https://www.sony-asia.com/electronics/in-ear-headphones/xba-z5 A head-fier drop-shipped Sony XBA-Z5 to me for measurement. I took this opportunity to write a short review of the Sony XBA-Z5. MSRP: $631 Launched in 2014, Sony categorized the Sony XBA-Z5 as Sony’s ‘High-Resolution’ audio product. One thing I always ask for this kind of advertisement is, how do they justify the ‘High-Resolution Audio’ label for Headphones and In-Ear Monitors? Is there any measurement to support that claim? I guess the proof of the pudding is only in the listening...

Conceptualized in early 2015, Symphonium has started to enter the high-end IEM market with their flagship IEM, the Helios. A 4-Way multi-driver balanced armature IEM. MSRP: $1,099 Disclaimer: Symphonium provided this IEM to me as a review sample in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. The company is not involved in any measurement process and editorial content of this review. Notes: On the last 2 pictures above, the Left and Right connectors were reversed. I was taking pictures of the IEM drivers without cable then wrongly connected the...

https://www.etymotic.com/product/er2xr-earphones/ Etymotic ER2XR (Extended Response) is one of my favorite IEM from Etymotic that doesn't need any introduction. I bought this pair from a local shop around 2 years ago. It is a deep insertion micro dynamic driver design with almost ruler flat impedance across the audio band. And the most important feature is, it sounds pretty good. Pros: ER2XR has 2 essential features for pro audio and on-stage applications: Very high passive noise isolation (35-42dB) from the deep insertion design. Essential as...

Big thanks to Burson for providing me with the review sample of Burson FUN! Class A headphone amp with symmetrical circuitry is not rare, but Burson advertised that they implemented four sets of Max Current Power Supply (MCPS) that is claimed to be superior to traditional transformers for delivering instant, clean, and maximum electric current to the Fun. I expect the combination to produce class A low THD with fast and realistic dynamic. Besides that op-amp rolling is a welcome feature to bring the sonic signature closer to our personal preference...

Webpage: https://kennerton.com/thror https://kennerton.com/headphones RAA Measurement of Kennerton Thror: https://reference-audio-analyzer.pro/en/report/hp/kennerton-thror.php I would like to give a big thank to Zeppelin & Co. (Singapore) for the loan of the Kennerton Thror for review purposes! Kennerton Thror, Odin's successor, reminds me a lot of the Kennerton Odin. Therefore in this review, I will be referring to my review of Kennerton Odin to highlight some aspects of the Kennerton Thror. My review of the Kennerton Odin...

Product page: http://ibasso.com/cp_xq_dy.php?id=7280 User manual: http://ibasso.com/uploadfiles/20181010/201810101813547040.pdf Many thanks to Zeppelin & Co. for the loan of the iBasso DX120! I have iBasso DX90 for many years and it is still one of my favorite DAP sound quality wise. I tried iBasso DX200 for a few times and really like the sound quality of it (default Amp card). But I feel the DX200 is too bulky and heavy for me, as I prefer smaller DAP. DX120 seems to be a good option for those who prefer smaller and lighter DAP with solid build...

Webpage: http://www.hifiman.com/products/detail/274 Big thanks to AV One Singapore for the opportunity to loan the demo set of Hifiman RE800! I should have posted this review many months back, but there was a sudden peak on my workload that forced me to temporarily halt the completion of this review. I guess better late than never, so here is my take on this golden IEM. The unit that I reviewed, as shown in the pictures, was the older type of RE800 with no detachable cable. From Hifiman website, I saw that they have upgraded the RE800 with a...

https://sg.creative.com/p/headphones-headsets/aurvana-trio Discussion thread: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/creative-aurvana-trio.875050/ Many thanks to Creative for the review sample of Creative Aurvana Trio! Aurvana Trio is the first hybrid IEM from Creative, combining Bio-cellulose dynamic driver as the woofer, and balanced armature drivers for the midrange and treble region. A triple drivers hybrid. I had a discussion with a friend from Creative about hybrid IEM, probably in 2016, at that time they didn't have any hybrid IEM in their...

Shortest description I can give for Audio-Technica ATH-ADX5000 sound signature is, Glorious! It is one of the few headphones that I’ve tried, that makes me want to listen to more music. Many thanks to Audio-Technica Singapore for the loan of Audio-Technica ATH-ADX5000 for reviewing purpose! http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/headphones/13caf776f0ed2aa4/index.html/ Pros: Superb detail and transparency. Excellent transient and dynamic. Faster and tighter than both HD800 and T1. Natural tuning, highly recommended for Pro Audio applications. Cons...

Op-Amp is a very popular component in almost any electronic equipment these days. A small and versatile amplifier chip for various applications including audio. Different amplifier design resulting different amplifier characteristic such as noise, THD, slew rate, etc. The different characteristic translates to a different sonic characteristic in audio applications. Therefore, each op-amp has their own sonic signature. There is a long debate over op-amp as a small chip amplifier over the larger discrete amplifier circuit that uses discrete...

Big thanks to Brainwavz for the review sample of Brainwavz B200!   Brainwavz B200 is a new Dual Driver, Balanced Armature earphones from Brainwavz, the 3rd model of the Brainwavz Balance Armature series. Excellent ergonomic and pleasant sonic signature seems to be main goals of the design, and in my opinion, Brainwavz has achieved both with Brainwavz B200.         Brainwavz B200 webpage: http://www.brainwavzaudio.com/collections/earphones/products/b200-dual-balanced-armature-earphones   Here is the discussion thread for Brainwavz B200...

Big thanks to Project Perfection Pte Ltd for the loan of STAX SRS-3100 electrostatic earspeaker system!   STAX SRS-3100 is relatively new entry level system from STAX launched last year (2016). It is an earspeaker system consisting of STAX L300 electrostatic earspeaker + SRM252S earspeaker driver (amplifier). Although it is positioned as an entry-level system, from my experience, there is nothing of the sound quality that falls into that category. I had it for a few weeks now and I’m totally impressed by the sound quality!   Web page...

Many thanks to iFi for the tour program, to let us have some experience with the new iFi micro iDSD Black-Label!     iFi micro iDSD Black-Label product web page: http://ifi-audio.com/portfolio-view/micro-idsd-bl/ Manual: http://ifi-audio.com/wp-content/uploads/data/manual/miDSDBL_manual.pdf     Due to the limitation of max 100000 characters in this review section, I couldn't post here the features and measurement part of this review. Please check the features and measurement part here:   iFi micro iDSD Black-Label - In-Depth Review...

Thanks to Audio-Technica Singapore, for the loan of the Audio-Technica ATH-E50!   Webpage: http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/headphones/1eaea2e39ebfe3cb/index.html     Knowing that ATH-E50 is a single BA driver IEM, I honestly was not very excited about it. From past experiences testing single or dual BA driver IEMs, I usually left unimpressed. They usually fail to provide enough coverage of the full audio spectrum, and rather shy in dynamic. But when I gave ATH-E50 a try, it gave me a nice surprise. I was really surprised that a single...

First of all, I would like to thank Fischer Audio Singapore for giving me the opportunity to test and review their flagship headphone, the Kennerton Odin! Also big thanks to Zeppelin & Co. where I spent hours comparing Odin with other headphones, and to AV One Singapore for their hospitality during the Audeze LCD-4 comparison! http://kennerton.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=59&product_id=95       There are 3 type of woods for the ear cups: Old Wood, Sapele, and Walnut. Kennerton Odin Walnut is the version that I reviewed. It is...

Many thanks to Creative Singapore for the review sample of Creative Sound Blaster Roar 2! I supposed to post this review early this year, but it has been delayed quite a while due to unforeseen high workload this year.   Website: http://sg.creative.com/p/speakers/sound-blaster-roar-2       Sound Blaster Roar 2 is the improvement of the 1st version of Sound Blaster Roar, mainly on the size and weight. Being 20% more compact and around 9% lighter,  Sound Blaster Roar 2 is claimed to offer similar performance to the predecessor.   And here...

Big thanks to SKM Technologies Singapore for the loan of the AK70 demo unit, and also to Zeppelin & Co. for their hospitality and for providing such a great place to test audio gears and meet nice people!     Website: http://www.astellnkern.com/eng/htm/ak70/ak70_feature01.asp   Being small and more affordable than most of Astell&Kern Digital Audio Players (DAP), AK70 is positioned among AK entry level DAP right after AK Junior. But don't underestimate the small series number and the small size, as AK70 sonic performance is actually...

First of all, I would like to thank Shozy for the review sample of Shozy Zero! Website: http://www.shozy-hk.com/zero-earphone/       I believe what makes Shozy Zero unique is the wooden housing. The driver’s housing is made of high density Brazilian rosewood, the type of wood that is also commonly used for musical instrument. The cable splitter and the 3.5 mm jack barrel are also uniquely made of wood. The simple bullet housing design allows both straight down or over the ear wearing styles. Personally I like the simple and elegant woody...

I would like to thank Brainwavz for the review sample of Brainwavz Hooka, the super sturdy and good looking all metal headphone hanger!   http://www.brainwavzaudio.com/products/brainwavz-hooka-headphone-hanger       Brainwavz Hooka is a superb headphone hanger at a very affordable price! The all metal, die cast aluminum construction feels very solid and durable. The hanger is not only nicely designed, but also carefully engineered. The wide seat plate for the headphone headband provides enough space for wide headband up to 8 cm, and it is...

A very big thanks to DUNU for the DN-2000J review sample! I've been a great fan of DUNU hybrid IEMs since I bought DN-1000 and DN-2000, and reviewed them some time ago. It took me almost a year to complete this review due to unforeseen high workload.   http://www.dunu-topsound.com/DN-2000J.html       DN-2000J is a hybrid IEM, in the same family as DN-1000 and DN-2000. It has one dynamic driver and two BA drivers per channel. One special note, the dynamic driver seems to be quite special, the diaphragm is made of liquid crystal composite with...