Hi, Like a bad penny, I turn up every several years in these forums to consider new headphone gear. I buy a few things, go off the grid and listen to music, and then eventually the itch returns and here I am again. I am an inveterate basshead, and last time around I ended up buying the Sony...

I have an A&K SR15, and I have run Tidal and Apple Music on it. I recall "sideloading" these apps onto the player via my laptop; it was a while back. Some months ago, there was a problem whereby Tidal would no longer run on the player, and I recall A&K referring to working furiously on the...

I did do a search and I know this question (or a similar one) comes up frequently, but I am asking today for recommendations for an iem (any price, but preferably under $1000) that really shines when it comes to clear, accurate reproduction of solo female singers, particularly in the context of...

I have found that live, amplified rock music is really hard to reproduce satisfactorily via "small" audio, meaning headphones/IEMs as opposed to great big wall-sized speaker systems. The music is thick; the parts tend to muddle together through amplification, there can be both boomy bass and...

I actually now have two usb dongle DACs, an older Audioengine D3 and also a Dragonfly Red, which I got for use with my iphone (the D3 requires too much power for the phone). I can and do use either of them with my laptop. I have a Cavalli Liquid Carbon amp and I do not have a "regular sized" DAC...

I have multiple headphones and IEM's, the most expensive of which are an aging set of custom JH Audio 16 Pros (original version) and a new universal Unique Melody MEST. I am happy with my experience listening to some musical genres, including classical (MEST is very good for this), jazz, and...

I recently bought some Ultimate Melody MEST IEM's that came with a balanced cable with a 4.4 termination jack. I purchased two cable adapters, one that converts to a 2.5mm balanced jack and the other that converts to a regular 3.5mm stereo jack. The 2.5mm conversion works fine for my Astell &...

Sorry if this is the wrong forum, but I need HELP. I have been using a Dragonfly Red connected to my iPhone XS via the Apple Camera Connection Kit. My first question is a technical one: if Apple lightning connectors include a DAC, then how does the Dragonfly function also as a DAC? It would seem...

I have been out of "the market" for audio gear for a few years and now I sort of have the itch again (being sheltered-in-place has something to do with this). Since I have been forced (!) to save money on vacation travel this year, I feel I have some disposable income for some nice new stuff. I...

Confession: I am not regularly present in Head-fi any longer, as I got to the point where I was happy with the gear I had and felt no need to keep reading about what else is out there. What I mostly have used for years now are custom JH Audio 16 pro IEM's. These are really good and only...