO DAC chip from ESS and dual OPA927 for I/V conversion paired with dual OP1612 for low-pass filtering and dual OPA926 for current amplification. The power output of the M15S is as high as 1200mW+1200mW/32Ω from...

This is a review of the ISN Audio EST50 which retails for $449 and you can buy it from Penon Audio. The ISN EST50 is a hybrid earphone that uses 2 Sonion Electrostatic drivers for the ultra-high frequencies, 1BA Knowles for high frequencies, 1BA Sonion for the mids and a 10mm dynamic for the bass. Appearance and fit The lightweight ear-shells have a design that is pretty much identical to that of the ISN H30. They feature an anatomical shape and are made from a skin friendly resin compound. They are a little bulky when compared to single driver...

This is a brief summary of my Violectric V222 review. Executive summary The Violectric V222 is a headphone amplifier with four symmetrical output stages. It uses the same base circuit and amplifying principle as the legendary V280 but with some extra improvements. The unit features both balanced and unbalanced inputs that are now selectable via the front switch. There are three headphone outputs, two balanced (4-pin XLR and 4.4mm) and one unbalanced (3.5mm). The V222 is a pure headphone amplifier without any digital inputs or preamplifier...

This is a brief summary of my FiiO SP3 review. Executive summary The FiiO SP3 is a compact sized, active desktop speaker featuring a 3.5″ carbon fiber mid-woofer and an 1″, in-house developed, silk dome tweeter that are powered by two-channel class-D amplifiers from TI, outputting 10W for the highs and 30W for the lows with 100W of total peak power. They are very compact sized but also sturdy and well dampened against vibrations and resonances. Premium materials are used throughout and build quality is excellent. At the back of the main...

This is a summary of the full HIFIMAN Svanar Wireless review which is available in my website. Executive summary The HIFIMAN Svanar Wireless is the first TWS earphone ever made to feature a discrete R-2R DAC in each earpiece. A DAC based on the Himalaya R2R module by HIFIMAN. Also separate headphone amplifiers are used in each earpiece to drive the topology diaphragm of the earphones which is a scaled down version of their flagship IEM the Svanar. The Svanar Wireless also features active noise cancellation with three different working modes: ANC...

This is a brief summary of the full iBasso DC04PRO review. Executive summary The iBasso DC04PRO is a USB DAC dongle with a detachable type-C cable and two headphone outputs, balanced 4.4mm and single ended 3.5mm. It uses dual CS43131 DAC chips and separate dual RT6863 high current amplifiers. The advanced circuit also employs a synchronous DC-DC converter, ultra-low noise LDO, FPGA and KDS Femto second oscillator. The chassis is made from CNC aluminium with tempered glass panels that add a luxurious feeling. Build quality and finish are...

This is a summary of the full Lavricables Grand review which is available in ichos-reviews.com. Executive summary The Grand is Lavricables top of the line cable. A premium awg-20 multi-strand litz cable with some of the best components available on the market made from 6n purity silver and Mundorf 10% silver solder. A beautiful and well made cable which is very soft, it never gets tangled and it doesn't induce any microphonic noise. Someone could buy the Grand only for the great looks and the excellent build quality which are miles ahead than...

This is a brief summary of the Cayin RU7 review that is available in my website. Executive summary The Cayin RU7 is a portable USB DAC dongle that uses a fully balanced discrete 1-Bit DSD DAC to convert digital signals to analogue through a fully differential 4-ch DAC architecture. All incoming signals are converted to DSD before they get to the conversion circuit that is composed of 128 (4x32), high precision, thin film resistors. The RU7 supports PCM up to 32-Bit/384kHz and native DSD256 decoding. The Cayin RU7 features a shared line output...

You can read the full FiiO FW5 review with photos and comparisons in my website. Executive summary The FiiO FW5 is a TWS earphone that is made with sound quality in mind and doesn't have ANC or any other features that could compromise it. Instead it features an independent audio architecture with a AK4332 high-performance DAC and separate amplifiers in each earpiece. The FiiO FW5 has a popular, V-shaped tuning with some audiophile essence and good technicalities for the category. The sound is fun and entertaining with great bass that is tight...

You can read the full FiiO FW3 review with photos and comparisons by clicking the link. Executive summary The FiiO FW3 is an entry level TWS earphone that is $50 cheaper than it's older brother the FiiO FW5. Just like the FiiO FW5, the FW3 is made with sound quality in mind and doesn't have ANC. Instead it features an independent audio architecture with a AK4332 high-performance DAC and separate amplifiers in each earpiece. The sound quality is very good for the category, the tuning is mildly V-shaped and quite balanced. Good sub-bass...