*build quality scored at a 4 due to the oxidation / deterioration of the original CIEM faceplate, and bears no relation to the Itsfit reshell Acknowledgment The Jolene I am reviewing were purchased from the original owner (thanks MVVRaz) as a CIEM. Given the freakishly straight ear canals of the previous recipient, it was possible for me to force fit the Jolene with a little help from a pair of Xelastec tips, so I listened to it for a few weeks in its “original” form before sending it to be reshelled by the expert team down at Itsfit Labs in Vietnam...

Acknowledgement The Kublai Khan was purchased with my own money at a small discount from the ever-helpful Andrew at MusicTeck USA for the purposes of writing a full review (which will be published soon). No input or other incentive was sought or received from MusicTeck or Noble – all opinions and words below are my own (however ill-informed or misguided!). Many thanks to Andrew and the MusicTeck team for enabling me to hear these in-ear monitors, and for their excellent communication throughout the whole purchase process. Link to Noble products...

Website: https://wavaya.com Price: $690 / 690 Euros (starting prices) Introduction Wavaya are a recent entrant into the In Ear Monitor marketplace, launching recently with an initial in-ear product range of six models, ranging from an entry level triple balanced armature design all the way up to an eight driver BA and electrostatic hybrid. The company employ eight people in their base in a renovated villa in Nicosia (Cyprus), and do all the design and manufacture in house. They caught my attention a little while back, a combination of unusual...

Acknowledgement The Solaris were very kindly provided by Ken Ball at Campfire Audio for the purposes of writing a full review. I paid nothing for these, and there is no obligation to or input from Campfire Audio with regards to the content of the review. All that was (politely) asked for was a few brief impressions to be posted as soon as possible (which were outlined in a previous post on my blog) and a more thorough review once I’d got to grips with the sound. The full review was posted a while back on the Audio Primate blog, so I am now posting...

This review was originally posted on my blog, and is now being reposted here for the good folks on Head-Fi. Price: $1299 Website: Campfire Audio Introduction and acknowledgement For most audiophiles following the current in-ear monitor scene, the brand Campfire Audio should require no introduction. The Portland outfit sprang out of owner Ken Ball’s ALO Audio brand a few years ago, and have slowly but surely carved themselves out a sizeable chunk of the mid to high end IEM market with some stellar models like the Andromeda, Jupiter and Vega...

Price: $799 Product site: https://campfireaudio.com/shop/cascade/ Acknowledgement These headphones have been provided to me by Campfire Audio for the purposes of this review, along with their SXC8 4.4mm balanced cable. There is no incentive (financial or otherwise) for giving these headphones a positive review, and all the words and opinions expressed within are my own (no matter how misguided!), with no editorial input from Campfire Audio. This review was originally posted on the UK based audio blog I contribute to (Audio Primate) and is...

Introduction I have always been fascinated by bass in music. That’s probably why I always feel a little bit of a fraud when someone calls me an “audiophile”, as my tastes quite often encompass a little more lower end substance than the current fashion for a more lean and mean sound. I can appreciate detail and resolution with the best of them, but for me, it doesn’t mean anything without the ability to make me feel the song. As a result, I’ve always had an interest in picking up some 64 Audio gear and seeing if their famously warm and bassy “house...

Empire Ears Athena – the goddess of Olympus This review was originally posted on the UK blog I contribute to (https://audioprimate.blog) and has been reposted here for the good people of Head-Fi. Ratings Price (as of Dec 2017): $1299 Website: Empire Ears Introduction For those who aren’t familiar with the current “big players” in the international Custom In-Ear Monitor industry, the Athena is (at time of writing) the third placed model in the Empire Ears “Olympus” line of in-ear monitors, sporting 8 balanced armatures per side, a custom...

Introduction Anyone with more than a passing interest in high-end in ear audio gear costing more than $100 will most likely have heard of Campfire Audio’s jolly green giant and co-flagship of their current range. After reviewing some of their newer models (and being suitably impressed with all of them), I was finally able to get my hands on a pair in a trade deal with another Head-Fi member. I have owned these for the last few months, and after spending far too much time listening to them and not enough time writing about them, I decided to remedy...

Pros: Price: £660 (amazon.co.uk) Acknowledgment This review was originally posted on my blog (well, not mine exactly, but I do write on it from time to time!). I picked up the Ella on a well known online auction site recently after hearing two of their predecessors (the Mo-Fi and the Lola). I have always been curious about the benefits of planar magnetic technology in over-ear headphones, but was always wary of the additional power requirements needed to properly drive them as most of my listening is done on portable sources and I am not a...

This review was originally posted on my blog a few weeks ago. Acknowledgment These in-ear monitors were made for me by Jack Vang and the team over at Empire Ears in Norcross, Georgia (the American one) as a result of a very lucky entry into their recent Head-Fi giveaway to win a pair of the Zeus-XR and an Effect Audio Leonidas cable. These were the contest prize, and provided without any stipulation or requirement for me to write a review or endorsement. The views expressed here are my honest opinion of the gear received. About Me I am a fairly...

Rhapsodio Galaxy V2 – another single dynamic all-star constellation Pros: Excellent detail retrieval and driver speed, crisp punchy sound, fantastic texture, sound superb with guitar based music Cons: Housings can get a little heavy, a slightly thicker midrange and bass would be ideal, can be a little sharp on occasion Acknowledgment These IEMs were very kindly loaned to me for a few weeks by a fellow UK Head-Fi’er (@TheUKMrT) for the purposes of this review, and to compare to my Campfire Audio single dynamic driver models. Many thanks for...

  RHA CL1 – initial impressions   Reid Heath Audio are a Scotland-based manufacturer who will be familiar to iFans, with their T10i and T20i all-metal IEMs being prominently displayed in Apple stores across the UK. Their products have been firmly aimed at the “consumer” end of the market, with models like the MA750 and the T-series occupying the very competitive pricing sectors between £50 and £200. As part of their recent world tour, I had the chance to hear their first foray into the more serious audiophile end of the market with their new CL1...

  RHA CL750 – initial impressions   Reid Heath Audio are a Scotland-based manufacturer who will be familiar to iFans, with their T10i and T20i all-metal IEMs being prominently displayed in Apple stores across the UK. Their products have been firmly aimed at the “consumer” end of the market, with models like the MA750 and the T-series occupying the very competitive pricing sectors between £50 and £200. As part of their recent world tour (thanks to @glassmonkey for arranging the UK "leg" and the RHA team for getting the gear out on loan), I had the...

  Campfire Audio Dorado – initial impressions   I have recently been lucky enough to get the chance to hear the three newest models from the Campfire Audio IEM range (the Lyra II, the Dorado and the Vega). After spending some quality time with the Lyra II and the Vega, The Dorado was my last port of call on my mini-tour around the sound signatures of the latest Ken Ball creations. Both of the dynamic driver IEMs made quite an impression on me, so I was very keen to see what sort of added benefits a pair of balanced armatures from the...

    Astell & Kern AKT8IE Mk1 – initial impressions   If you spend enough time browsing the pages of Head-Fi, Astell & Kern is a name you will eventually come across. The Korea-based manufacturer have made their name (or in fact made their new name from their former days as iRiver) producing high-end digital audio players (DAPs) with high-end specifications and even higher-end pricing. The brand is synonymous with two things – quality sound, and a pretty large price tag to go along with it. Recently, the company has been branching out into both...

  Campfire Audio Vega – initial impressions   As you will know if you read my recent review on the Lyra II, I have recently been lucky enough to get the chance to hear the three newest models from the Campfire Audio IEM range (the Lyra II, the Dorado and the Vega). After spending some quality time with the Lyra II, the Vega was the logical next choice for another story around the Campfire as another dynamic driver offering. Considering how much I enjoyed the Lyra II, I was very keen to hear exactly how much improvement the engineers at Campfire...

    Campfire Audio Lyra II – initial impressions   When I first started writing reviews on this site, it was as a way of trying to pull the thoughts running through my head about the gear I was listening to and try to make some order out of them, as much for my benefit as for anyone reading them. For me, trying to understand what I like and dislike about something as primal and emotional as music is a lot more difficult that it first seems. If someone asks me what my favourite meat is, I would say chicken, but if someone asked me why I liked...

  Ibasso IT03 – initial impressions   The danger about being a regular reader of a forum like this is the tendency to get swept up in one of the many “next big thing” crazes that flash across the threads here quicker than Usain Bolt running for a bus (and with far more frequency than most of the buses I have ever had the misfortune to rely on). One such IEM that has garnered a lot of praise in a short timeframe is the Ibasso IT03 – after reading about it on the threads and seeing a couple of very favourable reviews from high profile reviewers...

  Hifiman Supermini and Megamini – initial impressions / comparison   I first heard the Hifiman Supermini in demo unit form at the Canjam London 2016, and while being impressed by the fact that the tiny player was apparently able to drive some of their heavy duty over-ears without any additional amp assistance, didn’t pay too much more attention at the time. Fast forward a month or so, and Hifiman were looking for reviewers on Head-Fi to try out their new Supermini and Megamini DAPs for beta testing and review purposes – having recently had the...