Video Review




INTRODUCTION

When I heard the LCD 2, I thought is was pretty awesome. I did not think it can get much better from that. One complaint I had was the comfort and I did expect some kind of upgrade in terms of that. I have to say here is that, going into this review as someone who expected not much of significant upgrade in terms of sound, I was quite surprised.


ABOUT AUDEZE

From their website:

Audeze’s origins go back to 2008 when founders Sankar Thiagasamudram and Alexander Rosson met engineer Pete Uka who developed specialized flexible circuit materials for NASA. They quickly realized the material might be perfect for headphones. That’s when Dragoslav Colich, who has 30+ years’ experience in designing planar drivers, joined the team as CTO to create the LCD-1 headphone.

Then we created the legendary, award-winning LCD-2 and LCD-3 headphones, and the higher-efficiency LCD-X and XC models. More recently, we made planar magnetic technology accessible to a wider audience with the EL-8 and SINE series headphones. Audeze turned to their strategic partner Designworks, a BMW Group Subsidiary, for the cutting-edge industrial design for the new headphones as well as the Deckard DAC/Amplifier.

Audeze feature proprietary planar magnetic designs with extremely thin-film driver materials and powerful custom magnets. Planars overcome many limitations inherent in typical cone drivers; our lightweight diaphragms are, for example, faster and more responsive than heavier moving-coil or dome drivers. Planar magnetic diaphragm also have a voice-coil circuit spread across the diaphragm surface. The diaphragm’s voice-coil circuit interacts with the magnetic field to produce an electromagnetic force that moves the diaphragm back and forth creating the sound you hear when energized by an audio signal.

DISCLAIMER

This review unit was lent to me by Bay Bloor Radio, for a review. Nevertheless, my review will contain no bias

SPECS

Style Open circumaural
Transducer type Planar magnetic
Magnetic structure Proprietary push-pull design
Magnet type Neodymium
Transducer size 106 mm
Maximum power handling 15W (for 200ms)
Sound pressure level >130dB with 15W
Frequency response 5Hz – 20kHz extended out to 50kHz
Total harmonic distortion <1% through entire frequency range
Impedance 110 ohms
Efficiency 102dB / 1mW
Optimal power requirement 1 – 4W
THE BUILD QUALITY

All you will see on these headphones is wood, metal, and Leather (you can opt in for vegan - leather free pads) just like LCD 2. However, LCD 3 does come with an upgrade.

Some of the upgrade includes;

1. brown leather pads that I personally found to be more comfortable and more elegant looking
2. brown leather headband straps that I personally found to be more comfortable and more elegant looking
3. Zebrano wood that looks like tiger stripes giveing a very nice look to the headphones

I did find these headphones to be more comfortable than the LCD 2 which I had trouble leaving it on my head for a long time. However, LCD 3 still feels a bit heavy for my head.

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Sound mechanism

The drivers used are planar magnetic drivers and to me, this is a plus because other than the fact that Audeze has great experience tuning these types of drivers, these types of drivers can make a more impactful sound.

Included is also their latest technology, the “fazor,” which is a wave guide to increase the clarity and lower distortion.

[gallery ids="1539,1540,1544,1543" type="rectangular"]

SOUND QUALITY

Lower Frequencies: I praised the impact bass presence in the LCD 2 but I was surprised by the increased amount of impact in the LCD 3 even more ! And all controlled to excellence. Not much to say here, It was one of the best experiences I've had in this frequency range. Go check out my LCD 2 review and come back to this one to get a better impression

Mid Frequencies: I found this headphone to excel with micro detail in this range, even more so than the LCD 2. Very lush sounding and I cannot emphasize this more. This is the one of the most pleasant headphone I have ever heard in terms of layering. Vocals seemed a little bit distant than the LCD 2 at first before I got adjusted to the headphones.

High Frequencies: Falls short in the upper range compared to HD800s but excels in the lower ranges. Again, same thing with LCD 2 here basically. However more pleasant than the LCD 2 in every way possible.

Soundstage/imaging: The soundstage was larger than the HD650 or that of the LCD 2 and tad smaller than the HD800s and Hifiman edition x v2. However, the imaging was quite impressive, although this also fell short compared to the mighty HD800s. In terms of imaging, it was quite similar to the level of the Hifiman edition x v2. A lot of you will disagree or agree with me in these comparisons but remember one thing. “these are mild differences, these headphone are pretty similar in sound stage and imaging.” To the extent of you not being able to correctly analyze it unless you had them all side by side like me to go back and forth on the sound stage test tracks.

Overall Thoughts

Bottom line, I would put these as my favorite planar magnetic headphones of this month. Perhaps this year - This is what I said for the LCD 2 review. I cannot say I stand by it now that I heard the LCD 3. LCD 3 is the clear new winner.

VIDEO REVIEW



INTRODUCTION

Few months back, I was contacted by a company called Yulong to review their canary and then the da9. I was skeptical at first as I have never heard of this company but after trying out their products, I was quite surprised.

ABOUT YULONG AUDIO

Founded in 2009, ShenZhen YuLong Electronics Co., Ltd, is a company specializes in designing and manufacturing High-end audio equipments. The R&D of the company consists of senior audiophiles and a team with proven experience of electronic product development for more than a decade. From the very beginning of the company, we’ve invested in various professional testing instruments, making sure our experience and passion for music is supported by state-of-the-art hardware in the R&D. YuLong is devoted to produce Hi-Fi components that are not only sonically superb on the ear, but also economically affordable on the wallet, so you can sit back, relax and enjoy more.
YuLong Audio is the brand name of the company and we are vertically integrated from bench testing, careful fine-tuning to final assembly. Other than promoting our own brand, the company also offers OEM/ODM services.

I wound normally not say this but go check out their about page as it is pretty darn cool.

http://www.yulongaudio.com/col.jsp?id=103



DISCLAIMER

This unit was sent to me by Yulong audio in return for my honest review

SPECS

● DoP64 and DoP128 support over SPDIF/Optical/AES
● PCM 384KHz 24bit over SPDIF/Optical/AES
● DoP64, DoP128, Native DSD64/128/256 and PCM 16-32bit, 32-384KHz over USB
● SNR: -130dB
● Dynamic Range: 125dB
● THD+N: 0.0003%
● Frequency Response: 20-30KHz-0.15dB
● Crosstalk -120dB
● balanced Output level: 4.2V
●Single-end headphone amp 600ohm：110mW 300ohm：230mW 150 ohm：460mW 32 ohm：2W
●balanced headphone amp 600 ohm：230mW 300 ohm：460mW 150 ohm：930mW 32 ohm：3W
● Power consumption: <30W
● size: 248*210*60mm
● weight: 4Kg


THE BUILD QUALITY

Balanced and quarter inch input for headphones in front of the unit

Balanced input and output / RCA input and output at the back of the unit

full metal/aluminum design. Very sturdy with thickest rubber feet installed.

everything feels absolutely solid as expected at this price range. It comes with premium wall plug and usb cable as well. Usually companies put these kind of things at the hand of the purchaser but Yulong says “we have to make sure everything is right so that costumers can enjoy music to fullest potential this device allows”



SOUND QUALITY

I will start off by saying that Balanced inputs sound more clean and this should be technically true in all balanced amps.

This dac/amp uses the latest of the AKM dacs, which in theory is supposed to sound more musical. Maybe I am brainwashed, but I do feel like this is true.

It also has 3 different settings, sharp, slow and sslow coupled with three other filters type 1,2 and 3. This allows 9 different types of sound signatures. I tried every single one, Everything sounded good but each time I tried with different headphones, the perception of what combination is “best” changed.

Instead of me talking about how it sounded off the headphones I used (which would make this a very lengthy review), I would rather have you try it and find your own best combination as this is highly subjective. If you ever start wondering what settings I use for x type of headphones, feel free to join me on discord to chat me up.

Nevertheless I will put a list of headphones I used and use until this day on this device, which all sound fantastic by the way:

1. Sennheiser HD800s
2. HIFIMAN Edition x v2
3. Sennheiser HD6xx/650s
4. Hifiman He4xx
5. Fostex th610
6. Audeze LCD 2, 3, 4.
7. Hifiman susvara

The list is not in any particular order

Overall Thoughts

Although the pricing may seem ridiculously high at first, you are essentially getting 9 different sound signatures out of a single amp that is fully balanced with the newest AKM dac. If you put it that way, I think this device is a winner.

VIDEO REVIEW HERE



INTRODUCTION

I have been listening to all of the Audeze headphones. Now I have a real good impression on the potential of each of these headphones. LCD 4 was introduced this year and I was full of expectations as it was their newest top of the line headphone. Audeze’s headphones have been very impressive these past years but I did have a problem with the comfort level. So, coming into this I expected some significant comfort improvements but was not too sure what to expect in terms of sound, as their headphones already sounded outstanding, I was terribly wrong as this review changed my perception of “perfect”



ABOUT AUDEZE

From their website:

Audeze’s origins go back to 2008 when founders Sankar Thiagasamudram and Alexander Rosson met engineer Pete Uka who developed specialized flexible circuit materials for NASA. They quickly realized the material might be perfect for headphones. That’s when Dragoslav Colich, who has 30+ years’ experience in designing planar drivers, joined the team as CTO to create the LCD-1 headphone.

Then we created the legendary, award-winning LCD-2 and LCD-3 headphones, and the higher-efficiency LCD-X and XC models. More recently, we made planar magnetic technology accessible to a wider audience with the EL-8 and SINE series headphones. Audeze turned to their strategic partner Designworks, a BMW Group Subsidiary, for the cutting-edge industrial design for the new headphones as well as the Deckard DAC/Amplifier.

Audeze feature proprietary planar magnetic designs with extremely thin-film driver materials and powerful custom magnets. Planars overcome many limitations inherent in typical cone drivers; our lightweight diaphragms are, for example, faster and more responsive than heavier moving-coil or dome drivers. Planar magnetic diaphragm also have a voice-coil circuit spread across the diaphragm surface. The diaphragm’s voice-coil circuit interacts with the magnetic field to produce an electromagnetic force that moves the diaphragm back and forth creating the sound you hear when energized by an audio signal.

DISCLAIMER

This review unit was lent to me by Bay Bloor Radio, for a review. Nevertheless, my review will contain no bias

Specifications
Style Open circumaural
Transducer type Planar magnetic
Magnetic arrays Double Fluxor™ magnets
Magnet type Neodymium
Transducer size 106 mm
Maximum power handling 15W (for 200ms)
Sound pressure level >130dB with 15W
Frequency response 5Hz – 20kHz extended out to 50kHz
Total harmonic distortion <1% through entire frequency range
Impedance 200 ohms
Efficiency 97dB / 1mW
Optimal power requirement 1 – 4W


BUILD QUALITY


The build quality was absolutely superb as expected of audeze. The wood used for this headphone is 30 years old ebony wood ! absolutely gorgeous, although I do prefer the looks of the LCD 3 zebrano wood.

The pads are back to the black ones (remember they were brown leather on the LCD 3s)
There is a little gap between the pads and the housing to ensure there is no pressure build up, which may have caused driver failures in old audeze headphones.

The carbon fiber head band is a significant improvement in terms of comfort

The clamping force have been significantly reduced, making these headphones incredibly more comfortable

Another big factor is that, these headphones use the thinnest and the newest planar magnetic drivers that are in theory, thinner than a human’s hair. This allows for much lower distortion.

LCD 4 is also the first headphone in the audeze line up to have the chrome finished grills.






SOUND QUALITY

I would like to mention that, LCD 4 is compatible and sounds incredible out of tube amps as well. This allows for more flexibility.



Lower Frequencies: The bass is grand and extends quite low however it is never too “in your face” or fatiguing in any way. Clean, presented in a fashion that is much like a concert experience. You can hear the drums smacking in, you can almost hear and feel the drummer hitting the drums. The drum presentation before and after in coordination with the decay factor can be heard precisely whether you like it or not !

Mid Frequencies: Micro details in the LCD 2 and LCD 3 is still presented in the LCD 4 but the vocal presence is pulled back a notch as it was before. The biggest improvement is that these headphones really bring out that natural sound in instruments. Guitars, pianos, violins… you name it, it all sounds so very natural. I have a piano, guitar and saxophone in my house and when I compare the actual sound of these instruments to the headphones, I honestly cannot tell the difference. This is a headphone I would classify as the most musical and natural sounding headphone

High Frequencies: this is where audeze headphones have struggled in the past. Although it still does in these sets of headphones, it does present it in the most realistic way I have heard before in a set of headphones. incredible… I would not say this range fulls short in comparison to the rest of the totl headphones out there. Just that it falls short in comparison to how well it presents itself in other ranges.

Soundstage/imaging: The imaging is accurate but not as accurate and the HD800, still very good. The soundstage is the biggest I have ever heard before. Bigger than the HD800. The soundstage seems to be coming outside my room for the most part… which gives me goose bumps and when I close my eyes, I feel like I am in a larger room.

Overall Thoughts

I will be giving this headphone the 2017 soulsik reviews award…. no doubt, one of the best out there.

Video review:



INTRODUCTION

If you are someone that is on a strict budget but wants to experience high fidelity on the go, what I am about to reveal to you is a product made just for this purpose. It may not have the most detail or emphasis in the lows, mids or highs. It will not sound mind blowing or anything special but what is amazing is that, you can listen to your music without much coloration added. Without compromise….

DISCLAIMER

The M4 was sent to me by ADVANCED for review purposes. As usual my review will contain no bias.

ABOUT ADVANCED

Whoever wrote this obviously a poet or something because I almost cried. Mainly because it fell under what I am trying to bring to my viewers a lot more. They present themselves as such:

It was for the love of music. It was the respect for all musicians of the past, present and future. It was for the struggling instrumental buried under the heavy bass line. It was for the audiophiles craving that crystal clear and mind-blowing detail. We wanted to bring the ultimate aural experience in a package that is simply affordable for everyone - because we believe that everyone deserves good sound.

Our quest for the ultimate sound has just begun. We're working relentlessly with world's renowned audio engineers that have brought some of the best sound to the market as well as local and global musicians in different genres ranging from hard rock, hip-hop, EDM to jazz for that advanced sound.

We are fully focused in packaging and delivering this superior audio in the most durable and the most comfortable chassis.

SPECS

Divers: Titanium coated 8.5mm dynamic drivers

Driver Unit Custom-tuned Single Dynamic Drivers

Impedance 16 Ohm+/-15%

Sensitivity 92dB+/-3dB at 1kHz

Frequency Response 20Hz – 20kHz

Rated Power Input 1mW

Max. Input Power 5mW

Cord length 1.36M

Plug 3.5mm Gold Plated

BUILD QUALITY

This is where this IEM really shines. If the sound will not blow your mind for $40 then build quality certainly will. Let us look at the accessories first.

Accessories

1 pair of Comply Foam tips (TX-400 medium)

3 pairs of black dual-flange tips (s/m/l)

3 pairs of black silicone tips (s/m/l)

3 pairs of white silicone tips (s/m/l)

1 premium carrying pouch

1 cord shirt clip

you can see that they added the comply foams, which is a third-party foam that an individual has get after purchasing an IEM with crappy tips. Even the Noble x came with crappy tips and we had to do some tip rolling. Thank you for adding in the comply foams that work on most peoples’ ears out of the box.

Now, the cable is something you would see in a more expensive pair of IEMs. It is fully braided and THICK. It screams quality and I really hoped that it can be detached because I wanted to use it for other IEMs but…. It is not detachable. Anyhow, the cable is fantastic quality for the price.

The housing itself it soft and almost feels like metal or aluminum. Not 100% sure but it is almost hard to tell because it is too soft for a metal and it is too robust for it to be plastic. Whatever the case may be, it is going to last you sometime.

PRACTIALLY

This IEM would be something I would recommend my university friends that are not audiophiles because of its cheap price point and what you get for it. With the comply foams, there was much more isolation, however even with the normal tips included, the sound isolation was enough to be used in quiet places like the library and loud places like the gym. And of course, the design is very minimalistic.

SOUND QUALITY



Rather on the neutral side of things with I bit of boost in the vocal presence area. There is not much to talk about in terms of sound. The bass is there and so it the mids and highs but none of them is overly emphasized in audible terms.

Final Thoughts

Fantastic for the price. I could have not asked for more in this price range. Perhaps one of the best bang for the buck IEMs out there.

video review:





INTRODUCTION

Recently, I reviewed the shanling m1, a small portable digital audio player. Now, we dive into one of their more expensive DAPs, oh wait, it is only $50 difference? It was rather surprising how “better” the DAP became from the shanling m1.

ABOUT SHANLING

Shanling Began as a developer of audio products in 1988 and produced their first Hi-Fi stereo power amplifier. In 1990 an audio equipment factory within Jieyang Television University was founded, preliminarily defining Shanling’s direction of development. In 1996 Shanling moved to Shenzhen and was renamed Shanling Electronic Co., Ltd. With effective management and scientific cultivation to the employees, Shanling managed to produce devices with ideal high quality. Through internal integration and equipment upgrade, Shanling has become one of the several enterprises in China that was capable of independent developing and manufacturing high-end audio products.

Shanling has a wide range of product line – SACD/CD player, high fidelity solid-state and vacuum tube amplifier, advanced mini music center, tuner, audio/video amplifier, etc. Besides, being a DVD, SACD, CD licensee,

Shanling is also qualified for adopting many patented technologies such as Microsoft HDCD, Dolby Digital, DTS, etc. Currently Shanling has established close partnership with many leading high-end suppliers and became one of the most reputable manufacturers of the industry.

DISCLAIMER

This unit was sent to me for review purposes by Shenzhen audio. As usual my reviews contain no bias.

SPECS



BUILD QUALITY / FUNCTIONS

Build quality: unlike the shanling m1, the shanling m2s comes in aluminum body that is even higher quality than the fiio x 1. The finish is gorgeous.



The features are very similar to the shanling m1 ! check out that review @ soulsikreviews.com

Micro SD card slot: supports up to 256 GB SD card, which is more than enough to go crazy with all your high-quality music files.

Gain control: It also has gain control, low gain for sensitive IEMs and high gain for more power demanding headphones

[gallery ids="645,644,646" type="rectangular"]

Controls Buttons: extremely easy side buttons for back, last song, next song (from top to bottom in order).

The scroll button: Feels more solid than the rubberized one on the fiio x 1. It is also smaller than the shanling m1 but much more practical. And you can push on the scroll button for enter which is much more convent than the fiio x1’s huge center button.

[gallery ids="639,640,641,642" type="rectangular"]

Bluetooth: Also has 4.0 Bluetooth !

Also unlike the shanling m1, m2s comes with a more powerful amplifier inside !

PRACTIALLY

This player wins the award for practically if anything because of how small it is and how well the buttons were positioned for easy control in your pocket. It is even more practical than the shanling m1. Not to mention, having the variety of high quality leather cases for sale (not included with the dap) for extra protection or activities/ workouts.

NEGATIVES / THINGS TO IMPROVE ON

The battery life can be short for some people that forget to charge their device overnight.

SOUND QUALITY

I auditioned many different IEMS/headphones across over 100s of different test tracks in lossless flac files. (some include, noble x / LZ A4 / IE80 / HD598cs / m40x / re400 / he400i / hd650 ETC)

Shanling M2s is similar to the shanling m1 with a bit of a warmer sound with added clarity and articulation in the mids and highs.

Sound Quality
I have been lucky enough to hear and review the HD6 family in the past and when I heard that the HD58x came out,
I thought it was basically the HD580 revisited. This was not the case. The HD58x has a sound of its own,
closely related to the HD600 and HD6xx/650. I go into more detail about the comparison in the video, but
basically, I was very impressed. Also, this is a great gaming headphone for those interested in using it for that purpose.

Build Quality
I do not think the HD58x falls behind in build quality especially when you look at it amongst $150 headphones.
Again, I talk more about this in the video but I really love the looks and the build quality is the usual "sennheiser build quality," (whatever that may mean to you).

MODS
There is a simple mod that came up as a question from my viewers. I address it and demonstrate it in the video. Simple mod but very big effect.

video review:



Where to purchase: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/TY-...32811048241.html?spm=2114.13010608.0.0.YKu3EN

INTRODUCTION

This earbud is great if you have trouble sleeping.

Not too long ago, I reviewed the VE Monk plus earbuds. And due to that, this review may be biased because those were some incredible earbuds for the price. If the VE monk plus never existed then these Hi-z earbuds could have been great earbuds for the price. Unlike the VE monk plus, which I thought performed over their price point, the Hi-z performs “at” its price point. Nevertheless, thank god these were marketed as “sleeping earbuds”

DISCLAIMER

These were sent to me for review purposes. Nevertheless, my reviews will never be bias.

ABOUT

TY Hi-Z is a company with lineup of earbuds starting from low impedance, low cost ones to high impedance, high cost ones.


SPECS


· Brand: TY Hi-Z

· Model: AWK-314P

· Wear: earbud

· Color: black + white

· Impedance: 32ohm

· Driver: 14.8mm

· Cable: about 1.2m

· Microphone: no

· Interface: 3.5mm


BUILD QUALITY



· Comes with:

· 2 pairs of solid foam cushions

· 2 pairs of donut foam cushions

· Clip


Not very exciting. Earbud build quality. The foams that comes with it is terrible, it irritates my ears and I very much prefer the foams that came with the VE monk plus.


PRACTIALLY


Earbuds have no isolation. Do not think of using these anywhere else but when you are studying by yourself or sleeping.


SOUND QUALITY


Adequate amount of bass for an earbud. Clear vocals and strings in the mid ranges. Lacks detail and presentation of the trebles. Laid back kind of sound that will make you relaxed and fall asleep in peace. Not much to talk about.


Final Thoughts


For a product to be good, it either must do ONE thing better than anything else or be optimal for many things/situations. I believe it was smart to market these as “sleeping earbuds”

VIDEO REVIEW



ALL REVIEW ARE DONE @ SOULSIKREVIEWS.COM and more insightful review can be found on our site.

INTRODUCTION

If you are on a budget then you are in for some good luck because Hifiman re400 might be just for you. Hifiman claims this IEM to be the “waterline” IEM, which means, not only them but the industry should be doing THIS with 99 dollars. Bit of a big claim? But I must say, they deserve the big talk. The re400 is not only small and compact but brings you quality that you would see in much higher end IEMs.

DISCLAIMER

The Hifiman re400 was sent me for a review by audioexcellence, a audiophile store in Canada. As usual, my reviews are not bias in any way.

ABOUT Hifiman

HiFiMAN Electronics is a designer and manufacturer of audio products including headphones, amplifiers, and portable audio players. Hifiman is known for its high-end audio products made under the brand Mee Audio. Its most popular products include the HE-400 which are full sized open back headphones and the RE-400 which is an IEM (In Ear Monitor). Both products are supposedly critically acclaimed for their sound quality

SPECS

Divers: Titanium coated 8.5mm dynamic drivers

Frequency: 15 – 22 Khz

Sensitivity: 102 dB

Impedance: 32 Ohms

Cable length: 1.33m

Plug: 3.5mm

 

WHERE DO I BUY IT?

If you are in Canada, https://www.audioexcellence.ca/ is the place to go, not only for this product but for any hifi products, their price is competitive and ensures quality service. Their store is well worth a visit if you are located within the GTA.

Internationally, amazon is your best bet far as I know.

 

BUILD QUALITY

HOUSING: the housing is made of aluminum and is very small and compact.

 

Cable: the cable is fabricated cable up to point of the splitter and then it is

rubber/plastic material from then on. The slider is metal, which is very nice touch. It terminates in a 3.5mm gold plated right angled jack.

 

Accessories: A lot of tips for any fit, however I found the comply foams to be the best. A very nice hard carrying case that is practical in size and portability is included. There are also extra filters in case you damage the filters with earwax, which is a nice touch and shows that HIFIMAN wants you to keep the IEM for a longer time.

 

Overall, the build quality is exceptional for 99 dollars. From drivers to the accessories, it screams quality. Also, the isolation and fit was perfect for me. There is 2 ways to wear it. Straight in or over the ear (found the 2^nd fit to eliminate any microphonic)

 
PRACTIALLY

This IEM would be something I would recommend my university friends that are not audiophiles because of its cheap price point and what you get for it. With the comply foams, there was much more isolation, however even with the normal tips included with the re400s, the sound isolation was enough to be used in quiet places like the library and loud places like the gym.

SOUND QUALITY

GENERAL: These are neutral sounding IEMs. The bass is not as extended as modern bass heads might like it, and this might be a turn off for some people. However, the fact that you can hear the music you love, the way it was recorded, the way it was supposed to be heard for 99 dollars, is something to appreciate. If you are like me and listens to almost anything, these are perfect. You can hear these for hours and hours without any problem because there are no sibilant highs or no booming bass that might bother you in long listening sessions. Everything is clear and represented “the way they are supposed to be”

Sound Stage: the sound stage is very intimate, which may be a good thing for some and a turn off for others. Again, priced at 99 dollars, these are exceptional in sound stage and imaging.

Final Thoughts

Hifiman re400 really did amaze me with its price to performance ratio. I wish to see more budget iems like these in the future. I truly believe they deserve the title of “waterline.” 

VIDEO REVIEW



ALL REVIEWS ARE CREATED BY SOULSIKREVIEWS.COM AND MORE DETAILED REVIEW CAN BE FOUND ON THE WEBSITE

INTRODUCTION

We reviewed the VE Monk Plus recently and fell in love with it. The main reason being that it was only $5, yet it performed way above its price point. This got us wondering what their higher end earbuds were capable of. I am sure many of you have wondered the same thing. So here we have it, one of their higher end earbuds, the Asura 2.0s. Asura 2.0 is priced at 78 USD and takes its place right in the middle of their lineup.

DISCLAIMER

The Asura 2.0 was sent me by Venture Electronics for a review. As usual, my reviews will contain no bias in any way.

ABOUT Venture Electronics

This company does something that no other company has ever done and that is to admit that perfection may not be feasible. This is true in many cases but not many companies come out and say it. This company is honest from the root. They also carry the same mindset as us AUDIO-MANIACS “We will never stop striving for perfection.” They do 3 things to strive for perfection:

1.   They want to break the notion of EXPENSIVE = BETTER SOUND. They strive to make great sounding products for best value possible
2.   Creating products that are inexpensive but does not sacrifice build or sound quality
3.   Creating positive and honest relationship with their costumers and fans by creating products that they themselves would be proud to use
With that being said, VE’s presence in the HI-end audio does not fall behind. VE is the first to introduce hi-end earbuds, which is priced for 358usd with premium cardas cable and the first in the world to introduce true balanced portable amp with full spec desktop connector. which is the ra2.0b.

Does this sound like a great company to you? I am normally not impressed with company descriptions but I was inspired by how they kept it so REAL, HONEST, and most importantly shared their PLANS & how they will achieve it with us.

SPECS

Style: Earbuds
Communication:   Wired
Connectors : 3.5mm
Driver: Dynamic
Sensitivity: 110dB（1mW）
Frequency Response Range: 16-23000Hz
Line Length:1.2m
Resistance: 150Ω
WHERE DO I BUY IT?

https://www.veclan.com

 

BUILD QUALITY

The build quality is just a typical earbud. Like the VE Monk Plus, it had the same shells and the cables are plastic/rubber material.
 
PRACTIALLY

Again, these are earbuds and they leak sound. These should be used at home or a quiet area.

 

SOUND QUALITY

This is where it gets interesting

Low Frequency: These have less bass than the VE Monk Plus, and VE Monk Plus themselves do not have much bass either. Not that they don’t have bass, they just have enough to tell you “hey dude, there is bass in this music.” This may be a turn off for some people but wait until I get to the mid and highs.

Mid Frequency: The strings and vocals are so well represented that you just open your mouth and start drooling. It is one of the cleanest Mids I have ever heard, and that including the $500 CDN IEMS I reviewed recently. Asura 2.0 slapped me right across the face, “hey soulsik, you thought the ER4XR was crystal clear, well have some of this.”

High Frequency: The highs are not sibilant, even the common vocal sibilance is nowhere to be found, and the details are all there with the harmonic and crystal clearness added into them. I felt like morphine was injected into my veins when I heard music with defined trebles on the Asura 2.0.

Sound Stage: for an earbud, I was amazed how they hard wider sound stage than some of the headphones out there that costed much more.

DRIVING & Final Thoughts

You get the asura 2.0 for the mids and highs. These are 150 ohms so you still need to drive it with an amp or a dac for the fullest potential, but you can still use these with phones or daps because of its sensitivity (although it may sound thin). Overall, I thought this earbud to destroy many of the headphones out there in many areas.

With the Darkvoice 336se: yes, they can be used with the darkvoice 336se, since they are high impedance earbuds. The sound stage increases and overall fullness becomes heavenly.

With the Oppo ha 2 se: with an exceptional dac/amp such as this one, imaging, clarity, and fullness cannot be simply measured or put into simple words

With a simple DAP (Fiiox1) or Phone (S7): Although the music becomes lough enough, it sounds much less FULL and rather seems thin sounding.

Essentially, if you took the VE Monk Plus and took away the bass and gave steroids to the mids and highs, you end up with the Asura 2.0.

Video review here:



demo here:



INTRODUCTION

I’ve always been an on-ear headphone guy before I moved onto in ear monitors and never have I experienced such sound from an on-ear design. In most cases, on-ear designs suffer from sonic imperfections due to the overall design. Nevertheless, I do not want to spoil anything in the introduction but this headphone was hard to call it an on-ear regarding its performance.

ABOUT AUDEZE

From their website:

Audeze’s origins go back to 2008 when founders Sankar Thiagasamudram and Alexander Rosson met engineer Pete Uka who developed specialized flexible circuit materials for NASA. They quickly realized the material might be perfect for headphones. That’s when Dragoslav Colich, who has 30+ years’ experience in designing planar drivers, joined the team as CTO to create the LCD-1 headphone.


Then we created the legendary, award-winning LCD-2 and LCD-3 headphones, and the higher-efficiency LCD-X and XC models. More recently, we made planar magnetic technology accessible to a wider audience with the EL-8 and SINE series headphones. Audeze turned to their strategic partner Designworks, a BMW Group Subsidiary, for the cutting-edge industrial design for the new headphones as well as the Deckard DAC/Amplifier.


Audeze feature proprietary planar magnetic designs with extremely thin-film driver materials and powerful custom magnets. Planars overcome many limitations inherent in typical cone drivers; our lightweight diaphragms are, for example, faster and more responsive than heavier moving-coil or dome drivers. Planar magnetic diaphragm also have a voice-coil circuit spread across the diaphragm surface. The diaphragm’s voice-coil circuit interacts with the magnetic field to produce an electromagnetic force that moves the diaphragm back and forth creating the sound you hear when energized by an audio signal.

DISCLAIMER

This review unit was lent to me by audio excellence, for a review. Nevertheless, my review will contain no bias

SPECS

Style On-ear, closed-back

Transducer type Planar magnetic

Magnetic structure Single-sided Fluxor

Magnet type Neodymium

Diaphragm type Uniforce

Transducer size 80 x 70mm

Maximum power handling 6W

Maximum SPL >120dB

Frequency response 10Hz – 50kHz

Total harmonic distortion <1% full spectrum @ 100dB

Impedance 20 ohms

Optimal power requirement 500mW – 1W

Weight 300g

THE BUILD QUALITY

Positives

Starting from the headband to the cups, all I could see was either Leather or hard metal. Audeze coordinated with the BMW subsidiary to create this beautiful masterpiece. Hearing “bmw” instantly increased my build expectations for this headphone and that was not very good for this headphone because I already had high enough expectations for an on-ear design at this price range. If one little thing bothered me, I would have been unhappy with this expensive little gear…

Nevertheless, it was impossible to find any imperfections as the cups were beautifully designed in the shape of normal human ears with thick leather and the pad were plush memory foam that was comfortable enough to fall asleep with. The headbands were also memory foam inserted leather strap that was plush on top of your head. Considering that this headphone is no “light” headphone by any means, weighing 300g, the pressure on the head was evenly distributed enough for long lasting comfort and even thinking “these are incredibly light” until you took them off your head and feel the actual weight on your hands.

Negatives? (could be a negative or maybe I am just picky)

The cable and connector was the only problem I had. It just did not suite my personal taste and made me laugh because just why….. why Audeze? They decided to go with an inverted 45 degrees angled 3.5mm connectors that lock onto the headphone without a locking mechanism. But I cannot hate on it completely, as they did come up with a locking mechanism without having a legit something to be locking the cables down. It is quite an ingenious idea if you see it that way. But if you look at the fact that you will not be able to get these cables anywhere else other than from audeze and nowhere else in about few years when it is discontinued…. Other than that, the fettuccini looking cables did not meet my “personal taste” because it was hard to grab and go but that’s just me. You also can get the lighting cable for your iphone for extra dollars and get extra feature I will talk about in the next section.

Sound mechanism

The drivers used are planar magnetic drivers and to me, this is a plus because other than the fact that Audeze has great experience tuning these types of drivers, these types of drivers can make a more impactful sound in a closed housing like this. Isolation is also very good due to the overall build.


Included is also their latest technology, the “fazor,” which is a wave guide to increase the clarity and lower distortion.

Going with the trend you can also get the lighting cable for your iphone which comes with an attached dongle type D/A converter. It also can be used with an app from your iphone to store the EQ setting. For those of you that do not know what EQ is, it is basically the capability to boost or lower the frequency levels to your taste. For example, you can increase the bass and roll off the highs if that is what you prefer. Sound all very complex, right? it is as easy as scrolling up and down and finding out if you like the sound coming out of your headphones.

SOUND QUALITY

Lower Frequencies: Not the most bass you would experience. I would say it is natural. I cannot even say it is neutral because the bass just really kicks and thumps on tracks that has bass. For example, on Tupac’s Ambitious az a Ridah, the drums felt alive, kicking into my skulls. And going with the EQ recommended by much respected Tyll from inner fidelity, it really made me dance. But I will say this, these do not have sub-bass to please anyone looking for that “boom boom.”

Mid Frequencies: Guitars sound real and natural. Vocals sound correct but not euphoric like the HD650s or anything like that. And before all the audiophiles go wild saying “you can’t compare closed to open back headphone,” I am not comparing these two headphones in any way but just merely pointing out the vocals will sound recessed if you are coming from the HD650s. But in no way, is the mid-range “wrong.” These sounds just incredibly correct. In fact, listening to these for the review and going back to my HD650s for my own personal listening, I found the HD650s muddied. Before the Sennheiser fan boys go crazy, let me tell you I am not saying the HD650s are muddy in any way, just that these are extremely clear sounding and I really enjoyed every single track of Jason mraz and good old John Denver.

High Frequencies: I think this is where you can really tell these are high end headphones and experience what you paid for. The highs are sparkly and just spicy hot enough to give you that tingly feeling. However, I did not find them sibilant in any way, however, I can see that it may be fatiguing for some individuals in long listening session. Not because it is sibilant but because it is very detailed for an on-ear design.

Soundstage/imaging: the sound stage is limited but still adequate for an on-ear headphone. The imaging is on point and right on. right on baby…

Overall Thoughts

If you are looking for the best On-ear for home & portable use. Here it is. Best on-ear headphone 2017. Period. Nothing else to say…

INTRODUCTION

In ear monitors have been popular as of lately with new companies bringing out their new top of the line in ear monitors. In ear monitors usually use dynamic or armature drivers. However, planar magnetic drivers commonly used in higher end audiophile grade headphones is not something you’ve seen before in an in ear. Audeze being one of the innovators and leaders of this kind of technology decided to make one. As of today, they have three in total. The isine 10, 20 and LCDi4. Today, we are reviewing their top of the line in ear headphone.

DISCLAIMER

This unit was sent to me by Audeze for the purpose of this review. My reviews will always be unbiased

ABOUT Audeze

from their website:

Audeze’s origins go back to 2008 when founders Sankar Thiagasamudram and Alexander Rosson met engineer Pete Uka who developed specialized flexible circuit materials for NASA. They quickly realized the material might be perfect for headphones. That’s when Dragoslav Colich, who has 30+ years’ experience in designing planar drivers, joined the team as CTO to create the LCD-1 headphone.

Then we created the legendary, award-winning LCD-2 and LCD-3 headphones, and the higher-efficiency LCD-X and XC models. More recently, we made planar magnetic technology accessible to a wider audience with the EL-8 and SINE series headphones. Audeze turned to their strategic partner Designworks, a BMW Group Subsidiary, for the cutting-edge industrial design for the new headphones as well as the Deckard DAC/Amplifier.

Audeze feature proprietary planar magnetic designs with extremely thin-film driver materials and powerful custom magnets. Planars overcome many limitations inherent in typical cone drivers; our lightweight diaphragms are, for example, faster and more responsive than heavier moving-coil or dome drivers. Planar magnetic diaphragm also have a voice-coil circuit spread across the diaphragm surface. The diaphragm’s voice-coil circuit interacts with the magnetic field to produce an electromagnetic force that moves the diaphragm back and forth creating the sound you hear when energized by an audio signal.

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

TECHNICAL DETAILS

• Specifications
  Style In-ear, universal fit
  Transducer type Planar magnetic, semi-open
  Magnetic structure Fluxor™ magnetic array
  Magnet type Neodymium N50
  Diaphragm type Nano-scale Uniforce™
  Transducer size 30mm
  Sensitivity 105dB/1mW
  Maximum power handling 3W
  Maximum SPL >120dB
  Frequency response 5Hz – 50kHz
  THD <0.2%, full spectrum @ 100dB
  Impedance 35 Ohms +/-10%
  Cable 1.2m OCC silver-plated premium braided cable
  Cable connectors 3.5mm stereo plug input, 2-pin plug outputs
  Weight 12g (per side)

WHERE DO I BUY IT?

Bay bloor radio in you are in Canada.

Here internationally

BUILD QUALITY



First off, I would say the build quality is as expected at this price range, excellent.

It is made of high quality magnesium, light, and just gorgeous. the drivers are gold plated as you can see.

For those who found Audeze headphones really good sounding but just way too heavy to wear, this may just be something that may float your boat.

Cabling is simple with 2 pin connectors and this does mean you can use third party cables, if that is your thing.

But the stock cable is a beautiful silver plated copper that just screams "I am the best"

I did feel like the tips included were all too big for secure fit and nozzle were too big for and typical spin fits or comply foams.
Also, it takes a bit of getting used to securing a good fit with the hooks provided.

PRACTICALLITY



THE FIT: Fit is everything with the LCDI4, you will love it if you can or you will hate it if you cannot. It is a big hit or a miss type of scenario. I would imagine Audeze will improve this in their future line ups.

SOUND ISOLATION: These are semi open back and does leak, despite what others say about these not leaking… which I found odd unless you listen to your music really quietly. These do leak and it was proved in my tests. You can do this easily… you can just turn your music off and talk to other without taking the LCDi4s off your ears, you will be able to hear everything perfectly fine. Try asking at least 10 individuals if they can hear your music.

PAIRING: These are not the hardest to drive but they are still planar magnetic and need some good sources and amps to really shine. For the best performance, these really need to be powered by a good amplifier. check out my amplifier suggestions.

SUGGESTED USE: Probably around the house or in the office where it doesn’t matter if a little bit of music leaks out. If you are the type of person that is not keen to share your music taste, this may not be the right choice.

SOUND QUALITY

review without EQ

LOWS – incredible rumble, incredible punchy bass with great extension and air added to the whole mix. It feels realistic and dynamic. I have not heard a better low end in such an in ear design. although this may be incomparable to some closed designs, it exceeds all expectations in its own way.

MIDS – focus is great. the mid is very engaging and fun to listen to. little nuances can all be heard with ease. very realistic representation of string instruments. its specialty is making you feel you are inside a small hall with the artist you love, all by yourself.

HIGHS – well extended, great representation, great tonality. never heard better in a planar.

SOUNDSTAGE/IMAGING/SEPARATION:

• biggest I have heard in a set on in ears. as wide or wider than most headphones out there.
• Imaging was spot on and dead accurate
• Separation was incredible. I could hear the instrumental positions clearly and with confidence.

FINAL THOUGHTS

One of the best headphone out there. do not underestimate these just because they are small !

INTRODUCTION

Lots of affordable options have come up in the past and more so in the present. Sometimes, I get request to review a budget product and when I review them, they do not live up the hype. This time, it is a little different. I would call these a gem in the midst of all chifi hypes that are sometimes not so justifiable and are often hyped up by individuals who have not had many experiences with hifi gears in the first place.

DISCLAIMER

This unit was sent to me by kinera for my honest review. I get no financial gain from this review, in fact I will be giving away my pair to share the love. hopefully I can organize something with kinera to do more giveaway for you wonderful people sharing the same hobby as me.

ABOUT Kinera

To be honest, they do not have a website (at least from what I can search on google). And I do not know much about them. They have a facebook page and telegram for fan chats. They make great affordable products, they are relatively new and are from china.



PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

Description

• Model : KINERA H3 In-ears monitor
• Color available :translucent black /red/ blue
• Driver： 2BA+1D
• Impedance： 48Ω
• Frequency Response： 20-20000HZ
• Sensitivity： 101DB
• L&R Channel Balance Sensitivity： <2DB
• Max Input Power： 10mW
• Cable Length: 1.2meter
• Wire Material： 6n single crystal copper silver-plated
• Plug material： 3.5mm golden plated
• Earphone interface: 2-pin (0.78mm )

Package

• Kinera H3
• 6 pairs of silicone eartips (S/M/L)
• 2 adapters
• Carry box

BUILD QUALITY



Best build quality I have seen for $99.

cable provided is a 6n silver plated copper terminating in a gold plated 3.5mm sturdy metal jack. Best stock cable I have seen at this price range

The housing is high quality acrylic that fits and feels good on the ears. No cheap feeling here at all. They look beautiful and nobody will believe you if you tell them how much it cost you.

wonderful fit design, much like custom in ear monitor but it is more generalized for the rest of the population. if these fit you like it did for me, you are in for some sweet isolation and sound quality.

They comes with 6 pair of silicone tips that mimic the sony hybrid design, which means they are comfortable as they can get in terms of tips.

They also comes with a practical semi hard carrying case.


PRACTIALLY

THE FIT: Wonderful fit. best fit for $99. subjectively, these fit me perfectly but may not be fore everyone.

SOUND ISOLATION: absolute isolation is achieved with the perfect fit. of course there is no such a thing a absolute isolation, it just feels that way. You get the point.

PAIRING: These are not hard to drive, they are driven well with a phone or a digital audio player, with latter being preferred due to better sound quality.

SUGGESTED USE: You can use these anywhere as you please, just not anywhere near your mom when she’s talking to you as you will get smacked for not answering.

SOUND QUALITY

LOWS – the rumble, the punch, the awesomeness. Tad bit less clearer than the 1more triples, but that is okay, you can barely notice it. It is absolutely wonderful region. If you have a pair of beats or some crappy bass producing product, these will blow you away, at the very least with the bass

MIDS – a little bit too harsh at times, especially the vocals but you can get pass it. It is a great engaging experience. Again, not for everyone. In fact if you want that relaxing sound, these may not do it for you.

HIGHS – these shine in the trebles. Again, very engaging but not for everyone

SOUNDSTAGE/IMAGING/SEPARATION:

• Sound stage is inmate. Imaging can improve but great for this price.

FINAL THOUGHTS

For what you pay for, you are getting a well rounded iem that can really pump you up and engage you

Hello, to start off this review I would like to tell you that I am giving away by Brand new IE80s FREE so if you would like to enter for it just simply like this post & comment and I will PM you. 
 
I Personally own one of these IEMs and I tested them for few months with my Fiio x1 & Oppo ha 2 SE. Here are the results
 
COMFORT
 
lets start with the bad part about this IEM because there isn't much. Everything about this IEM is great but comfort can be an issue when using tips included with the IEMs. Alot of tips are included but they are all uncomfortable in my Opinion. My suggestion is to Use Comply foams or Spinfit. OR any other 3rd party tips you find comfortable
 
ISOLATION
 
its there but its much better isolating with the Foams tips than silicon tips for obvious reasons. With the foam tip I would give 9/10 for sound Isolation, if you find the RIGHT fit. 
 
SOUND
 
Now lets get into the good part and what most of you will read anyways. Sound is incredible. (period) Sound stage, separation, imaging... its all there 
 
LOW END
 
Exceptionally great because you can adjust it. You put these things full tilt and you head may blow up. So whether you are a bass head or not, you can adjust it to your liking. The bass is tight & punchy But lacks that sub feeling you would get from Shure 846. With all that being said, trust be when I say the bass in these will blow your mind away.
 
MIDS
 
Now Sennheiser is known for the great mids in many headphones and they do not disappoint in these IE80s. With that being said, they are not MIDDDDD ranged like HD650s. I feel like an idiot comparing these to full sized headphones but the mid range can be that good on certain songs. 
 
HIGHS
 
These are not Bright IEMs in anyway, the high are there but in distant because of the large soundstage. They are not ear piecing but detailed. Sometimes, if you concentrate you hear things in this frequency region you've never head before. 
 
BUILD
 
They are built almost like a tank. They are made of aluminum shells with a dynamic driver inside. If I had the choice of taking a High end High priced IEM on a Hike or something, it would be these. 
The cable... oh the cable.... they are sennheiser cables terminating in a 90 degree 3.5mm jack... and.... it doesn't tangle like CRAZY but not the best....you can always get new 3rd part ones. 
 
 
 
 
I will keep this review short as EVERYONE pretty much know or heard how great these are. Any question?  
 
Visit our site for more extended review of the IE80 !
 
Review provided by soulsikreviews.com
 
Video for reference

Video review:


sound demo:



INTRODUCTION

Previously, I reviewed the Meze 99 neo, a great headphone that everyone on my team loved. I even put it as “all in one solution” for both home and portable usage. Now we review its bigger brother, the Meze 99 classic. With minimal differences, I was doubtful that there would be any sound differences. However, to my surprise there were few notable differences aside from the “looks.” Read on to find out more.

ABOUT MEZE

Meze is a Romanian audio company that has their values set right.

Their values:

Meze Headphones had stood by its values since the beginning of the company, we did not follow trends and let them influence the audio quality and design of our headphones. They are timeless objects that will not go out of style the next season. We achieved this through patience and dedication.

And where there is values lies passion:

Our passion for music and art is the drive behind Meze headphones. We created our range of headphones and earphones with this aspect in mind. We created them as if for ourselves.

and their wood craftsman ship set above normal standards:

The choice of wood is an inherently difficult one. Obtaining the desired qualities for wooden parts is a long and hard path. The rich colors of walnut require the use of air drying, the longer and more expensive process. Steam or kiln drying are cheaper techniques, but the colors tend to be washed out and there are also structural risks. It takes eighteen months for the wood to dry properly. This is the timeframe needed only for curing and drying the lumber before any further processing can begin. We are patient: we know that the result is worth the wait.

Then, the process of shaping just a single pair of earcups takes up to 8 hours. The whole process of sanding, lacquering, and finishing lasts 45 days. We could cut corners, but we don’t sell ice cream. We fight time: this is the pride of the creator.
The craftsmanship of our designs is paramount. It allows us to show the world our products almost exactly as imagined. The wooden components are carefully inspected and no flaws are permitted to reach the final assembly. Aesthetics are as important for us as they are for you. We want you to wear a pair of Meze Headphones and know that you are enjoying a timeless art piece.

It is worth mentioning that all the wood that we use in our headphones is strictly harvested from sources with certificate of origin. That is, mature trees that have reached the end of their life cycle. This way, we are helping the environment and we’re giving the old trees a chance to shine one more time in the shape of Meze Headphones.

DISCLAIMER

This review unit was sent to me by Meze for this review. As usual, all my reviews will stay honest and unbiased

SPECS

• Transducer size: 40mm
• Frequency response: 15Hz – 25KHz
• Sensitivity: 103dB at 1KHz, 1mW
• Impedance: 32 Ohm
• Rated input power: 30mW
• Maximum input power: 50mW
• Detachable Kevlar OFC cable
• Plug: 3.5mm gold plated
• Weight: 260 gr (9.2 ounces) without cables
• Ear-cups: walnut wood

THE BUILD QUALITY

The build quality is incredible for the price and I have no complaints. Might as well skip this section if you are looking for anything but praise.

The headphone is asymmetrical, allowing you to plug in the connectors any way you like it. Left & Right is irrelevant. This might seem like a small thing but it is extremely convenient in the long run. – same as the 99 neo

Meze also decided to magically make the headphones more comfortable and fit large types of head sizes be making the headphone adjustments “auto-adjustable,” with it stretching mechanism. There is nothing you need to do to get the perfect fit, Meze says “this is our job.” The headphone fit perfectly with great comfort and isolation. I felt like the headphones were customized for my head. – same as the 99 neo



Unlike its little brother, the classic comes in nice walnut wooden cups, which in my opinion looks incredible and contributed to the sonic characteristics of this unit.

I do not understand how Meze can automatically find a way to make great stock cables when most companies out there cannot. With that being said, they do come with two cables, one longer cable for home use and one shorter one with control buttons for travel. The cables are braided up to the point of the splitters and then splits into a plastic/rubbery material that also do not feel cheap. I prefer this kind of mechanism (as long as it does not feel like cheap plastic/rubber) because it reduces the microphonic. – Same as the neo

The connectors are 3.5mm and terminates in a 3.5mm with a ¼ inch adaptor.

The case that comes with the headphones is very nice and sturdy however, the headphones do not fit unless you unplug the connectors. They do include a separate case just for the cables but this is very inconvenient on the go and I would like to see a case where you do not need to unplug the connectors. – same as the neo

The clamping force is less than the neo, which I believe contributes to the sound differences.

The metal suspension seems sturdy and very solid. Although I felt like it was a little bit thin, I understand that the headphone needed to lose all the weight it can, for transportation use. – same as the neo

The pads are also very soft and surprisingly comfortable despite its small size. I did find that the cups were a little bit too small and may not fit everyone’s ears perfectly “inside the cups” – same as the neo



You want to talk about style. Let us talk about style. Hands down, my favorite looking headphones. I personally like the wooden design more than the 99 neo.



SOUND QUALITY

Overall, the sound signature is like that of the neo, so go check out that review for more “how it sounds like,” here, I will be talking about the differences.

What I believe changes the sound: different clamping force & wooden cups.






Overall Thoughts

There is not much sound difference unless you really sit down and go back and forth numerous time on the same track. If you want a great all in one solution at a cheaper value, you go with the neo. If you have a big head or really like wood then you go with the classic.

WHAT MAKES THESE TUBE AMPS SPECIAL?

Okay, so every audiophile or audio enthusiast I've met wants one of these and there is certainly a reason for it. Besides the fact that this thing just sounds incredible.....
for many people, it is important and fun to change the signature of what they are hearing. BUT to do that we end up spending a lot on different types of headphones. BUT with these tube amp, something called "tube rolling" makes changing sound signature possible. Which is physically buying a new tube and changing it (not hard... its basically push and play). Call me crazy but tubes cost a lot less than headphones!

WHERE DO I BUY IT?

okay, many of you probably stopped at the "ability to change sound signature" and is ready to buy it. That is totally fine because that itself is enough for people to buy this. BUT do check out the "concern" section to see where you should buy it to avoid all those concerns. Anyhow, the link to best seller with a lot of sale, promotions, FAST shipping (got mine in 5 days) & most important of all no need for concerns noted below because units are all tested: https://https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/DarkVoice-336SE-Headphone-Tube-Amplifier-neat-technics-headphone-amp/601461_630928527.html/ (they are also on aliexpress)
 
ALSO contact them on their sales and they are flexible with prices and will help you get the best market price ! But forget the price... their units are at least flawless... from package to everything.
 

 

WHAT IS THE BEST HEADPHONE TO USE WITH THESE HEADPHONES?

I get this question a lot. Andddddd the answer in my opinion is HD600s & HD650s. BUT any high ohm headphone should be great with these. so I think its time to bring up the first concern. CONCERN #1: these are for high ohm headphones... BECAUSE of the way they are built. These are a 100% tube amp. This restriction is why hybrids were made perhaps.

IS THE BUILD ANY GOOD?

it is sturdy and made of metal/aluminum and that makes sense because these things get hot. But you have to realize... some people have misconceptions... they won't turn your room into a sauna or melt everything around it. Just don't touch it and you are fine.
The blue LED light gets annoying sometimes but... atleast it tells you that its ON, some amps don't bother. Now the CONCERN #2: search darkvoice 336se smoke on youtube and you get plenty because sometimes they do smoke up. This is why you want to buy a GOOD unit from the RIGHT place... so that you don't get that dysfunctional one on youtube. note to yourself: buy from the seller I recommended, it will save you the trouble.
 

 


INPUTS AND OUTPUTS

Quarter inch jack headphone plug in in the FRONT
AND
RCA input and output in the back
THE Power cord is sent compatible to your area, at least from the seller I got mine from.
 

 

HOW DOES IT SOUND?

Important yet vague question in this case. WHY? because you can change that but let me tell you the sound with stock tubes (which are not the best tubes you can get).
The base is definitely extended on my HD650s. Everything feels grand and relaxing. Vocals sound clear and perfect whether they are singing quietly or loudly, every details is there. Mids are great as usual on the HD650s with little improvement but that could be me convincing myself. The highs are more detailed but does not in any way hurt me ears. (if you know what I mean)

WHAT ARE THE BEST TUBES?

the question I get the most. The correct answer would be "its your preference." My answer would be General Electric Tubes (watch z reviews tube rolling video). I used them and am very happy with how it sounds. (it sound clearer and deeper in all frequencies)
 
SPECS
 
Tube Used : 6N8P, 6N5P 
Frequency: +/-1dB 10Hz~20kHz 
Distortion: <=2% Output impedance: 32 to 600 ohm 
Power handling capacity: 1W 
Output terminal: 6.3mm Stereo Jack 
Input terminal: RCA Jack 
Power supply:  110V, 220~240V version (Note:110V will delay 3-5 days delivery)
Case dimension: 290(L) *160(W) *135(D) mm 
Gross weight: : 5.5kg
 

 
CONCLUSION WITH DELIGHT TO THOSE THAT READ THIS FAR
 
Thanks for reading my review fully. SO in conclusion this amp is incredible in sound and flexibility but have few concerns that can be simply fixed by buying a tested unit from the buyer I recommended. Also I told them I would recommend them on my review because of their great service, so Mention that you were recommended by SOULSIK and they should give you the best price possible. Thanks again ! and check out my Instagram for more photos of the products I review ! https://www.instagram.com/jayzlee95
 

 
ANY QUESTIONS? 


review provided by soulsikreviews.com

Video summary for reference:


[VIDEO]https://youtu.be/-WfGT68nGBM[/VIDEO]

VIDEO REVIEW:


INTRODUCTION

You might be wondering why you need a Digital audio player when we are living in a century where we use our phones to listen to music. Your phones are dedicated to many other functions like photos, phone calls, data, etc. This in turn limits your phone from having variety of files types & dedicated hardware/software for music! What the digital audio player like the Fiio x1 offers is a dedicated dac/amp to make your music sound much better and battery life dedicated to just music, to name a few. There are of course many more benefits and variety of features depending on the digital audio player we are talking about ! READ ON to find more features for the FIIO X 1 digital audio player.



ABOUT FIIO

Fiio is a Chinese company that produces and sells high quality products at favorable prices to those who love music and style. They strive to raise the reputation of “Made in China.” It was first established in 2007 with the background experience in researching and developing countless portable music product of different types. Fiio strictly adheres to ISO9001 standards in quality management and thus Fiio products are sold internationally with pride. They ceaselessly pursues perfection in designing the perfect product for users, producing many variety of products with improvements until this day.


DISCLAIMER

This unit was purchased by me for this review and as usual I am committed to providing reviews with no bias.

SPECS

DAC: Texas Instruments' Newest PCM5142

AMP: Intersil's newest ISL28291

lossless music formats: APE, FLAC, WAV, WMA, ALAC, at up to 192kHz / 24bits Plus mp3, aac, ogg vorbis...

Material: light durable aluminium alloys

Weight: 106 grams

Battery: 1700 milliamp hours (10-11 hours usage)

Output level: 100 mW @ 16 ohms

Recommended impedance range: 16 to 100 ohms

BUILD QUALITY / FUNCTIONS

Build quality: Fiio is known for their build quality and it is no exception for the Fiio x1, which is built in full aluminum. It is very durables and very nice to the touch. Even the buttons feel nice, although they are not the “nicest,” you cannot expect more from a 100-dollar digital audio player, for the price you pay, one thing you will have no complaints is the build quality.

EQ functionality: Fiio really stood up to bring the best in a budget package here by adding this function. With this function, you can easily EQ your music just the way you like it. It even has its own set of EQs for different genres of music such as pop, vocal, rock, etc.



Themes: adding to the style and beauty of the DAP, it features an all new UI theme rendered on a full colour display. Available in gold, silver, pink, orange, blue, and green themes.

Line output: The X1 supports both driving headphones directly and line output as well, switching between the two easily via a menu selection. Using line output, you may expand the X1 by bundling it with dedicated headphone amplifiers for more demanding power hungry headphones.

Micro SD card slot: support up to 128GB, which plenty for most individuals, even enthusiasts.

Controls Buttons: the control buttons are very easy to access in your pocket and simple. Featuring center play and pause/enter button and fast forward, next song, etc in the nicely placed X – buttons.

Factory reset function: on the side of the device, there is an extremely small hole that you can use in case your device starts malfunctioning or has a seizure, you will need it but we will get on this topic in the later sections of this review.

The scroll button: It is a rubberized mechanical wheel. feels great, I have no complaints.

PRACTIALLY

The flat surface and reasonable size allows for easy pairing with externals dac/amp, not to mention being perfectly comfortable in your pockets.

NEGATIVES / THINGS TO IMPROVE ON

RESET BUTTON: the reset button was a nice touch because it is required because errors frequently arise with different files types of just in general. It is perfectly fine after using a reset button but it would have been nice to not have to use the reset button at all.

Bluetooth: Fiio x1 (1st gen) does not have Bluetooth. Fiio did release the 2nd generation which has Bluetooth and if you really want Bluetooth, you can purchase an external Bluetooth adapter.

Does not support DSD: this is if you really care about REALLY high quality digital files on the go, I would imagine most people are fine with flac files

SOUND QUALITY

I auditioned many different IEMS/headphones across over 100s of different test tracks in lossless flac files. (some include, noble x / LZ A4 / IE80 / HD598cs / m40x / re400 / he400 / h650 ETC)

My conclusion was that this is one of if not the most classic fiio sound signature you will hear. This digital audio player will NOT give you neutrality but more a warm and smooth sound signature, which most people will enjoy. The clarity suffers a bit compared to their higher end DAPs or shanling m1 (another entry dap), especially in the highs. Also, fiio x1 is more powerful than shanling m1 but m1 beats the x1 by far in separation and imaging. But again, Fiio is more full sounding because of its more powerful amp and overall warmer sound signature.

Video review here:




INTRODUCTION

What do you look for in a good dac/amp? well, many things but firstly we got to have good components. (check) What else? We got to have the right circuitry and quality people making it sound good. (check). If you are a crazy one, you may want a Class A amp. (check). Name anything you may be expecting because.... Check. In fact, this dac/amp may be "check mate" for many audio enthusiasts out there. Must be crazy expensive right? Nope.

ABOUT YULONG

from their website:

Founded in 2009, ShenZhen YuLong Electronics Co., Ltd, is a company specializes in designing and manufacturing High-end audio equipments. The R&D of the company consists of senior audiophiles and a team with proven experience of electronic product development for more than a decade. From the very beginning of the company, we've invested in various professional testing instruments, making sure our experience and passion for music is supported by state-of-the-art hardware in the R&D. YuLong is devoted to produce Hi-Fi components that are not only sonically superb on the ear, but also economically affordable on the wallet, so you can sit back, relax and enjoy more.
YuLong Audio is the brand name of the company and we are vertically integrated from bench testing, careful fine-tuning to final assembly. Other than promoting our own brand, the company also offers OEM/ODM services.

DISCLAIMER

This unit was sent to me for review purposes. As usual, my reviews are unbiased.

SPECS

●Design Inspired by the nature. Extremely detailed.
●Precision volume knob with defined texture and turning feel.
●Single button selection and display in a 18K gold plated panel
●Plenty inputs and outputs- USB, Optical, Line in, line out, headphone out
●Can use as a headphone amplifier or a pure DAC
●High performance ESS9018K2M+XMOS U8 solution
●CLC power filtering and high power conversion
●V_ref regulated separately with ultra low noise LDOs
●Fully discrete, DC coupled, JFET input class A headphone amplifier


USB input supports DoP64, DoP128, Native DSD64/128/256, PCM 16-32bit, 32-384KHz
Coaxial and Toslink input supports PCM 16-24bit，44.1-384KHz
S/N ratio: -128dB
Dynamic range: 120dB
Distortion: 0.0004%
Frequency response: 20-30KHz -0.15dB
Crosstalk: -120dB
Headphone output: 100mW @ 600 Ohm, 200mW @ 300 Ohm, 400mW @ 150 Ohm, 1000mW @ 32 Ohm


THE BUILD QUALITY

External:

Solid Metal. Form and shape of a class A amp.

18K gold plated input indication panel. Quite cool, doesn't look cheap. I am not very fond of gold things on my gear because they look cheap but I will make this one an exception. It looks quite nice and adds benefits to the overall signal conduction. Not the biggest deal but it is something nice to have.



Interestingly, at this price point they go quite beyond what I would expect. They include a power cable that is a universal 100-240V external power supply custom made from a Taiwan based supplier with excellent reputation. They also include a USB cable that looks fancy and premium, as for functionality, they make the sound more punchy and dynamic and and and just so much better. NO, they function like a good USB cable.



Now, I dig the Knob. It feels nice to touch and turn. It just a solid soft knob that allows you to change volume easily. In fact, it makes you want to change volume just because you want to touch it again and you need a good excuse for it.

input panel allows you to navigate easily between USB, Optical, Coaxial, line in/out. Wonderful and its in the front so its effortless to switch inputs.

On/off switch is at the back. Just like schiit audio's stuff. I am completely fine with it but I can imagine it might be inconvenient for many people since they would usually tuck it in somewhere.



Internal:

The USB input features proven XMOS solution which supports DSD256 and PCM384KHz. Our years of experience with XMOS plus a custom made low phase

DAC is based on ESS9018MK2. One of the best dac. Used in many of other expensive dac/amps.

There are 5 groups of low noise LDOs feeding its digital, analogue and V_ref power supplies for optimized performance. Output features ADA4705 and high current opamp OPA1688 for buffer. It sounded more clean coming from my Jotunheim + schiit modi 2 combo. Powered HD650, HD800s, and other planar headphones like the LCD series quite nicely

The headphone amplifier is full discrete, FET input DC coupling class A design. There is no capacitor in signal path from the decoder to headphone output which might degrade the audio performance. Again, it sounded exceptionally clean.

SOUND QUALITY

I probably said this more than I should have but it sounds clean. It tends to open up the highs in more darker headphones, which made me think that they would not do well with already slightly bright headphones but they were fine with some beyerdynamics. And if you do not know beyerdynamics, a lot people find these headphones bright, specifically the dt 990. After some tests, it seemed like the canary did not add or subtract to the brightness. All in one, I found these to pair up with quite a large range of headphones pleasantly due to the fact that they are solid state and scales well. They do not add or subtract from the bass or the mids. I find the effect on the highs is also due to the clean amp, not that it extends. It delivers clean and natural sound that you would expect from a good uncolored dac/amp, which is quite rare to find at this price range.

Overall Thoughts

I believe Yulong nailed it with their canary dac/amp and for anyone on a budget but wants a much higher quality in a compact design, I would recommend this dac/amp over my past budget recommendations.

INTRODUCTION
 
few months back my friend tried these headphones. Few days ago she wanted to buy it from me. And I quote her to start this review off "I've never heard music like I did with this headphone"
 
Hello ladies and gentlemen. I am a hobbyist that creates reviews and post beautiful Instagram photos of various audio equipment. That being said, my passion for audio quality started with my Sennheiser HD598s. However over time I felt the HD598s lacked bass. But I loved my HD598s and wanted something that contains the sound stage + bass. I came across the AKG 550  and immediately fell in love with it. If anyone asks me "what should my first audiophile headphone be?" I would without hesitation recommend you the AKG 550. You might think I am crazy comparing open headphones to closed ones but you will see my reasoning in this review.
 
ABOUT AKG
 
The company operates in Austria, and was founded in Vienna in 1947 by physicist Dr. Rudolf Görike and engineer Ernst Pless. Originally, its main business was to provide technical equipment for cinemas: loudspeakers, film projectors and light meters. The business slowly expanded and AKG started selling car horns, door intercoms, carbon capsules for telephones, headsets and cushion speakers. The first AKG microphone was used by radio stations, theaters, jazz clubs and cabarets. About this time, the company developed its first patents, the moving coil technology and the principle of mass load membranes, allowing its products to have extended frequency ranges. With the creation of the D12 microphone in 1953, AKG achieved international fame, setting the standard for voice transmissions. Being the world's first dynamic cardioid microphone, it possessed excellent sonic qualities for that time, making its way into radio stations and recording studios from across the world.The product was improved through subsequent upgrades, spanning the famous C414 and C12 microphones.In 1984, AKG became a public company, listed on the Vienna stock exchange. As a blue chip company, it was one of the most traded stocks.The company was acquired by the American company Harman International Industries in 1994. By this time, AKG's United States subsidiary had been established (in Los Angeles in 1985). AKG Acoustics USA, still headquartered in the San Fernando Valley, also houses regional offices for Crown Audio, another Harman Industries subsidiary.

In 2010, the company received the prestigious Technical Grammy award.

 

THE BUILD QUALITY

 

The build quality on these headphone is phenomenal. Its practically metal on metal on metal. It is extremely sturdy. With that being said, it is bulky enough to consider it a full sized headphone. The headphone is adjustable through some real nice mechanism. The fit is very comfortable and the stocks pads are one of the softest I've ever felt. However the downsize is that you cannot buy the stock pads anywhere, not even from AKG. I have a pretty standard head and it is pretty big on me. I bought these because it is a closed headphone, but they do not isolate sound very well due to the fit being too loose. Also the wire is nondetachable terminating in a straight 3.5mm jack. 

 

SOUND STAGE

 

AKG advertised these as "sound stage of an open back in a closed set of headphones" and they have every right to. These do have a sound stage the surpasses many closed set of headphones. However like I have mentioned before, these do not have the qualities we would be seeking from a closed set of headphone, I would categorized these somewhere in the semi-open headphone zone. The sound stage is give or take at the HD598 level.

SOUND QUALITY

 

This is a MIDDD ranged headphone. However there is some bass like will satisfy you. This was something lacking in the HD598s. the treble is clear but can get sibilant in certain songs. Overall, the sound is something of preference and this was a good experience for me. 

 

Overall Thoughts

 

This headphone does have negatives here and there but in the end... for the price point, it is one of the best entry level headphones you can purchase. 

 

also follow me on Instagram for pictures of audio gear I review. https://www.instagram.com/jayzlee95

 

ANY QUESTIONS? 

 

 

review provided by soulsikreviews.com

 

video for reference only

 

Video review here:


demo:


INTRODUCTION

So this is Audeze's entry level offering... and I must say that is a BIG understatement. These are well above other Audeze's headphones in terms of euphoric listening experience. These should be in fact placed well above the LCD x in my opinion.

ABOUT AUDEZE

From their website:

Audeze’s origins go back to 2008 when founders Sankar Thiagasamudram and Alexander Rosson met engineer Pete Uka who developed specialized flexible circuit materials for NASA. They quickly realized the material might be perfect for headphones. That’s when Dragoslav Colich, who has 30+ years’ experience in designing planar drivers, joined the team as CTO to create the LCD-1 headphone.

Then we created the legendary, award-winning LCD-2 and LCD-3 headphones, and the higher-efficiency LCD-X and XC models. More recently, we made planar magnetic technology accessible to a wider audience with the EL-8 and SINE series headphones. Audeze turned to their strategic partner Designworks, a BMW Group Subsidiary, for the cutting-edge industrial design for the new headphones as well as the Deckard DAC/Amplifier.

Audeze feature proprietary planar magnetic designs with extremely thin-film driver materials and powerful custom magnets. Planars overcome many limitations inherent in typical cone drivers; our lightweight diaphragms are, for example, faster and more responsive than heavier moving-coil or dome drivers. Planar magnetic diaphragm also have a voice-coil circuit spread across the diaphragm surface. The diaphragm’s voice-coil circuit interacts with the magnetic field to produce an electromagnetic force that moves the diaphragm back and forth creating the sound you hear when energized by an audio signal.

DISCLAIMER

This review unit was lent to me by audio excellence, for a review. Nevertheless, my review will contain no bias

SPECS

Style Open circumaural
Transducer type Planar magnetic
Magnetic structure Proprietary push-pull design
Magnet type Neodymium
Transducer size 106 mm
Maximum power handling 15W (for 200ms)
Sound pressure level >130dB with 15W
Frequency response 5Hz – 20kHz extended out to 50kHz
Total harmonic distortion <1% through entire frequency range
Impedance7 70 ohms
Efficiency 101dB / 1mW
Optimal power requirement 1 – 4W


THE BUILD QUALITY

Positives:

All you will see on these headphones is wood, metal, and Leather. Of course, you can opt out for their Vegan option. Anyhow, the build is absolute and everything screams quality. There is nothing else to say.... every hinge and cup is done in the most perfect way possible. At this price range, thank god.




Negatives:

Because these are make of top quality material and heavy drivers, they are heavy and to top it all off, the headband is too thin to distribute the weight correctly on your head. This results to quite an impressive amount of discomfort within 30 minutes of listening. However, there is a solution. You just got to buy the 200 dollar carbon fiber headband that comes with only their TOTL model, LCD4. Is it worth it? well... for the comfort improvement, yes. You will especially need it if you are coming from more lightweight headphones like the HD650.


Sound mechanism

The drivers used are planar magnetic drivers and to me, this is a plus because other than the fact that Audeze has great experience tuning these types of drivers, these types of drivers can make a more impactful sound in a closed housing like this. Isolation is also very good due to the overall build.

Included is also their latest technology, the “fazor,” which is a wave guide to increase the clarity and lower distortion.

[gallery ids="811,810,809,808,807,806,805,814" type="rectangular"]

SOUND QUALITY

Lower Frequencies: With a satisfying amount of sub bass, what really defines the LCD 2 in my opinion is their punchy and tight bass. It is one of the most clean, fast and punchy bass I've every heard in a headphone. I think this is what people refer to when they say "planar bass is better." Incredible amount of satisfaction.

Mid Frequencies: I found this headphone to excel with micro detail in this range. Vocals sound wet and airy while retaining the euphoric vocal signature you would experience in the HD650s. This is impressive because with larger soundstage, this becomes harder. And yes, these do have bigger sound stage than the HD650s but less than the HD800s. with that in mind, the violin tracks sound incredible on these headphones. Lindsey stirlings' songs all sounded too good to be true. Despite the discomfort, I had to keep it on.

High Frequencies: Falls short in the upper range compared to HD800s but excels in the lower ranges. Again, micro detail will almost trick you into thinking it is a much better headphone than the HD800s. Technically HD800s do better in this range but if your ears like it more, doesn't that mean it's just better too? well, in my opinion the LCD 2 pleased my ears more.

Soundstage/imaging: The soundstage was larger than the HD650 and tad smaller than the HD800s and Hifiman edition x v2. However, the imaging was quite impressive, although this also fell short compared to the mighty HD800s. In terms of imaging, it was quite similar to the level of the Hifiman edition x v2. A lot of you will disagree or agree with me in these comparisons but remember one thing. "these are mild differences, these headphone are pretty similar in sound stage and imaging." To the extent of you not being able to correctly analyze it unless you had them all side by side like me to go back and forth on the sound stage test tracks.

Overall Thoughts

Bottom line, I would put these as my favorite planar magnetic headphones of this month. Perhaps this year.

Build Quality
Past Audeze headphones generally sounded very good but I had problems with the headband and weight.
Now the new design is much more appealing and LCD2 Classic is no exception. I in more detail about
this design and why I like it so much better in the video but it is much more comfortable in summary.

Sound Quality
Certainly, every Audeze headphones I have tried sounded very good nonetheless some people argued that
the fazors made all the difference in the world either for the best or for the worst. For those of you who did not get to try the non fazored versions of the LCD series can get a taste right here and now with the LCD 2 Classic headphones. I go in much more detail about the sound in comparison with other headphones but to say the least, it certainly may be appealing to some while some may hate it.