There is a reason BLONs are found in many collector's kit - they offer a benchmark signature that is the perfect balance between analog warmth and live sound presentation. This was going to originally be a post on the Blon impressions thread, but it meandered long-enough to warrant being a review. This is less a structured review but will be useful to those who are wondering how a budget iem like the BLON stacks up. In addition to my earlier posts here is some more praise for the BL-05S. Using this IEM I was reminded of how important tips are...

Disclaimer: I received the Hugo 2 as part of a the Canadian Hugo 2 Tour put on by Moon Audio and organized by Relix. So thank you first off! Reviewer Background & Bias My intentions and where am I coming from: first off, I think its important that I give you a brief on my own biases. I’ve heard great things about Chord, and have read a number of Chord's posts including those in the Sound Science forum that have made me take interest. I have heard top of the line DACs and amps before but mainly for floor-standing 2-channel setups. Mostly Classe and...

This review is an expansion of my comments in the D2000/5000/7000 thread. I wanted to spend a bit more time with them, and ultimately these have become my daily driver. I've gone through many headphones, and these honestly are among my favourite. I love how they sound like an open set of headphone thanks to the Acoustic Optimizer (you'll see the space between the cups). This is one of the hallmarks of the Denon AH-Dx000 series (and by extension the Fostex TH-x00/600/610/900, E-mu Teak). Not only do you get an incredibly spacious sound, but the...

Well I have the UE6000s on my head and the 7520s in front of me and I've been switching back and forth.    I purchased the UE6000s for about $65 CAD shipped! That is like, what a can of beans in the US? Definitely a great deal and lower than what I usually see them go for.   This review is also in comparison to a the Sony MDR-7520 which is one of the best studio closed cans I've had the pleasure of using. The MDr-7520 is like a very refined and balanced MDR-1R   Recently, I let a coworker listen to my 7520s , and immediately he was like "ugh, I don't...

This is my second-time owning the HD650, and I've taken a bit of this review from a post I made in the HD650 impressions thread.   I have some detailed analysis of findings my first time around of the HD650 in comparison with an LCD2 that can be read here: http://www.head-fi.org/products/audeze-lcd2-planar-magnetic-headphones/reviews/13729   I'm going to keep it brief as by now you've probably read gushing reviews, and for the most part they are true. This is a great headphone. Perhaps all one ever may need. Save yourself and your wallet, get...

My initial impressions of this headphone were good, but it has taken a week for me of careful listening to really appreciate their qualities and purpose. Ultimately, I love these headphones and their sound signature. The 7520 doesn’t sound like ‘consumer’ cans. This isn’t the smoothest ride and can be a bit taxing. The headphones are designed as tools for studio first and foremost.  I think they been a bit misunderstood because of their tuning.   The main characteristics of the MDR-7520 are a detailed, dense sound field yet with excellent...

Liquid organic audio - the LCD2 Been meaning to get around to a full review of these for a while. I have attached some of my early impressions from a comparison thread in which I was able to isolate specific frequency ranges and found the LCD2s performance superior.   Since the time of that writing I acquired a Mayflower O2/ODAC which is a better match for the LCD2 than the JDS Labs C5D used in my initial tests. The C5D is still a credible performer but the the O2 felt just a bit more balanced, especially in the mid-range. For the sake of the...

I've had these headphones now for over a couple weeks and feel like I have a very good sense of what I like about them. First off, a bit of background. I have been using closed headphones for almost two decades, starting with Sony's venerable MDR-V7506 and have owned many pair mostly geared towards studio monitoring purposes such as AKG K271, Sennehiser HD280, HD25, Shure SRH-840, as well as others designed for consumers such as Denon AH-D600, MDR-1r and Amperior. I also have owned a smaller amount of open headphones with my HD650 being my...