I bought the Hives about six months ago; I liked my STAX L300s, but wanted to branch out; I don't have the money to drop on a pair of SR-009s or SR-007s. I also did not wish to purchase a pair of L700s, as they are, from what I understand, not too terribly much better than the L300s--not worth the tripling of price, anyhow. I had heard that the Hives punch above their weight-class, so I bought them for $600 and also bought an extended warranty (at the time they were available from the manufacturer on ebay, so I decided to opt for a warranty). The...

The Burson V5i is lovely looking op-amp, and, by all accounts, contains some impressive technology. Unfortunately, the amplifier I have, the Little Dot I+, supplies 3.7V of the recommended 5V minimum. It's generally better to operate closer to the voltage maximum than minimum, let alone below the minimum. That said, as I was requested by Burson to review their product, I plugged it in and gave it a listen over two pairs of cans, the He400i and ATH-MSR7's. The sound is fairly neutral, but lacking the textured mids I prize in an op-amp (or any...

The Gemtune (string of numbers) is a nice, sleek, "made by apple"-looking tube amp. It's classy, and produces a classy sound. It needs some tube rolling to sound its best, but it's beautiful. I acquired this amp from a friend, to customize and send back. We plan to steampunk it, and fiddle with circuitry a bit to produce a warmer, tubier sound. Aesthetics and build: solid construction, nice aesthetics, a bit modern for my taste--hence steampunking! It doesn't lose any point here, though, because it's an agreeable aesthetic most would like...

The SMSL M6 is a DAC/amp combination, originating from Shenzen, China. I was a bit hesitant about investing in Chinesium, especially given that many of SMSL's products don't receive the rosiest of reviews, but I heard enough good things, and had a tight enough budget that I bit the bullet. Value: It's a cheap DAC/amp for what it does, at $170 on Amazon. I was particularly interested because I heard reviews comparing it to the Objective and Schiit stacks, which, obviously, are a reasonable bit pricier new; I find the comparison valid, after...