Well, I can't resist adding my 5 cents about this great DAP. I won't write much, as Head-Fi already have 16 reviews of X7, so everyone who's interested in build quality, box content, UI, etc. already satisfy their curiosity. I'll try to summarise my own impressions on sound.

So happened, X7 was introduced with least powerful amplifier module, called IEM amp. It have about 100 mW @ 32Ω, which isn't much, even compared with Fiio X5-2, so X7 have a great chance to improve sound in future. Fiio promised 2 or 3 more amplifier, including powerful amp for big cans and balanced amp.

For now, I'd call X7's sound signature close to neutral, with incredible level of details and leaned toward analytical representation. In some seldom cases, player sounds a bit "dry", but it's because of no coloration in sound. I've tried X7 with my E12DIY, so I'm sure that with future amps X7 will perform even better.



Bass is tight, fast and pretty accented. It allows player to render it nicely, showing it's texture and smallest nuances of low frequency instruments. Bass punches with good power and authority, so with bass-hevy headphones it can even overpower listener, so you should listen X7 with your headphones first. For example, Dunu Titan 5 have too much slam for me.

Mids are absolutely flawless. Well-coocked Sabre inside X7 shows itself from best side, revealing even tiniest details of recording. This makes X7 very picky for recordings quality, but of course it's not a player's issue. Emotional, spacious representation of mids is an X7's best side. Scene is on wider side, and it's depth is really, really good. Please keep in mind that X7 won't add anything to records from itself, so dry, dull recordings will sound dull and dry.

Higsh will be an issue for those, who are treble-sensitive. X7 represents treble without any smoothness and without an attempt to make it less harsh then they are. With some headphones (hello again, Titan 5) it gives harshness. So, if you don't like treble, keep it in mind. If you're ok with this part of spectrum, you'll enjoy airy and light presentation of X7.

To summarise, there are some minor issues in X7's sound, but it still sounds more then great even for it's price tag, and please keep in mind, that future amp modules have a potential to greatly improve X7's sound.



Few comparisions (please note, that this is a pretty subjective opinion)

L&P L5 Pro In some sense, L5Pro is an antipode for X7. L5Pro offers more smooth, softer sound, in exchange for little loss of details.

Questyle QP1R Another raising star on DAP market. Questyle's patented amp allows this player to show great synergy with most of heaphones, even picky ones. QP1R have better trebles, but to my ears it's lacking some bass texture, compared with X7. Also, QP1R's awful scroll will kills it's usability, making it hard to use.

Cayin N6 My favourite "top-middle" segment DAP. This player have enjoying, musical representation, but have somewhat less resolution compared with X7. New Fiio's flagship have more analytical sounding.

Fiio X5-2 Former flagship now goes to middle segment, offers less resolving sound with less depth of lows, but if we keep in mind price factor, X5-2 is still a really great player.

iBasso DX80 New iBasso's middle segment DAP is a complete antipode to X7. It offers absolutely emotionless, smoothed sound without any accents. X7 with it's lows impact and straightforward treble offers absolutely different sound approach.

Well, it was a really long journey, but at last I've got my new Omnis. It's hard to believe, but it took 3 attempts to get at least one of Zach's wooden Fostex. First attempt was made at the beginning of the year, it was ZMF x Vibro, sent by USPS. And they were stolen somewhere in between. Ukrainian post told that they got box damaged and empty, USPS said nothing particular. And here comes the best thing in ZMF's — it's Zachary himself. He agreed to send me another pair for the price of cups, and even upgraded them to Blackwood, which he've released in that time.

Second attempt was made with DHL in summer, but now headphones struck in Ukrainian customs office. They've decided that it's a good idea to get about $400 as a tax. It was ridiculous, but I was travelling, and my wife wasn't strong enough to negotiate with customs officers, so Blackwood went back to USA. And you know what? Zach was kind enough to repeat this third time, and now headphones became freshly released Omnis.



Third attempt was made by my sister. She was in Canada, so she received Omnis and brought them to Ukraine, and from there headphones made their way to Montenegro (btw, are there at least one more head-fier in Monty?). So, at last I've got this masterpiece, as well as new NuPrime's DAC-10H, and I'm ready to share my impressions.

I won't spend a lot of time, describing build quality, which is outstanding, so nothing to discuss there, and accessories set (cable, two pairs of earpads and certificate). Just small advice — get a case, it's really worth it.



Omnis are highly customizable. You can select 2 pairs out of 3 different earpads (cowhide, lambskin and pleather), 3 versions of wood for cups (cherry, walnut and blackwood), 2 different headband styles and even color of guides. Also, you can ask any wiring options, almost everything is doable (but not everything for free, of course).



Headphones are really comfortable, earpads and pilot pad on headband does their job of weight distribution well, so they are comfortable to wear. Sound isolation is really good. Omnis are semi-open, so they leak some sound both outside and inside, but it's really small amount. I'm using them in office, and don't got any objections from colleagues.



So, let's move onto sound. Please note, that different wood and earpads material will give you different sound signature. After reading description on ZMF's site I've decided to got cherry cups and listen them with lambskin earpads.



After sending headphones to me, Zach told that he've made some minor changes in sound tuning to make mids even better. I've decided not to send Omnis back (risk of not getting them back is to high), so he've sent me modification kit, so I'll be able to do mod myself. It haven't arrived yet, when I'll get it, I'll add a note to this review.



Overall signature of Omnis are a bit on darker side. It's not completely dark, just a small hint of bass emphasis, but headphones keeps really great speed and resolution. By overall signature they are close to Audeze and definitely can compete with them.

Bass is deep, fast and have good texture. Of course, it's not a bassehead model, but accent on lows is audible. Compared with LCD-3, Omnis are lacking a bit of force in slow bass punches, Audeze's driver is a way larger then Omni's, but on faster notes there is no any issues. On tracks with good drum recording, you can feel like you are right near the bass drum.



Mids are a bit withdrawn, or, even more precisely, they seems withdrawn compared with highs and lows. I can't say that it's a big issue (and looks like it's improved in newer versions), as such FR tuning is a feature of this model. This gives them "tasty" sounding, very solid and musical. This isn't a headphones for analytical sound lowers, Omnis aren't for this. Nevertheless, headphones plays all mid details nicely, preserving emotions and instruments nature. Soundstage is narrower then in open headphones, but much, much better then in closed models. Stage depth is really nice.



Highs are, probably, strongest part of this model (at least for me), they are close to my ideal tuning. I don't know how, but Omnis combine excellent presence of treble and non-fatiguing sounding. Usually, headphones either have recessed highs that rustle somewhere in background, or plays as is, that is harsh for many listeners. Omni have perfect balance that allows them to play even small nuances of tunes. Often you can't even pinpoint those minor treble sparks in melody, but without them sound became dull and lacking air. But, as I've said before, Omnis are great in treble.



I didn't heard much top-end headphones, so I can't make lot of comparisons, but I've placed Omnis somewhere between Audeze LCD-2 and LCD-3. To my taste they overcome LCD-2 (non-fazor version) and are a bit behind LCD-3 (but price tag is 2 times less).

So, as you could understand, I liked Omnis very much. They combine nice soundstage (for closed headphones), punchy bass, nice details, great highs and stylish look.

As usual, first impression video.

[VIDEO]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVJkEq-JBXQ[/VIDEO]

So, I've decided to add my 5 cents about Luxury&Precision's new DAP L5 Pro. First of all, I would like to Thank Luxury & Precision for providing me with a review sample in exchange for my honest opinion.

I will skip almost everything related to package, accessories set and interface. twister6 made a perfect review, describing all those stuff, and I'm not sure that I can add something there. So, to be short, package is excellent, leather case is outstanding, L5 Pro exterior is perfect, but software need some work to do.



I especially like well-thought UX of this player, it's controls are intuitive, and placed in correct positions for optimal control. Two custom buttons is an absolutely brilliant idea.

So, I'll go directly to most interesting part, sound. For sound evaluation I've used following headphones:

• HiFiMan Re600
• ZMF Omni
• Oppo PM-3
• Dunu DN-2000J and Titan 1
• Lear LHF-AE1d
• Ambient Acoustics AM10

For test purposes I've used lots of different music, but this time I've paid my tribute to ukrainian musicians. Just a few tracks.

[VIDEO]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJAYHQty9Gk[/VIDEO]
[VIDEO]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PA6ubYOsFbs[/VIDEO]
[VIDEO]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNa_xYAKVSw[/VIDEO]

L5 Pro definitely have it's own "house sound", overall signature I'd call a little bit smoothed with a small hint of pleasant velvet darkness. I've auditioned lots of DAPs, but L5 Pro was able to surprise me few times.

Bass is really a best part for my ears, it's really the best bass presentation I've heard, it's definitely good for portable device: fast, deep, full of energy and have a good resolution. Small accent on this part of spectrum deliciously highlight lower notes of all those bassy instruments, giving them more body and realism. Bassheads can select right headphones, and got those beloved scull vibrations, those who like more moderate bass, can enjoy L5 Pro's lows details and authority.

Mids are also good, nowadays, almost everyone can do a good mids. L5 Pro isn't an exception. Mids also have great resolution, spaciousness, emotions and details, everything that we like in mid frequencies. This DAP smoothes mids a little bit, I think it's more a "feature" then a "bug", but this smoothness hides some micro details. In exchange, you'll get amazing effect of solid musical performance, it's magnitude. In some sense, L5 Pro is an impressionist, it tries to give you emotions, not photorealism.



Scene hade a really good depth, player greatly separates foreground and background sounds. Scene width is somewhere between average an wide. Instruments separation is really good, they preserve their nature. Also, L5 Pro is great in 3D effects, common for electronic music and some prog-rock recordings.

Highs of L5 Pro are tuned to balance smoothness of mids. Player makes small accent on treble, but without being to harsh (at least to my taste). This DAP is pretty OK even with bright Dunu Dn-2000J (again, to my taste, I've seen another opinions). Treble is really good detailed, all cymbals and other high-freq instruments sounds great, treble have nice extension, giving sound all necessary air and light. But please note, if you are treble-sensitive, better audition DAP before buying.



Few comparisons with other DAPs I've heard (please note, that it is very subjective thing, which relies more on personal tastes).

Fiio X5-2 Of course, Fiio is much more simpler DAP, it cost more then 2 times less, and he can't show L5 Pro's resolution and tight lows. They are simply from different leagues sound-wise. But I must admit that feature-wise Fiio is better, they just have more mature firmware.



QLS QA-360 To my ears, QLS have more straightforward presentation, it doesn't try to play in it's own way, his strong part is analytical sounding. If we'll imagine, that L5 is a luxury car, than 360 is an offroad 4x4.

Cayin N6 Both DAPs makes an emphasis on overall musical and smoothed presentation, but L5 Pro went a little bit further in this. N6 is not so energetic on low frequencies, so it sounds a bit colder then L5 (relatively, of course).



HUM Pervasion I'd call it L5 Pro younger brother, it have similar approach to sound, with accent on bass and musical mids, but overall presentation is not as refined as L5 ones.

Small first impressions video.

[VIDEO]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQrwfaGRTsk[/VIDEO]

One of the strongest sides of Lear, is their constant willing for experiments. They've started with "simple" multidriver customs, but then go on with sophisticated dual-dynamic hybrid with 4 BAs, new system of 3D sound for IEMs (sort of) and now they're offering even newer concept — hybrid fit.

Before I start my review, I would like to Thank Lear for providing me with a review sample in exchange for my honest opinion.

I won't describe it in much details, you can find everything about it in corresponding topic on forum, I'll just highlight profits of hybrid fit.

• You can try headphones before starting all this complicated part with impressions, their shipment to China and so on.
• You can easily sell your pair of earphones bundled with universal nozzle, keeping your custom one. So, upgrades became as easy as with regular IEMs
• You'll get almost all benefits of custom IEMs (almost all, because fullshell offers a bit better fit and isolation)

And the most interesting thing, Lear decided to test this concept on really inexpensive model with single dynamic driver, LHF AE1d costs \~$192 for universal fit version, and \~$256 for version with standard and custom nozzle. Also, you can get version with spare nozzle with filter, improving resolution and clarity, it costs \~$218. Also, you can get same driver in fully custom shell for \~$260, and it's one of the most affordable custom models on market, which made it an interesting option for beginners. All new models offers bass adjustment option for getting exact sound you want.



In nice black cardboard box, besides earphones themselves, incredibly stylish metallic holding jar, small screwdriver for bass adjustment and set of tips: 2 pairs single-flanged, 1 pair of double and triple flanged, 2 pairs of different foams. As you can see, accessories set is great, but almost none of those tips was OK for me and didn't offer proper seal (I really wanted bigger single-flange ones). Luckily, I've got tons of different tips, so I've found a good pair easily.



Headphones are relatively big, but in my ears they've fitted perfectly, without any issues. But if you have small ears, you should better try them before buy. AE1d tailored to be worn over the ear and you can't wear them cable down. Shells are made from chrome-plated plastic, so they are lightweight. Earphones are pretty comfortable, you can wear them a for a long periods of time easily.



Cable is interchangeable (great option for this price point) and is really nice: light, no tangling, comfortable. I've read opinion that thirdparty cable improves AE1d sound, but I didn't tried it, as I'm travelling in Montenegro now.

Sound isolation is tip dependent and is average. It's good enough for regular street use, but in subway or plane, it won't be enough.



Generally, sound signature of earphones is very variable, you can use regulator to adjust bass from "no lows at all" to "nose-bleeding bloated bass". Also, you can tame treble if you like to, using foam tips. So, after long experiments I've finished with rounded foam tips and bass set to a little less then 3/4. This tuning gave me somewhat "fun" sound with light accent of V-shaped FR. With this tuning I've found AE1d pretty competitive with established dynamic models like HiFiMan Re600 and Dunu Titan 1.



Please note, that this earphones requires perfect seal to perform their best, so experiment more with thirdparty tips, it's a rewarding exerise. Also, they benefit from good source, as they are able to highlight weak points of your setup.



Lows are pretty punchy, it's common for dynamics, but their speed and resolution is close to armatures. Bass shows almost no distortion, so it's good layered and well textured. I like lows of AE1d both by quantity and deepness, but it's definitely not basshead model. When bass is turned to full power, they became boomy. So, you'll need to find an option that suit for you personally.



Mids are also great, as for dynamic model. For me, HiFiMan RE600 are reference model for dynamic IEMs mid frequencies, and AE1d are pretty close to them (but Re600 is little better though). Speed and clarity of mid frequencies of those are great, but compared with balanced armature models, you can find a small traces of softness. Of course, it's OK for $200 IEMs, moreover, some tracks even benefit from this, but if you need absolutely best resolution, you should consider BAs. This model is really great at imaging, for me they're building good soundstage with nice width and average depth.



Highs are a bit rolled of by quantity, but it's compensated by resolution, so treble is present and definitely does its job. If you like more brighter sounding, you can tame bass a little bit and add some volume, and you'll get typical bright "analytical" sounding. Sibilance aren't masking, if they are present in record, you'll get it, from other hand, AE1d doesn't add them, if they are absent.



To summarise all above, strong point of this headphones — heir tuning capability. You can adjust sound to your liking, and you'll have to make some experiments, finding perfect option for you. It's a biggest benefit of AE1d, and their weak point at the same time.



Also, Lear prepared to similar models to be launched soon, one with balanced armature driver, and second with "mystery driver", they've decided not to tell what's inside yet. Both models are really interesting and I'm waiting for them with impatience.



P.S. I'm sorry for photos, it's definitely not the best ones, but I dodn't have my photo rig with me, so I've had to improvise.

I was really surprised, that there is no reviews of CEntrance Mini-M8 on Head-Fi, it's really unusual, because its "elder brother" HiFi-M8 worthily posses #11 in Head-Fi's DAC/amp list. I definitely like original HiFi-M8, despite its big size, it is a real masterpiece of electronics art. HiFi-M8 is a real powerhouse, able to deliver up to 1.4 watts of exceptional quality sound to your headphones.

Downside of it's power is pretty big size, weight and not-so-impressive battery life time. That's why, CEntrance came out with newer, updated model called Mini-M8.


There is not much technical specifications available for Mini-M8, here is info from it's box.

• Resolution: 16/24 bits
• Sample Rate: 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.2, 192 KHz
• USB Audio: asynchronous
• Frequency response: 20 Hz – 20 KHz
• THD+N: 0.004%
• Output power: 165 mW per channel from balanced output
• DC Power: +9…+20V DC (2A)
• Dimensions: 127 mm × 80 mm × 22 mm

I don't know much details about DAC/amp chips used in Mini-M8, because CEntrance always preferred not to disclose this information, but I really don't care much. Of course, it's very interesting to know what is inside of particular device, but I definitely can live without it. Moreover, it helps to make less biased judgment about sound.


Mini-M8 is priced same $700 as it's bigger brother because it offers same quality of sound (with adjustment for lower power) and some new features: DSD support, longer life time (about 11 hours versus about 6 hours for HiFi-M8) and fully balanced amplifier. Also, Mini-M8 is 33% thinner then Bigger-M8, so it's much more portable, even stacked with your sound source.

Mini-M8's box is plain simple. Outer box is black, with different information printed on it, inside there is "main" box, from thick white cardboard. In this box you'll get: M8 itself, two rubber bands for attaching Mini to your phone or DAP, huge power adapter (bigger then M8 itself), power cord (always with US plug), USB cable, carrying pouch and few papers (manual, adverts, etc.).


Device itself have very minimalistic and simple look, it's rectangular, it's made of metal, and it's 99% black. There are two huge logos on both sides of M8, it's looking a little "too much", but CEntrance deserves this advertisement.

On front panel you'll find optical and coaxial input, small wheel for volume control, 3-positional gain switch, 3.5 mm headphone out and 4-pin balanced headphone out (same as in RSA amps).


On rear panel you'll see two USB sockets (for iOS devices and for PC), power socket, switch to select one of two ports or turn device off and 4 leds. One is on, when device is charging, and other three indicates battery status.

Mini-M8 is pretty straightforward device, it's not trying to be Jack of all trades, so there is no line in or line out, to use it as pure amp or pure DAC, even optical S/PDIF, present in HiFi-M8, is gone. Mini-M8 is simple, it takes digital signal, and output it to headphones out. So, you'll need something to use as source, and here comes big Mini-M8's advantage: it have 4 digital inputs and can work with virtually every source: DAPs with coax and optical out, android phones, iOS devices, PCs, Macs. Big HiFi-M8 forces you to select only one: iOS USB input or S/PDIF input.


I particularly like iOS compatibility. Just plug iPhone or iPad into M8's USB-A connector, and that's all, you're ready to experience absolutely new level of sound from your device. I've always felt some regret, that Apple left HiFi market and now making only average sounding gear, so CEntrance's "mates" was a real panacea for me. There are few good iOS players, able to play lossless records, so now, iOS can be good digital transport. BTW, new CEntrance project HiFi Skÿn looks really curious: iPhone case with decent DAC and amp. I've missed it's preorders, so now I'm waiting for mass sales to start.

But let's turn back to Mini-M8.


Main point of interest for any device is, of course, sound. Big HiFi-M8 was often called "wire with gain", because of it's incredibly detailed, clear, transparent and open sounding. Mini-M8 saved all this and even improve it.

Unfortunately, Mini-M8 lost sound adjustment options of it's big brother, but "default" sound is really superb, so I can live with it.


Mini-M8 still offers incredible transparency, without any coloration. You'll hear all recording's details, all instruments, every notes and smallest nuances of sound. New fully balanced amp improved channel separation, so stage is even wider, and sound layering (my favourite thing) is incredible. Reduced power is also great for listening with IEMs, Mini-M8 have blacker background, so music sounds reacher and more impressive. I've seen some complaints on Mini-M8s noise with sensitive IEMs, but I didn't hear it with all earphones I have.

I don't know, is there any sense to describe Mini-M8's sound more, bass is bassy, it punches when necessary, it have great texture. Mids are detailed, emotional and resolving. Highs are airy, non-fatiguing and transparent. Like Apple's "it just works", Mini-M8 "it just plays". It leaves you eye-to-eye with your music, allowing your headphones to do their job in best possible way.


Maybe I'm looking too excited with Mini-M8, but honestly, I am I'm trying more and more new earphones, and discovering their full potential. My most favourite combo now is with Dunu's Titan 1, it offers great resolution, and nice sound with small hint of aggression, perfect for rock and heavy metal. Also it plays nice with new Kennerton Algiz, giving smooth and very musical representation, perfect for jazz and vocals.

Despite reduced power, Mini-M8 is good with not power-hungry cans, so don't think that it's an IEM-only device. But if your prefer something with 250+Ω or like plannars, big M8 are waiting for you! I've made my choice, and now I have them both.


I'll summarise differences for convenience.

Reasons to buy HiFi-M8: power hungry cans, bass/treble adjustment, output impedance selector, optical S/PDIF out
Reasons to buy Mini-M8: smaller, longer battery life, fully balanced amplifier, DSD support, 4 digital inputs.

And one more thing! When plugged to power source, Mini-M8 will charge connected iPhone, it's really a touching care.

P.S. As usual, I've made a small video, showing Mini in real life.

[VIDEO]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nrmqgnwgd4c[/VIDEO]

I've spent about a month with Cayin N6 DAP, and I'd like to share my thoughts about it. There is few really great reviews of this DAP, so I won't repeat them again, describing it's box, accessories set, controls, design, etc. You can easily find it in related tread and other reviews.

I'd like to try to share my impressions of using N6.

It's not hard to notice, that Cayin spent lot of time designing package, nice terracotta color, silver prints, it looks really stylish. Also nice is accessories set, besides player you'll get spare screen protectors, silicon case, USB and coax. cables, MicroSD card reader and even key ring with design similar to N6.



Design is really unusual. Carbon back of N6 is nice, I hope it won't became scratched, like metal players does. It's catchy, but it's very comfortable in terms of UX: DAP can be easily managed by one hand, despite it's size. Clicking wheel on the left side is easy to use with index finger, but you also can control player, using buttons on front panel.

Screen is very nice, probably one of the best, available in chinese players: great resolution, as well as view angles. UI of 1.0 version used too tiny fonts, but it was quickly fixed by updating to 1.1, so now I can say that player's interface is close to perfection. Everything is grouped logically and almost all features are present. Only thing that is lacking now, is idle shutdown timer, but Cayin promised that it will come shortly, meanwhile N6 utilises deep sleep option to save battery power when it's not in use.



I like that N6 plays almost everything. It handles all formats, including DFF and SACD ISO, I'm not a big fan of DSD, but it's always better to have some feature than not to have.

Inside, N6 is very-very well designed: two separate PCM1792 DACs, 3 TXCOs, sophisticated BTL amp, PGA2311 for volume control, everything is built to offer no-compromise sound. Battery life became a payoff for that. N6 uses really big 5600 mA/h battery, but it gives him about 7 hours of playback. It's not bad, but also it's far from perfect. I hope Cayin will manage to improve this in future software updates.




Most interesting aspect every player is sound. N6 gives perfect balance of resolution and musicality. Its sound is detailed, extremely well controlled, but not cold or analytically dry. Bass have great extension and control, it's punchy and well textured. On few tracks from my collection I missed bass quantity a bit, but it war really rare. Mids are natural and highly resolving, so N6 capable of creating really good sound stage both in width and in depth. Vocals are lively, and all instruments preserve their unique character. Highs are also balanced (at least to my taste), not too much, not too few, they have great resolution and controlled perfectly.

N6 closes rival is QLS QA360, also interesting DAP with lots of unique features, but if compared sound-wise, QLS have even more spacious stage and a little more lows, while N6 is more natural to my ears and sounds more musical.



I even prefer N6 over my HiFiMan 901 with modified balance card. 901 costs almost 2 times more, but sometimes it's sound signature is too aggressive. Also 901 is more bulky and have constant problems with volume regulator. So, I prefer more gentle sounding of N6 most of times.



Player can work as asynchronous USB DAC, so you can enjoy it's superior sound with your Mac or PC, it's also a great feature.

P.S. I've made a small video, showing N6 in use. As usual, sorry for my english

[VIDEO]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eN-QHOJewJQ[/VIDEO]

This Aune's player is almost not-know on Head-Fi, but it is very interesting device with exceptional sound quality for its price, so I've decided to write my brief impressions. English isn't my native language, so I'm sorry for some possible mistakes, and for not being as interesting as other Head-Fi reviewers

I don't know why, but some Aune products became extremely popular on Head-Fi (like T1), while others remain pretty unknown, regardless of their exceptional quality. Their first DAP, M1 leaves really mixed impressions. On the one hand, its sound quality is really impressive, especially for $150 price, on the other hand, it have lots of really noticeable shortages.



But first of all — exterior.

Player is sold in small white cardboard box, very similar to Apple iPhone's box. Inside you got player itself, coaxial output adapter, micro USB cable for charge and manual. That's all. It's not the fanciest accessories set, but for M1's price, this player is OK.



M1 itself is very solid device as it's made completely from black anodised aluminium. Size is 103,1 mm x 56 mm x 20 mm, weight is 181 g. Aune M1 not the smallest DAP, but it fits nicely in hand, because width is less then average.

On top panel you'll find headphone out, coaxial out and analog volume volume regulator. Out of the box it was set to zero, so I've spent few seconds trying to figure out, why there is no sound. On bottom panel you'll find SD card slot, LED for battery indication and toggle switch for turning M1 on and off. M1 doesn't have power off feature, so you should always remember to turn it off, to avoid battery drain.



Official specs told that M1 suppord SD cards up to 32 Gb, but some 64 Gb works too. One of the biggest device's disadvantages — it's very whimsical when it comes to SD cards. Some of them work, others don't and I don't know, is there any consistent pattern. So, it's better to try SD card before buying. Other player's feature — it won't turn on without SD card. But this decision is pretty logical, what to do with player if no music is found?

On front panel you'll find all other controls: 5 buttons and screen. Player firmware is really simple. It can play only WAV files and only 44.1/16 resolution. When you turn M1 on, you see your card's contents, you select folder, it plays. That's all. No cover art, no sleep timer, no bass/treble selection. Absolutely no options. Only available option is paly order, it can be switched with dedicated button and chose to play songs one by one, in random order and so on. On the screen you'll see song title, play time, battery status and that's pretty all. From "additional features", M1 offer .CUE support, but it works not with all files (at least for me). Positive side — M1 boots up really fast, after flicking the switch it takes just few seconds.



To reduce power, M1 enters "sleep" mode after approx. 30 seconds of inactivity: turns screen off and locks buttons. To turn it on again, you need to press rightmost button.

I know, everything described above, sounds devastating. But M1 offers one really great feature — its sound.



Stock M1 build with PCM1793 as DAC and NE5532 + OPA2134 as amplifier. It's able to push 700 mW into 32Ω load, and it's pretty good amount of power for most of the headphones. DAC and amp placed inside on replaceable board, and Aune told that they'll release other DAC, but I have doubts about that. Anyway, stock sound is really superb.

M1 sound really neutral and natural. It have both transparency and musicality. Bass is really nice, it's punchy, it's energetic, well controlled and goes really deep. Mids are detailed and emotional. Highs are also transparent and well controlled, but sometimes I miss their quantity a little bit.



Overall, soundwise, I'd place M1 above Fiio X5 and iBasso DX90 (just my oppinion), M1's sound is just more natural, and good amount of power helps it shine.

There is spare module, made by thirdparty developer from China, based on CS4398 (called Modile Choir [http://tw.taobao.com/item/40367662569.htm?fromSite=main]). It's also sounds really interesting, but with less of energy in sound. Choir's sound is more like QLS360, with absolute neutrality, with spacious sound stage and more resolution.



With full battery, M1 is able to play for 7 hours, really nice for such a powerful player, and it takes about 2.5 hours to charge it.



To conclude, Aune M1 is really lacking lots of modern features, but it offers outstanding sound quality for small amount of money, so if you want really good sound — it's worth trying.

Aune is the company with their own, unique approach to audio gear. Their products are unusual and offers interesting features, absent in competing solutions.

Their new headphone amplifier B1 looks like no other, and differs from other by its schematic. It utilises class A output stage built with discrete elements, and offers possibility to chose amplifier's current: 20 mA or 40 mA. Aune created nice page, describing B1 unique ideas, so I will not repeat them.

First of all, specs.

• Frequency range: 10 Hz – 20 KHz ± 0,15 dB
• THD+N: <0,0008% @ 1 KHz, 600Ω
• Signal/noise ratio: >124 dB @ 600Ω
• Channel separation: > 110 дБ @ 1 КГц, 600Ω
• Output power: 25 mW @ 16Ω, 50 mW @ 32Ω, 100 mW @ 300Ω
• Headphone impedance: 16Ω — 300Ω
• Battery: 4000 mA/h
• Life time: 10 hours for 20 mA, 5 hours for 40 mA
• Size: 65 mm × 110 mm × 18 mm
• Weight: 230 g

So, by size it's a little bit smaller than Fiio E12, but somewhat thicker.

B1 is sold in small box from black cardboard with silver print. It's similar with others Aune products and looks pretty stylish for $200 device. Besides amplifier you'll get small 3.5 mm cable and Micro USB cable for charging.

Aune B1 exterior is very stylish. It's built from solid aluminium, back panel have leather inserts on it. This protects devices from scratching, if you'll decide to make a stack with your smartphone or player. There are two color options available: black case with black leather and silver case with red inserts. Both look really cool.

On front panel designers placed transparent windows that allow you to see main feature of B1: discrete triodes output stage, working in class A. Really nice touch, like in swiss watch you can see device's complex interior. When B1 is turned on, two green LEDs are lightened inside. Not sure, if they are necessary, but they look great.

Major part of controls are located on left panel: power switch, gain switch and amplifier current selector (it's labeled "Class A").

On bottom, located charging micro USB, on top — volume control and input-output sockets. On right side there is button and LED, indicating remaining charge. Press button and count LED's flashes: 5 is 100% charge, 4 is 80% and so on.

Of course, the most interesting thing for amplifier is sound. And B1's sound is unusual. It's not as powerful as OpAmps solutions, but it still got enough power to drive almost all headphones with ease. It has almost black background, I didn't got any noise with all headphones I've tried. Discrete output stage allows B1 deliver really great amount of details, still remaining musical and pleasant sounding. B1 tries not to add anything to source's sound to preserve its natural form. Thus, if you need amplifier, boosting amount of bass, it's not B1. B1 adds more control and texture, but not amount.

Mids are lively and transparent. You'll get all emotions, present in record. Highs are detailed and delivered with confidence, but if your headphones/source are bright, you can get too much treble, as B1 doesn't hide anything.

Current switch is neat idea for power-hungry headphones. Boosting it to 40 mA reduces lifetime to 5 hours, but B1 drives headphones with mach more confidence: more tight bass, more transparent treble.

So, Aune made really interesting amplifier with great exterior and unusual schematics, delivering great sound.







I've made simple video, to showcase B1

[VIDEO]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2NHszPLlqs[/VIDEO]

I don't know why, but Aune's X1 Pro doesn't get so much attention as it's brother T1. Maybe it's because of T1's tube magic, who knows... But in my humble opinion, X1 Pro is very interesting DAC/amp for those, who have limited budget.

Aune constantly improves their X1, current revision, released in 2014, is fourth in a row. It got new updated power supply with lowered noise, and Savy Tech's SA9027 as USB chip. New USB interface allowed DSD support and increased USB rate to 96 KHz/24 bit. Not the best numbers nowadays, but still more then OK. By S/PDIF X1 "understand" up to 192 KHz/24 bit, so if you have USB to S/PDIF converter, it can be nice addition to X1.


Outer box is made from simple brown cardboard, it's task — to protect device during shipment, but main box is hidden inside. It's made from black cardboard and looks really stylish for such inexpensive device (it's retail price $250). Inside you'll find X1 Pro itself, power supply and cord for it, USB cable (pretty good quality) and manual.

Device is made completely from metal, case is thick and solid. Due to it's shape, X1 can be placed flat or upright.


On the rear panel placed all interfaces: Line In, Line Our, USB, Coaxial and Optical S/PDIF, power socket and switch. On front panel located 1/4" headphone socket, volume knob, two buttons to chose input and output and LEDs to show selected options.

X1's strong part is lots of connectivity options. You can use it as pure DAC or as pure amp, so you aren't limited in step by step upgrading of your system.


Build quality is also good, no gaps or something like this. Volume regulator moves smoothly and dosn't produce noise.

Sound-wise X1 is more of "tasty" sounding. It uses PCM1793 as DAC and pretty powerful headphone amp, so overall sound signature is tilt toward smooth and musical representation. Sound have small hint of darkness, due to smoothed highs, so overall sound doesn't have those "audiophiliac" neutrality. It's DAC/amp with it's own signature. Soundstage is a little bit less then average, but with good headphones X1's representation is nice.


Due to big power, X1 isn't good option for sensitive headphones, but if you chose something appropriate, it will be great pairing. I like it with AKG K702 (not the greatest amp for them, but pretty good), and with Fischer Audio FA-011 Japan Limited Edition (extremely well for classic rock and live jazz).

I've also made small video to show X1

New earphones from Dunu are allways interesting, but earphones with brand new titanium diaphragm driver is even more interesting.

• Driver: 13mm Titanium Diaphragm Dynamic Driver
• Impedance:16Ω
• Sensitivity: 90+- 2dB
• Reproduction Frequency: 20Hz-30kHz
• Cable Length: 1.2m
• Plug: 3.5mm Stere Mini
• Weight: 18g

So, some brief impressions about Titan 1 from me.


As usual for Dunu — perfect box and accessories set. You'll get everything you can imagine: case, 6.3 mm adapter, lots of tips, providing different sound signature. Titan 1 box looks much more expensive then real cost of this earphones.


T1 are very comfortable, they looks like simple earbuds but with nozzles to guide sound into your ears. This is the perfect shape for earphones with big dynamic drivers (13 mm for Titan 1).


Build quality is outstanding. Dunu Topsound have great experience both in OEM market, and making own earphones, so Titan 1 have absolutely flawless build.


T1 have low impedance and isn't really sensitive earphones (only 90 dB), so they require good DAP or amp to drive them properly.

As for sound, T1 are really interesting. They offers more details than I've expected from single dynamic driver earphones, so sound is very clear and detailed. Lows are tight and punchy. T1 isn't fastest-bass earphones, but lows pretty impressive for me. Bass is nice controlled, and doesn't bleed to medium freq.

Mids are detailed and emotional. Despite T1 having somewhat V-shaped frequency response, mids are nicely defined and have all details.

Highs are nice for me, both in quality and quantity, but a friend of mine said that there is too much highs, so it can be person-dependent. Different eartips, supplied with T1 can help to tame highs a bit.

From all sources that I have, most of all I liked T1 with QLS QA360 and Cantrance HiFiM8 — they are neutral, and allow Titan 1 to show themselves in the best way.

For price about $130, Titan 1 is super-competitive earphones, offering both great sound and excellent outlook.

I'd like to thank Dunu for opportunity to evaluate Titan 1.

First of all, I'd like to thank Cayin for opportunity to review C5. As usual, main review is in Russian, here I'll share mt impressions in brief.


There is not so many good portable amps in sub $200 range. It's almost completely dominated by Fiio E12, which is really good. Now, Fiio have really strong competitor.

Cayin have lots of experience in "serious HiFi", their amps, both tube and solid-state, CD transports, speakers, etc. — well known allover the world. So, their debut on portable HiFi market was really impressive.

First thing, you're noticing is design. C5 is somewhat vintage-looking, it reminds classic devices of early 90: "champagne gold" body, plastic parts, orange leds, really nice. But, of course, not for everyone. You like it, or you hate it (in terms of design, of course). Build quality is good. First revision had some problems with plastic, but Cayin fixed this quickly.

Controls are as simple, as they can be for portable amps. On top — two sockets, for input and for output and volume pot, combined with power switch. On bottom — two micro USBs, one for charging C5, other for charging something else, using C5. Ability to use your portable amp as powerbank can be sometimes useful, but with 1000 mA/h battery you won't be able to use it frequently, so consider it as "emergency" option.
On one side you'll find gain and bass boost switch. That's all for controls.

Battery life is about 12 hours. I definitely Ok with that, but, as usual, more will be better.

Sound-wise, C5 is really nice. It offers interesting sound with wide and deep soundstage. Great instrument separation and localisation with appropriate headphones will give you "3D" sounding, really nice on live records, big orchestras and other music, requiring nice staging.

Bass is good. Impactful, nicely controlled, but not overwhelming and leaking to other frequencies. Bass boost is pretty delicate: it's adding body to music, but not that "crash your ears bass". Mids are lively, clear and detailed. All emotions delivered as is in record. Highs are a little bit roll-off, so they are not fatiguing or sibilant.

Compared to E12, C5 sounds little bit "muddy" (a tiny bit) at first, but then I've found that C5 sound is more enjoyable for me, it has more body and sounds "more musical".

Power-wise C5 is really good. It has enough power to drive high-impedance dynamic headphones with ease, and even some planars are OK with C5 too. From other side, sensitive IEMs are also enjoyable, I've experienced no noise on low gain.

Generally, Cayin C5 is really nice competitor at it's price range. Unusual design, great sound, affordable price — it has it all.

DAC OCU(B) 1866 — very interesting portable DAC/amp combo from Russian manufacturer Myst.

Things I like:
— Nice look. As OCUB is made in small quantities, it uses stock case, but case is fully aluminium, and fits perfectly in hand.
— Great connectivity: you're getting USB, coax and optical ins, and in B version even bluetooth. So, you can use almost every DAP as transport
— It has line-out, so you can easily use it with serious amps (btw Myst have few of them)
— Really great parts inside: multibit DAC chip AD1866 from Analog Devices, AD8610 amp, OP275 as buffer. Nichicon KZ and Sanyo OS-CON as capacitors, Neutrik plugs, ALPS as volume control
— Nice measurements: SNR 110 dB, DD 95 dB, russian document about measurements is here: http://ozvuke.pro/index.php?act=attach&type=post&id=2605 (it's easy to understand it)
— Frequency response: 0 Hz – 20 000 Hz. Yep, really 0, OCUB plays sub-bass greatly, if your headphones can reproduce it, you'll get it.
— Tight impactful bass. MyST used really unusual multibit DAC (is it the only multibit portable DAC?), and it gave it's benefits. DAC sounds very musical, especially in low and mid range. It shows best advantages of multibit technologies.
— Great representation of artists emotions. Mids are breathing with passion, reproducing almost all nuances of performance
— Really good soundstage an imaging. Instruments separation is also nice.
— Highs are little bit recessed, compared with regular delta-sigma DAC, so sound is non-harsh and not fatiguing

Things I don't like (a little bit)
— Some usability flaws (e.g. you can't see, how many power left in battery), so manufacturers suggest "6 hours of listen, 6 hours of charge)
— Sometimes I'm missing bit some highs (but not often)
— Slight hum on most-sensitive IEMs (but not very big, I can live wth it)
— Price is on the higher side, it's sold on Amazon.de under Tento trademark for EUR 599,00, so it's not very budget solution. But it's an unique device in some ways, so there is no alternatives
— High output impedance. It's 10Ω, so there may be some problems with multi-driver armatures. But I've tested it with my Ambient Acoustics Am6 (6 drivers, as you can easily guess), and didn't find sound degradation
— Some more power would be nice. OCU(B) delivers 120 mW, it's enough for almost all headphones, but some top-end cans wants more power. Luckily MyST have really great amps

First of all, I'd like to thank Lear for opportunity to review BD4.2

I'll try to be short, and outline main points, regarding this unique IEMs. Please note, that current revision differs, from the first one, and Lear done a good work upgrading it.

Acessories
More then you wish: hard Pelican Case, carrying pouch, 4 pairs different silicone tips, 3 different pairs of foam tips, cleaning tool and bass-tuning screwdriver. Different tips provides different sound signature, so you can experiment easily.

Design
BD4.2 are pretty big. There is no other way to fit inside 4 balanced armatures, 2 dynamic transducers, crossover schematics with bass tuner regulator and acoustic lowpass filter. Luckily, Lear made BD4.2 thick, but not very long, so they'll fit into almost any ears.

Overall look of BD4.2 is superb. They are made from transparent acrylate polymer, and you can see, how complex they are inside. Build is perfect, no signs of any flaws.

Lear offers wide variety of colors and "true texture" faceplates that can be made from wood, metal, denim and so on.

Also, I should mention stock cable: silver-white, light and flexible. No sign of microphonics.

Sound
First precondition of high quality sound with BD4.2 is a really great source. I'm using them with Concero HP from Resonessence labs, and I like them. Your DAC/DAP should be able to control bass perfectly, and have low output impedance (better less then 1Ω)

Second precondition is to find a tips, that should provide you best seal, without it, you'll loose bass impact. Tri-flange tips are preferable, if you can fit them. Actually, I can recommend you to think about custom version of BD4.2, it costs a little more, but you'll get the best seal you can.

Third precondition, you should have really good quality records, with good mastering, otherwise, BD4.2 will show you all flaws in them.

Best part of this IEMs is that you can tune their sound whatever you like. Built-in bass tuner can adjust lower frequencies in very high range (about 24dB), so you can have whatever you want: from neutral monitors to bassbombs, able to blow your mind. Also, you can tune sound using different tips, stock, as well as thirdparty. One more way of tuning - use some acoustic filters. BD4.2 uses unique 4-bore design, two are for low frequencies, one for mid and one for high, so small piece of cloth can tame desired range a bit. And even more, you can use resistor adapter, it will lower high frequency response, if you like.

I've finished my experiments with bass tuner set ot 8 o'clock and 3-flange tips. This gave me nice impact of bass, with really good texture and power. Almost no other headphones can give such punch, so drums and bass sounds really lively and natural.

Mid frequencies are also good. BD4.2 reminds me Lear LUF-4S, that are very detailed earphones with good microdynamics. This will allow performers sound with all feelings, they trying to put in music.

High frequencies are bright, and also detailed. If you don't like sparkling sound, beware, with some records BD4.2 can be bright. Especially I like it, it gives me feeling of spacious and airy sounding.

BD 4.2 shows Lear's vision of perfect sound, and I'm really like it. It's pretty expensive, but such a complex IEMs can't be cheap.

I've received Concero HP from Ressonsense Labs for writing review in russian, but I want to share my thoughts with Head-Fi.
As usual, I'll be somewhat brief, as I'm not so good in English, but I can't be quiet about excellent hardware.

– Concero HP is really well designed. Nice package, solid and laconic look, it's perfect
– It's very small, this makes it really great companion for travelling users
– Sound is really stand out. I think it's maximum, you can achieve from Sabre 9018-K2M. Concero HP offers two custom upsampling filters, apodizing and IIR, and they do their work on some 44/16 records. I like Concero HP with IEMS: outstanding detalisation, enough power, absolutely black background
– Concero HP isn't power monster, but it drives most of big cans that I have (two exceptions are AKG K702 and HiFiMan HE-500)
– DAC supports all resolutions and DSD/DXD, that makes it universal solution that won't be outdated in near future
– It's pity that Concero HP doesn't have line out, so it makes it "headphone-only" solution, and you'll be unable to use it with other amp, but with headphones it does it's job near perfect.

First of all, I'd like to thank Fiio for opportunity to test X1 among first.
As long reviews in english isn't really my cup of tea, I'll simply share my brief thoughts about X1

— I really like size of X1. It's like a regular deck of cards (I think everyone will compare X1 with card deck ). Grab one in hand, and you can got an idea, about holding X1. Navigation buttons are easy accessible with one hand.
— I really like new UI, it's much more logical then X5's "reverse kinematic", it's sleek and fast. I hope we'll see similar UI for X5
— Scroll wheel is bit more stiff then X5 (at least my X5 from first batch), so it's easier to navigate. But more ribbed texture will be better
— Sound-wise, X1 is really good for this price. Of course, his "elder brothers" are more mature, with better details, soundstage and dynamics, but difference isn't "huge". Difference in sound is much smaller then in price
— Only one thing, that I'm missing, is really energetic bass punch with my Dunu DN-2000, but see below...
— X1 is a perfect pair with E11K, amp adds missing punch and energy, so 'sandwich" with X1 and E11K will be very tasty. Especially, if Fiio going to release stacking kit for them (confirmed by James)

So, thank you very much, Fiio, as usual, great job. I'd like to see, how competitors are going to beat this

First of all, I'd like to say — Espressivo-E looks really great. Not so many "major" brands makes such nicely looking amps. Great combination of black metal and wood makes amp looks very luxury. It can not only power your headphones, but also decorate your room.


Amp build using 4 Sovtek tubes, and does it's best to show main good points of tube sound: lively mids, musical sound and great resolution. Lows are nice, full-bodied and puchy. Highs are little bit relaxed, but I like this, as it makes sound not so fatiguing.


Espresivo is a nice companion for most of headphones (except the toughest ones), and even drives AKG K702 really good.


It can be purchased from FeliksAudio.pl (makers of this amp) or from ebay.co.uk

Very interesting headphones from famous HiSound audio, makers of RoCoo and Studio players.

This earbuds features big dynamic driver, optimised for great mids and highs, making this earphones interesting sollution for classical music, jazz and other "non-heavy" genres. Lots of air in sounding can bring you a pleasure, especially when paired with good amp/PMP.

From other side, this earphones definitely bad solution for metal and other "heavy" and bass-rich genres.

If this earpohnes doesn't sit well in your ears — try to remove tips.

First of all, I'd like to thank HiSound for their excellent promotion, that made possible for me to buy this DAP for very reasonable money.

This DAP is really outstanding in terms of price/sound balance, it's giving very-very high quality sound, and cost 2 times less then it's closest competitors.

Most of all, I like RoCoo for it's very clear and powerful sound. It doesn't bring too much own into sound signature (as HiFiMans does), but it have amp, powerful enough to drive all headphones that I have.

I've compared RoCoo with my iPod, and of course it's not fair comparison. On all "big" headphones RoCoo is definitely a winner: more control over sound on all frequencies, good attack, powerful bass — it's really amazing.

Of course, you can use iPod with LOD cable and portable amp, and got something familiar with RoCoo, but it's much more expensive and big solution, so It's to heavy for me to be portable.

On other hand — RoCoo is small, light-weighted and really really good-looking.

As for cons, I'd like it to be without this glossy parts, because it's collecting my fingerprints. But actually, DAPs are for listening, not for looking at

Highly recommend to everyone, who wants to improve portable rig, but not ready for bank robbery.

Before listening to this charming little amp, I was very skeptical about overall tube amp idea. But this amp changed my mind greatly.

First of all, I have to admit it's design and build quality - it's really great, amp looking very stylish.

As for sound, I have to mention, that it's really giving "warmth" to sound. This is hardly explainable by words, but old rock, for example, starts sounding much more pleasant. I've listened Led Zeppelin, Doors, The Who and really rediscovered some of my favorite tracks in a new way.

Also I found it sounding good with almost all genres of metal, except Nu-metal. Very nice sounding for Nile, Behemoth and other "brutals"

Only exception I need to mention - it's dance music. This it amp IMHO is not for it.

To summarize - this amp is perfect pass to tube world with affordable price of $90

If Apple once decided to replace their earbuds, the'll surely need to chose Mee CC51.

In white ceramic case - their look are really outstanding, especially with iPhone.

As for sound - I like, how they plays. Very musical coloring, making listening a real pleasure.