This section is here simply so that anyone reading my reviews is aware of my preferences, bias and methodology (measurements). Who Is “Brooko” My name is Paul Brooks, and I live in a small city in New Zealand, I’m 53 years old, happily married to a wonderful lady who tolerates my “audio...

I was just advised by Baptiste Sancho, founder and CEO of aëdle, that they are currently running a crowdfunding campaign for their latest device - a portable wireless headphone - the VK-X. In Batiste's words, In a nutshell, the VK-X is a refined pair of headphones assembled in Paris out of...

Disclaimer This is an opinion piece – purely my opinion. Feel free to discuss, to agree, to disagree. But please keep it polite, and keep the emotion to a reasonable level. I am calling out the system here – not necessarily the people. Intro Warning – this is a “rant”. Its been building for a...

You have to have pretty thick skin to be a Moderator, and I thought I did have - but now I know I'm simply not cut out for the role. To be fair, most of my time on Head-Fi with the Moderator badge has been pretty good. I get to interact with people on the forum I may not have otherwise crossed...

"Simgot EN700 Pro - Excellence At A Stellar Price" Pros - Value, Build Quality, Sound Quality, Clarity, Balance, Comfort, Fit Cons – Slightly mid-forward (I don't see this as a con, but some might) Rating - 5 star Picture are default 1200 x 800 resolution - click to view larger images...

"FiiO F9 – High Value, Low Cost" Pros - Sound quality, build quality, balance, fit, comfort, value. Cons – 7 kHz peak is overdone Rating - 5 star Picture are default 1200 x 800 resolution - click to view larger images. INTRODUCTION FiiO has been on a bit of a roll lately – introducing new...

"FiiO X5iii - Value and Tonality (SQ)" Pros - Sound quality/tonality, build quality, value, features, additional DSP options, UI, wireless options, ease of use Cons - Some software stability issues, on/off button location, slight lag, and slow boot speed Rating - 4 star Picture are default 1200...

Hi all - just an experiment. Had a few people comment that one thing they preferred about the old forum was the opportunity to discuss a review (usually listed as posts under the review). So I wanted to see if this would gain traction with any of my own reviews - and didn't want to create...

INTRODUCTION Hi everyone, this is not a review as such – more an introduction to a product that should be going up on KickStarter in 2017.   The creator for this project is an engineer in Auckland New Zealand, and big time audio enthusiast – Martin Young from IMS-NZ.com. I was fortunate to be...

Brand new thread - a continuation of the old one (which was locked because it started getting out of hand). Original thread - http://www.head-fi.org/t/684159/chinese-asian-brand-info-thread-headphones-iems-amps-dacs Rules Please acquaint yourselves with the Head-Fi posting guidelines -...

So we all have reviewers we follow – people we trust not to steer us wrong – people who have similar tastes, and even like the same types of music.   But reviewers are human, they are fallible, and they can fall victim to bad judgement, over-enthusiasm, personal bias, and placebo just like...

So far in this little journey, I’ve looked at how I started (reviewing), the equipment I use, and the methodology / time-line.  The next logical step is to look at the different parts of a review, why I include them, and what I think is important.   As in the past few chapters, you may not...

Sorry this one has been a bit later in posting.  It’s in our busy season at work at the moment, so I might have been a bit ambitious about expecting to post once a week.  So I might be a bit slow over the next couple of months – but I promise we’ll get there.   My original aim for this section...

Hello fellow Head-Fiers   Most of you know me - mainly through my reviews, or my help on the forums.  I can be a hot-head at times.  I can also be a bit pedantic. But underneath it all, I have tried to be forthright and maintain a pretty high moral standing.   With my reviews - I started...

So you’ve started reviewing your own gear, and you’re enjoying the process, and you want to take it to the next level.  What do you use, how do you use it, and why would you need to consider specialised equipment?   Welcome to chapter two – where I’ll outline the equipment I use, and give a...

I’ve been on Head-Fi now for almost exactly 5 years – make it 6 years if you take into account the first 12 months where I wasn’t registered, and simply spent my time reading a lot of posts. I’ve always loved music, and I couldn’t think of a time when it hasn’t played a huge part of my life –...

Hi everyone.   This thread is to track the Fiio X7 review units while they zip around Australia & New Zealand, and provide an area for feedback and to link your reviews.   TOUR PARTICIPANTS   Participants in the tour, and tour order is as follows:   NEW ZEALAND Brooko - Paul -...

Hi everyone.   This thread is to track the review units for the X5ii while they zip around Australia & New Zealand, and provide an area for feedback and to link your reviews.   TOUR PARTICIPANTS   Participants in the tour, and tour order is as follows:   NEW ZEALAND   Brooko - Paul -...

Hi all - just need guidance on how to measure the maximum output power (and resultant distortion) of an amp under various loads.   Fiio posts measurements like these   270 mW (32 Ω/THD+N＜1%) 450 mW (16 Ω/THD+N＜1%)   Can anyone explain what equipment is needed, and how (step by step) to go...

These have just been released today - so good idea to start a thread for impressions and discussion.   Below is photo and description from MP4 Nation - where they are currently on a pre-order promotion price     Product Description: The Brainwavz BLU-100 are a stylish wireless earphones...

Tour is almost ready to get underway.     Participants and potential timing   Approx date                Head-Fi Name                Name                 City/Area                       W/C May 11th daduy Yudi Wellington, NZ W/C May 18th piksnz Sayan Auckland, NZ W/C June 2nd...

I know this sounds a little "pretentious, but I was asked to start this thread by another member, and it will actually help me quickly locate past reviews I've written for cross referencing - so here goes ...... The purpose of this thread is to accumulate in one area (this first post) links to...

INTRODUCTION I’ve been dropping a few hints around the forums recently regarding a new company (with a new product range of IEMs) which will be making themselves known to the Head-Fi, and global earphone market in the near future.   I can now reveal a few more details, and introduce you to...

Hi everyone.   This thread is to track the review unit I have while it zips around Australasia, and provide an area for feedback and to link your reviews.   TOUR PARTICIPANTS   Participants in the tour, and tour order is as follows:   Brooko - Paul - Invercargill NZ : Status *review...

REVIEW & COMPARISON : PONO – PORTABLE AUDIO MAGIC PROS : SQ, power, UI, form factor, build (for the most part), ease of use, value.   CONS : Lacking key features (eg EQ), battery performance.   RRP : $399 (Standard) - $499 (Ltd Edition)   INTRODUCTION Anyone who’s followed my recent...