I bought these headphones because I thought that closed cans were getting a bit fatiguing (pressure on the ear-drum from closed environment), because I wanted a can that could adapt to a balanced cable well, and because I wanted a neutral sound signature. I got all of those things.
 
These are great all around performers and one of the best bargains that you can get in Head-Fi if you are willing to buy them used. I live in the UK and searched around for these in the UK and Germany used (always good to look at prices in several countries). I ended up picking these up for £135 off of a seller in Germany. I saw others go for more, and later others go for less, but I still feel they are one the most spectacular non-free bargains I have gotten in Head-Fi.
 
The pair that I got has older drivers in it, and newer ones are reported to sound better--they have different materials in their voice-coils. Mine had worn down pads that made the bass sound muffled and limpid. It was like someone had strangled a snake and bathed it in chip oil. It was terrible sounding bass. Luckily, that was easy to fix, as soon as I got my replacement ear-pads they sounded like a completely different headphone. The veil was lifted, the bass was released from it's greasy dungeon, and the headphone became much more enjoyable. It still lacks on the bass, though.
 
I listen to all kinds of music, from Miles Davis to Megadeth with stop-overs in weird Indie land, twee town, and the punk pits. These play what I like very well. I compared these to the stock HD800, and found that I thought the HD800 bass sounded loose and unsatisfying. The HD800 does space and bright lights well, like the Hubble telescope pointed to far away galaxies, but it's bass image was like if you turned that Hubble telescope at earth and didn't adjust the focus enough. I don't feel that way with the HD600, yay for my wallet!
 
In the not too distant past, I finally got to try these beauties with a balanced cable, thanks, @pedalhead. I hooked up some Cable Pro Panorama balanced cables, plugged them into the balanced headphone out on a LH Labs Pulse Infinity + LPS stack and pressed play. The sound stage expanded dramatically, note impact and fullness shot up, and I found these inexpensive used purported to be mid-fi headphones performing on par with MrSpeakers Ether playing out of a single ended amp. I didn't do a direct head-to-head with both having balanced cables, and both playing out of the same amp (the MrSpeakers Ether was playing out of a special Cary Xciter Moon Audio upgraded valve amp), but damn those HD600s scale beautifully. At the Cambridge Head-Fi meet in April I had a similarly surprising experience with the Icon Audio HP8 MkII valve amp (there is one in a used shop down the street from me, very tempted). The soundstage exploded at me like a pile of black cat fireworks on the 4th of July with insufficient length faulty fuses. Luckily, no one was injured.
 
I think everyone should own the HD600. If nothing else, it is a way to keep more expensive headphones honest. I know that I won't be buying a MrSpeakers Ether after hearing the HD600 with a middle of the road balanced cable, the MrSpeakers just isn't worth $1200 dollars more to me. I've also had the privilege of hearing this with the iFi iCan, and can say that the bass boost on the iCan made it sound like the headphone I've been wanting. The iCan and Micro iDSD are stellar choices, by the way, and drive the HD600 beautifully. One big advantage of the HD600 is it's neutral signature. If I listen with these, I know that any colour I'm hearing is from the source or the amp, so they are very good headphones for critical listening.
 
There is one caveat I should apply: my HD600s have been modded. I removed the neutral acoustic foam and replaced it with what is referred to as tights in Britain (panty hose in the USA). This mod opened up the soundstage a little and made the HD600 a little brighter and crisper. Not everyone prefers it this way, and when listening to my suddenly bright Feliks Audio Elise tube amp (it's the C3G tubes) it can be a little fatiguing. The HD600s have a similar signature either way, so I'd advise people to try both ways. You can put the foam back in and tights cost next to nothing. I'm curious to try with a bit thicker acoustically neutral material to tame some of the overbright pairings. Speaking of pairings, for 300 ohm headphones, these are actually pretty easy to drive. They are listenable out of my Dell Vostro's headphone jack, and my DX50 sounds good with them. More power is better, especially for bass performance, but is not required for an enjoyable listen.
 
If you don't have these headphones. You should remedy that, unless you are a basshead. End of review.

List Price: $759.00 (at Musicteck)

Product Website: http://en.uniquemelody.org/detail_185.html

Acknowledgment
I’d like to thank Unique Melody for loaning me the ME.1 for review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

This review originally appeared on audioprimate.blog. I'm now sharing it with the awesome community on Head-Fi. It's the place to be.

Introduction


My first interactions with the Unique Melody brand were on Head-Fi. I had seen several reviews that basically said that the original Merlin and Miracle were awesome. Then I saw that they were doing something ambitious and potentially game changing: the ME.1. I was so enthusiastic about the ME.1 that when looking for folks to interview from British headphone companies, I set myself down the path of confusion, as Unique Melody is based in China, but used to have a good market in the United Kingdom. I’ve had a previous interview with Unique Melody’s Lawrance, and have also reviewed the Miracle v2. I have found Lawrance to be an excellent fellow and quite liked the Unique Melody Miracle v2. It was a fortuitous mistake. Here are some snippets from that interview with Lawrance regarding the development of the ME.1:

Lawrance: The idea of an in-ear planar has been around for a while. In fact, I know of at least 3 other companies that were interested in such a design, of course, I don’t know the details of where they are along that path now.

There’s certainly a lot of thought that went into the ME.1.

User experience is important, so we’ve made a big commitment to ensuring that the unit fits well and has a reasonable profile

While it does leak sound and does not isolate amazingly well, we’ve also made it a point to make sure that the product is still usable in environments such as a quiet space.

…

The part of the ME.1 that has gotten a good bit of questions is our use of a hearing protection filter in its design.

A lot of people have been asking, hey aren’t you just copying ADEL and such?

We certainly respect ADEL as a unique design and solution to hearing protection, but UM have been in the hearing protection business for quite some time ourselves. Of course, our founders and chief engineers all being from the hearing aid industry helps with that.

Our sister company, Rooth, has actually been making sound attenuating earplugs for quite a while now, and we implemented some of that technology here.

A planar driver’s ability to move air, even with an open design, has led us to believe that we need to find ways in which to normalize the pressure within the ear canal, which allows a more natural sound reproduction compared to if the canal was sealed off.

Glass Monkey: Does this mean that what your ME.1 is doing is leaking out the harmful low-frequencies that cause resonance and stapedius reflex? Basically, killing bad vibrations.

Lawrance: Yes, and at the same time, it’s an acoustic filter that attenuates the outside noise at specific frequencies.

So, in summary, there is a lot of cool tech to be interested in here. It’s an open planar magnetic in-ear that protects your hearing. Cool beans. Let’s see how it performs.

Usability: Form & Function
Unboxing


The Unique Melody ME.1 comes with a new upgraded wooden box wrapped in light cardstock. Embossed on top is some fancy cursive writing declaring the ME.1. On top of the wooden box a thick plastic Unique Melody logo is affixed. Inside the box there are two foam trays with ribbon lifts to take out the top tray. The top tray contains a case that is shaped like an oversized pill or lozenge made of silicone rubber. It is round and tapered with a core that flips out to show a cable winder and a compartment in the centre for the headphones and the 3.5mm jack plug. The compartment below has a soft case that holds all the accessories. I never used the soft case for the headphones and found the elastomer case too large, but apparently it is a big hit in the East. The soft case felt a bit flimsy to me. The headphones and cable have some girth, so I think the soft case needed more padding.









Aesthetics and Ergonomics
The ME.1 has a stately build to it. It has clean lines and a good tapered shape that I think will allow it to fit most ears. It won’t win any beauty contests in the headphone world, but it isn’t ugly in the slightest, to my tastes. If you have small ears or ears without much depth, fit may be a little difficult. The cable is oriented in an over the ear direction, with memory wire to hold the cable to your ears, which helps with fit. The included white Comply tips also help with fit, and sound good on the ME.1. The connector is sturdy. I never disconnected it, as I didn’t have another cable to try for the ME.1. UERR told me not to use their balanced cable for Unique Melody IEMs—different polarity, maybe? I never felt like the ME.1 weren’t secure.



The cable is composed of 8 cores, with half of them silver plated copper, and the other half plain copper. The wires are in twisted pairs with 4 pairs on each channel. The cable looks very nice and has a sturdy y-split and slider. In fact, I think they are too sturdy. I frequently found myself worrying about them clanking around and damaging things. I would suggest that lighter material would be better. I think these are steel, maybe the right material is aluminum. The chin slider is especially heavy feeling and sometimes draws down of its own weight. Due to the weight of the cables and the over-ear design, I had no problems with microphonics.

The bore for the IEM is large, and has a spring inside it—I presume to help catch wax. The Miracle v2 had two wide open bores that looked like a wax superhighway to the drivers. The new design is an improvement. I was able to try a lot of tips with the ME.1, so people can rest-assured that you can find a tip that fits your sound preferences. There is a high likelihood that it will be the included Comply tips. If I hadn’t attended CanJam London 2017 and stopped by HiFi Headphones’ booth, I wouldn’t have Final’s E-type tips and I would have gone with the Comply tips.



These are open IEMs, so don’t expect the isolation to be great. That said, they do have some isolation. In a positive, I found that they aren’t very leaky. I think these are fine for in the office. In fact, I think they are ideal for in the office.

Tip Rolling
I tried the stock Comply tips, Spinfit CP100s, Spinfit CP240, Symbio Mandarines, and Final Audio Design Type-E silicone tips (clear, medium-large). The best tips were the Final Audio Design Type-E tips. The Comply tips sound less clear in the mids with some loss of resolution (probably due to taming some clarity bringing treble), whilst the Type-E tips gave the most well-defined mids while not having the treble get too sharp. The Spinfit CP100s were a bit too bright for me. The Spinfit CP240s weren’t comfortable due to the bore size. Similarly, the Symbio Mandarines were also too bulky and inflexible for the ME.1. For this review, I used the Final Type-E (clear) silicone tips throughout.

Audio quality
I think I may be beginning to see the house sound of Unique Melody a bit clearer. Both the Unique Melody Miracle v2 and now this ME.1 have been fairly smooth with a bit of extra weight in the mids that gives them a touch of romance. The ME.1 are very smooth indeed.

The ME.1 has a bass character that is led by its mid-bass expression. Bass extends down into the sub-bass, but it doesn’t have the rumble that strong bass performers have. The bass here, along with some emphasis in the lower mids, serve to warm the sound a little bit. Bass has some texture. Lower mids when listening to Leonard Cohen – Leaving the Table are a bit airy and the full complexity of his vocal tones isn’t expressed (I’ve been spoiled with the HiFiMAN Susvara, these do quite well actually). Mids are forward, slightly warm and smooth. These aren’t toasty like a hot toddy by the fire, more like a Christmas jumper on a cool winter day.



The treble on the ME.1 is and not very sparkly and has some smoothed peaks. It shimmers wonderfully on hi-hats, but has a little bit slow decay. On Kraftwerk – Kometenmelodie2 the sharp peaks that should be a bit shrill on the recording I have are smoothed out. The treble is not perfectly accurate, but is tuned in a way that will ensure that there isn’t a person who will ever find a note harsh. The truth about treble is that sometimes a real instrument produces a harsh sound. You won’t get that here. The treble is euphonic. The overall signature is euphonic. These are quite pleasurable to listen to, but will rarely challenge you.

If I had to visualize signature by bass/mids/treble, it would be like this: XXx. Bass and mids are emphasised, whilst treble is smoothed and tapered, reducing emphasis.

The sound stage on the ME.1 has above average width, excellent height, and average depth. The forward mids and mid-bass reduce perception of stage depth in addition to the natural characteristics of the stage. The sound stage is excellent given the sound signature’s emphasis in bass and mids and smoothing of the treble. In my experience, increasing treble increases sound stage perception. These accomplish an excellent soundstage without having treble emphasis.

Matchability
I found that the ME.1 benefits from a source with a little treble emphasis, as the main weakness of the IEM can be a bit of slowness in the mids that smooths over some detail and can make the mids sound a little stuffy. I was happy to have the Opus #3 back in house for this review, as I think it pairs excellently with the ME.1 given that it is a touch on the bright side and is very airy sounding. The Questyle QP2R has a bigger stage, but a weightier sound and denser sounding mids with the ME.1.

I tried some other pairings. The Shanling M2s did a great job in the mids and provided a little extra bass weight. Soundstage was not as wide. I’d have no problems with this pairing being primary, these sound excellent together. The Hidizs AP200 slants a bit too much toward the bass and lower mids with the ME.1 with not enough treble presence. Drums really kick with it, but the soaring female vocals in Pixies – Where is My Mind get lost, which is a darn shame. The Echobox Explorer sounds a little thin on the ME.1.



Comparisons
After some listening, I noted that the measurements for the ME.1 were producing louder playback than the comparators when I did my normal routine of measuring to 78.2 or so with white noise and an SPL meter. This is probably due to the open design of the ME.1 and quite possibly due to the hearing protection port. It is really hard to volume match open headphones vs. closed headphones with an SPL meter, as perceived volumes just don’t match. I had to drop the ME.1 volume down substantially to make the sound more comparable. I ended up matching the ME.1 by ear, which is less than ideal. The ME.1 sounds a lot louder than what it measures. The figure I came to is that my other volume-matched IEMs were about 4dB quieter than the ME.1 at the same measured level.

Unique Melody ME.1 vs. UERR
On Pixies – Where is My Mind, the ME.1 has chunky drum hits with some slam, but limited texture. The ME.1 is rich with some mid-bass and mids emphasis. Black Francis’s vocals are more immediate on the ME.1, where they are a bit further back in the stage on the UERR. The UERR on the same track sounds comparatively lean, but more detailed. Treble is cleaner, clearer, and more extended on the UERR. The treble presentation on the ME.1 could be described as smooth. Bass texture extends further into the sub-bass on the UERR and the bass tones are more balanced. Tonally, the ME.1 will be more pleasing to more individuals with its little bit of added warmth from the mid-bass to mids and smooth treble. I think this is actually the sound profile most normal folks prefer (maybe not Western audiophiles). It won’t work as well for detail freaks or treble heads.

In terms of technical capabilities, the UERR doesn’t have as tall a soundstage as the ME.1, but it has more depth and greater instrument separation. Width on both is similar. The UERR also has greater resolution. When listening to the hi-hat on Macy Gray – I Try, the shimmer is more realistic on the UERR. The shimmer is less textured on the ME.1 and the decay is a little too smooth. The UERR has more precise decay (not too quick), whilst the ME.1 is a bit lingering and emotive.

The listening above was done in the most beneficial environment for the ME.1, but not the most beneficial environment for the UERR. The UERR can sound a bit thin on the OPUS #3 (source for most observations above) but has a bit more body whilst listening on the QP2R. On the QP2R (medium gain, high bias), the ME.1 sound is a bit thicker, but also has better layering and detail through the bass and lower mids. The ME.1 scales to higher resolution sources.

Both the UERR and the Unique Melody ME.1 use proprietary connectors (though the ME.1 can be used with standard 2-pin, they just look vulnerable), but Ultimate Ears sells a 2.5mm balanced version of their cable ($49), whereas Unique Melody does not—something that may not be corrected due to Unique Melody moving to another proprietary connector on their v3 line-up. The cable is bigger and more premium looking and feeling on the ME.1. Both IEMs are comfortable.

In a few words, the UERR is a detailed and precise whilst the ME.1 is smooth and soulful with lingering ambience. The ME.1 is headphone that you just melt into. It’s wonderfully organic sounding. Planar magnetic relaxation.



Unique Melody ME.1 vs. HiFiMAN RE800
The Unique Melody ME.1 has a smooth slightly warm signature. The HiFiMAN RE-800 is an exercise in contrast, with a V-shaped signature and big detail resolution.

The RE-800 has more extended sub-bass, which gives more texture to the bass, holistically. The mid-bass is more emphasised on the ME.1 whilst the sub-bass has more body on the RE-800.

Mids are distant at volume matched levels which makes the RE-800 sound a bit thinner, and treble is more extended. The tuning sounds thin after listening to the Unique Melody ME.1. However, when listening for vocal texture and detail on Leonard Cohen – Leaving the Table, the RE-800 has greater resolution than the ME.1. There is more grip to Leonard’s voice. The mids have a more technical sound on the RE-800, whilst they are more fluid (but less detailed) on the ME.1.

Treble has faster decay on the RE-800, which means that transients are more intact with less blending. Treble is a little more extended and sharp peaks are a bit more shrill when they should be on Kraftwerk – Kometenmelodie2 with the RE-800.

The RE-800 are really made to be played loud in loud places, not at reasonable listening levels. My testing volume is lower than what I would listen at with these. Cranking up the RE-800 would surely make them sound better, but it also risks hearing damage. The ME.1 reduces the risk of hearing damage.



Unique Melody ME.1 vs. PlusSound Spectrum
The ME.1 and the Spectrum share some characteristics. Both have round but not deep bass with a mid-bass focus. The ME.1 has more texture in the bass and a bit more quantity. Both have some thickness to their mids and a relaxing warmth. The Spectrum is a little warmer (this may be due in part to Comply tips on the Spectrum). This results in the ME.1 being the clearer of the two IEMs. Both have smooth treble, but the ME.1 is a bit more extended with a bit more shimmer to hi-hat hits.

The ME.1 has a larger soundstage with better instrument separation. The advantage on stage dimensions is especially obvious on width and height. Where the Spectrum gets just outside the borders of my ears, the ME.1 is comfortably outside my ears. Height on the ME.1 is just over my head on Norah Jones’ vocals on Feelin’ the Same Way whilst Norah is in my forehead on the Spectrum. Resolution is also higher, partly due to having less warmth in the sound signature compared to the Spectrum.

What the Spectrum does with a single balanced armature driver is very impressive, but it is not the technical equal of the ME.1. It shouldn’t be at a little more than half the price.



Comparison Table

Specifications

Conclusions
The Unique Melody ME.1 is an excellent headphone that protects your hearing whilst having a sound signature that manages to be engaging and relaxing at the same time. It accomplishes this by having a smooth tonal character and a broad and tall stage that draws you in to compositions nicely. The emphasis in the ME.1 signature is on the mid-bass and the mids, an emphasis that usually shrinks the soundstage, but the ME.1 still has an impressive soundstage for an IEM.

I think that if Unique Melody decide to build an ME.2, their focus should be on extending the treble and bass along with resolution improvement. This ME.1 is a very nice headphone. If you are looking for a euphonic sound signature that never fatigues, has an impressive sound stage, and protects your hearing, the ME.1 should be strongly considered. I think these are perfect for work, as they are smooth enough to make music not a distraction from work.

 

 

Acknowledgment   

Thanks 1MORE UK for providing this review sample in return for my honest opinion.
 

Introduction

I heard about 1MORE from a fellow HeadFier, who told me I should check out the triple driver, so I went searching. The triple driver is in such high demand that there are none available for review as I write this. According to the 1MORE rep I’ve chatted with, the 1MORE MK801 and 1MORE EO323 are great introductions to their sound, so they sent me them to review. After reviewing these offerings, I decided I wanted to hear 1MORE, and then two more and a third more. So now I have upcoming reviews of the 1MORE iBFree Bluetooth IEM, the 1MORE MK802 Bluetooth headphone (one of a few AptX HD headphones on the market), and these growingly famous 1MORE Triple Drivers.
 

About the company

1MORE is a design powerhouse brought into play by a few Foxconn executives and a shedload of venture capital from giants like Xiaomi. 1MORE makes their own goodies and are also the brains behind a few Xiaomi offerings. The company is based out of Shenzen, but this dragon barrels through the UK, and twists through the USA in San Diego—a really nice place to shuffle and soar through with all the great beer, rockin’ tacos, cultural hotspots, welcoming weather, and romantically fading honey blond sands extending out into the infinite.
Outside of being in some pretty cool places, 1MORE keeps winning design awards from obscure award ceremonies. My field’s accolades aren’t really different; most folks wouldn’t recognize a really decorated academic if their thesis smacked them in the face.
 
 
1MORE aims to have a global brand to match Apple’s big money monkey, Beats, I say monkey because a monkey could have tuned the ones I’ve heard. Unlike Beats, 1MORE wants to make premium quality headphones at midrange prices, instead of making low quality headphones at premium prices.
 
 

Vital Statistics (specs from manufacturers and distributors)

 
 
 
The 1MORE website is fluent in market-speak, so I'll spare you that suffering. They say it's good, and talk about the materials that it is made of like they are some kind of totally unique concoction from a Shakespearean witch's cauldron. Double double toil and... treble?
 

Form & Function

A journey through giftly delights

Two headphones have really astounded me with their packaging this year: the MEE P1 Pinnacle and the 1MORE E1001 Triple Driver—their EO323 dual driver is no slouch either. The Pinnacle had set the bar extremely high on packaging, but the 1MORE E1001 may have outdone it. Instead of the a gullwing enclosure, 1MORE presents an antique book filled with sketches reminiscent of a middle aged Da’Vinci, or, more likely, Luca Bignardi, the Italian multiple Grammy winner who lends his production ear to tuning these bijou ear candy. There is a palpable air of discovery as each carefully arranged compartment is opened. The 8 extra sets of eartips (8 varieties in 5 sizes) have their own compartment stashed tightly behind the headphones. The luxuriously textured carry case receives it’s own case, as do the rose gold clad airline adapter and tie clip. Hidden in the bottom corner are a 1MORE bear sticker and some promotional materials. This is a gift box that is just made to be opened slowly and enjoyed. Make sure whomever you are giving this to isn’t an impatient little git and if it’s for you, take your time—slow down, you move too fast.
 

 
 
 

 
 
After you get through all the unwrapping gifs on giphy, it’s time to actually get some personal time with these. Full undressing below.
 
 

Matchmaker, matchmaker

Do you have weird shaped ears that fight viciously with tips on IEMs? Sorry ‘bout that. Well, maybe not. 1MORE has got you covered. There is a tip to match everybody in this thing. The tip sizes range from extra small to large with two sizes of medium in the middle. It was a good thing there were two medium sizes, because, in a departure from my normal, I wasn’t the size that was already fitted to the big honking nozzles. If you have miniscule canals, fit may be an issue on these. The included tip sizes are described by their measurement, which is great, because now I can bring my tiny tape-measure whenever I’m trying new tips and see how likely they are to fit. 13mm, that’s the ticket.
 
When I first tried on the tips fitted to the nozzle, they fit, but were slowly falling out of my ears and I couldn’t wear them cable up. It’s amazing how much a 1mm increase in size matters. I tried all the tips included and some other tips I’ve got laying around (Spinfit and Comply)—I like the stock silicones and Spinfit best. This is two out of three 1MORE in-ears that have had fabulous included tips. The 1MORE EO323 dual driver also had a good tip selection, but the iBFree is a bit of a disappointment.
 

 
The case that is included looks like it is supposed to sit in a shirt pocket with a cigarette popping out in some sort of Kool era James Dean imagery. Oh! to be back when death sticks could be advertised during family hour! Now you just get financial death pharmaceutical ads. What can you do—even youtube is loaded up with ads. Back to the case—as I said in my E0323 review, the vertical loading of the case actually makes it easier to tangle the cable. A cable wrap, or a horizontal loading would relieve some of that tangle danger.
 
A shirt clip is included, but it’s just a blingier version of the one that came with EO323 and still just as useless in practice.
 

I love gold… and tactile elements, sort-of

 
I’m a big fan of rose gold and gold coloured IEMs and DAPs. I don’t know when I got so much into bling. I don’t remember really caring much in the past. When it came to headphones before, everything was black and/or silver. The capsules are all metal, with part being a lovely dark purple colour (my pair are not black) and the rest being gold—purple and gold were my High School and College colours (colors where I’m from).
 
 
Anybody whose read some of my front page reviews has probably noted that I really like tactile elements that allow you to find which earpiece is left and right in the dark. 1MORE accomplishes this in two ways: first, the remote is on the right; second, there is a little rubber lip on the edge of the metal downtube on the right side. I approve.
 
The cable is also textured on the top section, which, while feeling nice in the hand and giving a more premium ambiance, is actually a negative. The cable has vertical corrugations that I found rubbed on my jacket a bit with the textured surface causing more friction and therefore more microphonic noise than a smooth cable generally does.
 
I found the triple drivers easy to wear for extended periods of time both in the up and down positions. Isolation was pretty average.
 

Audio quality

All audio comparisons were done with matched volume at 78dB using white noise and an SPL meter. I gave the 1MORE E1001 a bit of run-in to let the drivers settle. I think these have about 40 hours of neopolitan noise—like the ice cream, pink, brown, white—and about 60-70 or so hours of music playback. These phones have been my companions for the better part of two weeks with a some interludes to listen to more exotic fayre.
 
The 1MORE E1001 is a nice lively sounding IEM with a little bit of extra bass emphasis. It does a good job portraying delicate mids and adds a touch of creamy sweetness. The soundstage has nice development in layers, especially in the mids. Guitar plucks are carried with force on acoustic tracks with good natural decay. The details in the mids are very nicely rendered. Like bacon grease, they just make everything cooking around them taste good. Bass, on the other hand has a tendency towards a bit of bloom and boom with some chunkiness to the overall presentation. Soundstage width and depth are fairly average, with a bit of above average height on top.
 
Listening to Regina Spektor – Fidelity I get the big bass at the beginning, but the rough edges and distortion have been smoothed over a bit in the bass. The bass lacks the detail and texture to convey the oversteps in the recording. The bass is a little bloomy, and decidedly not HiFi on this track. Mids are nicely forward. Cymbals have some shimmer, but sound a touch thin. Some of this is the recording, but I would also describe the E1001 as having a bit of a bass and mid-forward signature, with slightly recessed treble. Sometimes this will make mids sound a bit thin and treble not as sparkly when things get busy.
 
Switching to the UERR gives a bit more defined bass, though the bass character remains similar on the track. A bit boomy/bloomy. UERR gives a better composure of the treble with longer decay on cymbals and guitar plucks that are more natural.
 
Damien Rice has a haunting and enchanting voice and solid instrumentation on everything he does. So it is understandable that when I saw 9 for £0.34 in a charity shop (3 CDs for £1), I grabbed it and some random Pavarotti and BBC orchestral stuff. Damien is the star, no doubt. If I want to feel emotionally vulnerable and conflicted, all I need to do is listen to The Animals Were Gone and Elephant. The 1MORE E1001 does a beautiful job displaying these two songs. Damien’s voice is warm, but not woolly. The bass is still a bit unfocused, but the mids are silky, nicely defined, imminently romantic and heartbreaking. “Waking up without you, is like drinking from an empty cup.” When I look at my daughter doing this for fun, it isn’t heartbreaking, but Damien Rice isn’t drinking from an empty cup in some sort of toddler fantasy land with dreams of milky joy dazzling in the remaining shiny places of his poet mind—he’s waking up to an empty life, the animals are gone and so is she. Is the cup empty because it has all been drank up—served it’s purpose—or is it empty because there is nothing in the house to drink. Maybe it’s both. The UERR has more warmth in the vocals but less in the bass. The 1MORE EO323 dual driver is more delicate in the mids, but the bass strums get a bit more woolly.
 
The Noble Kaiser Encore is more delicately textured than the UERR, with finer vocals wielding sharper defined edges, but less warmth. It’s almost like the classic vinyl/digital comparison, but here’s the thing: most vocalists don’t sound warm in person at least not the kind of warm that is usually associated with vinyl characteristics, so the Noble Encore is probably more realistic in the mids. I haven’t seen Damien live, so can’t completely tell you.
 
On David Bowie – Tis a Pity She Was a Whore there is good definition of the high notes for the 1MORE and good speed in dealing with all the percussive elements that Bowie sprinkles all over the stage. There is nice shimmer on cymbals and the sound, whilst busy, never seems overwhelmed. On Lazarus, the intro drums have good depth to their strikes and the bass comes off funky, but still a bit loose. Mids are still the star of the show here, and are thrown a bit forward. When you got a nice face, you should let it show, 1MORE knows these things have a pretty mug.
 
Switching on the Meze 12 Classics with Lazarus, the sound is smoother. The bass is a bit more focused and the overall sound is warmer. Saxophone has a more vinyl kind of sound to it, what I’ve commonly heard referred to as an analogue sound (which is BS because all sound is analogue). The sound on the Meze 12 is comfortable, a bit pillowy. The soundstage is smaller and more focused than the E1001. Percussion on Tis a Pity She Was a Whore is softer, less dynamic. The Meze 12’s retain the lovely layered mids that is a staple of the Meze sound.
 
With the UERR depth and instrument placement is much more precise. The vocals are less euphonic and more analytical, while still retaining some subtle warmth. There is way more air and space in the stage with the UERR. The mids are more restrained on the UERR than the E1001, but the E1001 doesn’t go overboard, it just pushes it’s star forward—that pretty face. The body on the bottom end is still a bit more Sir Mix Alot than Victoria’s Secret.
 

 
I also did some comparison with the EO323. The EO323 has bigger bass, but it lacks the mids clarity that the E1001 has. It is a bit slower sounding when listening to some Dragonforce. Compared to the the E1001, the EO323 is dark and cloudy, like a thunderstorm without any lightning strikes to illuminate the centre of the camera frame. The build quality of the EO323 is also a full level below. While the E1001 has a fully metal shell and black silicone on the right earphone to let you know which is right, the EO323 has cheap feeling plastic where the copper/golden metal is on the E1001. The plastic on the EO323 has discoloured slightly since I got them, as has the cable. It isn’t on the level of old Super Nintendos, but it is noticeable. For $30 more, the E1001 is a no brainer.
 

 
 
Compared to the RHA ma750 the bass is a bit tighter, the mids less lush, and soundstages are comparable. The sound is more focused on the E1001, but both options are excellent sounding for the under $100 crowd. In the Fidue A65, 1MORE E1001, and the RHA ma750, I’m absolutely spoiled for choice under $100. The A65 is a little bit smoother and more balanced than either the 1MORE E1001 and RHA ma750, but it doesn’t have the depth that either of the other offerings give in sound stage. The 1MORE is the sharpest and most precise sounding with the clearest midrange and treble, but it may be more crispy than some like. The RHA ma750 is lush and inviting, but can lack focus in the bass. Only a fool expects a perfect headphone for under $100, and each of these headphones is absolutely excellent for the money, warts and all.
 

Conclusions

The E1001 is bangin’ like an 808, selling lots of real-estate for your buck.
 

 
People now are so darn lucky. There are just so many excellent headphones for not much dough now. The 1MORE E1001 is one such excellent value proposition. The 1MORE E1001 has a clear, well balanced sound with a touch more bass than neutral—which is what most folks prefer anyway. This triple driver from China easily makes it into my top headphones under $100, and most of the time, I prefer the crisp sound of these to other offerings I’ve got in the running; for that reason, these elevate to a 5. This is just too much value for under $100 (£100 on uk.1MORE.com and amazon.co.uk)--I think a cybermonday deal may still be running on 1MORE's UK site (CYBERMONDAY20). You should have one of these in your collection, if only to show neophytes what they are missing when they buy 5 sets of cheap headphones in a year instead of learning to take care of their stuff and buying one set of 1MORE E1001 Triple Drivers.

Acknowledgment 

Thank you HiFiMAN for providing this review unit on loan in exchange for my honest opinion.

Introduction       

HiFiMAN has been around a long time now. They’ve gone from bargain OEM to one of the best and brightest headphone manufacturers in the world. Personally, I have a long history with HiFiMan.
In 2009, I had gotten tired of my $70ish Sony IEMs (can’t remember which ones they were and tossed them long ago) and was looking for a new pair of budget headphones to play out of my PSP—dated. Through |joker|’s thread, I discovered the RE0, and through the extinct Head-direct website, I got my first pair of audiophile headphones for $80. It was a really good deal, and the start of something beautiful and terrible, a love and lust for new audiophile gear. In a way, HiFiMAN provided me with my gateway drug, and all of you on HeadFi are now regretting it.
 
My first post on HeadFi after years of lurking was a 3 way review comparing the RE0 to two closed circumaural headphones: the Shure SRH-440 and the KRK-KNS 8400. It did pretty well.
I’ve listened to a lot of HiFiMAN gear, and still have my RE0. The HE-6 is probably my favourite headphone of all time when properly driven, and the HE-1000 is among my current favourites in production headphones—I haven’t been able to do side by side with the Focal Utopia or Mr. Speakers Ether (C) Flow, so can’t state that the HE-1000 are my favourite outright. With all the listening I’ve done, I hadn’t yet had the opportunity to do a true review of some HiFiMAN gear, so when they called for reviewers, I jumped, in spite of a busy review queue that will keep me occupied till Christmas.
 
The MegaMini is currently in the midst of a crowdfunding campaign on IndieGoGo. Get it a little cheaper, if you like. The lowest price available at time of writing is $229, the campaign lists MSRP as a startling $300.
 
What follows next is some lyrical prose about my audiofoolery, audiophilery, perspective and preferences. Everyone is biased and I believe that our biases should be transparent. Read below the spoiler if you want to get cosy with me and my biases before you read my reviewing.
 
 

Vital Statistics (specs from manufacturers and distributors)

So what does the manufacturer have to say about this piece of kit? Sometimes it’s enlightening, sometimes not. First, here are some measurements. HiFiMAN didn’t provide the output impedance value, which is pretty ridiculous as it significantly affects sound and purchasing decisions for those in the know about impedance mismatches.
 
 
HiFiMAN founder, Fang Bian provides some information about the SuperMini and MegaMini in a letter:
 

Within the past two to three days, there has been some discussion online about the HIFIMAN SuperMini and MegaMini that I feel contains misinformation about the technology we use. So in the interest of clearing up any confusion and to make everyone comfortable in their consideration of our players, I offer the following clarifications.
 
HIFIMAN new player SuperMini and MegaMini: Single thread mode
 
A portable music player (PMP) is actually a mobile computer. There are a lot of portable music players that use an Android or Linux operating system. These systems are in multi-thread mode: CPU executes multiple processes or threads concurrently. Multiple threads can interfere with each other when sharing hardware resources, which creates jitter when playing music.
 
In computer programming, single threading is the processing of one command at a time. Instead of developing the music player software on existing Android or Linux operation system, the HIFIMAN team has developed its own embedded operating system. Specifically, HIFIMAN SuperMini and MegaMini are portable music players working in “single thread mode” most of the time; only some very small tasks such as displaying and button responses are running on multi-thread mode sometimes. More than 95% working time, they work as single threading so that their jitter level is much less than that of an Android or Linux PMP.
 
Reference:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thread_(computing)
 
About Gapless
 
When a PMP is playing music as gapless, current technology has to play music and read the next track simultaneously. That way it will play the next track as soon as it finishes playing the first track. Therefore, it is a multi-threading process.
 
The current beta version firmware of SuperMini and MegaMini cannot support Gapless. However, the HIFIMAN team has figured out a way to support gapless playback in single thread processing. In other words, there is no more jitter generated when a HIFIMAN SuperMini or MegaMini player is working as gapless. We plan to launch it in the official version firmware before the end of the year.
 
Supporting Exfat SD card
The current SuperMini and MegaMini cannot directly run an Exfat format SD card however you can format it in the player and support 64, 128 and 256G SD card without any problems. We are currently working on supporting Exfat and will support it in the official version firmware later this year.
 
If anyone has any questions, or would like further information, please contact customerservice@HIFIMAN.com. Thank you for your support.
 
Best Regards,
Fang
 

Click to expand...

 
I’m not sure I buy the threading argument being made. I highly doubt any differences would be audible. Unfortunately, I don’t have player handy that I know uses multi-threading—but the DX50 does do gapless. If I had this thing permanently, I could wait till I get delivered the Cyberdrive Seiun Pro X next month and see what it has to say about all this threading stuff. I certainly remember the Android based Opus Audio Opus #1 sounding epically transparent and I’d bet that used multi-threading.

Form & Function

Form

 
The MegaMini lives up to its name. It’s tiny and light in the hand. It melts into your pocket like nothing is even there. The MegaMini has bevelled edges that look quite classy and give a feeling of grip and control in the hand. In a neat touch, the side buttons light up with a faint glow, like a will-o’-the-wisp leading you to dreams or death, depending on whether you subscribe to Disney or folklore—it’s quite pleasing to hold. I like the sharp edges.
 
 
 
The button layout is easy to figure out with good labels on the front buttons—take note SuperMini—but no labels on the side buttons. In contrast, the SuperMini has no labels on the front buttons and full labels on the side. The MegaMini I’m holding is a pre-production version, so hopefully it will have complete labels when it goes into production. The front buttons are for navigating the menus and for play, pause, skip track, last track, forward and backward seeking, selecting shuffle/repeat modes and adding tracks to favourites.
 
The headphone out, microSD slot, and microUSB charging point are on the bottom. The microSD slot helpfully has a little indent to make it easier to get the card to the somewhat deep point where it locks into place. The screen on this is colour, but looks like a shrunken version of the GameBoy Color circa 1998.
 
 

Function

 
 
 
The operating system on the MegaMini is rudimentary, but functional. Menus are easily navigated using the keys. Holding down the < and > keys allows quick scrolling of menus, and also can be used in playback (Now playing screen) to scroll forward or backward through the current song. In both modes, tapping either button causes the corresponding forward or backward movement. Holding the back button (far left) takes you back to the main menu. Tapping the power button turns the screen on and off. Hold the power button to power off completely. There is no sleep mode, so inactivity will drain your battery fully if you forget about it.
 
 
Holding the play button, O, during playback calls up a menu that allows you to choose shuffle and repeat options, which is nice. These options can also be found in the settings menu. Shuffle is either on or off. After checking, it shuffles whatever organisation level you are at in a random or pseudo-random with replacement order. For example, if I go into my Genre menu and select Indie, the artist Architecture in Helsinki, and the album In Case We Die with shuffle on it will shuffle just that album; if I select All Albums instead of a specific album, all albums will shuffle. If you want to shuffle all songs on the player, this can be done by selecting All Songs on the main menu with shuffle on. However, there is no option to just shuffle all artists in the Indie genre, or to shuffle an upper level folder. It would be nice if both options worked. If you want all songs to be shuffled, you can do that by having shuffle on and then choosing the menu option, All Songs. Repeat works in a similar fashion, you can repeat all albums of an artist or one, but you can’t repeat everything in a genre or everything in a folder. Holding the play button outside of playback allows you to add tracks to your favourites when in a menu area with tracks. This favourites list is the only semblance of a playlist option on the player.
 
The playback screen is functional, but I question why it needed to be colour. The colour looks very 8 bit, and doesn’t have any cover art. Why is there a CD square in the middle of the playback screen with no cover art? It makes no sense to me. A black and white screen, like that on the SuperMini, likely would have saved some battery life and been just as functional. This isn’t a froo froo screen or a froo froo player, we shouldn’t pretend like either are true. Stick to the no frills presentation, I say. [Edit: after looking at Brooko's review there appears to be some way to get images in, but it doesn't work for me--this probably can be fixed with a firmware update]
 
I formatted two cards using the MegaMini player and it was fast at formatting. It was not fast at importing the library and didn’t give me a status bar to tell me how long it would take. I didn’t want to sit watching it, but I know it took well over ten minutes to do 200GB. Hitting update databases in the settings menu reads the whole card again, not just the files that have changed. I tried 128GB and 200GB cards from Sandisk in the MegaMini and had no problems. One thing that threw me, is the player didn’t catch all my tags, leading to some of my favourite tracks falling in the “unknown” category.
 
I charged the player a several times and it took 1 hour 30 minutes when I timed it, and seemed consistent on charging time on other charges. The battery life on the MegaMini is dismal. When listening exclusively to 24/96 it only got 5 hours and 45 minutes; when playing mostly 16/44 FLAC it only got 7 hours 50 minutes (there was a little under an hour of 24/96-192). That just won’t do for a DAP, I draw the line at 8 hours, and this DAP didn’t come close to that under a moderate load. The 15 hour time posted on the Kickstarter is dubious. There is no way they were playing the MegaMini at a reasonable listening volume with any high bitrate music—which is one of the reasons for buying a dedicated DAP and not just using your iPhone. The numbers are a distortion.

Audio quality

Much like Brooko, I’d contend that a good DAC is neutral, but not passionless. A properly tuned DAC won’t have much in the way of bass/mids/treble differences to deal with, it’ll let the headphone speak, for the most part. Where I find differences in DAC/DAPs, the differences are often subtle, but not always. I find that where a DAC/Amp implementation can make a difference is noise levels, blackness of background, soundstage, and impedance matching. Outside of impedance matching, I think these primarily relate to distortion and treble performance, but I’m no audio engineer, nor do I play one on TV. Damn it Jim, I’m an audio-reviewer not a…
 
 
The MegaMini has good sound quality, but for those who have sensitive IEMs or sensitive ears, it will hiss. When I used the Vibro Labs Maya with the MegaMini, hiss was very audible. The Maya has 114 dB/mw sensitivity and 12Ω impedance. When using the UERR, I didn’t perceive any hiss issues. At low volumes there was a tiny bit of hiss, but nothing too objectionable.

Comparisons

For comparisons using the Maya I volume matched using a dB meter and white noise to 78dB, for the Maya, and 72dB for the UERR. I found that because the insertion is deeper on the UERR, I don’t need as much volume. All tests were done with single-ended outputs as I had no way to keep cables consistent across single-ended and balanced mode operation. My general approach to comparisons is to control for the variables that I can so that my comparisons are as fair as they can be.
 

SuperMini

The sound signature of these two is nearly or completely indiscernible to me at matched volumes. I tested with the Vibro Labs Maya, and couldn’t consistently tell a difference between the two players’ signatures, which is a good thing, they are both fairly neutral players. Both players have some low level hiss with the Maya, but I think this is going to the case for the Maya on many rigs—I got some soft hiss at low volumes with the Maya on the iBasso DX50 also. I thought I heard a bit more depth and body in the SuperMini, but that may be expectation bias, as I’ve already read @Brooko’s excellent review of the SuperMini and the measurements show lower distortion, which in my experience has usually improved depth. Short story shorter: I can’t confirm any differences between the Minis whilst using the Maya.
 
Switching to the UERR, the SuperMini sounds like it has a little bit bigger soundstage when listening to Amber Rubarth doin’ some Tom Waits on Hold On. Differences are small and still subject to all the biases that come with non-blinded testing. It might all just be in my head, and not just because the UERR are several mm closer to my brain than the Maya.
I like the simple black and white screen on the SuperMini better. Navigation is basically the same between them, but the playback screen tells me more on the SuperMini. I found the CD picture in the middle of the MegaMini screen pointless given that I didn’t see cover art for any album in my library and I’m not sure the resolution of the little screen on the MegaMini would do cover art any favours anyway.
 

iBasso DX50

Up to the point of this comparison, I had been listening to everything on the two Minis. I had settled into the sound like an old recliner and let the cushions envelope me. When reviewing I think it is really important to give yourself time to get used to the sound of a player or headphone before you step into comparisons. I think that this eliminates potential bias against the review item and lets you enter comparisons comfortable to the sound, like that old easy chair. This getting accustomed period also has its benefits in comparisons: it makes differences between comparators more stark, which allows better clarity in defining the characteristics of the review item. There are lots of differences between the MegaMini and the DX50.
 
The DX50 absolutely destroys the MegaMini on sound. In comparison, the MegaMini soundstage is small, and the sound is thin and muted sounding. The DX50 has more body and a more engaging organic dynamic sound. Highs are more extended, lows have more texture and body, and overall the sonic portraiture is more refined with a more tightly woven tapestry of notes. The MegaMini is smooth and easy going. The MegaMini sounds good, buti It isn’t a close comparison to the DX50, sonically.
 
Playing Pink Floyd – Dark Side of the Moon on both players makes me distinctly aware of how much not having implemented gapless sucks for the MegaMini. Floyd just doesn’t work well in gapped playback—the staccato breaks between songs are obnoxious and take you out of the extended enveloping moment that is Dark Side of the Moon.
 
The iBasso DX50 kicks the MegaMini around the block on features. It has more power. It has adjustable gain, it has a removable battery, it has standalone DAC functionality, it has gapless (HiFiMAN says they will add gapless to the MegaMini later), it has a touchscreen that is pretty easy to use alongside great physical buttons, it has a removable battery, and it supports USB OTG. There is no question that the iBasso DX50 is the better player on features.
 

Conclusions

The main selling features of the MegaMini are tiny size, excellent build quality, a variety of formats played, a good UI, decent sound, and advertised 15 hour battery life. In my two battery drain tests, I didn’t get anywhere near 15 hours and I really question the methods that they generated that estimate with, so we can strike that last one.
 
The player is limited on features: no gapless, no USB DAC, no USB OTG, no line out, no equaliser, no gain adjustment. Some of these could be added via firmware update, and I know that gapless is already in the works. They can’t add a line out to the player, and I highly doubt that two of my favourite DAP features: USB DAC capability, and USB OTG are in the cards.
 
Before comparing this to the DX50, I was prepared to give it 4 stars, after the comparison, the sonic deficiencies of the player were laid bare. I can’t give this 4 stars. This player is a 3 to 3.5 star player. I’m rounding down in this case. Price is a looming reason why the rating declines for me.
 
I think that the main selling point for this is its diminutive size. For those looking for an ultraportable DAP, there are other options out there that are less expensive with comparable feature sets. I suggest auditioning players like the Lotoo PAW 5000 and the XDUOO X3. Both will now cost you less, and offer some features that are lacking on the MegaMini, but both will also lose you tagged browsing. The X3ii is also an objectively better player with a lower price, if you are okay with a little bit larger form factor. If HiFiMan sold this for $150 instead of $250 ($300 MSRP according to IndieGoGo campaign), I think they would compete better with other offerings that are out there.

[size=24.57px]Acknowledgment  [/size]

Thanks iFi for lending me this review unit in exchange for my honest opinion. It was a good few weeks.

This review was originally posted on audioprimate.blog.

Introduction

This is my fifth review of a piece of iFi gear. I’ve previously reviewed the Micro iUSB3.0 (own it), the Micro iDAC2, the Micro iDSD Black Label and the iPurifier2 (extreme value for money and good performance) (links are to the reviews). I’ve also had brief listens to the Micro iDSD and the Micro iCAN, so I feel like I’ve got a good idea of what iFi has to offer now, and it’s generally good, though only the Micro iDSD Black Label has reached anywhere near the wow factor of the first product I reviewed, the Micro iUSB3.0. That thing is audio voodoo and I don't practice Santeria.

I think it is appropriate that reviews begin with an introduction to the author. While we who take up the click-clack board in front of the insomniac blue light glow of the monitor are not generally great writers of fiction or journalistic endeavours, our perspective is often as important. While our bias won’t shape the world like the bias of a talking head, a reviewer’s bias can lead to one miscalculating the value of expensive purchases. So make sure to check out my bio before reading on.

Useability: Form & Function

The iCAN SE comes in the same 2 ½ pack of cards size as the rest of the iFi Micro product line. This consists of a uniquely contoured aluminum chassis, some rubber stick on feet, and cables coming out the back and the front. The inputs on the back include a 3.5mm input and a pair of RCA jacks, all you need for some ear-blastin’ fun. The iPower adaptor feeds into the back of the amp, which I like much more than the front orientation on the iDAC2. On the front of the amp we have an iFi standard aluminum volume pot, the aforementioned switches for XBass and 3D HolographicSound, and a 6.3mm headphone jack. On the review unit that I received the switches weren’t perfectly flush with the front face of the case, one faced slightly down and the other slightly up. This cosmetic blemish had no effect on performance.

The box includes the following:

1. iPower 15w
2. Generic 3.5mm to 3.5mm flat cable
3. Generic RCA to RCA cable
4. The Micro iCAN SE
5. 4 clear rubber feet (thou shalt not countest 3…, and 5 is right out)

 

 
The Micro series has two camps on portability, units requiring external power that aren’t really portable in the way I think of portable; and units that don’t need a wall wart that are on the big edge of portable. The iCAN SE falls into the former category for me. It needs the big wall wart and either an RCA cable or a 3.5mm to 3.5mm (or RCA) cable, which makes it something you can move about, but that you’ll most likely just keep at home. The iDAC2 and the Micro iDSD are truly portable, the iCAN SE is not, in my opinion.

The gain is adjusted by some switches on the bottom. I found the switches to be clearly explained and the effect of the switches noticeable, but not always positive. With the HD600, 24db gain caused loud buzzing with the volume pot at zero. Even when driving the HE6, I didn’t switch the gain past 12db as it caused degradation of the sound. These have power to spare, that 24db gain is totally unnecessary. On more sensitive headphones and IEMs, I don’t think that the gain should be turned up. I heard buzzing and there was very little play in the volume pot. The volume pot has buttery smooth volume control; cheers, iFi, on a very well-selected component. The Heron 5’s stepped attenuator is not nearly as smooth with volume going in little leaps.

This is where I would normally insert a table of all the sexy pictures, but “my dog at my homework.” Whilst sorting pictures of surfing and climbing the Cheese Ring with Trekasaurus on a recent visit to Cornwall and Devon I didn’t realise that I hadn’t already transferred my pictures of the iCAN SE to my computer and so deleted them from my memory card. This means I’ve only got one of my own pictures…from another review…heavily cropped…quite blurry—ick.

However, life is about taking the lemons you got and making sweet sweet lemonade. There are a few other people who’ve reviewed the iCAN SE on HeadFi, so the pictures below function as citations to these other reviews. It’s good to read a variety of perspectives.

From @thatonenoob’s excellent comparative review of iCAN and iCAN SE (my favourite of the current reviews)

Ostewart’s very positive review	Dadracer’s quick impressions	More Ostewart, that guy takes great pictures.

Audio quality

I should start with a caveat to this section. At the same time that I got the iCAN SE to review, I also had the Airist Audio Heron 5 on loan ($1000 desktop amp), which I loved so much that I bought it. The iCAN SE is something beautiful, but the Heron 5 just wanted to destroy it.



The ample shadow of the Heron 5 probably biased me a little against the iCAN SE. I enjoyed the iCAN SE and think it is good for $299, but it didn’t make me look at my sagging empty wallet and ask “what happens to a dream deferred?”

I tested the iCAN SE with some upper echelon headphones, and my humble HD600. Headphones tested during this review included the following: HD600 (tights/panty-hose mod), HD800 (modded and improved), HE6 (grills removed), the AKG K1000, and the ERIB-2a. I did comparisons between the iCAN SE and the Heron 5 diligently, and with a buddy.

I found the iCAN SE to have a good soundstage that left me wanting more without engaging the 3D switch, my preferred sound was basically always with the 3D switch on. I found that I basically always wanted XBass and 3D switched on. It appeared to me that how 3D works is by boosting parts of the treble to make the sound more airy, but I don’t have the tools to measure this; it would be nice if someone who does, like Tyll Herstens had a go with these. I think that XBass works in a similar way, it boosts a few selected frequencies. I think iFi did well on their targeted ranges.

Since the Heron 5 and the iCAN SE arrived on the same day, I basically went back and forth between the two amps at the beginning. When using the same headphone this can even be done with some crude volume matching. I did volume matching at ~80db using white noise when I compared with the HE6, and ran both out of the Chord Mojo fed from my Micro iUSB3.0 with a LH Labs Lightspeed 1 Micro USB cable. This means that each amp was being fed about as good material as was possible. Other setups won’t reach the level of clarity or soundstage you get with this combo.

My initial listening with the iCAN SE was with the HD600 (without volume matching), which did not need any gain. In fact, applying gain was detrimental to the sound. At 0db gain the sound was clear and well-textured, 12db gain lost some clarity, and 24db introduced buzzing at low volumes. The 24db gain wasn’t necessary on the HE6 or the K1000, so I’m not sure it even needs to be a feature unless you just like to explode your ears into Nickelodeon slime. There is no question that the amp has lots of power. I found that the Heron 5 was more transparent, balanced, and had a larger more holographic soundstage, but it should for $700 more MSRP. The iCAN SE had more forward vocals that I think many people will enjoy, as I quite enjoyed them.

On one of my favourite test tracks, Roger Waters – Late Home Tonight, Part I, I can hear a cow about 25 seconds into the mix with the Heron 5, I don’t notice it with the iCAN SE. The song has a domestic scene unfolding in Tripoli with transitions between rooms and the street. These transitions are less distinct on the iCAN SE and I can’t pick out the placement of subtle details anywhere near as well. After listening to the Heron 5 the sound of the iCAN SE isn’t as revealing. The iCAN SE was more forgiving of poorer source material, though, like The Darkness.

Using the iCAN SE, the HE6 needed 12db gain to sound natural. The HE6 sounded muffled without it. The iCAN SE has an energetic signature with the HE6 and is forgiving of source material. Perla Batalla – Bird on a Wire from the I’m Your Man Official Movie Soundtrack exhibits some recorded hiss on the Heron 5, but not on the iCAN SE. Transitioning to Why – Strawberries the soundstage feels a bit flat on the iCAN SE, instruments share space rather than having their own designated position in the mix.

City of the Sun – To the Sun and All the Places in Between sounds much better on the Heron 5. The iCAN SE doesn’t have nearly as deep an image or as refined a sound. It does do the ethereal backing vocals on this track beautifully. The iCAN SE will drive the HE6 to earbleeding volumes. It is all I want for volume at a bit past noon on the volume pot. Switching to the AKG K1000, the volume pot is jacked to 2/3 on the same 12db gain. The iCAN SE gives the K1000 all the power it needs. The HD800 sounds best on this track. It has the best soundstage, the most precise crisp notes, and the ethereal backing vocals absolutely soar. At this point I started doing more experimentation with the switches. The 3D switch made the sound more engaging, and was consistently an improvement. It also improved soundstage depth. Another listener observed that the sound was ‘dull’ without the 3D switch. I didn’t think it was dull (with the HD800, at least), but it was much more interesting with it engaged. XBass to one dot was an improvement in the sound, especially on drum strikes. XBass at three dots was overbearing and unpleasant to me with the HD800, specifically (ERIB-2a liked three dots). I like lean muscular bass—Brad Pitt bass, not lasagne eating Garfield on the couch bass (Trekasaurus challenged me to work lasagne into a review, victory is mine). Don’t worry, the iCAN SE isn’t flabby like Garfield, and it’s smarter than Odie or John Arbuckle. It also has some punch like our dag slinging caravan selling friend in Snatch.

Brad:

Garfield:

I only had a short amount of time with the HE6/K1000/HD800 pantheon of headphones, but I did have a lot of time with one of my favourite IEMs, the oBravo ERIB-2a (a polarizing IEM, listen before buying). The ERIB-2a’s notable characteristics are an open-headphone expansive soundstage, well defined beautiful mids, excellent instrument placement, with nice treble sparkle, but a bit bass shy. The bass has good quality (texture, decay, etc…) but is low in quantity. My initial listening with the iCAN SE was with the LH Labs Geek Out V2. It took about 52% on the volume knob with 0db gain to power the ERIB-2a to where I like them. I cycled through switch settings more when doing this listening session.

With no switches engaged, the sound is a touch bass light. The soundstage has good width, but is a bit flat. The treble sounds a touch dull. Flipping the 3D switch to one dot makes the sound a bit brighter. Flipping the switch to three dots makes the sound airier with better depth and height and crisper treble. Three dots is a big improvement, I really enjoyed the amp with full 3D engaged. One dot on the bass gives a slight increase in drum presence. Three dots makes the ERIB-2a sound more like I want them to sound, the ERIB-2a would definitely be described as bass shy and need a good pairing. On City of the Sun – Brothers the iCAN SE sounds a bit dull without the switches flipped.

I did further comparisons with some stuff that is more in the price range of the iCAN SE. Compared to the LH Labs Geek Out 1000, the iCAN SE has better soundstage depth and clarity. It sounds pretty darn good. I like both of these amps, but the iCAN SE is better. Listening to the not great recording of The Darkness – Black Shuck, the guitars sound brittle on both amps (again, not a great recording, not the fault of the amps), but better on the iCAN SE. Here I note that 3D enhances width more than depth, and that the central image benefits most from the depth increase. When listening to The Beats, Man – Yummmmm, I need to have the switches engaged. The sound feels a bit dull without them, and truly lovely with them. The sound without the switches is almost like the music has been turned down. So I tested turning the volume up and it confirms this observation. I think that the switches selectively raise the volume of some frequencies. iFi has generally done a very good job placing these boosts.

I also preferred the iBasso DX50 without the iCAN SE to the DX50 feeding the iCAN SE, regardless of iCAN SE settings when listening to the ERIB-2a, but I think the ERIB-2a had some synergy going with the DX50 that I didn’t get on other sources.

Specifications

The folks at iFi Audio do a fantastic job describing their tech, and the tech description always sounds like foreign governments will be contracting them for their latest espionage endeavours. With all their stealth technology, I think they might actually be ninjas.

For the full skinny on the fat amplification power of the iFi Micro iCAN SE, you can check out iFi’s website—they have better graphics than me anyway. Here’s what iFi has to say, in brief:

The iCAN – Special Edition is a ‘specially-tuned’ version of the top-selling micro iCAN. Sonically, it boasts Class A, DirectDrive® and TubeState®. Features wise, it features a newly-refined XBass®, 3D Holographic® for headphones and 0dB, 12dB and 24dB Gain adjustment. Powered by the all-new iPower (15V), the special Turbo headamp® circuit pumps out 4,000mW to drive even the most demanding of headphones.

So let’s go over the differences:

1. iCAN SE has ten times the wattage of the original iCAN (4000mW versus 400mW)
2. The iCAN SE has cleaner power due to active noise cancellation on the 15w iPower that comes with the iCAN SE. The iPower tech is based on some French fighter jet technology designed to cancel out the sound of a jet engine. What chance does noisy wall power have?
3. The 3D HolographicSound® feature has been tweaked to not just expand the soundstage width, but also give a more ‘frontal location’. The claim is that this reduces fatigue in listening.
4. Class A tubestate: the sound is meant to emulate the sound of tubes in a solid state amp

Some elements are shared:

1. DirectDrive®: there are no output coupling capacitors in the signal path, and output impedance is 0.1 ohms.
2. XBass: a switch to boost normal bass headphones and bass shy headphones
3. Class A amplification for always on pure amplification

Specifications
Gain	0, 12, and 24 dB
Signal to noise ratio	>123dB(A)
Total harmonic distortion	<0.003%(400mV/150R)
Frequency response	0.5Hz to 500KHz(-3dB)
Output impedance
Output power	>4000mW(16Ω)
Output voltage	>10V (>600Ω)
Input voltage	AC 100 – 240V, 50/60Hz

Conclusions

I have mixed feelings about the iCAN SE. The price is excellent, and the performance is pretty good for a semi-portable amp with 4w of power. At its best it has a good soundstage with more width than depth. It is fairly clear and has a good sound. It has shedloads of power (two-sheds full at least) Given the great power of the iCAN SE, and there can be no doubt of that, I expected the top-of-the-line headphones to sing a bit more, but I was left in search of more blackbirds.

Yes, you can drive an HE6 or a K1000 with this (and probably the Abyss and LCD4), but if you are printing money to buy those headphones, you probably want to hear them at their best and probably have heard them at or near their best. I can’t imagine using my top-tier power hungry full-size cans while traveling, unless I had an amp that made them sing enough to make me feel like I couldn’t part with them. The iCAN SE is not that amp for me. It is an excellent amp for $299, but it is probably unreasonable to expect it to make the rare beasts above sound their best.

It’s a good amp. The XBass is a very nice feature for helping with slightly bass light headphones like the HD600. Whilst 3D sounded good, I didn’t like that I felt the need to have it on no matter what.

For me, the amp wasn’t at its best driving demanding headphones in spite of its copious amounts of power. This leaves the amp being judged on what it does with headphones that don’t need 4000mW of juice. While it outperforms my LH Labs Geek Out 1000 with less demanding headphones and not by a little bit, it didn’t outperform the DX50 for me on the ERIB-2a (which likes a lot of power).
 

 

 
[size=24.57px]Acknowledgment  [/size]

Thank you Lear for providing this review sample in exchange for my honest opinion.

This review may also be viewed on my blog, here.

List Price: $65 at time of review plus shipping

Introduction

I took an interest in the BTC-01 as soon as Lear announced it on HeadFi. In the last year and a bit I’ve reviewed more Bluetooth headphones than I ever thought I’d even listen to. After all, Bluetooth sound quality is definitely exceeded by wired sound quality. When I enquired about reviewing the BTC-01, Apple hadn’t yet put out their 3.5mm jackless iPhone 7. I hadn’t yet panned them for ignoring all us audiophiles.

What I later realised was that Apple nailed their consumer use-case. They were way ahead of the game when it came to what their consumers wanted and how their consumers were using Apple devices with headphones. Most folks using their phone as a source (which is 95% of people) are using their headphones on the go or in the gym. These are not critical listening settings. Even if you have a highly resolving headphone or two, and I certainly do, when you are on a bus or train, or running on a treadmill, that resolution advantage doesn’t come into play as much. Bluetooth sounds good enough for most times for most people. I now find myself applauding Apple for their move on sheer business acumen.

If you walk down the street, you’ll see a crap-ton of people wearing Frankenstein’s monster costumes—big-ass Bluetooth IEMs sticking out of their ears of probably questionable quality. Headphones that may be from Beats, or may be random pieces of kit from a grocery store or high street shop that is genuinely clueless when it comes to sound quality. It is really hard to find Bluetooth in-ears that don’t look stupid, especially from Apple (Apple owns Beats).





While making these observations, I’ve also observed that the average consumer does know a really good headphone when they hear them. They just haven’t heard them. I love to share this hobby with strangers and friends, but most of them will still be listening to crappy Bluetooth headphones because wires suck for use on the move. The Lear BTC-01 gives people the option to listen to good headphones with a lightweight detachable cable with built in balanced amplification. With the BTC-01 the need for bulky Frankenstein Bluetooth in-ears disappears. This is why I was so interested in it and products like it (there are a few now).

Useability: Form & Function

The BTC-01 is lightweight, flexible and comes in almost as many connector varieties as you could possibly have. They even do connectors for rarities like FitEar. Nice. That said, I had problems with my particular connector choice, 2-pin standard CIEM (2-Pin CM in Lear ordering parlance). The pins are on the large side and will loosen any standard 2-pin jack you put them in. I tried with three top-tier brands: Noble, Empire Ears, and Vibro Labs. I was able to get the pins to go in all the way on the Vibro Labs Maya, but I felt uncomfortable the whole time. It was not possible to get the pins all the way into the Noble Kaiser Encore. I gave up in fear. I was able to get sound out, and it sounded truly excellent, but I wasn’t about to risk more than ¼ insertion. As soon as I put the pins at the entry on an Empire Ears IEM, I knew that the pins weren’t going in and stopped. These problems with pin fit were why this review has been delayed so long.

On principle, a cable review is a relatively simple thing: how does it feel, how does it sound. That’s it. This review has dealt with some roadblocks, and that is why I’ve bitten the bullet and bought the least expensive most-reputable 2-pin IEM I could find: the KZ ED12. I got it off of Amazon.co.uk for £12.78 with Prime shipping. The KZ ED12 is a steal—a mind-blowing steal. It’s an excellent panacea for people who don’t know they are suffering from good audio withdrawal. The KZ also had fit problems with the pins—but the information on pin size for the KZ headphones isn’t there. They might have smaller Ultimate Ears sized pins with a Unique Melody polarity. I had to use all my might to fully insert the pins—I wasn’t worried about killing a 12 quid IEM, there was still a little bit of room at the end. After trying 4 brands of IEM manufacturer and having pin fit issues with all of them, I'm inclined to conclude that the Lear 2-pin has too much girth. My recommendation would be for Lear to buy a pair of Eidolic 2-pin connectors, measure those, and then make all their 2-pins that size. I’ve found Eidolic 2-pins to fit all the ‘CIEM’ type headphones. Barring that, it may be advisable to get some weight-watchers and lay off the KFC. Maybe some Sweatin’ to the Oldies might be in order. It appears that all the jacks by major manufacturers have already made the trip to Slimming World.

 

Pairing

I had no problems pairing the BTC-01 with most sources. I paired it with my ancient phone, my new phone (after old phone bricked), with several 3.5mm to Bluetooth dongles (Avantree Priva II is the best), my laptop, and the Echobox Explorer. Only the Echobox Explorer had problems. I’m inclined to think the source is the problem on this one, not the cable. The cable was also tested with an iPhone 7 when I let a friend use it with the KZ ED12.

Range

Something I have noted is that the range of a Bluetooth device is as dependent on the transmitter as the receiver. I think folks who make judgements against a Bluetooth headphone's range should always make sure their source has adequate range characteristics before blaming the headphone. Almost all my Bluetooth sources have about a 8-10m unobstructed range. That is about the range that I got with the BTC-01. No problems with max range here.

Audio quality

I’m going to start by saying something about bitrates. There is basically no audible difference between standard aptX and well implemented SBC. I’ve tested this on multiple headphones with multiple transmitters. The major sound differences in Bluetooth are due to the DACs inbuilt on the chips and the amplification associated at the headphone end. I’ve never seen any manufacturer disclose what they use for amplification. Lear uses an SBC capable chip, but you can’t hear the difference between approximately 320mbps and 348mbps, I can almost guarantee that. It is a myth that aptX is CD-quality. There is a reason that advertisements for aptX only say CD-like quality.

So some things to note: I’ve not encountered perfectly silent background Bluetooth, Bluetooth is not as good as wired, and in the typical Bluetooth usage situation, neither of these matter. You can generally hear the noise floor during critical listening with any Bluetooth IEM. The BTC-01 also exhibits a noise floor, but it is softer than other IEMs. The amplification is cleaner, with no distortion at any volume. High quality Bluetooth headphones from 1MORE that I have reviewed do not have clean amplification up to higher volumes, the same has been true of other Bluetooth headphones I’ve reviewed. Distortion sets in fiercely at moderately high volumes on other Bluetooth headphones. When using the BTC-01, I didn’t experience this.

The BTC-01 provides the clearest Bluetooth experience I’ve yet had, and the fact that you can use the cable with high end headphones means that these will scale. I had brief listens with the Maya and the sound of the Maya was nicely preserved. I observed similar quality preservation with the Noble Kaiser Encore, but I couldn’t fully insert the pins, I gave up at ¼ in. It was not a good enough insertion to even photograph. The KZ ED12 sounded excellent with the BTC-01.

Specifications

Specifications
Price	$65 plus shipping
Bluetooth version	4.0
Output power	30mW into 15Ω with balanced class AB amplification
Output impedance	≤ 0.9 mOhm
Battery Life	3-4 hours
Charging Time	30-50 minutes (can be used while charging)
Materials	OFC cable, Murata capacitors
Microphone	Built into the cable
Weight	~8g
Compatibility	Windows/Mac/iOS/Android (tested with all but Mac)

Some graphs from Lear:









As can be seen from the graphs, the output impedance is always under 1ohm, with lower impedances at lower frequencies but very linear output impedance for the most part. This should work well for almost all headphones as if we follow the rule of 8, headphones with an impedance of 7Ω or more should be compatible with no effect on the sound signature. Also in the graphs, we can see that the BTC-01 is tuned with a bit of a boosted high treble, this is likely responsible for the maintenance of an airy character in the sound. We can also see that the output power is higher than the referenced smart phone (unfortunately anonymous referenced smartphone). I would have like to know what the smartphone was, or to have a pool of averaged smartphone headphone outputs recorded with the models disclosed but only the average of all models shown—in this way there can be no perceived attack on any manufacturer’s headphone output.

Total harmonic distortion plus noise characteristics of the cable are good and fairly linear even under a heavy load. It is readily apparent that the BTC-01 handles load exceptionally well. What hasn’t been shown in the THD +N graph is what a typical Bluetooth headphone does when the volume is jacked up. From my experience, I would expect the distortion to be jacked up much higher, as it has been very audible and unpleasant on almost all Bluetooth headphones I’ve listened to. Given that people often will play their Bluetooth headphones loud, due to the listening environment that Bluetooth is used in, the stable amplification performance of the BTC-01 is very reassuring.

Conclusions

The BTC-01 is a very nice Bluetooth cable with clear sound and amplification that performs well under standard IEM loads. I had some significant problems with the pin size on the BTC-01 2-pin CM model, but I believe that this will be isolated to this size, is not all on Lear due to variance in the industry, and is easily remediable. For $65 plus shipping, I can certainly recommend it.
 

 

 

Acknowledgment   

Thanks 1MORE UK for providing this review sample in return for my honest opinion.
 

Introduction

Bluetooth is weird. There are a good many people who have stood on the position that all we need to hear is 320kbps MP3s. If this is so, than nobody needs the headphone jack and Apple has it right in getting rid of the archaic technology. Surely we should get rid of all technology that is more than 100 years old. My doorknob needs to be retired, as does my toilet. I don’t know what I’ll replace them with, but they are old technology, so they need to go—or so the marketing would have us believe. The billion dollar question is whether we need the wires.
I’ve reviewed 4 Bluetooth headphones now, not including the iBFree or the two further Bluetooth reviews I have on hand, and I’ve used 4 different transmitters during these reviews. I have generally found that wired performance is better than Bluetooth performance, but it isn’t night and day. On the go, in loud environments, Bluetooth may be preferable—you won’t hear the full fidelity of your music anyway.
 
The 1MORE iBFree is one of many Bluetooth headphones out there that use the aptX codec. For the purpose of this review, I think it is important that we understand what this means. According to a 2016 What HiFi? article, AptX HD Bluetooth: What is it? How can you get it?, aptX is a coding algorithm created in the 80s that was popular with film studios and radio broadcasters. AptX claims to be able to play ‘CD-like’ audio quality, but when we examine what this means. ‘CD-like’ is 352kbps lossy music. It isn’t much better than the best quality MP3s. AptX HD, the new poorly supported standard (only a couple headphones, not many transmitters), boasts a bitrate of 576kbps, and has the ability to play 24-bit/48kHz audio—it’s still compressed and lossy, but higher quality lossy. Qualcomm also claims lower distortion in the mids and treble regions—that would be spiffy. I’m not sure I get the point of aptX HD yet, but I’ll find out in the near future.
 
If you don’t have aptX you have a codec called SBC (subband coding). The Headphone List has an article that should be required reading for anyone thinking about their upcoming Bluetooth purchase. According to the linked article, SBC plays at a bitrate of 328kbps at a 44.1kHz sampling rate (at maximum quality), but with worse audio quality than a top quality 320kbps MP3. If you have an Apple device you may get AAC, which is designed to sound better than MP3 at similar bitrates.
 
The catch in all of this is that your ears will only get to hear the best codec that your transmitter and your receiver (the headphone) are capable of producing. If you are wielding an iPhone, aptX is just marketing, you don’t have it. If your phone doesn’t use it like the ZTE Axon 7, your aptX headphones will default to whatever quality SBC the phone is programmed to play—it might not be that 328kpbs high quality bitrate. Beyond this, headphones with aptX aren’t necessarily better. I have an Aukey Bluetooth USB dongle that has aptX low latency, but my older Avantree SBC only BTTC-200 is better sounding with less noise. My new Avantree Priva II transmitter is better than the Aukey also. Both Avantree transmitters sound better than my Samsung Galaxy Note 2, which has aptX.
Another factor plays into whether your Bluetooth set-up sounds any good. Unlike your wired headphones, your Bluetooth headphones have the Bluetooth receiver, a DAC and an amplifier (as well as batteries) in the earpiece(s) or attached to the earpiece(s). The quality of those components may mitigate the quality of your source. If the amplification isn’t clean to the drivers, your source isn’t really going to matter too much.
 
Wireless is just a lot more complicated than wired headphones. With wired headphones you know exactly what you are getting in the signal chain much of the time. This isn’t the case with Bluetooth headphones most of the time.
 

About the company

According to the Wall Street Journal, 1MORE was founded in 2013 by three former Foxconn executives with an in investment from Xiaomi, one of the largest mobile gear manufacturers in China among other venture capital investments. The company is based out of Shenzen, but has roots in the USA in San Diego—a really nice place to have roots with all the great beer, great food, great culture, great weather and endless beaches—and a distributorship in the UK. 1MORE aims to have a global brand to match Apple’s big bangin’ gorilla, Beats. Unlike Beats, 1MORE wants to make premium quality headphones at midrange prices, instead of making mediocre quality headphones at premium prices. As of the Wall Street Journal blog entry in 2015, achievements included 10 million in earphone sales in China, and I imagine since their triple driver won a couple of awards, that those sales numbers are way up.
 
 

Vital Statistics (specs from manufacturers and distributors)

This is where the marketing speak gets voice. Most of what’s in this section of my reviews isn’t my words. I generally use standard block quote methods to let you know what I’m not saying. Keep at attention to avoid confusion. The typos are original, I take no credit for them. As is standard, brackets means that the text is mine.
 
Quote

Lightweight Ergonomic Sport Design
Be free to enjoy your music while staying active. Oblique angled ear fittings naturally match your ear canals while 3 sets of included ear tip and sport grip sizes ensure a comfortable secure fit. Extended battery life let’s you play longer.
Superb Sound With Bluetooth®4.1 and aptX®Coding
Experience meticulous wireless sound quality without signal loss. Sound quality is further improved with a titanium driver for enhanced response time, sizzling highs, present mids, and powerful bass.
Water Resistant Aluminum Alloy Body
Attractive textured aluminum body ensures durability and lasting colors while eliminating fingerprints. IPX4 water resistance protects the earpieces and controls from rain, splashing, and sweat for outdoor use and exercise.
Tuned by a Grammy Award Winning Sound Engineer
1MORE collaborated with internationally acclaimed [multiple Grammy winning] producer, mixer, and sound engineer Luca Bignardi to perfect the final tuning to deliver a precise representation of your favourite artist’s intended sound.

Click to expand...

 
 
 
The 1MORE iBFree can be purchased at uk.1more.com (£79.99). These particular headphones are $59.99 on usa.1more.com. I have no idea why they have a 40% price discrepancy on the UK 1MORE site. Right hand, meet left hand; please do a little dance and get the whole body is in step.
 

 

Form & Function

The packaging is simple and functional for the iBFree, a simple white box with perfectly tailored compartments. I found the accessories underwhelming, though, for several reasons. First, there was no pouch for the headphones. I like to keep my headphones protected. Luckily I bought a couple spare case/pouches so I’ve had something to keep these from getting mucked about too much when I toss them in my bag. Second, I couldn’t get a good fit with the included tips.
 
The iBFree is very large right behind the nozzle, and the nozzle is not very long. For me this means that the body of the headphone was competing for space with the structure of my ear. In order to have proper fit, and in order to pass what I call the doggy shake test, I had to use either Comply Isolate tips (I think the 500 variety), or Spinfit’s new double flange tip (CS220, methinks). I don’t think most people buying a sport Bluetooth headphone will expect to need aftermarket tips. Also, the Comply tips were the best fit, but they would be a bad idea for sports use. Mmm, nothing like foamies dripping oversaturated salty sweat down your ear canal.
 
[size=inherit][/size][size=inherit][/size]
 
With the stock tips, shaking my head from side to side like a shaggy dog drying off dislodges the tips easily—this is with the sport grips perfectly in place. Switching to the CP220, side to side movement loosens the headphone, but it doesn’t fly out. With the Comply Isolates, the IEM stays firmly in place.
 
I’m also not a fan of the inside vent on these headphones. If you twist the headphone wrong, your sport grip will cover over the vent. The manual even has a diagram telling you not to do this. I was able to avoid occluding this tiny little dot on the inner part of the headphone, but I think this design can be improved.
 
With regards to range, I was able to get about 20 feet away, with some office walls—real world testing—getting in the way before signal broke down badly. At about 15 feet there was some instability. Bluetooth performance depends heavily on the transmitter, so some may find that they get better than what I’ve gotten with these, some may do worse.
 
I got the full advertised 8 hours of playback and charging was quick, only an hour or so. Pairing is easy and they have a good manual to walk you through all the controls. I didn’t test the water resistance of these, but I can confirm that the USB cover firmly plugs into place. I think these will do just fine in your sweaty workout, assuming that they stay in when you go all shaggy sheep dog shake on them. For running or other up and down activities, I think fit will be less problematic. These probably won’t be great for dance or gymnastic parties, but exhibitionist park joggers will be fine.
 

Audio quality

For a single driver Bluetooth IEM at the price on offer, these sound exceptional. I hooked these up with a number of DAPs using the Avantree Priva II as my transmitter (it’s aptX low latency and excellent sounding). It sounded good with the Priva II, but the Note 2 is a lousy audio source, it’s muddy and awful in wired configuration and muddy and awful in Bluetooth, relative to real dedicated DAP and DACs at least. The Note 2 is probably better than a bucket of mud—I haven’t tested this scientifically.
 
 
I tested this with the LH Labs GO2A Infinity, the iBasso DX50, the Cyberdrive Clarity Feather DAC and the HiFiMAN SuperMini. Now I’m aware that the final DAC and amplifier are in the headphones, but it has been my experience that if you are using a USB dongle, the power of the amplifier and the quality of the DAC/Amp feeding the dongle do affect sound quality and useable volume range. If you put good stuff in, you are far more likely to get good stuff out.
 
The iBFree has a clean balanced sound. The sound reminds me quite a lot of the 1MORE E1001 Triple Driver I just reviewed, but without the bass lift, which is quite an accomplishment with two less drivers to work with. The iBFree is not as airy and has a smaller soundstage, but it accomplishes some of what the advertising speak on the UK 1MORE site claims. The sound has present bass with good quality, if not a ton of quantity. The mids are clear, precise and tonally balanced. Treble has good extension, but sometimes cymbals can sound a bit thin. Overall the treble is pleasing with no harshness. Violins are sharp when called for, but not piercing. These are really very capable dynamic drivers.
 
When listening to Sibelius’s 5^th symphony from the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra in DSD, the strings soar, but don’t have tons of separation. Musicality is preserved and the presentation is excellent, but it lacks the huge soundstage necessary to really knock Sibelius’s 5^th symphony out of the park.
 
These are really natural sounding. I think that Luca Bignardi might be a magician or a renaissance man. A renaissance magician? I think pointy hats are all the rave with both of them. He’s good, whatever way you think about him. You don’t win four Grammys if you suck. All the 1MORE gear has his signature imprinted on it, and now I find myself wanting to go get albums he’s been associated with because his sound is clear and natural, for the most part, with the EO323 being a little bit of a departure.
 
When listening to the new Chesky 30^th Anniversary Collection—go get it, it’s the good stuff, real black tar kind of stuff—every track sounds beautifully open and natural. Some of that is the recording, but the iBFree do a good job keeping pace too. You’ll need rehab after listening to this pentuple length album.
 

 
When putting on my speed test track: Animals as Leaders – Ka$cade, it mostly keeps up, but does smooth out some details. Also, the cymbals still sound thin.
 
One difference between wired and Bluetooth headphones is noise floor. You can take a wired headphone down to basically no noise floor with the right equipment in hand. You can’t change out the amplifier on Bluetooth headphones, so the noise floor that is in them is what you are stuck with. These have an audible noise floor. It isn’t offensive, but you will hear snakes hissing in the grass that aren’t really there from time to time.
 

Comparisons

Compared to the Ausdom M05 full size aptX capable Bluetooth headphone, the 1MORE iBFree have a smaller soundstage in all dimensions, but have far more precise bass with none of the somewhat woolly midbass bloat that can afflict the Ausdom M05. The M05 is more airy with a bigger sound. The iBFree is more focused and precise.
 
The Syllable D700-2017 have a more closed in mid-centric signature that is soft and smooth like an ermine throw, and probably just as ethically produced. The sound of the Syllable is very fit dependent, and the fit on these makes it difficult for the bass to show up loud and proud. The drivers on the Syllables aren’t fast enough to handle Ka$cade’s busier parts well. The mids get really muggy and woolly with all the finer details just collapsing out of the mix. These need calmer music.
 
Overall the 1MORE iBFree held up very favourably to the competition I threw at it. The sound is more precise than the Ausdom and more technically capable than the Syllable by a long distance.
 

Conclusions

The 1MORE iBFree is good value with a clear, coherent sound that did well with all the music I threw at it. It has neutral bass and mids performance with a little bit of treble roll off. Details are generally presented well. The iBFree isn’t flawless. It doesn’t have a large soundstage, has a little bit of tin smack going on with some cymbals, and can smooth over some details in particularly fast musical passages. Beyond audible limitations, the headphone may have fit issues for some, as it did for me. I was able to correct fit issues by using aftermarket tips, but the market this product is targeted at may not find that an acceptable solution. These headphones are excellent value and should be quite popular among folks wielding jackless iPhone 7’s, it is likely to be better than Apple or Beats’ in-house sound.
 
Overall, I think the positives of these headphones outweigh the negatives by a significant margin. I highly recommend the iBFree and that’s why I give it 4.25 stars. If it had a bit better fit with the stock options, this would be a solid 4.5. I think these are better than a 4 on sound, so I’ll round up to 4.5, after all.
 
Thanks again, 1MORE UK, for providing this review sample, they were definitely worthy of spending some quality time with. Then again, everything that 1MORE and Luca Bignardi have touched has sounded excellent. Just 1MORE to review.

Acknowledgment
I’d like to thank iFi for loaning me the Nano iDSD Black Label and a pre-production unit in return for my honest opinion. It was a lot of fun being one of the first folks to get their hands on a retail unit, though I wish I could have been at the launch event. I still haven’t tried Johnny Walker Black.

This review was originally posted on my blog, and I'm now sharing with the wonderful community on Head-Fi. You folks rock.

Introduction
Anyone who’s been following me for a while knows that I’ve reviewed two full sheds of iFi gear. I might be the person with the most iFi reviews, I’m not sure. This one makes six after the following: iFi Micro iDSD Black Label (Micro iDSD BL), iPurifier2.0, iDAC2, iCAN SE, Micro iUSB3.0. I’ve also spent some time with the original iDSD and the original iCAN. I’ve been offered a couple more reviews, and will probably do some, time allowing.

Up to now, the most ‘WOW!’ product I’ve heard from from iFi is the iDSD Micro BL. It was also the classiest and most decked out offering. It’s a desktop dynamo with a Swiss Army knife of audio features, but I have to emphasize that while it can be transported, it isn’t really what people think of as portable. For that, I’m now having a look at the brand spankin’ new iDSD Nano BL’s pocketable frame.



Usability: Form & Function
Unboxing




I’ve unboxed a lot of iFi gear over the years, but this is the first piece of gear from iFi to actually surprise me. Anyone who has been following iFi for any length of time or bought any of their Micro or Nano series DACs or amps has received the same box, with quite often the same components and compartments inside. It’s a roughly 10” x 3.5” x 3” oblong rectangle—a sort of less streamlined coffin-box. In the past, it hasn’t mattered whether you were buying a Nano or Micro series, the only thing different on the top level was how big the cut-away in the foam insert was. Below the presented DAC or amp would be some mix of the following accessories, a red 3.5mm aux cable, a short purple set of RCA interconnects, some adaptors (most likely), rubber stacking bands (for your DAP/phone), and a blue USB cable (sometimes USB3.0).

This time around we get a half-height box, which I very much like. The wasted space of previous Nano series boxes has been eschewed in favour of a more efficient DAC apartment. You’ve got your bed of foam on the left, and your closet box of white accessories on the right, all the cooking happens when the DAC gets out of bed. The box is still surrounded in a tight-fitting card sleeve, and still has the same silver iFi logo filigreed onto the top of the now slimmed down white heavy card box. Some things change, but others stay the same.






Aesthetics and Ergonomics
The major ergonomics critique of the iFi Micro series is that calling them portable is a bit of a joke. They are portable like your laptop and less convenient to carry, as there just aren’t any bags that really work for iFi’s unique signature shape. I loved the iFi Micro iDSD Black Label, but it was about as transportable and ergonomic as a pet brick. Don’t throw your Black Label, it’s so much better than Father Jack’s brick. It’s a shape that grows on you. Love who your Micro be, iFi.



That said, the Nano series is smaller, a little smaller than a minimum size deck of Magic the Gathering cards, with penny sleeves. Previous iterations of the iFi Nano series haven’t had any of the genetic make-up of the iDSD Micro Black Label in the looks and functionality department. Now that has changed. This isn’t your 2014 Nano iDSD. That version was silver, with big faceplates ridges on the front and back, whilst the new one has tapered edges to make it more pocket friendly. It doesn’t really feel like something you’d throw in your coat pocket due to the ergonomics. Those two RCA jacks sticking out the front and the coax coming off the back coupled with the aforementioned anodized aluminum ridges left lots of things to poke you from inside your jacket pocket.



From an ergonomics perspective the new Black Label is smoother, sleeker, with more attractive printing and a more durable frame. I say more durable for a different reason than one might think. It is made of the same aluminum, it has the same anodized finish (albeit in black), but it has some key differences. The iFi iDSD BL is rocking out with three 3.5mm jacks set flush and not directly by the volume knob. Making the 3.5mm jacks flush makes it so there isn’t anything to snag on, which is more pocket friendly. The placement of 3.5mm output right next to the volume knob didn’t just make the front of the original Nano iDSD a bit busy, it made it so turning the volume knob whilst listening to headphones would require navigating your headphone cable. An additional pocket friendly addition is switching from the USB B input of the original Nano iDSD to the USB A OTG input of the Micro iDSD series. The connection is very stable which reduces stress on the jack. All these smoothing factors add to reduced wear and friction on the case elements, and the more secure USB connection will minimise damage to the USB connection, meaning this is a daily driver that should hold up to a bit of rubbing, but I’d still not drop it or toss it around roughly.



Function
The original iFi Nano iDSD was full of firsts (DXD and DSD256, super lightweight, 10 hour pure battery running) and was the best-selling DAC in Japan for a while, but it was for a different use case. That iDSD was about being a pint-sized capable home DAC with a lightweight amplifier that only output 130 mW into 16Ω. It had a digital out, and full-size RCA outputs to hook up to your home amplifier—great features, but not pocket friendly. The iFi Nano iDSD BL has some serious upgrades under the sleeker casing. Much like the Micro iDSD BL, this Nano iDSD BL has iEMatch built in and iPurifier built in. Like the Nano iDSD (original) the Nano iDSD BL runs on battery for 10 hours and throws down some DSD256 and DXD, but it also has MQA in-built now too.

MQA
Now, I’m not sure about this MQA thing (ars technical article that is well worth a read). Some have said it’s a sneaky backhanded route to a new form of DRM (record companies have to license equipment, consumers pay for special equipment, streaming services get charged for royalties, etc…). Whatever I might think about the likelihood that MQA gives me better than just streaming 24/96 FLAC directly or listening to real master quality PCM (Archimago’s Musings), MQA certainly didn’t sound bad. That said, I was listening through the XI Audio Formula S and a pair of HiFiMAN Susvara headphones with the Nano iDSD BL as the DAC to start. I listened to 2L recordings DXD tracks in both DXD and in the MQA down-coded versions. I don’t know if I would be able to tell the difference. Both sounded bloody excellent, but those are excellent recordings. Chicken/egg dilemma. Did the tracks sound excellent because the format captured the quality of the recording, or would any lossless format of CD quality or above capture the quality of the recording? I don’t know. I also took an auditory stroll through Tidal’s ‘Masters’ library. Beyonce’s Lemonade album sounded awesome—why did Adele 25 win best album? That decision makes no damn sense as Lemonade is a triumph from start to finish (though some parts had some hardcore derivations, like the transparent Eurythmics inspiration on Don’t Hurt Yourself) and 25 is Adele singing three good songs plus some filler.

The difficult part of MQA listening is its hard to compare to actual redbook CD. I’ve always found that Tidal sounds a bit ‘enhanced.’ I’m convinced that there is DSP to make it sound a bit more vivid. Who’s to say this doesn’t also happen with MQA? Most of the albums that Tidal has MQA ‘Masters’ of, they also have standard ‘CD Quality’ versions. So I stepped right up and made a quick playlist of some stuff I’m familiar with:

1. Nick Drake – Thoughts of Mary Jane
2. Nick Drake – One of These Things First
3. Counting Crows – Anna Begins
4. Norah Jones – Shoot the Moon
5. Beyoncé – Don’t Hurt Yourself
6. Led Zeppelin – D’yer Mak’er
7. The Supremes – Where Did Our Love Go
8. Beck – Guess I’m Doing Fine

With Thoughts of Mary Jane the volume levels between the tracks aren’t the same. I have similar experiences on Counting Crows – Anna Begins. The Masters versions seem a little more restrained, but they also have a touch more depth to the sound, but this additional depth sounds like it is all in front of the stage. The stage sounds moved, not factually deeper. Turning down the volume on the HiFi version of Norah Jones – Shoot the Moon gives a good approximation of the Master. I am noting a bit more texture in the bass on the Shoot the Moon Master version. It sounds a bit fuller with rounder attack and decay. I think there may actually be differences, but that some of it is difficult to judge due to volume effects. I observe similar improvement in the kick drum on Beyoncé – Don’t Hurt Yourself. Well it’s either confirmation bias, or a trend, the bass on the Master version of D’yer Mak’er is more textured and rich. Transients in the cymbals also take on a bit more weight. Overall the sound is just a little weightier and more textured. On The Supremes – Where Did Our Love Go the Masters version is the louder version. Unfortunately two Where Did Our Love Go tracks sound so different, I’m pretty sure they aren’t from the same master. I can’t do a real comparison. This may end up being a problem for anything that has a remaster. Provenance is important, but it may be even more important on MQA albums as essentially they are having multiple operations done on the material. On Guess I’m Doing Fine slide guitar and bass sound a bit richer with fuller note edges without sounding fat. The bass sustains just a little bit longer.

So inconclusion (intentional), the results are inconclusive on MQA. With 2L songs off their test bench I couldn’t distinguish MQA from DXD Masters. On Tidal, MQA sounded generally a little quieter, but also sounded like the notes were a bit fuller and richer, especially in bass notes, which got some plus texture. I couldn’t discern any differences in sound stage. I didn’t do my tests blinded, but I also didn’t always know the order of tracks and was able to pick out the MQA track on a couple of occasions without having visual confirmation (D’yer Mak’er, Guess I’m Doing Fine), which could easily be random chance. Without repeated blind testing, the null hypothesis would be that I guess right 50% of the time. Two cherry-picked right guesses does not a strong observation make. How much do you trust my ears? How much do you trust your own? The next time I listened to D’yer Mak’er I guessed wrong. I also wasn’t consistent on Norah Jones – Shoot the Moon. I think I’d have to have perfect volume matching to have confidence in any comparisons over time.



One thing I can say for MQA, it doesn’t appear to make sound quality worse. Whether real or imagined, the sound seemed different, but it seemed generally better than the CD quality version on Tidal and not worse than the DXD when listening to 2L tracks (with a substantially smaller file size). I’ve done previous tests with DXD and lower bitrate formats and found that I generally preferred the DXD to everything else and couldn’t tell it apart from DSD128 and DSD256 on DSD mastered tracks. Generally, DXD is as close to the master as you can get. Top masters are in 32bit DXD (352kHz), commercial DXD just drops 8 bits on the word length.

iEMatch


To test out iEMatch I whipped out my most sensitive IEMs, the Noble Kaiser Encore. When no music is playing there is low level hiss out of both the Direct and the iEMatch outputs, but the iEMatch output is virtually silent. The hiss on the iEMatch is way way down. Hiss is inaudible on either of them when any music is playing, including silent portions of music. The iEMatch comes with a sound signature toll. Because it raises output impedance (from under 1Ω to under 4Ω), it does exactly what you would expect it to do, it pushes up the bass a bit. The effect isn’t bad, but it definitely colours the sound.

On the Micro iDSD I found that the main advantage of iEMatch was allowing greater use of the volume control with sensitive IEMs, and this is still the case here. On Direct, the Noble Kaiser Encore gets loud fast.

Driving Power
As previously highlighted, the Nano iDSD BL does just fine with sensitive IEMs, thank you very much. It also handled the RHA CL750 with aplomb. But what about the HD600, you say? What about those teasers on the twitterverse?

The stats say it should be able to pull it off. I’ve previously done the HD600 driven well from a 280 mW into 32Ω source. That measurement just happens to be right about where this Nano iDSD BL sits (285 mW into 30Ω), so theoretically, it should do it.

Is theory replicated in practice? Absolutely. Actually, I think it drives the HD600 better than it drives the RHA CL750. When comparing to the XI Audio Formula S (in balanced output) fed by the Nano iDSD BL driving the HD600 vs. the Nano iDSD BL in Direct drive mode, I get a little bit more depth on the Formula S, but the differences aren’t much. The iFi Nano iDSD BL gets out some serious performance. It will drive the HD600 to plenty of volume with plenty of dynamics.

For laughs, I hooked up the HiFiMAN HE1000 v2 for a little try. The Nano iDSD BL gives enough volume, but it lacks the dynamic punch of the XI Audio Formula S and can’t match the imaging. Unsurprisingly, the HE1000 v2 needs more juice to thrive. You can play the HE1000 v2, but it’s wasted on the iFi Nano iDSD BL. It was, surprisingly, not a laugher.

I also used the 3.5mm out to the XI Audio Formula S (review upcoming), and it provided a super clean output. The system is straight up transparent. I loved this combination with the HiFiMAN Susvara, and I also dug it with the Unique Melody ME1.



Audio quality
You know what is really strange? I really don’t have much to say about the sound quality of the iFi Nano iDSD BL independent of comparisons. It is transparent. It has excellent resolution. It doesn’t output a coloured sound. It has an accurate, well-defined, reasonably sized soundstage. I think the key here for the BL is actually how it compares to other DAC/Amps and DAPs. I’ve got a few of those on hand. DAC comparisons used the following signal chain, designed to get the best out of a DAP (you may not get as good using these on your rig):

Dell Inspiron 13 → Generic iFi USB3.0 cable → iFi Micro iUSB3.0 → LH Labs Lightspeed 2G split power and data usb cable → DAC/Amp (potentially with adaptor first)

I used a Lindy USB3.0 B to A adaptor instead of the iFi one included in the packaging (one more thing to send back to iFi in perfect condition). Since iFi doesn’t produce their adaptors and they don’t appear to be audiophile grade, it doesn’t really matter which adaptor I use, so long as it isn’t junk. I’ve used the Lindy for a long time. It does the job.

All comparisons were done using the Ultimate Ears Reference Remastered (for general timbre and DAC capabilities), the Sennheiser HD600 for driving power, and the Noble Kaiser Encore for hiss. Volume matching was performed using an SPL meter and a listening level of ~78.2 dB calibrated with white noise for comparisons using the UERR. I didn’t bother to volume match the Noble Kaiser Encore because the listening tests were for answering relatively simple yes/no question does it hiss during silence or during quiet music? For that question I just need to listen at a similar volume, not a precisely calibrated volume. For the HD600, my question was similarly simple to the Noble Kaiser Encore: can the player drive it? To know this, all I needed to do was check volume and listen for dynamics and spacialization. My listening level is 78.2dB, approximately, and I can usually get within 0.2-0.5dB by ear. I’ve had a goodly number of times where I set the volume on an IEM, measure it, and then discover that the SPL measurement is 78.2 dB with white noise. For all listening tests the Nano iDSD BL was on the ‘Measure’ filter.



I played the following tracks:

1. Cyndee Peters – House of the Rising Sun (fantastic track from Opus3 records, DSD128)
2. Hoff Ensemble – Blågutten (2L track with huge space, DXD, available for free)
3. Wager-Åstrand - Fasten Seat Belts (another Opus3 track, DSD128)
4. Pixies – Where is My Mind (24/88.2)
5. Why? – Sod in the Seed (16/44.1)

iFi Nano iDSD BL vs. LH Labs GO2A Infinity
From a features standpoint, the Nano iDSD BL has a number of advantages: it draws normal current off of a USB source (LH Labs Draws a bit extra), it has 10 hours of battery, and it has a true and excellent fixed line-out. The Nano iDSD doesn’t have a balanced output, but the balanced circuit inside it gives the same sonic benefits. The Nano iDSD BL is more matchable and doesn’t rely on external volume control.

UERR
The sense of space in both players is similar, with the GO2A Infinity having a slight advantage in height and width, but depth goes to the Nano. The GO2A Infinity has harder edges and more firm impact, but it can be sharp and unforgiving at times. The Nano iDSD BL is smoother and more forgiving, whilst the GO2A can be hard and sharp at times. The upper mids on the GO2A are sweeter, but can overheat at times. The iDSD doesn’t soar as much as the GO2A does on Where is My Mind, but it has more depth on Sod in the Seed and has an overall less exuberant sound. On Sod in the Seed, the high glockenspiel notes are a bit piercing on the GO2A, and more natural on the Nano iDSD BL. Treble is hiked up a bit, which is probably what creates some of the extra height in the GO2A sound, and more edgy impactful sound in the upper mids. The sound on the GO2A can become fatiguing with its exuberance, even if it is totally inspiring in a collection of moments. If the hard edges and exuberance irritate you even a little, the echo-chamber of your mind will get to you when the track playing back has what some would view as flaws. Some will find the exuberance inspiring and worthy of praise whilst others will be immediately turned off on the GO2A Infinity, the Nano iDSD BL doesn’t have these hard edges, it’s smooth. It is still detailed, but the treble isn’t enhanced, so no divisive screams.





Noble Kaiser Encore
Out of both the Direct and iEMatch outputs, the Noble Kaiser Encore sounds as special as it should. Hiss is effectively controlled on both outputs, but there is some minor hiss during silence on the Direct output. You may not even hear it. If the Kaiser Encore is hooked up to the iEMatch output, it gets a bass boost. Maybe you want a bit extra midbass, maybe you don’t. When using the Kaiser Encore on the GO2A Infinity, even at the lowest gain, it hisses like an Indiana Jones nightmare.



HD600
The HD600 is my stress test for portable players and the both of these players pass. The HD600 sounds full with all dynamics intact. Soundstage was not crushed and nothing sounded softened.

iFi Nano iDSD BL vs. Questyle QP2R
I know. This comparison is not really fair, right? The QP2R is more than 6x the price. As anyone who’s been around the block in audiophile-land more than once will tell you, the law of diminishing returns hits like crotch-punching circus dwarf. There are some features that the Nano iDSD BL has that the QP2R doesn’t: a fixed analog line-out, and iEMatch. Of course the QP2R also throws down some features that iFi doesn’t, mostly about being a DAP and not a portable DAC/Amp. They both rock 10 hour (tested) battery life and excellent sound.



UERR
The UERR has brilliant spatial presentation on both the Nano iDSD BL, it’s a friggin’ monitor after all. However, the QP2R has greater depth, width and height as well as better layering. The soundstage has an effortlessness to the separation of the instruments on the QP2R. It’s really friggin’ brilliant. Tonally, the Nano iDSD BL is a bit soft in the midrange, whilst the QP2R is more impactful and sharper. On Where is My Mind, there is more soar, more space, more layering. The QP2R is just superior with the UERR. Listening to other tracks

Noble Kaiser Encore
The QP2R has hiss with the Kaiser Encore, more so on the balanced out. The hiss is lower and less obtrusive than that found on the GO2A Infinity when on single-ended output, but it is noticeable. I tried messing with some adaptors like the 75Ω impedance adaptor from DUNU or the UE Buffer Jack. The UE Buffer Jack reduces hiss by adjusting damping factor in favour of the IEM. It doesn’t cause frequency response modification like an impedance adaptor, but it does lower the hiss level, whilst not eliminating it completely in this case. The 75Ω adaptor eliminated the hiss, but messed up both the bass and the treble, making the treble thin and the bass flabby. The Nano iDSD BL is superior with the Noble Kaiser Encore. It has been my experience that none of Questyle’s gear plays well with multi-BA, sensitive IEMs. I’ve tried using the QP2R, the CMA600i and the CMA800R Golden Reference amps, and all have problems with the Noble Kaiser Encore. Questyle gear likes headphones and IEMs that have some impedance.

HD600
The Questyle QP2R likes the 300Ω Sennheiser HD600 headphones. The Questyle QP2R, on paper, shouldn’t drive the Sennheiser HD600, but current mode amplification is magic, and it somehow manages to drive it with space to spare on the settings dialled into high gain and high bias settings with the balanced output. I had to turn it up to 99 out of 120 on volume, which means plenty of overhead was still there.

With regard to the sound characteristics of the two players, the QP2R has a clearer and more forward midrange with stronger edges. The iFi Nano iDSD BL has a smoother more soft feel, which makes it feel a little less resolute, but will have people really digging the ambiance once they settle in. Much like the Hidizs AP200 below, the Questyle QP2R has greater impact to it’s sound, but it never sounds like it is trying too hard or tipping the frequency response out of balance. The Questyle QP2R is delightful, and I prefer it’s sound to the iFi Nano iDSD BL. It is 6x the price, though, so on a value for money level the Nano iDSD Black Label wins easily.

iFi Nano iDSD BL vs. Shanling M2s
The iFi Nano iDSD BL and Shanling M2s might be considered direct comparators. Both do DSD256 and DXD. Both are small and capable. Both are useable with your phone (iFi via USB OTG, Shanling M2s via Bluetooth). Both can be used as external DACs with a computer. Both are under £200 with the iFi Nano iDSD Black Label coming in at £199 and the Shanling M2s dropping in at £189 (on Amazon.co.uk). The Shanling M2s has the best screen on any DAP I’ve been privileged enough to use. The Nano iDSD BL doesn’t have a screen, but does have iEMatch, a true fixed line-out and MQA.

UERR
The Shanling M2s has a softer midrange on the The Pixies – Where is My Mind and doesn’t soar with female vocals like the iFi Nano iDSD BL can in Where is My Mind. It lacks the amplitude. On Why? – Sod in the Seed the midrange is cleaner and clearer with better defined edges on Yoni Wolf’s slacker rap musings. Claps and woodblocks lack the impact and definition on the Shanling M2s. Bass on the Shanling M2s is a bit more present with a warmer overall sound. There is a bit of a gauziness to the Shanling M2s sound, a slight veiling. On the fast percussion of Fasten Seat Belts, the M2s just can’t keep up with the track in the way that the Nano iDSD Black Label does. The Black Label has excellent speed and precision. The Shanling M2s just sounds slower. Listening with the iFi Nano iDSD BL on Cyndee Peters – House of the Rising Sun, it’s like a morning mist has been pierced by the rising sun and forced to retreat back into the wooded hollows from whence it crept. The background is black and clear. Excellent. The Shanling M2s, whilst good doesn’t have the kind of clarity and resolution that the iFi Nano iDSD Black Label can muster.

Noble Kaiser Encore
There is a slight elevation in the bass on the Shanling M2s because of the output impedance. Some will like this ‘enhancement.’ The added bass is still nice, but this is not neutral playback. The Noble Kaiser Encore does not hiss on the M2s.



HD600
The Shanling M2s can play loud enough with the HD600 only if you max out the volume meter. This player will do in a pinch, but really shouldn’t be used for the HD600. Dynamics are crushed a bit and the soundstage gets a little smaller, but the overall sound is still good.

iFi Nano iDSD BL vs. Hidizs AP200
Interestingly both the Hidizs AP200 ($299 suggested for aluminum 32GB) and the iFi Nano iDSD BL ($199) have balanced amplification inside with a single ended output. The Hidizs is more expensive, but you do get yourself a full-on touch screen DAP with full Android, Play Store, and friggin’ killer sound. In practice the iDSD gets better battery life. I’ve been averaging around 7-8 hours on the Hidizs AP200.

UERR
On Where is My Mind, the Hidizs soars a little more and has a little more impact. It is a very punchy player without having the sharpened treble claws of the LH Labs GO2A Infinity. Image size and clarity are pretty similar between the Nano iDSD BL and the Hidizs.



If I had to give any edges, it would be that the Hidizs AP200 has a little bit more height and the iFi Nano iDSD BL has a little more width. Depth is even, as far as I can tell. Tonally the Hidizs AP200 is a little more bright. What listeners prefer will really come down to tonal preference. Overall presentation is a little more energetic on the AP200 than the iFi iDSD Nano Black Label. Again, whether you want a more relaxed sound like the iFi or a punchy stand up and get noticed sound like the Hidizs will come down to listening preference. Personally, I’d be happy to have both options. Sometimes you want more relaxing, sometimes you want energy. Are you feeling laconic today?

Noble Kaiser Encore
There is a very soft hiss with the Hidizs AP200 that becomes inaudible in most music. Listening to Cyndee Peters do House of the Rising Sun with the UERR there is no hiss on the track, it’s clean as a surgical theatre. When switching to the Kaiser Encore, there is hiss on the track but it is light and may actually be the IEMs being more sensitive to the noise of the tape. The Cyndee Peters recording is a tape transfer direct to DSD, so it is possible that the Kaiser Encore could be picking up non-musical information from the recording method. The impedance output of the Hidizs didn’t cause any perceptible bass elevation, which is a pro in my book. Performance compared to the Nano iDSD in Direct mode is pretty similar, with slightly more hiss on the AP200.

HD600
Much like the Shanling M2s, it takes everything the Hidizs AP200 has to get to a good volume level on the HD600 (97 of 100). In this case, I think it sounds a bit better than the M2s. The soundstage has significantly less width and depth than the Nano iDSD BL, and the Nano iDSD BL clearly outplays on clarity, separation and driving power. It also handles the speedy percussion of Fasten Seat Belts with outstanding resolution that the Hidizs AP200 does not match. The Hidizs AP200 gives good tone, generally, but the technical capabilities of the Nano iDSD BL are superior. At times the Hidizs struggles and distorts on some low bass notes, whereas the iFi Nano iDSD BL withstands the assault of low bass notes without distortion. The Hidizs does have a bit more focus and slam in the mids, which could be due to slightly elevated upper mids compared to the Nano iDSD BL. Punchy like the talented Mr. McGregor.



iFi Nano iDSD BL vs. Aune M1s
The Aune M1s is quite simply one of my favourite DAPs to work with. It doesn’t change the sound of any IEMs I play with it. It stays out of the way, maintaining the most consistently neutral presentation of any of the DAPs in my stable (more than a few). It’s a simple beast, and it doesn’t have a ton of power for output or a ton of features. It doesn’t have a fixed line-out. It will not play the HD600. It does have balanced output. It also doesn’t mess with the sound of the Noble Kaiser Encore at all. I’ve spent a lot of time previously talking about the Aune M1s, so you can check out it’s review.

UERR
Listening to House of the Rising Sun, there is more width to the stage on the Nano iDSD BL than on the Aune M1s. Both keep a nice tone, but the Nano iDSD BL has a bit sweeter treble when the bells and cymbals come in, with a bit fuller presentation.

Noble Kaiser Encore
The M1s is perfectly clear with the Noble Kaiser Encore. It is a beautiful pairing that lets the Encore shine. There is no hiss, and the bass isn’t elevated due to impedance mismatches.

HD600
Can’t do it. Sound is drained and feeble. Frequency response isn’t accurate either.

Specifications
General Specifications
Price: £199 ($199)
DAC: Burr Brown
Formats Supported: DSD64-DSD256, DXD384/352.8kHz, PCM 44.1-384, MQA 88.2/96/176.4/192kHz filters
Filters: Listen (transient optimised minimum phase filter), Measure (frequency response optimised filter)
Inputs: USB Type A “OTG” socket with built in iPurifier® technology
Battery Life: ~10 hours (tested)
Dimensions: 96 x 64 x 25.5mm
Weight: 139g (0.31 lbs)
Warranty: 12 months

Headphone Amplifier
Outputs: Dual Mono 2 x 285mW Direct Drive, coupling capacitor free circuit, 2 x 3.5mm outputs: 1 Direct and 1 iFi iEMatch integrated (for sensitive IEMs)
Max Output Level (<10% THD): >3.5V @ 600Ω load (Direct; 20mW into 600Ω), >2.9v @ 30Ω load (Direct; 285mW into 30Ω), >1.7V @ 15Ω load (Direct; 200mW into 15Ω)
Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise: < 0.005% @125mW/30R
Dynamic Range (DNR): >109db (A-weighted) @ 3V (Direct), >107db (A-weighted) @ 0.5V (iEMatch®)
Output Impedance: ≤ 1Ω (Direct), ≤ 4Ω (iEMatch)
Channel Separation: > 79dB @ 600Ω load (Direct), > 79dB @ 15Ω load (Direct)
Volume Control: Analog 2-track Potentiometer with power switch, < 2dB tracking error – 40dB…0dB attenuation

Line Output
Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise: < 0.004%
Dynamic Range (DNR): >109db (A-weighted)
Output Voltage: 2.15V (±0.05V)
Output Impedance: < 240Ω
Channel Separation: > 99dB @ 1kHz
Jitter (correlated): Below set test limit

Conclusions
If you are looking for an upgrade to your two channel living room setup from something more basic, and potentially from something considerably more advanced—as a straight-up DAC the iFi Nano iDSD Black Label was superior to my Questyle CMA600i in the same signal chain (playing into the XI Audio Formula S feeding HiFiMAN Susvara); or you are looking for something that drives a wide variety of headphones with no problem, or maybe you are staring into the abyss of format wars like the potential impending ascendancy of the newest format darling (MQA), then you may want to check out the iFi Nano iDSD BL. The Nano iDSD BL drives headphones from the Noble Kaiser Encore (very minimal hiss that disappears with music) all the way up to the Sennheiser HD600 without distortion through the Direct port. In the case of the Noble Kaiser Encore, I did notice a little tonal change on the iEMatch port, that change was pretty similar to what I experience when listening to the Kaiser Encore out of the Shanling M2s, both sound good with the Kaiser Encore.

If I had to cite any weaknesses, it would be that sometimes the midrange can sound a little meeker than I expect. Some will find this of benefit, and I find it to be a very minor detractor that varies in infinitesimally small effects with the changing of my mood. This softening of the midrange is specific to the headphone amplifier component as the line-out maintains firm tone through the midrange when feeding the XI Audio Formula S.

You’d be hard-pressed to find a DAC/Amp combo at £199 ($199) with more features and better sound. Just as the iFi Micro iDSD Black Label was unfair to it’s competitors, the Nano iDSD Black Label should make some DAPs in the £200 range nervous. It’s got better sound quality than the all of my under $200 DAP stable, and kicks out sound on par to significantly better than some more expensive DAPs that I have or have played with.

 

Acknowledgment   

Thanks, Syed, at 1MORE UK for providing this review sample in return for my honest opinion. The MK802 is available from POCKET ROCKET UK (1MORE's official UK retailer) for £115.99 ($140).
 

 

Introduction

I find myself in a strange position. I love wired headphones. I like the plugs, I like the feel of aftermarket cables and sexy looks. I like that I can be confident that my music won’t be interrupted.
I’ve reviewed a lot of Bluetooth headphones, with my total now at six before this review is completed. Four out of six have been inexpensive units that have failed to be anywhere near giant killers, all in the below £25 price range. Most of these have sounded like average consumer headphones with inoffensive signatures that don’t move me in any way. This is not a recipe for audio pleasure. So far, my experience has been that you can get good to excellent sound from Bluetooth, but not under $50 (~$65). Ironically, I think that many of the people searching for a Bluetooth option are also the people who don’t want to spend $50 on any headphone. So these folks, those that could be wading into the shallow end of the steadily improving sound quality pool, will not partake of any auditory feast of wireless delectibles. They may not hear the 1MORE iBFree ($60 or £80), or the 1MORE MK802 ($150 or £150).
 
I think the audience that this headphone is serving is so called audiophiles such as myself, and aesthetes and fashionistas currently donning Beats and other fashion headphones like members of some me-too cult. Don’t drink the Kool-Aid, it doesn’t matter if it’s in the room and bursting through the wall. Don’t drink the Kool-Aid.
 

 
I first heard the 1MORE MK802 at CanJam London 2016. I was in the middle of reviewing the MK801 and had finished reviewing the EO323 Double Driver in-ear. I stopped by the 1MORE booth and Jude had just checked out the iBFree. Having a brief listen to the MK802 and the E1001 while seeing how impressed Jude was with the iBFree, I just had to review all of them. In hindsight, that was a big plate of food I served up, and I’m now just finishing it, with the maitre d’ signalling closing time. It’s a bit bittersweet to finish this three course meal. There’s no time for coffee and the other guests have left. The meal has been delicious, though, so there is that.
 

 

A little bit of musing on bluetooth

Bluetooth is weird. There are a good many people who have stood on the position that all we need to hear is 320kbps MP3s. If this is so, than nobody needs the headphone jack and Apple has it right in getting rid of the archaic technology. I’ve had the privilege to hear a great variety of Bluetooth headphones, and I can say with confidence that the quality is improving, and that the quality is getting ever closer to rivalling the quality found in wired headphones. For those who listen exclusively to Redbook CD rips or can’t tell the difference between MP3 and 24/192, cables may already be obsolete—assuming sufficient battery life.
 
I have generally found that wired performance is better than Bluetooth performance, but it isn’t night and day. On the go, in loud environments, at the gym, Bluetooth may be preferable—you won’t hear the full fidelity of your music anyway.
 
Many Bluetooth headphones tout their use of aptX. I think we need to define what aptX does and doesn’t do a bit better. The 1MORE MK802 is one of only a few headphones that have aptX HD (or my pair say that on the box, but it doesn't say that on the website), the green mushroom of aptX technology. According to a 2016 What HiFi? article, AptX HD Bluetooth: What is it? How can you get it?, aptX is a coding algorithm created in the 80s that was popular with film studios and radio broadcasters. AptX claims to be able to play ‘CD-like’ audio quality, but when we examine what this means. ‘CD-like’ is 352kbps lossy music. It isn’t much better than the best quality MP3s. AptX HD boasts a bitrate of 576kbps, and has the ability to play 24-bit/48kHz audio—it’s still compressed and lossy, but higher quality lossy. Qualcomm also claims lower distortion in the mids and treble regions—that would be spiffy. I’m not sure I get the point of aptX HD yet. The problem with aptX HD is that there are next to no transmitters and only a few audio output devices (headphones, speakers) that support it. The most notable sources that support aptX HD are the LG G5 and the LG V20. If you aren’t rocking one of those, you probably will be listening in just regular aptX—I’m in that boat.
 

 
If you don’t have aptX you have a codec called SBC (subband coding). The Headphone List has an article that should be required reading for anyone thinking about their upcoming Bluetooth purchase. According to the linked article, SBC plays at a bitrate of 328kbps at a 44.1kHz sampling rate (at maximum quality), but with worse audio quality than a top quality 320kbps MP3. If you have an Apple device you may get AAC, which is designed to sound better than MP3 at similar bitrates.
 
The catch in all of this is that your ears will only get to hear the best codec that your transmitter and your receiver (the headphone) are capable of producing. If you are wielding an iPhone, aptX is just marketing, you don’t have it. If your phone doesn’t use it like the ZTE Axon 7 (as far as I know, not listed aptX anywhere), your aptX headphones will default to whatever quality SBC the phone is programmed to play—it might not be that 328kbps high quality bitrate. Beyond this, headphones and transmitters with aptX aren’t necessarily better. I have an Aukey Bluetooth USB dongle that has aptX low latency, but my older Avantree SBC only BTTC-200 is better sounding with less noise. My new Avantree Priva II transmitter is better than the Aukey also. Both Avantree transmitters sound better than my Samsung Galaxy Note 2, which has aptX.
 
Another factor plays into whether your Bluetooth set-up sounds any good. Unlike your wired headphones, your Bluetooth headphones have the Bluetooth receiver, a DAC and an amplifier (as well as batteries) in the earpiece(s) or attached to the earpiece(s). The quality of those components may mitigate the quality of your source. If the amplification isn’t clean to the drivers, your source isn’t really going to matter too much.
 
Wireless headphones are just a lot more complicated than wired headphones. With wired headphones you know exactly what you are getting in the signal chain much of the time. This isn’t the case with Bluetooth headphones most of the time. I think that Bluetooth tech needs to fully disclose what chips are used inside the enclosure so consumers can know what to expect a bit more. It would be similar to being able to know that your favourite delta-sigma chip is inside your DAC. I happen to like the AK4490 almost all the time.
 
I think that the improvements in sound quality between most Bluetooth headphones aren’t down to the differences in codec, but in the differences in DACs, amps and drivers that are in the headphones. Additionally, as others have pointed out, much of the difference in sound quality between HiRes and CD/MP3 is due to better mastering on the HiRes tracks, so if you down-convert from a high quality master, you are getting most, if not all of the sound quality of that master. Theoretically, this means that Bluetooth headphones may very well replace most wired headphones in the not too distant future and we won’t be any worse off for it.
 

About the company

I’ve described 1MORE’s ascent in all of my 1MORE reviews—that’s four other products, so in this one, it’s below a spoiler.
 
 
Back to back spoilers, that’s no good. This sentence serves no purpose but to make it clear there are two spoiler boxes, maybe you’ll open one or both up just to not look at this puke green sentence any longer than you have to.
 
 

Vital Statistics (specs from manufacturers and distributors)

This is where the marketing speak gets voice. Most of what’s in this section of my reviews isn’t my words. I generally use standard block quote methods to let you know what I’m not saying. Keep at attention to avoid confusion. The typos are original, I take no credit for them. As is standard, brackets means that the text is mine.

 

1. Superb Sound with Bluetooth® 4.1, aptX® Coding, and Beryllium Driver- Experience meticulous wireless sound quality without signal loss. The sound quality is further improved with a large beryllium driver that delivers sizzling highs, present mids, and powerful bass. The bass level can be boosted or limited with a convenient switch on the ear cup.
2. Exceptional Comfort and Style- The headband and ear cup housings are constructed with TR-90 synthetic titanium for extreme durability, flexibility, lightweight comfort, and modern appeal. The ear cups rotate in four directions to customize your comfort level and ensure noise isolation.
3. Tuned by a Grammy Winning Sound Engineer- 1MORE collaborated with internationally acclaimed producer and sound engineer Luca Bignardi to perfect the final tuning to deliver a precise representation of your favorite artist’s intended sound.
4. Intelligent Control Technology and Microphone- Convenient ear cup controls are compatible with Apple iOS and Android, allowing you to control Bluetooth, 1MORE app, volume, select songs, take calls, and activate voice control. Superior MEMS microphone eliminates echo, cross-talk, and background static for crystal clear phone calls.

 
…
 
BONUS FEATURES
 
Our MK802s come with an optional Kevlar® core cable enhanced with TPE for comfort with additional in-line microphone and remote (useful if your battery is low). In addition, the MK802s work in conjunction with our optional downloadable 1MORE Assistant app. Current features include: Optional Hearing Protection for monitoring kid’s volume levels and for adults concerned with hearing health; Smart Burn-In for optimizing your MK802’s sound quality within a shortened time period; 1MORE button for controlling assignable apps right from your ear cup.
 

Click to expand...

 

Form & Function

The MK802s come in the same box as the MK801s and even have the same cloth pouch, and same cable (in a new colour in my case). That cloth pouch is still about as protective as a paper bag—I’ve definitely seen tougher paper bags. The foam inner box has grown on me a bit since I reviewed the MK801. It still isn’t as fancy-pants as the 1MORE E1001 or the 1MORE EO323 box innards, but the box has a solid feeling foam insert, a useful accessory box and one can never forget the all important desiccant package—do not eat, that’s for keeping out the salty sea air, not for causing poisoning down in there.
 
The headband is made of the same material as that of the MK801 and took a little bit to break in, much like the MK801 headband. I find the headbands on both headphones to be most comfortable tilted slightly forward. The earcups are more plush than those on the MK801 and slightly larger in width (75mm vs. 70mm), so they have a bit less concentrated pressure on the ears. The depth is the same, but the MK802 have softer pads with a nicer feeling protein leather. These are still not circumaural, but they are more comfortable than their forebearer. Like the MK801 the cups have good adjustability via vertical movement, and are adjustable on two additional axes, both front to back and side to side on the head.
 
There are five buttons on the right earcup. From top to bottom, they are: the power on/pair button, volume up button, play/pause/answer call button, volume down button, and the dedicated 1MORE Assistant App button. Pairing and volume control were mostly straight forward, with the exception of pairing with my Samsung Galaxy Note 2 (I know, why do I still have such an ancient outdated phone, right?). Pairing with computers and dongles was easy with all devices identifying the 1MORE MK802.
 
The Note 2 had to be put into developer mode. I didn’t answer any calls while using my Note 2, but I did try to make one. On that occasion the microphone didn’t turn on, so I could hear the person on the other end, but they couldn’t hear me. It may just be that I’m a newbie to making calls with Bluetooth, but there were no instructions in the manual for making calls, only for answering them.
The included manual was clear with good definition of all functions. There was also a manual included for the 1MORE Assistant app. Personally, I found the app to be absolutely useless. It didn’t help me pair the headphone when my phone wasn’t allowing pairing, it didn’t have any really interesting features or modes for the headphones, and the included smart burn-in feature was stupid. The principle behind burn-in is to exercise a dynamic driver so that it has longer excursions, increasing its capabilities. The app sets the volume of the phone at 20%, which is not sufficient to exercise a driver. It’s like doing the right exercise but with a weight that won’t challenge the driver. Most burn-in recommendations I’ve read have said to play between slightly lower than normal listening volume to slightly above. All advise against blasting the volume. I normally play at normal listening volume for burn-in. I didn’t use the app for burn-in as the audio signal was just way way way too quiet. It was school library when all the students have left quiet.
 

 
In addition to the controls on the right earcup there is also a headphone cable out. The cable used for the MK802 is exactly the same as that used for the MK801—noticing a theme here? I burned in the headphones using the cable. Burn-in did help the sound, making it open up a bit and making the sound more defined. It was a bit murky to start. I found that the sound is better without the headphone cable, with better overall clarity. There is something to be said for the amplifier having almost no distance to the diaphragm.
 
My favourite feature, by far, is on the left earcup: the bass switch. The bass switch has a boosted setting and a reduced setting. The boosted setting does a nice job boosting sub-bass and lower midbass. To my ears it accomplished this without colouring the mids. The boost is bigger than on the iFi iDSD BL and more broadband.
 
 
 
The Bluetooth is strong with this one—I’ve been watching way too much Star Wars. I was able to travel about 10 meters with solid signal. With regards to longevity, the battery life is absolutely exceptional. The specs say that the battery will last for 15 hours listening time, I got 23 hours. Well done, 1MORE.
 
 

Audio quality

The 1MORE MK802 is a larger, more refined version of the MK801 with long-life Bluetooth added.
 

Comparisons

For comparative listening I volume matched every headphone using my trusty SPL meter with big foam ball or with my toilet roll and Poundland packing tape coupler—extra special reviewing gear here. Volume was matched to 78dB using white noise from Ayre Acoustics – Irrational but Efficacious System Enhancement Disc.
 
 
Below is the rest of the signal chain:
Dell Vostro—LH Labs Lightspeed 2 USB—iFi Micro iUSB3.0—LH Labs Lightspeed 2 USB—LH Labs GO2A ∞—
            —Avantree Priva II AptX transmitter—1MORE MK802 Bluetooth headphone
—Avantree Priva II AptX transmitter—1MORE iBFree Bluetooth IEM (Comply tips)
—Avantree Priva II AptX transmitter—Syllable D700-2017 Bluetooth IEM
—1MORE MK801
—Ultimate Ears Reference Remastered (got to have a neutral reference in there!)
 
For Bluetooth headphones I maxed transmission volume on the GO2A and then adjusted volume on the headphones to closest match. All volume adjustment was done via the GO2A volume controls for wired headphones. The Avantree Priva II sounds better than the Cayin i5 Bluetooth out, and better than my phone’s Bluetooth, I wouldn’t be surprised if this little white disc of flexibility bests a lot of Bluetooth setups. Something to note with Bluetooth dongles is their black box nature; inside the Avantree Priva II there is an ADC, and a DAC and Bluetooth transmitter (maybe part of same chip, I don’t have a clue) but I don’t know what they are. One advantage of the Avantree Priva II is that it can pair two Bluetooth headphones at the same time, which is hugely useful for reviewing. I should have bought this little white beauty a long time ago. The table below presents the volume levels and recorded SPL readings for each of the headphones.
 
 

Syllable D700-2017

Why – Strawberries has a bit of a veiled sound, but for £20.99, these are doing pretty well. Bass sound is very fit dependent and these things are sized like they are made for Keebler Elves or other fey creatures, not for humans who have reached full maturity. If I press these in firmly I get a more intimate soundstage, bigger bass and more muffled mids. I prefer the loose fit that is more natural on these, which is good, because I’d have to hold my fingers on top of the capsules to make these seal more—that would be a pain in the butt. There is nice sparkle on the bells. Perla Batalla’s rendition of Bird on a Wire (RIP Leonard Cohen—2016 was like a class field trip to the sewage processing plant, at least it’s over). Overall the detail is pretty excellent for this price range.
 

1MORE MK802

Bigger than D700-2017 in every dimension on soundstage. Fit much more comfortable. Both headphones have a neutral-ish sound to their base signature. I can flip a switch for more bass on the MK802, though, which is awesome like a Secret Aardvark hot sauce. That’s some hot action there when listening to Yoni Wolf drop some twisted and demented rhymes on Mumps, Etc…. I far prefer the MK802 with the bass switch pumped up on many tracks. Pushing the bass a bit forward also gives the impression of greater depth in the signature. It’s a nice improvement much of the time.
 

 
There is really nice air between instruments in the MK802 presentation. Perla’s vocals should always enchant, and the MK802 don’t fudge with that—children force you to learn prudent self-censorship. I prefer this trackThe soundstage on the MK802 is not as big as that on the Ausdom M05. Some of this could be due to the MK802 sealing better. The MK802 does have better detail and separation than the Ausdom M05. For rock tracks and hip-hop tracks I found that I basically always flip the bass switch as it is much more satisfying.
 
To test out speed, I tried to do some metal music, but volume levelling doesn’t work right for metal, it removes all the dynamics and makes the music sound muted. Metal shouldn’t be muted. However, when I turn off the levelling the result is distortion. These headphones can’t handle being punched in the face by some aggressive metal music.
, 

Ausdom M05

Warmer than the MK802. Big midbass, with a little bleed into the mids. Still love the fantastic airiness in the signature, good 3-dimensional soundstage. More comfortable than the MK802. Leak sound like a sieve, though, so not suitable for out and about or in a quiet office. The bass is on these is like a less controlled version of the MK802 with the bass switch engaged. These sound louder and more energetic than the MK802 due to a more forward signature and the big bass enhancement. However, instrument definition on the M05 is not nearly on par with the MK802. The soundstage has greater dimensions in all ways, but instrument separation isn’t as refined and mids and midbass are forward, a sound that many will prefer.
 

1MORE iBFree

Listening to Michael Jackson – Billie Jean, the house sound is readily apparent. Similarly, both of these headphones use single dynamic drivers to provide their sound. The soundstage is smaller than the MK802 and notes don’t have quite the same precision, but the sound signature is very similar. The mids on the iBFree are a bit more forward than the MK802, which is helpful in picking out the details of the train station announcements on Pink Floyd – On the Run. Similarly, the drums are closer on Pink Floyd – Time, which compresses the soundstage depth a bit but gives more immediacy to the sound. There will be folks that prefer the more forward mids of the iBFree. I think that both presentations are good. In my opinion, the MK802 definitely has the edge in overall presentation.
 

1MORE MK801

Similar to the iBFree, the 1MORE MK801 is a bit more mid-forward in the signature. Listening to Dragonforce – The Fire Still Burns reveals that the amplifiers in the MK802 earpieces just aren’t up to snuff for loudly mastered tracks. They twist and distort when exposed to more heavy tracks. Something I’ve found is that if a track is mastered loud, listening to it quiet will never sound right. I try to have a live feel to music when listening. Because I wanted to listen to some metal, I did a corded comparison for the MK801 and MK802 with volume matched as follows with white noise: MK802 = GO2A Infinity 450mW, volume = 41; MK801 = GO2A Infinity 450mW,  volume = 37). I used the cable from the MK801 for both, but it is likely that the cable is identical between the two headphones, just a different colour.
 
Listening to Animals as Leaders – Ka$cade, the background is a tiny bit noisier on the MK801, and the notes a little less precise. The MK802 is also a bit faster. Some detail is lost in both. The MK801 has more forward mids, which will be inviting to many. I experienced no distortion with either headphone in cabled operation.
 

UERR

Since I was already corded, and still wanted to judge some speed, I ran some more volume matching for the UERR without volume levelling (GO2A Infinity 450mw, volume 29). Mids are more like the MK801 on the UERR than like the MK802, which inclines me to conclude that the mids are a bit recessed on the MK802. The soundstage of the MK802 is more intimate and has less well-defined elements, but we are talking about a nearly £900 price difference. The UERR is a bit denser in the mids too, which isn’t always welcome, depending on the track and sonic preferences.
 
Throwing on San Francisco Symphony Orchestra – Harrison: Concerto for Organ with Percussion Orchestra (off American Mavericks), the UERR sorts instruments in space much better with a greater soundstage in all dimensions.
 
Whilst the MK802 is not as technically accomplished as the UERR, it’s performance is by no means embarrassing. It is still a great sounding headphone. I’m finishing off with some SACD ripped Pixies – Where Is My Mind. The mids are further back on the MK802 and it doesn’t give the same level of performance in soundstage or instrument definition, but it is still very satisfying.
 

Conclusions

I set out with three new 1MORE headphones to review in August. Of the 1MORE headphones, these MK802s have the greatest range of functionality. I love love love the bass boost on the MK802 and find myself engaging it much of the time for the increase in body and small increase in perceived stage depth. These are fast enough to keep up with the technical metal of Animals as Leaders and reach high enough to showcase the airy twinkling percussion of the Welsh folk of 9Bach. If you are looking for a Bluetooth headphone that will give you copious playback time, good range, corded operation for when that mega-battery runs out, and a neutral signature with extra bass on demand, these 1MORE MK802s should be on your list of headphones to check out.
Thanks again, 1MORE UK, for providing this review sample, these were a nice cap to a delicious three course audio meal, though I feel like I did this in the wrong order. These are definitely more of a main, with the iBFree being an appetiser and the E1001 Triple Driver a dessert. It’s time to turn the lights out and go home.

Acknowledgment   

Thanks @George-gearbest of Gearbest, for the opportunity to participate in this review tour.  The Syllable D900S was provided to me as a review sample in exchange for my honest opinion. Thanks also for the understanding when I let you know that my review would not be positive.

 

Introduction

I’ve reviewed a few Bluetooth headphones with mixed results, but none of those headphones was completely wireless, with a charging case—shiny shiny. The Syllable D900S represents what seems to be a growing consumer demand for a totally wireless Bluetooth solution. There are a couple totally wireless headphones out there, like the Bragi Dash ($300), and there are more to come like the Trinity Phantom Air—I have great hopes for the Phantom Air. Preceding this model was the Syllable D900, which didn’t have aptX codec capabilities could only be used for 1-2 hours and had a meagre standby time of 2-4 hours. It appears that the D900S gives something more usable. The purpose of the headset is advertised as being for sport or mobile phone use, so coming into this I was expecting a bassy, non-audiophile signature. The product is the only one of it’s kind in it’s price range, so my views will be couched in what the product is trying to do at it’s price point.
 

 

Vital Statistics (specs from manufacturers and distributors)

In this section of my reviews I try to let the manufacturer’s story about their product be told. Manufacturers and retailers always have something to say about their products, some of the time it’s accurate. The review sections will tell whether that is the case here.
This is what Gearbest had to say:
 
D900S wireless earbuds adopts the exclusive Multiplex Link composite connection technology of Syllable for absolutely wireless connection. Without limit of cable, just enjoy the music freely while doing sports.

Main Features:
Syllable D900S Bluetooth wireless earbuds for music and calls
The updated version of D900, provides more stable signal and longer standby time
Supports apt-x sound effect, offer the Hi-Fi tone quality
IPX4 waterproof, impervious to sweat and rain
Come with intelligent charging box for continuous use
Compact size, easy to carry
 
Not really a whole load of bull there. I appreciate a straight to the facts statement about what the product does. That means I don’t have any fabulous claims to repudiate, which removes a little of the fun of conscientious reviewing—also known as being a disillusioned skeptic.
For those who find themselves dying to try this at this point or after this review, Gearbest have provided a coupon code for your convenience. Get $40 off with the code LHSY.
 
 

Form & Function

The packaging was functional with a sexy man bun model on the front. My wife commented that the man-bun is really in right now, she’s seeing it everywhere. Apparently Asia’s love of foreign looking models extends to Swiss-looking dudes with stubble beards and man-buns. The picture on the box is real, at least. Online there are obviously photoshopped pictures with athletic people in tight fitting athletic gear smiling with their luminescent bright bleached pearl chompers.
 
 
In addition to the IEMs, inside the box you get a micro USB cable, a silicone lanyard for connecting the earbuds, a cloth bag for carting ‘em off to the gym—go to the GYM commandeth the D900S, and the charging case. The specs don’t tell you how long the charging case takes to charge, but it seemed longer than two hours for me. The headphones gave less than 4 hours of playtime for me. I would guess this was due to the weakness of the signal. It’s like what happens when you take your phone into a low reception area: the constant searching for signal drains the battery. Bluetooth pairing isn’t terribly difficult. First pair the right earphone using standard hold the button till you get some rapid flashing methodology, then press the same button on the left earphone by holding it till you hear sound. All this pairing only takes a few seconds. I’ve tried pairing these with 6 transmitter/DAC combinations, some with aptX and some without, here are the results:

• GO V2 with Avantree BTTC-200 (not aptX, Bluetooth 2.1, but was my best sounding Bluetooth transmitter on previous pairings): it’s plagued with dropouts of the left channel. I think the latency may be too high for the processing capability on the Bluetooth receiver and transmitter in the right earphone.
• Dell Vostro laptop (not aptX): dropouts were less frequent, sound a bit thin.
• GO V2 with Avantree BTTC-200 (not aptX, Bluetooth 2.1): unlistenable, inconsistent signal with dropouts with any movement of the head. Sound lacked body, sounding like a crushed tin box and not in a good Radiohead kind of way.
• GO V2 with Aukey BTTC transmitter (aptX low latency): connection strength varies greatly, one day whilst listening to Adele on Tidal I had good sound and infrequent dropouts, another day whilst listening to Bandcamp it was constantly dropping out and near unlistenable
• Samsung Galaxy Note 2 (not aptX, Bluetooth 3.0, haven’t previously liked how it sounds in Bluetooth): constant connection dropouts, unlistenable
• Samsung Galaxy Note 2 with Aukey BTTC (aptX low latency): constant connection dropouts, unlistenable

 
There is an interesting article by LJokerL up on his blog “the headphone list.” I think I would put this article in required reading for anyone considering getting a Bluetooth headphone. The following sentences provide a summary. A2DP is the profile that is used to play music. Without aptX, the maximum quality will be similar to a 320kbps mp3 using the SBC codec that is included in all Bluetooth devices. There are also headset and hands-free profiles, but these default to low quality mono. After Bluetooth 2.1, audio quality on SBC is exactly the same, so some older transmitters and receivers may sound better than newer ones, it is all down to SBC implementation. This is why my Avantree Bluetooth device usually sounds better than my Aukey even when the Aukey is using aptX and the Avantree is using SBC. AptX streams in near CD quality sound, and has versions that improve latency, which can lead to better lipsyncing in movie and game functions.
 
I found that the better the amplification my source had, the less chance of dropouts I had. The GO V2 consistently had the most stable stream, and also had the highest power headphone out. The worst connection I had was with my Galaxy Note 2 (with or without aptX dongle) which has a weak headphone out, and generally poor Bluetooth performance. When I took the Note 2 out for a walk with the Syllable D900S, it was unlistenable. I had constant signal dropouts, especially on the left earphone. The signal was so poor the wind blowing in anything more than the gentlest of breezes was causing dropouts. After 15 minutes of this on two separate walks running errands for my daughter’s 1^st birthday party I gave up and put the headphones back in my bag. The sound of the high street traffic was more pleasant than the constant cut-outs I was getting. When I switched to using the aptX dongle from the Note 2 headphone out on my second walk, there was no improvement.
 
The Syllable D900S only comes with two sets of floppy weird shaped silicone triple flange tips. The nozzle on the headphones is oval, but I found that using other tips did work, so make sure you have some other tips on hand that fit your ears well. I couldn’t get a perfect fit for the gym-rat purpose of these headphones with the stock tips. The smaller set of tips don’t give me a good seal, so the sound is thin, with hollowed out mids and a lack of impact, but I can jump up and down and shake my head from side to side pretending that I’m in Flashdance—What a FEELING! When I switch over to the bigger tips, the seal improves, but the fit is less secure. If I move full on Footloose, my left earbud will be flying out this joint. No Kenny Loggins for me. Everyone will have different shaped ear canals, but given the limited number of options on these, fit may be a problem for many users. If you just want to take these for a walk, you may be fine, given a very good Bluetooth source, but going for a vigorous up and downhill run, or playing a game of tennis and you’ll be picking up the plastic shells off the ground in no time. I think lateral movement will be more of a problem with the stock tips.
 
Speaking of those shells, they are ginormous! They are very light, but because of their size simple leverage makes the tips prone to loosening in my ears—this ascribes to the fit issues I’ve been experiencing. The size of the IEMs is understandable, as within the right shell there has to be a battery a Bluetooth receiver, a Bluetooth transmitter, and some form of signal amplification, which is one more component than most Bluetooth headphones require in that they use a cable to connect the individual earphones. Many Bluetooth in-ear headphones are large, but these are larger than large. They are robotic suits in a boy band music video large. They are Bill Murray with an elephant buddy large.
 
 
One thing that is sadly lacking on these is volume controls. Not all tracks are at the same volume, and if you are running on a treadmill you really don’t want to have to change settings on your phone or Bluetooth enabled DAP. Depending on where you have your audio player, this might not even be possible. I'm not convinced of the benefits of completely doing away with wires, if you do away with all the advantages they present.
 
I would say that the 10m range listed on these is an utter fabrication or just a repetition of what CSR says on their chip specification. I had problems with drop-outs at less than 1 metre away from my source, walking a five meters away with the door open from my office gave me consistent drop-outs. The 10m range is likely ideal and not real world performance.
 
Overall, the headphone gives the impression of a headphone that had some testing in ideal circumstances, and insufficient beta testing out on the street. How can a sports headphone be unable to take movement or a gust of wind without drop-outs with the included tips?
 
After reading @B9Scramblers's review, I tried using different tips. I took the tips off of the 1MORE EO323 and to my surprise they fit fine, and the oval nozzle wasn't a problem. In fact, different tips appeared to increase stability of the headphone. Version three of these needs to use standard tips and a more ear shaped earpiece, as @B9Scrambler says in his review. I think that these headphones are incredibly sensitive to movement of the headphone. If the headphone shakes around much, like when they weren't very secure outside in the wind, they drop signal. When the headphone is secure, it doesn't vibrate much in the ear, and is less likely to drop. Better fit improves the sound a little bit too, the mids are more present, but the signature is still lacking in detail. Watch out when you remove them from your ears, though, as using non-stock tips, the tip is more likely to come off. I found that the 1MORE tips loosened and pulled to the end of the nozzle. In the next version of this, the nozzle needs to be round to allow easier use of tips.
 
An improvement that I would make to the design is to distribute some of the internal machinery into a pair of built-in ear-hooks. Move the Bluetooth receiver for each headphone into a robust earhook. The wires of the earhook could have data transmission functions as well as form functions. This would reduce the bulk of the IEM that is in the ear, and would enhance stability. These changes would change how the charging port would need to be arranged and force redesign of the charging case. I think the benefits would outweigh the costs, though. Another option would be to just shrink the shell. I think some of the size is to make manufacturing easier. I'd rather have a little bit harder manufacturing and a lot more stable product.
 
 

Audio quality

The audio quality is hard to define. It ranges from pretty good to bag of dead cats. I would think that a bag of dead cats would be considered universally bad. The problem is that I can’t keep a constant enough signal in most usage to get to hear the sound well.
 
When I have strong signal, the sound is a bit thin in the mids, and lacking emphasis in the bass. There are rare bits of treble harshness on some sharper violins, but it is minor. In general, these sound pretty balanced, but they probably would have benefitted from better amplification at the IEM. Overall, these sound good, with an average soundstage and fairly neutral presentation. Many folks will want more bass for a sport IEM, so the tuning might not fit the market these are aiming for. As I had difficulty establishing signal much of the time, I didn’t give these as much listening time as I do for most of my reviews.
 
When compared to the Ausdom M05, these are worse in every way. The Ausdom sounds engaging and full-bodied. The Syllable D900S is thin. The Ausdom fits me comfortably, the Syllable is hard to get a secure fit with stock tips and inflexible. The Ausdom has excellent Bluetooth range and had no problems with dropouts on the same transmitters. Sound out of the Ausdom sounds CD quality, sound out of the Syllable does not. The Ausdom M05 are very lively with a 3-dimensional soundstage, more bass, and more treble. I prefer the sound of the Ausdom M05 and it has rock solid Bluetooth performance, and controls on the headphone. If choosing between the two, I’d buy the M05 every time. The M05 is also more stable on the head, so you might actually be able to go for a run with it. In fact, I know a reviewer who did.

 

Conclusions

If the signal and fit issues weren’t so terrible for me, I would still be a bit torn on recommending these on sound quality. They have a mostly neutral presentation. Mids sound a bit thin, and bass and drums could use a more impact, but for $50 with the coupon code LHSY on Gearbest, these would be considered, if the signal wasn’t terrible. These are a decent sounding Bluetooth in-ear.
 
However, I struggled to get a good signal on these headphones, and the shells are so huge that they had to design custom tips that only come in two sizes and will likely not fit many people. I had trouble keeping these stable in ear and constantly felt like they were going to come out. My ear canal size is likely in between the two tip sizes provided, as I didn’t get enough bass and the mids sounded hollowed out with the small tips, but the headphones weren’t secure with the larger tips. I’m not going to be alone on this.
 
Overall, I found these very disappointing, which is why I’ve given them such a low rating. Most of the time I rate about 70% sound and 30% everything else, but in the case of these the everything else was bad enough that I couldn’t enjoy the audio quality from these. This problem has made the rating flip for me. I feel like I might be rating a bit generous at 2 stars. Other folks may not have the fit or signal issues that I did. I imagine that it will vary by your ear canal size and by the capabilities of your Bluetooth transmitter, but I will say this is the first time that I’ve experienced problems with my transmitters in 4 reviews of Bluetooth headphones. Maybe your fruit laden or confectionary themed cellular device will have better luck than my dongles and DAPs, but I wouldn’t bet heavily on that outcome.

Acknowledgment   

Thanks @Tony-Hifi at HiFi Headphones for letting me participate in the UK tour. It was fun as always. The Pinnacle is available from HiFi Headphones for £179 (no guess what that is in dollars, Brexit, after all).

 

Introduction

I’ve been hearing about MEE products for years! I don’t know why it has taken me so long to hear one in these ears of mine. I’ve recommended them to neophytes based on @ljokerl’s IEM thread—the place where my audio journey kicked off on HeadFi—and in other recommendations. In the past I’ve recommended some MEE headphones to friends who’ve been buying crappy $10 fashion headphones found next to dental rot sugar bombs from abusive multinational corporations, and then replacing them with similarly devoid of value offerings from other grocery and corner store counters. I’ve made these recommendations without hearing them, which is stupid, and the people I’ve advised haven’t listened, which is fitting given that they must have an unmitigated wax disaster in their ears if they think ‘fashion’ buds sound OK. Friends don’t let friends buy their headphones at a Tesco-Express counter.
 
Now I’ve gotten to finally hear a MEE product, and boy am I glad. I feel like slapping high-fives round the neighbourhood. I didn’t expect this Chinese company I’d never heard before to metaphorically palm the basketball that is my little melon head and ears, much less put up a Nate Robinson-esque 360 windmill slam-dunk of a pair of headphones—from Seattle to Shenzen, high fives all around. I came into this review expecting competence. What I got was a set of IEMs that ended up being my favourite among IEMs that I have on hand and view very favourably, and among my favourites that I've listened to this year. I’m stunned and overjoyed.
 

 

 

Vital Statistics (specs from manufacturers and distributors)

In this section of my reviews I try to let the manufacturer’s story about their product be told. For the MEE Pinnacle, I’ve taken the information from HiFi Headphones and MEE Audio’s site. HiFi Headphones often does as well or better than the manufacturer in telling the story of a product. HiFi Headphones has this to say about the Pinnacle:
 
Pinnacle is more than a name - it is a statement that identifies the P1 in-ear earphones as the result of two years of design, engineering, and refinement. With its proprietary acoustic design and innovative zinc-alloy construction, the MEE Audio Pinnacle P1 delivers a timeless combination of beauty and performance.
 
To improve performance at the extremes of the frequency range the Pinnacle P1 utilises a proprietary 10mm moving coil driver with 50Ω impedance. The dynamic driver delivers a full-bodied bass note and slightly warm tonal character while retaining high levels of resolution and refinement. Using a dedicated audio source or amplifier designed for higher-impedance headphones can further improve the listening experience of the Pinnacle P1 heapdhones.
 
Built to last, the Pinnacle P1 is made of a zinc alloy that is stronger than aluminium and lighter than stainless steel and features interchangeable, replaceable cables with MMCX connectors. The unique ergonomic design can be worn one of two different ways and fits all ears comfortably.
The snug in ear fit blocks outside noise, preventing interruptions and protecting your hearing by allowing lower-volume listening. Comply T-Series memory foam eartips are included to further increase noise isolation for a superior audio experience.
 
On Mee Audio’s website they also note that the Pinnacle will sound best with CD quality or better audio and that they designed the driver to reduce moving mass. If you’ve watched Jude’s video on the new Focal line-up (well worth a watch), you know that lower moving mass allows for faster full frequency range response. Further, Mee Audio had this to say about the shell:
 
ACOUSTIC DIFFUSER
A proprietary sound chamber and damping scheme provide the best balance of treble extension and smooth-in-the-ear response. The P1’s patented acoustic diffuser takes advantage of the directional nature of treble (high frequency) sound waves, forcing select frequencies to resonate before reaching the ear to ensure coherency and smoothness. This effectively improves the detailing and high-frequency extension of the P1 without adding harshness, resulting in treble that is extended and energetic, but also smooth for a more realistic sound with improved detail resolution and handling of spatial cues.
 
 

 
 
 

 

Form & Function

First, I’d like to say that the Pinnacle came with serious presentation quality packaging. If you want to impress someone with a gift and are flush enough to just give away $200 pairs of headphones, MEE will make you look like a savant of gift-giving. Chris Kringle ain’t got nothing on you—he better put that red two-piece away. The box has a white outer sleeve with photos, text, specs and all that jazz. Lift the wrapper off and inside is illicit unboxing video porn, NSFW.  You are greeted by a high quality heavy linen finish card box that opens like a DeLorean that’s upside down, but meant to be that way. Like it’s barrel rolling in James Bond stunt at the apex, freeze-framed on the silver screen. Suffice to say I was impressed. I’ve opened up cases to much more expensive IEMs that weren’t as impressive.
 

 
Inside the box, there are two further boxes, each labelled with their contents and some thoughtfully organised compartments, with the obligatory IEM showcase insertion points. The leather magnetic clasp case looks up at you, announcing with a shiny metal placard your Pinnacle’s serial number and crying “hear ye, hear ye, here there quality be.” The two labelled boxes contain the MMCX cables in one, including one with microphone; and eartips in the other. A good assortment of eartips was included, including three sizes of comply foamies. I didn’t use the microphone cable as I don’t listen on my phone and hate interruptions in my music. Music time is me time, or MEE time in this case. The selection of tips was good, but I found that I liked the Pinnacle best with Spinfits—I’m finding that I like almost all of my headphones best with Spinfits, my second favourite tips were the stock single flange silicone tips. Can someone send me a bucket of medium Spinfits? It would be much appreciated. So little time to review, and switching tips is such a hassle—I need to satisfy my inner Garfield while growing into my outer Garfield. The Spinfits firm up the low end a little bit and make the treble crisper, which I like. I took observations with various tips, I’ll try to reference which tips are being used along the way.
 

 
The Pinnacle is lightweight with an easy nozzle angle for wearing the cable up. The product info advertises that it can be worn down, but this felt really awkward when I tried it. The cable has a premium feel and good weight. The braiding effectively prevents tangles, and the weight of the cable helped stop it from bouncing around too much. I didn’t notice microphonics when walking, but I also didn’t do any vigourous action with the Pinnacle in my ears—inner and outer Garfield intact. While the fit is good, it is no match for my best fitting IEM, the Trinity Audio Atlas. It is no shame to be second to the Atlas in fit as the Atlas fit like a pair of handmade sheepskin moccasins fit your December feet when the cabin fire has long since died out and the slate floor might as well be an ice-hockey rink. The Trinity Atlas are that friggin' comfortable—you just want to snuggle up with them in the cold winter night.
 
When inspecting the IEMs, the screens covering the bores appear to be glued on and are a fine mesh with a small lip. I’d be careful when doing tip switches and cleaning the screens.
 
Now the moment you've been waiting for, illicit unbox photos!
 
 

Audio quality

I had nothing but impressive experiences with these, the packaging was prophesy of my listening experience. For this review I used the following gear: iBasso DX50, LH Labs Geek Out V2, Spinfit tips, Comply foamies, stock tips. I listened to a lot of music, staying up till 3am with these beauties on one night. My wife asked me if I was coming to bed at about 1AM and I told her I’d sleep in the office—I should note there is a bed in the office. That is how much I was liking these.
 
First things first, I tried these with several tips, and found that Spinfits worked the best. Comply was a bit soft and not as well defined as the stock tips or Spinfits. The stock tips were a little bright in the treble and not as good on the bass as the Spinfits. I love Spinfits, and they had the clearest crispiest treble and best bass definition of the tips I tried, so most of my impressions will be with Spinfits mated to the pinnacle nozzle.
 
Second things second—has anyone ever said that? I think I’ll claim it; these demand a lot of power. When I played them through the DX50, they needed high gain and high volume to reach full performance capabilities. On the Geek Out V2, I was driving the Pinnacle at 50% volume in the 1000mW setting. For reference, I listen to the HD600 at about 65%, and most IEMs I listen on the 100mW (low gain) setting. Don’t try to drive these out of your cellular or a weak-sauce amplifier, it’s a waste of a good audio meal. It’s like asking for ketchup with your bistecca alla fiorentina (best darn steak in the world, sorry Brazil, Argentina, New York)—don’t be a heathen.
 
For my listening tracks I whipped out old review catalogue favourites and a couple tracks I love but haven’t been review tracks. On the beaten path, so to speak, were:

1. Eagles – Hotel California (DCC Gold),
2. Father John Misty – The Night Josh Tillman Came to Our Apartment,
3. Keith Greeninger – The Harder That We Love (DSD128, off Live at the Fenix),
4. Unleash the Archers – General of the Dark Army
5. Dragonforce – Heroes of Our Time
6. Charles Mingus – Eat that Chicken

 
On the other road in a yellow wood:

1. Beck – Satan Gave Me a Taco
2. Boys Age – I am a Jester (album can be downloaded for free here – why have you not downloaded this yet!?)

 
The list of tracks above were what I used for comparative listening, but I also listened to many more, including: Belle & Sebastian’s Dear Catastrophe Waitress album; some ELO, Tool, Tori Amos, Norah Jones, City of the Sun, Daft Punk; my treble torture test: Kraftwerk – Kometenmelodie 2; and Roger Waters – Late Home Tonight, Part One whilst calibrating which tips I should be using. Initial listens for tips were done on medium gain on the DX50 and it wasn’t enough power for the Pinnacle. On the DX50 with medium gain I felt a little bit of treble fatigue and a lack of bass emphasis with the stock tips. Switching to the Comply foamies tamed the little bit of extra treble and warmed up the bass a bit, but didn’t do anything for impact. A few of my albums were vinyl rips, and on each one the Pinnacle was very revealing of vinyl noise. Very clear headphones often expose the limitations of vinyl, and the Pinnacle are very clear headphones, indeed.
 
Throughout the listen on medium gain out of the DX50 there was excellent clarity with great detail in the mids and treble. On Step Into My Office Baby, there was a very airy quality to the vocals. On Roy Roger there was great reverb and sparkle on the xylophone. Telephone Line gave me some great drum response. I switched to high gain, and chucked the volume up to 237 (out of 255) on the DX50 for listening to Aenima, and it didn’t have enough oomph for me. Vocals sounded a little recessed and drum sounded a touch distant. Bass texture was excellent, though. I’m also happy to note that the Pinnacle passed the treble torture test with flying colours. It never went too bright on Kometenmelodie.
 
On Tori Amos – Hey Jupiter, the instrumentation has excellent depth. With Norah Jones I was hearing tiny details like a miniscule guitar pluck deep on the right of the stage in Cold Cold Heart. Whilst many IEMs will give you clues and markers to where instruments are located in the soundstage, like a set of ‘X’s on a alpine map denoting the route, not every IEM lets you fully sense and feel the way of the ski trail. The Pinnacle doesn’t just have you see the trail pencilled on a map, your skis are in the grooves left by alpinists before you, your eyes are watching for fluorescent tags on white birch bark denoting your path. I feel the sound stage with the Pinnacle, I don’t just hear cues to locations—there is crystalline mountain air around the instruments. With that said, the soundstage is only a bit above average in size—it just maximises the impact it gives in the space it has with excellent separation, detail and tactility.
 
Strolling through City of the Sun and Daft Punk, I noted excellent kick in drums and percussion with real air moving through the bass drum kicks, great tone on plucked instruments, and excellent imaging, but I also noted that bass quantity may not satisfy everyone. On Giorgio by Moroder, the Pinnacle’s imaging definitely stood out.
 
Now that I’ve established a baseline, I’ll proceed to the comparative listens. For each headphone, I attempted to do a crude volume matching by writing down volume levels and gain settings for each IEM at 78dB using an SPL meter. My methods weren’t perfect, but they were definitely better than not volume matching at all. I initially had the Pinnacle (with Spinfits), the Echobox Finder X1 (Black Filter, Spinfits), 64 Audio X2 (Comply, Spinfits), Shozy Zero (Spinfits), and Trinity Audio Atlas (Sony Isolation Tips). I’ll present comparisons on a song by song basis.
 
Eagles – Hotel California (played through iBasso DX50)
The Pinnacle has excellent clarity and imaging, and drums have good impact. The best in the group for the thump thump bass drum at the end of the intro are the 64 Audio X2. Mids were most recessed on the Finder X1. The 64 Audio X2 is the smoothest, but is sometimes soft and doesn’t have the treble extension and detail that the Pinnacle has. The Shozy Zero is bassier than the Pinnacle and has a larger soundstage.
 
Father John Misty – The Night Josh Tillman Came to Our Apartment (iBasso DX50)
The production on the album tends towards warmth, such that headphones that add warmth often make the album sound musty and congested. The Pinnacle doesn’t add any warmth, and to my ear lets the album sound natural and inviting. The Shozy Zero has a taller and wider soundstage with a romantic quality to the sound, detail is still there, but in less quantity due to smoothed treble on the Zero. Luckily for the Zero, the warmth in the sound doesn’t impact Josh Tillman’s voice. The Trinity Audio Atlas has slower bass but a nicer presentation of the glockenspiel on the track. The Echobox Finder X1 is bassy, and not as tight bass as it’s competitors, and has recessed vocals.
 
At this point I switched to the Geek Out V2 and popped the gain up to high, and proceeded to listen till three in the morning. The instrument separation when listening to Smoke & Mirrors Percussion Ensemble is fantastic with details just popping all over. The Pinnacle definitely likes the power to soar.
 
The Geek Out V2’s amplification is also more revealing of the other IEMs. On Keith Greeninger – Harder That We Love, the presentation is a little artificial sounding with the Trinity Audio Atlas, with bass colouring the vocals. It sounds wrong after the Pinnacle. The 64 Audio X2 is warmer, but less detailed, with a sleight veil, and more forward mids. The Pinnacle doesn’t over-emphasize any frequency, it is just beautifully balanced.
 
Brittney Slayes and Co. really rock it on General of the Dark Army, and the Pinnacle does not disappoint, the attack is crisp, with sharp well defined edges. It is metal and feels metal, with sharp guitars and machine gun drums. I just want to crank it up with the Pinnacle hooked into the GO V2. The 64 Audio X2 is smoother with a more immediate presentation (those forward mids at play).
At this point the Pinnacle has won me over compared to my other headphones on hand. Through the rest of the night it keeps up with Dragonforce, gives Charles Mingus – Eat That Chicken a fun live feel with horns dancing round the stage and hoots of ‘Oh yeah’ grounding the atmosphere. On Boys Age – I am a Jester a soft bassline under lying the tune is clearly heard and guitar is well defined. Beck – Satan Gave Me a Taco has an organic sound. The Pinnacle reveals the tape noise of the recording, but doesn’t make it sound as gnarly as some other headphones can. It also holds onto tiny details, like faint tapping and scratching on the guitar body. After listening to the Pinnacle on this track, the Trinity Atlas makes me feel yucky, it just sounds stale and muddy in comparison.

 

Conclusions

The Pinnacle is an absolute joy. It sings quality from the moment you meet it's unique packaging contours and continues in dulcet tones when the visual experience moves to your ears. It is sheer aural pleasure, the best sounding single dynamic driver embedded strongly in my memory (I have poor recall of IE800 listens). It is expertly tuned with great detail, an articulate soundstage with real air imported from the path less travelled by, and a balanced overall signature that is immensely pleasurable. At $199, the Pinnacle is a strong competitor for best price to performance ratio of the year.
 
The Pinnacle won’t be for everyone. It needs loads of power for the bass to be fully realised and the mids can sound recessed when they aren’t driven hard enough. If you drive them well, you’ll enjoy them. On the DX50 the Pinnacle needed high gain, and high volume. On the GO V2 it took high gain and 50% volume. Most IEMs are fine on low gain, and ones that like more power tend to be at about 20% on high gain. This is a stellar effort from MEE Audio and fully deserving of 5 enthusiastic thumbs-ups, but since I don’t have a strange form of polydactyly granting me five thumbs, I’ll give it 5 stars instead.

Acknowledgment   

Thank you Shozy for the review sample in exchange for my honest opinion.

 

Introduction

Shozy is a manufacturer out of Hong Kong known for their interesting portable DAC/Amps and price to performance ratio. The company responsible for the brand has also manufactured under the name Cozoy. I think Shozy sounds nicer. The Zero continues in the same price to performance vein where the esoteric Alien and Alien Gold DACs have tread before, but the Zero is a lot more approachable.
 
Shozy sells the Zero on their website for $60 and notes that there are only a limited list of authorized distributors, check that your local (or not so local) shop is associated with the right distributor.
 

 

Vital Statistics (specs from manufacturers and distributors)

In this section of my reviews I try to let the manufacturer’s story about their product be told. Manufacturers and retailers always have something to say about their products, some of the time it’s accurate. The review sections will tell whether that is the case here.
 
Shozy doesn’t provide very informative information on their website, and has it formatted in a way that makes copy/paste onerous, the whole page is a jpeg. Shozy should definitely improve on making their website not just pretty, but functional. You can put lipstick on a pig, but you probably won't want to take that pig to the village dance--I don't presume to know what your community does. I’ve chopped the relevant bits up for you here.
 
Try googling pig with lipstick, you'll get racism, misogyny, judgemental religious blogs, and other fantastic things besides this great image. She's so stylish, she even knows how to wear pearls. Better trot out your best Sunday suit.
 

 
 

 
 
 
Conspicuously missing from the specs were driver size and impedance. Whilst the driver size isn't listed, it's a pretty safe bet to say between 8 and 10mm. The website says of low impedance. I have no idea what this means, but I'm guessing it means somewhere around 16Ω.
 

 
As can be seen, Shozy kind of sucks at drawing graphs. The scale here is obviously not linear, which makes it difficult to discern where that heavy roll-off really starts happening. That dip that drops down to 0 doesn't look so good to me. Luckily, it sounds better than that graph makes me feel. Maybe I just suck at reading graphs. After all, I've used the XKCD cartoon below for teaching economic modelling.
 
 

 

 

Form & Function

The units I received were one of many beta units sent out into the wild by Shozy, and I was very happy to be approached. My unit came in a simple padded mailer with no case or retail packaging, so I can’t comment on the packaging first hand. These are the accessories listed by Shozy as coming with the IEM:

1. Carrying pouch
2. Single flange eartips (S/M/L)
3. User manual

 
The stock tips have a very wide bore, which I found to increase stage width but decrease bass definition. I preferred the slightly smaller stage and improved overall definition and clarity of the spinfits. One interesting thing on the nozzle is there is a little notch on the bottom. Shozy indicates that this is for tuning, but I found that it also makes it easier to get tips on. The Shozy Zero has quite a large bore and loading the tips over the notch makes fitting tips much easier.
 
Overall the accessories are pretty bare, but are acceptable for the price range. There are headphones at lower prices with much nicer accessories, like the Brainwavz Jive. This is an area where Shozy could improve here, but from what is listed on Penonaudio.com, the cost of the wood might necessitate the price, and further accessories may cut into margins too much. According to Penonaudio:
 
SHOZY Zero in-ear earphones use simple in-ear design, wearing comfortable. Earphone front shell is  precisely processed by lathe and CNC,it has a remarkable acoustic structure designed to allow normal speaker releasing excellent sound; the rear shell, splitting and the plug shell, and are using good quality red sandalwood, precision lathe processed, carefully selected (1500 sets of wooden shell can pick out only about 300 sets). Imported speaker driver, high-sensitivity low impedance, mobile phone can drive it easily, if play with the high-end players and decoding amp, sound quality increase significantly and clearly.
 
The description on Penonaudio using ‘red sandalwood’ is not an error, as rosewood and red sandalwood are varieties of the same family. Rosewood is known for its excellent density, which makes it desirable in audio and woodcarving applications. Suffice to say that rosewood, a less expensive variety of red sandalwood, is still an expensive component.
 
Something to note ahead of getting into all this. I was advised by Shozy’s representative to burn the headphones in using classical music for at least 100 hours, preferably 200 hours. I think that this is a completely unreasonable amount of burn-in for a $60 headphone. If it requires this much burn in, most of this should be done at the factory. I’m also of the opinion that music doesn’t give drivers the same exercise as noise. I would usually burn-in headphones using what I’ve coined ‘Neapolitan noise.’ Neapolitan noise is white noise, pink noise, and brown noise; it’s like vanilla, strawberry and chocolate ice cream combo bricks you find in your grocery freezer section. Noise gives a more full frequency workout that reduces time to burn in drivers completely, and I’ve found that most headphones after 20 hours of noise exhibit no further changes. I have run into headphones that change around 50 hours, but there aren’t many. For the Zeros, I followed the manufacturer instructions, mostly. I tested them at zero, 20, 50, and 100 hours and noted that there were changes along the way. After 100 hours I gave them some Neapolitan noise to firm them up. The zero is more strident at first blush and mellows out over time. Give it due time.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Audio quality

The Shozy Zero has a warm mid/upper bass emphasis with smooth and pleasant sounding treble that does very nice with violins. I found that with the stock tips the bass could be a little fuzzy. A bit more control would be an improvement. The sound stage has good width but depth is superficial. You can hear the relative weight in the stage of instruments at different depths, but you can’t feel the air moving through and around instruments. It is like a painting done with broad brush strokes versus a painting using finer strokes. Both are pleasing, but the details are far superior when the more delicate brush is used. Instrument placement could be more palpable, with better separation in the depth dimension. Soundstage height is excellent on the Shozy Zero. I think the stock tips trade off some detail in order to blast out an impressively wide soundstage.
 
Switching to Spinfits, which give the bass more control and crispy up the treble a bit, I tried the Shozy Zero with a few DAC/DAPs. The Cyberdrive Feather DAC (a crazy bargain at current prices, $30 on IndieGoGo for DSD256 native DAC) is a nice pairing. The Feather DAC is a bit bass shy, so it controls some of the excesses on the Zero. I prefer a bit less emphasis on bass quantity, and more emphasis on bass quality most of the time, and the Feather tones down quantity nicely with the Zero. Soundstage height is still exceptional at this price. The LH Labs Geek Out 1000 is also a good pairing. The GO 1000 is fairly neutral with a bit of treble emphasis giving it a sharp sound that can be a touch metallic. This works well with the Shozy Zero. The iBasso DX50 has a bit of emphasis in the midbass to lower mids, which is where the emphasis is on the Zero also, so it didn’t make as good a pairing. The Opus Audio Opus #1 is a great pairing for anything I threw at it as it is sublimely neutral and was no different with the Shozy Zero.
 
When compared to the MEE Audio Pinnacle P1 (link to review), listening to Father John Misty – The Night Josh Tillman Came to Our Apartment, the Shozy Zero has more soundstage width and height, but lacks the definition and depth. The Shozy Zero has a romantic quality to it that many will find inviting. It has more forward mids and bass, and smooth treble that doesn’t extend as well as the Pinnacle, which makes it a less detailed sounding IEM, in comparison. Detail is still good with the Zero. I use Josh Tillman’s voice to check whether the midbass is bleeding into the lower mids and colouring the sound. Whilst there is emphasis in the midbass and upper bass, the Zero didn’t colour Josh Tillman’s voice, which made me very happy.
 
Listening to San Francisco Symphony Orchestra – Concerto for Organ with Percussion Orchestra - I. Allegro (off American Mavericks), with the LH Labs Geek Out V2 as the DAC (low gain, 100mW) the Zero keeps pace well and has good impact, but the 64 Audio X2 is a bit more composed with a greater sense of depth and a bit more impact on drums and percussion. Downloads now has a slew of fantastic recordings, and I particularly enjoy San Francisco Symphony Orchestra recordings. Concerto for Organ with Percussion… is a fantastically lively 5 and ½ minute track. I love me some percussion, and own four or five hi-res percussion albums from 24/96 PCM to DSD256. About the 64 Audio X2, which is relatively unknown, it was a Kickstarter exclusive fixed cable version of the 64 Audio U2, which retails at $399, so it is very impressive that the Shozy Zero is performing on similar level. I much prefer the 64 Audio X2, but it isn’t an open-shut case, and others may have different views. Both are excellent sounding. On Rage Against the Machine – Killing in the Name, the 64 Audio X2 is a bit cleaner and sharper with a slightly more balanced sound, which is more to my sound preference. On Be’Lakor – Abeyance/Remnants of the dynamic range laden metal purity Vinyl remaster of Of Breath and Bone, thanks @Trogdor (follow him on twitter @MetalFi), the 64 Audio X2 has much better bass texture, clarity, instrument separation and depth. The 64 Audio X2 is just better than the Zero, in my opinion.
 
Versus the Fidue A65 (link to review), the Shozy is a touch warmer and a little bit less crunchy.The signature of the Shozy is more restrained, with a bit more depth and width to the stage. The Fidue A65 has a more forward energetic signature with more brightness. Both are stellar performers in the price range. The Fidue A65 can be had from Hi Fi Headphones, locally in the UK for under £50. In a strange note, I’m pretty sure the rose gold Fidue A65 have the exact same cable as the Shozy Zero. The less sexy silver ones I have on hand have a black cable, so I can’t confirm if it is the same.
 
The Zero is really easy to drive. The Feather DAC doesn’t have much power, but it drives the Shozy Zero plenty. I like the Zero best with the Opus #1 and the Geek Out V2, two very neutral dacs with good strength in detail resolution.

 

Conclusions

The Shozy Zero is an excellent under $75 IEM. In fact, it is an excellent under $200 IEM. I don’t know if the joke on HeadFi is apocryphal or true regarding the Zero being designed to compare to headphones with an extra ‘0’ on the price, but I found it competed very well with all my sub $200 offerings.
 
This is a beautiful headphone made with premium wood with a warm and pleasurable sound. The soundstage is impressive for the price. It has smooth treble with a warm inviting sound that many will enjoy. I like a little less emphasis on the upper bass/lower mids, but this is a small quibble. Even with this emphasis, details are still good but do not beat the MEE Audio Pinnacle or the 64 Audio X2.
 
The Shozy Zero is well worth picking up for the low price of admission and competes very well with more expensive offerings.

[size=24.57px]Acknowledgment[/size]

Thanks @BangkokKid, otherwise known as Brannon Mason, for sending this review unit to me in exchange for my honest opinion. Thanks @FullCircle, otherwise known as Dr. John Moulton or the Wizard, for making this piece of art and all the other magic you do.

This review was originally posted here.

List price: $1850 (£1699)

Introduction

I’ve been watching Noble for years, mostly from the sideline, silently admiring the many creations of the Wizard in the Wizard Returns thread on HeadFi. I haven’t read every single page, but I’ve read a lot. The Noble crew mix it up nicely in the thread with a blend of honesty, courtesy, some California cool, and swagger. The many miscreants and mobile audio enthusiasts mixing it up there tell jokes and generally create a fun environment. It is one of the most interesting corners on HeadFi and part of what attracted me to the brand before I ever heard their gear.

I first heard a Noble IEM at Canjam London 2015. Brannan was manning the stand single-mannedly, as he often does. He was courteous, but had a silent confidence that made him seem a bit beyond me. So I didn’t try to make conversation—I was intimidated. I just asked to listen to the Noble 6 and the Noble Savant. The 6 didn’t do it for me—too much bass. That Savant was a black shell-o-goodness (RIP, Savant; long live the Sage). It was balanced, musical, and lovely, and this was before the new cases that make the Noble line look even more premium and poised to disown you of your coffers.

A couple months post Canjam, I started my reviewing journey, over the past year and ½ I’ve averaged 2 reviews a month while working full time and having a family life. Never think that hobbyist reviewers like myself aren’t working hard. I hoped that reviewing would give me the opportunity to hear exotic pieces of gear I’d otherwise not have the chance to hear outside of meets—a pretty limited place to audition due to time constraints and noise levels. I put in the work, joining tours, contacting manufacturers, making friends, writing reviews.

A year after my first Canjam I returned to Canjam London 2016 with business cards and tried to project confidence and, I dare say, some of that Noble thread swagger. I didn’t have it when I was at the Noble stand. Brannan is still intimidating in person. He helped me with auditions of the Kaiser 10 and the Katana. I told him that a cross between the two would be just about perfect—something less lush than the Kaiser 10 and less razor sharp than the Katana (very fittingly named). I gave him a business card, followed up, and after some patient waiting, the Noble Kaiser Encore arrived at my door over here in old blighty. Brannan never told me what he would send me to review, but I knew that something new was coming in the beginning of September. It was a very pleasant surprise to see the newly anointed King.

I’m so excited to review a headphone that I think was designed specifically with my tastes in mind (though not specifically for me, of course), a magical crossbreeding of two majestic beasts, the Kaiser 10 and the Katana. The pedigree is plenty apparent. It’s more magical than a Liger and more badass than a Pegasus. Roar and soar.

Napoleon Dynamite​	Pegasus don’t give a…​

Or for a reality based imaging…

Noble Kaiser 10 Aluminum Universal​	Noble Katana​

I think it is valuable for readers to know as much about their reviewers as possible, so in the interest of full disclosure check out my about me (in the linkie).

Form & Function

The Noble Kaiser Encore comes inside two boxes, a sturdy outer box with the Noble emblem on top and a lovely inner box with black fine textured paper. Before I opened the box, I thought I was reviewing the Sage. I had a good feeling when I saw the intriguing centrally textured black grey swirls with deep glossy black embossed Noble logo and text.

The Noble Kaiser Encore is a beautifully sculpted IEM. It is formed through the joining of two precisely CNC machined, anodized aluminum halves. The former edition had a rocket red half and a bright silver half. The Encore is more muted, dappled in blue-grey and a softer silver tone than the previous generation Kaiser 10.

The sharp contoured edges decisively sweep from the fascia toward the nozzle. Those lines meet in the imprinted logo in the centre of the fascia giving a muted starburst effect. The headphones look absolutely lovely.



 
The headphones come with a ton of accessories crammed into the Pelican 1010 case. There are four varieties of ear tips in three sizes and I found them all to work very well. I preferred the ‘blue’ tips sonically, but found that I had the most firm and consistent fit was with the foam tips. The foam tips are the best foam tips I’ve encountered. They grip extremely well in the warmth of your ear and the smooth outer shell seems easier to keep from getting grubby. There was little difference sonically between the different tips, but I’m sure that without going to outside tips, you’ll find a tip that you like in the package. I tried my Spinfits—normally my go to tip—and went back to the Noble ‘blue’ silicones tips.



 
Functionally, there are a couple ‘rough edges’ to note. The anodized surface is not as hard as the edges of the design. The edges are strong, so you’ll want to keep the earpieces from rubbing against each-other or other metal. These headphones require more careful handling than a pair of custom Encores would need. The rewards for this quirk of the aluminum shell and anodized finish is the ability to try the headphones, buy and walk out in the same day; and the ability to share them. I can tell you, it is an absolute joy to watch people’s eyes light up when they hear their music in a whole new way. It is one of the greatest joys of the hobby. It is the reason why local meets with your friends like the upcoming UK HeadFi Meet in Milton Keynes are so much fun. I hope to be sharing the Kaiser Encores for a long time into the future.

I also found that the pinholes on the IEMs are on the tighter side. Noble recommends avoiding switching cables, as this can result in stretching of the sockets. There are a lot of 2-pin manufacturers, and there is a lot of variance in tolerance control. It isn’t likely that any one headphone will have a perfectly snug fit with all cables, so this problem is far from unique to Noble. I recommend being careful and not trying to force a cable to fit that is resistant to insertion. Be gentle when attaching the cable to the shell, don’t force something that doesn’t fit right as you may loosen the pinholes. Unless you can test out a bunch of cables on a shop unit, resist the temptation to partner your Noble IEMs with a room laden with exotic cables.

Audio Quality

 
The Encore is special. They are absolute speed and detail monsters. They aren't as warm as the K10UA as some have observed and from memory they don't have the massive soundstage of the Katana (don't have either on hand, so memory may be biased). Vibro Labs coined a phrase to describe their new MAYA flagship: ideal neutral. I think that is actually what is happening here. These have a nice natural timbre with a superbly layered and lifelike presentation. They have a little extra body in the mids and a bit extra treble energy and shimmer. The extra mid body gives these soul. The treble shimmers and sparkles but doesn’t spike. There is great focus and air, but no harshness. Treble notes linger exactly as they should. Light percussion strikes are light, sustained notes sustain, everything sounds startlingly realistic. Bass is full and lustrous. On 9Bach – Llywnog and Led Zeppelin – D’yer Ma’ker the bass guitar licks are satisfyingly groovy with perfect attack and decay—never dry, never woolly. I just love the tight little hits. Perfect attack and decay on that bass note. I loved them so much I had to rip a friend away from his book to share. He didn’t mind one bit. I had never used D’yer Ma’ker as a test track, but when the Encore ripped out such good bass guitar licks I had to add it to my playlist immediately. Oh, that space around the drum hit. Yes. On Why – Strawberries, the bass drops deep while still nailing the xylophone percussion elements and the high synth, piano and chimes. The complex arrangement of this track is flawlessly portrayed. Listening to Camera Obscura was just achingly good, Lloyd, I'm not ready to be heartbroken—I hope these get to stay around for a bit.

There are other in-ears with bigger soundstage from oBravo, but these are no slouch at all in that element, cost less, have a more customizable sound (aftermarket cables, non-comply tips), and aren't Halloween costume garish hangin' out of your ears. The in-ears from oBravo are nice, but why must I be made to look like Frankenstein’s monster?



One really impressive thing for me about the soundstage was that it has an arc to it. It's like being in the front row, with the concert speakers hanging with just a little bit of curvature to their sound plane. It's a live kind of experience. Many IEMs put you in the center of the stage, I feel more like I'm just at the edge of it. Soon I'll be leaping off and surfing back. Catch me. I need my head for listening to the Encore's some more.

Listening to the Animals as Leaders album, Joy of Motion on these is bliss. Not a single transient smeared, not a single detail missed. Micro micro micro detailed. They are also revealing of the reduced dynamic range of the track, as instruments don’t have a ton of depth in the stage. The depth in the sound is clearly artificial in its creation, much in the way that electronic music creates stage depth when there is no stage. This does not take away from the accomplishment of the Kaiser Encore, as even within this limited stage on the track there are a ton of elements, and the Encore misses none of them and portrays them all with absolute clarity.

They are definitely a step up from my UERR, the big question is always whether the step up is worth it to you? The resolution is higher on the Encore, more defined edges, more precise location. I've also found that I like them more with the Effect Audio Ares II+. There can be some treble fatigue for me with the stock cable, but the big copper cable from Effect Audio smooths the peaks a little. No detail lost, just eliminating some fatigue. The only problem with the Effect Audio Ares II+ is its sheer mass, it feels heavy on the ear and my sensitive ear skin gets irritated after a while wearing it.

I only had a brief comparison between the Katana and the old Noble K10UA and I thought the Katana was more airy and more precise, but a bit sharp--like it's name. The Noble K10UA was full and lovely, with robust body. I preferred it. The Encore to me has a bit of both, kind of a perfect in between sandwich of awesome. The Encore is the muffaleta of headphones, full and delicious with lots of tasty detail and complexity, but without the gut-busting heaviness. Pass the olive and carrot salad. Yum.

Matchability

The Noble Encore has low impedance in its curve. I don’t know what impedance the bass is at, but I know that when I play it out of the RHA DACAMP L1 balanced output with an adapter, the sound gets messed up and wrong. It lacks soul and dynamism. It is bloody wrong. The Encore also hisses on many sources. It hisses on the DX50, the LH Labs GO2A, the HiFiMAN SuperMini, the HiFiMAN MegaMini, the Echobox Explorer, and my phone. It doesn’t hiss on the Aune M1S either in balanced or single-ended; the iFi Micro iDSD Black Label, and the Cayin i5 passed with flying colours too. I am more sensitive to hiss than some others, so you may not have the experience that I have had. Or you could just get a player known to not cause hiss with very sensitive IEMs like the Noble Encore.

Crap, Damien Rice just came on. Grown-ass man tears a flowin’.​

Headphone Comparisons

Because I compare a lot of intersections of gear, I’ve decided that it is about time I keep a volume matching database. As the Aune M1S is still my best sounding player, I have used it for comparisons. First, a little bit about methodology:

1. I’ve got an SPL meter, I’ve got a DIY coupler,
2. I’ve got a white noise track from Ayre Acoustics, when I combine these I get volume matching,
3. I press the IEM onto my coupler firmly,
4. I generally use foam for measurement and silicone for listening (foam seals better on the coupler),
5. For the UERR I find that they sound louder than universals if I use matched volume, so I’ve dropped the volume 2dB on the UERR—it seems to work.
6. I don’t use pure tones for volume matching because that doesn’t make any sense.

 

We already know from frequency charts that headphones don’t have the same response at different frequency values, using noise eliminates potential biased matching due to frequency response mismatches between headphones. I use white noise because it is has equal intensity at all frequencies. Listening to white noise will also tell you if your headphone isn’t neutral, the noise definitely sounds different with a very coloured headphone like the RHA CL1 than it does with a neutral IEM like the UERR or mostly neutral IEM like the Noble Encore. For the base comparison I used only stock cables.

Headphone	Cable	SE/Balanced	Gain	Volume	SPL
UERR	Stock	SE	Middle	78	76.2
UERR	Stock 2.5mm Balanced	Balanced	Middle	66	76.4
Noble Encore	Stock	SE	Low	79	78
Noble Encore	Effect Audio Ares II+, with SE adaptor	SE	Low	75	78.2
Noble Encore	Effect Audio Ares II+	Balanced	Low	59	78.2
Unique Melody Miracle	Stock	SE	Low	81	78
Unique Melody Miracle	Stock	SE	Middle	66	78.2

In my UERR review, I did some comparisons against the CL1 and the Noble Encore. For this review, the CL1 has been omitted as it just wasn’t competitive, and new tracks used for comparing the headphones. For this comparison, I’ve picked out Why – Strawberries for bass and treble presentation and extension, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra performing Lou Harrison’s Concerto for Organ with Percussion Orchestra Allegro for loads of percussive complexity, Clark Terry – Silly Samba for the sweet binaural Jazz stage and good variety of instruments, and Led Zeppelin – D’yer Ma’ker—you know why. Picking out more tracks for quick comparison is just too time consuming.

UERR

The bass on Dy’er Ma’ker is taut and well-defined on the UERR and the Encore with a little bit more decay on the Encore giving a bit more natural presentation. The treble is more satisfying on the Encore with nicer sounding cymbals and hi-hat. Instrument separation is a bit better and the sound just has a more whole feel to it. The overall sound is a bit more natural on the Encore, but both of these do a fantastic job with D'yer Ma'ker.

The mids on the Encore are airier than the UERR, which I found really helped on Silly Samba’s horns. Both the UERR and the Encore do an excellent job with the piano and chimes in the treble of Strawberries. There treble is a bit faster and more delicate on the Encore. Both have fantastic layering. Piano has a little more body on the UERR.

The depth of stage on the UERR is a little greater, but the Encore has a more natural feel to the instrumentation. I think I prefer both the Miracle and the Encore on presentation of the percussion orchestra. Both keep up with the speed of the percussive elements and maintain excellent imaging. The UERR has a little bit larger image, but the Encore has a bit more lifelike image. I tested increasing the volume on the UERR a little bit, and it still had the a bit deeper presentation. The Encore dealt with a greater concentration of instruments slightly better with more focused sound.

Verdict: Noble Kaiser Encore. More airy mids, more pleasing bass decay, and the delicacy of the treble really do it for me. It is worth noting that the UERR cost about 40% less than the Encore. An individual’s willingness to pay for the marginal, but imminently noticeable differences in performance will vary by the individual.

Unique Melody Miracle

A funny and surprising thing happened when I was testing the Unique Melody Miracle V2. I tried it on low gain on the Aune M1S and found that overall the Miracle V2 came across as laconic with a biit of a veiled effect. In comparison to the Encore it was diffuse in the bass (though still extending well), smooth and soft in the treble while retaining some good sparkle on Strawberries and Silly Samba, with smooth mids. The sound never challenged me, it was relaxing, but in need of some energy. On D'yer Ma'ker the bass edges, the defining characteristic of the song were soft and vocals sounded tame.

On the percussion orchestra piece, the race was tighter between the two IEMs. Both did an excellent job of depicting many simultaneous instruments in space with excellent separation and definition on the percussion orchestra and Silly Samba. Neither lose the mix of instruments and placements at all. You can definitely track every instrument. The Encore had a more focused attack and decay in the bass, which I preferred.

The Encore was airy with excellent extension in both the bass and treble. Bass body was full, not thick, with appropriate weight in the deep bass notes of Strawberries. D'yer Ma'ker’s bass guitar sounded real and lifelike. The soft edges of the Miracle gave way to firm well rounded bass with perfectly defined attack and decay on the Encore. D'yer Ma'ker sounds better on the Encore than anything else I’ve tried.

Now something special happened when I upped the gain on the M1S for the Unique Melody Miracle, it filled out and lost some of the softness that I observed, there was more energy, but it remained a smooth and easy-going signature. The Miracle V2 is great for long fatigueless listening sessions. The Miracle v2 isn’t as focused as the Encore, and doesn’t have as much stage depth, but it is a very satisfying listen. When adequately amped, the Miracle v2 is outputting firm bass with a bit more quantity than the Encore, but it isn’t outputting with the same quality. Bass texture, attack and decay are all more accurate to my ears. The Encore wins on depth and height, and has a slight edge (could be expectation bias) on width. The depth and height advantages are definite.

The Miracle V2 has a bit better isolation due to it’s pseudo-custom shell shape. I found that this shape also helped me with fit.  The bores on the Kaiser Encore are protected with a thin plastic around the edges. This should help keep the headphones operating at peak form for longer with lower maintenance. The Miracle v2 has two large offset bores that are difficult to keep clean. I would prefer that these have a sonically transparent screen over them. Over time the Noble tips get slippery and the insertion depth can make them slide a little bit, affecting the bass quantity. My advice is to clean the tips using alcohol wipes. When I did this the tips regained their nice firm grip. The plastic shell of the V2 is more pocketable as they won’t scratch themselves or other items. I find I like to put my IEMs in my blazer or jacket pocket when I’m getting on or off transit or when someone wants to talk to me, so pocketability is a good feature.

Verdict: Noble Kaiser Encore, due to better technical capabilities in space, and more refined bass. If sound is your main thing, then you can’t do much better than the Kaiser Encore. On aesthetics, the Kaiser Encore wins easily. On ergonomics, the Miracle v2 is a bit better. The Miracle v2 will be a better value for many.

The Spoils

To the victor go the spoils. In this little armatures race, the Noble Encore takes top place, but those looking for a better ‘value’ at the top end may wish to consider either of the competitors in this mini-shootout. In the end, the victor here is me, as I’ve gotten to spend so much quality time with these wonderful headphones.

Cable Musings

The Noble cable is a good one, but whilst reviewing the ENCORE I won an Effect Audio Ares II+ IEM cable. If the Noble has one weakness it is that the treble can become fatiguing on some tracks. In my experience, the Ares II+ helped with this. The Effect Audio Ares II+ is also a balanced cable, and while the Encore doesn’t need extra power, I find that the Aune M1S balanced out has better technical performance than the single-ended output. The Kaiser Encore is fully capable of showing this subtle difference between the two outputs.

My daily driver set-up is as follows:

Aune M1S (balanced) — Effect Audio Ares II+ — Noble Kaiser Encore

Specifications

All Noble IEMs on official Noble Audio sites provide little information about the measured characteristics about their IEMs. I can tell from listening that the Kaiser Encore is very sensitive, and it does hiss on lesser pieces of gear. I would also guess that the impedance is very low. I’ve been told under 30, but I’d guess well under 30 for the Encore. I’ll not hazard my guess and I haven’t measured.

I’m lucky to have a superior DAP in the Aune M1S that doesn’t hiss one bit. I have noted that audible distortion occurs on a 4.4Ω but not at 2.2Ω. The rule of eight (your output impedance should be 1/8^th your headphones impedance) likely gives us some clues as to what the impedance is on the Kaiser Encore, but we don’t have a specific value. All I can advise is you want your output impedance below 1Ω, as I’ve had hiss on 1Ω output impedances.

Specifications
Price	$1850 (£1699)
Drivers	10 BA, configuration unknown
Shell	Anodized CNC-machined aluminum
Accessories	Cleaning tool, Noble Wizard sticker, Pelican 1010, Noble branded gear bands, ‘Blue’ silicone tips (S/M/L), ‘Red’ silicone tips (S/M/L), coreless foam tips (S/M/L), biflange silicone tips (S/M/L), stainless steel tip holder, Noble warranty card, velvet pouch
Warranty	2 years

Conclusions

The Noble Kaiser Encore is simply the best in-ear headphone I have had the privilege of listening to. It has excellent extension in the bass and treble with natural bass decay and fast and realistic treble. The soundstage is big with beautiful instrument placement. The mids are airy, but not arid. The whole sound is natural and evocative of live music, not recorded music. I love these headphones and I think you will too.

The Noble Kaiser Encore Universal IEMs are not without limitations. The metal edges can be a hazard. This can be solved by getting one of the Wizard’s brilliantly beautiful custom designs, but you won’t be able to share the sound with your incredulous non-audiophie buddies. You could also get a Wizard Encore, which you could share. Treble can cause fatigue during long listening sessions with the stock cable if you are sensitive to this, which I am. The Kaiser Encore hisses with many sources. Whilst it can most certainly sound excellent out of an iPhone, you’ll want a really clean source to avoid hiss. The biggest negative for many will be price.

For many, $1850 (£1699) will be out of their reach or considered exhorbitant, and there are options that give you 80 to 90% of the Noble Kaiser Encore’s performance for around $1000, but I think you will know the difference once you’ve compared. I think they are worth it. It is up to each individual buyer to decide what they are willing to pay for the ever diminishing returns at the top of the price scale. There are certainly more expensive headphones than the Kaiser Encore, and if you are hunting for an IEM in this range, you would be doing yourself a great disservice if you didn’t try the Kaiser Encore before buying something in this price range and above.
 

 

Introduction
I didn’t know anything about Lark Studio until I was asked if I wanted to be put in contact with them by a friend in the review world over at Simply Audiophile. He tried to put me in contact with Lark Studios via Head-Fi and my email, but I never got any messages. Then the European distributor for Lark Studios contacted me to ask if I wanted to run a tour, and I noticed that I had an old friend request from someone with Lark Studios in their Facebook ID. With that we were off to the races. I’m the first up on the tour, in a change of pace from my usual closer position. Hopefully none of my review tour mates will read this too much, as I’m going full throttle here. Lots of comparisons, lots of variations in set-up, lots of work. After me, there are 6 more people signed up to the tour, so you’ll be getting a variety of opinions.

The Head-Fi thread for Lark Studio can be found here. Each reviewer will have about 24 days to produce their review, with a loan time of 10 days. This should be a lot of fun.

Acknowledgment
The Lark Studio LSX was provided to me on loan from Audio Concierge and Lark Studio as part of a review tour. The LSX will be returned to Audio Concierge after completion of the review tour. I have received no compensation for this review. All thoughts in this review are my personal opinion.

This review was originally published on Audio Primate. Our blog and so many others wouldn't exist without Head-Fi. We love this community and want to give back to it.

A little bit about Lark Studio and the LSX
Lark Studio was formed by a couple audio-fanatics from other IEM labs. They’ve got a good deal of experience in the industry but the LSX is their very first product. The goal of the product was to get people’s attention, and it has. There’s a sprinkling of impressed reviewers all over the interwebs and it has basically wide-spread acclaim. The distributor told me that he thought it was a Noble Encore killer and better than the Unique Melody Mason V3 and Mentor V3—luckily I can test against all three right now as I’m still producing my Mentor V3 and Mason V3 reviews (stay tuned!).

Lark Studio will have additional IEMs coming out in the upcoming year designed to appeal to different audiences than the fun-tastic LSX. A four driver with more of a reference tuning and a new 12-driver flagship focused on superior technical performance.



Usability: Form & Function
Unboxing


The LSX comes in a large-ish black box encased in a matt black card sleeve, the box inside the sleeve is emblazoned with Lark Studio in red on the outside. Th box has a magnetic clasp closure. It is of average quality. On the inside, the earpieces are shipped connected to the cable, which is a single ended copper cable from Rhapsodio. The cutout for the earpieces is twice as deep as it needs to be, which is why the earpieces in my picture are in little baggies. The depth of the cutout should be reduced. A large selection of tips are included with the LSX and sent in a display box. While there is a large variety, people with very small ear canals aren’t catered for, as there are only three tip sizes. Accessories include the ubiquitous airline adaptors and a 3.5mm to 6.3mm adaptor, both of which are displayed prominently. It always humours me when components that cost under $1 on the open market are displayed like prizes.


I actually put one of these in a Christmas stocking once. I’m a mean one, Mr. Grinch.
All the other accessories are inside a hard jewelry style cardboard box. These accessories include: a faux leather pouch that is conspicuously long (looks like it is for children’s sunglasses), two amp stacking bands (I doubt people would use the LSX with a dedicated amp), a polishing cloth, and a cleaning tool.



I get what Lark Studio was going for here. They wanted a premium unboxing experience. They didn’t quite get it. This is what I would do instead:

• Ditch the amp stacking bands, faux leather bag, and the jewelry box.
• Include a small hard travel case
• Make the box more compact. This may save the company on shipping.
• Put accessories inside the small travel case

Aesthetics & Build


The 2-pin connector on the IEMs (female side) is completely external and leaves a tiny bit of the pins exposed. Having a slight indent into the body would allow for a more secure fit and would reduce breakage risk via stress on the pins. Even 1mm into the body would likely make a difference in the security of the connection while not changing the profile of the IEM at all.

The sound bores appear on the nozzle appear to be directly drilled into the IEM body with white acrylic seen right behind the glossy black shine of the IEM, I anticipate that sound tubes in the internal structure lead to the very front of the IEM, with the rest of the distance traversed by the body.

The included cable is a very nice what appears to be 24 AWG type 2 Litz copper cable manufactured by Rhapsodio. This cable was based on a retired Rhapsodio design and customised for Lark Studio. The cable is good quality with a nice lustre, but was not available in balanced terminations at the time of review. The company founders are looking into whether Rhapsodio will do this. The cable itself is very well built with a nice tight braiding all the way along the cable that gives it excellent flexibility. The terminations appear to be good quality and the 2-pin connectors have some grip to them instead of being metal slide-fests. Many cable manufacturers make the mistake of using polished chrome-effect 2-pin connector housings which are hard to grip when you need to. The cable is a really good cable. However, I think there is some risk in having a cable that is based on a retired design. I would suggest that given that they already partner with PWAudio for the Saladin cable (SPC and copper, available in balanced, $200 extra on IEM price), they should consider striking up a full partnership with PWAudio, and maybe get their No. 5 cable in bulk. Just looking at pictures, the PWAudio No. 5 is not to the same build quality as the retired Rhapsodio, but predictable supply may trump the value of the Rhapsodio cable’s better build quality. The No. 5 cable is not likely to disappear in any significant way and may allow an even better partnership to form. Manufacturers like Empire Ears and Jomo Audio already partner with Effect Audio, so clearly there is some benefit to be had from these partnerships for both sides.

Ergonomics
For the most part the Lark Studio LSX presents a pretty comfortable ergonomic fit. The size of the IEM is incredibly small for having an outlay of 10 balanced armature drivers inside of it. It is smaller and lighter than the Noble Encore (10 drivers) and the Unique Melody Mentor V3 (12 drivers) universal versions. The Noble Encore has a compact size, but the weight makes choice of tips very important as the tips have to have excellent stability and grip. I’ve found that the Final Type E tips are the best for the Encore and haven’t had slippage problems since switching to the large versions of these.

The included Spinfit CP155 & CP230 (bi-flange) and the Comply T-500 tips might be the only tips that really fit the nozzle of the Lark Studio LSX, so your tip choices may be limited to what is in the box. Given that I’m not into a hugely warm sound, I knew immediately from my CP155 listening that the tendency of the Comply foams to attenuate treble and ramp up mid-bass would not be to my liking. My final tip choice was the CP155. These are long flange tips that can isolate really well if you give a little tug on the top of the ear and wiggle the IEM.

The ergonomics of the included cable are excellent. In my experience the best type of earguide is a light preformed ear-guide that has a tiny bit of spring to it. These types of earguides fit to the ears without causing pressure. They don’t have the extra bulk and pressure points of memory wire, and they don’t have the sheer mass of solutions like what HiFiMAN do with the RE2000 Silver (and Gold) wherein they have an external massive plastic rubber cradle for the cable that basically nobody would ever find comfortable on their ear, especially with glasses. In other words, the earguide on the Lark Studio LSX is just about perfect.



Audio quality
The LSX has a fun signature with a healthy helping of bass and warm sound. It has smooth treble while still having good detail in the mids. The mids are silky smooth and inviting. Bass is present, but has a focus on the mid-bass, with less prominent extension than some other in-ears. The bass gives some dynamic driver like impact and has a long decay. The soundstage is average to a little below average for the price point and has a notably forward signature that causes some reduction in depth.

Matchability
When I did initial listening test with the Questyle QP2R I did so straight out of the single ended jack. When I went to do my comparison work with the Noble Encore, it wasn’t possible to do the Noble Encore with it’s stock cable from the single-ended jack as this would result in excessive warmth in the midbass and likely some hissing—I’d previously observed these when working with the Noble Encore. So to tame the mid-bass bump I went and grabbed the Ultimate Ears Buffer Jack with the thought that this would work just like the iFi iEMatch 2.5mm worked to make it so I could use the Encore with the QP2R. It worked. This also made me think that the QP2R may have been causing extra bloom with the LSX, so I tested. It was.

When listening to Wilco – Handshake Drugs (16-44) I noted that the bass in the intro was better controlled with the buffer jack and that the mids were a hair clearer. I think that there is improvement in the treble/upper mids that leads to enhancement of the bass and mids. The differences weren’t huge but were noticeable. With Daft Punk – Instant Crush (24-88), the bass drum remains palpable with the UE Buffer Jack and the bass guitar is a touch tighter. Mids are also slightly more forward giving better sonic balance with the placement of the bass. On Pink Floyd – The Thin Ice (16-44) I note a little more stage width with the buffer jack and that same improvement in bass control. Without the buffer jack the bass on Macy Gray – Slowly (24-192, binaural) overshadows Macy Gray’s voice a bit. The buffer jack brings better balance and also gives cymbals better presence. QP2R with buffer jack was my preferred sound, but there will be plenty who crave the additional warmth that I was looking to tame, so your mileage may vary. I didn’t observe hiss with the Lark Studio LSX on the QP2R at all, with or without the UE Buffer Jack.

The sound from the SOUNDAWARE M2Pro without buffer jack sounded indistinguishable from the QP2R plus buffer jack, which was good for me, and confirmed my belief that the current mode amplification was affecting the sound on the QP2R without the buffer jack. The M2Pro is a fantastic sounding player, but the QP2R is much easier to review on and sounds virtually identical, so the QP2R is the primary reviewing rig for this review, with accessories.

I found the LG V30 to drive the LSX just fine, but also found that it had a little bit extra warmth compared to what I get from the SOUNDAWARE M2Pro or the Questyle QP2R plus UE Buffer Jack. I tried using the buffer jack with the LG V30 and it did mostly fine but sometimes clipped in the treble region. This led me to listen mostly without the buffer jack when using the LG V30.

Cables


The cable that comes with the basic Lark Studio LSX is a Rhapsodio cable and isn’t available in balanced implementation. Lark Studio does offer a balanced Cable made by PWAudio called the Saladin for $200 more, which is an increment that is less than if you bought the cable on it’s own. Unfortunately, Lark Studio did not send the review unit with a PWAudio Saladin, so testing alternative cables will fall completely outside of those offered by Lark Studio.

In order to compare with the stock Rhapsodio cable I ran each balanced aftermarket cable through a 2.5mm to 3.5mm convertor and then used the UE Buffer Jack hooked up to the single-ended output on the QP2R. I’ve previously identified that there are no significant impedance mismatches between the cables through volume matching, which means when I do cable tests I don’t have to volume match, I just need to be super quick on my switches so that the miniscule differences are noticeable. Cable switching runs huge risks of confirmation bias and I can’t guarantee I’m immune. The ideal situation would be to have two identical IEMs with different cables playing out of a neutral splitter. There would be next to no lag time. As is, my lag time is generally around 30 seconds, which is pretty fast when having to pull out 2-pin cables re-insert new cables and then get the IEMs in ear and play.

I really like the pairing of the PlusSound X-Series Gold-plated copper (GPC) cable with the LSX, the primary effect of the PlusSound X-Series GPC that I’ve noticed is a strengthening of the middle of notes which gives them a little added focus and smooth transients. It pairs very nicely with the LSX, just as it does with the Noble Encore.

The most expensive accessory I have in my review cave is the Double Helix Cables Symbiote Elite SP (8-braid). I don’t recommend most people spend their money on an $800 cable if they can spend that money on a better DAP or headphone, but it absolutely makes a difference in terms of maximising performance of a high performing IEM. Bass is a touch smaller but tonally the same with the Symbiote Elite SP when listening through the extended intro of Isaac Hayes – Walk On By (DSD64). Sound stage has a bit more width and depth. The stock cable is a touch warmer, but most of the warmth is coming from the tuning. Switching to Saturday Looks Good To Me – Sunglasses (16-44), bass is a touch tighter with the Symbiote Elite SP with little difference in bass presence (less), but the bigger difference is the openness of the stage. The elements in the stage have better definition and there is more overall space in every dimension (height, width and depth). This is my favourite pairing. Switching up to balanced amplification with volume matching (vol. 98, 78.4 dB) on the Questyle QP2R with the iFi iEMatch 2.5 gives a small incremental boost in the characteristics the cable is already revealing. The wire isn’t adding anything, it’s getting out of the way.

Comparisons
All comparisons were done using stock cables with some use of the UE Buffer Jack where necessary. Volume matching was done using white noise and an SPL metre. I provide this information so that if people want to do the exact same comparison, they can repeat my observations without an SPL metre. Repeatability is the heart of scientific enquiry.



Ultimate Ears Pro Reference Remastered (UERR) ($999) vs. Lark Studio LSX ($1699)
The UERR has a bit of extra thickness in the lower parts of Damien Rice’s voice in Elephant (16-44). The Lark Studio LSX presents Damien’s voice with more delicacy and air while packing a touch more emotional payload. The LSX carries Damien’s breath a little better and makes the track that much more intimate. That said, the UERR has greater stage height. With the LSX I get some absolutely beautiful fine level bow on strings detail on the cello when it’s in isolation. Bass presence is lower on the UERR. Both accurately convey the somewhat distorted mastering of the flurry of activity near the 4:30 mark in the track. The UERR captures a tiny bit more treble detail from the strings than the LSX.

The LSX is giving me big beautiful groovy bass out of Blue Oyster Cult – (Don’t Fear) The Reaper (DSD64). The bass is forward of neutral, but without disappearing the mids further back in the stage, which gives the song a very engaging sound. It also ensures that the cowbell and guero aren’t lost in the stage. The stage depth is somewhat compressed to accomplish the engaging sound, but for many this will be a worthy exchange. The UERR has a bit more depth, with more separation of instruments. This make the UERR a fine tool for monitoring a mix. I don’t think I’d use the Lark Studio LSX for that kind of spatial accuracy intensive activity. The LSX gets the timbre of instruments right, but placement isn’t as honest as a reference monitor like the UERR. That isn’t what the LSX is designed to do. Personally, I get great enjoyment out of precision over power. This is reflected in my day job as a health economist, also. I’ve spent several days looking at Hierarchical Related Regression, and the potential for more precise measurements of effect using all available information from a variety of trial designs has had me practically giddy. The UERR fits my precision desire on this track with its fantastic instrument separation. The Lark Studio LSX has a warmer more emotive feel with towering bass.

Saturday Looks Good To Me – Sunglasses (16-44) begins with a big satisfying rumbling artificial bass that the LSX delivers up in full glory followed by a chunky electric bass guitar line and and two widely panned guitars. The track is busy as heck and the LSX’s 10 drivers are keeping up well. This poppy fun track perfectly matches what the LSX does well. The UERR doesn’t get the bass volume or the bass feel. It’s a tight controlled bass with excellent depth, but without the presence or body of the LSX bass. The rest of the sound is more open and precise sounding, especially the rocket fire clap sounds. On the UERR every element of the track can be picked out with precision, which is where the fun comes from. Everything is presented honestly on the UERR and it elevates my favourite album of 2016 (Saturday Looks Good To Me “One Kiss Ends It All”). The LSX has intoxicating bass, but the UERR has intoxicating scientific precision.

The variable depth of instrumentation in Isaac Hayes – Walk On By (DSD64) is an impressive recording feat. The UERR is all over the depth with the intro sound effects dancing all over the stage. Swells of strings come in at markedly different depth than the bass guitar and the backing vocals. The tapestry is full of little details. The LSX sounds darker, warmer, and less detailed with less stage depth. Isaac Hayes’s vocals come in like smooth brown butter with the LSX. Violins are silky. There’s romance to the LSX sound. Sometimes a little romance makes up for a short deck in terms of depth. The UERR has more of every dimension of stage size (height, depth and width) but the technical precision won’t necessarily set the mood in the same way that the LSX will. The LSX, for a warm sound, doesn’t sacrifice much in the way of mids clarity, which is unusual. It has a pretty good balance of tone and technical performance. The tone is really good.

I like both a lot. Given my particular listening preferences, I’d probably pick a UERR style signature on more days, but if I want to listen to pop or hip-hop, or any bass-driven music, my choice may very well be the LSX.

HiFiMAN RE2000 Silver ($1500) vs. Lark Studio LSX ($1699)
OutKast – Ms. Jackson has a lot going on, for real. The RE2000 Silver has some great menace going with the bass guitar, with tight funky plucks. The multi-tracked layered stage is well presented with individual elements easily discernible. However, each element is not entirely distinctive, which will be a function of the treble levels on the RE2000 Silver. With the Lark Studio LSX the underlying bass in the background is pushed forward. Compared to the drum power on the RE2000 Silver, the bass drum kicks you in the face on the LSX. The LSX, in spite of the bass emphasis, still provides extraordinarily well textured bass. The bass on the LSX is a lot like dynamic driver bass. It actually is bass that you feel, which is rare in fully balanced armature IEMs. The lower mids and upper midbass have a warmer sound on the Lark Studio LSX. Soundstage on the LSX sounds a little wider than the RE2000 Silver on this track. Individual elements in the stage also feel a bit more distinct with better instrument separation. The sound of the LSX is actually a bit reminiscent of the RE2000 Gold but with better build quality and a bit more separation in the mids. Piano in the intro is less forward as the mids of the RE2000 Silver are a bit back of neutral. This placement of the mids tends to make the sound stage sound a bit deeper. The LSX sounds forward in general due to the elevated bass and the pretty normal emphasis mids. Both IEMs are fun sounding with natural timbre. The RE2000 Silver has a more neutral sound than the LSX, which is a bombastic but lovely sounding number.

On the RE2000 Silver the recessed mids make Michael Jackson sound like he is way deep in the stage rather than in the middle of it on Michael Jackson – Billie Jean. The LSX has a more front row sound, while the RE2000 Silver sounds like it is further back in the crowd. The RE2000 Silver crowd is a more civil affair, whilst the LSX is a party. The RE2000 Silver is Coldplay (civilised and moving), and the LSX is Bruno Mars + Beyonce (absolutely ridiculously fun). The Lark Studio LSX has Michael where he should be, right in the middle of the sound stage, rather than pushed back. It also pushes bass forward of the mids, which is off of neutral. The bass is big on the LSX. Both do an excellent job of resolving instruments in space, but the LSX’s better formulation of the mids gives more flexibility for instruments that occupy the mids to move deeper in the stage.

The RE2000 Silver presents Kuniko – Pleiades: I. Melanges (Mixtures) with a nice even keel. Nothing sounds over-emphasised or out of place, whether it be xylophone, tympani, or chimes. The increasing aggression of the sound at about 2 minutes in builds beautifully. The LSX gives a similar performance, but the whole sound is more front row than 3 rows back of the stage. The LSX easily goes toe-to-toe on timbre, and might be a bit more sonically precise. Soundstage size is a push, but soundstage positioning is definitely different.

The bass is most definitely forward when I throw Wilco – Handshake Drugs on with the Lark Studio LSX. It’s a bit too much actually, as the bass is competing too much with Jeff Tweedy’s vocal in the intro. It slinks back a little bit later while still having some presence, like the bass guitarist moved back towards the drum kit or like Jeff Tweedy moved forward in the stage. The bass is tighter and more controlled on the RE2000 Silver, but also has more perceivable extension. The perceived increase in extension is because the Lark Studio LSX has some added mid-bass that throws the deeper lows out of balance when deeper bass instrumentation and mid-bass and upper mid-bass are present. The RE2000 Silver sounds better on this track, though I do still find myself wishing the little bit of recession in the mids wasn’t there.

The breathiness of the RE2000 Silver really suits Tori Amos’s vocals on Hey Jupiter, in my opinion, as it gives even more fragility to the presentation. Some will find the sound sibilant as the breathiness also imbues more weight to her ‘sss’ sounds. In contrast, the LSX presents Tori a bit more solid and rounded with less emphasis on her breathy ‘sss’ sounds. The piano is also more accurately placed right next to her singing.

Unique Melody Mentor V3 ($2099) vs Lark Studio LSX ($1699)
The Mentor V3 provides a clear and well delineated presentation of the Rolling Stones – Salt of the Earth (DSD64). Each instrument has great spacing around it. Bass has great tone, but not huge presence. Turning the dB-Go switch to closed enhances bass impact slightly. The female vocal chorus has individual vocals that are separated without much difficulty on the Mentor V3. Right off in the track, guitar and vocals are more forward with a nice organic sound on the LSX. The overall sound is more forward on the LSX. Bass has a lot more presence and sustain. The decay on the mid-bass is a touch long, the Mentor V3 is faster. The LSX trades some precision for increased presence. The overall stage depth is reduced on the LSX with the presentation more like two closely arranged planes rather than several layers as with the Mentor V3.

Billy Cobham – Quadrant 4 (DSD64) is the Speedy Gonzales of music tracks. The Lark Studio LSX keeps up well for the most part but smooths over a bit of detail on bass and treble. The Mentor V3 is faster and more open sounding with individual drum beats resolved more completely with less blending. The presentation is a bit more distant on the Mentor V3, whereas the LSX puts you right in the thick of it. Bass is tighter on the Mentor V3, but less present. The Mentor V3 is the technically superior performer while still being fun. If a more forward signature is what you are looking for, the LSX will likely suit better. The Mentor V3 also has the ability to switch cables without buying a new cable. Switching to the copper cable gives a more forward sound that is like a more controlled version of the LSX with less bass slam.

With DB-GO open on the Mentor V3, the vocals on Daft Punk – Fragments of Time (DSD64) are airy with good clarity. Bass is back in the stage with good definition. Treble is forward on the Mentor V3, but not as forward as the vocals on this particular track. Decay on the variety of cymbals is good on this track. When switching to the LSX, the bass is huge with good texture on the lower notes and dynamic driver like depth, but with a hint of bloom. The ambiance is great on the LSX with a bit more decay in both the bass and the treble. The extra decay is primarily in the midbass for the bass section of frequency response. Vocals sound great on both, just more forward on the LSX. Switching from silver to copper on the Mentor V3 brings the bass forward a little, but it still has the same tight controlled presentation. The LSX has a little extra ambiance. I think people will enjoy both sounds. One has to recognize that they aren’t trying to do the same thing. The Mentor V3 is a fun-reference tuning, while the LSX is a fun-fun tuning with big bass and smooth emotive mids. The Mentor V3 is less fun in all its set-ups vs. the LSX, but is a better technical performer all-around. I think most folks listening to Fragments in Time would pick the LSX as the signature fits pop music really well.

Norah Jones – Feeling the Same Way (24-192) has a beautifully delicate presentation with the Mentor V3. The wide-panned guitars are very well defined, the central stand-up bass and the piano and drums at the back of the stage are just delightfully distinctly presented. Mmmm delicious in silver with dB-Go open. The LSX is warmer and softer, with a less wide stage. On this track I prefer the Mentor V3. The LSX slightly compresses the stage depth and slows down the activity in the track some.

Unique Melody Mason V3 ($2699) vs. Lark Studio LSX ($1699)
The comparisons here were done on the SOUNDAWARE M2Pro as the Mason V3 doesn’t sound quite right out of the single-ended output of the Questyle QP2R.

The Mason V3 really lays out the stage beautifully on Macy Gray – Annabelle (24-192, binaural). The distance between the band members feels like a real stage with Macy sitting a bit back of the bassist and the lead guitarist, while the drummer sits well into the back slightly left of centre. On the LSX, bass and Macy Gray’s vocals are slightly more forward, but Macy’s vocal sounds a bit stuffy. The Mason V3 sounds cleaner and clearer on Macy’s vocal, and overall on this track. The cymbals sound like there is a bit of a haze between them and the listener on the LSX. The LSX out does the Mason V3 on bass weight with dB-Go open and closed, but the gap is less when the dB-Go module is closed as this gives a bit more weight.

Metallica – Master of Puppets (24-96, Vinyl Rip) has great speed on the Mason V3, but a slightly more forward sound usually benefits metal, and the Mason V3 isn’t a front row kind of IEM. I find myself wanting it louder on this track. When I jack up the volume a bit that sounds more like it. It can certainly make it sound like I want it to. Bass extension is good on this track, but there isn’t any emphasis, so these could be interpreted as bass light with the dB-Go open. Closing the dB-Go gets a bit more bass ambience and makes the sound a bit heavier in general. The desire for additional loudness is repeated on the LSX (this is just a quietly recorded track). Vocals feel a tiny bit more distant due to some emphasis in the lower mids. Doing a similar volume boost works on the LSX also. The cymbal taps on this track have longer decay on the LSX, in contrast, the Mason V3 sounds a touch fast on the cymbals on this track. Guitar solos sound smoother on the LSX, but more refined on the Mason V3.

Why? – Strawberries (16-44) with the LSX has some big nicely textured bass. It gets some serious slam in the intro. Yoni Wolf’s vocals sound nice and silky with the LSX. Instruments have good layering. These work really well for this highly active alt-rap track. Nice sparkle in the percussion too with the LSX. The Mason V3 does just as nicely with Yoni Wolf’s vocal. Bass comes in with really nice definition, but the slam is less palpable on the Mason V3. Percussive elements like the maracas or the clapping are more in balance on the Mason V3. The sound isn’t as fun on the Mason V3, but it is probably more honest to the recording. Fans of hip-hop will probably prefer the bigger bass of the LSX.

There is some voice echo in Tori Amos – Silent All These Years (24-96, Vinyl Rip) in the verse vocal sections that is very subtle and soft. The Mason V3 does an excellent job picking this minute detail up. The vocals on the Lark Studio LSX are more forward, but it doesn’t pick up the echo vocal with quite as much definition. It’s still there, but I can’t pick up the full resolution of the vocalisations. It’s like it’s half there. The LSX is louder in the mids and has a silky texture to Tori’s vocals. Piano has a slightly softened timbre on the LSX. Low notes on the piano have slightly exaggerated body on the LSX. Cello has similarly lengthened decay. On the Mason V3, stage depth is deeper, but mids are also presented deeper. Cello and flute are more precise and correct sounding on the Mason V3. The violins have a beautiful soar to them. Tori’s voice isn’t as silky on the Mason V3. Low piano notes and cello are more controlled on the Mason V3.

With the Mason V3 the silver cable gives a leaner presentation, as does having dB-Go open. When dB-Go is closed and the copper cable is engaged, the Mason V3 retains a resolution advantage on the LSX, but has a closer tonal presentation to the LSX. The LSX still wins on bass impact, and still tends to have silkier sounding vocals (vocals depend on the singer). The Mason V3 is more flexible, and more technically proficient with the accompanying sonic precision, but is not as emotive as the LSX.

Noble Kaiser Encore ($1850) vs. Lark Studio LSX ($1699)
It’s worth noting that most times that the Encore appears in my reviews, I’m using the PlusSound X-Series gold-plated copper. For this comparison, I was using the stock cable. That cable could use an upgrade to its pretty basic standard. It had been a long time since I’d listened to the stock cable.

On Pixies – Where is My Mind? (DSD64) I’m not quite getting the soar in the female backing vocal that I’m used to with the LSX. The sound of the soaring vocal is somewhat distant and slightly concealed. On the Kaiser Encore the soar is bigger. However, bass doesn’t extend as deep and drums strikes aren’t as tactile. Both the LSX and the Encore have some elevation in the midbass, but the feel is better on the LSX. The LSX and Encore have different points of emphasis on the upper mids. The Kaiser Encore emphasizes higher frequencies in the mids more while the LSX goes lower in the upper mids. This gives the Encore greater soar and air, while the LSX has more richness and body. Both are good sounding so signature preference will probably determine which is preferred rather than any measure of objective superiority.

The Noble Kaiser Encore is smooth on Leonard Cohen – Leaving the Table (24-44) when it comes to the bass and his vocals. The backing strings have great weight and texture. Bass extension on the Encore is somewhat muted. The deeper frequencies are present, but the overall tactile sound isn’t. This is pretty normal for fully balanced armature setups. They don’t normally push enough air to make you feel the bass. In contrast, the LSX accomplishes something really rare in balanced armature setups, you feel the bass. It also extends lower. Leonard’s voice has more body on the LSX and more texture. Strings are a touch less precise on the LSX than on the Encore but have a nice fullness. Full is a good way to describe the LSX sound. For this track I think the LSX has a more pleasing presentation. The tactile feel of the bass is a big accomplishment for a $1699 fully balanced armature IEM. The $4k Vision Ears Erlkönig gets bass feel like this, but this is remarkably rare for balanced armature setups. It’s very impressive.

The presentation of the cymbals is a strong point on the LSX. Many balanced armature setups have sharp cymbals with tight attack and decay that sounds just a touch unnatural. The LSX extends that decay a little. On Natalie Merchant – Carnival (24-96) mids sound thick through Natalie’s vocals on the LSX. Bass drum impact in the intro is impressive on the LSX. On the Noble Encore, the bass isn’t big but it has a tightness that lets a bit more funk develop. The space in the stage and instrument separation are better on the Encore. Natalie’s voice isn’t as rich as the LSX but it has greater texture and depth. The organ in the upper mids has better dimensionality with sound extending well from back to front of the stage. Layers in the stage are easier to pick out on the Noble Encore. The organ presence is greater in general on the Encore—it’s that difference in expression of the upper mids again. Stage is a touch narrower on the LSX.

The LSX presents the sonic landscape of King Crimson – Lizard (16-44, Steven Wilson Remaster) brilliantly. It has a very natural and organic sound. Jon Anderson (of Yes) sounds more delicate on the Noble Encore, and a touch more forward. The percussion is a bit more fulsome on the Encore due to its frequency placement in the upper mids/lower treble. Upper midbass is also slightly more forward on the Encore. The overall sound is fuller on the LSX. Both IEMs have good sustain on the tubular bells. As expected, bass body is bigger with longer decay on the LSX.

Both the Noble Encore and the LSX are fun signatures. The Encore is a bit more balanced, while the LSX has more emphasis on the lower end and more warmth. Treble has more emphasis on the Encore. The Encore has better technical performance in the treble and upper mids, while the LSX has better technical performance in the bass. Both are excellent IEMs, that I’d be happy to reach for frequently. Your sonic preference will determine which one you like more. The LSX is slightly better value for money.

Specifications
Specifications
Price $1699 (custom or universal)
Driver type 10 balanced armatures (3 bass, 4 mids, 2 treble, 1 super treble)
Frequency response 20Hz to 20KHz
Impedance 19-20Ω
Sensitivity 109-110dB
Construction Acrylic body, 2 pin connector (non-recessed)
Accessories Spinfit CP230 Bi-flange (S), Spinfit CP155 (S/M/L), Comply T-500 (M/L), protein leather display case, protein leather travel bag (oddly shaped), 2 armbands/amp stacking bands, airline adaptor, 3.5mm to 6.3mm adaptor, cleaning cloth, cleaning tool.

List Price: $1699 (£1499, custom or universal)

Product Website: https://www.audioconcierge.co.uk/portfolio/lark-studios-lsx-bespoke-universal-earphone/

Conclusions


The LSX provides a rich, lush listen with a focus on the bass and the mids. Treble performance is smooth without losing much in the way of mids detail. This full BA setup has accomplished a rare feat of presenting with bass that is very close in impact and feel to a dynamic driver set-up. The sound is warm overall with a healthy serving of midbass.

For $1699 for either custom or universal the LSX has a very good value proposition. If you are into a warm sound with big bass and lush mids, this one’s for you.




Rating Disclaimer: ratings are subjective. Audio quality and value do not mean the same thing across all prices. A headphone with a 5 rating on audio at $5 does not have equivalent sound quality as a 5 rating at $500. Likewise, value at $5 is not the same as value at $5000 dollars.

List Price: $69

Product Website: https://ifi-audio.com/portfolio-view/accessory-iematch2-5

Introduction
I’ve been wanting to get an iEMatch ever since the first one was released. I was surprised that iFi didn’t send me one to review, given how much we’ve worked together. I’ve got a few hiss monster DAPs in house, including my favourite DAP, the QP2R. Beyond the QP2R, the HiFiMAN SuperMini and the HiFiMAN MegaMini are hiss cannons. When iFi sent me the press release for the 2.5mm version of iEMatch, I had to get it. So, when I saw them at Sound & Vision 2018 in Bristol, I bought one on the spot.

This review was originally published on audioprimate.blog.



Usability: Form & Function


The box that the iEMatch2.5 comes in is iFi’s standard small item box. They use the same box for their Purifier series, and I have to imagine they use it for their Defender and other USB paraphernalia. Inside the box are the iEMatch2.5 with a formed slot cut out of the foam, a pair of earplugs, the cloth bag, and a tasty tasty silica packet. Mmmm anhydrous! Underneath the earplugs, there is a smiley face thank you. Also in the box are a conveniently sized and folded instruction manual and a warranty card. The box has all kinds of fancy pictures on the outside, which is standard for iFi. They are good with the graphic stuff.



The iEMatch itself is tiny. I was able to easily fit it in side the Noble Encore Pelican hard case with a bulky aftermarket cable. It’s really a life-saver with the Noble Encore.

The iEMatch2.5 has a lower output impedance than the version built into the iDSD Nano Black Label (under 1Ω versus 4Ω) but the same as the original iEMatch. In practice, what this means is that I don’t notice any colouration of the sound signature on the Noble Encore with the iEMatch2.5, but I do with the iDSD Nano Black Label. I get to listen with the best DAP I have in house, which is excellent. With the Noble Encore, I only have ever needed to use the High sensitivity setting, but if you are an Andromeda fan, I’d wager the Ultra sensitivity setting would have you covered.



One thing that I noted was that with the Questyle QP2R, the Ultra setting on the iEMatch was a bad idea, as the volume had to be turned up too high and it caused a little clipping. So you may not be able to use the iEMatch2.5 with every IEM source combination. If it sounds wrong and you have to jack the volume knob up to insane levels, stop. Use your sense.

On the iEMatch2.5, the 2.5mm jack plug has a collar. It has been my observation that 2.5mm plugs are very brittle, which is one of the reasons that I'm all gung-ho for 4.4mm balanced jack plugs to take over the DAP world (my 4.4 make sure all y'all kids don't grow, to homophone a great one). The best way to strengthen a 2.5mm jack plug is increase the contact area around the plug. Using a collar decreases this area and makes the plug vulnerable. Similarly, the end your aftermarket cable plugs into is not flush with the magnesium body of the iEMatch2.5 so also has a point of vulnerability that could have been mitigated. That said, moving your aftermarket cable plug away from the 2.5mm jack on the DAP reduces the amount of pressure, thus reducing the likelihood of a busted jack plug on your [expensive] aftermarket cable. This issue is why I docked the build quality 0.5 points.

I only have one other gripe, and that is the price differential between the standard iEMatch, and the iEMatch2.5. The regular iEMatch can be had for around $50. I think this is actually a more appropriate price, which is why I had to dock the value 0.5 points.

This was awfully close to being my first ever perfect 5 review. If I'd beta tested this, it would have got the 5 star rating, because I would have addressed the only issues. My cons would then read: none.

Specifications
Specifications
Price $69
Sensitivity adjustment Ultra (24dB), High (-12dB)
Input impedance 16Ω
Output impedance
< 2.5Ω (High-Sensitivity)

< 1.0Ω (Ultra-Sensitivity)

Weight 12.2g
Total length 116mm
Waranty 12 months
Accessories Fabric travel pouch, 1 pair soft-foam contoured ear plugs (-37dB)


Acknowledgment
I acknowledge that I bought the iEMatch my own darn self. No acknowledgment necessary. I got a show discount.

Conclusions
The iFi iEMatch is a hissbusting miracle worker in a diamond-dusted magnesium suit. It’s worth every penny. Buy it!



Rating Disclaimer: ratings are subjective. Audio quality and value do not mean the same thing across all prices. A headphone with a 5 rating on audio at $5 does not have equivalent sound quality as a 5 rating at $500. Likewise, value at $5 is not the same as value at $5000 dollars.

 
 

Acknowledgment   

Thanks @Luke Pighetti of Vibro labs and @ejong7 for setting up this tour. I was loaned the Maya for two weeks in exchange for my honest opinion.
 

Introduction

The Mayan’s were an incredibly advanced civilisation, in art, literature, mathematics, engineering, and in astronomy. Their calendar was incredibly accurate, and extended hundreds of years past the demise of their civilisation, a source of many doomsday predictions . My Dad did his college studies in cultural anthropology and was absolutely fascinated with Central American and South American civilisations, so I grew up with big hardback anthropology books with pictures of Mayan pyramids, Aztec artwork, and Toltec heads—maybe these will be future IEMs from Vibro Labs. So if I’m thinking of what Maya, might mean before I listen, I can go two ways: the previously described allusions to dead civilisations, or I can think of Maya Angelou, brilliant poet, dramatist, and civil rights activist. I’m guessing that since poetry and music share some genes, that this is the way that Luke Pighetti, the one man band behind Vibro Labs was thinking of it.
 
 
Vibro Labs is basically a one man operation out of Maine. Luke Pighetti, founder and engineer of the the aesthetic and sonic characteristics of the company’s two IEMs, the Aria and the Maya, has some history with ZMF on designing their wood enclosures. He has affinity and talent with wood and his products look lovely. I’m hoping that the Maya is as lyrical as Ms. Angelou and it’s sonic images as compelling as the Ancient Americas.
 
 

Vital Statistics (specs from manufacturers and distributors)

Every company that makes a product has a story to tell about their product. These stories are told in charts, graphs and superlatives of varying levels of believability. In my experience chatting with Luke Pighetti, he seems to be a straight shooting kind of guy. My Maine man seems as honest as his beard is long—may his Samson mane never fray.
 

 
Here’s what he had to say about the Maya on the Vibro Labs website:
 

MAYA is our new flagship earphone with an ideal-neutral signature.
 
It is as close to neutral as possible while still maintaining a touch of musicality. Maya builds upon the legendary extension of Aria while providing midrange neutrality and improved room acoustics. The result is a neutral, musical earphone that accurately portrays vocals, preserves microdetails, and presents lightning fast sub-bass extension.

Click to expand...

 
 
Good on ya for offering a two year warranty. It's a very nice statement, Vibro Labs.
 

Form & Function

The Maya has a tiny footprint and feels light and comfortable in the ear. The shape of the IEM means that it doesn’t have much contact area with the ear surface. Whilst this ensures comfortable fit for a wide variety of ears, it also means that beyond the tip, there is little to block out ambient noise, so I found isolation on these below average with Spinfits equipped. When equipped with the included Comply Isolate tips, the world outside was just a maze of moving lips and silent cars unaware of your existence—like that moment in the movie where the lead is realising the gravity of their predicament—aw crap, what were you saying? “Lips move but I can’t hear what you’re saying,” without the nastiness of feeling totally alien to your own humanity.
 

 
The Maya, as you may have noticed above does not come with any silicone tips. Personally, I’m not a fan of the Comply sound on most IEMs. I find that it makes the bass warmer and less detailed and reduces treble. I’m not a fan of warm bass, and not a fan of muted treble (even if only slight), so my tip of choice is the Spinfit medium (red). The Maya is poorly designed for using with other tips than the supplied T600 Comply tips, as it has a very large nozzle. I believe that the size of the nozzle, and the lack of ridge or texturing on the nozzle are responsible for one of my Spinfit tips falling off. It was an uncomfortable moment, as you want to have your sound impressions be consistent throughout on a review. Luckily, I found some spares that I forgot I had. I think that the nozzle on the Maya is needlessly large, as there are only two not terribly large sound bores. The nozzle could also be improved by having a lip or ridges, as this would make it more difficult for tips to fall off. Noble IEMs also have large nozzles, but they have designs that mitigate tip slippage.
 
The case that the Maya comes with is an authentic Pelican case and feels pretty bombproof. This is the first IEM Pelican case I’ve handled, and I like it. The foam insert doesn’t seem that useful though. I’d say an insert that secures the IEMs and has a compartment for the cable and tools and tips would be more useful, but not as sexy on presentation.
 
 
On the tour, we didn’t get standard packaging, so I can’t comment on what that looks like. I imagine mostly the same, but with tips in packs instead of in big Comply T600 series demo kits. @Luke Pighetti gave us a comprehensive treatment, tons of tips, and alcohol wipes to clean up. Well done. Every tour should do so well with regard to foamies. It would have been nice to be able to rate the retail packaging, though.
 
The cable is a really good stock cable. It slides nicely over the ear, is light weight, flexible, relatively tangle resistant, and non-microphonic. The y-split could look nicer—I’ve seen the same split on cheap Chinese IEMs, and the slider could be something other than a piece of clear tubing, but those are minor niggles that don’t really matter. The clear tubing actually works better than most sliders I’ve used, it moves smoothly and I didn’t have problems with twists and tangles due to it. If you want a swish looking cable, you were probably already getting an aftermarket cable anyway. This cable does the job well. The right side is marked with a red dot, and the left is marked with a blue dot. Given how secure the 2 pin fit is, you won’t be changing cables in the dark, so no need for elevated bumps or anything like that to tactically tell you which side is which. I really like those tactical clues and wish more manufacturers would do them, but they aren’t always necessary.
 
 

Audio quality

The way that Vibro Labs describes the Maya is accurate, it’s mostly neutral with a little bit of lift in the midbass and a little bit of lift in the lower mids that gives vocals a bit more weight and makes things rock a little more. Extension is good on both ends of the spectrum, listening to Why?’s Mumps Etc… album really highlights how deep the bass extends. Timbre throughout is spot on. The little boost in the mids gives vocals more weight without changing the tone, it is subtly done and very well executed.
 
I tested the Vibro with all kinds of music. It has the speed to keep up with Dragonforce and Animals as Leaders. It has excellent detail rendition. Everything is loaded with texture. Acoustic music from Amber Rubarth sounds poignant. Led Zeppelin rocked. The Maya is musical, poetic, and good looking to boot.
 
What the Maya doesn’t have is a deep soundstage. It has above average width and excellent height, but the depth and width are compressed a little compared to the Ultimate Ears Reference Remastered (UERR). The UERR had less height than the Maya. Within that limited depth, the imaging is very good. You can pick out individual instruments’ relative positioning with ease, but they won’t have as much air around them as some other offerings in the same price range. On this journey, I only had the UERR to compare to among high-end offerings, but I remember other headphones I’ve listened to along the way.
 
To test out the ability of the Maya to render complex passages, I threw on Dragonforce – Heartbreak Armageddon. Around the 6 minute mark there is a really complex passage filled with guitar, airy backing ambient synth, vocals and bass. The Maya isn’t quite as resolving as the UERR on this portion. It gets a little smooshed with all that content coming at it, and it smooths out some detail (just a little). It still performs very well, the UERR is just a bit faster, edgier, and has more depth, aiding instrument separation and detail resolution.
 
The Maya didn’t have problems matching with any of my sources, though when music isn’t playing, that moment when you’ve plugged the headphone in and haven’t pressed play yet, I did get some low hiss on all the DAPs I had on hand (HiFiMAN SuperMini, HiFiMAN MegaMini, iBasso DX50). Those DAPs range between 0.5Ω and ~2Ω output impedance. When music was playing I didn’t generally hear anything at all outside of the most silent of passages, i.e. 99.99% of the time I didn’t hear any hiss. In other words, no problemo.
 

 
 
When compared to one of my favourites that I have on hand, the 64 Audio X2, the X2 has a more forward mids presentation, which gives some truly impressive drum impact, and is lacking in detail compared to the Maya. The Maya just has more resolution. The Maya manages to have a smooth tonality without being rich and without losing detail. The imaging on the Maya is more precise than the X2 due to that detail advantage. I’m very happy with it.
 
I tried the Maya with well recorded music and poorly recorded music. It showed the positives of well-recorded music, but didn’t outright expose some of my poorer recorded tracks like Wolf Parade’s Apologies to the Queen Mary album (excellent album, really terribly mastered). I would class the Maya as being forgiving of poor quality content, which will be welcome to most folks. We’ve all got shamefully mastered music that we like, for the most part. You’ll still like that music with the Maya.
 

Conclusions

The Maya is dynamic natural IEM with a nice musical neutral signature that plays really beautifully with just about any genre. The Maya accomplishes this organic musical signature through subtle, tasteful boosts in the mids and bass that give the music a bit more presence and grip. There are no parts of the frequency range that are excessively boosted.
It isn’t a perfect headphone, as it isn’t a total detail master and is a bit lacking in soundstage depth, but at $699 perfection isn’t expected. It will also hiss on some sources in near silent passages (less than 1% of listening time).
 
The performance of the Maya was as delightful as the UERR, but more musical and more forgiving of poorly mastered content. While the UERR is pinpoint accurate, it doesn’t play nice with all source material.
 
I think the Maya is going to be a rousing success. It looks beautiful, sounds amazing with whatever you throw at it and is competitively priced. This is an excellent, well-rounded IEM, I hope that this is a big hit for Vibro Labs.

 

Acknowledgment   

Thanks Alex Sventitsky, founder of WyWires, for providing this sample in return for my honest opinion.
 

Introduction

This is a first for me. I’ve never reviewed a cable. It feels a little daunting. With a cable there are no specs to look at, no scientific reports to prove that one material works better than another for audio production. There are some consensuses about constructing to physically counter electro-magnetic interferences, and general agreement that better wire should be used. The world of cables is rife with potential for bias. There are no measurements marketed with cables, for the most part, and what we hear is so indecipherable even by people in the know, that we can’t be sure that what we are hearing isn’t some sort of marketing magic. Sometimes it feels like we are hunting for the last unicorn—only the ‘audiophile’ hero and others sensitive enough can see its magnificent horn, but Mommy Fortuna can make anybody think that a scraggly old lion is a dangerous Chimera through her guile. Hopefully the cable isn’t an old snake, like the wyrm Ourobouros in The Last Unicorn.
 

 
Cable reviews are very prone to bias. When we buy a cable, usually all we have is the company’s description. This means that we have the potential to impart the sound that the company says will be produced on the cable. Additionally, if differences in sound are due to amplitude, we may interpret a cable as being more dynamic, when really it just turns the volume up.
 
My approach to this review will be to compare all cables with the same headphone playing out of the same source with the same tracks picked for different purposes, all volume matched. By the end we’ll see if I could tell the difference, and whether I believe the cable deserves the premium price and hype.
 
I’ve previously did a comparison of cables from Toxic Cables for the HD600, I’ve described it in my spoiler below. It is important to note that the comparison made there was in an uncontrolled environment without volume matching, so my conviction to hearing a difference between cables may be biased. I also own a balanced cable for my HD600 made with OFC copper and low capacitance in a flat litz braid. I haven’t heard any differences except volume differences on that cable from the HD650 cable my used HD600 came with. That said, I do believe that cables can make a difference.
 
 

Vital Statistics (specs from manufacturers and distributors)

When we look at cables generally all we have to go on before purchase is what the manufacturer tells us. From WyWires website:
 

WHAT PERFORMANCE ATTRIBUTES DO YOUR CABLES OFFER?
Actual performance is system-dependent. This is why we require a consultation prior to purchase. We strive to provide our customers with the following improvements over their existing cables:
– Totally silent background between notes
– State of the art realism, especially vocals
– Greatly expanded soundstage in all dimensions including the vertical
– Take the edge off sibilance (SSS’s) while enhancing inner detail
– Present instruments in their lifelike scales
– The most natural rendering of tone, timbre, attack and decay
– State of the art definition and resolution of complex passages
– Excellent low-frequency performance that belies the size of your woofers
– Virtual elimination of irritation or listening fatigue

Click to expand...

 

HOW DO YOU PERFORM LISTENING TESTS OF DIFFERENT CABLES?
In performing blind A-B tests of different cables, we first install cable A and hand each listener two schematics of the part of the listening room where the speakers are located. One drawing is the horizontal view from the seating position and the other is a top down view of the area around and behind the speakers with the back wall omitted.
 
Each time we play a selection of music, we ask the listeners to draw the soundstage in three dimensions on the two schematics while the selection is playing. They are asked to indicate the height and perceived location of the various performers. We ask them to also include specific performers such as background singers and less obvious percussion sounds.
 
We do the same exercise for cable B and compare the results. We always get different drawings for cable A versus cable B. Even though the obvious sounds of instruments and voices may be identical with both cables, the differences in soundstage presentation are always strikingly different. Many times, the harder to discern subtle sounds are missing from one drawing and appear on the other

Click to expand...

.
I’d like a bit more detail about this method, as described I think this could be done two ways: The piece of music is described and the players to identify are identified before the music sample is played, or the music sample is played and then questions are asked about the performers. If the method is the first, I find this an acceptable method. In the second method, there is a lot of potential for introducing bias. The interviewer can lead the interviewee to the conclusions they wish.
 
One thing that is necessary for this method to be valid is repeat observations. Even with the same track, there can be variance from observation to observation, especially after you’ve noted something different in the recording. I’ve repeatedly had the experience that there is something revealed in a track I love by a better headphone than I’ve been using. However, now that I know it is there, I’ll better hear it on future listens with inferior headphones. Training your brain matters.
 

AREN’T MACHINE-MADE CABLES BETTER THAN HAND-MADE CABLES?
Automated cable-making equipment offers consistency but severely limits the choice of materials and geometries – thereby reducing the effectiveness of the design. The outcome is a cable that sounds like every other cable mass-produced anywhere on the planet.
 
Because WyWires are hand-made, we’re not limited by the constraints of automation technology, or by the materials we use.
Machine made cables are limited in two areas where WyWires are not:

1. The automated process for drawing insulation over the conductors requires high temperatures; for Teflon, the drawing temperature is over 1000 degrees F. These high temps dictate the use of heat-resistant conductors, rather than the best material for conducting sound.
2. In an automated process, the dielectric is extruded directly onto the conductor material – eliminating the possibility of using the best dielectric there is – air. The best machine-made cables have Teflon as the dielectric; Teflon is third or fourth in effectiveness as a dielectric.

 
At WyWires, we’ve chosen a more thoughtful, slower manufacturing process to get the best results:

1. We manufacture by hand at room temperature. We can choose the best conductor material without fear of damage due to excessive heat. We use ultra-pure copper due to its strength so that our product can withstand prolonged use, and the wear and tear of changing components and owners.
2. We are thus able to use the best insulator – air. Our conductor bundles are wrapped in organic cotton (which is mostly air) and then encased in a larger diameter PTFE tube. So the insulator contains the best dielectric and the Teflon tube protecting the cables is 3 layers away from the conductor.

Click to expand...

 
The WyWires FAQ has some more information for your perusal. I recommend browsing with an open mind. Of note, the warranty on personal audio products is one year. Multichannel products have five years of warranty coverage. WyWires also has an PDF that kind of says why many cable claims are a load of malarkey, also. You can check that out here.
 

Form & Function

The WyWires Red HD600 balanced cable came in a length of 1.52m (5ft), which is the standard length for their headphone cables. You can get longer lengths made for more money. It’s a handmade cable, so of course longer lengths are possible.
 
Most custom cables are visibly braided. The argument for this is that it cancels out various noise that might infect your audio chain—I have no idea if this is true, but braiding sure does look pretty. The appearance of the WyWires red, by comparison, is much more utilitarian. If there is braiding, it's concealed.
 
 
The shape of the nylon outer layer is interesting, and very thoughtful. Most cables use round or flat flexible arrangements, which I find do next to nothing to prevent tangles. The WyWires Red cable prevents tangling in two ways: the shape of the cable is a pointed oval, this means that there is an edge along the centre plane not unlike a double edged sword; second the cable, while flexible, is not so flexible that it easily folds in on itself. The effect of the first factor is to make it so when one part of the cable touches another part, it maintains separation—the outer part is too firm to allow tangling. The stiffness of the cable prevents loops from forming. There is one negative to this design, the cable does not wrap up small. Even though the cable is short, it will need some space for transport, no standard figure 8 loops for this cable.
 
The connectors used on the cable are all good quality, and the fit and finish is to a high standard. It is definitely better than my two other cables I own on appearance.

Audio quality

 
I have three cables for my HD600: the cable that comes stock with the HD650, a cable I bought from Custom Cans UK, and the WyWires Red.
 
I started my comparisons comparing the stock HD650 cable and the WyWires Red. The with both hooked up to my Airist Audio Heron 5 headphone amplifier and my DX50 as the source (not a good source for the Heron). After several tracks, it was apparent that the Red had a bit more dimension and depth to the presentation, with noticeably more height to the sound stage. With the stock cable vanquished, I moved on to the Custom Cans balanced cable.
 
For this comparison I used the balanced headphone out of the HiFiMAN SuperMini, which does a spectacular job in balanced—not worth the price for single-ended playback. The SuperMini has plenty of power on tap for the HD600. To my surprise, the SPL meter showed me that the cheaper Custom Cans cable had a higher SPL measurement at the same volume. The reason that this is surprising is that in all the tracks that I listened to, the Red sounded louder, clearer, and with bigger dimensions to the stage. The background is totally silent on the Red and I found myself picking out vinyl noise on my Tori Amos – Silent All These Years rip that I wasn’t picking out on the Custom Cans cable. The sound was more dynamic and engaging without being edgy or coloured sounding. The bass from the Red had more texture and body. The mids had a more live feel to them, vocals just pop in your face like candy and coke, which coke is up to you. Note edges are more natural, and drum hits are more snappy and precise.
 
 

Conclusions

To my surprise and delight, the WyWires Red made a noticeable difference over the stock cable and my Custom Cans cable. The WyWires red expands the dimensions of the sound stage in all directions, with the most impressive gains in stage height. The background is totally silent on the Red, which allows notes to snap, crackle, and pop into childlike euphoric crescendos of excess amygdala activity deep in the primitive folds of the brain—that’s where bliss lives. It’s good. It’s really good.
 
I highly recommend it. Whether it’s worth $299 for American-made natural musical enhancement, is up to you, but this thing works. Rock hard. I’m going to go have some children’s cereal now, because…
 
 

Preamble    

I received these as part of Havit’s roll-out of review units. This is the second Havit unit that I have received as a review sample. I was provided voucher codes that made these free from amazon.co.uk. I think that is a really clever way to send review samples and I applaud Havit for their ingenuity. The views in the review are my own and not for sale.
 

Introduction

Havit is a Chinese manufacturer of electronic goods, making a variety of items from Bluetooth headphones to elaborate and fancy looking backlit gaming keyboards and mice. Shiny shiny.
 

 
Havit is entering a crowded market with their latest entries into Bluetooth headphones and headsets in the under $50 range. For an idea of the amount of stuff in the market, go to your local amazon website or check your local department store. This market is crowded.
 
These were £24.99 (roughly $38) on amazon.co.uk. I previously reviewed the Havit I8 sports Bluetooth headphone. I didn’t find the sound to my taste, but didn’t think it was bad value.
 

I’m biased, you’re biased, tunings are biased, here’s my bias

A wise HeadFier once told me that without acknowledging your own biases in your reviews, you risk misleading those who read them. So this is about me and what I hear and like to hear. If you’d like to go in blind to my bias, you may figure it out by the end anyway. Feel free to skip the hidden text.
 

 

Form and function

These came in cheap plastic transparent container with cardboard to hold the headphones and hide the accessories. These are made of many types of plastic and almost certainly okay for vegans. There may be metal somewhere in the band (I doubt it), but the only metal I could see was the screws. The finish is primarily softly rubberised plastic. The earcups and headband padding are a mid-grade pleather.  The band can get a little bit of a hotspot on the top over time, but this is almost always the case with this type of padded pleather. Clamping power makes the tops of my ears hurt over time. I don’t think this is a headphone that I would toss in a backpack or large purse, even though these having a folding design that encourages you to do so. I think these would break rather quickly as the build quality is not convincing.
 
This doesn’t come with a charger and I have multiple chargers with varying current output, so I never bother to record how long it takes to charge for any device that doesn’t come with its own charger. Havit says it should take 2-3 hours to charge. It doesn’t take terribly long in my experience with 2.1 amp and up chargers.  Go watch a couple episodes of your favourite HBO or Showtime series and check back, it will probably be ready for you. The battery life from full to empty that I got was 10 hours 55 minutes, which is significantly better than the 8 hour time it said in the manual.
With regards to the manual, it was in English. This shouldn’t be a surprise! With the Havit I8, I received a Chinese manual with a Chinese pairing buddy speaking in my ear. Whilst the manual is in English, it could use some improvements. Instead of using named buttons throughout (e.g. power, volume up, previous track), they refer to labels on the headphone diagramme in the manual (S1, T1, etc…). This is unintuitive and led to some confusion on my part. This manual is better than the 100% Chinese one I received last time, but improvement is necessary to capture this headphone’s target market.
 
Manual issues aside, I had no trouble pairing this with my Note 2, or my Aukey BT-C1 transmitter (I need to get a better transmitter). Range was a little under 30 feet. I didn’t get 10 meters of range before having complete drop-out, which occurred around 30 feet. I got about the same range from the Havit I8, and this is about the range I got with the Ausdom M05 (it had a little more solid signal). It may be that my transmitters aren’t as strong as an iPhone 6 or Galaxy Note 5. Your meterage may vary.
 
The volume up and volume down buttons have helpful tactile dots and worked well, though the levels of volume adjustment are very limited. I found myself adjusting volume using my computer or a combination of phone and the headphone. The headphone volume controls were not sufficiently sensitive for me. The other buttons were very frustrating to use. The right earcup has all the buttons on the outside, but it is a touch panel. The touch zones aren’t very responsive and I found myself not knowing if I’d successfully hit the buttons due to time lag. I could pause a track, but I couldn’t get it to start back up. Tactile physical buttons would be much easier to use and could be accomplished while maintaining the same single panel smooth exterior by using a softkey underlay with some pivot built in on the top layer.
 
Call quality was good when used with my Note 2 and my partner in testing had no trouble hearing me. The call switched over to the headphone seamlessly.
 
I put these on my wife’s head to find out how they leak or don’t leak sound, and like the Ausdom M05 these leak, a lot. These are not headphones to wear at work. They are okay for around the house, but a bit obtrusive in public.
 

 

Sound

First off I did a test of the frequency extremes to see what I can hear. I tested this by bringing out my headphones with the widest band of frequency response, strangely, the 1.5* rated Geek Verb, which has audible response all the way down at 10hz and all the way up to 23Khz. Yep, still hearing them. I then moved onto the Havit HV-H911BT. The Havit HV-H911BT has audible frequencies (tone not just vibration) from 20hz to 18khz. I tested this using test tones from audiocheck.net with a 48Khz sampling rate.

 

The playlist

• Eagles – Hotel California (DCC gold CD) (for overall sound impression, love the jet pan)
• Fleetwood Mac – Dreams (layering of vocals on chorus, Stevie Nicks has a temperamental voice)
• Katherine Bryan – Flute Concerto Alla Marcia (treble torture test, transient response, timpani impact)
• Massive Attack – Angel (need I say bass)
• Why? – Strawberries (bass and interesting sound effects)
• Camera Obscura – Country Mile (spacious)
• Father John Misty – The Night Josh Tillman Came to Our Apt. (vocal test, his voice can get a phlegmy sound with the wrong emphasis)
• Schizoid Lloyd – Suicide Penguin (speed and modern loud)

 
For reference, I did this listening test using the iDAC2 with an iPurifier2 and a Supra USB cable. I began the test using Bluetooth through a cheap and cheerful Aukey BT-C1. The Aukey is too cheap. I find that it has a high noise floor that interferes with the music. The tracks were mostly 16/44.1 FLAC, but Katherine Bryan and Father John Misty were in HiDef, 24/192 and 24/88.2, respectively.  As I think a decent DAC is key to listening, I kept the iDAC2, iPurifier2, and Supra USB cable in the chain and listened to these corded with a 3m Audioquest Pipeline 3.5mm extension (purchased for £5 on eBay). The cable that comes with the headphones is flimsy and cheap, which made me reluctant to use it for critical listening. It didn’t feel like I was getting a good physical connection with the stock cable. I didn’t burn in the 3.5mm lead, so maybe it will sound different later. I honestly don’t know. I’ve had sound change from burn in on dynamic drivers and on amp/dac components, but I haven’t heard anything notable in cables yet.
 
For Hotel California, Dreams, and Flute Concerto: II. Alla Marcia I listened using the Aukey BT-C1 in Bluetooth mode. After one time through Flute Concerto: II. Alla Marcia, I switched to corded and relistened to Flute Concerto: II. Alla Marcia. I didn’t go back. I don’t know if better Bluetooth devices would have better results, but it was clear to me that the headphone sounded better with the cord, so I stuck with the cord.
 
On Hotel California, I like to listen to the panning of the jet plane overhead and the shimmer of the cymbals for spacing. The plane is a bit submerged in the other parts and doesn’t stand out as it should. The cymbals are located well, but the soundstage is average size. The bass is slow. The overall sound is a bit muffled.
 
On Dreams, I’m mainly listening for if I can hear layering for all the singers on the refrain vocal ‘thunder only happens when it’s raining.’ The vocal is tightly layered, but most headphones don’t get a lot of separation between the layers. The HE1000 does this beautifully, probably better than any other headphone I’ve listened to, the HD600 does okay, most headphones I’ve listened to do crap. This headphone does a crap job, so it’s average. The individual vocalists can be heard, but barely, and they have no separation in their vocal images. It’s all the vocalists from the same place in space. The other reason I listen to this track is I like sultry vocals and midbass emphasis tends to thicken up these vocals, which I’m not into. Stevie Nicks has a thick sultry voice, I don’t want it thicker. The Havit thickens this up a bit, but not unbearably so. The overall presentation is a bit congested. It needs more detail retrieval.
 
Flute Concerto: II. Alla Marcia will reveal if your headphones have any nasty treble peaks and the song is excellent for showing transient performance. I didn’t detect any particular nastiness on the treble, but one of the highlights of the track: giant timpani strikes that thunder outwards, was a bit muted. The timpani strikes lacked impact in Bluetooth mode, and were only slightly better when in corded mode. The treble is brighter in corded mode, but at this point in listening I’m not getting fatigued by the treble yet. The presentation wasn't as detailed as I like to hear and the transients were a bit slow. When listening through Bluetooth there was some low level hiss. It was very noticeable with the BT-C1 and still present with the Note 2, but it is gone in corded mode.
 
Bass needs to thump on Angel, and these deliver. The snare drum has really good slam with these. There is something going on in the treble that my ears aren’t liking at my customary listening volume. I wish I had tools to measure it. On modern popular tracks like Angel, I had to turn the volume down. I’m now sitting comfortably at about 10:00.
 
Why?’s track, Strawberries has a wide array of sounds: deep real bass guitar and artificial super-deep sub-bass, piano, forward vocals, maracas, glockenspiel, xylophone. There is a lot going on. The Havit does a good job with the higher percussion instruments, but it doesn’t go as deep on the sub-bass as the artificial sub-bass does. So while these have a good quantity of midbass, their sub-bass disappears right at 20hz.
 
The soundstage on Country Mile is a large open empty space with distant walls that make Tracyanne Campbell’s voice echo back in loneliness, which I’m pretty sure was intentional. While not boxed in, the Havit’s presentation isn’t wide or particularly deep. The stage size is average-small.
 
On Father John Misty – The Night Josh Tillman Came to Our Apt., Josh Tillman’s voice can get a bit thick on many headphones. Though the more I listen to this album on different phones and sources, the more I’m convinced that the album is easy to make sound great on just about anything. The wrong headphones or amp can make Josh Tillman sound a little phlegmy, but that isn’t happening here. The bass guitar is more forward in the mix than usual. The presentation is a little stuffy.
 
Schizoid Lloyd presents loud avant garde psycho metal. I like it a lot. The album is all loud. It only has a dynamic range of 5 according to JRiver Media Center, and it sounds like that. The drums get pretty fast in points and the Havit isn’t quite fast enough. The details smear a bit. The guitar lacks some crunch and isn’t as satisfying as it can be. Details generally aren’t as vivid as they should be.

 

Havit HV-H911BT vs. Ausdom M05

For this comparison I used both headphones in corded mode and used the LH Labs Geek Out V2 as the DAC of choice with the iPurifier2 hooked up (the iPurifier2 mainly tightens bass). Corded mode allowed for quick switching between the two headphones. I listened to TidalHiFi (CD quality streaming).
 
First, the Ausdom is superior in build quality in every way. It has tactile buttons, nicer pleather, nicer rubberised plastic, softer earpads and headband, and generally better fit and finish. I found the Ausdom M05 more comfortable. The Ausdom also has double the battery life and more reliable Bluetooth transmission.
 
Both headphones have warts, and upon more listening to the Ausdom, I need to revise my initial enthusiasm in original review.
 
I listened to the following tracks: Bjork – Black Lake, Eagles – Hotel California (Hell Freezes Over), 9Bach – Llywnog, Rodrigo y Gabriela – Viking Man (Live in Japan), and Kamasi Washington – The Message.
 
In general, the Havit has tighter bass presentation than the Ausdom M05, but isn’t as fast. The vocals on the Havit are a bit recessed and tend towards being a bit coloured. On Llwynog, Lisa Jen Hoyland’s voice has a touch of romance from the added midbass/lower-mid weight, but is cleaner on the M05. On Kamasi Washington – The Message, the Ausdom M05 midbass bleeds into the mids, giving a cloudy presentation with slightly muted guitar. The Havit’s treble is fatiguing on Viking Man and aggressive, whilst the M05 treble is well defined and clear without slamming your eardrum.
 
The Havit isn’t as fast as the Ausdom, losing the pace a bit on Viking Man.
 
The soundstage has more depth and height on the M05, but the two headphones have similar soundstage width; I’d give a slight edge to the M05 on width. In terms of total stage volume, I’d say the soundstage is about twice as large on the M05. The centre image is generally really clean and well delineated on the M05, especially noticeable on Black Lake. In general, the soundstage is much more 3-dimensional on the Ausdom M05, which is one of its chief strengths.

 

Conclusion

Overall, the sound has a midbass emphasis, isn’t terribly detailed, is somewhat slow, and a bit congested in presentation. I found that these caused some treble fatigue.  I found the sound pleasant, but not really my cup-o-tea. For the money, it doesn’t perform badly. I have a little bit of concern with the noise floor in Bluetooth mode, but it may be an artefact of my sources, so your mileage may vary. I’ll be looking into a Bluetooth transmitter I can right home to Mom about. Just kidding, Mom can barely use the internet, Bluetooth would send her into the pits of despair.
 
When compared to the Ausdom M05, the M05 was superior in every way with a couple notable exceptions: the bass was tighter on the Havit HV-H911BT, and a bit of midbass bleed clouded up the M05’s mids on Kamasi Washington – The Message. Both headphones need improvement, but I’d definitely pick the Ausdom M05 as my affordable Bluetooth on/over ear of choice. It has better fit and finish, is more comfortable, has a nice 3-dimensional soundstage and generally sounds better. With a little bit better tuning and slightly more clamping power on the ears, the M05 has the potential to be the top Bluetooth headphone on the market.

Acknowledgment

The iPurifier2 was loaned to me along with the Micro iDAC2 by iFi for the purpose of this review, and I previously won an iFi Micro iUSB3.0 in the launch contest for the iUSB3.0. The opinions in this review are my honest opinions.

Introduction

Last year I won the iUSB3.0 in its launch contest. I have had the iUSB3.0 for about 6 months and have used it with several DACs: LH Labs Geek Out 1000, LH Labs Geek Out V2, Schiit Yggdrasil, LH Labs Geek Pulse X-Infinity, and the iFi Micro iDAC2. My observations in my iUSB3.0 review were that the iUSB3.0 had several effects: the noise floor is substantially lowered; instrument separation is increased; soundstage depth, width and height are increased; and the decay of notes is fuller and more natural. On reflection, I think most of these elements are related to the first element, lowering the noise floor. The Micro iUSB3.0 is a fantastic bit of kit, and I’m very glad to have won it, but when I’m traveling, it isn’t terribly portable. It needs two USB cables and a power socket to run, which adds up to a lot of gear to carry around. It also costs a pretty penny at around $400 (£329 when I won it). The honest folks at iFi say that you shouldn’t get an iUSB3.0 to use with a DAC that is less than $5000,and they are probably being sensible on that.
 
Quote in the Nano iUSB3.0 launch thread (post 5):
“If your USB DAC is:
1) USB dac <US$500 eg nano DSD = iPurifier 2 (ie. no need for mUSB3.0 or nUSB3.0).
2) USB dac US$500 to US$5k eg iFi/Chord = nano USB3.0.
3) USB dac >US$5k eg DCS/AMR = micro iUSB3.0.
 
Hopefully this summary shows that if you have a <US$1k DAC, then the micro iUSB3.0 is overkill as unlikely to hear the additional performance.”
 
I’ve used the iUSB3.0 with lesser DACs to good effect, but I didn’t pay for mine.  I also use two double ended USB cables that I got at big discounts through the LH Labs Geek Pulse IndieGoGo campaign (the campaign that less people are threatening to burn LH Labs down over).
 
The iPurifier2 has most of the technology in the Micro iUSB3.0, but is about ¼ the price and at most requires one USB cable and an adapter. The iPurifier2 comes in three varieties, all with USB3.0 female ends to insert a USB cable jack, but with different outputs: USB-A (female) for hooking up to the iFi Micro iDSD or a stick DAC like the Audioquest Dragonfly or Geek Out V2, USB-B for hooking up to most full-size DACs, USB-C for next generation devices, and USB-micro for many portable devices out there. The unit I received was the USB-B unit, which included USB-B (male) to USB-A (female) adaptor. The adaptor was appreciated as it allows wide usage. I was able to use the device with every DAC or DAP I own (most of us own a USB-micro cable for charging some electronic device).
 
Every person walking around this earth is biased, and I’m no different, so I’ve included a blurb about my particular flavour of bias below the spoiler. Read it if you want to.
 
 

Form & Function

The iPurifier2 is tiny and comes in a tiny box not much bigger than a pack of cards. The box includes a warranty card, instructions, the iPurifier2, and in the case of the iPurifier2 USB-B version, a USB-B (male) to USB-A (female) adaptor.  It will fit in a change pocket or small purse, but you’ll still need a USB cable. If you are carrying around a DAC, you’ve probably got room for the iPurifier2.
 
 
 
The iPurifier2 has two LEDs. When the device is receiving power but not plugged into a DAC both lights are blue. Plug the iPurifier2 into a DAC and the left light turns green.
 
According to the iFi website:


Comparatively, the Micro iUSB3.0 has the following features (video from product launch), stats from iFi website:


 

The Micro iUSB3.0 is much larger. You’ll need two cables and you’ll probably want a case to carry it around. It has Micro in the name, but it is really inconvenient to move, especially when you consider that you will be carrying around the iPower and probably will be using two USB cables. I use the Micro iUSB3.0 plugged into my LH Labs Geek Pulse X-Infinity, which is a spectacular DAC and pre-amp with a middle of the road headphone amp, hooked up with two split power and data LH Labs Lightspeed 2g cables (I got the pair for <$250).
 

Technical testing

The equipment used for technical testing was as follows:

1. Wensa SPL Meter
2. iFi Micro iDAC2
3. iFi Micro iUSB3.0
4. iFi iPurifier2
5. 2 LH Labs Lightspeed 2G cables
6. Meze Audio 99 Classics Headphones
7.  

When I initially listened to my DACs fed through the iUSB3.0 I noticed that my music sounded louder. As many are aware, louder music generally sounds better to our perception, so a device that increases volume will be perceived to increase sound quality and bias our judgment. At the time I won the Micro iUSB3.0, I didn’t have a SPL meter, but this has since been remedied. I decided that the first test I would run in this review was to see if there were any differences in SPL measurements with the iDAC2 at the same volume between the iDAC2 alone, iDAC2 with iPurifier2 and iDAC2 with Micro iUSB3.0.
 
The test procedure involved the following steps:

• Set volume level using white noise (Ayre Acoustics – Irrational But Efficacious System Enhancement Disc) to approximately 75 dB using SPL meter set to A weighting and slow response with iDAC2 as the source. This is to establish baseline.
• For each of iDAC2, iDAC2 with iPurifier2, and iDAC2 with Micro iUSB3.0 repeat seven times
  • Turn on SPL meter
  • Set to slow and A weighting
  • Angle foam capped condenser microphone into Meze Audio 99 Classics left earcup
  • Begin white noise track and let play for three seconds
  • Begin one minute timer
  • Record minimum and maximum decibel measurement (range) during one minute interval
  • Estimate median SPL measurement
  • Turn off SPL meter

 
I did not use clamps to maintain fixed position of the headphone or SPL meter. All measurements were done by hand, which introduces additional potential for measurement error. The results of the testing are in the table below.
 
 
Given the table results above, it does not appear that there are any measurable differences between the iDAC2 alone and with USB devices. The small sample size caveat applies, but it is also the case that given the measurement error in hand measurement that further trials would have likely yielded little or no additional information. These results can be interpreted to mean that any perceived volume differences are due to elimination of noise on the signal, which is a tangible benefit to audio quality.
 
After I had already run this experiment, I was informed by iFi that it isn’t possible from an engineering perspective for the iPurifier2 or Micro iUSB3.0 to make the sound physically louder. This little experiment is a good example of why you can’t always trust your brain, while at the same time being an example of why you should trust your ears. That perceived louder sound is really about lowering the noise floor and creating a blacker background. It makes your music more dynamic, which is also what happens when you increase the volume. The brain doesn’t always make the right diagnosis of what the ears are hearing.
 

Audio quality

I used the iPurifier2 primarily with the iDAC2, but also got some listening time with my LH Labs gear (X-Infinity, Geek Out V2, and Geek Out 1000). The iPurifier2 and iDAC2 have been my constant companions for nearly a month. They are good company and work well together, but of the two, I prefer the iPurifier2. The iDAC2 is supposed to be the hero, Batman to the iPurifier2’s Robin, but I like the sidekick. The iPurifier2 probably won’t be killed through any sort of supervillainy either, it feels substantial in its tiny aluminum package. I tested the iPurifier2 with my LH Labs Lightspeed 2G cables and with the USB3.0 cable that came with the Micro iUSB3.0. I listened to many different tracks, and many different styles of music. I listened through speakers and through headphones The iPurifier2 performs similar feats with all of them.
 
What I hear when I listen with the iPurifier2 is a blacker background, which lends to better instrument separation. Instruments have a more ‘suspended in space’ quality to them. Bass is fuller and drums have noticeably more kick. Notes have a more natural feel to them, a pleasant roundness. When listening to Kraftwerk – Kometenmelodie2 via the iDAC2 there was a slight smear to treble detail without the iPurifier2, adding it to the chain improved timing and made the treble more detailed. When listening to Mavis Staples – If It’s A Light I notice backing vocals more distinctly with the iPurifier2. The lead vocal has more definition and the bass is tighter and groovier. On Teddy Thompson’s cover of Leonard Cohen’s brilliant Tonight Will Be Fine, I hear the vocals just a hair cleaner and instrument spacing improved in the better blacker background. Others have proclaimed miracles about the expansion of sound stage. The iPurifier2 will not be keeping a drunken party going like a tiny British Jesus, but it will add some power to the cocktails already there. I didn’t hear miracles. I did hear improvement in depth, a little improvement in width and no discernible difference in height with the iPurifier2. The headphones I listened with were the Meze Audio 99 Classics (which I had on loan from Meze Audio), and my panty-hose modded Sennheiser HD600 (mod increases treble definition, removes some veil and improves soundstage, try it), and a variety of IEMs (Trinity Audio Atlas, 64Audio X2, Echobox Audio Finder X1). It may be that bigger differences in improvement on soundstage are had with higher end headphones, but I didn’t have any of those on hand, so I can only report my observations with what I have. The iPurifier2 made a nice difference when I listened with the generic USB3.0 cable supplied with the iUSB3.0, but when I upgraded cables to LH Labs Lightspeed 2G, I didn’t hear as much uptick in performance as I did with the Micro iUSB3.0.
 
The iUSB3.0 expands width a bit more and depth plainly more than the iPurifier2, but also gives a boost to height. When listening to Kraftwerk – Autobahn through 28 year old Mordaunt Short speakers I got for £20 off ebay,  the X-Infinity, and the Cambridge Audio Azur 540A the soundstage is as tall as my living room. It is spectacular. I didn’t get the same improvement with the iPurifier2. The iUSB3.0 also responds to higher end USB cables in a way that the iPurifier2 doesn’t. When I got the iUSB3.0, I had a Supra USB running between the computer and the Micro iUSB3.0 and a Lightspeed 2G cable to my Geek Out V2, replacing the Supra cable with the LH Labs Lightspeed 2G improved the treble definition. Switching between the cables on the iPurifier2 didn’t seem to have an effect. Hooking my portable hard-drive into the Micro iUSB3.0 also improved my sound a smidgeon. The sound was a little cleaner, more organic. Differences in sound stage were relatively easy to hear on the iUSB3.0 vs. the iPurifier2, but the change that I think most people will notice is the increased richness in the bass. The bass is fuller and richer on the iUSB3.0, it is a joy.
 

Conclusions

I’m a fan of the iPurifier2, but I’ve been spoiled on the much more expensive and more performance laden Micro iUSB3.0. Since my loan period began on the iPurifier2, the Nano iUSB3.0 has been released, bringing  much of the features of the Micro iUSB3.0 at half the price. I think that this is a good strategy for iFi, as all of these technologies work, but using the Micro iUSB3.0 with an inexpensive DAC is definitely overkill, albeit beautiful sounding overkill. I think iFi’s bracketing of prices has as much to do with the gear they expect people to be listening with as the price of the DAC that the iPurifier or iUSB3.0 device is feeding. Whatever your budget, iFi now has a device at a reasonable price to improve your USB DAC’s sound quality.
 
I think that the iPurifier2 is a great value. At $110 it is better value than basically any audio device you can buy in that range. It provides definite improvement in soundstage depth, lays down some tight and groovy bass, and improves note definition by improving the blackness of the background and preventing time smearing (as noted in Kometenmelodie2). I give these a solid 4 stars. They are extremely portable, work universally, and give marked improvements in audio quality

Acknowledgment   

Thanks Arcam of Cambridge for including me in the UK tour in exchange for my honest opinion.

Introduction

The more I look at the audio industry, the more amazed I am at the number of enterprising and innovative folks getting into the market. Arcam isn’t one of those companies. It doesn’t mean that they can’t be innovative, but they’ve been around too long to be called a new firm. Over 40 years in operation out of Cambridge, England puts Arcam in pretty rarefied company.
 
 

Vital Statistics (specs from manufacturers and distributors)

The story of audio is told in specs and stat-sheets as well as marketing lingo, reviewer critiques and homages. Sometimes a manufacturer’s description is a superfluous ball of superlatives. If they’re doing a good job the information they provide won’t just be a flash-zip-bang advertisement to go with your morning cereal and internet browse—I do this every day before I go to work, alas the newspaper is dead in my generation. In this section of my reviews, I try to provide the manufacturers tale and leave the critique to my own review.
 
Beware, there be superlative icebergs and spec charts ahead.
 

Key Features
- Class A design delivers zero crossover distortion for the purest sound.
- Extensively optimised 2 layer fibreglass PCB for cleanest sound and lowest crosstalk
- Multiple low noise power supplies eliminate cross-interference between sections
- Fully direct coupled signal path from the volume control for cleanest bass
- Ultra-linear resistive-ladder analogue volume control, eliminates L/R volume tracking errors
  (taken from Arcam’s $6000+ flagship A49 amplifier)
- Precision metal film resistors in the signal path for lowest distortion
- Phono socket and balanced XLR inputs
- 3.5mm and 6.25mm headphone outputs
- Output impedance <0.5Ω eliminates frequency response errors
- Enough power to drive the least-efficient headphones
 
Other Bullet Points
- Very high build-quality with die cast metal case for mechanically stable structure
- World-class analogue circuitry
- Vibration damped non-slip rubber base
  
TECH POINTS
Class-A Amplification
The amplifiers operate in class-A for all normal headphones use (up to deafening levels) and seamlessly switch to class AB if called upon to drive really low impedances at higher levels (e.g. desktop loudspeakers). They are nevertheless short circuit proof and will shut down automatically in this case. Simply turn back the volume control to zero (“mute”) to reset.
 
Digitally-Controlled Analogue Volume Control
The expensive PGA2311A Texas Instruments part is the same as is used in our $6000+ high-end 49 series ampliers. It is a digitally controlled, very high-performance analogue stereo audio volume control, designed for professional and high-end consumer audio systems. The two fully independent audio channels eliminate crosstalk and deliver effectively perfect L/R tracking at all volume levels. We use the premium (lowest distortion) A-grade part.
 
Power
Would a 3rd party linear power supply improve the sound? We don’t think an external supply will help much due to extensive internal filtering. Many will convince themselves an expensive linear supply sounds better, but the unit will measure much the same whatever is used, provided it is man enough (+12V regulated, at least 1 amp continuous) and user does not introduce an inadvertent ground loop. Do NOT exceed +14V.
 
Listening Notes
The rHead is ultra-low-distortion and ultra-low-noise. Timing is fast and precise, with well-controlled bass and although the output is very wide-band the extended treble is smooth and flat with no artificial exaggerations. Dynamic headroom is massive and all headphones we know of are handled with ease. Please compare with competitors at twice the price.
 
Some reviewers, used to quick blasts of distorted noisy signals, find Arcam sound lacking in 'excitement & bite’ when what they are listening to is distortion and often deliberately tweaked FR to enhance ‘detail’. Arcam’s musical natural sound is made for long-term non-fatiguing listening.
 
MUSICAL above all. A VERY important point - Arcam don't build equipment to impress on one quick listen. Arcam gear is designed to be musical and enjoyable over years and years of listening. Many competing products are very 'Hi-Fi' but don't play music in an enjoyable fashion. The Arcam sound gets more involving and musical the longer you listen.

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ABOUT: Arcam of Cambridge - 40th Anniversary Year 2016
One of the pioneers of the Hi-Fi industry, Arcam have been building world-class products for over 40 years. Noted as one of the world’s most prestigious AV engineering companies and an authority on Digital Audio, Hi-Fi and Home Cinema, Arcam is headquartered in Cambridge UK.

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[size=24.57px]Form & Function[/size]

The Arcam rHead comes in a briefcase size box, which was unexpected to me. For some reason I pictured the rHead being a big beefy amplifier. It isn’t, but it is a little beefy amplifier. The rHead can be held in hand, and has the heft of a brick at a riot. I’m not suggesting lobbing it through a Starbucks window, but anarchists with less wits than arm action could easily mistake it for a brick. The amp feels solid and made to last. I have no doubt that the rHead is not made to break, or designed for built-in obsolescence like most of the electronic gear of this our disposable age. I believe them when they say it will last for 20 years.
 
 
The rHead has a couple single-ended inputs front and left on the fascia, one for 3.5mm headphone jacks and one for 6.3mm jacks. The sockets have a nice solid snap to them when putting headphones in. On the rear of the unit we find one set of balanced XLR inputs and one set of RCA inputs. There are no outputs here, so we won’t be using this as a pre-amp, like some other headphone amplifiers. Also on the back we find a switch to select which input we are using, a power switch and the jack for the worldwide wall wart that comes included. The wall wart has interchangeable plugs and comes with UK, EU, USA, and Australia plugs—very useful. There is also a cheap set of RCA cables, which means you can hook this up just about instantly, so long as you’ve got your source ready to go.
 
The manufacturer blurb makes some points about construction materials, but I’m not buying that metal film resistors magically produce the lowest distortion. The lingo seems to just be telling me what they put in it and then throwing superlative spaghetti at my ears and hoping some of it will stick. I don’t much dig spaghetti in my ears.
 
The rHead box is so small that I was able to fit it in my backpack and take it to CanJam London—thanks @moedawg140 for keeping an eye on it. I hope some folks at your table had a listen. Arcam did miss a trick on their box design, though. Given the size of the box, and the portability of the amplifier, having a box with a handle would be incredibly sensible. Also, the box is sealed by a round sticker, instead of a central fold/insert flap. If a handle and fold insert flap for closing the box were included, the amp would be much easier to use portably. It would be much better than what I usually carry in a briefcase form factor—breathmints and scribbled interview prep notes.
 

 
The volume knob feels solid, but nothing to make a youtube channel about.
 

 
 
 

Audio quality

The Arcam rHead has a smooth musical presentation. It is fairly clear, with good, but not great detail. The amp is neutral, with no frequencies emphasized over others, which is how it should be. Good on ya, Arcam. Soundstage is good, but not tops among the competitors today. The sound signature is overall, a bit forward.
 
When listening with the HD600, there is plenty of power to drive it, but the HD600 likes even more to get the bass to come up a bit. I found myself with the volume at about 65%  to 75% on the volume knob at most times.
 
With regards to the claims made about the sound signature from Arcam’s UK distributor, I did compare the rHead against amplifiers at twice the price, and it wasn’t as good, but it did fairly well. I don’t buy the claim that people listening to other amps are used to more bite because of more distortion. When listening to the LH Labs X-Infinity and the Airist Audio Heron 5, it was the clarity that made them both place ahead of the rHead. It isn’t an insult to not beat the X-Infinity amp, as the DAC/Amp combo that is the X-Infinity supposedly retails for $3000—I paid nowhere near that. Similarly, the rHead competes with Airist Audio Heron 5. The claim that it gets more musical as you listen to it is simply not true. I believe that what Arcam was describing was brain burn-in. The amp isn’t changing, your perception of the amp is changing, you are getting used to the sound.
 
Before doing any comparisons, I did my best to volume match the different amplifiers using the HD600, a cheap SPL meter, and a pen to record the volume level necessary on my X-Infinity. Volume was matched at 78 dB. The signal chain always had my computer feeding my LH Labs X-Infinity ( via LH Labs Lightspeed 2G double-ended USB cable), which then fed the Airist Audio Heron 5, using singled ended outputs and a pair of Atlas Integra interconnects, and the Arcam rHead, which was fed with Van Damme XKE Quad XLR pro audio cables. I recognize that this is not an identical setup, but my observance has been that the sound from XLRs on the X-Infinity is slightly better than the sound from RCA, and having both amps hooked up simultaneously allowed rapid, but not instant switching, between all three headphone amplifiers thus minimising audio memory loss and maximising the speed of comparisons. The X-Infinity includes a pre-amplifier, and both headphone amps have their own volume controls, so whilst listening to the headphone amps I maxed the volume on the X-Infinity. The X-Infinity was set on high gain. Both the rHead and the Heron 5 were set once and left. When switching in between any amp and the X-Infinity, the X-Infinity volume had to be reset to the correct level. The HD600 was played single ended from both the rHead and Heron 5, but played balanced from the X-Infinity—I’ve never found the X-Infinity’s single ended headphone amplification to really satisfy me.
 
 
My playlist for comparisons today included the following:

1. Michael Jackson – Billie Jean (24-96 Vinyl Rip)
2. Roger Waters – Late Home Tonight, Part 1
3. Marvin Gaye – What’s Going On
4. Hoff Ensemble – Blagutten (DXD)
5. 2Pac – God Bless the Dead
6. Massive Attack – Teardrop
7. Eagles – Hotel California (DCC Gold, Steve Hoffman master)
8. Animals as Leaders – Kascade
9. Bjork – Black Lake

 
On Michael Jackson – Billie Jean the rHead had a smooth treble presentation, good impact on drums and a more lively feel compared to the X-Infinity. Stage width was a smidge wider on the rHead, but with less depth and detail than the X-Infinity. On violins, the X-Infinity had a bit more natural timbre. After one track it was hard to tell the difference between the amps. Differences were subtle and may not be evident to all listeners.
 
Late Home Tonight, part 1 puts a bit more differentiation in play  between the rHead and X-Infinity. The rHead is smoother, but less detailed and with less depth in the stage. The X-Infinity has more subtle instrument placement than the rHead.
 
Marvin Gaye sounds wonderful on both amps, but the track has impressive depth on the X-Infinity and good depth on the rHead. I think the narrower depth enhances drum impact on the rHead, but at the cost of more accurate instrument placement.
 
When listening to the DXD track, Hoff Ensemble – Blagutten on the X-Infinity, the superiority of the X-Infinity is most clear. Brass and piano have more natural ambience and timbre with more emotional content. Decay is more natural on the X-Infinity. The smoothness of the rHead masks some of the expressiveness of the track, with subtle details falling out of the mix. The natural timbre of the piano heard on the X-Infinity is lost on the rHead. Notes don’t sound as full and real on the rHead. This loss of detail, instrument placement and depth in the stage is also apparent when listening to 2Pac – God Bless the Dead on the rHead. The layers of rappers meld together a bit on the rHead losing the subtle layering that I look for when listening to the track.
 
Adding the Heron 5 to the mix of comparators allows firmer comparison of the X-Infinity and the rHead. On Massive Attack – Teardrop the rHead gives a nice snappy drum presentation, good treble on the strings, a bit of forwardness on the mids, and good bass grip. The X-Infinity has the best imaging, but the least bass grip. The Airist Audio Heron 5 has excellent grip and texture, and a bigger soundstage than either the rHead and X-Infinity (especially on depth). The Airist Audio Heron 5 is like getting the best of all worlds, but with a very slightly smoother sound than the X-Infinity. When listening to Eagles – Hotel California (DCC Gold), I only have one more observation: the emotional content on the Heron 5 surpasses the rHead.
 
Further listening only confirmed the findings of the previous tracks. It is much like in qualitative research, often a few interviews with patients gives you most of what you will find, the rest of the patients serve as confirmation. The rHead is the smoothest, with the least detail and stage depth. It has good sub-bass rumble, but both the X-Infinity and the Heron 5 can get the sub rolling, too. The X-Infinity is the most detailed but doesn’t have the full texture, emotional notions, good vibrations or satisfaction of the Heron 5. The Heron 5 lets the DAC speak, clearly, intelligently, dripping with appeal.
 

 
I tried the Arcam rHead with other headphones ranging from 16 ohm IEMs to 32 ohm headphones and it did wonderfully with all comers. These play nice with whatever you throw at them.
 

Conclusions

The Arcam rHead is a powerful amp with a clear neutral sound. Compared to other amps I have on hand it is smoother, with less detail and less stage depth. It is, true to Arcam’s claims, an amp that is always musical, and built to last. The build quality of the amp is the most substantial of any amplifier I’ve played with among it’s competitors.
 
When I got the amp on loan, a HeadFi friend asked me if he should get one for his nephew who is heading off to college. I told him his nephew is a lucky so and so and that he’d be pretty chuffed to get this amp, no matter what part of the world he is headed to. This amp is perfect for a college student looking for an audiophile headphone amp to impress all their friends, take up next to no space, and last through a dozen crazy hectic moves from house to house like nothing happened. At £399 ($600) the amp is also a good value. This amplifier is absolutely built like a tank and should last your college student until they are sending their child off to whatever type of education kids will be sent off to in 25 years.