SMSL is becoming well known for the affordable DACs with great value and SU-8s tries not to be an exception. The asking price of 349 USD is located in the middle of the SMSL DAC offering, just a small step below their previously released SU-9. Even though the price is shaved by one hundred dollars, SU-8s still brings many interesting features. Hopefully, these features will lead to good performance, but that’s what we aim to determine today, so let us begin.

Build and Connectivity​

SMSL SU-8s looked from the outside resembles a lot to its older and slightly more expensive sibling SU-9. It’s completely made of aluminum, uses a color LCD in the front, the same volume knob, and the remote. On the back, things again look very familiar with USB, optical, and coaxial digital inputs. Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity is on-board again too, supporting aptX, aptX HD, SBC, and AAC formats. When it comes to outputs, we can choose between single-ended RCA or balanced XLR ones.

Features and Tech​

Looking at the spec sheet we finally find some differences. Namely, SU-8s uses ESS ES9068AS DAC chip instead of the ES9038PRO found in SU-9. That doesn’t affect its great format support that includes PCM all the way up to 768 kHz, DSD up to 512, and even a controversial MQA compression unfolding is fully hardware supported (for the ones that are not familiar with it, MQA is basically a lossy compression aimed at reducing the hi-res file size. All manufacturers have to pay royalties to use it and it doesn’t sound as good as uncompressed hi-res files. Tidal streaming service is the biggest proponent of such compression).

Inside the menu, you can choose one of three PCM filters on offer, then choose one of different tone colors (standard, rich 1, 2, 3, tube 1, 2, 3, crystal 1, 2, 3), and even adjust the level of DPLL level of de-jitter. Since there are too many variations that will slightly affect the sound signature, I will not go through all of them. I personally preferred PCM slow minimum filter, sound color Rich 1, and DPLL at its minimum level, but you should definitely play for yourself and find the ones that suit your taste and the rest of your system best.

To add the last touch, SMSL lets you choose the display brightness and enable the auto-off function. You’ll even be allowed to choose after how many seconds of inactivity the display shall turn off. Small touches like these can make or break the experience of using a product daily when the novelty wears off, and for this kind of attention to detail, SMSL deserves the highest praises.

Sound​

But how does the SU-8s actually sounds is the most important question I suppose. To put it shortly, it sounds very good considering its price. A trained ear will quickly recognize that quick and sharp Sabre sound signature. Highs are bright and airy, mid-range is clean and informative, emphasizing crisp edges and transients. That leaves us with the bassline that’s quick and nimble, but somewhat restrained with the default linear filter, but opt for a slow minimum or minimum phase one and it starts sounding weightier, softening some transients in the process. The same is true if you opt for some of the Rich or Tube sound color filters. All of this is important since you can actually tilt the overall sound signature from fast and analytical by default to a somewhat fuller and softer presentation if you wish to do so.

Moving away from the tonality itself, SU-8s has a lot to show when it comes to micro-dynamics. Edges are energetic and transients are quick, making for both revealing and exciting presentation. When it comes to the soundstage, SMSL SU-8s renders a somewhat forward and upfront sound scene, meaning there is not much depth to talk about. That said, the soundstage is sufficiently wide, tall, and offers plenty of air. Instruments are well separated and masterfully etched in their own place.

All in all, SMSL SU-8s is a capable sounding DAC without any doubt, but the real test is to face it against some closest competition and access its true worth.

Comparisons​

Topping D30 pro is a direct competitor when it comes to pricing and market positioning. Topping’s contender provides a somewhat warmer bassline and the midbass section, with a more laid-back presentation. It presents edges in a softer fashion, but ultimately reveals a respectable amount of the inner tone texture. SU-8s on the other hand has more upfront presentation, with more energetic edges, quicker and crisper transients. In the upper registers, the D30 pro has a bit grainier and more textured sound to it, while SU-8s sounds cleaner but with more glare and brightness. Choosing between these two finally proved very difficult and depending on your preferences and the rest of the system each one can end up as the preferred one.

To sum it up really quick, I suppose that all of you looking for dynamics, clarity, and excitement before anything else might prefer SU-8s, while the ones appreciating more laid-back, fuller, and softer presentation could lean towards D30 pro more.

SMSL SU-9 has been mentioned throughout this whole review due to the striking resemblance of these models. It carries a 100 USD higher price tag and it comes with the best DAC chip that Sabre produces. That said, the differences in sound fidelity are not that big. Now have in mind that I didn’t have a chance to compare these two directly, but given that I’ve tested SU-9 recently, I’ll give my best shot to make this comparison as I’m sure it will interest most readers. SU-9 offers a somewhat punchier sound if my memory serves well, and that is especially true for the bass region. I remember it hitting with more intent and force. The same is true for the transients that felt somewhat faster on SU-9. That said, I feel that SU-8s is somewhat airer sounding and that its flatter bassline is probably more neutral. To be perfectly honest here, I would be much more comfortable making any definite statements if I could compare them head to head. But either way, both carry a similar, lively, sound signature and you can’t go wrong either way. In my opinion, SU-8s is probably a better value among the two, but SU-9 is still a great offer, especially if you value that extra punch and oomph in the bass region.

Conclusion​

SMSL SU-8s is yet another product coming from the SMSL that is quite easy to recommend. Its upfront and somewhat snappy sound signature mean you have to be on board with its character and take a little bit of care not to pair it with similarly zesty-sounding gear because you probably wouldn’t want to emphasize it even more. On the other hand, it’s well built, feature-rich, lively-sounding DAC that has no real faults given its relatively modest price tag. In other words, this is an extremely great value product that’s quite easy to recommend.

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Video review:

MS2 is the latest in-ear model coming to us from the Hidizs and at 89 USD. Even though I have no experience with this brand’s earphones I did test Hidizs Sonata HD dongle DAC a long time ago, found it to be very good for the asking price, and actually kept using it to this day. Today I’m quite happy to explore what Hidizs can offer at the earphone front, and in my experience in-ears priced around one hundred US dollars are often great value.

In the Box​

Aside from the earbuds themselves, in the box, you’ll find a detachable cable of a really decent quality. There are also six different pairs of ear tips so everybody should find the ones that suit them easily. Lastly, there’s a nice hard carrying box with the brand’s logo, it’s made out of plastic but imitates the look of brushed aluminium so it looks quite nice.

Build, Ergonomics, Cable​

Hidizs MS2 earbuds are made out of plastic, mine came in some sort of greenish color but these don’t look plain at all. There’s an attractive shimmery thing going on under the translucent surface and I have to say it looks very nice. I supposed such design would especially appear to women, so I showed them to my better half, and bingo – she commented that these are some of the most gorgeous earphones she has ever seen.

In terms of ergonomics, MS2 is on a somewhat chunky side of things. That said, neither I nor my girlfriend had any trouble securing a great fit, so no complaints there. The cable is twisted but of higher quality than I came to expect from similar earphones. First of all, pre-shaped ear-hooks are not too rigid or curved too much so fitting them is quite easy. The cable is also made in such a way that it doesn’t curl and tangle much, and it’s not that microphonic either. Combining these two traits into one proved to be a difficult task for many, so praises are in order here – great cable.

Construction and Testing​

Hidizs MS2 is a hybrid earphone, combining both dynamic and balanced armature drivers. You can find all of the specs in the table down below the review, but I’ll only mention a very decent sensitivity of 112 dB here. This means that MS2 can easily be driven with any source, including smartphones. So power will not be a problem but bear in mind that the fidelity of MS2 is on such a level that a decent DAC will be needed if you want to hear what they can really do. During the test I’ve tried them with Loxjie D30, Topping L30, but I mostly used them connected to the EarMen Sparrow mobile DAC and found this to be a very good combination. More modest Hidizs Sonata HD also sounded quite OK with MS2 but some drive and fidelity were definitely lost compared to more capable DACs.

Sound​

After first notes, it was obvious that MS2 is tuned in a V-shaped manner. Meaning that we’re having somewhat emphasized bass response, as well as some wide peaks in the upper midrange part of the frequency spectrum. That said, this tuning is done as masterfully as I’ve ever heard it, and here’s why. The bassline is deep, weighty, and punchy. It’s definitely on the warmer side of things, lending warmth to the lower midrange and fullness to both vocals and instruments. This is very important in my opinion because that warmth and boldness are in a good balance with peaky upper midrange. That emphasis on the upper register is providing a sensation of crisp and sparkly sound with plenty of details, but if not supported with a healthy bassline there’s a good chance earphones would sound too lean and analytical. Fortunately, that’s not the case here and MS2 achieved a nice balance between weighty bassline and peaky upper region. This makes MS2 an exciting-sounding earphone that doesn’t lean too much on either side of the spectrum. Only the occasional spitty female vocal would remind me that I’m listening to a V-shaped sound signature with emphasized upper midrange.

The dynamics are very good, the bassline is punchy while the tone edges are energetic. Quick transients are also adding to that engaging sound, making MS2 the most exciting listen that I’ve ever experienced under the 100 USD mark. Soundstaging is very decent, with the scene being as wide as in-ear construction allows. Inside that scene, instruments and vocals are well separated with plenty of space.

In isolation there’s very little to complain about the performance of Hidizs MS2, so I’ve decided to put them to the test by comparing them to some of the best in-ears I’ve tested recently.

Comparison​

Moondrop Aria is another great model that I recently called a sub-100 USD king. In a direct comparison, Aria shows a somewhat more recessed bassline which leaves that upper region emphasis even more exposed. This makes Aria slightly leaner and thinner sounding. Even though they’re very close in other aspects such as soundstaging, layering, etc. I have to say that I preferred the fuller and bolder sound signature of Hidizs MS2.

NF Audio NM2+ at almost twice the price is a real challenge that’s probably a bit unfair, but I was eager to test MS2’s limits so here we go. In a direct comparison, it becomes clear that NM2+ sounds fuller in the upper bass and lower midrange, which creates a bolder sound. It also extends a bit longer to the highest frequencies, digging more air and atmosphere from the recordings. That’s said, MS2 fared really well when it comes to dynamics, clarity, and layering, performing in a way that I’d never guess it’s only half the price. That’s a great achievement in my mind.

Conclusion​

Hidizs MS2 is without any doubt a very successful entry into the market. Attractive design, really good cable, and exceptional sound quality are speaking strongly for it. To be perfectly honest, I have yet to hear anything priced below a hundred and fifty US dollars that I would rather use and recommend than MS2, and I’m not even a fan of V-shaped sound signature. And if you’re not somebody that simply can’t stand that type of tuning, these have my highest recommendation.


If purchasing these at the Hidizs online store, you can use discount codes at checkout provided for iiWireviews readers:

IIWIREVIEWS5 – 5% off for AP80/AP80 pro/(DH80s/80)/MS2/MS4/S9 pro/MS1/H2 and bundles
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Loxjie D30 is your typical DAC and headphone amplifier combination, but it has few aces up its sleeve, and that makes it a very interesting device. If this is your first time hearing about Loxjie brand, don’t worry, it’s because they’re fairly new on the market. What I can tell you from my previous experience with it, they make some of the best bang for the buck offerings you’re ever going to find. At least, that was true last time I tested their more affordable model D10, but let’s see if it still holds true with D30.

Build, Connectivity, and Features​

Loxjie D30 is an all-metal, neat-looking device. It’s definitely not one of those small DACs that can fit in your palm, but it isn’t a particularly chunky one either. With its 269 x 233 mm footprint, I’d simply call it decently sized, yet still desktop friendly.

On the back of D30, we find three different digital inputs: USB, coaxial, and optical one. But that’s not all since there’s a Bluetooth antenna too for those of you putting the comfort before the absolute fidelity. Next, there’s a set of analog RCA outputs that can be used in both fixed or variable level modes. Lastly, we see a big AC power connector, meaning that D30 is powered directly from the wall socket and not through some sort of AC/DC adapter. This also means that the whole power-supply section is located inside the unit and upgrading this one with a linear power supply is not an option.

On the front, we find a 6.35 mm headphone jack, a volume knob that also serves as a navigation wheel and a button, and a display. The display is of an LCD variety, it’s big and easily readable, and Loxjie will even let you choose between several UI colors. It’s a small trick that really made me happy since I’ll choose orange digits over the default blue ones any day. Aside from that, you can thinker with several digital filters and everything is easily accessible via small remote control.

Sound (line-out)​

Hooked into my room system, Loxjie D30 really surprised me with its big and punchy sound. The bassline is voluminous, slightly on the warm side but packing some very decent energy and punch. The midrange is clean and informative, backed with just enough of that mid-bass warmth to make it sound rich and palpable. Because of that, both male and female vocals sound lush and present. Moving to the highest register, D30 shows it has very good extension, and it’s able to dig a very respectable amount of details and air from the recording.

The soundstage is wide and spacious, with a somewhat modest depth. Instruments are well separated, and while D30 is not the absolute champion of pinpointing every single thing in the soundstage, you’re only going to notice it in comparison with slightly more expensive gear.

When we start talking about dynamics, that’s where D30 really shines. It sounds lively, driven, and engaging. It can swing and slam like no DAC I ever heard at this price point can. Any type of music will reap benefits from this, but I feel that Pop and Rock fans would be especially happy with this kind of energetic presentation.

Sound (headphone-out)​

Talking about the tonality, everything mentioned in the previous section still stands. It’s a lush-sounding device with a warmer bassline and lively treble. The notes about wide and modestly deep soundstage are also true with headphones. The only difference worth mentioning is that the integrated headphone amplifier can’t fully repeat the dynamic presentation of the DAC section. Now, don’t get me wrong here, the head-amp in D30 is no slouch and it is driving my Hifiman HE4XX without any troubles. It’s just that a high-powered external amplification such as Topping L30 will produce even more slam and bass authority with power-hungry headphones. This is to be fully expected off-course and it’s not something that should bother you in any way. The in-built headphone amp is very good and more than suitable for most headphones out there.

Comparisons​

iFi Zen DAC is smoother sounding and even warmer when it comes to the bassline. However, its midrange is more recessed, and the overall presentation is laid back. Loxjie D30 offers more details, more energetic sound, a much richer selection of inputs, and finally more powerful head-amp. If the slight price increase is not the problem, it’s a clear choice really.

Fiio K5 pro is another smooth and warm-sounding device with a laid-back presentation. To cut it short, except for the more powerful amp, there’s not much that K5 Pro can offer in this comparison. Loxjie D30’s DAC section is leaps and bounds over the K5 Pro’s, it is both more revealing and much more dynamically expressive. This still holds true with a headphone amp section, just to a somewhat lesser degree.

Topping E30 and L30 combo is a tough one to beat. As a DAC only, Loxjie D30 easily trumps E30 with a fuller and livelier presentation. Not even the addition of a really good linear power supply can help E30 to close this gap. On the other hand, L30 is clearly more potent and it will show that with most headphones. It lends more kick to the bass-line while providing tighter control at the same time. Loxjie D30 sounds a bit softer and less sure-footed in comparison. So it’s a DAC section win for Loxjie and an amplification potency win for Topping stack.

Khadas Tone 2 Pro out of the box sounds a little bit neater in the bass-line but not as open up top. D30 sounds more energetic and weightier too, but not as controlled with bass notes. It’s a tough call really, coming down to your own preference between neat and focused Tone 2 Pro vs warm and punchy D30. Things change if a linear power supply is added to Khadas. Now it livens up a bit and serves a darker background. With it, we get an increased soundstage depth and better instrument pin-pointing. In this arrangement, Tone 2 Pro really pulls ahead of D30 and becomes a DAC I’d rather use in my own system. But remember, adding a decent power supply further increases its price, so it’s more of a how far can you stretch your budget affair, cause both devices are great and possess their own set of strengths.

Conclusion​

Some time ago, Loxjie D10 surprised me by sounding better than basically anything at that price point and at the time of its release. I recommended it repeatedly but many were put off by its quirky styling. Today, we have a slightly more expensive, but much more mature-looking D30. It offers better connectivity, remote control, and a big LCD display. But that’s not all as it sounds considerably better too, easily justifying its higher price. In fact, I’ll go as far as saying that I never heard a better-sounding DAC below two hundred dollars. Add to that a very good headphone stage and you’ll struggle to find as well-rounded package as Loxjie D30 is.

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Topping A50s is a small headphone amplifier, the second-most affordable one in Topping’s lineup. However, it does have few tricks up its sleeve to justify the small price hike compared to its less pricy cousin L30. So without much ado, let’s dig in and find out all about it.

Build and Connectivity​

Topping A50s is small, palm-sized, amplifier that will not consume much space on your desktop. Still, a diminutive size doesn’t take anything from its great build quality. The moment I picked it up, I realized it’s weightier and more solid than your average piece of gear at this price. However, I was not surprised as I already have experience with D50s which is a matching DAC that shares the same factory form. These two are meant to be stackable and look nice in the process.

The back panel hosts a set of RCA inputs, as well as RCA outputs that work in preamp mode, meaning they are not a simple pass-through but are affected by the volume control. Power connector accepts 15 VDC so don’t try to mix and match power brick from Topping L30 which is an AC one.

The front panel offers a power button (press and hold) that doubles as a gain selector (short press). That said, you can opt for either 0 dB or 9 dB gain which should cover a wide variety of headphones with different sensitivity. Finally, there are two headphone outputs too. The first one is your typical single-ended 6.35 mm one (6.35 to 3.5 mm adapter is provided in the box) while the smaller one next to it is a 4.4 mm balanced Pentaccon out.

Technology​

As you might already know, I don’t particularly enjoy repeating marketing terms and boasting specs so I’ll go through this part quickly and mention the important things only.

A50s is supposedly using the same NFCA (Nested Feedback Composite Amplifier) module from the brand’s flagship model A90. There are some other cool-sounding terms such as UHGF (Ultra High Gain Feedback) and impressively low noise and distortion numbers, etc. I’ll just mention the same thing I did for L30 – The maximum output power of A50s is a respectable 3.5 W @ 16 Ohm, but only if the unit is fed with 3.0 V on its input. Given that most DACs provide a line signal of around 2.0 V, we’re realistically looking at somewhat lesser numbers. But worry not, there’s still plenty of power to go around.

Sound​

Single-ended​

I started testing using single-ended output as that is still a much more common one. It was immediately evident that A50s is related to the L30 I recently reviewed. A50s too sounds clean and precise. The bassline is fast and well-behaved. It can go deep when needed but it starts and stops quickly. Midbass is also on the tight and controlled side of things, someone could call it lean, so don’t expect any warmth and pleasant bloom to pad your notes. Going up the frequency spectrum, the midrange is clear, it can reveal a lot of details and feels neutral in its nature. The highest region is again crisp and incisive.

Spatial arrangement is good with a reasonably wide soundstage and very nice layering skills. Depth on the other hand is not that pronounced. When it comes to drive and dynamics, I never dealt with them lacking with my Hifiman HE-4xx.

Balanced​

Switching to the balanced connection I immediately noticed even more drive. Bass notes sound juicer and pack more punch. The soundstage grew in scale and layering improved so it was easier to discern individual instruments. Even tone timbre and tone decay benefit this way, notes felt richer and lingered in the air longer.

All of these small but clearly observable improvements made me forget about testing and I just kept enjoying the music. Finally, I did make myself go back to the single-ended out once more – it simply sounded flatter and thinner. It took me fifteen seconds to realize that and start wishing to switch to the balanced one again.

Comparison​

Topping L30 is slightly more affordable with its price tag of $139. It offers single-ended output only, but even single-ended out on A50s sounds slightly livelier and with a bit more layering. The difference is not big by any means but it’s noticeable when you listen critically. Switching to A50s’ balanced out is what really makes A50s dominate this duel. Soundstage expands, layering and dynamics improv, and E30 just can’t match anymore.

JDS Labs Atom sounds more laid back and reveals fewer details. It’s pleasant but somewhat hollow sounding in comparison. A50s is able to present edges with more energy, dig more micro details, and air from the recording without even resorting to its balanced out. Utilizing that one A50s is just in another league altogether, and so is its build quality. To be perfectly fair here, Atom is half the price but if you can stretch the budget it’ll be worth the effort.

Conclusion​

Topping A50s on paper looks like an L30 with the addition of balanced output. But even without using that one, it manages to sound slightly better. If you’re only able to use a single-ended connection it would represent a very good and powerful solution, capable of driving almost anything you throw at it. For those able to utilize balanced out, A50s is a no-brainer really.

The unit I had for a review was a kind loan from an audiophile fellow and a countryman. If that was an option, I would gladly exchange my own L30 and sixty bucks (which is the price difference between the two) for his A50s.

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My video review:

MT-602 is not my first encounter with the Xduoo brand, which belongs to a TA-05 model. But just like the first time around I'm again having a hybrid tube headphone amplifier on the bench.

Build and Connectivity​

xDuoo MT-602’s design took a new turn compared to TA-05. First of all, it’s smaller, packed in a sand-blasted grey aluminum body. Except for the protruding tubes on the upper side, the red volume knob also makes sure the look feels fresh and modern. I’m usually not a fan of punchy bright colors but for some reason, it looks just right in this case, especially while it’s working and tubes are glowing.

On the back panel, we find two pairs of RCA outputs. One is reserved for line input while the other one is a variable pre-amp output. So yes, you can use this little thing as a small tube preamp too. It’s power with 12V DC and the laptop-sized brick is provided in the box. The front panel hosts a power switch, volume knob, and two headphones outputs, a smaller 3.5 mm one, and a bigger 6.3 mm. A little bit unexpectedly, there’s another auxiliary 3.5 mm input in the corner too. You’ll surely not hear me complain about connectivity here.

Construction​

As already mentioned, xDuoo MT-602 is a hybrid amplifier. This means that tubes are used in a pre-amp stage while class A transistors provide power and grunt in the power-amp section. This is a scheme many products revert to trying to capture the soft and natural presentation of tubes, but without losing the power and control of a solid-state solution. That said, xDuoo claims a power of 1300 mW into 32 Ohms, with 15 dB gain, saying it’s suitable for headphones ranging from 16 to 600 Ohms. Looks promising on paper, but let’s see who it behaves in actual use.

Sound​

So let’s get this out of the way first – does Xduoo MT-602 offers a warmer sound signature, as you might expect from a device with glowing orange tubes protruding from it? Yes, it does, but only to some extent, limited to a certain part of the frequency spectrum.

The Bass region is weighty and voluminous. When mass and boldness in lower registers are needed, this amp will provide. The bassline is not noticeably slow and sluggish, but it is also not the quickest one either. Pleasantly rounded is the description that comes to mind. Great thing is that texture was not sacrificed in the process. Vibrating bass strings sound like vibrating strings and not as a faceless sweet mass. This praise-worthy texture retrieval continues over the midrange section too. The upper midrange is actually the part responsible for that is open and textured sound. Because of it, listening to a saxophone, for example, is a joy. We get both bold instrument body and raspy airy texture on top of it. If anything, that whole upper midrange part is slightly more pronounced than I’d consider perfectly neutral. Luckily, it’s done in moderation and not overcooked to the point to become harsh or picky in any way. The highest region is again very clear and resolving. If you have hoped for a sweet and roll-off treble response, you’ll have to look elsewhere.

So tonally, I really liked this little hybrid amplifier, but what about other things? Dynamics are just fine, nothing to complain about, but also nothing to write home about. This is not a heavy-hitting kind of amplifier, it’s more the type of listener that appreciates smooth sailing. Sound-staging on the other hand is as good as it gets at this price point. There’s a decent sense of width, but not much depth and three-dimensionality though. Layering is quite capable with enough air around instruments.

Pairing​

This section will be short as xDuoo MT-602 possess enough power to drive almost anything that makes any sense pairing with budget amplifiers (yes, I’m talking to you guys that are using LCD-3 paired with fifteen times cheaper amps – stop doing that, it’s not appropriate sound quality wise first and foremost). Tonally, it’s open and bright, not too much so it shouldn’t be a problem for any headphones that are not overly bright (the ones with huge and wide hills in the upper midrange part of the frequency response).

If used with sensitive in-ears, MT-602 will produce noticeable static background noise. Also, the volume knob offers louse volume control resolution and things become too loud too quickly. With that, I’ll conclude that this is a big cans amplifier, not suitable for sensitive in-ears.

Comparisons​

xDuoo TA-05 is also a hybrid tube/class A transistors amplifier but with clearly different tuning. Its bass is even more voluminous, mid-bass and midrange are warmer and with more bloom, while the highest frequencies are tamer and sweeter. It sounds as warm, bloomy, and sweet as someone could wish for if you’re after that kind of tuning. MT-602 on the other hand is more neutrally tuned, reveals more texture, and it’s brighter up top. Which one is better? Well, you’ll have to decide that one for yourself. I do prefer MT-602 but you might feel differently.

Topping L30 is a typical solid-state amplifier. It sounds clean, fast, and precise. Bass punch is decent, edges possess good energy. It sounds cleaner than MT-602. On the other hand, tone timbre and texture are not that pronounced. In that department, MT-602 has a slight lead to my ears. No matter how many times I went back and forth I couldn’t really decide on a clear winner here. It boils down to your taste and choice of music I suppose. If slow music with raspy vocals, saxophones, and other acoustic instruments is what you’re listening to most of the time, I’d give a slight edge to MT-602. If faster-paced tracks are your thing, you might appreciate a slightly punchier bass-line and more muscly presentation of the L30.

L30 is also dead silent even with sensitive in-ears so there’s that too.

Conclusion​

To come clean, I expected yet another very warm and sweet-sounding amp, but xDuoo went in a different direction this time and I do believe it’ll pay off. I like this compact styling more than the old, vintage, and chunky one too. The price to performance ratio is great and if you don’t plan to use it with in-ears, and you find described voicing appealing, I can’t think of anything particular that should prevent you from seriously considering xDuoo MT-602 as your headphone driver.

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My video review:

Topping L30 is the most affordable head-amp in the brand’s lineup and its overall design and dimensions are meant to perfectly match their capable entry-level DAC Topping E30. But does being affordable means making too many compromises? Let’s dig into this review and find out.

Build
Topping L30 is made mostly of aluminum that comes in black or silver finish. The front panel is black on both versions though and it’s some sort of acrylic glass that looks slick. If I were to nitpick, I’d prefer for the pointer on the volume knob to be a little more visible. Aside from that the unit is built and finished to high standards.

Features and Connectivity
There’s two switches, a 6.35 mm headphone jack, and a volume knob in the front. In the back, we find a 15 VAC power connector, a pair of RCA inputs, and a pair of RCA outputs. Volume knob controls the level on both headphones out and RCA output, and this means Topping L30 can be used as a preamp. That said, you can select either headamp or preamp mode, but both outputs can’t be deployed simultaneously.

Topping lets you select a gain level in three steps, meaning you have a choice between -9 dB, 0 dB, and +9 dB. The first one can be useful if you have a tendency of using high sensitive earphones, for example, but most users will probably keep it on 0 or +9 when paired with bigger cans.


Technology
The Topping L30 features Ultra-High Performance NFCA modules, using the same NFCA (Nested Feedback Composite Amplifier) module from the brand’s flagship A90. High output current drive capability is supposed to allow L30 to drive low impedance headphones with ease. Output impedance on headphone out is less than 0.1 Ohm. In preamp mode, output impedance is as low as 20 Ohm, which Topping claims to be widely suitable for various devices.

The maximum output power of L30 is respectable 3.5 W @ 16 Ohm, but only if the unit is fed with 3.0 V on its input. Given that most DACs provide a line signal of around 2.0 V, we’re realistically looking at somewhat lesser numbers. But worry not, there’s still plenty of power to go around.

Sound
Topping L30 sounds clean and precise. The bassline is fast and well behaved. It can go deep when needed but it starts and stops quickly. Midbass is again very well controlled if not slightly restrained even, leaving a lot of room for crisp and open midrange. As a result, vocals and instruments are clear, precise, and nimble. Tone texture is revealed to a very satisfying level too. The highest spectrum feels well extended, it’s not only digging plenty of details but also a respectable amount of air from the recording. Listening to This Land Is Your Land by The Avett Brothers in high resolution paints the picture of fine details and husky vocals L30 is capable of.

The soundstage is pleasantly wide and relaxed. Thanks to a healthy clean power, dynamics is respectable too and Topping L30 can sound punchy and exciting when needed.

Tone body and rich timbre, on the other hand, is not something this amp particularly excels at. L30 strikes fast and precise, but the tone also decays rather quickly, making for an exciting but somewhat analytical listen.


Comparison
JDS Labs Atom – aging budget amp can’t really match the newcomer. L30 offers crisper edges, better drive, and livelier sound overall. Atom built quality also leaves a lot to be desired. I believe the Atom needs a refresh if it wants to stay competitive.

Schiit Magni 3 – is another excellent amp with an equally impressive build. Its sound signature is on the slightly warmer/fuller side, which might suit some listeners better. L30 kicks back by being more revealing and airier in the upper register. If you’re looking to make a neat-looking DAC/AMP stack coming from one brand, Topping has the advantage in form of E30, which is a more capable DAC than Modi 3 is.

(If you’re asking why not compare it to Magni 3+ or Heresy, simply because I haven’t had a chance to try them yet.)

Conclusion
Topping L30 is well specced, well built, and well sounding product. It’s powerful, incisive, and very lively sounding. I’d steer away from pairing it with overly bright headphones as L30 is somewhat lean sounding itself, but other than that it’s hard to argue this is anything but a very capable entry-level amplifier.

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The unit was sent for a review by HiFiGo
My other reviews: https://iiwireviews.com/
My video review:

Clear Tune Monitors CE320 is made by CTM (Clear Tune Monitors) company, based in Orlando, USA. CTM works with many music industry creatives, and that cooperation is noticeable in this product. But let’s dig into the review and I’ll explain that claim in more detail.

Packaging, Build and Fit
In the box, you’ll find three pairs of silicone ear tips, three pairs of foam ear tips, a nice looking carrying case, and a 3.5 to 6.35 mm adapter.

The earphones themselves are made of clear plastic. They’re lightweight and slim in profile, which makes for a very good fit. The slim profile also means that these don’t protrude from your ears much, and I found out that they’ll stay in place even if you put a, let’s say, winter hat over your ears. I find this detail very practical since I’m always having trouble using my in-ears during cold winter days. This is especially useful for performers, and I personally know few, because when on stage they really want slick-looking in-ear monitors that are not easily moved once fit in their place. It seems that CTM understands this need quite well.

The detachable cable is of a decent quality. It’s on the thin side and braided but surprisingly enough it doesn’t tangle easily. However, if you find a need for such action, you can always replace it with an aftermarket one using a 2-pin connector.



Features
CTM CE320 is a triple driver earphone, meaning that each earphone contains three balanced armature drivers. The manufacturer claims a very decent sensitivity of 124 dB SPL @ 1 mW, and I really felt these can be easily juiced even with modestly powerful sources.

But all the specs aside, let us dig into the most important part of the review.

Sound
Right on the front of the box, there’s an inscription saying “EXTRA BASS”. I tend to be put off by this kind of tunings, preparing for bloated and unruly bass response. Luckily, my fear was dispersed as soon as I started listening. Sure enough, there’s elevated bass response here but it’s done with taste and skill. The bassline is emphasized, but that doesn’t mean it’s slow and lacking details. On contrary, I find it quite agile and rhythmic.

The same goes for the midbass that’s rich and juicy but definitely not bloated. It also doesn’t leak into the midrange. The midrange itself sounds warm and laid back. There are enough details to be heard hear but they’re never thrown into your face. This is especially true for the upper midrange or the so-called presence region. Many in-ears emphasize this one, creating a fake sense of resolution and clarity. This trick actually adds sharpness to the edges and emphasizes huskiness in the voices. CTM didn’t play this card, letting the midrange sounding warm and full-bodied instead. The same story continues when it comes to the highest frequencies. Sheer resolution and detailing are very good, as these are really products of time-domain precision, but they’re just tuned to be presented in a more laid back manner instead of being thrown at you.




Moving away from the frequency sound signature, there’s a reasonably wide and deep soundstage to be heard here. Layering is very good too so each instrument has its own position and enough room around itself. Dynamically speaking, this is a very capable in-ear and married with elevated bassline this makes for a very fun and exciting listen.

Thinking CTM CE320 is something only bass-heads could enjoy would be wrong. Playing some of my favorite singers such as Leonard Cohen and Norah Jones proved to be a very pleasurable experience. Even though the huskiness and raspiness of these vocals were not as pronounced, both sounded present, well-focused, and very full-bodied.

Comparison
Having Kinera Freya on my hands, which is another $250 in-ear, I was able to make a direct comparison of these two. Freya’s deep bass is not as pronounced but its midbass is definitely looser or less controlled if you will. The upper midrange has that emphasis I was talking about, making them sound brighter and sharper. But take a minute to adjust your ears to a darker CTM CE320 presentation and you’ll realize it’s actually the more resolute one. I love Freya in isolation, but it sounds slightly muddy in direct comparison.

Conclusion
CTM CE320 does have a bass-heavy, warm, and darker sound signature. However, this is done with great skill and it produces very good results. While lesser in-ears tuned this way can sound bloated and overbearing, CE320 just sounds beefy, full-bodied, and positively sweet. Add to it a lack of any artificial sharpness and we have a winner on our hands.

CE 320 might not be the most neutral and most detailed experience for the price, but listening to my favorite music through them feels like going home for the holidays and eating a slice of homemade apple pie with cinnamon. If you enjoy full and sweet character too, then there’s nothing preventing me from recommending this one.

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Originally posted at iiWi reviews. You can also watch my video review:

Sparrow is a portable DAC brought by EarMen – a quite fresh brand on the market, but I have to say they entered it with aplomb. While writing this article, one of the brand’s first products TR-Amp is sitting on my desk and juicing my headphones. It really says something about the product when you don’t want to stop using it after the review is done.

But today, it’s about finding out if EarMen can repeat its success with a truly portable and tiny device. Let’s dig in.

Build and Package
A lot of devices call themselves portable nowadays, but sticking a battery into something doesn’t really make it all that portable, does it? Well maybe to some degree, carrying mentioned TR-Amp or Chord Mojo with my laptop is quite OK, but carrying those slabs in my pockets is a completely different story – neither my pockets nor patience is that stretchy.

On the other hand, I find the Audioquest DragonFly family to be proper portable devices. EarMen Sparrow is even a bit more compact than that. It’s tiny and lightweight but the use of quality materials means it doesn’t feel cheap. On the contrary, it looks very slick and feels like a well-built product.

The Package is very simple, there’s the DAC itself and two USB cables. The USB-C one to connect it to your smartphone, and the USB-A one that’s standard on all our PCs. If you’re an Apple user, you’ll have to buy additional cable, or maybe nicely ask your favorite brand to start following industry standards for once.



Features and Connectivity
EarMen Sparrow is based around Sabre’s ES9281PRO D/A converter that offers wide format support, including the increasingly more popular MQA decoding. Aside from that, it’ll take PCM and DXD up to 384 kHz, as well as DSD up to 128 DoP.

Being this small means there’s usually not much to talk about in this section, but Sparrow packs one important surprise. There’s one input in form of USB-C, but there are two outputs to choose from. One is your normal single-ended 3.5 mm stereo jack that offers up to 2.0 Vrms, while the other one is a balanced 2.5 mm output that’ll go up to 4.0 Vrms in 600 Ohms. This second one makes all the difference when talking about this unit, but more about it in a sound quality section.

Sparrow doesn’t have any controls, it’s powered automatically when connected while the volume is controlled via the player. It lights with four different colors signifying different states of operation, but I’ll not go into the details here – it’s in the user manual anyway.



Sound (Single-ended Out)
Firstly, I connected a great in-ear model Kinera Freya to the 3.5 mm socket and started browsing through my favorite songs. Sparrow treated me with a full-bodied and punchy sound. Its overall character was very neutral and no emphasis on any region could be detected. Bass depth and control were great, while the soundstage was adequate.

Moving to my bigger Hifimans I realized there’s enough power in the small Sparrow to drive them in a satisfying manner. Control over the baseline was good, vocals sounded full and present, and dynamics left nothing to complain about. If there’s one area I wished a bit more, it was the highest register. Even though Sparrow is capable of crisp detailing, I felt some air from the acoustic and live recordings missing. But overall, I was very happy with the presentation that proved to be better controlled, cleaner, and more dynamic than DragonFly Black. Unfortunately, I didn’t have DF Red on hand for a direct comparison, which would make more sense since they’re priced equally. Going solely by my memory, and using Black as an intermediate device I’ve heard next to both, I’ll go on a limb here and say that Sparrow wouldn’t have much problem taking on Red either.



Sound (Balanced Out)
I switched my cable then and moved to a balanced output. Oh my, that was an experience you don’t have every day. The soundstage opened with greater transparency being evident all over the frequency range. Bassline gained more grip and texture, transients became crisper and notes richer with micro-details. You remember how I said that air is lacking up top with SE output, well forget about that complaint cause it’s gone. The highest register just lit every recording with a fresh amount of air and allowed instruments to breathe.

Listening to the Every Morning by Keb’ Mo’ I immediately noticed how much wider and spacious the soundstage has gotten. Guitar strings plucked with more zest and intent making me nod my head along with this slow but soulful tune. Moving to a faster Madness by Muse confirmed the superior grip over bass notes, composure, and layering of balanced output. Keeping the rhythm and fast pace was made to look like an easy task by this small unit.

At this moment, I felt Sparrow is leaving both Red and Black Dragonflies in the mirror. In some areas, such as sheer transparency and pacing, it is even surpassing its older brother TR-Amp. Commendable achievement.



Conclusion
EarMen Sparrow is a truly portable device you can carry around in your pocket. Knowing this, we usually apply a lower set of standards the device has to measure up to. Over the single-ended output, Sparrow fulfills these with flying colors, matching and even surpassing the aging competition. Switch to its balanced output, however, and it surpasses the expected in the most spectacular way. While you still can’t expect physics to suddenly bend and this tiny unit to pour incredible amounts of power, the sheer sound quality to size ratio is just astonishing.

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UPDATE: Some users reported hearing random clicking noise for a minute when Sparrow is connected to the phone. I had a similar experience with one of my players (HiBy Music) but couldn’t replicate it with the Tidal app and another phone (with its default player) so I assumed it was a HiBy player-specific issue. It seems however than this might be an issue with a wider selection of phones/players. Thanks to all who brought it to attention, I’ve already notified the manufacturer and will keep you updated if there’s any new info about it.

UPDATE 2: EarMen has released a firmware update that solved the clicking issue. Both firmware and tool needed to flash it onto your device are available for download on the official page: https://earmen-shop.com/products/sparrow

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My video review:

NOTE: I read RikudouGoku's review just before making my own and was puzzled by his experience. He criticized the things I personally hate to hear myself and I do complain about that type of tuning every time I hear it. Not really sure what's going on here (some sort of QC issue maybe) but it feels like we are listening to a different model altogether. My unit also came from the HiFiGo (thanks for that guys). That said, I'll dig in into my own experience with Freya.
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Freya is the latest model released by Kinera. If you had asked me just a year ago, I wouldn’t have heard about the brand, but earlier this year I’ve encountered their budget-oriented model called Kinera Tyr. That one was a budget model costing just $29 but Freya is a different beast altogether, costing $250, and I was curious to find out what Kinera can do with a ten times bigger budget.

By the way, the name comes from a Norse mythology goddess Freyja (Old Norse for “(the) Lady”) that is associated with love, beauty, fertility, sex, war, gold, and seiðr.

So let’s find out if these are worth carrying the name of a goddess.

Package, Build, Fit
Earphones come in a big hexagonal package filled with goodies. You’ll find 7 different ear-tips, USB-C adapter, Lightning adapter, protective case, and a cleaning brush. You might not really need most of these but it’s nice having these small tokens of gratitude, especially at this price point.





Moving to the earphones themselves, they’re quite chunky to start with and this might be a problem for some of you with smaller ears. On the other hand, they’re balancing it out by being quite lightweight. As far as my ears go, these were a perfect fit and once I’d put them in the right position they stayed there, with me basically forgetting about them.

The cable is detachable but the provided one is of a very decent quality. It’s quite thick, soft, and twisted lightly. What’s important is that it doesn’t tangle much and it’s not microphonic. Nice job.

Sound
The good news continues when we start talking about sound quality. Frequency response tuning is just right to my ears without any part being noticeably emphasized and trying to take the show. There’s plenty of low bass rumble, but luckily it’s met with good control and agility. This means bass notes are weighty but precise and easy to follow. If there’s anything to nitpick about the bassline it might be that it doesn’t have that much slam and attack.

Moving upwards to the midrange region, I was surprised by the full and lush sound. That lower midrange section, responsible for vocal fullness and instrument timbre is often sorely lacking with in-ear models. Not with Freya, there’s enough juice and boldness here for me to enjoy everything from the mighty male voice of Leonard Cohen to the beautiful and moody vocal of Lana Del Rey. All instruments sound full and present too, exhibiting great timbre and a touch of warmth. Higher midrange and highs are filled with details but voiced in a slightly safe and tame manner that made listening Freya for a longer period of time a pleasant experience.

The soundstage is surprisingly wide and there’s a respectable sense of space around your head. Instruments are well separated and there’s room for each one to breathe and position itself clearly.




Pairing
Kinera Freya is not particularly demeaning to drive. I got them sound reasonably loud and lively even using a Hidizs Sonata HD DAC dongle. However, some soundstage congestion and a hint of upper-region harshness were noticeable. To get the real sense of their capabilities, great timbre, and that spacious soundstage, you’ll need to feed them with a serious source. EarMen TR-Amp did the job for me providing everything Freya needed to really bloom.

Conclusion
I’m not really the one to tell you if Kinera Freya punches above its price point since I’m not all that much into expensive IEMs. However, I can tell you that I liked Freya quite a lot, it’s an in-ear done right and tuned in a mature way that I can listen for hours without fatigue. Nothing I’ve already heard (including Moondrop Starfield that I really liked) can’t match these in terms of midrange fullness, tone timbre, and soundstage. That’s why I’ll be keeping these for myself and as a future reference.


I also made a video about it:

KS2 is a budget-friendly model from Kbear and at the same time my first encounter with the Kbear brand. KS2 is one of those models you suppose to hook around your ear and comes in a fairly simple package without any goodies, but it would be rude to ask anything more for a modest price of $25. So let’s dig into the review and see how they perform.

Build and comfort
Kbear KS2 is made out of plastic but it feels well-made and sturdy enough so you don’t have to worry about occasional rough handling. This also means they’re lightweight which is always a good thing for earphones since weighty ones tend to fall out of the ear. Fit is a very personal thing, but in my case, these really fit like a charm.

The bundled cable is of a braided type, it tangles very easily but on a positive note, it’s not microphonic at all. Earhooks are preshaped and in a slightly smaller radius than I’d ideally prefer, but again that’s highly personal. It’s detachable too, using 2 pin connectors, so you can exchange it for a better one if you wish so.

All in all, I feel that build, fit, and comfort are quite decent and there’s nothing that would put me off in this department. So let’s move to the most important part of the review and that’s their performance.



Sound
First thing first, Kbear KS2 is your typical V-shaped response type of earphone. This means that the bassline is emphasized. The bass is not only weighty but punchy too. Also, I never found it too bloated or unwieldy so I enjoyed it quite a bit even though I’m not what you’d call a bass-head.

Moving to the midrange part, I stumble upon my first complaint. The lower midrange is recessed and the body of both vocals and instruments is lacking. The upper midrange on the other hand is alive and kicking. Now pair that with quite pronounced higher region and it makes for an exciting and sparkly listen. Often too sparkly if you ask me since vocals tend to sound thin and hissy.

Other than that quirky tonality, dynamics proved to be really good, and KS2 sounds lively and exciting. Both layering and sound-stage are probably the best I’ve heard at this price point. All instruments have enough room to breathe, and they’re spread as wide as the in-ear concept will allow.

EQ-ing them
I wanted to try and rid the KS2 of their overemphasized V-shaped tuning and rid the vocals of this snake-like appearance. Fortunately, they react quite well to it and I managed to somewhat tame that overwhelming upper-region presence by lowering frequencies between 8 and 12 kHz by about 3 dB. This move didn’t really kill their overall liveliness but provided a much-needed relaxation and much more pleasurable listen to my ears.

Conclusion
Kbear KS2 possesses some commendable qualities such as very punchy and lively presentation, class-leading separation and sound-stage. However, they stumble with very aggressive V-shaped tuning that makes for unnaturally sharp and thinned out timbre. A little bit of EQ-ing goes a long way in this case and if you’re willing to play with it, you might end up with a very exciting, but not that neutral, pair of in-ears.

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I also made a video review:

TRN has just introduced its latest model to the market and it’s called VX. It comes with whooping 7 drivers and costs around 70 bucks. Ten bucks per driver sounds like a good deal, right? Well, at least in terms of quantity but I was more interested in their quality and skill of producing high fidelity sound. Let’s dig into it and find out.

Build, fit, and cable
TRN VX is made of aluminum and coated with a pint that has a kind of soft-touch feel to it that’s very pleasant. It might not be apparent trough pictures, but there’s a real premium feel to VX. They’re not too chunky as one might expect considering the sheer number of drivers used. Moreover, these are fairly lightweight which definitely helps their ergonomics.

Talking about ergonomics, TRN VX fit great in my ears. Pre-shaped ear-hooks are soft and not too springy, so mounting these is a fuss-free experience. I know that’s a very personal matter but that said and judging by my experience, these deserve high praise for comfort.

Lastly, the cable is a typical braided solution, which means it tangles quite easily but on a positive note it’s not microphonic. It’s detachable too so you can opt for an aftermarket solution if you wish.



Sound
The first thing that hits you with TRN VX is how sharp and fast they sound. Starting with the baseline, it’s fairly decent in weight but definitely not suited for bass-heads or those who like their bass to lend warmth to the rest of the spectrum. This one is reasonably weighty but very fast and agile in return. Going higher you’ll notice a dip in the lower midrange which rips some body and weight from vocals and other tones. Then comes the empathized part of the upper midrange and a portion of high frequencies.

What this type of tuning means for your music is that TRN VX sounds lean and mean. That emphasis on the upper region is lending all the sharp details and leading edges you’d ever want. Now add to that energy and attack these in-ars posses and we get edges and transients presented in a ruthless and very analytical fashion. This character is sure flashy and exciting but definitely not the last word regarding finesse and musicality.

Other than that, the separation of individual instruments is great and the sound is quite spacious for an in-ear model.

EQ-ing
I found the sound signature of TRN VX to be a bit overzealous for longer listening, so I’ve decided to give EQ-ing a chance. I did it solely by ear and ended up with this:

– 3 dB at 4 kHz
– 3 dB at 8 kHz

The result was taming of those dominant regions just enough so I can listen for a longer period of time and actually enjoy the other qualities VX has to offer.

Conclusion
TRN VX possesses some nice and desirable qualities such as great premium build and comfort. Their sound signature is marked by class-leading speed, clarity, and sharp transients that’ll try to claw and bite their way into your heart. This aggressive approach will sure work for some but it will not suit all, especially the ones looking for a full-bodied and musical approach.


I also made a video about it:

Fiio FH1s is the latest entry in Fiio’s rich in-ear portfolio, here to carry the torch instead of the older FH1 model. With the price of 69$, it hits that sweet spot of being affordable, yet managing to offer some interesting technical solutions. Without making this review longer than necessary, let’s dive right into it.

BUILD AND FEATURES
FH1s is mostly made out of plastic but it feels sturdy and lightweight. What’s more important is what’s inside of it. To start with a dynamic driver, it is an unusually large 13.6 mm bio-polymer diaphragm. The size of it alone suggests decent bass output, but there’s yet another driver working along it to create higher frequencies. Knowles 33518 balanced armature driver is located closer to the ear, firing through a brass sound tube. Put together, these drivers create a 26 Ohm impedance while offering a sensitivity of 106 dB/mW.

I didn’t have any problems fitting these in my ears, and I also didn’t find them to be overly fussy about the choice of ear-tips. The factory provided worked just fine for me, but I’ve tried another set of aftermarket silicone tips and a pair of foam ones too. All of these provided a very good fit as well as fairly similar sonic results. The cable itself is of a decent quality too. It is prone to tangling a bit, but on a positive side – it’s not microphonic.

Now we got that out of the way let’s dig into the sound quality talks.



SOUND
The first thing I noticed is that Fiio FH1s is tuned to sound attractive and fun. That starts with the weighty and punchy bass-line that is giving a solid base to any of your tunes. In absolute terms, it might be a bit emphasized but it never feels too prominent due to very good control. Weight and attack go hand in hand to create one of the most enjoying bass-lines I’ve heard from any in-ear model.

Moving up the frequency range, slightly recessed lower midrange is noticeable. At least it feels like that next to prominent higher midrange. This means that FH1s are not neutral sounding and they have that slight V-shaped tuning. That works well for many types of music, creating an elevated presence with sparkly, sharp sounding notes and edges. Tone texture is also brought up quite nicely.

Unfortunately, there’s a downside to this approach too. First of all, vocals lack a little bit of their natural body and things can sometimes sound overly sharp. Listening to some vocals, especially the female ones, can bring up snake-like sounding sss, hhh, etc. The effect was easily observable in Charlotte Cardin’s “Like It Doesn’t Hurt” for example.

Other than that, FH1s is capable of creating as wide sound-stage as I’ve ever heard from an in-ear model. There’s a real sense of space and separation that makes even busy tracks a joy to listen to.



COMPARISON
Tin Audio T3 – is equally capable in terms of soundstage width, layering, and separation. They even share similar sibilance I don’t appreciate. But the big difference is in the bass region that T3 sourly lacks while FH1s offers in healthy amounts. This makes all the difference, helping FH1s to sound much weightier, funkier, and more exciting… while T3 is just sterile in comparison. Tin Audio T2 is a much better-balanced earphone, but it still lacks some bass grunt and it’s not as spacious sounding as FH1s.

BLON BL-03 – puts a bigger emphasis on the bass region, sounding even meatier. It’s also not as bright and sharp sounding in the upper region which makes for a somewhat L-shaped sound signature. FH1s again leads in terms of spaciousness.

Moondrop Starfield – has a carefully tuned sound signature that is maybe not as exciting at first. However, it’s more neutral approach with more realistic vocals and tone color that I prefer on a longer run.

SOURCE MATCHING AND EQUALIZING
Due to their sharp and edgy character Fiio FH1s match better with warmer and softer sounding sources. I got a very good result pairing them with Fiio K5 pro. Their overall character was still there, but not as pronounced as with HIDIZS Sonata HD that doesn’t help in taming FH1s’ aggressive top end.

In a few attempts of EQ-ing that edginess out of them, I didn’t really get good results. Problematic vocals kept sounding sibilant even after lowering the 5-10 kHz region by a few dB. Eventually, I killed the sparkle and liveliness of FH1s begore I managed to mitigate the problem. It made me realize that you should either accept this edginess as a part of their character or opt for another model altogether.

CONCLUSION
I felt that Fiio FH1s is a fun and exciting listen. The punchy bass, sharp and edgy character made it so. But make no mistake, these are not neutral and tame, and it takes a bit of care with pairing to get the best result out of them.

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Video review:



All of my other review here.

TR-Amp is brought by EarMen, a newly established brand on the market, but make no mistake it is not an inexperienced one. The founder and lead engineer behind it is Milomir Trosic, known better as the face of a more luxurious brand Auris Audio. But let us get back to the thing at hand. I’m interested to see how one of EarMen’s first products performs so let’s dig in.


BUILD AND FEATURES
TR-Amp is a portable DAC and headphone amp. It is quite small in size but made of thick aluminum. When picked up it leaves the impression of a well made, solid, and sturdy device.

In the front, there are two headphone outputs. A 6.35 mm and a 3.5 mm one can be used in parallel. Volume knob also doubles as the power switch. In the back, we find a pair of RCAs. Using the switch next to them you can opt to use them as a direct-out or preamp-out. Volume control for both preamp and headphone out is done in the analog domain. Two USB-C ports are used to provide separate signal and charging paths.





In the heart of the device, there is a well known ESS Sabre 9038Q2M DAC chip. Texas Instruments’ TPA6120 is used as a headphone amp and allows up to 400 mW at 16 Ohms. According to EarMen, those are backed up by some quality components like super-low ESR tantalum capacitors in the power supply and gold plated PCB. Lastly, an inbuilt 3700mA battery allows up to 10h of music playback. Worth mentioning is that the device can be normally used while charging.

Format support is rich with TR-Amp being able to play PCM up to 32bit / 384kHz, up to DSD128 native and DSD256 DoP. To sweeten the deal for streaming fans even MQA compression is supported.


SOUND (HEADPHONE OUT)
I hooked my Hifiman HE4XX to it and the first impression was that TR-Amp sounds bigger than it looks. Rich and punchy bass-line is the first thing to notice. Bass can go deep and kick hard but it never loses its grip and overstays its welcome. Above the bass region, everything continues in a similarly punchy fashion. The midrange sounds crisp with clear and energetic edges. The same goes for the higher region, it is crisp and sharp with respectable extension. Fortunately, sharpness is not overemphasized and it never steps onto a nasty, thin, and grainy side of things.

No matter what I’ve put on my playlist, TR-Amp remained a lively performer. Thick bass, slam, and energy of every note combine into a very rhythmic and exciting listen. All of it makes for an addictive experience, and more than once I caught myself tapping my foot or nodding my head in rhythm. This made me thinking about how this unit sounds bolder than the power rating numbers are suggesting.



SOUND (LINE OUT)
Putting TR-Amp in my main setup consisting of Cyrus 8vs2 and KEF LS50, and choosing a Direct position on the back switch, I’ve started testing its DAC capabilities. All of the qualities mentioned above in the headphone-out section are present on RCA-out as well.

TR-Amp sounds as you would expect a well-executed Sabre DAC to sound. The soundstage is spread decently wide but not too deep. Being laid back, soft, and refined is not high on the list of TR-Amp’s priorities. What it offers instead is upfront and really engaging presentation. Bass has kick, the midrange has focus and intensity. Vocals are firmly fixed and etched in their spot. I can’t detect any coloring taking place and both male and female vocals sound natural. Edges are clear and energetic, making string plucks sound very exciting. All of this makes listening to a song like Nick Drake’s Free Ride an elevating experience.


COMPARISON
Fiio K5 pro sounds a bit soft and blend after TR-Amp. It has more power at hand but as long as you don’t have a super hungry set of headphones, TR-Amp will provide bolder and more resolving sound. It’ll also infuse every note with more energy and surround it with crisp transients that K5 pro simply can’t match.

Schiit Modi 3 and Magni 3‘s bass control seems a touch muddy and sluggish in comparison. Going beyond the bassline, TR-Amp’s overall clarity and exciting presentation are out of reach for this aging stack.

Topping E30 proved to be a good competitor to TR-Amp’s line-out. E30 has a more relaxed presentation and a slightly wider sound-stage. It is also capable of producing a bit more texture and air in the mid to high range. That helps in conveying the sandiness of Norah Jones’ vocal a bit better. TR-Amp punches back with firmer bass grip, better attack, focus, and bolder edges. These traits also help it to be more rhythmic than E30. Trying to decide which one is a more capable DAC proved to be difficult. In the end I do prefer TR-Amp by a smidge. That said, each has its own set of strengths and depending on personal taste some of you might feel differently.



CONCLUSION
EarMen TR-Amp is a well-rounded product that offers a well-balanced and exciting presentation. If you’re planning to use it as a DAC/AMP or just a DAC doesn’t make much difference as it’s equally capable on both fronts. EarMen might be a new name on the market, but if TR-Amp is anything to go by you should keep an eye on their future releases – I now that I will.

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I was offered a pair of Tyr for a review. They didn’t look like much at first glance, but the first impression can be deceiving so I accepted the offer. Few long weeks later, thanks to COVID-19, when I already forgot about them, they arrived at my doorstep. I put them through their paces to see what are they made of.

PACKAGE, BUILD, FIT
In the small hexagonal box you’ll find just bare essentials. There’s a flat leather-like carrying case that looks stylish, ear tips and earbuds themselves. For the low price of $29 I couldn’t ask for more. The cable is not detachable, it looks thin and doesn’t tangle at all. On the bad side, it is very microphonic and you can hear every rub against your clothes. Earphones themselves look to be made of aluminum. They’re very small and light. Once fitted properly into the ear they stayed there securely.

Both tangle-free but microphonic cable, as well as small and lightweight earbuds remind me of Sennheiser Momentum In-ear I reviewed recently.



SOUND QUALITY
I hooked them to several of my DACs including Dragonfly Black. They proved quite easily driven and not picky about the source so I settled with Hidizs Sonata HD attached to my phone.

The sound signature is V-shaped with prominent bass notes, recessed lower mids, and some prominent upper midrange and higher frequencies. What this means is that bass is pleasantly punchy and weighty. It’s not that fast and well-controlled but it is also never that bloomy and blurry to become overbearing. At this price point that is always a plus. The midrange, on the other hand, is not the kind I’m really fond of. There’s a peak around 3-4 kHz giving that hard and thin feeling to vocals. Than there’s another peak around 6-7 kHz to add some sibilance to those vocals too. Both of these are elevating that upper part of voice registers, sharpening them artificially, and leaving me wanting for more body and fullness.

EQ-ing them a bit proved really helpful in my experience. I did this inside of my Hibby player:

250 Hz + 1 dB
500 Hz + 2 dB
1 kHz + 1 dB
7 kHz – 2 dB

And the sound became much juicier and more pleasurable to my ears.

Outside of the frequency response, things are working nicely. We have decent drive and energy that are making these a fun listen. Dynamics are fine too, as good as any in-ear I heard at this price range.



COMPARISON
I’ll just quickly compare them to two models.

**** **** – are bigger and heavier IEMs with a detachable braided cable that is quite prone to microphonics. **** sound juicer and fuller with vocals, more smooth and much less sibilant. I can imagine some would choose Tyr for more bass and treble boost that brings excitement. Not me, between the two, I’d choose **** every time.

Sennheiser Momentum In-ear – made by Sennheiser but caries some striking similarities. Tangle prone but microphonic cable, lightweight approach, and good fit are all the same. Hefty bass, recessed mids, lean and sibilant vocals… again the same. Any difference? Well yes, in styling, brand, and pricing.

CONCLUSION
Kinera Tyr will not change the landscape of the affordable IEMs market. Their sound signature has its quirks and it’s not really my cup of tea, but they do have their qualities. For anyone liking a V-shaped approach and sharpened upper midrange, these can offer decent fun. They’re small, light, and carry a reasonable price tag.

...

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Many audiophiles out there don’t believe that digital signals can be better or worse. Zeros are zeros and ones are ones is their philosophy. Such people would argue that USB regenerators are just a hoax, a snake oil meant to trick us into emptying our pockets. But I was curious to test that myself and I bought this unit during the last call for $49 + $33 shipping to my country... So it's not produced anymore, but there are plenty to be found on a second-hand market if you wish.

So Schiit Wyrd is a USB regenerator and recklocker, that made me create a new category of reviews I’ve decided to name “Snake oil”.

BUILD AND FEATURES
Looking from the outside, Wyrd follows the well known Schiit design. It’s a small box covered with a curved brushed aluminum plate. That means it stacks perfectly with any Modi, Magni, etc. On the back, we have just one USB input, one USB output, a power plug, and a power switch.

Regarding functions, this device has only one. It is supposed to take a digital stream of data coming from your PC, digital streamer, etc. Wyrd than recreates that digital stream from scratch, using its own power supply and internal clock. Supposedly much cleaner signal is now sent to your DAC which should have less trouble dealing with noise, jitter, and other unwanted stuff. Finally, that is supposed to translate into better and cleaner sound coming from our DAC and eventually speakers or headphones.

I was eager to test these claims and find out does this device really brings any audible difference to my system.



TESTING WITH PC
The first part of the test was conducted with my Win 10 laptop. It’s just a working machine with few free audio tweaks like Fidelizer and Minority Clean. So after hooking Wyrd into its place, the system looked like this:

• Acer laptop with Win 10
• Schiit Wyrd
• Burson Playmate DAC
• Cyrus 8vs2 Integrated amp
• KEF LS50 speakers

Going through many songs, doing both longer listening sessions and quick AB switching (Wyrd in/Wyrd out), I could definitely confirm that there is a sonic difference when using this device. The one that was easiest to discern is in the bass region. Bassline became a bit cleaner and with less bloom than before, so bass notes sounded both more focused and more present. Other than that, I could notice some small clarity improvement in both midrange and the higher end of the frequency spectrum. When I say small I mean they’re easily noticeable when doing AB but not that big and important to wow you in any way. When Wyrd is removed I don’t really miss its influence on those upper register, but I do miss that bass firmness a bit.

And that’s basically it, I didn’t really notice any changes in spaciousness, soundstage width or depth. I can’t claim those don’t exist or can’t be heard with better systems and/or ears than mine.

FURTHER TESTING
I then switched from PC to Raspberry Pi 3 B+ with Pi MusicBox. This is a combo that sounds cleaner and more spacious than my laptop to begin with. I attached Wyrd, listened for some time and couldn’t really detect it’s influence. I removed it then, listened to the music some more and again couldn’t detect any sonic differences. This was very odd as Pi 3 is not famous for its USB output quality, but it is what it is and I’m just reporting my experience. To me, Schiit Wyrd didn’t influence Pi’s USB output in any meaningful way.

I then asked my friend and my better half to help me with some ABX testing. With Pi 3 they couldn’t detect any differences either. Going back to PC as a source, they could both detect the difference when Wyrd is being used.

The last part of the test included me swapping a few different DACs as well as using headphones instead of my room setup. The outcome was basically the same. Wyrd always improved PC’s output a little bit, but Pi 3’s not so much.



WHO IS IT FOR?
Matter of price and value is another thing I have to address. I’ll go through a few scenarios in which I can or can’t justify such a purchase.

1) If there is a way to improve any of your core components for a similar amount of money. Let’s say going from a really great $100 DAC like Schiit Modi 3 to a great $250 one like Topping D50s – you would get much more significant sonic improvement than buying this small device. The same goes for amps, headphones, speakers… If 100 bucks can buy you a better core component – buying Wyrd is simply not smart and justified move.

2) If your core components are already of such price that adding 100 bucks buys you nothing better. In this case we’re ready to talk about peripherals. In my experience, spending a similar amount on a good set of interconnects or speaker cables, power filters, vibration absorbers for your devices, etc. – yielded more significant sound improvement. For example – placing a set of good interconnect cables which retail price roughly matches Wyrd’s, instead of my decent $20 cables – had a much greater positive sonic impact than Wyrd itself. That’s why, in case you haven’t sorted out cables and power sources first, I can’t justify spending a hundred bucks this way.

3) If all of your core components, and cables, and power filtering are taken care of but you still have a desire to further improve things. Then let’s say you have a hundred to spare, you look at your system costing several thousands of bucks, and you want to pour a little bit more into it. Then and only then I can see a reason for going with a device like this one. In that case, we are talking about measly few percents of your whole system cost – and the appropriately small, yet detectable, sonic effect. Only in such a scenario purchasing this device actually makes sense.

CONCLUSION
Spending a few weeks with the Wyrd I can certainly tell it’s not snake oil. In some scenarios, it really did bring sonic improvements. Given a choice to listen to the music from my PC with or without it – I’d always choose to use Wyrd. That said if there is a weak link anywhere in your system, your money will almost certainly be better spent tending to that first.

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This is my first contact with the Dunu brand and it started with opening an oversized box. Inside of it, I found a very nice looking carrying case, set of ear tips, detachable cable, and earphones themselves.

BUILD AND FIT

Earphones are made out of plastic, they are light but feel solid. Provided cable is smooth to the touch and doesn’t tangle easily – points for that. Looks is subjective of course but I liked the mix of black and white used here.

I’m not particularly fond of this whole cable around the ear thing. That said I didn’t really have any trouble securing a good fit with DM-480. Their size is average and I don’t think anybody should have a problem with it. Lightweight build definitely helps and once fitted properly they don’t tend to fall out.

Just before proceeding, I’ll say that most of the testing was conducted with Dragonfly Black and great Lusya Fever DAC as a source. But HIDIZS Sonata HD also proved more than capable to drive them properly.



SOUND QUALITY

DM-480 offers well balanced and smooth sound signature. Starting with the frequency response, it is slightly V-shaped. Lower midrange takes a step back, while bass notes and upper midrange run the show. Luckily, Dunu took a fairly mild approach to such tuning. That means bass notes are not overwhelming. There’s quite a weight and heft to them, but those are married with good control and precision. Going higher, we get a very clean and smooth sounding midrange. Tuning is done with care here so that upper registers don’t overtake the show too obviously. Even though there isn’t much fullness and body to the vocals due to the lower midrange dip, the higher range is not overcooked either. That’s why DM-480 never sounds too bright or edgy. What they do sound like is spacious and smooth.

Talking about the soundstage of an IEM is always tricky. But within the form factor limitations, these do impress with a spacious and uncluttered presentation. Changing from slow Jazz, through upbeat POP and finally some old 70’s Rock tracks… Not once I felt them to sound muddy and cramped. What’s even more interesting, I never felt them to be harsh or edgy neither. This model carefully walks a line between sounding clear but not overly analytical, a line between sounding open but not too bright nor thin.

Few things are holding me from giving absolute recommendation to DM-480. The first one would be a slight lack of body and weight to vocals. The same goes for other instruments that occupy a similar frequency range. The second one would be that some competitors offer even more extension and air up top.



COMPARISONS
Similarly priced Tin Audio T3 is brighter and more analytical sounding. It offers more airiness and atmosphere but at a cost. The cost is that it sounds thin and overly sharp. Sibilance is commonplace and bass leaves a lot to be desired. DM-480 is simply nicer to my ears and more fun to listen to.

One of those rare models that I could call more accomplished is Moondrop Starfield. It offers fuller vocals and midrange overall, while at the same time revealing more in the highest frequencies, creating more atmosphere and air. The soundstage on DM-480 seems more spacious and less cluttered though. Personally, I prefer Starfield but I wouldn’t blame anyone for choosing differently.

CONCLUSION
I can definitely say that my first contact with Dunu went well. DM-480 provides a detailed yet smooth and fun sound. It’s also easy to drive and comes with a decent cable for a change. A lot to like here and not that much to dislike. If you’re on the market for a decent IEM, you don’t mind slightly V-shaped sound signature but you don’t appreciate edginess and harshness… Dunu DM-480 is definitely worth considering.


Official page – https://www.dunu-topsound.com/dm-480

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BUILD AND FIT

Tin Audio opted for a proven formula with a full aluminum body feels solid and sturdy. The cable is different this time around with preshaped ear-hooks that fit around your ears. Other than that it’s still braided, quite soft and very prone to tangling. I’d prefer a classical no-hook cable as we had on T2 but that’s really a matter of preference. Detachable cable means you can change the default one with any MMCX connector cable you like.

It’s a very personal thing, but achieving a good and secure fit was quite easy for me. That’s great because the last thing you want with such lean sounding headphones is to lose even more bass because of a bad fit. Luckily, there’s a lot of different eartips, including foam ones, provided in the box.



SOUND

Overall clarity and precision I liked about T2 is present in this model too. Already great instrument separation became even better. Bass is once again very well behaved, fast and precise, but on a leaner side. That means T3 is definitely not meant for bass-heads. And even if you’re not one of those I couldn’t blame you for wishing just a bit more grunt and weight in the bass region. Going past the bass line, T3 definitely sounds even more spacious than T2 and there’s more air around the instruments. Unfortunately, the upper midrange is even more pronounced this time and vocals tend to sizzle at you most of the time as sibilance is quite common. Now, join that with lean bass and midbass and we get the overall sound signature that is even brighter this time. For me, that gets tiring very quickly and I’m forced to use EQ to help me tame those sizzling sss, hhh… buy reducing some higher midrange and highs level ( -3 dB at 7-10 kHz). While at it, I also added some more bass (~ 2 dB below 250 Hz) to make things just a touch more pleasurable.

I can imagine this type of sound signature working fine with warm and dark sounding sources (DAC/AMP). In that case, the source and T3 could balance each other out. That’s purely theoretical thought, as I didn’t have such a DAC/AMP at hand to confirm the theory. Talking about sources, T3 is not hard to drive. It can work quite fine even with a good smartphone but will sound a bit fuller and more energetic with a decent DAC like Sonata HD, Dragonfly Black or Fever DAC.



CONCLUSION

I was a fan of T2s. Those were on the analytical side of things too, but cheaper and definitely not as bright sounding. Now, T3 did improve on some things like imaging, spatial organization, and overall clarity. But going this bright, sharp, and analytical is not something I can enjoy or easily recommend to others.

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Video review:

This is my first contact with Moondrop's earphones but right out of the box it promised to be an interesting one. Besides earphones themselves, you get detachable cable, several ear-tips and small carrying case.



BUILD AND FIT
It seems that earphones are made of marble or some similar material. They feel reassuringly heavy and sturdy in hand. On the other hand, the braided cable feels delicate. It's quite thin, soft and sufficiently long. I really liked the softness of preshaped hooks that go around the ears. They're easy to mount and adopt to any ear shape (unlike what I've experienced with BLON and KZ model).

Once put into place, buds were sitting securely despite their weight. The next thing I noticed is that cable is not microphonic at all. It probably has to do with it's soft and bandy nature.

Anyway, this model definitely deserves praise for looks, fit, and comfort of use. But it's time to find out how they sound.



SOUND
I attached Starfield to my phone via HIDIZS Sonata HD DAC dongle. There was plenty of power and drive in this combo, and I'm happy to report these IEMs are not difficult to drive. So I started listening and the first thing I noticed is how well balanced and smooth the sound is. My ears usually need some time to adjust to the new sound signature, but this time I felt at home from the first note. I was listening to some acoustic guitars, and strings sounded full and energetic. Lots of details and spacial cues could be heard too, creating atmosphere and space around musicians. That said, they're never put to the front. Sharp edges extend the main body of every tone very naturally, not trying to excite and razzle-dazzle you.

Then I changed to more potent Dragonfly Black which brought slight improvement to drive and dynamics. Changing trough different music genres I was able to once more confirm how well balanced this model is. Bass notes in both Rock and Pop songs had plenty of weight and drive, making me thump my foot with it. Even more important, it's never bloated, never boomy, never loses pace and control. This powerful but fast-moving and precise bass is just a joy to listen to, and one of the best I've heard so far in any IEM.

Moving up the frequency range, more good news awaits. Vocals sound very clean and uncolored, neither mid-bass nor higher frequencies are bleeding into them. Listening to my favorite Pop and Jazz singers is a delight. They sound full and present and there's never any artificial warmth or blooming in their voice. What made me even happier is that there's not even a hint of harshness. So commonly used trick of boosting upper midrange/lower highs is just not present here. That same trick gives an illusion of sharper and more resolving sound but tends to introduce some nasty side effects. One of them is sibilance with voices which I'm really not a fan of. The other effect of such voicing is that listening can get tiring very quickly. You don't have to fear any of those with Starfield as their approach to midrange is perfectly mature and balanced.

In the highest register, things proceed in a similar fashion. Integration and smoothness are a priority here. I'm able to hear airiness around instruments and voices but in a slightly laid back manner. If you want your earphones to zealously dig that last spatial cue and airiness of the recording - these might not be what you look for. But the more songs I listened, the more I appreciated this kind of safe high-frequency tuning as my ears didn't get tired.

When all of this is put together, we get a really well-balanced signature. The seamless integration across the frequency spectrums provides a real unity to the sound. Absence of nasty blooming, added warmth or harshness just seals the deal. Lack of those artificial sweeteners leaves room for natural reverbs and echoes to be heard, and that's what I call hi-fi.

COMPARISONS
Models I'm comparing these with might be odd to you but I'll simply compare them to what I have at hand.

Let's start with the cheapest one - **** ****. I really like these giant killers cause their quality is insane considering the price. However, next to Starfield they sound muddy and bloomy, especially in the mid-bass and low mids section.

Next in line are Tin Audio T2s which tend to impress with their clarity. Their bass weight leaves something to be desired though. Upper midrange and highs sound exciting but bright and hissy compared to Starfield. I really like T2s but they can be tiring with some music while I can listen to Starfileds for hours without a problem.

BLON BL-03s are very resolving and fun to listen to. They're also bassier and the quality of the bass (precision and speed) is not at the same level. Midrange on BL 03 is recessed compared to Starfields so vocals are not as present and full-sounding. Lastly, they have a much poorer fit in my ear.

Lastly, Sennheiser Momentum In-ear launched at a similar price but can't match Starfield Sonically. Their bass is simply not as controlled, lower midrange is recessed and harshness in the upper registers can be observed.

CONCLUSION
As I mentioned at the beginning this is my first contact with Moondrop earphones and I'm happy it's with such praiseworthy model as Srarfield surely is. It rarely happens that balance and unity of presentation are put before that last bit of excitement and tricks meant to wow you. If you're after some specific signature like added warmth or maybe zing to highs, super airiness, etc. - these might seem voiced too safely to you. But if you don't like artificial sweeteners and prefer your sound to be naturally balanced, these might be just the thing you need.

For once, I'm happy to get this kind of mature approach. I'm happy to hear details and reverbs as a result of fast-paced and well-behaved drivers and materials, not as a result of boosted frequencies. Moondrop Starfield has every right to be called hi-fidelity, which is something a lot of in-ears, honestly, don't deserve.

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It's been a long time since I tried any Sennheiser in-ear so I was curious about these.

The first thing I’ve noticed when picked them up is how light these buds actually are. Unlike so many earphones nowadays, these are almost entirely made out of plastic. The cable is quite thin and lightweight too, and not removable. It has a rubbery feel to it and I’m happy to report it doesn’t tangle at all. The downside of this lightweight build is that cable is quite microphonic. It is prone to picking up your movements as it rubs off your clothes.

SOUND

I’m happy to say that Momentum in-ears are not picky about the source. They’ll happily cooperate with a good phone output, but give their best with a reasonably priced DAC dongle like Sonata HD. Moving to Dragonfly Black didn’t yield much improvement.



The sound signature was a surprise for me. I expected warm, to die for, midrange and softened highs, but no sir. Bass was prominent, weighty and disciplined – in one word great. The lower midrange has a noticeable dip, while the higher midrange is pronounced. What this means is that vocals are not particularly weighty nor full sounding. That high midrange peak is giving them an edge too. This edge increases the sense of resolution but makes vocals sound more aggressive too. Occasionally harsh sss, hhh, etc. can be heard. Going higher into the frequency response everything sounds fine. Momentum can reveal plenty of atmospheric details on your recordings.

This U shaped signature really took me off guard, because I just wasn’t expecting it from Sennheiser. But moving on there are other qualities here. As I mentioned, bass notes are weighty but well-controlled, never rumbling without a purpose. Overall clarity and instrument separation are great too. Browsing through my Pop and Rock music I had a lot of fun. Due to its sound signature, my favorite Jazz singers didn’t sound as present and rich as I wanted them to.

COMPARISON

Tin Audio T2 – has a more balanced approach with less weighty bass but fuller midrange. Some consider them to sound a bit thin due to bass restraint, but I believe T2 offers higher fidelity sound then Momentum. Detail retrieval and instrument separation are neck on neck.

BLON BL-03 – Even heavier and punchier bass than we have with Momentum. Similar slight lower midrange dip, but not as pronounced higher midrange. Thanks to that BL-03 sound tamer and never harsh. Basshead haven. Detail retrieval and instrument separation are comparable.

**** **** – Warmer sound with the fuller but also slightly muddier midbass and midrange. Great with vocals. No harshness and roughness in the upper midrange whatsoever. The highest frequencies are clean but not as pronounced. Compared to Momentums they do sacrifice that last bit of clarity for warmth and fluid-like sound.

As you can see, I believe that all of these are very comparable no matter their wildly different pricing. While **** sacrifice some insight for warmth, with T2 and BL-03 you get as incisive sound as with Momentum. Their build is top-notch too.

CONCLUSION

Depending on your preferences you may welcome or dislike this detour in Sennheiser's sound signature. Other than that these are quite good. As far as established western brands go, this is as good sound as you get at this price I suppose. But if we're talking about models coming from the east, you’d be able to spend less yet acquire the same sound quality with even more premium build. To quote Bob Dylan – The times they are a-changin‘.

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iFi decided to present an unusual combination of Bluetooth streamer and DAC in one. From the outside Zen Blue looks almost the same as already reviewed Zen DAC. It means that the body is completely made of thick aluminium and feels reassuringly sturdy. Front and back plate have brushed finish, while the rest of its curved body is painted gray. Zen Blue doesn’t possess a headphone amp however.



Unusual part comes in when you find out that Bluetooth is the only digital input available on this unit. Yes, you heard it correctly, there is no USB or any other physical way to connect it to the source. Situation is quite different on the output front. There we have digital outputs in the form of optical and coaxial toslink. Integrated DAC makes sure to provide us with two analog outputs: a pair of RCA connectors for single ended connection and a 4.4 mm Pentaconn for balanced outputs.

All major protocols are supported, including aptX, aptX HD, LDAC, AAC and so on. In the heart of analog section we have ESS Sabre Hyperstream DAC chipset.

SOUND (ANALOG OUT)

I hooked Zen Blue to my main system, Cyrus 8vs2 + KEF LS50, and paired it with my smartphone. Pairing was quick and easy. Except different colors on the front of the unit, there’s even a voice telling you that device is paired and what Bluetooth protocol is being used – neat.

Then listening started. I was using local files of different qualities as well as Tidal stream. Zen Blue treated me with very listenable and enjoyable sound. Level of details is respectable and comparable to it’s wired cousin Zen DAC. Sound character differs a little bit though. Whereas Zen DAC offered warmer and almost fluid-like presentation, Zen Blue has a bit leaner approach. Blue’s bass notes sound less weighty but firmer, while midrange is somewhat sharper and more upfront. Vocals sound rich and present through both of the devices. In upper midrange and higher range Blue is favoring details over smoothness. I must say I prefer Zen DAC conically but the difference is not big by any means. On it’s own Zen Blue is quite capable DAC and you want feel lacking on the sound quality front, especially if you like its more upfront approach.

SOUND (DIGITAL OUTPUTS)

Next thing I was interested in is how good of a Bluetooth streamer Zen Blue really is. For that purpose Topping D50s came in really handy. First of all, it’s a very competent DAC. Secondly, it has an integrated Bluetooth receiver that sounds OK but nothing more.

I’ve connected Blue to D50s using optical cable and started listening. First thing that was immediately noticeable is that D50s has better analog stage than Blue itself can provide. Sound was simply more revealing, with weightier bass notes. Soundstage was deeper and populated with cleaner and better separated tones. I caught myself just browsing through my playlist, enjoying the music instead of taking notes, and that’s always a good sign. Quick switch to D50s internal BT receiver revealed that it is no match for Blue. Sound became mushier and softer. Bass notes were not as deep and punchy while other instruments didn’t have as clean edges and transients. At this moment I started to realize that some of the bad sonic traits I previously assigned to Bluetooth connection were much less obvious with Zen Blue.

This called for further testing and I connected Blue to the best DAC I had at hand – Burson Playmate. Sound coming from this combo was rich and meaty. Again, I found myself in a situation of taking a tour to enjoy the music instead of taking notes for the review. Switching between this setup and Playmate’s USB input finally showed the limits of a Bluetooth connection. As good as it was, music coming through USB had more micro details, leading edges had more byte and upper register was more airy. That said, I wouldn’t notice anything seriously missing in Blue-Playmate setup if I hadn’t made this direct comparison. That good and nicely balanced this wireless combo sound is.



CONCLUSION

Zen Blue is an interesting device. I think it’s made for those with specific demands. For those that put convenience in front of that last drop of sound fidelity accessible through wires. With its fine sound quality it makes a hell of a case for such a decision too. Its analog outputs are as good as you get in this price range. But by being able to sound this good over digital outputs, Zen Blue qualifies itself as an upgrade for any of you having a really good DAC already but wanting to enrich it with a Bluetooth connectivity.

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Video review: