So what's the deal with this thing? At a first glance, we have another small, shiny hip-flask-esque-DAC/amp-thingy from prolific British manufacturer iFi, hot on the heels of their absurdly-talented and identical-looking xDSD DAC/Amp. A casual observer could be forgiven for not spotting the difference between the xCAN and the xDSD, and also for failing to understand why both devices need to exist in the same universe. Coming in at $299 USD versus the $399 of the xDSD, it's not intended to replace its (slightly) older stablemate, which begs the...

“I'm very important. I have many leather-bound books and my apartment smells of rich mahogany.” - Ron Burgundy One of the most basic tests I ask myself when reviewing a pair of headphones is this: “Will this set of cans make me want to enjoy music as often as possible?”. Sure, it can be fun to approach hifi from a measurement, gear and science point-of-view, but at the end of the day if it doesn’t transport you somewhere else and make you forget you have something perched on-top of your head, then there’s something missing in my books. There’s a...

iFi are on a veritable roll in the mobile DAC+amp stakes. Having cornered the market between the stupendously-powerful Micro Black Label, and recently landing a more budget-conscious win with the Mojo-challenging Nano Black Label, they’ve slotted the xDSD squarely between those two products, splitting the difference price-wise and performance-wise, while adding Bluetooth and an all-new form-factor in the equation. iFi kindly arranged a head-fi tour for users to give feedback and reviews of their latest device, which happily included Australia and...

My hand shot-up when I saw that iFi had arranged a global head-fi tour of their new addition to their range of bewilderingly-named (seriously, keeping-up with which acronym is which is tough…) small headphone DAC/amp combos – the iFi Nano iDSD Black Label. There’s been nothing but praise for the Micro - the, err, slightly “less small” portable DAC/amp from iFi that’s been swaying would-be Chord Mojo users, and blowing people away with its head-melting ability to pump a whole four watts into 16 ohms, plus super-talented DAC that can handle just about...

I thought it might have been a couple of years yet before I went and did something crazy like “cutting the cord”, with a couple of good reasons why I've been holding-out to date: I absolutely love my wired portable headphones/IEMs - namely my Grado GR10's, and especially my Beyerdynamic DT1350’s - they’ve been my trusty portable cans for some time, and despite a couple of quibbles (cable noise; long-term comfort) I’ve never felt they were lacking in any department. They sound amazing. “Bluetooth schmuetooth”. Yeah, we all know it’s not quite there...

Introduction Hailing from Romania, Meze are relative new-kids-on-the-block in the world of audiophile headphone manufacturing. Their first full-size offering, the 99 Classics were a “slam-dunk” first attempt at creating a genuine audiophile product, with a focus on aesthetics and quality. They’ve been hailed world-wide for their engaging sound as much as their head-turning looks, and have created quite the niche for themselves in that regard. This reviewer’s ears pricked-up at the number of 4-5-star reviews the 99 Classics received from many...

Two things to get out of the way up-front: 1. this review was undertaken as part of the world-tour for the launch of the Meze 12 Classics, and the team @ Meze kindly sent me a pair of their new IEM's in exchange for my unbiased opinion and thoughts on how they've done. 2. I really like the cut of Meze's jib. For a company that's come out of relative obscurity in the past couple of years, they've certainly made their mark. Their "99 Classics" have managed to combine looks, build and sound, in a bloody well-executed package. I bought a pair...

Background Let me get out of the way up-front: I hate on-ear headphones. They're invariably a compromise - sacrificing either comfort, performance, or both(!) to achieve portability. I've tried, and wanted to enjoy many. I've had extensive testing time with the Audeze from Sine, for example. There was so much to love about them: the build, oh, the build; the practicality; and that planar speed and low-end in a package that can be used everyday. But god-dammit, I just can't get a good seal on these. Now I'm primarily an open-backed guy, but when I...

Ok, so I was kinda curious to see what the fuss was about with these Romanian wonders after reading a bunch of glowing reviews, but when my GF saw them onscreen she said "WOW...PRE-TTY!"...and so I simply had to pull the trigger on them, and add them to my growing little family of cans. And after a quick run through two of my favourite albums ('Siamese Dream', Smashing Pumkins; Weezer self-titled a.k.a 'Blue album'), I think we're going to be fighting over them. These things are frikkin' awesome.   Ok, so they're lookers. In a particularly 'flashy'...

Saw some glowing reviews for these, and thought that for under $40 on Amazon it's well-worth finding out what the fuss was about - in short: well worth it!   Set-up: LG G4 > USB Audio Player Pro (FLAC; ALAC) > Audioquest Dragonfly Black 1.5   Packaging/bundling They arrived from Amazon in a plastic box, but come with a neat cloth carrying pouch which is super handy - I use it for carrying around 6.3mm adaptor / Dragonfly Black / OTG cable etc. It comes fitted with a 'medium' size pair of silicon tips, as well as a smaller + larger pair of...

Got the new Dragonfly 1.5 Black mainly as a solution for transit and working on-the-go, and noticed an appreciable difference in quality immediately when using DT770 (80 ohm) and Zero Audio Carbo Tenores. Running it through an LGG4 running FLAC/ALAC via USB Audio Pro through a generic OTG cable (more on this later).   First thing you notice - it's LOUD! Of course it is, it amplifies. So don't be like me and turn it down when you first try it out. Next? Clearer. Greater separation and bass becomes less flabby. I mainly listen to rock, and there's...