Intro and Background   Doug Savitsky, founder of ECP Audio, was nice enough to come over to my house and deliver a loaner unit of his L-2 tube amplifier.  Doug also lives in the Chicago area, so this was much safer and easier than having him ship it.  And it was fun for me - Doug is a very smart guy, and i enjoyed hearing about his amplifiers from him.  He told me a lot about the L-2.  He also told me he thinks his solid state amp, the DSHA-1, is the better sounding amp. Oh well.  I'm a tube guy, mostly, and I wanted to audition the L-2...

REVIEW: Meier Audio Corda Classic solid state headphone amp.   Introduction   My first serious headphone amp was the Meier Audio Corda HA-2 Mk II.  It was something of a revelation to me at the time – I had never heard a headphone amp that sounded as good.  I didn’t have much experience with headphone amps back then, and the HA-2 mk II was a huge cut above anything I had experienced.  The crossfeed was especially important to me as I first got used to headphone listening as a serious alternative to speakers.   I’ve probably listened to...

Introduction   Fang from HiFiMan asked me to review the HE-300 headphones.  I have been a big fan of HiFiMan’s planar magnetic headphones.  But the HE-300 are not planars – they are dynamic driver headphones.  While they look similar to the other HiFiMan headphones, their similarity is really only by look – they are MUCH lighter than the planar series.  They are also much more efficient – at 93 dB/1mW@ 1kHz efficiency, and 50 ohms impedance, they can be driven by just about anything (although of course a good quality amp is still going to yield...

REVIEW: Schiit Audio “Bifrost” DAC   Introduction   By now, Schiit probably needs no head-fi introduction, and so I will not be providing one.  I will also not be making any jokes about the name.  Sorry.  That was so last review   I had asked to be sent a review loaner of the Bifrost when the announcement was made about its existence.  Schiit was nice enough to oblige – unfortunately it arrived at a very bad time for me at work, and I was able to spend a good amount of time casually listening to it, but not much time really evaluating...

REVIEW – Audeze LCD-3 planar magnetic headphones   Introduction:   The announcement was a well-kept secret, and it hit the head-fi community like a ton of bricks.  Audeze was coming out with a new headphone, the LCD-3, which would feature a new driver, new pads, slightly uprated cosmetics, and would cost $1,950 – roughly double what the popular LCD-2 cost.  Explosions ensued.  There were lots of people very upset about the much higher price.  I was intrigued.  I sought out a pair at CanJam, and having liked what I heard in what was admittedly...

Starting Up   Todd The Vinyl Junkie offered me the opportunity to review the latest offering from Apex, the “Arête” headphone amp.  Which of course I jumped at – it looks like a nice design, and I had thought very highly of the Apex Peak I reviewed last year.   The Arête is really as much small pre-amp as it is headphone amp.  It has three line inputs and a line output on the rear, as well as the ¼” single-ended headphone out on the front.  The chassis is nice enough looking and well but not over built:       The Arête, by...

Mini-review: HiFiMan HE-500 Planar-Magnetic Headphones   Fang from Head-Direct was kind enough to loan me a pair of HE-500 for review.  The HE-500 are billed as a more efficient version of the HE-6, although there are some other differences, both in design and in sonics.  They are also a little different looking, in that the casing is a very nice gun-metal grey:       Taken on its own, the HE-500 are really an exceptionally good headphone.  While they still require a somewhat powerful headphone amp, I was able to drive them with no...

REVIEW: Musical Paradise MP-301 MK2 vacuum tube integrated amp   Introduction/Overview   I received a review loaner of the MP-301 Mk 2 from Garry at Musical Paradise in Canada.  I had a good experience previously with the original MP-301, and had reviewed it favorably a couple years ago.  I was anxious to try the improved MP-301 Mk 2, for several reasons:   It has a switch between speakers and headphones, an important feature which the original lacked; It had two inputs, with a switch; It uses 6SJ7 driver tubes, which I have a lot...

Now that I have spent time comparing the HE-6, LCD-2, Edition 10, T1, and HD800, I thought the time was right to put down a few thoughts on the HE-6, which are, when properly amped, a TERRIFIC headphone.     The HE-6 have incredibly transparency, and a very wide-bandwidth delivery that is remarkably even and smooth.  While they have just a slightly lively treble, this is more an elevation overall than a single peak, and their treble performance sets them apart from the HD800 and Edition 10, which have more issues in the treble.  The bass is...

This is not a full review, just a rating and a few comments.  I bought my WA2 used, and was really surprised how good it is.  The WA2 is among the better headphone amps available.  It actually surprises me that it's not even more popular than it is.   The WA2 has some pretty impressive power delivery, and it works wonders with high-impedance cans like the Beyerdynamic T1, and is also remarkably good with the Audeze LCD-2 and HifiMan HE-5LE.  Only very low impedance dynamic drivers, where the damping factor could be an issue, and not in the WA2's...

This is NOT a full review, but really just a rating.  I have owned The Stealth for quite a while.  While one of Ray's older models, it still provides outstanding sound for medium-high impedance headphones, and works exceptionally well as a preamp.  It provides 90% of the sound quality as my three times as expensive Cary SLP-05 as a preamp.  As a headphone amp, it's a little on the warm and dark side, but still with excellent detail.  I prefer using the 12BH7 as the input tube, for a little livelier sound.   If you need a multi-input preamp with a...

  REVIEW – Schiit Audio Valhalla Tube Headphone Amplifier     What Sort of Schiit is This?   I read, as did many of you, the head-fi threads about the very popular and attractively priced Schiit Asgard.  But to be quite candid, I personally had about as much interest in an inexpensive solid-state headphone amp as I did in weeding behind my garage.  As such, I have never heard the Asgard.   Good thing I read those threads anyway, though, since I learned from them that Schiit was coming out with an inexpensive TUBE headphone amplifier. ...

Intro   I was approached by the Malaysian distributor of Yulong (the ShenZhen YuLong Electronics Co. Ltd of China) about reviewing the D100 DAC/headphone amp.  I had previously given a relatively favorable review to the older and less expensive/ambitious DAH1 Mk II, which was sent by their China Distributor, Audiophile China.  However, I gave a not-so-great review to a different product sent to me by AudiophileChina (not a Yulong product), and AC reacted badly, and so I suppose the fact that the request came from their Malaysian Distributor may not...

REVIEW: Meier Audio Stepdance Jan Meier was kind enough to send me an early production sample of his new Meier Stepdance portable amp.  The Stepdance is the first Meier Portable to use his “Balanced Ground” topology.  It’s designed as a performance-first portable amp, which means it has very few features (for example, Meier’s normal Crossfeed is omitted), and it also uses battery faster than his other amps, again with the goal of providing maximum sonic performance. In my opinion, this goal is achieved for sure. Info...

I received a V2 version of the Qables iQube from Moon Audio for review.  The V2 adds a USB DAC, and is a little larger than the original iQube.  It also how has a standard mini-USB connector for either charging or USB DAC connection, and the V2 comes with rechargable batteries.  The amp, however, is identical to the V1, which is a good idea, since I thought the iQube V1 was an outstanding portable headphone amp.    The iQube is a very interesting headphone amp. It's a class D amplifier topology. It was the first of its kind as far as I know - a...

Introduction and Description   I received a review loaner of the Blossom BLO-0299 from Drew at Moon Audio.  The Blossom is a pretty small-footprint amp (64 x 158 x 212 mm), which is partly possible since it uses an external power supply (about which, more later).  The Blossom is made in Japan, as incorporates a custom Integrated Circuit which the maker claims is better than any discrete-design could be – a pretty bold claim.  The Blossom has balanced inputs and outputs, and 2 gain settings, 0dB and 10dB.  The headphone out jacks are a clever...

The Leben CS300X has made me re-think what's possible from a headphone amp in general, and tube amps in specific.  While it has a highly musical, engaging sound, it's not the least bit tubey or syrupy - in fact it's astonishingly neutral and transparent.  Due to its being push-pull, and transformer-coupled, it works well with a wide variety of headphones.  It drove my LCD-2, DX1000, T1, W1000X, Ed 8, and D7000 all better than I had ever heard before.  It's so good I wish I had one in every room.    Looks nice too:     The Leben sounds...

The HiFiMan HE-5LE represent something of a benchmark in terms of price performance, IMO.  They are excellent sounding, with exceptional detail and transparency.  For the money, they provide a level of performance that wasn't possible just a few short years ago.   The HE-5LE have an incredibly open, detailed, transparent and clean sound.  The bass is deep and powerful when called for, but not exaggerated or bloated at all.  The mids are clean as a whistle - not overly lush at all, but not at all thin or brittle.  The highs are also very...

I have had my Scoutmaster for about 6 months.  I've been enjoying it mightily.      The Scoutmaster's most noticeable sonic trait is that it provides an incredibly quiet, deep-black background.  With my Benz LP-S, the sound is effortless, organic, and startlingly full-range.  Bass is amazingly solid and deep.  Midrange and treble are pure analog - which is to say, astoundingly lifelike.   VPI's are a tiny bit tricky to set up, but I have some experience with them, having had an original Aries before.  After I got it all dialed in, it's...

I was approached by Audiotailor to review a new tube headphone amplifier with a unique circuit design. Of course I was immediately intrigued by the idea. I cannot reveal the details of the design, but it does result in their being two headphone outputs, with different sound signatures. This is the principle “feature” of this otherwise well built and attractive, but otherwise unassuming tube headphone amp. The Jade is made in China, and will sell in the USA for $350 shipped – an attractive price. Pics: The Jade uses the current reigning king...