Burson Audio is a well-known Australian brand who make amp’s and DAC’s. I came to know about them through their amp – Soloist, which was quite popular back in the day. Burson have recently releasing many budget friendly desktop devices recently, and Playmate is their latest offering. I’m posting my initial impressions on the same.

As always, I write my reviews to be understood by common public and not using overly technical terms. After all, Music should be enjoyable for all. After Burson Play which is an excellent value for the money amp/dac at 200$, ‘Playmate’ is a higher end ESS9038 Sabre powered 32bit/768khz DAC with a powerful class A headphone amplifier with 2 watts per channel power and is priced at 400$.



I really like Burson’s design philosophy when it comes to making amp’s. They always try to leave maximum customization at consumer’s end. For example - we can easily take off the top lid to access the circuit board and play around with the op-amps. One major advantage Playmate has for Gamers or those into serious PC building – The playmate can be fitted into CPU chassis just like a DVD writer, and a power cable is included in the box for motherboard connection. Playmate includes other modern features like OTG support, digitalized volume control, a mini display unit with hardware menu. A microphone input is given in the front, useful for Gamers.

Built quality is excellent. By build or design I don’t mean the simply smooth finished fancy CNC cases, but rather the components used or soldered the PCB quality, and the awesome power supply unit (PSU) quality, which has very low noise output – Burson calls it the MCPS and has 12V/5A rating.

Full specs are as follows:

Input impedance: 38 KOhms
Frequency response: ± 1 dB 0 – 35Khz
THD: <0.002%
Output impedance (Head Amp): <2 Ohm
Output impedance (Pre Out): 15 Ohm
Inputs: USB, Toslink
Outputs: RCA Pre-Amp / Headphone Jack
Power (Headphone Jack)
16 Ohm - 1.8W
32 Ohm - 2W
100 Ohm- 0.5W
150 Ohm - 3W
300 Ohm - 0.1W

DAC Spec
Channel Separation: 132dB@1KHz, 121dB@20KHz
Mobile OS: iOS & Android (OTG support)
PCM & DXD Support: PCM 32Bits/768kHz
Native DSD: Native DSD 64 / 128 / 256 / 512
DSD over PCM: DoP64 / DoP128 / DoP256

Playmate has a modern design, functional digital Menu option which includes

1) High/Low Gain – Most studio Headphones need high gain setting to run comfortably

2) Output: Headphones or Line – Line out is powerful 2vrms. Volume control enabled.

3) Jitter Elimination – Offers 3 settings Low/Mid/High, with 'Low' offers lowest jitter but risking unlocking the DAC.

4) Filters of ESS9038 – There are few hardware filters which slightly change the final sound signature.

• BRICKWALL - Maximum flat response.
• CMFR - Corrected minimum phase fast roll off.
• RESERVED - Reserved for future updates.
• AP FAST (default)
• MP SLOW - Minimum phase slow roll off.
• MP FAST - Minimum phase fast roll off.
• LP SLOW - Linear slow roll off.
• LP FAST - Linear fast roll off

Details on frequency response can be read in ESS’s website and datasheet.

As for the Sound Quality, I would say its very good, considering the price range of 400$. I remember few years ago when around that price, we could buy a modest mid-range amp/dac, but in recent months, I like the fact that manufacturers are getting more competitive and offer significantly more sound quality and features for the same given price range, with major improvements in semi-conductor design and implementation.



Playmate ships with 4x NE5532 by default, which kind of sound okay-ish, but definitely need swapping out. I tried out the old V5 and V5i op-amps I had with me, and the change they bring about in the sound quality is amazing. I have a lovely pair of K812 and they sound detailed, airy and transparent. There is absolutely no audible noise or distortion. I feel my K812’s are very well driven by playmate, thanks to the powerful amping. An amplifier should amplify the sound signals and deliver them to headphones without loss in transparency or sound quality, and the playmate excels!



The only thing I miss in the playmate would be the lack of balanced config, since it’s quite popular amongst audiophile and known that balanced setup offers better SQ, specifically the channel separation. There are quite few devices which offer balanced output around this price range. Overall, a very capable device, but I will try to unleash its full potential by getting my hands on the V6 op-amps. These are my initial impressions, will update on full review once I receive the V6 op-amps.

Disclaimer: This review is written by me, it reflects my thoughts & honest opinion about the product.

Me: I am an avid admirer of music. I would like to call myself a music enthusiast, rather than an audiophile. I was inspired by music since childhood, and as the time passed, the passion of music grew in me, and that subsequently led me to join Head-Fi. My main listening genres include classical, vocal, instrumental, jazz and sometimes pop. With time, my sonic preferences have very much grown. I avidly admire transparency, accuracy along with neutrality, I mostly listen to full sized open back headphones. I prefer & admire transparent solid state headphone amplifiers simply because they provide best possible accuracy, transparency & reliability.

I will describe this review in simple words that is readable & understandable to anyone. Let’s have a look at this amp from the eyes of a music enthusiast, shall we?

Intro: Yulong Audio is well known producer of Headphone amps. I find their designs very mature, leaving no room for error. Till now they did not have a budget product to appease the masses, so they have new ‘Daart’ series under which “Canary” is the first product under affordable price but with latest design to keep up the best possible sound quality. It packs such a good performance; it left me hooked up for a long time.



As expected by the Yulong trademark build, the Canary has a robust build quality. It has a precise & accurate finishing. Feels well put together. It is a pure class A JFET transistor amplifier using critically acclaimed ESS9018 mark2 decoder & XMOS USB interface. The amplifier part is fully discrete, with FET input DC coupling class A design. There is no capacitor in the signal path between the decoder to headphone output which might reduce the transparency.

The circuitry & internals speak for themselves. Components are well laid out; most components are Surface Mount Devices (SMD) Components are placed in a neat fashion. Board is excellently soldered and has a reliable workmanship. Architecture wise, on the front we have Volume control knob, a headphone with input selector switch. On the rear side, we have Power socket & switch, along with input USB A socket. Line out is in RCA format. Daart’s circuitry was carefully tuned & finalized by taking into account many audiophiles, musicians & critics. So now we know why it sounds so good.



Technical specifications of DAART Canary:

USB Input DoP64/128, Native DSD64/128, PCM 32Bit/384KHZ

Headphone Output 100mW @ 600 Ohm, 200mW @ 300 Ohm, 400mW @ 150 Ohm, 1000mW @ 32 Ohm

Crosstalk -120dB

Freq. Response 20Hz – 30 KHz -0.15dB

Dynamic Range 120dB

S/N Ratio -128dB

Line Out 2Vrms

Op-amp ADA4705 OPA1688

DAC ESS9018MKII XMOS U8

Sound: I was pleasantly shocked how good it sounded. I enjoyed long hours of listening through AKG K812, never feeling my ears pierce or getting fatigue.



This is where it's exciting. Though designed as a budget oriented device, by no means it is lacking sound quality. Solid Engineering & design is the answer here. Don’t be fooled by its 250$ price tag. This machine delivers wonders. Yulong said it will be very detailed & by that they mean business. It is THE most detailed unit I have heard under this price range. ‘Detailing’ is the highlight of the Canary.

Very transparent, flat and extremely detailed sound, I am hearing subtle details I’ve never heard before. Depth is amazing too. This is the device that redefines the budget listening. I should remember, a few years ago If wanted to buy an amp/dac under 300$, and I would get no choice other than schiit combo or O2 combo. And believe me those things don’t sound half as good as Canary does.

There is a slight imbalance at the very beginning of the volume range, but I guess it’s okay & is seen in most of the volume pots. This is a class A amp, hence must be warmed up for 15 minutes before listening. With time, it settles in & sound even better.

Verdict: With this device, Mr. Yulong has renewed my respect for him, he is simply brilliant. I am really proud that we now have an amazing sounding Amp/DAC & we can own it by not spending a bomb on it. Because not everybody can afford a 1000$ device. Canary is an excellent alternative, I fully stand by it.



It is a smashing value for money, well built, exceptional sounding, reliable & it is from the house of Yulong Audio!

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Intro: Burson Audio is an Australian audio company located in Thomastown, Melbourne. Famous for creating Soloist amplifier, which was popular amongst audiophiles. Burson is well known for employing discreet circuits. What I like the most about Burson is that they leave nothing unturned to achieve best possible transparency in sound chain. Burson takes considerable time to create its products; their product line is very steady & has a strong Research & Development. By hearing the name “Burson Audio” we remember two things in a flash: 1) Soloist 2) Op-amps. Burson Audio is making op-amps for a long time now, The only other renown op-amps were ‘Sun’ ‘Moon’ Earth’ from Audio-GD, but sadly AGD stopped developing them.

Burson sent me a pair for review. I am writing my sincere opinion without any bias, trying my best to convey my readers about its advantages & disadvantages in a clear-cut manner. Headphones used in this review: Sennheiser HD800, AKG K702 & K812. Amplifiers/DAC’s used: Objective2/ODAC, CMOYBB, M-Stage, TCG TRD3, Audinst MX-2
 

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Design: The V5i is a hybrid: Meaning, it has both IC & discrete components in it. This is done to make a cost effective & smaller version of V5. The IC is custom created, & FET components of the bigger V5 are used to create the V5i. There are 2 variants of V5i:  Dual op-amp: is a 2 channel op-amp (most audio devices use this configuration)  & the other is Single op-amp:  is a 1 channel op-amp (Single channel DIP8 slot is present in some higher end devices like Gustard H10 or so on)
 

 

 
Nowadays, all devices are becoming smaller & compact. It’s difficult to fit larger op-amps in tight space. But The V5i has a very small footprint. The advantage is that you can actually use the V5i in every device, not worrying about the space. Previously The V5 could not fit in all devices due to its larger size. The V5i is significantly smaller than The V5. The Size of V5i is very similar to default op-amps. The V5i op-amp is sealed, thus to show the internals, image from Burson Audio website:
 

 

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Sound:  The problem with many other op-amps is that they carry a ‘flavor’. They are either ‘dark’ ‘bright’ ‘thin’ etc. But theoretically op-amp’s function is to amplify signals, & never to alter the input sound signature. But this function is impossible to achieve practically. The V5 & V5i are the one's closest to this function I've ever heard. Only drawback I found was, V5i lacked decent soundstage depth. but width was good enough. Details, instrument separation are strong plus points of the V5i.
 
Burson has put a significant effort here & it shows: the V5i noticeably the most transparent (next only to the V5) op-amp I have ever heard.  So there is no doubt, this is an ideal yet practical op-amp. With V5i, I am able to hear the true characteristics & capabilities of my Amps/DAC’s. The V5i sounded ‘bright & upfront’ right out of the box. I have 'burned' it for about 20 hours (after which I am unable to detect any improvements or changes). 
 

 

 
Comparison:  Compared to LME49990, OPA627, OPA209 & LME49710HA.  Out of all these, I will pick the Texas Instruments LME49990 X2 soldered on converter board (costs about 15$) as the chief competitor for V5i. All other op-amps I tested had a slight ‘veil’ or a curtain of darkness as you might call it. The V5i delivers very good transparency, No more veil. I have installed & listened to the V5i in many devices like TCG Audio TRD3, Matrix M-Stage, Objective-2, Cmoy BB, It worked very well with all of them. No overheating or any sorts. V5i has a metallic outer cover which also serves as heat sink & noise shield. However it’s bigger brother V5 is even better with respect to sound quality. But due to its bigger size, it can’t be installed in majority of the devices.
 

 
Affordability:  When getting an aftermarket op-amp, cost plays an important role. The V5 costs 70$ and consumed more physical space, which many devices didn’t have. V5i costs 40$, & is small in size. If you have a good performance headphone amplifier or DAC, I recommend that you get the V5i. The 40$ is well justified for the better sound quality it delivers. V5i is by far the most affordable custom op-amp in the market. Far better than the OPA’s or AD’s. Burson Audio provides lifetime guarantee, which I feel is reassuring on durability aspect.
 

 

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Conclusion: The Burson approach is what impresses me very much. Burson Audio is one of the handful audio manufacturers in the world who focus in bringing maximum transparency out of audio device with minimum or none flavor/coloration in sound quality. Burson has nailed it this time with the V5i. Better than any op-amp in terms of transparency except their own V5 ofcourse. I can whole heartedly recommend the V5i. It is the best upgrade one can do to his amp or dac without any hardware change. Kudos!
 

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Intro:  JDS Labs, Is an American company based in Collinsville, Illinois. They make headphone amplifiers & DAC’s. Mr. John Seaber is the man behind JDS Labs. We might remember JDS Labs when they produced the popular cmoy-BB amp & later on, their Objective2 which was a game-changing amplifier. JDS Labs also have their own products: C5/D Portable amplifier/DAC, Element desktop Amp/Dac along with their Cmoy BB amp. My profound thanks to Mr.John for arranging a sample unit for my evaluation.
 
JDS Labs O2 was my first ever headphone amplifier in early days of my Head-Fi days. Enjoyed it a lot, had a wonderful time with it. O2 holds a special place in my ears.
 
About O2/ODAC:  The Objective2 as we all know, is a very famous beginner level amplifier, has a very neutral sound signature. Few years ago there were not many amps available under a budget. The one’s available didn’t perform good. O2 was designed by a U.S electric engineer “NwAVGuy” in 2010-2011. The O2 amp standalone is portable & battery operated. But take out the battery & you can fit a tiny DAC inslide the same enclosure called ‘ODAC’.
 
ODAC is the DAC counterpart of the famous O2 amplifier, & was released in 2012. The ODAC was jointly developed by NwAvGuy and Yoyodyne Consulting . Yoyodyne generated ODAC’s  circuit board, and NwAvGuy provided performance analysis. Yoyodyne has remained responsible for all production engineering & distribution. ODAC was certified as Objective by NwAvGuy; Yoyodyne generated the design and controls its manufacturing. The new Rev.B uses SA9023 & PCM5102A, and the Low dropout regulator has been updated to a ceramic stable Analog Devices ADP151 equivalent part. Fixes include: Added 16x vias to USB support pads to improve mechanical strength of mini-USB jack, new improvised circuit board & locked EEPROM to prevent IC failures, fixed USB supply stability, & minor performance improvements. Rev.B now puts out 2.1VRMS power.

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Packaging & Accessories: The unit comes packed in JDS Labs stamped strong black cardboard box. It withstood a rough journey across the globe, yet remained in perfect shape. That explains everything. Included accessories:
 
Power Adapter:  15V AC-AC adapter. The AC-AC adapters help in minimizing flux leakage in the circuit.
 
USB Cable: Mini USB cable with ferrite bead, Monoprice brand, has very good quality with 28+1P/24+2C AWG gauge, matches very well with ODAC.
 

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Design and Build:  It has an aluminium case, & the unit which I am reviewing is the RCA version (with RCA connection for ODAC) The RCA jacks being connected to ODAC via soldered wires.  The device itself is very small, nimble & has small footprint. Can also be used as portable DAC, as it is self powered. It does not require any drivers & works on low current draw, which is a plus for compatibility with portable android smartphones. Another advantage of O2/ODAC is, you can build one right in your home using basic soldering tools. It's DIY Friendly.
 

 

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Sound: Both O2 & ODAC are well documented with scientific proofs about the accuracy of sound delivery, so no questions about that. It delivers whatever is fed into it’s system. Using neutral headphones like HD800 or K702 makes the experience bitter due to harsher treble, but with darker sounding headphones like LCD-2, O2/ODAC does a good job. Driving power is fine, though not as powerful as desktop amplifiers. Op-amps can be swapped for a different hearing experience. Take out the 2068D & install a compatible op-amp of your  choice.
 

 

 
Comparison:  I would like to compare the O2/ODAC with Schiit Magni2/Modi2 which costs under 200$. Schiit has improved the original Magni & Modi, now the reliability & sound quality is noticeably better than the original version. Both Magni2 & Modi2 outperform their counterparts O2 & ODAC Rev.B respectively. Modi2 is much more accurate than ODAC plus an added advantage of 24/192 capacity. Modi2 also sounds much cleaner, clearer than ODAC. Magni2 is more powerful than O2 and also delivers higher transparency. As combo, Magni2/Modi2 outperforms O2/ODAC. Schiit combo costs 200$ with additional features & better sound quality, hence Its a value for money deal.
 

 
Affordability:  The truth is, O2/ODAC is losing its charm it had few years ago. This is due to tough competition from modern & advanced products with latest designs. Had been NwAVGuy still around, he would have definitely continued developing the O2/ODAC . But sadly he has disappeared from audio community since long back. So I have to conclude that O2/ODAC is now outdated, and as a replacement, Schiit stack serves the purpose under 200$ budget. The O2/ODAC costs about 275$, which is significantly higher than the Schiit combo.

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Conclusion:  O2/ODAC though once a benchmark for performance, is outdated. But it still delivers what it was designed for: “Objective Approach with no BS”. O2 & ODAC created tough competition & compelled audio companies to develop affordable devices with much more value to customer’s money. O2/ODAC will slowly fade away, but will always be remembered as the Game Changer.
 
My tribute to NwAvGuy: The Man behind the Change.
 

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Disclaimer: This review is written by me, it reflects my thoughts & honest opinion about the product.

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Me:  I am an amateur musician & avid admirer of music. I would like to call myself a music enthusiast, rather than an audiophile. I was inspired by music since childhood, and as the time passed, the passion of music grew in me, and that subsequently led me to join Head-Fi. I usually like to listen to Indian Classical Music along with Bollywood songs. My main listening genres include classical, vocal, instrumental, jazz and sometimes pop.  With time, my sonic preferences have very much grown. I avidly admire transparency, accuracy along with neutrality, I mostly listen to full sized open back headphones and my favorite headphone is AKG K812, which I run from solid state amplifier. I prefer & admire transparent solid state headphone amplifiers simply because they provide best possible accuracy, transparency & reliability.
 
I will describe this review in simple words that is readable & understandable to anyone. Let’s have a look at this amp from the eyes of a music enthusiast, shall we?
 
Intro:  The name “Bakoon” originated from the words “Baku” and “Un”. “Baku” is a supernatural creature from a Japanese mythology that is associated with dreams, and ”Un” represents luck. Bakoon Products uses its proprietary technology called “SATRI” in all of it’s products. SATRI technology was initiated by Akira Nagai, in 1980’s Japan. Here is the incident: It was at one bookstore when Akira Nagai, who had been developing precision metrology instruments in Japan during 1980s. The book that he picked up contained debates between a philosopher and a musician on the topic of “Time” of music and “Kshana” (moment)
 
All images are high resolutions, click to enlarge & zoom in.
 

 
The concept of “How short of a time can a human sense?” did not leave Akira Nagai’s mind, as he was aware that this question also applies to audio circuits by means of excessive time distortion, reaction delay and time-related inaccuracy. After endless research, during a boat trip, Akira Nagai discovered the solution to his dilemma. Enlightened by this discovery, he developed a circuit that was revolutionary. The circuit then transitioned into the very first D/A converter and amplifier.
 
Bakoon had earlier released the HPA-21 (2995$), which had received good response overall, & now Bakoon has tried to bring maximum possible sound quality from HPA-21 at a lower cost, thus forming the HPA-01 amplifier, on the same platform as that of the HPA-21 by cutting down on un-necessary features.
 
Technical specifications of HPA-01:
 
 
 
Packaging & Accessories: The HPA-01 comes packed in a strong cardboard box with foam protection inside. Accessories provided are very basic & not complimenting the premium product. But that is a no brainer, since we are here for the product which happens to be very good.
 
Included Accessory:  A worldwide compatible charger with output of 16.8V along with an AC power cord to attach to mains supply.
 

 

 

 

 
Design, Build & Function: As expected, the HPA-01 has a robust build quality. It has a precise & accurate finishing. The case is powder coated in matt black. Feels well put together.
The circuitry & internals of the HPA-01 speak for themselves. Components are well laid out; most components are Surface Mount Devices (SMD) Components are placed in a symmetrical & neat fashion.  All components used are carefully selected. Board is excellently soldered and has a reliable workmanship. Architecture wise,  on the front side we have Volume control knob, two headphone jacks present in 6.5mm format along with gain & power switches. On the rear side, we have Power socket & switch, Volume control is feels silky smooth to turn. Headphone socket is clip type. To remove the case & access the circuitry, one has to remove top four screws using allen keys Size (2mm) the top cover will come off. 
 

 

 

 

 
The HPA-01 has two headphone jack outputs: One is current mode (newer technology) & the other one is voltage mode (which is found on almost all of the headphone amplifiers on the market today). So what is this current mode amplifier? Simply put, it is an amplifier which uses current feedback in its circuit to function. However that’s merely generalization. In reality it’s much more complicated. But whatever the theory, in practice, the sound quality of voltage mode is on par with current mode. It is not that current mode necessarily sounds always better than voltage mode, it is a “give and take” situation. & a huge price difference of current mode amps over voltage mode amps cannot be justified.
 
The HPA-01 runs purely on battery power. It has 2* 8.4V batteries inside the case, with each battery supporting to one channel. In my case, battery power lasted till about 5 hours under my usage. It has a dedicated battery charger provided in the box. When charging, red light is shown on the charger & green light is shown when charging is complete. Re-charging took me about 7 hours or so to attain full charge capacity. If the charger is connected while HPA-01 is operating, the charger gets dis-engaged by a relay mechanism. The battery power helps us to avoid heavy power cables or expensive power filters. It is very helpful if one is constantly on the move or electricity is unreliable, like my case in India. It also helps in achieving lower noise, & supply pure power to the circuitry. Initially, the headphone output sockets are very tight & cause deep scratches on headphone cable 6.5mm jack. It requires some time to loosen up, & then it’s good to go. Overall, excellent build in every area, Practical design & Great quality.
 

 

 

 
Sound:  The HPA-01 is a modern machine with the aim to amplify & deliver exactly what is fed to it; If sonic chain is perfect, it puts out a impressive sound quality, transparency & soundstage. It does not have any particular coloration of its own. Soundstage depth in HPA-01 is amazing It has a fully circular 3D imaging. Detail retrieval, and dynamics are excellent. Overall the sonic presentation contains high level of transparency and accuracy.  Absolutely zero audible hiss/noise, and zero EMI pickup. Another plus point here is, the device has relay mechanism which prevent any noise pop’s when headphones are plugged in/out. This way, a better safety is guaranteed for the precious headphones.
 
Current mode provides superior, better control to the headphone driver, lower distortions, but a catch: slightly reduced soundstage width. Whereas the depth is amazing. Sounds slightly smooth with deep bass, slightly intimate mids, with.higher frequencies very being consistent & smooth.
 
Voltage mode:  Bass is accurate but lacks the depth of current mode. Mids sound far out, thus making impression of “expansive soundstage” The highs have a few rough edges. But due to very high gain, this mode has audible distortions & thus disappoints. Overall, the HPA-01 is a smooth & slightly laid-back/relaxed sounding amplifier. It is quite clear that, HPA-01 audibly does not match well with wide range of headphones. By my observations, HPA-01 suited well with sterile/analytical headphones like AKG K702 & HD800. I would not quite like the match with LCD-2 or K812, these happen to be slightly musical/smooth sounding headphones.
 

 
Driving Power: Contrary to popular amp's, the output impedance of the HPA-01 (current mode) happens to be very high & thus all headphones cannot match well from this machine. Nevertheless ,the HPA-01 is very powerful when it comes to driving. It can drive any dynamic headphone in its default gain. Infact, I couldn’t flip up the gain switch, because the HPA-01  is so powerful, low  gain is more than enough to drive vast majority of headphones. HD800 & AKG K702 pair very well with the HPA-01.  It can also drive planar magnetic headphones with ease.The HPA-01 is very sensitive &demanding at the input port. Meaning, it is very sensitive/picky about what source or DAC you feed it into. Feed a very high quality DAC & enjoy the blissful sound quality. Otherwise you are all in for a muddy sound. I kept trying to pair the HPA-01 with many DAC’s, but not at all happy about the final sound quality, that is until I connected my trusty DA8. Then the HPA-01 really began breathing life into music. 
 

 

 
 
Comparison:  Considering its design, the HPA-01 has no competition. But price wise, around 2000$ we have a few well respected veteran amplifier devices, which are albeit desktop AC powered machines namely, Yulong DA8, Questyle CMA800 (with very similar current mode technology), Benchmark DAC2, Sennheiser HDVD800. If we compare the HPA-01 with the above devices, it is apparent that the HPA-01 obviously has lesser features & performance to offer. Let’s admit the truth. All these devices outperform & defeat the HPA-01 in terms of sound quality & features.The battle is over before it began.
 

 
As a comparison, I will be comparing The HPA-01 with Objective2 amplifier. You might ask me, why am I comparing a 130$ amp with a 1700$ one? Because,
Ø   - Both of these are designed to be portable/ transportable & are battery powered.
Ø   - These machines are pure standalone amps, with high performance circuitry inside them.
Ø   - Designed & Aimed to provide purest of the sound quality
Ø   - Both of these are very unique amps with importance of their own.
 
We all probably know that O2 is absolutely transparent, highly cost effective & provides an exceptional performance. But it is limited by its price. Imagine an O2 amp, with significantly improved sound quality. But with a slight flavour of smoothness & darkness in the sound. That would form the HPA-01. But the HPA costs 13 times more, hence having less than desirable competence.
 
Verdict:  The HPA-01 achieves what it is designed for; for that I will call it “the achiever” It is unique in its own way. There are very less battery powered amps available with benchmark sound quality. HPA-01 is one of them. It is a very functional, & unique amplifier which delivers what is fed into it. It does its job well, very well. But it's performance is easily challenged by devices costing way under the price of HPA-01. Therefore, I can recommend HPA-01 only to those who would like battery powered headphone amplifiers. For the rest of us, there are much better performing devices at the asking price, Hence I would not recommend it. Thus I rate it 2.5 out of 5 stars.
 

 
Like every product, the HPA-01 too has drawbacks. I will list them:
 
Ø   - HPA-01 lacks value for money aspect. At 1700$ there are plenty of high end amps with better features & better performance with respect to sound quality.
 
Ø   - Very sensitive to Input port. Now this can be also advantage, assuming you have high performance DAC. The HPA-01 detects even slightest change in DAC behaviour.
 
Ø   - HPA-01 leaks sound even if volume knob is zero. Channel imbalances seen in initial stages of volume control.
 
Ø   - Gain switch applies only to current output. The gain of Voltage output is too high, can’t turn volume knob above 10% of the capacity.
 
Ø   - The headphone output socket clips are very tight, & cause scratches on headphone’s jack.

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Intro:  SoundFoundations, is a company which manufactures accessories like racks, stands, and vibration control & custom cables. It is based in India.
SoundFoundations is known in India for their quality accessories for speakers & turntables. Sound foundations is the face of growing Audiophile trend in India. It makes me very proud to see that India is catching up to audiophile product manufacturing, & I feel proud to review something that’s made in India!
 
I am now writing on their Power cable named “Barracuda PowerMax Elite”. The cable uses a Furutech base cable using PCOC copper conductors with a dual shield. The Barracuda is one of the first cables in the world that uses lead shielding and hence boasts almost zero EMI/RFI. Lead is known to have the best EMI rejection properties. The lead shielded provides the lowest noise with the cleanest darkest background. The cable is also equipped with a high quality copper shield. This heavy shield has two important functions. It keeps the powerline noise from radiating outwards onto equipments and interconnects. It also prevents external electromagnetic and radio frequency interference from entering the AC line.
 

 
Cable Specifications

1. Conductor: 15mm OD – 12 AWG / 2.5mm2 x 3  : 60/0.49mm (Specially Optimized Copper)
2. 3 layers EMI/RF shielding with vibration absorbing structure
3. Pure Copper Braided shield
4. Rated True 300V / 20A
5. CRYO -192 Degrees (48hrs)
6. Unique Patented Filler sheath
7. Standard length- 5 feet

 
Connector Specifications

1. IEC+ US 3 pin plug
2. Voltage Rating:  true 15A /250V
3. Materiel: 99.99% OFC Furukawa Red – Copper – with 22k true gold plating
4. Dimensions:70mm body length x 35mm diameter x 69mm overall length
5. Nylon/fiberglass front body with polycarbonate shell
6. CRYO -192 Degrees (48hrs)

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Let us see how this cable performs,
 
Design and Build: The power cable is audiophile grade, which means It is designed to specially for high fidelity audio devices with objective to isolate maximum amount of noise, RFI & Deliver stable & maximum AC power. Barracuda is not very flexible, so it cannot bend around in tight spaces, but again almost all custom power cables are thick & rigid to this extent. Weight-wise, it’s quite heavy compared to stock cable, but manage-able.
 
(Click Images to Enlarge)
 

 
Connectors are of Oyaide Japan, a well respected brand in audio world. Pins are American Standard 3 pin plugs & AC terminations are gold plated with ground terminal silver plated. The cable outlet end has 3 pin sockets; again they too are gold plated. Connectors have accurate cuttings and design for a snug fit. Strain reliefs are absent at both plug-end & socket-end inorder to increase flexibility. But this can also be a drawback in terms of cable durability in long term. Standard length of the Barracuda is 1.5 meters.
 

 
 

 
Overall well built. I would rate 4 out of 5 for Build quality.

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Sound:  Barracuda delivers a audibly superior sonic performance compared to stock power cables. Stock cables are incapable of performing upto the level high fidelity amplifiers or DAC’s. Improvements observed when graduating from stock power cables:
 
1) Silence:  Blacker & completely ‘clean’ background
 
2) Speed: Delays in transmission & receiving are largely eliminated & sound can be heard instantaneously, without any ‘lags’ or ‘delays’
 
3) Transparency & Clarity: The level of details & transparency. Better power cable helps the transformer inside to deliver better, hence a better sound at the end of the chain.
 
4) Soundstage: Especially Depth & layering have increased. There is increment in imaging & placements across all frequencies when heard on high end headphones.
 

 
These improvements are at the margin of about 10% when compared to basic or stock cables. The Barracuda corrects almost all of the base chain problems like, Channel Imbalances, and irregularities are mostly eliminated. EMI Pickup and noise floor level are audibly none. It is like a whole new dimension being discovered. All these improvements are heard on well performing equipments. I have tested this cable on various DAC’s and Amp’s, and in all the setup’s the Barracuda cable has performed well & audibly superior to stock cables.

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Conclusion:  The Barracuda power cable from SoundFoundations is a well performing and a well built cable, which serves its objective of delivering the signals from end-to-end with superior transparency.  Superior performance cables are very much appreciable in higher end setup, & further optimize the full potential of our equipments. I can say it safe to invest an agreeable cost on a good performance cable.
 

 
The only hurdle which comes when choosing a performance power cable is the value aspect. But I conclude say that, aftermarket cables are a must with High end headphone amplifiers & DAC’s the cost is well worth the small but significant step in achieving sonic perfection.

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Intro:  JDS Labs, Is an American company based in Collinsville, Illinois. They make headphone amplifiers & DAC’s. Mr. John Seaber is the man behind JDS Labs.  We might remember JDS Labs when they produced the popular cmoy-BB amp & later on, their Objective2 which was a game-changing amplifier. JDS Labs has also manufactures their own products: C5/D Portable amplifier/DAC, Element desktop Amp/Dac along with ofcourse their Cmoy BB amp.
 
Special mention is about my experience with Mr. John. From my experience & interactions with him, he is the kindest & very prompt person I have ever spoken to in audio world. He answers to all questions in person & makes sure doubts are cleared. I’m a proud owner of JDS Labs O2 amp, (my first headphone amplifier, in early days of my Head-Fi days)  Enjoyed it a lot, had a wonderful time with it. O2 holds a special place for my ears.
 

 

 
My profound thanks to Mr.John for arranging a sample unit of ODAC RevB for my evaluation. The ODAC  got updated in circuit board. The latest model is ODAC Revesion B, improvised on previous & original design of ODAC. So ODAC Rev.B is basically designed to supplement component shortage & along with few minor yet audible improvements.

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About ODAC: ODAC is the DAC counterpart of the famous O2 amplifier, &  was released in 2012. The ODAC was jointly developed by NwAvGuy (The legendary engineer who created O2 amp) and Yoyodyne Consulting . Yoyodyne generated ODAC’s  circuit board, and NwAvGuy provided performance analysis. Yoyodyne has remained responsible for all production engineering & distribution. ODAC was certified as Objective by NwAvGuy; Yoyodyne generated the design and controls its manufacturing.
 
The new Rev.B uses SA9023 & PCM5102A, and the Low dropout regulator has been updated to a ceramic stable Analog Devices ADP151 equivalent part. Fixes include: Added 16x vias to USB support pads to improve mechanical strength of mini-USB jack, new improvised circuit board & locked EEPROM to prevent IC failures, fixed USB supply stability, & minor performance improvements.
 
Technical specifications of ODAC Rev. B:

Freq. Response 20Hz-20kHz          +/- 0.04dB

THD+N 100 hz -0.15 dBFS               0.0028%

THD+N 20 hz -0.15 dBFS                 0.0015%

THD+N 10 Khz -0.15 dBFS               0.0024%

IMD CCIF 19/20 Khz -6.03 dBFS      0.0015%

IMD SMPTE -6.03 dBFS                   0.0015%

Noise A-Weighted dBu 24/96           -103 dBu

Dynamic Range (A-Weighted)          > 112 dB

Linearity Error -90 dBFS 24/96         -0.08 dB

Crosstalk -10 dBFS 100K 3.5mm    -86.40 dB

USB Jitter Components 11025Hz    -112.3dB

Maximum Output Line Out 100K     2.1 VRMS
 
Audio Formats (Bit/Freq):    16/44, 16/48, 16/88.2, 16/96, 24/44, 24/48, 24/96

Native Driver OS Support:    Windows XP & Later, OS X x86, Linux
 
Distortion:  < 0.005%

Inputs: Mini-USB
 
Interface: USB, Audio Class 1

Output: 3.5mm (or RCA), line level

Power:    Self-powered by USB

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Packaging & Accessories: The ODAC comes packed in JDS Labs stamped strong black cardboard box. It withstood a rough journey across the globe, yet remained in perfect shape. That explains everything.
 

 
Included Accessories
 
Instructions: Contains instruction about operating the device & some warranty information.
 
USB Cable: Mini USB cable with ferrite bead, Monoprice brand, has very good quality with 28+1P/24+2C AWG gauge, matches very well with ODAC.

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Design and Build:  It has an aluminium case, & the ODAC  Rev.B which Im reviewing is the RCA version (with RCA connection) The RCA version ODAC is a tad little longer than the regular ODAC with RCA jacks being connected to ODAC via soldered wires. This version also retains its regular 3.5mm jack. The Rev.B physically exactly same as the original ODAC, & has same dimensions. On one end we have both Mini USB connector & 3.5mm output. On the other end (for RCA versions) we have RCA output jacks.
 

 

 

 
The DAC itself is very small, nimble & has small footprint. Can also be used as portable DAC, as it is self powered. It does not require any drivers & works on low current draw, which is a plus for compatibility with portable android smartphones. The Rev.B has the same (or even better) benchmark reliability, performance than the ODAC.
 
Points : 10 out of 10, Excellent, very practical, feasible & well implemented.

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Sound: The ODAC Rev.B puts out a very impressive performance, especially its transparency & soundstage. It does not any particular coloration of its own. Soundstage is amazing. It has a fully circular 3D imaging. Detail retrieval, and dynamics are excellent. Overall the sonic presentation contains high level of transparency and accuracy. Absolutely zero audible hiss/noise, and zero EMI pickup.
 
Benchmark performance for the price. It has supreme value for money. In practical conditions, the performance of ODAC Rev.B is perhaps is beaten only by fancy multi-hundred dollar DAC. Amazing clarity & transparency, it completes the objective parameters set for an ideal DAC. Overall, ODAC Rev.B puts up a highly impressive performance. 
 

 
Points: a full 10 out of 10, Simply amazing. Delivers beyond expectations.

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Comparing ODAC with ODAC Revision B: Physically they are both having exactly same dimension. Just components & signal paths in some areas have been updated. Audibly, it is very hard to tell the difference between the two. But Rev.B definitely has slight audible edge over original ODAC. Practical differences are: ODAC Rev.B supports 88.2 KHZ & has higher 2.1VRMS output, SA9023 ensures better compatibility with android & I devices. Redesigned circuit means bullet-proof reliability. The 2.1 VRMS really helps, providing decisively better output. In case of O2 amp, Rev.B helps in more powerful driving of headphones & a lower gain of 1X/3.3X as optimum.
 
 
 
(Click to Enlarge)
 

 

 

 

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Conclusion:  I consider ODAC Rev.B as an exception DAC, because in my experience I never came across a DAC as reliable, as functional, & as performing, yet affordable as it. The Rev.B continues the legacy & reputation of ODAC forward, with even better level of practicality. Overall it performs extremely well. Highly impressed. The ODAC Rev.B has a benchmark performance.  Objective: Completed
 
Overall, I can award a full 10/10 for ODAC Rev.B owing to its supreme performance in all aspects. My strong recommendation for all enthusiasts who want a truly objective performance.
 

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Me: I am an amateur musician & avid admirer of music. I would like to call myself a music enthusiast, rather than an audiophile. I was inspired by music since childhood, and as the time passed, the passion of music grew in me, and that subsequently led me to join Head-Fi. I usually like to listen to Indian Classical Music along with Bollywood songs. My main listening genres include classical, vocal, instrumental, jazz and sometimes pop.  With time, my sonic preferences have very much grown. I avidly admire transparency, accuracy along with neutrality, I mostly listen to full sized open back headphones and my favorite headphone is AKG K812, which I run from HPA-3B/ODAC with performance cables. I prefer & admire transparent solid state headphone amplifiers simply because they provide best possible accuracy, transparency & reliability.
 
I am an average consumer & a humble enthusiast, I like to pen down my thoughts, & I love to express my feelings. I do not receive for any sort financial benefits through this review. My articles are a purely honest writeup aimed for fellow enthusiasts here at Head-Fi community. My profound thanks to  Brainwavz for arranging a sample unit of Jive for my evaluation. In this review, setup used is FiiO X3II DAp for playback & Brainwavz S0 as a comparison

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Intro:  Brainwavz, established in 2008, is a  renowned audio brand across the world. It is owned by the house of Mp4nation. Speciality of Brainwavz is that, they always deliver quality products in an affordable price. Jive is latest budget friendly earphone offering from Brainwavz. They are advertised as clear sounding & resembling an BA IEM type signature. Lets see how Jive holds up.
 

 
Technical specifications of Jive:
 
Drivers: Dynamic, 9mm
 
Rated Impedance: 16 Ω
 
Frequency Range: 20Hz - 20kHz
 
Sensitivity: 98 dB @ 1 mW
 
Rated Input Power: 20 mW
 
Cable: 1.3m, Y-Cord, Copper

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Packaging and Accessories: Jive  package arrives in a plastic sheet- box, which is quite weak and unstable. But hard case comes to rescue, and Jive is safe inside the Brainwavz hard case. All accessories are very well made, a usual by Brainwavz. 
 

 

 

 
Accessories Included:
 
New Brainwavz long case, which is longer than the current available small case. Same quality.
 
Velcro: A Velcro to bundle up the earphone cable
 
Shirt clip: to reduce microphonics & control cable sway.
 
Eartips:  Three pairs of eartips are included as accessories, A pair of comply tips are too included.
 
Points awarded: 9/10 (Weak outer sheet, excellent hard case, plenty of accessories, well made)

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Design and Build: The Jive has a good overall build quality. housing shell is made  of machined metal. These are light in weight. A 3 button control module is present the Jive, which include play/pause, Volume up/down. Works fine with android mobile phones. Strain reliefs are mediocre, making cable prone to getting cut at this particular point, but again manageable.  Cable has a very good build but feels rubbery, and is audibly microphonic. Elsewhere no complaints regarding build.
 

 

 

 

 

 
Points awarded:  7/10 (Very good, except strain relief is mediocre, cable is microphonic)

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Comfort:  Jive is comfortable enough to wear in general; it is light & ergonomically designed. These IEM’s are shallow insertion type & does not irritate our ear canals, since the nozzle is quite short. But fit was not perfect to my ears atleast.
 

 
Points awarded: 8/10 (satisfactory & comfortable)

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Sound:  This is what matters most, can Jive deliver in sound department? lets see, I liked everything about its sound presentation, except that Jive has a slightly cold/ harsh tonality & a treble peak, which gave me headaches few minutes into listening.
 

 
Lows are quick, accurate.  Mids have a Cold, harsh tonality. Not enjoyable. Highs have  elevated treble, although very detailed, it has an audible peak @ upper treble region. Soundstage: Airy, relaxed and circular soundstage. Depth is excellent. Instrument separation is very good. Compared to Brainwavz’s own S0, which  has warmer & more natural tonal character.  Jive feels very cold & harsh sounding.
 

 
Overall Jive is airy, Spacious & detailed  But treble peak & a harsher tonality ruins it (6.5/10)

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Conclusion:  Jive is likable in every way except its sonic character, in which tonality & treble ruin the good potential of Jive. Although Brainwavz Jive has a lot of potential, but it  may need a better tuning of drivers to be sonically more refined. Jive is already has an excellent value for money. Priced very well.
 

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Me: I am an amateur musician & avid admirer of music. I would like to call myself a music enthusiast, rather than an audiophile. I was inspired by music since childhood, and as the time passed, the passion of music grew in me, and that subsequently led me to join Head-Fi. I usually like to listen to Indian Classical Music along with Bollywood songs. My main listening genres include classical, vocal, instrumental, jazz and sometimes pop.  With time, my sonic preferences have very much grown. I avidly admire transparency, accuracy along with neutrality, I mostly listen to full sized open back headphones and my favorite headphone is AKG K812, which I run from solid state amplifier. I prefer & admire transparent solid state headphone amplifiers simply because they provide best possible accuracy, transparency & reliability.
 
I am an average consumer & a humble enthusiast, I like to pen down my thoughts, & I love to express my feelings. I do not receive for any sort financial benefits through this review. My articles are a purely honest writeup aimed for fellow enthusiasts here at Head-Fi community. My profound thanks to  Brainwavz for arranging a sample unit of Hengja  for my evaluation.

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 Intro:  Brainwavz, established in 2008, is a  renowned audio brand across the world. It is owned by the house of Mp4nation. Speciality of Brainwavz is that, they always deliver quality products in an affordable price. Their newest product, the Hengja headphone stand, is a portable one, small enough & is to used to hand off the ledges of the tables, shelves etc. It is priced at 15$. Hengja means “Hang it” so this my second headphone stand, apart from Sieveking omega. Generally I just keep my headphones on surface or table for the sake of simplicity. But Hengja caught my attention with its unique & creative design, utilizing the shelves and table edges to hang a headphone.
 

 


Technical specifications of Hengja:
 
Weight: 112g
 
Clamp Depth: 40mm
 
Plate Depth: 50mm
 
Plate Width: 45mm
 
Max Clamp Size: 41mm
 
Min Clamp Size:  14mm

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Function and Build:   What I like about Hengja is: It is creative. It differs from conventional headphone stands, It is small, can be carried along with headphone. It can be mounted on shelves or ledges around wherever convenient. Conventional headphone stands tend to be large, heavy and non portable. But Hengja changes it all.
 

 

 
Build is solid, all metal construction. Very well built, Paint quality is nice matt black, well wade overall. Snug fitting & good finishing.   Function wise, it behaves well according shelves. Hengja needs a general screw drive to tighten the base on the shelf. It oesnt leave any scratch mark on the shelf, as Hengja has a layer of cushion there.  Headphone resting plate is long enough to hold almost all sized headphones. The plate is angled well, so the headband of headphone rests well on Hengja. Almost all headphones fit good on the plate.  I tested K812, K702, LCD-2, HD600 & HD800, all fit good on Hengja.
 

 

 
Only thing to remember, Hengja has a shelf thickness range of 14-41 mm , means: If your shelf is thicker or thinner than the given specification, then Hengja will not be compatible. So measure your shelf size before buying Hengja. Generally Im a simple music enthusiast & dont use headphone stands a lot, but I find myself liking the Hengja, and using it quite sometimes to hang headphones.

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Conclusion:  For those would like an accessory headphone stand to hang headphones, but want to avoid expensive and bulky conventional stands, Hengja is the way to go! Hengja is really a good value for money, at 15$ shipped. Well built & designed.
 

 

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Me: I am an amateur musician & avid admirer of music. I would like to call myself a music enthusiast, rather than an audiophile. I was inspired by music since childhood, and as the time passed, the passion of music grew in me, and that subsequently led me to join Head-Fi. I usually like to listen to Indian Classical Music along with Bollywood songs. My main listening genres include classical, vocal, instrumental, jazz and sometimes pop.  With time, my sonic preferences have very much grown. I avidly admire transparency, accuracy along with neutrality, I mostly listen to full sized open back headphones and my favorite headphone is AKG K812, which I run from solid state amplifier. I prefer & admire transparent solid state headphone amplifiers simply because they provide best possible accuracy, transparency & reliability.
 
I am an average consumer & a humble enthusiast, I like to pen down my thoughts, & I love to express my feelings. I do not receive for any sort financial benefits through this review. My articles are a purely honest writeup aimed for fellow enthusiasts here at Head-Fi community. My profound thanks to Matrix Audio for arranging a sample unit of HPA3-B for my evaluation.

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Intro:  Matrix Electronic Technology Co. Ltd., located in Xi'an Economic and Technological Development Zone, in the ancient  city of Xian. Matrix is an enterprise that dedicates to development & manufacturing of high-fidelity audio products. Matrix has its own highly qualified R&D team, which designs all of their products. I assume we all heard of matrix only since its release of M-Stage headphone amplifier around 2010 which stirred the headphone amp market & was extremely well received across the world; hence It became a benchmark device. I’m a proud owner of Matrix’s HPA-1 & HPA-2, over more than two years. I loved them a lot, had a wonderful time with both of them. The M-Stage amplifier will get updates in circuit board every two years. The latest model is HPA-3, improvised on previous designs.
 

 
HPA-1 was warmest & ‘smoothest’ sounding of all three, but had mediocre inbuilt DAC, plus slightly audible noise floor. It had the original BCL style gain switches. HPA-2 largely improvised from HPA-1, applied better performing 24/192 DAC but with fixed +15dB gain. Also, the benchmark bass ‘bump’ has vastly reduced, with much better cleaner & flatter output. Their latest release is HPA-3, is the successor to HPA-2. The HPA-3 has two variants, HPA-3U a Single end headphone amplifier with inbuilt DAC, whereas the  HPA-3B, truly balanced headphone amplifier without inbuilt DAC.  Both these models are remarkably transparent, without any emphasis or ‘bumps’ which I feel , is a result of improvised design. Now I am writing about HPA-3B, which has an entirely new design with true balanced circuitry. It is priced exactly same as HPA-3U, but this is a pure balanced headphone amplifier (minus inbuilt DAC & RCA outputs)
 

 
Technical specifications of HPA-3B:
 
Balance Headphone Output
 
SNR: ＞-114dB A-Weighting
 
THD+N: ＜0.0003% at 300ohms 135mW 1kHz A-Weighting
 
Frequency Response: 20Hz-20kHz (+0dB/-0.05dB)
 
Output Impedance: 0.6ohms
 
Output Power: 3800mW at 33ohms / 1500mW at 300ohms / 800mW at 600ohms at THD+N=0.01%
 
Single End Headphone Output
 
SNR: ＞-108dB A-Weighting
 
THD+N:  ＜0.0004% at 300ohms 325mW 1kHz A-Weighting
 
Frequency Response: 20Hz-20kHz (+0.03dB/-0.1dB)
 
Output Impedance: 0.4ohms
 
Output Power: 2100mW at 33ohms / 430mW at 300ohms / 220mW at 600ohms at THD+N=0.01%
 
Gain Control:  5dB  10dB 20dB
 
Power: 230V/115V (Adjustable) 50/60Hz
 
Power Consumption: ＜25W
 
Fuse: AC250V/500mA 5x20mm

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Packaging & Accessories: The HPA-3B comes packed in Matrix Audio’s strong cardboard box with foam protection inside & necessary accessories included in the package. Same packaging as of HPA-3U
 

 

 
Included Accessories
 
User manual & Driver CD: Contains instruction about operating the device & some warranty information. A compact disk  is included.
 
XLR/RCA Adapter : To connect Single end RCA Input to the amp.
 
Power Cable:  AC power cord to attach to mains supply.

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Design and Build: The HPA-3U a marvellous & Robust build quality, obviously similar to HPA-3U.  Just connections have been changed. On the front side, we have Volume control knob, headphone jack is present in 6.5mm & 4 pin XLR Balanced jack. On the rear side, we have Power socket & switch, 3 pin XLR input port, along with again switch. Volume control is very sophisticated with Dual RK-27 pots on a single shaft. Headphone socket is neutrik clip type, as from ball bearing type of HPA-3U.
 

 

 

 
HPA-3B  is too capable of handling both 110/220V, whose selection switch is on side of the amp. Plus the AC fuse is accessible right besides it. To remove the case & access the circuitry, one has to remove top four screws using allen keys Size (2 & 2.5) plus additional two side screws on each side, to remove the top cover. One small issue user might face here is: Vents on top cover can attract dust or incase a few water droplets fall down, it will straight on the circuit board & damage the board.
 

 

 

 
Regarding the Internal components, HPA-3B has an entirely new fully balanced circuit board with has double sided PCB with no manual wirings except the toroidal transformer joints. Components are placed in a symmetrical & neat fashion.  All components used are carefully selected similar to that of its 3U counterpart, Special dual Alps-27 blue velvet pot on a single shaft (pure balanced pot),  the only replaceable part here are the op-amp sockets. HPA-3B contains two sockets of dual op-amp each. Board is excellently soldered and has a reliable workmanship. The HPA-3B  runs warm by temperature due to being Class-A, just similar to HPA-3U.
 

 

 
Points : 9.5 out of 10, excellent build in every inch, very similar to HPA-3U

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Sound:  The HPA-3B puts out a very impressive sound quality, transparency & soundstage due to its balanced design. New performance altogether. The M-Stage has always been a strong & reliable amp, It does not any particular coloration of its own. Soundstage in HPA-3B is amazing . It has a fully circular 3D imaging. Detail retrieval, and dynamics are excellent. Overall the sonic presentation contains high level of transparency and accuracy.  Absolutely zero audible hiss/noise, and zero EMI pickup. Dual Alps blue velvet pot does an amazing job of controlling volume very precisely without any channel imbalance & noise with retaining maximum sound quality. Another plus point here is, the HPA-3B has relay mechanism which prevent any noise pop’s when headphones are plugged in/out. This way, a better safety is guaranteed for the precious headphones.
 

 

 

 
Op-Amp: Stock op-amp ‘s are LME49860 (X2 quantity)  from Texas Instruments, which does a good job by default. To test if the HPA-3 scales with better op-amps, I tested it with many op-amps, and settled on 4X LME49710HA set on 2  browndogs  for 2 sockets. The HPA-3B  scales well and supports the replacement op-amp.  With LME49710HA, I can hear appreciable improvement from stock ones, with increased soundstage depth, excellent detailing & instrument separation & even more extension in treble. Overall increase in clarity & transparency. 
 

 
Driving Power: The HPA-3B is highly powerful when it comes to driving headphones @3.8W power in tap.  It can damn well drive any headphone in its default gain. Its output impedance is 0.6 ohms, ensures vastly uncoloured & accurate sound quality. Infact, I couldn’t even switch over to 10dB gain switch, because the HPA-3B  is so powerful, 5dB gain is more than enough to drive any headphones. HD800 & AKG K702 particularly sound fantastic HPA-3B.  It can also drive anything from IEM’s to planar magnetic headphones with ease. Even using the single end output, sound quality is far better than any other single end headphones I have heard till date.
 
HPA-3B left me highly impressed with its near summit performance. Points: a full 10 out of 10, very impressive.

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Comparison:  The most capable competitor for HPA-3B under 500$ price is Gustard H10, another excellent standalone headphone amplifier.  Let us see how HPA-3B competes against H10.
 
Sound quality wise, under single end usage, H10 seems to have upper hand than HPA3B. H10 has a more sophisticated gain control, with more gain switches compared to HPA-3B. But when under balanced usage (which H10 does not support) HPA-3B has an clear win. No comparison here, HPA-3B provides ultimate purity. Function wise, HPA-3B is ahead due to its worldwide voltage compatibility & ofcourse the balanced advantage. HPA-3B outperforms H10, owing to fully balanced design.
 
Another comparison is to HPA-3U, which is HPA-3B’s amp/dac sibling. You may read the review I wrote on HPA-3U a while ago http://www.head-fi.org/products/matrix-m-stage/reviews/13475  Sound quality  & amplification wise no doubt balanced design provides a substantial amount of audible improvement.  HPA-3B just does not have a inbuilt DAC. HPA-3U provides more features as it contains an inbuilt 24/192 DAC, RCA outputs, input selection, and thus behaves as all-in-one unit, saving costs of cables, DAC’s etc. HPA-3U is better choice for all in one device by slightly compromising the sound quality.
 
In the end, if usage is single end only, then Gustard H10 is better suited, Otherwise, If full balanced connection is available, HPA-3B  provides ultimate sound quality. If all-in-one unit is desired, then HPA-3U is the way to go. HPA-3B, is the most performing headphone amplifier under 500$ plus, with a fully balanced headphone support.  Offers excellent synergy for high end headphones like HD800. Interms of sound quality, HPA-3B outperforms any solid state amplifier, to be tried near its price point. HPA-3B is the best balanced headphone amplifier under 500$ prince point. Offers highest possible value of money.

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Conclusion:  The HPA-3B continues the legacy & Reputation of M-Stage series forward, with all-new level of performance. Highly recommended for headphone amplifier under half a thousand dollars. Overall its a gem of an amp, but performs extremely well. Highly impressed. The Matrix M-Stage HPA-3B has a benchmark performance.  It impressed me not just in sound presentation, but I literally loved every inch of it. The HPA-3B excels in each and every criterion you put through it. Its workmanship is of high standards, and thus very reliable & robust in operation.
 
Overall, I can award a full 10/10 for HPA-3B owing to its supreme performance in all aspects.
 

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Me: I am an amateur musician & avid admirer of music. I would like to call myself a music enthusiast, rather than an audiophile. I was inspired by music since childhood, and as the time passed, the passion of music grew in me, and that subsequently led me to join Head-Fi. I usually like to listen to Indian Classical Music along with Bollywood songs. My main listening genres include classical, vocal, instrumental, jazz and sometimes pop.  With time, my sonic preferences have very much grown. I avidly admire transparency, accuracy along with neutrality, I mostly listen to full sized open back headphones and my favorite headphone is AKG K812, which I run from solid state amplifier. I prefer & admire transparent solid state headphone amplifiers simply because they provide best possible accuracy, transparency & reliability.
I am an average consumer & a humble enthusiast, I like to pen down my thoughts, & I love to express my feelings. I do not receive for any sort financial benefits through this review. My articles are a purely honest writeup aimed for fellow enthusiasts here at Head-Fi community. My profound thanks to Sennheiser for arranging a sample unit of  Momentum 2.0 for my evaluation.

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Intro:  The brand which needs no introduction. Sennheiser is a world leader when it comes to Audio, I am a proud owner of their HD600 headphone since many years. Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co. is a private German audio company specializing in the design and production of a wide range of both consumer and high fidelity products, including headphones & headphone amplifiers.
 

 
The company was founded in 1945, just a few weeks after the end of World War II, by Fritz Sennheiser and seven fellow engineers of the University of Hannover in a laboratory called Laboratorium Wennebostel . The laboratory was named after the village of Wennebostel in the municipality of Wedemark where it had been moved to due to the war. Its first product was a voltmeter. The company was renamed 'Sennheiser electronic' in 1958.
 
In 1968, Sennheiser released the world's first open headphones. The introduction of open headphones had an impact on the headphone market as they were able to produce a more natural sound that many users preferred. The original open Sennheiser headphones, the HD 414, propelled both the Sennheiser headphones brand, as well as growth of the company with over 10 million units sold, remaining even today the best selling headphones of all time. In 1980, the company entered the aviation market, supplying Lufthansa with headsets.
 
In 1987, Sennheiser was awarded at the 59th Academy Awards for its MKH 816 shotgun microphone.  In 1996, Sennheiser received an Emmy Award for its advancements in RF wireless technology. Also in 1996, Sennheiser became a private limited company (GmbH and Co. KG). Since then, Sennheiser has maintained its tradition of high quality audio technology, and still maintains those high standards today.
 
Professor Dr. Fritz Sennheiser passed away in 2010. In October 2013, Sennheiser received the prestigious Philo T. Farnsworth Award at the 65th Primetime Emmy Engineering Awards in Hollywood. 
 
Momentum headphone are closed back & primarily designed to be used for portable/mobile purposes. Momentums are easy to drive, are efficient. Momentum 2.0 are the improvised version of original momentums with optimized design.
 
Specifications of Momentum:
 
 

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Packaging and Accessories: The Momentum’s arrive packed inside a  premium black cardboard box. Once the box is opened, There is a portable case, inside with the momentum is resting.
 

 

 

 

 
List of accessories in the box, which include the following:
 
Headphone Cable: About  a metre and half long, terminating in 3.5mm, 4 pole. Contains volume controls and a mic.
 
User Manual: Contains instructions to operate the Momentum and other warranty information.
 
Carry Case:  This rubberized case can be used to store or carry the momentum’s  are when not in use.
 
Points awarded:  9/10 (Excellent packaging, great quality, ample accessories, but miss the 6.5mm converter)

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Design and Build:  Sennheiser Momentum has a top notch build quality. It employs metal constructions in important areas like frame.  For padding & cushioning, genuine leather is used. 
 

 

 
The headphone itself is not as big as it looks in pictures, it is very compact & nimble. Headphone length adjustment is fine and smooth, we can adjust the length freely without any notches. Finishing is excellent, no rough edges.  Cable has a mediocre build & design. Cable feels flimsy. Headphone connection is 2.5mm type and have twist it in the headphone, sometimes not very reliable. 3.5mm right angled jack can be connected to audio source. Sennheiser missed to provide a 6.5mm converter to connect momentum to headphone amp’s. The Momentum is foldable and hence perfect for travellers & music enthusiasts on the go.
 

 
 

 

 

 
Points: 8/10 (Excellent build on headphone, but cable connector is not reliable. Cable is flimsy)

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Comfort:  Though designed for portable & casual listening,  Momentum’s are decently comfortable to wear, but not suitable for longer sessions.  These ear pads are very soft & flexible in nature, which ensures in better comfort & adoption without compromising consistency, and also in durability of the pads themselves.  Momentum feels light in weight, which is a plus for comfort. 
 

 

 

 
7/10 (very good, but lacks room for ears being an over ear design)

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Sound:  Momentum tries to give maximum possible sound quality even when on move. It almost succeeds in its objective, Lows: are punchy; have a strong impact. , the lows go very deep with punchiness. They also have an appreciable amount of body & quantity. Mids are presented in slightly warmer tone. Highs are Clear & alive. It has  Fairly good amount of space to prevent fatigue while listening. I would say decent soundstage for a closed headphone. Not too airy, but not congested either.
 

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Comparison: Let us take a brief look at other popular top notch & excellent performing headphones available in similar price point. I consider MH40 headphones by master & Dynamic to be a worthy mention & a competitor to Sennheiser’s Momentum.  You may read  my review on MH40 here http://www.head-fi.org/products/master-dynamic-mh40/reviews/12581
 
Master & Dynamic MH40's: These are too priced similarly to that of Momentum, and these too are designed to be efficient, music on the go & over ear closed design. Build wise, MH40 wins hands down. Its build and design is far more superior than that of Momentum. In terms of comfort, Momentum wins with a good margin due to its light weight & foldability. With respect to sound, MH40 provides a more ‘audiophile’ grade smooth & refined signature with warm presentation. Momentum gives out a clearer presentation with better clarity. Overall, I would prefer MH40 over Momentum 2.0 as MH40 triumphs Momentum in terms of Build & sound quality. Momentum is  very efficient, reaches loud volumes from weak sources too. but slight compromise has to be made in terms of quality. Again this is intended for portable uses, so it is fine.
 

 

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Conclusion:  A good set of headphones for music enthusiasts on the move,  build quality is very good except the cable, which is flimsy. Sonic performance is satisfactory for a portable headphone. The momentum is definitely comfortable & light. Sennheiser has done a good job these. The momentum is primarly a headphone primarily intended for "On the Go" situations with smartphone or DAP as a source.
 
Overall I would rate Momentums  7 out of 10
 

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Me: I am an amateur musician & avid admirer of music. I would like to call myself a music enthusiast, rather than an audiophile. I was inspired by music since childhood, and as the time passed, the passion of music grew in me, and that subsequently led me to join Head-Fi. I usually like to listen to Indian Classical Music along with Bollywood songs. My main listening genres include classical, vocal, instrumental, jazz and sometimes pop.  With time, my sonic preferences have very much grown. I avidly admire transparency, accuracy along with neutrality, I mostly listen to full sized open back headphones and my all-time favorite headphones are Sennheiser HD800 & AKG K812, which I run from solid state amplifiers. I prefer & admire transparent solid state headphone amplifiers simply because they provide best possible accuracy, transparency & reliability.
 
I am an average consumer & a humble enthusiast, I like to pen down my thoughts, & I love to express my feelings. I do not receive for any sort financial benefits through this review. My articles are a purely honest writeup aimed for fellow enthusiasts here at Head-Fi community. My profound thanks to TCG Audio.for arranging a sample unit of ‘TE300‘ for my evaluation.
Now, Im not really an IEM loving person.  But sometimes I do listen to IEM’s via DAP’s. Fidue A83 & Dunu DN2000J are the most performing IEM’s in my inventory.

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Intro:  Founded in 2009, Listen To Science &Technology Co. Ltd, (known as TCG Audio outside China) is a company is located in Shenzhen economic corridor, China. TCG Specializes in designing and manufacturing budget audio devices ranging from DAP’s, desktop amp’s, portable amp’s, DAC’s and other products. TCG has a R&D team, which designs all of their products.
Even though a relatively newer establishment in the field, TCG Audio has a relative high following in China,  owing by their attractive local offerings. TCG Audio’s TE300 is their first low cost earphone priced at 35$ and it will compete with fellow IEM's under 50$.
 

 
 
Technical specifications of TE300:
 
Impedance: 32 ohm
 
Sensitivity:  108dB
 
Frequency response: 20 – 20000 Hertz
 
Drivers: 10mm neodymium
 
Cable: Oxygen Free Copper, braided type
 
Jack: Straight 3.5mm 3 pole

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Let’s proceed to the review,
 
Packaging and Accessories: TE300 package arrives in a meeky cardboard box, a box which is quite weak and unstable. Packaging is not rugged & sufficient enough, and breaks apart easily. I hope packaging would improvise in future. Three pairs of good quality eartips are included as accessories. A pouch would have been nice, but again price is a limiting factor.
 

 
 
Points awarded: 5/10 (packaging definitely needs to improve)

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Design and Build: The TE300 has a good overall build quality. housing shell is made up of high quality hard fibre material. These are very light in weight. Left and Right markings are hard to see, owing to their tiny marking. Surprisingly, Strain reliefs are completely absent, making cables prone to getting cut, but again manageable due to its well build cable.  Y splitter & jack have aluminium finishing. Cable has a very good build. Wires are braided, and a transparent coating is applied on outside edge. This gives cable a ‘high-end’ look.
 

 

 

 
Points awarded:  7/10 ( Very good, except strain relief is absent)

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Comfort:  The TE300 is comfortable enough to wear in general; it is very  light weighed & ergonomically designed. These IEM’s are shallow insertion type & does not irritate our ear canals, since the nozzle is quite short. TE300 fits snugly & gives a good comfort even for long time.
 
Points awarded: 8/10 (satisfactory & comfortable)

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Sound:  The TE300 has a warm tonality with ample soundstage. Musical in nature, not at all congested & relaxed presentation.
 
Burn in: These performed well right out of the box, and burn in provided little or no significant audible changes.  But on the safer side, Let’s say a playback of 20 hours provides very slight audible improvements.
 
Lows: are full bodied and refined; not very accurate.
 
Mids: warm, thick & musical. Vocals sound very pleasant & enjoyable.
 
Highs:  smoother treble, not very detailed or revealing.
 
Soundstage: Airy, relaxed and circular soundstage. Depth is excellent. Instrument separation is very good.
 

 
Compared to Brainwavz S0 & MEElectronics A151P which are a worthy mention  under 50$, TE300 has warmer tonality, fuller bass & a musical character. In terms of comfort, TE300 triumphs the former two with its light weight. TE300 is rated at 32 ohms, and designed to be power efficient, and hence is very easy to drive, and can be driven by almost any sources, smartphones and DAP’s.  But volume control requires a notch up, when compared to other IEM’s.
 
Very good sound quality, & efficient (8/10)

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Conclusion:   A very nice pair of earphones for causal music listening on the go.  Priced around 35$, this is one of the most performing IEM available under 50$. TE300 performs as good as my favourite Brainwavz S0. I love to listen to TE300 whenever Im in bus, train or on the move.
 

 
 
Overall, a very satisfactory entry level IEM, I can recommend this to any enthusiast who wants a musical & pleasant sound IEM in a budget.

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Me: I am an amateur musician & avid admirer of music from India. I would like to call myself a music enthusiast, rather than an audiophile. I was inspired by music since childhood, and as the time passed, the passion of music grew in me, and that subsequently led me to join Head-Fi. I usually like to listen to Indian Classical Music along with Bollywood songs. My main listening genres include classical, vocal, instrumental, jazz and sometimes pop.  With time, my sonic preferences have very much grown. I avidly admire transparency, accuracy along with neutrality, I mostly listen to full sized open back headphones and my all-time favorite headphones are Sennheiser HD800 & AKG K812, which I run from solid state amplifiers. I prefer & admire transparent solid state headphone amplifiers simply because they provide best possible accuracy, transparency & reliability.
 
I am an average consumer & a humble enthusiast, I like to pen down my thoughts, & I love to express my feelings. I do not receive for any sort financial benefits through this review. My articles are a purely honest writeup aimed for fellow enthusiasts here at Head-Fi community. My profound thanks to UMI Corp.for arranging a sample unit of ‘Blu‘for my evaluation. Now, I am not a huge fan of bluetooth headphones, but I understand the vital wireless and portable feature they offer, which are integral part in today's modern lifestyle.

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Intro:  UMI   is a Chinese brand mainly dealing with cellphones & smartphones. Recently they happened to introduce their first low-cost headphones & earphones. VOIX BLU is their first Bluetooth/wireless headphone offering priced economically around 50$. It is also rumoured that Blu is a rebranded LeTV LeME headphones.
 

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Let’s proceed to the review,
 
Packaging and Accessories: The BLU headphones arrived packed inside a thin plastic box & can be damaged easily, as there are no protective foams. Just a single thin plastic sheet protecting the headphones. Really mediocre packaging method, I did not quite like it. Packing part has to improve. It is the question of safety of headphones here.
 

 

 
List of accessories in the box, which include the following: 
 
USB Cable: A generic USB – micro USB type for charging purpose.
 
User Manual: Contains information about using these headphones.

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Design & Build:  The Blu has a sturdy overall build. Feels rubberized & looks very modern headphone. Build is steady everywhere except where the headband meets driver assembly, where driver swings around a little more than necessary. It has a grippy matt colour scheme, utilising fibre, steel & rubber as physical materials.
 
 

 

 

 
Blu is an on-ear type closed back headphone with passive noise cancellation. These are light in weight. Left and Right markings are a little hard to see, but are clearly indicated. Headband & earpads cushioning  have soft rubbery finish. The length slider is made up of polished steel, which ensures this area, which is under tension, does not break off. The Blu is already nimble, easy to handle, wear on and power requirement is very low. Along with all these are easy to carry around.  Since the Blu is a Bluetooth headphone it has internal rechargeable battery, and recharging point is a micro USB, & is expected to be charged from a 5V USB line. The Blu supports Bluetooth V4, NFC connection.  Battery life is expected at around 10 hours. The Blu headphone has controls on the right driver capsule. It has play/pause, forward, backward and volume keys on lower side of the headphones.
 
 
 
Points awarded 8/10

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Comfort:  Blu is very comfortable to wear, and is light in weight.  Its yoke is long enough and hence comfortable for almost any-sized heads. Matrix2 is ergonomically designed. But since the earpads are madeup of pleather, ventilation will be less, thereby causing sweating; especially in tropical climate. But it can be continuously worn over an hour without any discomfort issues. Since Blu is a closed back headphone, It will isolate the listener from outside noise. This level of isolation is good enough for a traveller. Going by weight factor, these feel light and go easy on head. Clamping force is relaxed and not at all imposing and pressing against ears.
 

 

 
Points awarded  7/10

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Sound:  The Blu sounds good for casual listener, but does not have an audiophile grade accuracy. Though on casual listen on the move, it is very enjoyable. I guess we always use wireless headphones when on move or when working etc: which means we will not have fully quiet environment or full attention towards sound quality & utmost precision of headphones. So Compromise here is accepted here in this regard.
 

 
It connected well with my old and outdated Nokia 5230 having Bluetooth 2.0 support. So I suppose the Blu will hook up with almost all of the bluetooth supporting smartphones as well. The primary use of wireless cans is to pair them with our smartphones. The Blu hasa clean transmission, no audible noise or signals. Signal range is pretty good, I moved around the home away from my phone about 5 meters away. 
 
Lows are slightly loose, are elevated and Bass boosted. Mids are clean, but recessed, not revealing Highs have slightly smooth treble, but not detailed. Blu’s soundstage is good  (for a wireless can) with nearly circular soundstage. Width & Depth are balanced, decent. Instrument separation is good for a BT headphone at this price. Detail retrieval & accuracy is not upto mark, but this factor is again ignorable as Blu is a wireless headphone under a budget price point.
 
Overall there is nothing special or appreciable in sound quality, and we all know that wireless headphones do sacrifice or trade in sound quality in return for portability and wireless option.
 
Points awarded  6/10

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Comparision: I would like to compare the Blu to MeElectronic s Matrix2 wireless headphone which is priced at 90$.
 

 
Compared to the Matrix2, Blu has no chance, in any field let it be sound quality, design, function. The Matrix2 simply has mind blowing features, quality, functions: you name it, you have it. Such amazingly performing kind of wireless headphone & outruns any wireless headphone under 100$. Sound quality is clearly preferable in Matrix2, along with superior build quality and better features. Also a good quality portable headphone case is included. Blu headphone is available around 50-60$, but the Matrix2 headphone is a simply amazing wireless headphone. If one can afford to put additional 30$ over, then It is definitely better to buy the Matrix2. It is well worth the additional 30$. But again Blu too has a very good value aspect, and punches features for 50$ price tag.
 

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Conclusion:  The UMI Voix Blu is a good wireless headphone under a budget of 50$, It offers a decently performance & affordable price regarding wireless cans. Feasible option for music enthusiasts who wish to listen to music on move & don’t want to invest more than 50$ on a wireless headphone.
 
 Overall conclusive Points awarded:  7/10 : Good to go for!

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Me: am an amateur musician & avid admirer of music from India. I would like to call myself a music enthusiast, rather than an audiophile. I was inspired by music since childhood, and as the time passed, the passion of music grew in me, and that subsequently led me to join Head-Fi. I usually like to listen to Indian Classical Music along with Bollywood songs. My main listening genres include classical, vocal, instrumental, jazz and sometimes pop.  With time, my sonic preferences have very much grown. I avidly admire transparency, accuracy along with neutrality, I mostly listen to full sized open back headphones and my all-time favorite headphones are Sennheiser HD800 & AKG K812, which I run from solid state amplifiers. I prefer & admire transparent solid state headphone amplifiers simply because they provide best possible accuracy, transparency & reliability.
 
I am an average consumer & a humble enthusiast, I like to pen down my thoughts, & I love to express my feelings. I do not receive for any sort financial benefits through this review. My articles are a purely honest writeup aimed for fellow enthusiasts here at Head-Fi community. My profound thanks to TCG Audio for arranging a sample unit of TRD3+ for my evaluation.

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Intro:  Founded in 2009, Listen To Science &Technology Co. Ltd, (known as TCG Audio outside China) is a company is located in Shenzhen economic corridor, China. TCG Specializes in designing and manufacturing moderate budget audio devices ranging from DAP’s, desktop amp’s, portable amp’s, DAC’s and other products. TCG has a R&D team, which designs all of their products.
 

 
TCG is devoted to produce components that are not only sonically superior to the ear, but also economically affordable on the wallet. Even though a relatively newer establishment in the field, TCG Audio has a relative high following in China, owing by their attractive local offerings. TCG Audio’s TRD3+ is a audiophile grade desktop Amp/DAC. It supports PCM formats up to 32Bit/384KHz including DSD format. It is powered by a 9V brick. The TRD3+ is the upgrade version of TRD3. TRD3+ is flagship product from TCG Audio.
 
Technical specifications of TRD3+:
 
USB Input support: 16bit-32bit   32kHz-384kHz
 
Optical, coaxial input support: 16bit-24bit 32kHz-192kHz
 
Output level: 2 Vrms
 
THD + N: <0.0018%
 
Dynamic Range:> 116dB
 
SNR:> 117dB
 
Channel separation: > 110dB
 
Headphone output power: 32 Ω @ 210mW, 64 Ω @ 270mW, 150 Ω @ 220mW, 300 Ω @ 120mW
 
Adaptation Impedance: 32 Ω -300 Ω
 
THD + N: 0.001% @ 10mW

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Packaging & Accessories: The TRD3+ comes packed in TCG Audio’s standard coloured cardboard box with foam protection & , there are ample amount of accessories included in the package.
 

 

 
Included Accessories
 
User manual: Contains instruction about operating TRD3+ & some warranty information.
 
USB Cable: Good quality USB A-B cable. About a metre and half long.
 
Power Adapter:  9V 1.3A DC type brick with detachable AC cable.
 
6.5mm to 3.5mm plug: To attach 3.5mm jacks to the ¼” headphone socket.
 

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Design and Build: The TRD3+ has good overall build quality, nothing to complain about.
 

 
The outer case is made up of aluminium, and is painted in matt black.  The light in weight and is compact in size.  On the front side, we have Volume control knob, headphone jack is present in 6.5mm format along with a power/elect switch. On the rear side, we have USB, Coax & Optical input ports, along with a 2.1mm DC power port .
 

 
The power/select button alone controls all operations of TRD3+. This device seems to be fully automated/computerized, and it  has memory function aswell Itelligent input switching, mute relays are also present in the TRD3+. For USB receiving the TRD3+ employs CM6631A for D/A conversion, 32 Bits/384 KHZ capable AKM 4390 Chip. There are no user replaceable/serviceable parts inside theTRD3+. Board is well soldered and has a reliable workmanship.  It uses a fixed op-amp for amping which is an Analog Devices AD826. It supports 32 bits 384 KHZ & DSD format. Driver installation is a must, & drivers can be downloaded  from TCG Audio’s website. It can also act as standalone headphone amplifier when fed with RCA inputs & standalone DAC when output utilized via RCA outputs sockets. But the power supply is not earthed or grounded & leaks mild shocks when touched.
 
I award: 7.5/10 points for build quality & design 

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Sound:  The TRD3+ gives out a clinical, detailed  & vast space of sensation.  Lows are tight, but slightly lack body. Mids sound clear, slightly recessed. Highs are comparatively elevated than rest of the frequencies. Overall, I can call it a very cold & clinical sounding device.
 

 
Soundstage inTRD3+ is pretty good  &  has a fully circular 3D imaging. Detail retrieval, and dynamics are excellent are very good for its price tag. Overall the sonic presentation maintains high level of transparency and accuracy.  Absolutely zero audible hiss/noise, and zero EMI pickup.  But slight ‘pop’ is heard on headphones, when the device is switched on/off. The performance put up by  DAC in TRD3+ is worth mentioning, and is just excellent with 32 bits & 384 KHZ  & was very resolving & detailed.
Driving Power:  The amping & driving power in TRD3+ is on weaker side, but gives out a loud listening volume. Also, unfortunately I noticed channel imbalance (right one louder than left) throughout the volume range.
 
Points awarded: 7/10 for sound quality

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Conclusion:  The TRD3+ is a very well performing USB DAC/Amp combo unit.  Overall It performed well . But it has a very clinical & cold presentation, which many audiophiles may not prefer. Still, one of the promising amp/dac's under its price range. DAC performance is amazingly good, and has 32 bit and 384 KHZ support, which very few of the DAC's in this price range have.
 

 
Pros:  The sonic presentation on this little unit is very detailed, transparent & expansive . Sonically, performs well.  But has slightly recessed mids & emphasised upper highs.
 
Cons:  Channel Imbalance, power supply is not earthed, & sound presentation is not likable by all.

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Me: I am an amateur musician & avid admirer of music from India. I would like to call myself a music enthusiast, rather than an audiophile. I was inspired by music since childhood, and as the time passed, the passion of music grew in me, and that subsequently led me to join Head-Fi. Eventually, I found the pleasure of listening to music mainly by the HD600 and recently, by the seductive LCD2 headphones, and realized the true components of recorded music. I usually like to listen to Indian Classical Music along with Bollywood songs. My main listening genres include classical, vocal, instrumental, jazz and sometimes pop.  With time, my sonic preferences have very much grown. I avidly admire transparency, accuracy along with neutrality, I mostly listen to full sized open back headphones and my all-time favorite headphones are Sennheiser HD800 & AKG K812, which I run from solid state amplifiers. I prefer & admire transparent solid state headphone amplifiers simply because they provide best possible accuracy, transparency & reliability.
 
I am an average consumer & a humble enthusiast, I like to pen down my thoughts, & I love to express my feelings. I do not receive for any sort financial benefits through this review. My articles are a purely honest writeup aimed for fellow enthusiasts here at Head-Fi community. My profound thanks to Matrix Audio for arranging a sample unit of HPA-3 for my evaluation.

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Intro:  Matrix Electronic Technology Co. Ltd., located in Xi'an Economic and Technological Development Zone, in the ancient  city of Xian. Matrix is an enterprise that dedicates to development & manufacturing of high-fidelity audio products. It also collaborates with a number of domestic and foreign companies on OEM and ODM business. Matrix has its own highly qualified R&D team, which designs all of their products.
 

 
 
I assume we all heard of matrix only since its release of M-Stage headphone amplifer around 2010 which stirred the headphone amp market & was extremely well received across the world; hence It became a benchmark device. Im a proud owner of Matrix’s HPA-1 & HPA-2,  over more than two years. I loved them a lot, had a wonderful time with both of them. The M-Stage is getting updates in circuit board every two years. The latest model is HPA-3, improvised on previous designs.
HPA-1 was warmest & ‘richest’ sounding of all three, but had mediocre inbuilt DAC, plus slightly audible noise floor. It had the original BCL style gain switches. HPA-2 largely improvised from HPA-1, applied better performing 24/192 DAC with fixed +15dB gain. Also, the benchmark bass ‘bump’ has vastly reduced, with much better cleaner & flatter output.

Their latest release is HPA-3, successor to HPA-2. The HPA-3 has two variants, HPA-3U a Single end headphone amplifier with inbuilt DAC, whereas the  HPA-3B, truly balanced headphone amplifier without inbuilt DAC.
 
Technical specifications of HPA-3U:
 
Line Output
 
SNR: ＞-112dB at 20Hz-22kHz A-Weighting
THD+N: ＜0.0003% at 1kHz 1VRMS A-Weighting
Frequency Response: 20Hz-20kHz(+0.01dB/-0.04dB)
Output Impedance: 51ohms
 
Headphone Output
 
SNR: ＞-112dB A-Weighting
THD+N: ＜0.0003% at 33ohms 90mW 1kHz A-Weighting
Frequency Response: 20Hz-20kHz(+0.01dB/-0.04dB)
Output Impedance: 0.2ohms
Output Power: 2800mW at 33ohms / 420mW at 300ohms / 210mW at 600ohms at THD+N=0.01%
Gain:  5dB 10dB 20dB
 
DAC
 
USB Chip: XMOS U-Series Asynchronous USB Chip
D/A Chip: Texas Instruments DSD1793
SNR: ＞-110dB A-Weighting
THD+N: ＜0.002% at 1kHz A-Weighting
PCM Sample Rate: 16-24Bit /44.1kHz 48kHz 88.2kHz 96kHz 176.4kHz 192kHz
DSD Sample Rate: DSD64（DoP）
 
System Support
 
Windows XP/Vista/7/8/8.1 systems need to install the driver supplied
Mac OS X 10.6.4 and above version have native support and do not require a driver
Can be used with the most of Android devices via the OTG cable
Can be used with iOS devices via the Lightning to USB Camera Adapter
 
Power
 
Supports both 110V & 230V (switchable)
Power Consumption: ＜25W
Fuse: AC250V/500mA 5×20mm
Weight: 1.7 KG
 

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Packaging & Accessories: The HPA-3U comes packed in Matrix Audio’s strong cardboard box with foam protection inside & necessary accessories included in the package.
 

 

 
Included Accessories
 
User manual & Driver CD: Contains instruction about operating it & some warranty information. A compact disk containing HPA-3’s USB driver is included.
 
USB Cable: Good quality USB A-B cable. About a metre and half long.
 
Power Cable:  AC power cord to attach to mains supply.

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Design and Build: The HPA-3U a marvelous & Robust build quality with perfect finishing. The case is redesigned from past to be more efficient.  More vents, thicker case, excellent finished edges & a modern look. It is made up of aluminium, and is painted in matt black & brush finished.  Overall the amp feels heavy in hand and comparatively longer is dimensions than other amps in size.  On the front side, we have Volume control knob, headphone jack is present in 6.5mm format along with a gain & input switch. On the rear side, we have Power socket cum switch, USB input port, along with a RCA input/output jack. Power button is very rugged & tough; Volume knob operates in a very smooth fashion & is very steady. Headphone socket is ball bearing type & goes easy on the headphone jack, does not cause scratches on the surface.
 

 
 

 
Special mention here is: HPA-3 is capable of handling both 110/220V, whose selection switch is on side of the amp. Plus the AC fuse is accessible right besides it. To remove the case & access the circuitry, one has to remove top four screws using allen keys Size (2 & 2.5) plus additional two side screws on each side, to remove the top cover. One small issue user might face here is: Vents on top cover can attract dust or incase a few water droplets fall down, it will straight on the circuit board & damage the board.
 

 

 
Considering the Internal components, HPA-3U has an entirely redesigned circuit board with has double sided PCB with no manual wirings except the toroidal transformer joints. Components are placed in a symmetrical & neat fashion.  All components used are carefully selected; including all dale resistors, Alps-27 blue velvet pot, premium caps. For D/A conversion, the HPA-3 employs DSD1793 (which is DSD capable version of PCM1793) for USB transfer, asynchronous 24 Bits/192 KHZ capable Xmos Chip. There are no user replaceable/serviceable parts inside theHPA-3U, except the op-amp scoket. Board is excellently soldered and has a reliable workmanship. TheHPA-3U generally runs warm by temperature due to being Class-A. It can also act as standalone headphone amplifier when fed with RCA inputs.
 

 

 

 

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Sound:  The HPA-3U offers a very flat, detailed & accurate, sound  sonic presentation. Sound-stage width is superb & expansive. Overall puts up an amazing performance. Lows are tight, accurate & go deep with good impact, The ‘bump’ associated with older HPA’s is mostly gone. Mids sound very clear & open. Highs are very clean, airy, very detailed & extended. Overall no presence of any significant colouration.
 

 
I expected that matrix would develop and include a 32 bit DAC in their HPA-3U. The M-Stage have always been a strong & reliable amp, but contained a mediocre DAC. Though DAC in HPA-3U is good, but is not performing upto the standards of the amazing amp circuit. Soundstage in HPA-3U is just great . It has a fully circular 3D imaging. Detail retrieval, and dynamics are excellent, perhaps one of the best for an Amp/Dac under the price tag. Overall the sonic presentation is high level of transparency and accuracy.  Absolutely zero audible hiss/noise, and zero EMI pickup. Alps RK-27 pot does an amazing job of controlling volume very precisely without any channel imbalance & noise with retaining maximum sound quality. Another plus point here is, the HPA-3 has relay mechanism which prevent any noise pop’s when headphones are plugged in. This way, a better safety is guaranteed for the precious headphones.
 

 
Op-Amp: Stock op-amp is LME49860 from Texas Instruments, which does its job. To test if the HPA-3 scales with better op-amps, I tested it with many op-amps, and settled on LME49710HA X2 with browndog adapter. The HPA-3U indeed does scales well and supports the replacement op-amp. 
With LME49710HA, I have about 10% improvement from stock ones, with increased soundstage depth, excellent detailing & instrument separation & even more extension in treble. Overall increase in clarity & transparency.  For HPA-3U, ASIO suits better than other pluggins. Ofcourse it is audibly better than the default DS. In Matrix control panel, Set Transfer as “Most Safest” This again ensures maximum possible performance.
 

 
 

 

 
Driving Power: The HPA-3U is very powerful when it comes to driving headphones @2.8W power in tap. Drove my AKG K702 (which is a demanding headphone when it comes to ampling) well with 25% volume pot utilized in least gain of 5dB.  Infact, I couldn’t even switch over to 10dB gain switch, because the HPA-3U is so powerful, 5dB gain is more than enough to drive any headphones. I also tried my trusty LCD-2’s, U200 drove them very well, with good synergy. Both AKG K812 & HD800 sound fantastic HPA-3U.   It anything drives from IEM’s to planar magnetic with ease. Volume pot does a very good job here, volume increase very steady and in a highly accurate fashion. No channel imbalance. Overall, the HPA-3U impressed me a lot in the sound regard.
 

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Comparison:  A very good competitor for HPA-3U we have here is Yulong Audio’s U200 whose review I wrote a while ago http://www.head-fi.org/products/yulong-audio-u200-dsd-32bit-384khz-dac-headphone-amplifier/reviews/13333  which is also similarly priced & has similar functions. Now we have a tough competition, both newly released amp/dac’s, are priced around very well & both perform really well.
 
The HPA-3U has user-changeable gain 5/10/20X settings, & 230V/110V AC voltage switch to use in various parts of world without any hassle. It also has an internally swappable op-amp for any such rolling. Another advantage the HPA posses over U200 is that the HPA-3U has Alps blue velvet pot, which is simply well ahead of  Alps-16 used in the U200. The U200 offers WiFi module for an additional 100$, which I sometimes feel not very necessary. The Yulong U200’s gain is fixed, but it drives all earphones & headphones well.  AC voltage switch is not present, and can be a drawback for frequent international travellers. The HPA-3U also has mute relay mechanism, which is a plus for headphones safety.
 
In terms of build quality & workmanship, the U200 clearly has an upper hand with superior build inside & out, HPA-3U follows very closely, with slightly inferior part quality & design in few areas. The U200 has a very neutral & expansive sound quality with a touch of naturalness: sweet mids, slightly smooth highs & full bodied bass. Soundstage is deeper & more expansive in U200. HPA-3U has stronger bass  clear & open mids along with extended, & revealing highs, and not exactly ‘natural’ if I must say. I would rather call HPA-3U more analytic & clinical that the U200, but only with a slight margin. HPA-3 has about 15% lesser soundstage than U200, but has extended & more detailed top end. Mids are neutral compared to addictive smooth mids of U200. HPA-3U lacks soundstage perhaps due to lower 24/192 DAC capability. Audibly, The HPA-3 lacks the vast, airy & relaxed soundstage of U200, along with silky smooth mids. Top end is relaxed & airy in U200. The U200’s DAC is very superior & well performing, & has a fairly good amp section. The HPA-3U is just the opposite: superior amp section & fairly performing DAC unit.
 
In end of the day, both HPA-3U and U200 have an excellent performance & high value aspect associated with the price paid. Here the decision makes up of preferences only & sound quality almost same on both the devices. But HPA-3U has upper hand when it comes to flexibility & features.

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Conclusion:  The HPA-3U continues the legacy & Reputation of M-Stage series forward.
 
The Matrix M-Stage HPA-3 is a benchmark & legendary headphone amplifier.  It is not just another amp, it has legacy behind it.  It impressed me not just in sound presentation, but I literally loved every inch of it. The HPA-3U excels in each and every criterion you put through it. Its workmanship is of high standards, and thus very reliable & robust in operation. The HPA-3U is reputed to have very good synergy & pairing with world famous high end headphones like HD800 & K812. I highly speak & recommend of the HPA-3U. It is a MUST HAVE device for HD800 & K812 headphones, & the pair  performs amazingly good with perfect synergy. Perhaps HPA-3U is the best solution for these headphones even at double the price.
 
 

 
 
Pros:
 
1) Design and Build: The HPA-3U  has a very well designed and implemented build.  Both internal & external build quality is supreme excellent workmanship.
 
2) Sound quality: The sonic presentation here is very neutral & accurate & transparent, with minimum or none colouration. Sonically, performs extremely well.  Powerful enough to drive any dynamic  or even planar magnetic headphones.
 
3) Features: The HPA-3 has perfect set of features which are needed in a headphone amplifier device. Voltage switch, Alps Blue velvet, mute relays, op-amp rolling together makes it a perfect device.
 
Cons:  Inbuilt DAC: This has got be the only drawback for the HPA-3U. The inbuilt DAC is very good, but not in the long run. Audibly, I observed the inbuilt DAC is limiting the performance (particularly soundstage) of amp section.  I sincerely hoped, with HPA-3U, Matrix would bring a better performing 32 Bit capable DAC. This is the only area where I am disappointed with the HPA-3U.
 

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Me: I am a 21 year old student living in a small town in India. I would like to call myself a music enthusiast, rather than an audiophile. I was inspired by music since childhood, and as the time passed, the passion of music grew in me, and that subsequently led me to join Head-Fi. Eventually, I found the pleasure of listening to music mainly by the HD600 and recently, by the seductive LCD2 headphones, and realized the true components of recorded music. I usually like to listen to Indian Classical Music along with Bollywood songs. My main listening genres include classical, vocal, instrumental, jazz and sometimes pop.  With time, my sonic preferences have very much grown. I avidly admire transparency, accuracy along with neutrality, I mostly listen to full sized open back headphones and my all-time favorite headphones are Sennheiser HD800 & AKG K812, which I run from solid state amplifiers. I prefer & admire transparent solid state headphone amplifiers simply because they provide best possible accuracy, transparency & reliability.
 
I am an average consumer & a humble enthusiast, I pen down my thoughts, & I love to express my feelings. I do not receive for any sort financial benefits through this review. My articles are a purely honest writeup aimed for fellow enthusiasts here at Head-Fi community. My profound thanks to Yulong Audio for arranging a sample unit of U200 for my evaluation.

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Intro:  Founded in 2009, ShenZhen YuLong Electronics Co., Ltd, (better known as Yulong Audio) is a company specializes in designing and manufacturing High-end headphone amplifiers & DAC’s. 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. YuLong is devoted to produce components that are not only sonically superior to the ear, but also economically affordable on the wallet.
Yulong Audio is a well respected brand specializing in the area of high end solid stage Amplifiers & DAC’s. Even though a relatively newer establishment in the field,  Yulong Audio managed to capture attention of the world by their attractive offerings. Yulong Audio made well performing devices to be available in a very competitive price, and by retaining a world class technology & superior quality.   This made them a well known name across the Audiophile World.  
 

 
Yulong Audio’s U200 is a high performance USB DAC and headphone amplifier which is designed for dedicated high end audio. It supports PCM formats up to 32Bit/384KHz and DSD.
The U200 utilizes SaviAudio SA9227 for its USB audio interface solution. AKM 4495, the flagship DAC chip of the Premium Audio series from AKM internal hook ups and filters optimized for actual listening experience rather than measurement. Such details distinguish this chip from other solutions, which are mostly optimized for measurement performance, and make it a DAC chip with music sense in its nature. The power supply in U200 is AC internal regulation which is a step up from the external DC supply on its predecessor U100. The headphone amplifier is fully discrete, class-A construction and paired with a dedicated analogue input, so the U200 can be used as a pure headphone amplifier if desired.
 

 
Technical specifications of U200:
 
USB input supports PCM 16-32 Bit: 44.1KHz, 48KHz, 88.2KHz, 96KHz, 176.4KHz, 192KHz, 352.8KHz, 384KHz, and DSD64 and DSD128
 
USB supports Mac OSX, Linux, and Windows XP to Windows 8, 32 bit or 64 bit system (driver required).
 
Signal to Noise Ratio: 120dB

Dynamic range: >115dB

Distortion: 0.0016%

Frequency response: -0.2dB @ 20Hz and 20KHz

Crosstalk: -110dB

Maximum line output: 2V RMS
 
Power consumption: <15W

Headphone output power:  500mW @ 32Ω, 280mW @ 250Ω, 150mW @ 300Ω，60mW @ 600Ω,
 

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Packaging & Accessories: The U200 comes packed in Yulong Audio’s standard white coloured cardboard box having a graphical illustration, there are ample amount of accessories included in the package
 

 
Included Accessories:
 
User manual: Contains instruction about operating U200, aswell as warranty information.
 
USB Cable: Good quality USB A-B cable to connect U200 to computer.
 
Power Cable: Plug as specified US/UK/AU/EU
 
WiFi Module: Which includes a separate DC power cable& an antenna
 
Rubber feets: 3M branded rubber feets to attach the WiFi module to main body.

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Design and Build: The U200 excellent  top-notch overall build quality with perfect finishing. 
 

 
 

 
The outer case is made up of aluminium, and is polished & brush finished. Excellently finished surfaces with utmost precision. The U200 is fairly compact in size. Weighs about two kilograms. On the front side, we have Volume control knob, headphone jack is present in 6.5mm format along with a power switch. On the rear side, we have USB input port, power ports a switch for input swapping along with analogue Input & output ports. Power button is very rugged & tough, Volume knob operates in a very smooth  & steady fashion. RCA jacks are gold plated, feels good quality platings. Headphone socket is ball bearing type & goes easy on the headphone jack, does not cause scratches on the surface.
 

 
Considering the Internal components, U200 has a double sided PCB with no manual wirings. All components used are carefully selected; including all dale resistors, Alps-16 series pot, premium caps. For D/A conversion, the U200 employs SaviAudio SA9227 for USB & 32 Bits/384 KHZ capable AKM Chip. There are no user replaceable/serviceable parts inside the U200. Board is well soldered and has a reliable workmanship. The U200 runs very cool, sometimes gets slightly warm due to being Class-A. It supports 32 bits 384 KHZ & DSD format. Driver installation is a must, & drivers can be downloaded easily on Yulong Audio’s website. It can also act as standalone headphone amplifier when fed with RCA inputs & standalone DAC when output utilized via RCA outputs sockets. DAC output is very powerful & sonically very well performing. When used in standalone amplifier mode fed with external DAC’s, the output power is still ample & plenty, and retains its transparency, with sound signature of the feeding source.
 

 
The U200 also contains optional WiFi module which can be connected to U200 main body & have wireless flow of input signals to U200. Smartphone users have to download an Yulong Audio app over Google Play, then can activate WiFi operation, hence avoid hassle of input USB cable. But this is not always useful since U200 is a desktop device & generally we all have PC right beside our amp/dac's.

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Sound:  The U200 provides a very neutral, detailed  & vast, sound character with a touch of ‘naturalness’ in sonic presentation. Sound-stage width is superb & expansive. Overall an amazing performance. Lows are full bodied , very accurate and go very deep. Mids sound clear, slightly sound ‘sweet’ if I must say; U200 has a very slight ‘mellow & sweet’  flavour here in mids. Highs are very clean, airy, very detailed, but slightly smoother in presentation.
 

 
Soundstage in U200 is spatial & expansive. It has a fully circular 3D imaging. Detail retrieval, and dynamics are excellent, perhaps one of the best for an Amp/Dac under 500$ (along with HPA-3U). Overall the sonic presentation is very pleasing yet maintains high level of transparency and accuracy.  Absolutely zero audible hiss/noise, and zero EMI pickup.  But slight ‘pop’ is heard on headphones, when U200 is switched on/off.
 
Driving Power: The U200 is very powerful when it comes to driving headphones. Drove my AKG K702 (which is a demanding headphone when it comes to amplifiers) well with 25% volume pot utilized. Both AKG K812 & HD800 shined with U200.  Also tried my trusty LCD-2’s, U200 drove them very well, but lacked synergy. It anything drives from IEM’s to planar magnetic with ease. Volume pot does a very good job here, volume increase very steady and in a smooth fashion. No channel imbalance, starts right away with both R & L equally.
 
Overall, the U200 impressed me in sound department, It provided a vast & relaxed listening experience to me for hours together.
 

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Comparison:  A very good competitor for U200 we have here is none other than the Matrix-M Stage HPA-3U, which is also similarly priced & has similar functions. Now we have a tough competition, both newly released amp/dac’s, are priced around very well @ 400$ & both perform really well.
 
The HPA-3U has user-changeable gain 5/10/20X settings, & 230V/110V AC voltage switch to use in various parts of world without any hassle. It also has an internally swappable op-amp for any such rolling. Another advantage the HPA posses over U200 is that the HPA-3U has Alps blue velvet pot, which is simply well ahead of  Alps-16 used in the U200. The U200 offers WiFi module for an additional 100$, which I sometimes feel not very necessary.
 
Whereas the Yulong U200’s gain is fixed, but it drives all earphones & headphones well. AC voltage switch is not present, and can be a drawback for frequent international travellers. In terms of build quality & workmanship, the U200 clearly has an upper hand with superior build inside& out, HPA-3U follows very closely, with slightly inferior part quality & design in few areas. The U200 has a very neutral & expansive sound quality with a touch of naturalness: sweet mids, slightly smooth highs & full bodied bass. Soundstage is  deeper & more expansive in U200. HPA-3U has stronger bass with a slight bump, clear & open mids along with clear, & revealing highs, and not exactly ‘natural’ if I must say. I would rather call HPA-3U more analytic & clinical that the U200, but only with a slight margin.
 
 
In end of the day, both HPA-3U and U200 have an excellent performance & high value aspect associated with the price paid. Here the decision makes up of preferences only & sound quality almost same on both the devices.

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Conclusion:  The Yulong Audio U200 is a very well performing USB DAC/Amp combo unit.  It impressed me in sound presentation. I can recommend the U200 for any music enthusiast who would like a full size headphone amp/dac with excellent sonic qualities & performance aspect under a decent price tag. I feel the U200, is more suitable for musical pleasure, rather than critical listening. Its workmanship is of high standards, and thus very reliable & robust in operation. U200 also has very good synergy & pairing with world famous high end headphones like HD800 & K812. Sonic presentation was in a very relaxed, expansive and in a natural manner, but without losing out on transparency & details.
 

 
Though excellent performing , I will reduce half a star from five star rating, for excluding Alps blue velvet pot & 230/110 Voltage input switch.
 
 
Pros:
 
1) Design and Build: U200 has very well designed and implemented build.  Both internal & external build quality is supreme with very good workmanship.
 
2) Sound quality: The sonic presentation on this little unit is very neutral & expansive but with a touch of”sweetness & naturalness” in presentation. Sonically, performs very well.  Powerful enough to drive any dynamic headphones.
 
Cons:  The U200 did not have employ blue velvet pot, which disappointed me slightly. It is well known fact that Blue velvet does indeed provide few considerable sonic improvement than rest of the volume pot’s.

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Me: I am a 21 year old student living in a small town in India. I would like to call myself a music enthusiast, rather than an audiophile. I was inspired by music since childhood, and as the time passed, the passion of music grew in me, and that subsequently led me to join Head-Fi. Eventually, I found the pleasure of listening to music mainly by the HD600 and recently, by the seductive LCD2 headphones, and realized the true components of recorded music. I usually like to listen to Indian Classical Music along with Bollywood songs. My main listening genres include classical, vocal, instrumental, jazz and sometimes pop.  With time, my sonic preferences have very much grown. I avidly admire transparency, accuracy along with neutrality, and currently my favorite headphones are Sennheiser HD800 & AKG K812, which I run from solid state amplifiers. I prefer & admire transparent solid state headphone amplifiers simply because they provide best possible accuracy, transparency & reliability.
 
I am an average consumer & a humble enthusiast, I pen down my thoughts, & I love to express my feelings. I do not receive for any sort financial benefits through this review. My articles are a purely honest writeup aimed for fellow enthusiasts here at Head-Fi community. My profound thanks to GSP Audio, UK for arranging a sample unit of Bitzie for my evaluation.

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Intro:  GSP Audio, a brand of Graham Slee Projects, is a company which manufactures high fidelity headphone & phono amplifiers purely by hand, & is based in Britain. They also make custom audio cables. Established in 1998, GSP Audio is one of oldest audio brand existing in Europe. They are very well known worldwide for their well made phono's & amplifiers, owing to their offerings which have great attention, workmanship & high performance. All their products are handmade in the Great Britain.
 

 
 
Brief History On GSP Audio:
 
Mr.Graham is founder of Graham Slee Projects Audio UK, with an aim to make high end audio products including phono’s, headphone amplifiers, power amplifiers, DAC’s & various performance cables. Mr. Graham Slee, born at Mexborough, England in 1955, apprentice trained engineering craftsman in the 1970s, worked in AV until 1984 when he set up his own electronics and printed circuit design business, working with a number of "blue-chip" technology companies. In 1989 he became senior engineer at Audionics (Sheffield) Ltd, part of the Yorkshire Radio Network (YRN) group, where he designed electronics for broadcast studios - clients included the BBC, and numerous UK commercial broadcasters. 1993 he left YRN to freelance in electronics design with various companies.
 
In 1998 he established Graham Slee Projects also known as GSP-Audio. In 2004, John Cadman - former YRN installation engineer and wireman - joined as production director and in 2008 Leon Kirkbride who had worked for Carlsbro Sound, joined the team as freelance production engineer. Freelance broadcast engineer and Minster FM DJ Paul Godley often joins in with manufacturing too.
 
Year 2013 saw the introduction of the Bitzie USB DAC, a palm sized USB audio device having headphone/line outputs and S/PDIF coax and optical outputs - giving higher spec devices the run around for its incredible musical performance. Graham Slee Projects audio products are designed, built and tested in the English North-Midlands and South Yorkshire by engineers - they are truly British made.
 
Specifications of the Bitzie as Per GSP Audio:
 
Input: USB, up to 24 bits and 48kHz sampling frequency
 
Digital Outputs: Coax transformer isolated & Optical 16 bits 48kHz sampling frequency
 
Analogue outputs: 3.5mm jack & 1/4" jack
 
Coax
 
Distortion, THD+N: 0.001%
Inter-modulation, SMPTE: 0.015%
Frequency response: 20Hz - 20kHz +/-0.02dB
S-N ratio: 96dB
 
Optical
 
Distortion, THD+N: 0.001%
Inter-modulation, SMPTE: 0.013%
Frequency response: 20Hz - 20kHz +/-0.02dB
S-N ratio: 96dB
 
Line-out:  Use supplied adapter for line-out.
 
Maximum output: 1.55V rms
Distortion, THD+N: 0.01%
Inter-modulation, SMPTE: 0.15%
Frequency response: 20Hz - 20kHz +/-1dB
S-N ratio: 76dB
Output noise (shorted input): -96dB
 
Headphone out into 32 Ohm
 
Maximum output: 750mV rms
Distortion, THD+N: 0.08%
Inter-modulation, SMPTE: 0.25%
Frequency response: 20Hz - 20kHz +/-1dB
S-N ratio: 72dB

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Packaging & Accessories: Bitzie comes packed in a simple plastic sheet box, with an user manual & a Line out splitter adapter as accessories. Simple & does its job, but could have been a little more attractive.
 

 

 

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Design and Build: The Bitzie has an appreciable & supreme overall build quality with perfect workmanship. The outer case is made up of aluminium, and is polished & brush finished; volume knob is rubberized, and has a grippy feel to it.  The Bitzie is very small & compact in size. On the front side, we have Volume control knob, headphone jack is present in both 6.5mm & 3.5mm format. On the rear side, we have USB input port, along with Coaxial  & Optical output ports are present.
 

 

 

 

 
Speaking of Internals, Bitzie has a double sided PCB with no manual wirings. All components used are carefully selected; including all dale resistors, Alps pot, premium caps. For D/A conversion, the Bitzie employs a 24 Bits/48 KHZ capable Burr Brown PCM2902 Chip. There are no user replaceable/serviceable parts inside the Bitzie: The DAC output op-amp is AD823A but it is permanently mounted on PCB. Board is well soldered and has a reliable workmanship. As a budding technocrat, I can say the design & engineering in Bitzie is very good & creative compared most of other amp/dac's.
 

 

 

 

 
All amplifiers by GSP Audio carry a principle on more efficient volume controlling. Vast majority of amps have conventional and crude volume controlling, which just get louder by twisting the knob, & reach high volumes very early, bu headphones are not driven efficiently. But in Graham Slee amps, more turns on volume knob means better driving the headphones, plus, a very linear & well distributed volume with well driven headphones. The Bitzie is powered solely off the 5V USB line. This makes it also to work straight off an android smartphones, which is a definite advantage for travellers. The Bitzie runs off solely on USB power,  that is around 5V & 100mA. It is really easy on smartphone’s battery life.
 

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Sound:  I feel the Bitzie is ‘natural’, detailed and accurate sounding with a touch of ‘tubeness’ in sonic presentation. Sound-stage width is moderate. Depth is very good. Amazing performance for a DAC/Amp unit running off on 5 Volts & 100mA current.
 

 
Lows are strong and fairly accurate and go very deep. Full bodied bass with a ‘punch’. Mids sound clear, slightly intimate & with a touch of ‘valvey-ness’ if I must say; Bitzie has an analogue tubey flavour here in mids. Highs are clean, airy, just right amount of sparkle to keep the music alive.  Again a slight analogue flavour.
 
Soundstage in Bitzie is very good, and realistic and to some extent, slightly lacking in width. Depth is very good. The Bitzie has a fully circular imaging, but gives out comparatively more depth and lesser width in sound stage. Detail retrieval, and dynamics are excellent, way further than any USb powered DAC/Amp I have ever heard. Overall the sonic presentation is very pleasing.  Absolutely zero audible hiss/noise, and zero EMI pickup & pops.
 
Driving Power: The Bitzie is powerful when it comes to driving headphones. Drove my AKG K702 well with 20% power still spared. K702 & Bitzie made a good match with a pleasing sound delivery.  Tried my LCD-2’s, Bitzie drove them well, but lacked synergy.
 
Overall, the Bitzie impressed me in all aspects, considering how compact the Bitzie was, and it does not even need a dedicated power source, performs appreciably well.

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Conclusion:  The Bitzie is a very unique & special USB DAC/Amp unit. Bitzie stands as a great option for travellers with smartphones or laptops who demand the same amazing high-end sonic performance on the go.  I can recommend the Bitzie for any music enthusiast who wants a compact portable USB amp/dac with high performance aspect. Bitzie is truly like a swiss army knife: very handy unit that fits in pocket & is very well performing. Its workmanship is of high standards, and thus very reliable & robust in operation.
 

 
Though excellent performing & a five star deserving product, I will reduce half a star for its pricing. At the price point of 550$, Bitzie is expensive when compared to similar products. But in return, it has excellent performance, reliability & workmanship. Plus it is purely handmade in England.
 
Pros:
 
1) Design and Build: Bitzie has very well designed and implemented build. It can run off 5V source, eliminating the use for a separate power supply.  It can also run directly on android smartphones. The Bitzie is also very compact, reliable & durable.
 
2) Sound quality: The sonic presentation on this little unit is neutral but in natural & tubey in presentation. Sonically, performs very well. Powerful enough to drive any dynamic headphones.
 
Cons:  Value: The Bitzie carries a price tag of 550$, which appears slightly on expensive side. But considering the above abilities of Bitzie, it is well worth the asked price in the long run.

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Me: I am a 21 year old student living in a small town in India. I would like to call myself a music enthusiast, rather than an audiophile. I was inspired by music since childhood, and as the time passed, the passion of music grew in me, and that subsequently led me to join Head-Fi. Eventually, I found the pleasure of listening to music mainly by the HD600 and recently, by the seductive LCD2 headphones, and realized the true components of recorded music. I usually like to listen to Indian Classical Music along with Bollywood songs. My main listening genres include classical, vocal, instrumental, jazz and sometimes pop.  With time, my sonic preferences have very much grown. I avidly admire transparency, accuracy along with neutrality, and currently my favorite headphones are K702, HD800 & K812.
 
I am an average consumer & a humble enthusiast, I pen down my thoughts, & I love to express my feelings. I do not receive for any sort financial benefits through this review. My articles are a purely my honest writeup aimed for fellow enthusiasts here at Head-Fi community. My profound thanks to GSP Audio, UK for arranging a sample unit of Lautus cable for my evaluation.
 
I do hear sonic differences between different audio cables. I believe in any well built & performing cable which delivers superior quality sonic characteristics, & which is reasonably priced. Cables are the key behind proper transmission of signals with minimal or no loss in between. Especially when it comes to high fidelity audio, designing performing cables without losing any sonic detail is difficult. Yet, with lot of effort, trial & error and after a intense time interval: we have our cable ready.

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Intro:  GSP Audio, a brand of Graham Slee Projects, is a company which manufactures high fidelity headphone & phono amplifiers purely by hand, & is based in Britain. They also make custom audio cables.
 
Established in 1998, Graham Slee is one of oldest audio brand existing in Europe. They are very well known worldwide for their well made phono's & amplifiers, owing to their cable offerings which have great attention, workmanship & high performance. They also offer customized headphone cables, along with various interconnects. All their products are handmade in the Great Britain.
 

 
Brief History About GSP Audio: 

Graham Slee Projects audio products are designed, built and tested in the English North-Midlands and South Yorkshire by engineers - they are truly British made!

Graham Slee, born at Mexborough, England in 1955, apprentice trained engineering craftsman in the 1970s, worked in AV until 1984 when he set up his own electronics and printed circuit design business, working with a number of "blue-chip" technology companies. In 1989 he became senior engineer at Audionics (Sheffield) Ltd, part of the Yorkshire Radio Network (YRN) group, where he designed electronics for broadcast studios - clients included the BBC, and numerous UK commercial broadcasters. 1993 he left YRN to freelance in electronics design with various companies

In 1998 he established Graham Slee Projects also known as gsp-audio. In 2004, John Cadman - former YRN installation engineer and wireman - joined as production director and in 2008 Leon Kirkbride who had worked for Carlsbro Sound, joined the team as freelance production engineer. Freelance broadcast engineer and Minster FM DJ Paul Godley often joins in with manufacturing too.

Graham was also involved in 1970s disco: building on-the-road equipment and as a DJ. It was at this time he began developing phono preamps and headphone amps. In 1999 he made his first commercial phono stage then known as the "Basic", it received much praise from Gramophone magazine. However, as the name clashed with another manufacturer, it was changed to Gram Amp after the name broadcasters used for a turntable (the "Gram"). That was followed by another three Gram Amps: the 2, the 2 Special Edition, & the 3 Fanfare (dedicated to moving coil). The phono stages were either dedicated to moving magnet or moving coil sensitivity, and after the launch of the moving magnet sensitivity Era Gold V, an electronic step-up 'transformer' called the Elevator EXP was introduced for anybody wanting to use moving coil with it. None of the phono stages did both moving magnet and moving coil because Graham was of the opinion that one box would never do both justice.

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Let us see how this cable performs,
 
Design and Build: The cable I am writing about is their newly released performance USB cable (A to B), which is an audio cable commonly used to connect DAC to a computer. It is named “Lautus” and is a high fidelity & performance cable, delivering superior sonic qualities.
 
The Lautus cable has one or more ferrite rings placed at carefully calculated positions. A pair of shielded RCA interconnects using silver Teflon aerospace/ MIL spec wire. These highly conductive, shielded, rugged cables.  The cable is shielded with a copper, silver plated shield.  The cable is terminated with industry standard gold plated connectors. Cardas silver, lead free solder is used to terminate the cables, giving a high quality connection.
 

 

 

 
The cable itself is neither too thick nor too thin, & is very flexible. Strain relief on the both terminals are hard & rubberized. Outer jacket is mesh type & is covers the entire length of the cable, and is loosely fitted on the cable. Ferrite bead is present in the beginning of the USB line. Length of the cable is 1.2 meters. USB Connectors have gold plated lines. The cable is used to connect PC (USB A) to DAC’s (USB B)
 

 
Overall the build is simple, practical & without any fancy additions.

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Sound:  This is where the Lautus excels. It delivers a very superior & a transparent sonic performance cable, and is one of the USB cables having a good performance aspect. Its performance is well related to its price and has a high price/performance ratio. Infact, there are very few such cables which are performing and yet are affordable.
 

 
Burn in: I could not notice any major audible improvement by burn in. But let’s say a playback of about 20 hours will set in the new cable & provide very few/minor audible improvements.
 
Improvements observed when graduating from stock Monoprice cables:
 
1) Bass:  Impressive response seen in bass like never before. Lows now go very deep, and are full bodied & very accurate when heard on K702, I wonder, are these bass shy? & LCD2’s bass go extremely deep, with a great rumble & authority.
 
2) Speed:  Delays in transmission & receiving are largely eliminated & thus with Lautus, sound can be heard instantaneously, without any ‘lags’ or ‘delays’
 
3) Transparency & Clarity: The level of details & transparency. The Lautus simply disappears from the chain, simply delivering an extremely clean and very transparent signal to the DAC. Due to this, a lot of power is being saved at volume knob, previously I used listen to my headphones at 12 o’ clock on volume knob, and now I feel same level of loudness is achieved a little earlier.
 
4) Soundstage: Especially Depth & layering have increased. Increment in imaging, & placements across all frequencies when heard on high end headphones. These improvements are at the margin of about 20-30% more when compared to basic or stock cables.
 
The Lautus corrects almost all of the base chain problems like, Channel Imbalances, and irregularities are mostly eliminated. EMI Pickup and noise floor level are audibly none. It is like a whole new dimension being discovered. All these improvements are heard on well performing equipments. I have installed this cable on various DAC’s and Amp’s, and in all the setup’s the Lautus cable has performed very well & audibly superior.

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Conclusion:  The Lautus USB cable from Graham Slee is a very well performing and well built cable, which serves its objective of delivering the signals from end-to-end with superior transparency. This cable is a great introduction to the sonic upgrades caused by well performing cables.
 
Superior performance cables are very much appreciable in higher end setup, and I can say it safe to invest an agreeable cost on a good performance cable. The sonic improvements are evident & are clearly audible, and further optimize the full potential of our equipments.
 
Pros: 
 
1) Build Quality: Very well built by individual attention by hand using very good quality materials.
 
2) Sound Quality:  Very well performing cable, sound quality improves by a considerably good margin from inferior cables.
 
3) Value:  Considering its appreciable sonic performance and at the price tag of 96 pounds, the Lautus has a decent price/performance ratio.

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Me: I am a 21 year old student living in a small town in India. I would like to call myself a music enthusiast, rather than an audiophile. I was inspired by music since childhood, and as the time passed, the passion of music grew in me, and that subsequently led me to join Head-Fi. Eventually, I found the pleasure of listening to music mainly by the HD600 and recently, by the seductive LCD2 headphones, and realized the true components of recorded music. I usually like to listen to Indian Classical Music along with Bollywood songs. My main listening genres include classical, vocal, instrumental, jazz and sometimes pop.  With time, my sonic preferences have very much grown. I avidly admire transparency, accuracy along with neutrality, and my favorite headphones are Sennheiser HD800 & AKG K812, & I generally prefer to listen to full sized gears. In an earphone or In-Ear Monitor as we call it, I expect very neutral, detailed sound delivery with a decent soundstage & transparency, accuracy along with a good comfort & reliability. Isolation should also be manageable, & the design of IEM should not harm our ears or ear canal.
 
I am an average consumer & a humble enthusiast, I love to pen down my thoughts, &  express my feelings. I do not receive for any sort financial benefits through this review. My articles are a purely my honest writeup aimed for fellow enthusiasts here at Head-Fi community. My profound thanks to Topsound team for arranging a sample unit of Titan1 earphones for my evaluation. 

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Intro:  Dunu-Topsound, or simply known as Dunu, is a famous Chinese IEM manufacturer. The brand was established in 1994 as an OEM parts maker; it has evolved since then to manufacture full scale IEM’s and has earned the esteemed ISO-9001 certificate. They also have numerous patents & rights with respective to their products.Their R&D headquarters is located in Taiwan, & factory & marketing offices in mainland China. Dunu has its self develped IEM making machineries & manufactures earphones in its own factory.The Titan1 is their latest IEM offering & uses a unique nano titanium coated diaphragm. According to Dunu, performs better than both BA & regular dynamic drivers.
 

 
 
Dunu: Delicate, Unique & Utmost
 
Specifications of Titan1 as per Dunu:
 
Drivers: 13 mm Dynamic
 
Rated Impedance: 16 Ω
 
Frequency Range: 10Hz-30 kHz
 
Weight: 18 grams
 
Pressure level: 90dB
 
Plug: 3.5mm Gold Plated
 
Cable: 1.2m

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Let’s proceed to the review,
 
Packaging and Accessories: The Titan1 arrives packed inside a strong and sleek Dunu style flip-open black cardboard box, on which features and other information have been mentioned upon. Once the box is flipped open, housing shell is seen resting inside a transparent window, the rest of cable and the accessories are packed inside the hard case. I can confidently say that Dunu has done some real premium packaging out here. The hard case can be lifted off to reveal the storage compartment, in which all the included accessories are present. Huge amounts of accessories included in the package, and again are made up of good quality. Packaging is done in a premium way “The Dunu Style” Really nice and satisfying.
 

 

 

 
List of accessories in the box, which include the following: 
 

 
Eartips: Plenty varieties of good quality eartips are included to fit almost any kind of ears.
 
Shirt Clip: To reduce microphonics and to secure the hanging cable to the shirt.
 
¼” Converter: To plug in the Titan in the 6.5mm headphone jacks.
 
Hard case: This hard fibre case is supplied to protect and store the Titan IEM.
 
Warranty card: Contains warranty information.

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Design and Build: The Titan has a good overall build quality. Design stands apart from rest of IEM’s as this has kind of hybrid mixed up design: half of earbud outer unit & nozzle similar to an IEM.
 

 
This helps in a increased driver size without compromising comfort. The Titan1 is semi-open design (observe the vents), and is not fully closed. The entire housing shell is made up of high quality hard plastic with a exterior steel finish. These are very light in weight. Dunu logo is printed on the rear side of the housing shell. Left and Right markings are easy to see, and are clearly indicated by colour code. Strain reliefs are well implemented, and do their jobs. Splitter is nicely finished, no nitpicks anywhere.
 

 

 

 

 
Plug is 90 degree angled and gold plated.  Overall, Cable has a good build. First half of the cable is rubberized, slightly thinner than expected, but alright does its job & and the second half has mesh finish to it.
 

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Comfort:  The Titan1 is comfortable enough to wear in general; it is light weighed & ergonomically designed. These IEM’s are shallow insertion type & does not irritate our ear canals, since the nozzle is quite short, hence fit depends partially on outer body. But to my ears, it did not quite fit properly & therefore requiring few adjustments after some time. Since Titan1’s are semi-open back IEM’s, these will not completely isolate the listener from outside noise. This level of isolation is not very good for a traveler in noisy surroundings, but manageable.

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Sound: Dunu's Titan1 has a very neutral, very clear & airy, detailed sonic character, but has slightly distant mids. It is very transparent and detailed. We have to keep in mind that, with in-ear IEM’s, sonic presentation may feel different with different fit. Therefore fit/angle is the deciding factor for sound being perceived by ears.
 

 
Burn in: These performed well right out of the box, and burn in provided little or no significant audible changes.  But on the safer side, Let’s say a playback of 20 hours provides very slight audible improvements. Bass prior to break-in is slightly loose, and eventually it becomes more accurate, Mids will sound more open, Highs become slightly smoother; soundstage opens up by a margin.
 
Lows: are accurate, tight and refined; but have a excellent impact and depth, owing to their new titatnium drivers.
 
Mids: Noticeably recessed, but airy and clear. Vocals, classical are not quite pleasurable.
 
Highs:  Detailed treble with slight grains and sparks. Unforgiving on bright recordings.
 
Soundstage: TheTitan1’s soundstage is very airy and circular soundstage. Depth is excellent. Instrument separation is very good.
 
I am really impressed by sound quality of these IEM’s (except mids). The Titan1 portrays music in such a way that, one feels as if the music is all around him owing to its semi-open design (excellent soundstage for an IEM in this price). But for listeners who love vocals or classical may be left disappointed. These are appreciably transparent in character. It has very airy, a vast 3D like soundstage.
 
Mids is definitely & obviously is recessed in the Titan1 & thus giving out a V shaped sound signature. It is the only thing to be compromised when switched over to Titan1. But in rest of terms, it provides in all sonic characters like accuracy, details, soundstage, instrument separation, imaging, dynamics and what not. Instruments placement & positioning is really great.   Neutral, detailed, transparent are the key words for Titan1. But presentation is in a ‘V’ form, with distant mids which appear to be recessive. Thre amount of acutal mid frequencies presented in the Titan is less about 15% when compared to a flat sounding IEM. Low volume listening is pretty impressive. One can hear these in very low volumes, yet it retains all the details & elements present in a track. Comfort and fit plays a vital role in sound being perceived to our ears.

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Amplification: The Dunu Titan1 rated at 16 ohms, and designed to be power efficient, and hence is very easy to drive, and can be driven by almost any sources, smartphones and DAP’s. Although setup like an O2/ODAC does indeed increases accuracy, soundstage and dynamics noticeably, and the difference in quality is clearly audible for an attentive listener. Power is not a important aspect here, but a transparent setup indeed does help in increasing SQ;

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Conclusion:  I feel theTitan1’s are really very performing pair of IEM’s, especially considering their price. Sound quality is excellent, is very pleasing, with a great transparency & soundstage. But in actual presentation, mids are presented in a distant fashion, probably due to its larger soundstage. This may not please enthusiasts who love to listen to classical and vocals. But again Dunu’s Titan1 is one of the most performing IEM available in 150$
 
 
Pros: Sound presentation here is very neutral, detailed, & airy. Its very accurate. The soundstage, instrument separation, clarity, resolution is appreciable, but mind the decreased mids. For me, this resulted in incompleteness & imbalance in sound spectrum in actual listening sessions. Value:  After understanding all the qualities Titan1 offers us, it is understood that it also offers a good price/performance ratio for IEM’s under 150$.
 
 
Cons: Mids are a trade off when going for the Titan1’s.
 

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Me: I am a 21 year old student living in a small town in India. I would like to call myself a music enthusiast, rather than an audiophile. I was inspired by music since childhood, and as the time passed, the passion of music grew in me, and that subsequently led me to join Head-Fi. Eventually, I found the pleasure of listening to music mainly by the HD600 and recently, by the seductive LCD2 headphones, and realized the true components of recorded music. I usually like to listen to Indian Classical Music along with Bollywood songs. My main listening genres include classical, vocal, instrumental, jazz and sometimes pop.  With time, my sonic preferences have very much grown. I avidly admire transparency, accuracy along with neutrality, and my favourite headphones are K702, HD800 & K812.
 
I appreciate Audio Players which deliver a very neutral & transparent sound quality, along with good battery backup and a decent User Interface. Output power or exterior looks/weight/shape is really not an important factor for me, as long as it delivers sonically. My all-time favourite DAP is QLS’s QA360 which simple is the most wonderful Audio Player I heard & have till date.  You may read my opinion on the excellent QA360 DAP here: http://www.head-fi.org/products/qls-qa360-portable-hifi-lossless-music-player/reviews/12197
 
I will be using my DN2000 IEM & MH30, MH40 & K812 headphones to evaluate the X3 Gen.2 DAP. I will also test USB DAC functionality of the X3II by connecting to a portable O2 amp.

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Intro: FiiO is a highly popular & well established Chinese brand specializing in the area of portable DAP’s & amp/dac’s. FiiO was established in 2007.  Even though a relatively newer establishment in the field, FiiO managed to capture attention of the world by their amp/dac offerings which had attractive price tag & appreciable performance. Back in time, we can remember portable gears (especially DAP’s) would be expensive, and out of reach of a humble Enthusiast. It was the FiiO, who made well performing portable amps, DAP in an affordable price. Particularly their E11 model is legendary & a benchmark in low cost portable amps. This made them a well known name across the Audiophile World. 
 

 
FiiO’s Motto: Love Music, Love Life, Love FiiO!
 
FiiO’s X3 Gen.2 was initially named as X3k, following in the lead of their E11K amp. But later in the production stage FiiO changed the name to X3 second generation or X3 II as we call it. The X3 II is designed to be the successor of aging yet very popular original X3 DAP. My profound Thanks to Jospeh from FiiO team for arranging a review unit for my evaluation.
 
Specifications of FiiO X3 Gen.2:
 

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Let us see how good the X3 Gen II performs,
 
Packaging and Accessories: The X3II arrives packed inside a plain black cardboard box, packed inside a foam packing. Packaging is very good: a usual best by FiiO, nothing to complain about, considering X3 II’s high value aspect.
 

 

 

 

 
List of accessories in the box, which include the following:
 

 
USB cable: Can be used for charging & to transfer the data from X3II to computer.
 
Coaxial Cable: One 3.5mm jack to single RCA socket: henceforth to connect to standard coax cable to carry coax output.
 
Screen guard: Two spare screen guards for applying on X3II's screen.
 
Body Skins: Can be carefully applied on body to give a personalized exterior looks.
 
User Manual: Contains all information about operating theX3II, including contains warranty information.
 
Silicon case: This black & flexible silicone case is supplied to protect the X3II from falls or scratches, and also gives a firm holding grip and anti-skid feature to the X3II.

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Design and Build: The X3II has an excellent overall build quality. Its design is very practical, or shall I say modern, & is easy for day-today operation without any confusion or hassle. The entire housing is made up of high quality aluminium, and is painted in matt titanium colour, and is resistant to fingerprints. It is rectangular in shape with smoothened edges, the X3II is actually quite small & compact in size, and just appears to be smaller in pictures. It feels fairly light when held in hand.
 

 
At the front side, we have an analogue rotating wheel pad (performs up/down scrolling function upon rotating) the pad has rubbery grip surface. It includes an embedded central play/pause button. The rotation is not completely smooth, but with step interval type ratchet mechanism. The knob has grips on its side for easy rotation. Power switch has a pretty great feel, and is very precise in its job. Four buttons (Menu, back, foward/rewind) are uniformly placed around the wheel. An LED is embedded right in the lower centre area of the front side, which gives it a really attractive look.

 

 

 
The display screen here is again large enough for comfortable viewing, and color/resolution on X3II is one of the best I have ever seen in DAP’s. It’s really good & better than most of the DAP’s. The screen is anti-reflective, resistant external lights, and colour output is very crisp and natural. On the top, there is a headphone out socket, and a Line/Coax Out, both in same 3.5mm format. These jacks are a smooth operator, which is neither too tight nor too loose. The socket employs ball bearings instead of clips to avoid scratches/damage on the headphone jack. If we look at the bottom side, we can observe a micro USB port. On the right side a micro SD card slot is present, which again works flawlessly, and has right cuttings to hold the micro SD card. On the left side of the X3II, Power button & two volume keys are located. The Power button is slightly recessed inorder to avoid mistaken switch off’s.  All these work without any hassle, and are of good quality.
 

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Sound: The X3II in overall has a very ‘clear’ & ‘detailed’ sonic character. ‘Accurate presentation’ is the key word. In my view, it is essential for a source to be as neutral and as accurate as possible for an optimal sound quality. Though stage is not very spacious.
 

 
Burn in: The X3II audibly improves with time. Let’s say a playback of 10 hours provides few minor audible improvements, Bass prior to break-in is quite sterile, and eventually it becomes more in body. Mids will sound more open, airy and natural. highs become slightly more clean, soundstage will open up by a margin. DAP’s are known to slightly change their final sonic impressions by using different memory cards. In my case, I have found: Sandisk memory cards provided a slightly rich sound, whereas Lexar’s sounded audibly more detailed and analytical, so that made me choose Lexar card for X3II for best possible neutrality.
 
Driving Power: There is gain setting Low/High, which if switched, provides a high gain (ideal for demanding cans). Else, will provide a low gain (ideal for low impedance dynamic cans & IEM’s) The X3II has 120 step volume adjustments, which is quite accurate and precise. I hardly ever cross ‘80’ volume low gain.  I can say, this DAP is very powerful when it comes to output power, and can put up very high listening volumes in low gain itself. The X3II is also audibly dead silent on any give gain and volume pot. It is also totally immune to EMF and other such disturbances.
 
Lows: are accurate, tight and refined; have a good impact. Depth & extension are good.
 
Mids: sound very neutral, clean. Mids are neither forward nor recessed, and are just about the neutral line.
 
Highs: Clear and detailed treble with very less grains.
 
Soundstage: The X3II is not very spacious or airy sounding. The soundstage width & depth are just good enough. Instrument separation & detailing is very good & appreciable. I really liked the way X3II picked out the details. This is an area where X3II excels. The X3II portrays music as it was recorded. The X3II is very neutral in nature. Faulty recordings are not forgiven, and are immediately picked out by the X3II. I am fully satisfied by the performance given out by X3II, as I firmly believe, sources should be as transparent as possible, and X3II wins in that. Due to its neutrality, X3II does not sound organic, natural or lifelike. But inturn it sounds like a very detailed & accurate high fidelity DAP. The X3II can also act as a USB DAC and can give multiple outputs. Performance as DAC is also pretty good, but as expected, performance is not upto mark as compared to dedicated standalone DAC’s.
 

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Battery & UI:  Battery life on X3II DAP is appreciably good, with about average 7-9 hours general playback. Absolutely no heat detected when charging or during playback. The charging time is also quite fast, (at about 3 hours) by using a 5V 2A adapter as recommended by FiiO. User Interface is actually very modern, fast, and appealing for our eyes. The UI has all basic and convenience general features. Though there are small bugs here n there, which I believe will be solved by FiiO in upcoming days.
Actually UI & button layout it’s pretty simple, yet very advanced functional layout, which I quite like. With X3II,  FiiO has definitely rolled out a very unique, modern yet practical design, which is simple to operate for everyone alike.

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Comparison: I will write a brief comparison with well performing DAP’s in similar price range,
 
FiiO X3: FiiO’s first DAP release & original release of X3 DAP over three years ago. I still have my trusty & three year old FiiO’s original X3. This was then a very popular & performing DAP with a great value aspect. The original X3 is now discontinued. The Original X3 holds a huge personal importance to me, as I enjoyed a lot through it, in my early days of Audio & Head-Fi Journey. Feels very nostalgic whenever I even look at it. The original X3 is comparatively warmer & darker in sound presentation. Also, the function, technology & practical usage aspect is really high in its successor X3II. Build quality is really great on both predecessor & successor.
 
Shanling M3:  Shanling’s sole DAP offering. The M3 is also a excellent performer. Sonically, the M3 is slightly superior to X3II. Transparency & soundstage definition level is greater in M3. The M3 costs about 70$ more than the price of X3II, but well worth the additional price. But the X3II has better UI layout, and practicality features. But in terms of sheer sound quality: Shanling M3 clearly triumphs.
 
Conclusion:  I feel the FiiO X3 Gen.2 is a phenomenal DAP for price. It offers an amazing neutral sound quality, and employs cutting edge design, modern UI and very neat and easy controls. Build quality is very good, sonic presentation is neutral & detailed. It can fairly drive any cans upto 300 ohms. I can whole heartedly recommend X3II for music enthusiast & audiophiles who would prefer a reliable DAP in a reasonable price. A very easy & confident recommendation.
 

 
Pros:
 
1) Build Quality: The X3II has a very good all-metal build. No compromise to be seen anywhere in exterior. Very well designed indeed.
 
2) Sound quality: Sound presentation here is very neutral &detailed, very much appreciable for becoming a good source on the move, which is the base of sonic chain. But comparatively lacks soundstage definitions.
 
3) Driving Power:  X3II DAP is very powerful when it comes to output power, and it can comfortably drive even power hungry cans to insanely loud volumes. Also, the noise floor is very low, and is audibly silent. Good job!
 
4) UI, Display & Controls:  This where X3II stands out from rest. X3ii’s display is simply one of the best I have seen DAP’s. Its vivid and deep colour presentation and low brightness capability has impressed me. UI is very much user-friendly, easy on battery, doesn’t warm up. For controls, the rotating wheel is very innovative inclusion, very soothing and comfortable for fingers.
 
5) Value: Considering the points mentioned above, it is safe to conclude, the X3II DAP has a sheer price/performance ratio. Without hesitation, It is the best performing DAP under 250$.
 
Cons:
 
None at This Price Point

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