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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 do hear differences between different audio cables. I believe in any well built & performing cable which delivers superior quality sonic characteristics, & which is reasonably priced.

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Intro:  Surf Cables is a high fidelity cable making brand based in San Diego, CA. They are a brand specializing in the area of audio cables.  Even though a relatively newer establishment in the field, Surf Cables is quite well known in USA, owing to their cable offerings which have very reasonable price tag & high quality specification standards. They offer customized headphone cables, along with various interconnects. All their cables are hand assembled by qualified engineers in San Diego.
 

 
Details & Mechanism of The PRO-1 Cable:
 
The pair of cables I am writing about is their RCA-RCA interconnect cable offering named PRO-1, which is an audio cable commonly used to connect DAC’s to Amp’s or Amp’s to Preamps and so on. This pair of shielded RCA interconnects uses 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 RCA connectors, Neutrik’s "Rean".
 

 
Cardas silver, lead free solder is used to terminate the cables, giving a high quality connection. The two signal carrying conductors within this cable are composed of silver plated copper strands, where each individual strand is silver plated.  Each conductor is 22 AWG.  Two conductors are used for the signal, and the shield is grounded at one end only, the end with the coloured blue heat shrink.  Shielding the cable in this way avoids unwanted ground loops and improves noise isolation.  Placing the shield-grounded end at the source component side of the signal is recommended to shunt any noise picked up by the shield into the source component as opposed to the destination component. The cable will work fine in either direction so can be experimented with for best sound.

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Let us see how this cable performs,
 
Design and Build: The entire cable has an excellent overall build. The connector employed is Neutrik’s popular ‘Rean’ series. It is all-metal and is pretty heavy. The RCA jack outer surface is thick and is very rigid. There are two smaller clips which are slightly inward, flexible & attach/adopt to host RCA socket. Gold plating feels quite good and does not wear off for long time. The connectors are marked in red & white bands to identify the Right/Left channel connection. The connector has rubber plug as strain relief, leading to the cable itself.
 

 

 

 
The cable itself is neither too thick nor too thin, & is fairly flexible. Cable is braided beneath the exterior mesh jacket, ensuring flexibility ruggedness and reliability. Cables beneath this jacket can be felt to be braided. The two blue heat shrinks indicate the direction of current flow from origin to destination.
 

 

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Sound: This RCA cable from delivers very good sonic performance, and is one of the RCA cables having a great value aspect. Its performance is well related to its price and has a high price/performance ratio. This cable is a safe & a reliable choice. Infact, there are very few such cables which are performing and yet are affordable.
 

 
Burn in: I could not notice any major 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 Choseal/Monoprice RCA cables:
 
Transparency: Increment in clarity, detail retrieval, increase in soundstage definitions, imaging, & placements. These improvements are at the margin of about 20-30% more when compared to basic or stock cables. There is also increase in ‘speed’ and ‘accuracy’ across all frequencies when heard on high end headphones. Also, Channel Imbalances, and irregularities are mostly eliminated. EMI Pickup and noise floor level are audibly none.
 
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 Pro-1 cable has performed well & audibly superior than stock cables.

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Conclusion:  The PRO-1 RCA Interconnect from Surfcable is a well performing and well built cable, which serves its objective of delivering the signals from end-to-end with good transparency and plus in a very decent & reasonable price point of 45$.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 audio gears, and I can say it safe to invest 1/10^th the cost of the equipment 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: Is very satisfactory considering its price, & performs very well. 
 
3) Value:  Considering its performance, build, the Pro-1 has a solid price/performance ratio. There is very few such cables having a good performance & value, under 45$.
 
 
Cons:
 
None at this price point

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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, which I mainly run from my trusty M-Stage HPA-2.

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Intro:  Bravo Audio is a popular Chinese brand specializing in the area of tube headphone amplifiers in economical price. Bravo was established in 2010.  Even though a relatively newer establishment in the field, Bravo managed to capture attention of the world by their amp offerings which had attractive price tag & appreciable performance. Back in 2010, tube/hybrid amps would be expensive, and out of reach of a humble Enthusiast. Bravo made well performing hybrid amps in an affordable price.  Bravo was the one who made hybrid amps in sub 100$ category. This made them a well known name across the Audiophile World. 
 

 
All of Bravo’s amps are hybrids, and are driven by Mosfet’s, and are pure class A. This ensures in mammoth output power, appreciable clear sound quality, but heat dissipation is high, and the amp physically gets hot even to touch comfortably. Bravo has been famous since its release of V1 (6922) & V2 (12AU7) amps, which were budget friendly, yet performing, which won ears of many enthusiasts. The V1 employs Electro Harmonix 6922EH tube. Both V1 & V2 are very similar in design, features & functions.
 
Specifications of V1:
 
Input Power: DC 24V 1.5A
 
Input Sensitivity: 100mV
 
Input Impedance: 100KOhm
 
Headphone Impedance: 20~600 Ohm
 
Frequency response: 10Hz-60 KHz +/- 0.25dB
 
Signal/Noise Ratio : >90dB      Gain: 30dB
  
THD: 0.016% (300 ohm) 0.45% (33 ohm)

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Let us see what the V1 amp has got for us,
 
Packaging and Accessories: The V1 amp arrives packed inside a general cardboard box, packed inside a removable foam packing. Packaging is generic, but nothing to complain about. But all the included accessories have a good quality and feel to them.
 
List of accessories in the box, which include the following: 
 
 Power Adapter: AC to DC 24V 1.5A power adapter EU/US/AU/UK is supplied as per specifications.
 
¼” Converter: A 1/8” to ¼” converter for headphones with 3.5mm Jack.

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Design and Build: The V1 has a very good overall build quality. Though it is enclosed in open acrylic sheets to save manufacturing costs, it gives out funky DIY looks. The V1 looks much different& funky, and stands out from the crowd. Even then, the open case is of good quality transparent fibre & metal supporting beams. The transparent sheets make us gaze through it and onto the well soldered circuit board. The V1 is fairly small in size The V1 is light in weight, & weights under 250 grams.
 

 
At the front we have volume knob, ¼” headphone output socket & a 3.5mm input socket. At the rear side of V1, we can observe the presence of power socket & on/off toggle switch. Volume knob rotation is smooth and knob has just the right size for fingers. ¼” jack is also a very sturdy, but is slightly tight. The ¼” socket employs clip mechanism, which may cause scratches/damage on the headphone jack. Power switch has a good switching feel and strength, and is very precise in its job.
 

 
Internals quality is certainly good. The V1 amp has no manual wirings; everything is fixed on the PCB. Soldering & joints are very well done. Volume pot is well known Alps branded, which a plus for both volume control & audio quality. Please do note that the Mosfets run very hot, be sure not to touch anywhere near them, otherwise burn injuries are guaranteed!
 

 
Since the V1 amp follows Tube/Mosfet Hybrid design, there is a 9 pin vacuum tube socket present, in which we may roll any compatible 6922 family tubes. The default one is 6922EH from electro-harmonix, & does a great job in sound quality. There is a blue LED below the socket, which gives out a glow effect to the tubes.
 

 
I observe a drawback in the power supply, it is not earthed. I am at a loss of understanding why Bravo did not include a third earthing pin or ground to make the amp safe. Since it is a DC supply, few ripples will be present in the final output. These either cause light electrocution/sock or audibly raise noise floor of the amp.  All Bravo amps use the same 24V 1.5A power brick, and are not grounded o earthed. So if you happen to find a better quality laptop power supply within this specification, then it is a plug in replacement or upgrade.
 

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Sound:  The V1 delivers a typical entry level tube amp sound quality with lot of audible distortions. Presentation is in such a way that, mids are little more intimate, with lows & highs sound tad more relaxed and laid back. The V1 is somewhat a economic counterpart of the V3 amp.
 
Burn in: I could not notice any major improvement by burn in. But let’s say a playback of about 20 hours provides few minor audible improvements, Bass prior to break-in is quite muddy & loose, and eventually it becomes a little more accurate and clean, Mids will sound more open & slightly forward, airy and natural. Highs become slightly smoother; soundstage will open up by a margin.
 
Tube rolling:  One can roll enormous number of 9 pin 6922/6DJ8/7308 or equivalents. After much testing a few tubes from different, I could conclude, the stock one (6922) is indeed very good at its job, is optimal for the existing circuit parameters.
 
The gain is fixed at 30dB, which is on higher side and is certainly not recommended for IEM’s. This amp is extremely powerful and can drive any dynamic cans to insane loudness with just 40% of the volume used, which is at 11 o’clock. Anything above 12 o’clock is unbearably loud.  
 
Lows: are not very accurate or precise, and are on ‘looser’ side; but have a good impact. Depth is decent enough.
 
Mids: Forward & intimate, are tonally very coloured and feels somewhat ‘artificial’
 
Highs:  Not detailed, are grainy and have a spike in upper-highs.
 
Soundstage: Not airy or spacious, but is Intimate & closed in. For anyone who is looking for a good soundstage definition, V1 is not quite a performer when compared to V2 itself, which is a good performer in this area. But one should not expect sonic qualities like detail retrieval, accuracy or good imaging from this amp, owing to its economic cost & the V1 is one of the cheapest available tube amp today.
 
Overall, final sound deliverance is not very satisfactory, although it has good design. Bravo’s own V2 amp sonically performed far better than the V1.

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Comparison: Bravo’s own V2 amp can be compared with V1, owing their vastly similar design & functions. Also, the price different is mere 10$.
 
Bravo V2: Same functions, features & design, and definitely performs better by sound. The V2 is more neutral, provides a much cleaner sound output with good soundstage definitions, when compared to the V1. The added bonus here is The V2 costs 10$ less than V1.
 
Verdict: The V2 edges out the V1 with overall better finer accuracy & neutrality in sound, finer power distribution.

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Conclusion:  Sonically, Bravo’s V1 amp did not perform up to my expectation. Since Bravo’s own V2 amp outperforms the V1 in 10$ less, the V1 may not be an optimal recommendation. Instead, the V2 is a good performer owing to its 12AU7 architecture. My recommendation will go towards V2 instead of V1. Otherwise the V3 amp is a very good performer for additional 10$, with same 6922 architecture.
 
Pros: 
 
1) Build Quality: even though it is open by case, the V1 has a very good interior build. No compromise to be seen anywhere in exterior too. Circuitry is also neat & well built.
 
2) Rolling Capability: Enthusiasts can roll great number of tubes to alter the final sonic signature.
 
3) Driving Power: The V1 amp has a sheer output power. It definitely can comfortably drive any set of high impedance cans.
 
 Cons:
 
1) Heat emission:  Actually not really a con, it is quite normal for a hybrid mosfet driven amp. But during operation, the V1 amp gets very hot; it becomes very difficult for a user to touch the surface of amp more than 2 seconds. The mosfet heatsinks, which are exposed & are very hot.
 
 
2) Power Supply: The default power supply is not grounded, hence a fair change of light electrocution and audibly higher noise floor. Thus one needs to earth it by connecting the input cable to a grounded source (like PC, which will be earthed)
 
3) Sound Quality:  Is not very satisfactory when compared to V2 amp, which performs better across the sound spectrum.
 
4) Value:  Considering the above points, the V1 amp will not have a solid price/performance ratio. Bravo's own V2 amp performs better for 10$ less.

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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, which I mainly run from my trusty M-Stage HPA-2.

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Intro:  Bravo Audio is a popular Chinese brand specializing in the area of tube headphone amplifiers in economical price. Bravo was established in 2010.  Even though a relatively newer establishment in the field, Bravo managed to capture attention of the world by their amp offerings which had attractive price tag & appreciable performance. Back in 2010, tube/hybrid amps would be expensive, and out of reach of a humble Enthusiast. Bravo made well performing hybrid amps in an affordable price.  Bravo was the one who made hybrid amps in sub 100$ category. This made them a well known name across the Audiophile World. 
 

 
All of Bravo’s amps are hybrids, and are driven by Mosfet’s, and are pure class A. This ensures in mammoth output power, appreciable clear sound quality, but heat dissipation is high, and the amp physically gets hot even to touch comfortably. Bravo has been famous since its release of V1 (6922) & V2 (12AU7) amps, which were budget friendly, yet performing, which won ears of many enthusiasts. The V2 employs Shuguang 12AU7 tube. Both V1 & V2 are very similar in design, features & functions.
 
Specifications of V2:
 
Input Power: DC 24V 1.5A
 
Input Sensitivity: 100mV
 
Input Impedance: 100KOhm
 
Headphone Impedance: 20~600 Ohm
 
Frequency response: 10Hz-60 KHz +/- 0.25dB
 
Signal/Noise Ratio : >90dB      Gain: 30dB
  
THD: 0.016% (300 ohm) 0.45% (33 ohm)

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Let us see what the V2 amp has got for us,
 
Packaging and Accessories: The V2 amp arrives packed inside a general cardboard box, packed inside a removable foam packing. Packaging is generic, but nothing to complain about. But all the included accessories have a good quality and feel to them.
 
List of accessories in the box, which include the following: 
 
 Power Adapter: AC to DC 24V 1.5A power adapter EU/US/AU/UK is supplied as per specifications.
 
¼” Converter: A 1/8” to ¼” converter for headphones with 3.5mm Jack.

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Design and Build: The V2 has a very good overall build quality. Though it is enclosed in open acrylic sheets to save manufacturing costs, it gives out funky DIY looks. The V1 looks much different& funky, and stands out from the crowd. Even then, the open case is of good quality transparent fibre & metal supporting beams. The transparent sheets make us gaze through it and onto the well soldered circuit board. The V2 is fairly small in size The V1 is light in weight, & weights under 250 grams.
 

 
At the front we have volume knob, ¼” headphone output socket & a 3.5mm input socket. At the rear side of V2, we can observe the presence of power socket & on/off toggle switch. Volume knob rotation is smooth and knob has just the right size for fingers. ¼” jack is also a very sturdy, but is slightly tight. The ¼” socket employs clip mechanism, which may cause scratches/damage on the headphone jack. Power switch has a good switching feel and strength, and is very precise in its job.
 

 
Internals quality is certainly good. The V2 amp has no manual wirings; everything is fixed on the PCB. Soldering & joints are very well done. Volume pot is well known Alps branded, which a plus for both volume control & audio quality. Please do note that the Mosfets run very hot, be sure not to touch anywhere near them, otherwise burn injuries are guaranteed!
 

 
Since the V2 amp follows Tube/Mosfet Hybrid design, there is a 9 pin vacuum tube socket present, in which we may roll any compatible 12AU7 family tubes. The default one is 12AU7 from a Chinese brand called Shuguang, & does a great job in sound quality. There is a blue LED below the socket, which gives out a glow effect to the tube.
 

 
I observe a drawback in the power supply, it is not earthed. I am at a loss of understanding why Bravo did not include a third earthing pin or ground to make the amp safe. Since it is a DC supply, few ripples will be present in the final output. These either cause light electrocution/sock or audibly raise noise floor of the amp.  All Bravo amps use the same 24V 1.5A power brick, and are not grounded o earthed. So if you happen to find a better quality laptop power supply within this specification, then it is a plug in replacement or upgrade.
 

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Sound:  The V2 amp delivers ‘Clear’ sound as a typical entry level tube amp and goes in the line of Bravo’s ocean amp. Presentation is in such a way that, mids are little more intimate, with lows & highs sound tad more relaxed and laid back. 
 
Burn in: I could not notice any major improvement by burn in. But let’s say a playback of about 20 hours provides few minor audible improvements, Bass prior to break-in is quite muddy & loose, and eventually it becomes a little more accurate and clean, Mids will sound more open & slightly forward, airy and natural. Highs become slightly smoother; soundstage will open up by a margin.
 
Tube rolling:  One can roll enormous number of 9 pin 12AU7 or equivalents. After much testing a few tubes from different, I could conclude, the stock 12AU7 is indeed very good at its job, is optimal for the existing circuit parameters. But tubes like Mullard or RCA brands also do provide a more pleasing sound. Replacement of stock tube is not absolutely necessary.
 
The gain is fixed at 30dB, which is on higher side and is certainly not recommended for IEM’s. This amp is extremely powerful and can drive any dynamic magnetic cans to insane loudness with just 40% of the volume used, which is at 11 o’clock. Anything above 12 o’clock is unbearably loud.  
 
Lows: are fairly accurate, are slightly on ‘looser’ side; but have a good impact. Depth is decent.
 
Mids: Forward & intimate, are smooth and feel natural.
 
Highs:  Spacious, but not detailed.
 
Soundstage: decently airy & spacious. For anyone who is looking for a good soundstage definition in entry level tube amp, V2 is a satisfactory performer.  But one should not expect sonic qualities like detail retrieval, accuracy or good imaging from this amp, owing to its economic cost & the V2 is one of the cheapest available tube amp today.
  
Overall, final sound deliverance is decently satisfactory for an entry level tube amp.

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Comparison: Bravo’s own V1 amp can be compared with V2, owing their vastly similar design & functions. Also, the price different is mere 10$.
 
Bravo V1: Same functions, features & design, and sonically is slightly inferior by sound. The V2 is more neutral, provides a much cleaner sound output with good soundstage definitions, when compared to the V1. The added bonus here is The V2 costs 10$ less than V1.
 
Verdict: The V2 edges out the V1 with overall better finer accuracy & neutrality in sound, finer power distribution.

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Conclusion:  Sonically, Bravo’s V2 amp performed well & has pleased me for a tube amp available around 70$. The V2 is a good performer owing to its 12AU7 architecture. This would a friendly amp for any enthusiast looking for a decent low cost tube amp.
 
Pros: 
 
1) Build Quality: even though it is open by case, the V2 has a very good interior build. No compromise to be seen anywhere in exterior too. Circuitry is also neat & well built.
 
2) Rolling Capability: Enthusiasts can roll great number of tubes to alter the final sonic signature.
 
3) Driving Power: The V2 amp has a sheer output power. It definitely can comfortably drive any set of high impedance cans.
 
4) Sound Quality: Is satisfactory considering its price, & performs upto expectations. 
 
4) Value:  Considering the above points, the V2 amp will have a solid price/performance ratio. There is no such tube amp which can perform better than Bravo V2 under 70$.
 
 
Cons:
 
1) Heat emission:  Actually not really a con, it is quite normal for a hybrid mosfet driven amp. But during operation, the V2 amp gets very hot; it becomes very difficult for a user to touch the surface of amp more than 2 seconds. The mosfet heatsinks, which are exposed & are very hot.
 
2) Power Supply: The default power supply is not grounded, hence a fair change of light electrocution and audibly higher noise floor. Thus one needs to earth it by connecting the input cable to a grounded source (like PC, which will be earthed)

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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, & this has led me to review the AKG’s prestigious K812 flagship headphones.

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Intro:  AKG Acoustics (Akustische und Kino-Geräte G.m.b.H) is well recognized, established & one of the oldest audio brand specializing in the area of audio & headphones. They are headquartered in Vienna, Austria.  The ‘K’ series line is a very popular and long running headphone offering from AKG. They have a specific vision in making their products: Their products should last long and should employ quality engineering for precise and accurate sound reproduction, with state of art cutting edge technology. All the headphones are designed by their engineers in Austria. Few headphones are manufactured in China. The K812 headphones the flagship & best headphones AKG can offer today. K812 replaced K712 as flagship headphones in the year of 2013. These are studio reference headphones. The pair I will reviewing belongs to latest batch & current year manufacturing. The K812 is completely manufactured in Slovakia.
 

 
Founded in 1947 by Dr. Rudolf Görike & Ernst Pless. Originally, their main aim was to provide technical equipment for cinemas: loudspeakers, film projectors and light meters. Their business slowly expanded and AKG started selling car horns, door intercoms, carbon capsules for telephones, headsets and cushion speakers. The first AKG microphone was used by radio stations & Theaters. AKG developed its first patents, the moving coil technology and the principle of mass load membranes, allowing its products to have extended frequency ranges.
 
With the creation of the D12 microphone in 1953, AKG achieved international fame, setting the standard for voice transmissions. Being the world's first dynamic cardioid microphone, it possessed excellent sonic qualities for that time, making its way into radio stations and recording studios from across the world. In 1994, AKG was acquired by Harman International Industries, and they later setup AKG USA’s headquarters in California.
 
In 2010, AKG Acoustics received a Grammy Award for the work the company has done in the recording field.
 
Specifications of K812:
 
 

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Let us see what the K812 has got for us,
 
Packaging and Accessories: The K812’s arrive packed inside a very premium and heavy black cardboard box. The box has a magnetic lock. Once the box is flipped open, The K812 is seen resting on the Sieveking headphone stand, which provided by AKG in the box. Nothing fancy, basic accessories included. But each and every part has a premium quality and feel to it.
 

 

 

 

 

 
List of accessories in the box, which include the following:
 
Headphone Cable: About 2.5 meters long, terminating in 3.5mm.
 
Headphone Stand: Excellent quality universal headphone stand to display headphones when not in use.
 
¼” Screw on Converter: To plug in the K812 in the 6.5mm headphone jacks.
 
User Manual: Contains instructions to operate the K812 and other warranty information.
 

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Design and Build: AKG’s K812 has a top notch build quality. It employs metal constructions in most of the areas. AKG K812 headphones use suspended headband which can be manually adjusted for precise fit, which ensures in least possible physical pressure on head. The headband has a foam-pleather base with ventilation vents, & is very accurately angled. It is attached to the main headphone frame which holds the headphone together.
 

 

 

 
The K812 has an extremely sophisticated build with high technology materials & latest scientific designs. The manual adjustment of headband distance can be adjusted by pushing he button and sliding gently as desired. The K812 is designed in such a remarkable manner, that clamping force is almost zero. This is the first time I have ever come across a headphone (along with Sennheiser HD800) which offers such luxurious design & engineering elements.
 

 

 
The K812 is a fully open headphone, hence has vents for air intake at either side of headphone. Driver shell rotates about its own axis to fit various types of human skulls. The whole headphone is supported on by the two parallel outer headband beams, which are flexible and adopting. These also carry wiring for opposite driver (right). The K812 carries all-new and latest generation top notch performance drivers developed by engineers at AKG specifically for K812 alone. This driver carries an extremely powerful 1.5 Tesla magnetic field capable magnet. The diameter is 53mm, one of the largest drivers ever made. The sound waves coming towards out of drivers are treated to ‘air’ by open mesh, allowing air to blend with sound waves for a very airy presentation. 
 

 

 
Cable has a very good build. It is straight, flexible and does not get tangled. I could not notice the presence of any microphonics. Plug is straight and gold plated. The stock cable does a great job in transferring signals along with great transparency. The cable on headphone has three pins, and is configured for single end termination; balanced mode mode is not supported. Please note: While inserting cable plug into K812’s socket, carefully align to the indicating red line and gently push in. To remove the cable, gently pull out.
 

 

 

 

 

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Comfort:  K812’s are excellently comfortable to wear, even for longer sessions. These feel really wll designed as per human analogy. Clamp force is almost non existent, and ears have been given an excellent space to reside, do not touch anywhere. The earpads are made up of leather, are high quality ones. The Space inside the earpads is also great, great amount of depth and space.  The earpads on K812 are designed such that, the area of contact around the ears or anywhere is made as less as possible, and clamp force is reduced to almost zero: This will result in an excellent comfort.
 

 

 
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. The earpads can be removed to clean or replace with a simple anti-clockwise horizontal twist. These earpads are called as “Sound Sealer” by AKG. Hence, K812 ‘s  earpads seal out & engulf the user’s ears, rather than sitting around the ears. Single downside in this department weight, as the K812 weighs slightly on heavy side with 390 grams (owing to its solid build) feels slightly heavy on worn on. But again the excellent design factor makes up for it.
 
Overall, The K812’s are one of the worlds most well designed and most comfortable headphones.

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Sound:  The K812 has a vastly neutral “mesmerizing” sonic character. ‘Accuracy, Transparency, Details’ are the key terms.  Emphasis is not given at any particular frequency range; all ranges are completely flat, making these truly spectacular reference headphones.
 
Burn in: These perform consistently, and I could not observe any major sonic change with burn in. I have heard these from right out of the box till few hundred hours.
 
Lows: are very accurate, tight and refined; has a strong impact. Depth is excellent, the lows go very deep with authority. They also have an appreciable amount of body & quantity
 
Mids: Neutral, very detailed & transparent.  Special mention is about the naturalness and tonality. The mids of K812 are very neutral, but are presented in an extremely silky manner.
 
Highs: Very are clear, extended, airy & detailed. Very transparent & sensitive as per the given setup & recording.
 
Soundstage: The K812’s soundstage is breathtakingly airy, spacious, and fully circular 3D life like soundstage. Imaging is again spatial, with instruments placements very accurately positioned. Component/instruments are clearly and vividly separated and explained in a very detailed manner. According to my observation, these headphones are very neutral, and accurately represent the given recording. Given its transparent nature, I can say the K812’s are strictly not forgiving to poor recordings. Hence these are transparent, revealing and resolving.

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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 would like to compare the AKG’s“mesmerizing” K812 to Sennheiser’s “mighty” HD800 & Audeze’s “passionate” LCD-2F. All these three headphones are open backs, over ear. They are also very neutral by sonic response, but presented in different fashions. These are all top notch headphones and one of the world’s finest.
 
Sennheiser HD800: A Solid performer and a well established headphone, which is sonically extremely good performing. Sonically it is vastly neutral with no emphasis on any frequency range. But highs are very sensitive to the setup & recording used.  HD800 definitely feels (and indeed is) Lighter than K812 by weight. The HD800 is also slightly more comfortable owing its design & comfort principles that is compatible with majority of users. After intensive listening, I could observe K812 was comparatively ahead in performance in the following departments: In rest of the aspects, HD800 is marginally superior.
 
Lows: The K812 audibly has a deeper Lows with more authority without compromising its neutrality. Accuracy, detailing is same on both headphones.
 
Tonality: The K812 delivers a very realistic tonality which feels very silky & is simply mesmerizing when compared to HD800, which has a relatively vast flat mids.
 
Soundstage depth & layering: This where HD800 is left behind by K812. The overall depth across depth offered in K812 is simply amazing & spectacular, the stage goes very deep. But when the matter comes to width & height, HD800 performs better.
 
Amping: HD800 is very sensitive when it comes to headphone amplifiers, and it promptly points out the different between various amps in a accurate fashion. Whereas the K812 is comparatively more steady and accommodating to amps, so it ‘goes along’ with amps without much fuss.  Also the K812 is much more efficient & easier drive when related to HD800.
 
Summary: Both are extremely good performing headphones, and differ by final presentation delivered. Considering overall sonic traits, AKG’s K812 will sound slightly more ‘musical & enjoyable’ but without compromising its technical or reference deliverance aspect. Technically, HD800 is a more suitable headphone for critical listening and mastering purposes. But the K812 is more versatile & stable, proving to be great with mastering as well as music listening.
 
Both HD800 & K812 are top-notch reference class headphones & perform amazingly.
 
Audeze LCD-2F: Without a second thought, it offers the most accurate, linear & deepest lows of all headphones in sub 1000$. Mids are presented in a beautiful manner with ‘thickness’ and has a lovable realistic tonality. Highs although accurate, do not have enough details. Soundstage is very good and circular, but nowhere near the capabilities of HD800 & K812. Therefore the LCD-2F is not technically superior when compared to HD800 & K812. LCD-2’s strength elsewhere: In music listening. HD800 & K812 are reference level headphones whereas the LCD-2 is a headphone designed and aimed primarily for music listening.
 
The LCD-2 is one of the heaviest headphones (by physical weight), and this makes the LCD-2 to make a compromise in comfort department.  Although , the LCD-2’s already have a very good comfort & ergonomics (when weight factor is excluded). The strong point for LCD-2 will be primarily music listening, LCD-2 presents itself in a complete opposite fashion than that of HD800 & K812. Hence, it is safe to say, if HD800 & K812 are on one bank of river, then the LCD-2 is on the other one. They are completely opposite& never meet.
 
The HD800 & K812 are superior reference level headphones whereas the LCD-2 is a headphone designed and aimed primarily for music listening.

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Amplification: These K812’s are rated at 36 ohms and are indeed designed to be power efficient, can be run comfortably by DAP’s. But since these are top tier reference headphones, the K812’s scale really well with setups, and an well performing amp/dac is strongly recommended for optimal performance delivery. The K812 very much appreciates amplifiers which are revealing or transparent with powerful current output. Ideal amp/dac with a good match/performance for K812 include: Objective2/Odac & Schiit Magni/Modi Stack, amongst few others. These devices are very much affordable and are easily available.

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Conclusion:  The K812 headphones are phenomenal performing headphones. It is one of the few amazingly performing top tier reference headphones. The K812 is the flagship headphones from AKG, and the K812 is the absolute best which a renowned brand like AKG can offer. The K812’s deliver a breathtaking sonic performance. These deliver exactly what is fed into them, thus making the K812’s a technically ideal & extremely transparent headphones. Absolutely Mesmerizing & Marvelous pair of superior reference headphones by AKG.
 

 
 
Pros:
 
Top-Tier Reference Sound quality: “Mesmerizing” Sound presentation here is vastly neutral, with excellent response from across frequency band, and is very much helpful for critical listening as well as for casual musical pleasure.  K812 is very responsive, with great speed. With sheer amount of transparency & speed, the K812’s are simply one of the best top-tier performance headphones one can access get today. It performs extremely well and is neck-to-neck with HD800 by performance.
 
Top notch Build Quality: AKG K812 is very well engineered and designed. It is the showcase of AKG’s engineering. It is wisely built, by using cutting edge technology materials which provide a very durable life for the headphones. These are made in Slovakia with individual attention to each unit.
 
Excellent Comfort: Owing to their scientific & ergonomic design, including near zero clamping force & engulfing earpads, the K812’s feel very welcoming & comfortable.
 
Value: AKG K812 puts up an extremely good performance and it is definitely worthy for its offering price. This makes K812 a fantastic purchase for professionals & enthusiasts alike.
 
 
Cons:
 
Weight: The K812 weighs 390 grams, which is slightly on the weightier side. But this factor is mostly not noticed while worn, and is very much comfortable owing to its well implemented & ergonomic design.

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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, which has led me to review the prestigious K702 headphones.

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Intro:  AKG Acoustics (Akustische und Kino-Geräte G.m.b.H) is well recognized, established & one of the oldest audio brand specializing in the area of audio & headphones. They are headquartered in Vienna, Austria.  The ‘K’ series line is a very popular and long running headphone offering from AKG. They have a specific vision in making their products: Their products should last long and should employ quality engineering for precise and accurate sound reproduction, with state of art cutting edge technology. All the headphones are designed by their engineers in Austria. Few headphones are manufactured in China. The K702 headphones are one of the best headphones AKG has ever produced. These are studio reference headphones. The pair I will reviewing belongs to latest batch & current year manufacturing.
 

 
Founded in 1947 by Dr. Rudolf Görike & Ernst Pless. Originally, their main aim was to provide technical equipment for cinemas: loudspeakers, film projectors and light meters. Their business slowly expanded and AKG started selling car horns, door intercoms, carbon capsules for telephones, headsets and cushion speakers. The first AKG microphone was used by radio stations & Theaters. AKG developed its first patents, the moving coil technology and the principle of mass load membranes, allowing its products to have extended frequency ranges. With the creation of the D12 microphone in 1953, AKG achieved international fame, setting the standard for voice transmissions. Being the world's first dynamic cardioid microphone, it possessed excellent sonic qualities for that time, making its way into radio stations and recording studios from across the world. The product was improved through subsequent upgrades, spanning the famous C414 and C12 microphones. In 1994, AKG was acquired by Harman International Industries, and they later setup AKG USA’s headquarters in California.
 
In 2010, AKG Acoustics received a Grammy Award for the work the company has done in the recording field.
 
 
Specifications of K702:
 

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Let us see what the K702 has got for us,
 
Packaging and Accessories: The K702’s arrive packed inside a cardboard box. Once the box is flipped open, The K702 is seen resting. Nothing fancy, basic accessories included. But each and every part has a premium quality and feel to it.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
List of accessories in the box, which include the following:
 
Headphone Cable: About 2.5 meters long, terminating in 3.5mm.
 
¼” Screw on Converter: To plug in the K702 in the 6.5mm headphone jacks.
 
User Manual: Contains instructions to operate the K702 and other warranty information.

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Design and Build: The K702 has a great build quality. The K702 weights just about 235 grams, one of the lightest headphones by weight available. To achieve this, metal parts are very much avoided, and construction is mainly using high quality fibre, which are light but very strong.
 

 
AKG headphones use suspended headband technique, which has its own advantage. There will be no need for manual adjusting as per head size. They are auto adjusting, and avoids a lot of hassle. The headband has a foam-pleather base with no bumps, very accurately angled. It is attached to an elastic thread which stretches the headband up and down.
 
 

 

 

 
The K702 is a fully open headphone, hence has vents for air intake at either side of headphone. Driver shell rotates about its own axis to fit various types of human skulls.
The whole headphone is supported on by the two parallel outer headband beams, which are flexible. These also carry wiring for opposite driver (right)
 

 
Cable has a very good build. It is straight, flexible and does not get tangled. I could not notice the presence of any microphonics. Plug is straight and gold plated. The stock cable does a great job in transferring signals along with great transparency. The cable on headphone has three pins, and is configured for single end termination; balanced mode mode is not supported.
 

 

 

 

 

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Comfort:  K702’s are very comfortable to wear, even for longer sessions. These feel extremely light on head. Clamp force is very pleasant after few hours of break-in from a new headphone out of box.
 

 
The earpads are made up of velour, are high quality ones & does feel plastic and do not cause irritations or itching. The Space inside the earpads is also great, good amount of depth and good sense of space. These provide very good ventilation for our ears even in hot tropical climates. These ear pads are very firm in nature, which ensures in consistency of delivery in sonic performance, and also in durability of the pads themselves. The earpads can be removed to clean or replace with a simple anti-clockwise horizontal twist.
 

 

 
One of the most comfortable headphones both by design and by weight.

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Sound:  The K702 has a very neutral sonic character. ‘Accuracy, Transparency Details’ are the key terms. The presentation here is in such a way that, emphasis is given on mids and highs for optimal listening, while lows take a backseat.
 

 
Burn in: These improve a lot with time. Let’s say a playback of 50 hours provides audible improvements, along with softening of earpads and a relaxed clamping force.  Bass prior to break-in is slightly more sterile, and eventually it becomes increased in body, Mids will sound more open, the slight peak in upper mids which was present before, eventually flattens out. Highs which more smooth, soundstage opens already excellent, becomes more airy with precise instrument placements.
 
Lows: are very accurate, tight and refined; but doesn’t has a strong impact. Depth is moderate. Less in quantity comparatively. But the K702 is a reference headphones, focus and precise attention is required on mids & highs.
 
Mids: Neutral, very detailed & transparent.  With a appreciably natural tonality.
 
Highs: Very are clear, airy & detailed. Very transparent as per the recording.
 
Soundstage: The K702’s soundstage is very airy, spacious, and fully circular 3D life like soundstage. Imaging is again spatial, with instruments placements very accurately positioned.Component/instruments are clearly and vividly separated and explained in a very detailed manner. According to my observation, these headphones are very neutral, and accurately represent the given recording. Given its transparent nature, I can say the K702’s are not forgiving to poor recordings. Hence these are revealing and resolving.
Special mention here is about K702’s ability to respond.
 
The membrane of K702’s driver is extremely fast & responsive. It is very quick, delivers sound without any delay, almost like a planar magnetic headphones. No other headphone around this price range can compete with the speed of K702. Overall The K702’s offer a reference quality and vastly uncoloured and transparent sonic performance.
 
The K702 headphones are widely used by qualified & experienced professionals across the globe in precise. This may alone vouch for the K702’s highly regarded performance.

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Comparison: Let us take a look at other popular & well performing headphones available in similar price point.
 
Sennheiser HD600: A widely loved and a long standing headphone which extremely reliable and durable. It is fully modular. Sonically it is neutral has a nice quantity bass which is fairly accurate; Mids are forward. Highs are smoothened out with very less grains or harshness. Highs are present in just the right amount to keep the music alive. But when compared to K702, HD600 behaves as more of a musical headphone rather than a reference professional headphone.
 
HD600 indeed does comparatively lack soundstage width & air, but inturn has fuller soundstage. HD600 does not quite retrieve the detail due to its thicker sonic presentation. HD600 is also one of the most comfortable headphones, is also light in weight & ergonomically designed.
 
Beyerdynamic DT880: Again a long standing headphone offering from Beyer. Widely used by professionals across the world. The DT880 will be comparatively inferior in design mechanism; do observe the headbands, wiring connection methods and fixed cable. It also offers slightly lesser comfort due to shallow clearance inside earcups making ears to touch the inner surface. Also the DT880 is not modular, it does not have detachable cables, and hence maybe troublesome in long run.
 
DT880 is also very transparent & accurate in terms of sound quality for professionals aswell as for music hearing. Bass delivery is perfect (for reference) in DT880. But it has a slightly recessed mids and comparatively harsher higher frequencies.
 
The K702 has greater amount of comfort, relaxed clamping force of all, lightest by weight. Going by sonic performance, the K702 has the higher ability in terms of transparency, accuracy, resolving power, detail retrieval, imaging, and soundstage. The only drawback in sound deliverance is in terms of bass, which is a touch less in quantity than optimal. The K702 requires a good headphone amplifier & is relatively difficult to drive.
 
The K702 offers overall better technical sonic performance & can be considered as a reference in the whole comparison.

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Amplification: These K702’s are rated at 62 ohms and are not designed to be power efficient or run by weak sources and hence need a dedicated headphone amplifier for optimal performance delivery. The K702 very much appreciates amplifiers which are revealing or transparent with powerful current output. Ideal amp/dac with a good match for K702 include: Objective2 combo & Schiit M2 Stack. Matrix M-Stage is also proven to have great match with the K702. All these devices are very much affordable and are easily available.
 

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Conclusion:  The K702 headphones are exceptionally performing headphones for the price offered. The K702’s are very neutral & presentation is in such away, and one can easily figure out the flaws in a recording. This type of presentation will be very useful for mastering or critical listening, and utility for musical pleasure is also appreciable.
 
The K702’s will be my favourite pair of headphones for both leisure music listening aswell as for critical listening. K702 is an engineering marvel by AKG engineers, I must admit. These provide superficial performance considering their offering price. These deliver a breathtaking sonic performance. These deliver exactly what is fed into them, thus making the K702’s a technically ideal headphones.
 
I would highly recommend K702 to any person would like to truly realize the components of a recording & hence the music itself. I find the K702 to be a technically far more superior than other headphone available in this price point.
 
Pros:
 
1) Reference Sound quality: Sound presentation here is very neutral, and is very much helpful for critical listening as well as for casual musical pleasure.  K702 is very responsive, with great speed. With sheer amount of transparency & speed, the K702’s are simply one of the best performing headphones one can access get today.
 
2) Build Quality: AKG K702 is very well engineered and designed. It is wisely built, by using efficient materials which provide a very durable life for the headphones.
 
3) Comfort: These are feather light, one of the lightest & most comfortable headphones available.
 
4) Value: AKG K702 puts up an extremely good performance for a fraction of its worthy price. This makes K702 a fantastic purchase for all.
 
Cons:
 
Bass: Is a touch less in body and quantity when compared to other headphones. But going by quality, accuracy or deliverance, it is absolutely fine.
 

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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.

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Intro:  ME-Electronics is an established & popular US brand specializing in the area of Bluetooth headphones and IEM’s. They are based in Los Angeles, CA. Their products are all designed & developed in the U.S, but made in China by high standards. The Matrix2 is Over-ear Bluetooth Closed-back headphone offering from MEE. It also has variety of cutting edge technology such as carbon fiber body, wired/wireless operation, full music controls on headphone itself, rechargeable battery and so on.
 

 
MEE has a specific vision in making their products: Their products should have appreciable clean and clear sound quality & last long must be made up of good quality materials. Their products are very reasonably priced, accessible for a common music enthusiast. MEE provides are a great price/performance ratio on their entire product range.
 
MEE’s Motto: Music Enjoyment for Everyone.
 
Specifications of Matrix2 as per MEE:
 

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Packaging and Accessories: The Matrix2’s arrive packed inside a strong white MEE style-cardboard box, on which features and other information have been mentioned upon. Once the box is lifted open, The Matrix2& its case can be slid out. Packaging is safe yet attractive, nothing to complain about.
 

 

 

 
List of Included Accessories:
 
Storage Case:  Strong fiber storage case to store and carry the Matrix2 headphones.
 
Headphone Cable: One 1.25M three pole 3.5mm audio cable for wired operation on Matrix2.

 

USB Charging Cable: Standard black coloured USB cable to charge the Matrix2

 

User Manual: Detailed and informative Instructions about operation, also contains warranty information.

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Design and Build: The Matrix2 has a cutting edge & innovative build with very good quality workmanship. Nowhere to nitpick on.
 

 
The entire housing shell is made up of high quality, light weight & latest tech carbon fibre, and is painted in matt rubbery black for better grip and anti-skid feature. These are light in weight. Left and Right markings are a little hard to see, and are clearly indicated. Headband & earpads cushioning are made up of soft pleather materials. The length slider is made up of polished metal, which ensures this area, which is under tension, does not break off. The Matrix2’s are already nimble, easy to handle, wear on and power requirement is very low. Along with all these are easy to carry around. 
 

 

 

 
Since the Matrix2 is a Bluetooth headphone it has internal rechargeable battery, and recharging point is a mini USB, & is expected to be charged from a 5V USB line. The Matrix2 supports Bluetooth V4, & the host device is supposed to support the BT v4 for a pairing to achieve.  Battery life is expected at around 20 hours. The Matrix2 also supports wired playback incase Bluetooth is no longer required. The socket for the cable is again a very common and convenient 3.5mm type. It also has play, pause, forward, backward and volume keys on lower side of the headphones.
 

 

 
Functions: When switched on & paired with a smartphone, the Matrix2 works flawlessly in terms of wireless operation. No interruptions or distortions. Clean transmission. The control buttons are very well designed, and are solidly built, and perform well.

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Comfort:  Matrix2’s are very comfortable to wear, and 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 Matrix2’s are closed back headphones, these 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. Headband has a good cushioning.

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Sound: As for the most important part, the Matrix2 in overall has a near-neutral & clean sonic character.
 
Burn in: There is little or no sonic change with time. Let’s say a usage of 5 hours gives us softening of pleather earpads and a personalized clamping force. Bass prior to break-in is slightly muddy, and eventually it becomes more accurate, Mids will sound clearer and natural. Highs become slightly smoother; soundstage opens up by a margin.
 
Lows: are slightly loose and give a sense of full bodied bass, and are decently accurate.
 
Mids: sound very neutral clean.
 
Highs:  Slightly smooth treble.
 
Soundstage: Matrix2’s soundstage is good enough (for a BT can) with nearly circular soundstage. Width & Depth are balanced, decent. Instrument separation is good for a BT headphone at this price.

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Amplification: The Matrix2’s are rated at 64 ohms, and designed to be power efficient, and hence are fairly easy to drive, and can be driven by almost any sources, smartphones and DAP’s. Although setup like an O2/ODAC does indeed increase accuracy, soundstage and dynamics, and the difference in quality is definitely audible. Power is not very important aspect here, but a transparent setup indeed does help in increasing SQ; It is easy to observe that sound quality audibly increases on wired mode on same headphones, than wirelesss BT mode.

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Conclusion:  The Matrix2’s are really appreciable set BT of cans, one of the most performing & affordable BT cans to music enthusiast out there. Build quality is very good, sonic presentation is great for a wireless headphone with fairly good soundstage. Matrix2’s functions are also very fine and work flawlessly. At a competitive price of 90$, these offer a great price to performance ratio! Really a option worth looking for joggers, travellers and enthusiasts who are on the move.
 
Pros:
 
1) Build Quality: The Matrix2 has an excellent metal/fiber build. Latest tech’s like carbon fiber is employed.
 
2) Sound quality: Sound presentation here is very neutral, clear & detailed. Appreciable sound quality for a wireless headphone.
 
3) Function:  Matrix2 has a very reliable yet wide features and functions in it. It can go wired or wireless, has complete music control including a high quality mic embedded in it.
 
 
Cons: Clarity & balance in sound quality could use improvement, but again due to wireless features & wide functions, there will be a compromise in sound quality, which is common for all BT headphones.

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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.

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Intro:  Topping is a popular Chinese brand specializing in the area of Class T Speaker amps & headphone amps.  Topping made well performing speaker amps in an affordable price.  Later on, they also released their famed ‘NX-1’ portable amp & many desktop head amps, which made them a well known name across the Audiophile World.
The VX-1 amp/dac is the latest release from them. It has headphone amplifier, 24/96 DAC and an 25 watt speaker amp.
 
Specifications of VX-1 amp/dac as per Topping:

 
 
Let us see what the VX-1 has got for us,
 
Packaging and Accessories: The VX-1 arrives packed inside a box, packed inside a removable foam packing. Packaging is generic, but nothing to complain about. But all the included accessories have a good quality and feel to them.
 
List of accessories in the box, which include the following:
 
Power Adapter: AC to DC 14V 4A power adapter EU/US/AU/UK is supplied as per specifications.
 
USB Cable:  USB B to USB A cable for data transfer.
 
User Manual: Contains instructions to operate the VX-1 and other warranty information.
 
¼” Converter: A 1/8” to ¼” converter for headphones with 3.5mm Jack.

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Design and Build: The VX-1 has an excellent overall build quality. Its design is very convenient & practical. It is solidly built with no imperfections either physically or by exterior design.
At the front we have volume knob, ¼” headphone output socket & an on/off toggle switch, along with another input selector switch At the rear side of VX-1, we can observe the presence of power socket, Speaker taps & RCA input socket.
 

 

 

 
The VX-1 is fully Sophisticated and intelligent system. It employs relays to prevent noise/pop’s as well as memory function to remember the choice. Volume knob rotation is smooth and knob has just the right size for fingers. ¼” jack is a smooth operator. Internals quality & layout is again carried out very well. Everything is fixed on the PCB. Soldering & joints are very well done. Volume pot is well known Alps branded, which a plus for both volume control & audio quality. The VX-1 runs really cool at room temperature. The VX-1 has breathing LED behind volume pot which gives an illuminating effect and a calm glow.
 
(Image Courtsey: Topping)
 

 
I also observe a drawback in the power supply, it is not earthed. I am at a loss of understanding why Bravo did not include a third earthing pin or ground to make the amp safe. Since it is a DC supply, few ripples will be present in the final output. These either cause light electrocution/sock or audibly raise noise floor of the amp. 
 

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Sound:  The VX-1 gives out a very natural, smooth and laidback sonic character. ‘Musical’ is the key word. I find it fairly accurate even then.  Presentation is in such a way that, mids are little more intimate, with lows & highs sound tad more relaxed and laid back. Surprisingly, stock op-amp is pretty great and does not necessarily need to be changed/upgraded.
 
Burn in: I could not notice any major sonic improvements or changes by burn in. But let’s say a playback of about 20 hours provides few minor audible improvements, Bass prior to break-in is quite muddy, and eventually it becomes more accurate and clean, Mids will sound more open & slightly forward, airy and natural. Highs become more alive, soundstage will open up by a margin. Also, the noise floor further went down towards complete silence.
 
The gain is fixed at 6dB, which is very efficient & safe, and certainly works well even with IEM’s. This amp fairly powerful and can drive low-moderate impedance dynamic headphones with ease. There is absolutely no channel imbalance, thanks to the alps pot.
 
Lows: are accurate enough, but are refined & smooth with full bodied bass, and this makes VX-1 to have slightly less ‘impact’ or ‘punch’.
 
Mids: Neutral & clean but a little thick, and is slightly intimate or forward.
 
Highs: Smooth and refined without grains. They are airy with good amount of space sensation.
 
Soundstage: feels airy, natural and nearly-circular. Width is very good, & depth is decent enough for imaging. Instrument separation & detailing is pretty good.
 
The VX-1 sounded good in all genres I tried, and hence I conclude, The VX-1 is decently transparent, detailed but also slightly forgiving to poor recordings. Hence I can say the VX-1 is an all rounder. It does not compromise anything too much to affect any of its characters. Another thing to mention, since VX-1 had an overall smooth sonic character, I decided to try it on the K702, and unbelievably, the combo worked like a charm. I didn't expect a 90$l amp to make K702 sound so good. The combo sounds musical, and removes away the clinical character of K702’s for the sake of music listening. I would recommend this amp for AKG Q701, K701 & K702.

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Conclusion:  I feel the VX-1 is a well performing desktop setup in its price range. Build quality is excellent, sonic presentation is really appreciable; VX-1 is decently powerful & can drive almost any dynamic cans including IEM’s. The VX-1 performs way better than any desktop amp/dacs one would come across in this price point; it also has a lot of output power as bonus match for slightly brighter or sterile sounding headphones. At 90$, The VX-1 amp is hard to beat.
 
Pros:
 
1) Build Quality: even though it is open by case, the VX-1 has an excellent exterior & interior build. No compromise to be seen anywhere. Circuitry is also neat & well built.
 
2) Sound Quality: Sound presentation here is clean, smooth & refined but yet is detailed, spacious, which is very much like-able for a casual music listen.
 
3) Value: The VX-1 is one of the best bang for buck desktop setup under 100$  
 
Cons:
 
1) Power Supply: The default power supply is not grounded, hence a fair change of light electrocution and audibly higher noise floor. Thus one needs to earth it by connecting the input cable to a grounded source (like PC, which will be earthed)
 

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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.

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Intro:  ME-Electronics is an established & popular US brand specializing in the area of Bluetooth headphones and IEM’s. They are based in Los Angeles, CA. Their products are all designed & developed in the U.S, but made in China by high standards.The HT-21 Gen.2 is on-ear Closed-back headphone offering. MEE recently updated the drivers of already excellent HT-21 model and hence the HT-21 Generation 2.

 



 

MEE has a specific vision in making their products: Their products should have appreciable clean and clear sound quality & last long must be made up of good quality materials. Their products are very reasonably priced, accessible for a common music enthusiast. MEE provides are a great price/performance ratio on their entire product range.

 

MEE’s Motto: Music Enjoyment for Everyone .

 

Specifications of the HT-21 Gen2:

 

Type: Closed back, On ear with Passive Noise Isolation

 

Driver: 40MM dynamic

 

Frequency Response: 10Hz-20 kHz

 

Impedance: 32 ohms

 

Sensitivity: 116dB (1mW@1KHZ)

 

Maximum power input: 50mW

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Packaging and Accessories: The HT-21 Gen2 ’s arrive packed inside a strong cardboard box with a removable outer sheet, on which features and other information have been mentioned upon. Once the box is lifted open, The HT-21 Gen2 is seen resting on a plastic board. The cable is coiled off in the storage box. Which is safe yet attractive, nothing to complain about. A pouch is provided to store the HT-21’s.

 



 

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Design and Build: The HT-21 Gen.2 has a very good overall build quality. Nowhere to nitpick.

 



 



 



 

The entire housing shell is made up of high quality fibre, and is painted in gloss black (fingerprint magnet). Cans are pretty small, and appear to be large in pictures. These are extremely light in weight. MEE logo is printed on the rear side of the housing shell. Left and Right markings are easy to see, and are clearly indicated. Headband & earpads cushioning are made up of soft pleather materials. The length slider is made up of polished metal, which ensures this area, which is under tension, does not break off.

 



 



 

The HT-21 Gen.2’s are already nimble, easy to handle, wear on and power requirement is very low. Along with all these, these are fold-able, and are easy to carry around. Cable has a very good build. It is light, flexible and does not get tangled. I could not notice the presence of any microphonics. Plug is 45 degree angled and gold plated.

 




 

Comfort:  HT-21 Gen.2’s are very comfortable to wear. and its yoke is long enough and hence comfortable for almost any-sized heads. On1 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 HT-21 Gen.2’s are closed back headphones, these will isolate the listener from outside noise. This level of isolation is decent for a traveller. Going by weight factor, these feel extremely light and very easy on head. Clamping force is relaxed and not at all imposing and pressing against ears. Headband has a good cushioning, Also, the HT-21 Gen.2’s housings have high degree of rotation, ensuring a good comfort for any given heads and ears.

 




 

Sound: As for the most important part, the HT-21 Gen.2 has a very neutral, clear & airy sonic character. It is very transparent and detailed (given its price). We have to keep in mind that, with on-ear headphones, sonic presentation may feel different with different fit. Therefore fit/angle is the deciding factor for sound being perceived by ears.

 

Burn in: There is little or no sonic change with time. Let’s say a usage of 5 hours gives us softening of pleather earpads and better clamping force. Bass prior to break-in is slightly looser, and eventually it becomes more accurate, Mids will sound more open, airy and natural. Highs become slightly smoother; soundstage opens up by a margin.

 

Lows: have sub-woofer ‘effect’ and punchy; not very accurate.

 

Mids: sound very neutral, airy and clear.

 

Highs:  Detailed yet smooth treble.

 

Soundstage: Unlike majority of portable cans, the HT-21 Gen.2’s soundstage is airy natural with nearly circular soundstage. Depth is excellent. Instrument separation is very good for its price point. Instruments placement & positioning is great.  I wouldn’t call it as natural sounding, but as neutral, detailed, transparent. Low volume listening is pretty impressive. One can hear On1 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. Especially in case of On1 where the earpads are very compact, if they fit in a wrong way, they will leak sound leading to missing details.


 

Amplification: The HT-21 Gen.2’s are rated at 32 ohms, and designed to be power efficient, and hence are fairly easy to drive, and can be driven by almost any sources, smartphones and DAP’s. Although setup like an O2/ODAC does indeed increase accuracy, soundstage and dynamics, and the difference in quality is definitely audible. Power is not very important aspect here, but a transparent setup indeed does help in increasing SQ;


 

Conclusion:  The HT-21 Gen.2’s are really impressive set of cans, which are affordable to any music enthusiast out there. Build quality is very good, sonic presentation is very pleasing, with fairly good soundstage. I really like to listen to these cans. I have nothing but praises for these. At a humble price of 15$, these are a steal deal & no brainer! No one can really go wrong with the HT-21 Gen.2

 

Pros: 

 

1) Build Quality: The HT-21 Gen.2 has a good metal/fiber build.

 

2) Sound quality: Sound presentation here is very neutral, detailed, & airy, it is very much like-able and fatigue free for music listening on the go.

 

3) Power: HT-21 Gen.2’s can run off on smartphones without issues, and still sounding very good. Amplification or source requirement is very less. 

 

Cons: None

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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.

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Intro:  Audiotrak is a comparatively lesser known Korean brand specializing in the area of Headphone Amplifiers & Sound Cards. Audiotrak is counterpart amp manufacturer of popular Audinst, they both have offices next door in same building in Incheon, Seoul. Their Prodigy Cube is aimed at beginners for a all-in-one solution without the need for a separate power supply, easy to use and well performing.

 



 

Specifications of Cube:

 

USB Interface: 1.1/2.0

 

Support: 24 bits/96 KHZ

 

Headphone Impedance: 16-150 ohms

 

Op-Amp: LME49860

 

D/A Converter: WM8776

 

USB DAC: Tenor TE7022L

 

Dynamic Range: 108dB

 

Input: USB, Mic

 

Output: Headphone, Line, Digital, Coaxial


 

Let us see what the Cube has got for us,

 

Packaging and Accessories: The Cube arrives packed inside a large colourful cardboard box (typical Audiotrak  Style), on which features and other information have been mentioned upon. Once the box is opened, the main unit and all accessories are stuffed inside.  Foam protection is not present. Nothing special to mention about either; all accessories have a good quality, build and feel to them.

 

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

 

USB Cable: Standard black coloured USB A to B cable, 1.5 metres long.

 

RCA Cable:  Audio cable for Line out function, about 1.5 metres long.

 

Rubber Feet: For attaching to bottom surface of Cube, thus making it scratch and skid resistant.

 

User Manual: Detailed and informative Instructions about operation, also contains warranty information.


 

Design and Build: The Cube has a very good overall build quality. The outer case is made up of aluminium, and is painted in matt black; volume knob is rubberized, and has a grippy feel to it.  The Cube is quite in compact in size.

 



 

On the front side, we have Volume control knob, an output push button switch (between headphone out and Line out) and an output headphone jack is present in both 6.5mm & 3.5mm format. A Mic input in 3.5mm is present too. An active colour changing LED indicator shows the status of operation.  The LED turns green once songs/signal start playing from the source, and stays orange incase there is no signal incoming. On the rear side, we have USB input port, RCA Line-out jacks, Coaxial socket & Optical output port.

 



 

 Speaking of Internals, Cube has a double sided PCB with no wirings. All components used are of premium brands; including all dale resistors, Alps pot, premium caps. The Cube employs a 24/96 Tenor Chip. There is only one user replaceable part on board the Cube: The DAC output Op-Amp (which is by default LME49860 in DIP8 format) other op-amp is AD8397 but it is permanently mounted on PCB. Both Audiotrak and Audisnt has always been a strong contender in the field of Build, interiors, components and PCB. The Cube stays & operates very cool no matter what.

 



 

The Cube is powered solely off the 5V USB line. This makes it also to work straight off an android smartphone, which is a definite advantage for travellers. The Cube also has Line out for speakers or external amps, which again works quite well with crisp and clear output. The volume control is functional in this stage too.

 

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Sound:  I feel the Cube is neutral, detailed and accurate in sonic presentation. Sound-stage width is moderate. Depth is pretty good. Absolutely zero audible hiss/noise. No channel imbalance, and zero EMI pickup & pops.

 

Lows are strong and accurate and go fairly deep. Infact, Mids natural and clear, slightly intimate if I must say; Highs are clean, airy and non grainy, just right amount of sparkle to keep the music alive. As per my observations & comparisons, The Cube is going to be the most ‘clear & neutral’ sounding amp/dac from Audiotrak. Its higher end counterpart, the DR.DAC series did not quite please me, owing to their dark-sound character.

 

Soundstage on Cube is very good, and realistic and to some extent, lacking in width. Depth is fair. The Cube does not give a fully circular imaging, instead gives out an elliptical stage (with comparatively more depth and lesser width) Detail retrieval, and dynamics are decent enough. Overall the sonic presentation is very much neutral. Also, the final sound impressions of Cube can be manipulated by using different op-amps.  I have changed to Op-Amps and I could observe that the current op-amp (LME49860) does a very fine job, and I feel there is no need for op-amp rolling to increase sound quality. But the Cube scales very well with any op-amp installed.

 

Comparison: The only competitor for the Cube is its fellow Koran amp/dac: Audinst’s HUD-Mini (120$), which too has very similar functions, features and circuit design. But the Cube will have slight edge & advantage over the HUD-Mini in terms of features (Coaxial and microphone support) but in terms of sound quality, both are neck-to-neck, with Cube providing a slightly smooth and laidback sound character, and HUD-Mini providing a little more upfront and clear signature.

 

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Conclusion:  Cube is a good sounding portable amp/dac in its price point. Infact, the sonic performance is the best one can get in sub 150$ portable amp/dac’s. This device is actually pretty great on features and practical aspects. At the price point of 00$ shipped, Cube stands as best option for travellers with smartphones or laptops.  I can recommend Cube for any music enthusiast who wants a compact portable USB amp/dac to drive low impedance easy to drive headphones & IEM’s.

 

The Pros:

 

1) Design and Build: Cube has very well designed and implemented build. It can run off 5V source, eliminating the use for a separate power supply. The Cube can also run directly on android smartphones. It is also very compact, with practical features.

 

2) Sound quality: The sonic presentation on this little unit is neutral and vastly uncoloured. Default op-amps LME49860 & AD8397 perform very well, I can imagine it would pair well with almost any headphones.

 

3) Value: The Cube unit carries a great price to performance factor, which is hard to beat in this price range. Perhaps the Cube along with HUD-Mini are the best compact portable amp/dac in this price range.

 

 

The Cons: None at this price point.

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Me: I am a 21 year old grad-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.

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Intro:  Miu Tech-Systems is a lesser-known, but well established Chinese brand specializing in wide range of products including Headphone Amplifiers. Miu Audio was established in 2004.  Miu managed to capture attention of the world by their amp offerings which had attractive price tag & appreciable performance. Particularly, Miu’s MRB portable amp has been famous in eastern half of world. The MKTP-1 head amp is a hybrid tube-opamp structure, and is very versatile in terms of operation & rolling.
 

 
Specifications of MKTP-1:
 
Input Impedance: 10K ohms
 
Supported Vacuum Tube: 6922 & 12AU7
 
Maximum Input level: +18 dBV
 
Gain: 20dB/ Channel
 
Power Supply: 12-13.2V DC
 
Frequency Response: 25Hz to 150KHz (+/- 3dB)
 
Output Power: 388 mW THD+N: 0.1% @16 ohms &  102mW THD+N: 0.1% @300 ohms

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Let us see what the MKTP-1 amp has got for us,
 
 Packaging and Accessories: The S1 amp arrives packed inside a general cardboard box, packed inside a removable foam packing. Packaging is generic, but nothing to complain about. But all the included accessories have a good quality and feel to them.
 

 
 List of accessories in the box, which include the following:
 
Power Adapter: AC to DC 12V 3.5A power adapter EU/US/AU/UK is supplied as per specifications.
 
RCA to 3.5mm cable: To connect MKTP-1’s input from portable sources with 3.5mm out.
 
Rubber Feet: Self adhesive rubber dots to stick beneath the amp and prevent the amp from skidding of the desk.

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Design and Build: The MKTP-1 has an excellent overall build quality. Its design is decently practical. The MKTP-1 looks nimble, different& funky, and stands out from the crowd.
The amp has aluminium case with upright socket for tube installation. The Tube is also protected by a transparent circular cover. But this cover can be nuisance for tube rollers.
The transparent tube cover makes us gaze through it and onto the well soldered circuit board. The MKTP-1 is fairly small in size. The MKTP-1 is light in weight, & weighs under 250 grams.
 

 
At the front we have volume knob with on/off function, 3.5mm headphone output socket & a 3.5mm input socket. At the rear side of MKTP-1, we can observe the presence of power socket, RCA input sockets & a 3.5mm Line-Out socket.
 

 
Volume knob rotation is tight & accurate. The 3.5mm jack is also a very sturdy, but is slightly tight. Considering the powerful output provided by MKTP-1, I feel it would have better if a full size ¼” output were provided, along with elimination of front 3.5mm input. This would reduce congestion in front face panel. Internals quality is very good. The MKTP-1 amp has no manual wirings inside; everything is fixed on the PCB. Soldering & joints are very well done. Volume pot is well known Alps branded, which a plus for both volume control & audio quality.
Since the MKTP-1 amp follows Op-amp/Tube design, there is a DIP8 op-amp socket present, in which we may roll any compatible dual audio op-amps. The default one is NE5532 from Texas Instruments, & does a decent job in sound quality.
 

 
There is also a jumper on the PCB, which lets us swap both 12AU7 & 6922 variants. The MKTP-1 also supports pre-amp out via rear 3.5mm socket. To roll tubes & op-amps, we have to unscrew the body screws, remove the side screws on main body, slide out the amp board to completely access the board, op-amp socket, tube jumpers and tube socket, which is quite irritating for frequent tube rollers. Power supply is 12V 3.5A, is very well made & is properly earthed hence ensuring zero risk of any electrocution & a low noise floor.

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Sound:  The MKTP-1 has a very clear, detailed but intimate & closed in soundstage.
 
Burn in: I could not notice any major sonic improvements or changes by burn in. But let’s say a playback of about 20 hours provides few minor audible improvements, Bass prior to break-in is quite muddy, and eventually it becomes more accurate and clean, Mids will sound more open & slightly forward, airy and natural. Highs become slightly smoother, soundstage will open up by a margin. Also, the noise floor further went down towards complete silence.
 
Op-Amp rolling:  One can roll enormous number of 8 pin dual op-amps or single channels ones on adapters. After much testing on vast number of op-amps like, 2134NA, 4562NA, 6171,6172, 2111KP, 49720HA/NA, 49860NA, 49990MA, OPA209/627 /827, I could conclude, the stock one (NE5532) does its job & is optimal for the existing circuit parameters. But after intensive testing & attentive listening, I found the 4562NA also to be a great match, both for circuitry as well as for headphones by sound quality.
 
Tube Rolling: The MKTP-1 accepts both 6922 & 12AU7 family tubes, which is a definite advantage for tube rollers. Please remember to set the jumpers correctly before rolling. The default tube is Electro Harmonix 6922, which does a very good job by sound quality, and really a replacement is not requirement, unless you want different signature/colouration in sound.
 
This amp is extremely powerful and can drive any dynamic/Planar magnetic cans to insane loudness with just 50% of the volume used, which is at 12 o’clock. Anything above 12 o’clock is unbearably loud.  This incredible power brings out the best out of a matching headphone. Noise floor is audibly almost silent with demanding cans (yet i could detect a very faint hiss at max volume on the pot. There is absolutely no channel imbalance, thanks to the alps pot.The pre-amp function is pretty good for a starter system, gives a slightly coloured and detailed yet intimate sound for powered speaker system.
 
Lows: are accurate, tight and refined; have a great impact & extension. Depth is good enough.
 
Mids:  Clean, but sounds and very intimate & closed in.
 
Highs: clear & sparks grains are very much present in highs.
 
Soundstage: This is the area where the amp disappoints me. The MKTP-1  is not airy & and does not have appreciable soundstage. But the existing intimate stage is fully circular. Width is mediocre, & depth is decent enough for imaging. Instrument separation & detailing is pretty good. The MKTP-1 did not sounded good in every genres I tried (due to its congested soundstage) The MKTP-1 is decently transparent, detailed but also slightly forgiving to poor recordings.
 
 
Comparison: There is a hybrid tube amp in same price range which can compete with Miu’s MKTP-1.
 
Bravo Audio Ocean: A Mosfet-Tube design far better soundstage & imaging with appreciable dynamics, and supports only one family of tubes (12AU7) it also has a mammoth power output at its disposal. Both amps have pre-amp out, but pre amp sound quality in ocean is audibly better than that of MKTP-1. The ocean amp also has better design & controls. The MKTP-1 is price at 110$, Bravo Ocean is available at 120$, and the Ocean amp, in overall will be a better purchase than the MKTP-1.

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Conclusion:  I feel the MKTP-1 is a capable unique hybrid amp in its price range. Build quality is excellent, sonic presentation is near neutral & detailed; MKTP-1 is very powerful with low noise floor & can drive almost all cans including IEM’s & its sonic character can be tailored to meet one’s taste by op-amp & tube rolling. But the congested & somewhat closed soundstage disappointed me, leaving me desiring for more.
 
Pros:
 
1) Build Quality: even though it is open by case, the MKTP-1 has a excellent build. No compromise to be seen anywhere in exterior too. Circuitry is also neat & well built.
 
2) Sound quality: Sound presentation here is clean & clear but lacks in soundstage.
 
3) Rolling Capability: Enthusiasts can roll great number of op-amps & tubes to alter & fine tune the final sonic character.
 
4) Driving Power: The MKTP-1 amp has a powerful output power. It definitely can comfortably drive any set of cans including IEM’s.
 
5) Value: The MKTP-1 offers a good price/performance ratio, and is one of the most versatile amp in its price range
 
Cons:
 
Sounstage: The MKTP-1 lacks in this particular sonic character & has a congested and closed in soundstage, which will cause fatigue to a listener’s ears quickly.

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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.

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Intro:  Bravo Audio is a popular Chinese brand specializing in the area of Tube Headphone Amplifiers. Bravo was established in 2010.  Even though a relatively newer establishment in the field, Bravo managed to capture attention of the world by their amp offerings which had attractive price tag & appreciable performance. Back in 2010, tube/hybrid amps would be expensive, and out of reach of a humble Enthusiast. Bravo made well performing hybrid amps in an affordable price.  Bravo was the one who made hybrid amps in sub 100$ category. This made them a well known name across the Audiophile World. 
 
All of Bravo’s amps are hybrids, and are driven by Mosfet’s, and are pure class A. This ensures in mammoth output power, appreciable clear sound quality, but heat dissipation is high, and the amp physically gets hot even to touch comfortably. Bravo has been famous since its release of V1 & V2 amps, which were budget friendly, yet performing, which won ears of many enthusiasts. The S1 is the lone solid state counterpart of these amps, and hence subsequently will sound most accurate, neutral and cleanest of all Bravo amps. The S1 amp is also the smallest & most reliable amp from Bravo.
 
Specifications of S1:
 
Input Power: DC 24V 1.5A
 
Input Sensitivity: 480mV
 
Input Impedance: 100KOhm
 
Headphone Impedance: 20~600 Ohm
 
Frequency response: 50Hz-20 KHz +/- 1.5dB
 
Signal/Noise Ratio : 68dB      Gain: 16.21dB
  
THD: 0.060% (5mW) 0.12% (30mW)
 
Noise: 600uV

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Let us see what the S1 amp has got for us,
 
Packaging and Accessories: The S1 amp arrives packed inside a general cardboard box, packed inside a removable foam packing. Packaging is generic, but nothing to complain about. But all the included accessories have a good quality and feel to them.
 
List of accessories in the box, which include the following: 
 
 Power Adapter: AC to DC 24V 1.5A power adapter EU/US/AU/UK is supplied as per specifications.
 
¼” Converter: A 1/8” to ¼” converter for headphones with 3.5mm Jack.

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Design and Build: The S1 has a very good overall build quality. Its design is decently practical. Though it is enclosed in open acrylic sheets to save manufacturing costs, and also for funky DIY looks. The S1 looks much different& funky, and stands out from the crowd. It looks more of a DIY-amp. Even then, the open case is of good quality transparent fiber & metal supporting beams. The transparent sheets make us gaze through it and onto the well soldered circuit board. The S1 is fairly small in size (smallest & most compact of all Bravo’s amps, with V3 being the largest in size). The S1 is light in weight, & weighs under 250 grams.
 

 

 
At the front we have volume knob, ¼” headphone output socket & an on/off toggle switch At the rear side of S1, we can observe the presence of power socket & an 3.5mm input socket. Volume knob rotation is smooth and knob has just the right size for fingers. ¼” jack is also a very sturdy, but is slightly tight. The ¼” socket employs clip mechanism, which may cause scratches/damage on the headphone jack. Power switch has a good switching feel and strength, and is very precise in its job.
 

 
Internals quality is certainly good, if not very good. The S1 amp has no manual wirings inside; everything is fixed on the PCB. Soldering & joints are very well done. Volume pot is well known Alps branded, which a plus for both volume control & audio quality. Please do note that the Mosfets (IRF630N) run very hot, be sure not to touch anywhere near them, otherwise burn injuries are guaranteed!
 

 
Since the S1 amp follows Op-amp/Mosfet design, there is a DIP8 op-amp socket present, in which we may roll any compatible dual audio op-amps. The default one is TL072ACP from Texas Instruments, & does a great job in sound quality. There also a red LED besides the op-amp socket.
 
I also observe a drawback in the power supply, it is not earthed. I am at a loss of understanding why Bravo did not include a third earthing pin or ground to make the amp safe. Since it is a DC supply, few ripples will be present in the final output. These either cause light electrocution/sock or audibly raise noise floor of the amp.  All Bravo amps use the same 24V 1.5A power brick, and are not grounded or earthed. So if you happen to find a better quality laptop power supply within this specification, then it is a plug in replacement or upgrade.
 

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Sound:  The S1 has a very clean, clear yet airy sonic character. ‘Clear& Enjoyable’ is the key word. I find it fairly accurate.  Presentation is in such a way that, mids are little more intimate, with lows & highs sound tad more relaxed and laid back. Surprisingly, stock op-amp is pretty great and does not necessarily need to be changed/upgraded. 
 
Burn in: I could not notice any major sonic improvements or changes by burn in. But let’s say a playback of about 20 hours provides few minor audible improvements, Bass prior to break-in is quite muddy, and eventually it becomes more accurate and clean, Mids will sound more open & slightly forward, airy and natural. Highs become slightly smoother, soundstage will open up by a margin. Also, the noise floor further went down towards complete silence.
 
Op-Amp rolling:  One can roll enormous number of 8 pin dual op-amps or single channels ones on adapters. After much testing on vast number of op-amps like, 2134NA, 4562NA, 6171,6172, 2111KP, 49720HA/NA, 49860NA, 49990MA, OPA209/627 /827, I could conclude, the stock one (TL072ACP) is indeed very good at its job, is optimal for the existing circuit parameters. But after intensive testing & attentive listening, I found the 4562NA also to be a be great match, both for circuitry as well as for headphones by sound quality.
 

 
The gain is fixed at 16.21dB, which is still quite high and certainly not recommended for IEM’s. This amp is extremely powerful and can drive any dynamic/Planar magnetic cans to insane loudness with just 40% of the volume used, which is at 11 o’clock. Anything above 12 o’clock is unbearably loud.  This incredible power brings out the best out of a matching headphone. But there is a firm 'pop' to be heard when amp is switched on with headphones plugged in (with default op-amp). But with replacement (4562NA) op-amps this pop disappears. Also, power distribution across the volume pot eases up a lot, becomes more even. Noise floor is audibly almost silent with demanding cans (yet i could detect a very faint hiss at max volume on the pot. There is absolutely no channel imbalance, thanks to the alps pot.
 
Lows: are accurate, tight and refined; have a great impact & extension. Depth is good enough.
 
Mids: Neutral & clean, but sounds a little ‘far away’ and is not intimate or forward.
 
Highs: Very clear with desirable amount of sparks. They are airy with good amount of space sensation.
 
Soundstage: feels airy, natural and nearly-circular. Width is very good, & depth is decent enough for imaging. Instrument separation & detailing is pretty good.
  
The S1 sounded good in all genres I tried, and hence I conclude, The S1 is decently transparent, detailed but also slightly forgiving to poor recordings. Hence I can say the S1 is an all rounder. It does not compromise anything too much to affect any of its characters. 
 
Another thing to mention, since S1 had ample of output power, I decided to try it on the LCD-2, after the 4562NA. Unbelievably, the combo worked like a charm. I didn't expect a 70$ typical amp to make LCD-2 sound so good. Even I had tried the Little Dot 1+, Bravo Ocean to be double sure. Yep, S1 drives the LCD-2 great. First thing LCD-2 looks in an amp is clarity & transparency, and second but important thing is: power. The S1 has both of these traits, which ultimately led to a great match between the two. I would recommend this amp for Planar magnetics.

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Comparison: There is one such Solid State amp which can put real good competition with Bravo’s S1. It’s name is SMSL sApII which is priced & available at 65$ shipped on ebay.
 
SApII: It is also a hybrid design amp, and has a socket for op-amp. It has undeniably better build quality (both interior and exterior) & has fully enclosed case. By output power, I feel sApII is on weaker side when compared to the S1. The S1 is about 30% more strong in driving force. The sApII also has lower output impedance & hence the ability to drive IEM’s. But for headphones, Ultimately sound quality & Driving force of S1 prevails.
 
Verdict: The sApII & S1 are both great amps but with different areas of proficiency. sApII cn drive IEM's & has fully finished casing & absence of hot mosfets. The S1 will have upper hand when it comes to clarity, output power & in controlling planar magnetic cans. In rest of the criteria’s. If output power is a factor (for demanding headphones), it is better to go with S1. If output power is not a factor (IEM's, easy to drive headphone), then sApII is the best choice for standalone amp in this price point.
 
The S1 amp also has a very appreciable control for the planar magnetic cans. Just make sure to plug in a 4562NA which are easily available at a low price.
 

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Conclusion:  I feel the S1 is a very capable unique solid state amp in its price range. Build quality is good, sonic presentation is really appreciable; S1 is very powerful & can drive almost any cans except IEM’s & its sonic character can be tailored to meet one’s taste by op-amp rolling. The S1 sounds way better than any desktop amps in that price range one would come across in this price point; It also has a lot of output power as bonus for Planar's. At 70$, The S1 amp is hard to beat.
 
Special mention is S1's ability to drive and control planar magnetic cans like LCD-2, at this price point, its appreciable trait.
 
Pros: 
 
1) Build Quality: even though it is open by case, the S1 has a very good interior build. No compromise to be seen anywhere in exterior too. Circuitry is also neat & well built.
 
2) Sound quality: Sound presentation here is clean & clear but yet is detailed, spacious, which is very much like-able for a attentive listen.
 
3) Rolling Capability: Enthusiasts can roll great number of op-amps to alter & fine tune the final sonic character.
 
4) Driving Power: The S1 amp has a sheer output power. It definitely can comfortably drive any set of cans from 20-600 ohms. Also with drives Planar's with authority. Great job!
 
5) Value: The S1 is one of the two stand-alone & solid-state desktop amps in their price point (other one being sApII) which offer truly amazing price/performance ratio, considering its ability to control and drive LCD-2's.
 
 Cons:
 
1) Heat emission:  Actually not really a con, it is quite normal for a hybrid mosfet driven amp. But during operation, the S1 amp gets very hot, it becomes very difficult for a user to touch the surface of amp more than 2 seconds. It is the Mosfet heatsinks, which are exposed & are very hot.
 
2) Power Supply: The default power supply is not grounded, hence a fair change of light electrocution and audibly higher noise floor. Thus one needs to earth it by connecting the input cable to a grounded source (like PC, which will be earthed)
 

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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.

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Intro:  ME-Electronics is an established & popular US brand specializing in the area of Bluetooth headphones and IEM’s. They are based in Los Angeles, CA. Their products are all designed & developed in the U.S, but made in China by high standards. A151P Gen2. is In-ear Closed-back IEM offering which uses Single Balanced Armature Driver. The ‘P’ Version contains inline mic function. MEE recently updated the drivers of already excellent A151P model and hence the A151P Generation2.
 

 
MEE has a specific vision in making their products: Their products should have appreciable clean and clear sound quality & last long must be made up of good quality materials. Their products are very reasonably priced, accessible for a common music enthusiast. MEE provides are a great price/performance ratio on their entire product range.
 
MEE’s Motto: Music Enjoyment for Everyone .
 
Specifications of the A151P Gen2:
 
Type: Closed back, In ear with Passive Noise Isolation
 
Driver: Balanced Armature Knowles SR-31843
 
Frequency Response: 20Hz-19.5 kHz
 
Impedance: 32 ohms
 
Sensitivity: 111dB
 
Maximum power input: 30mW
 
Plug:  Four pin, 3.5mm 90 Degree angled, gold plated
 
Cable: Braided, Kevlar® reinforced, tangle-resistant cable

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Let’s proceed to the review,
 
Packaging and Accessories: The A151P Gen2 ’s arrive packed inside a strong cardboard box with a removable outer sheet, on which features and other information have been mentioned upon. Once the box is lifted open, The A151P Gen2 is seen resting on a transparent plastic. The cable is coiled off in the storage box, in eartips and user manual are present. Packaging is well done, which is safe yet attractive, nothing to complain about.
 

 

 

 

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

 
Eartips:  Silicone eartips of different sizes to accommodate ear canals of almost all sizes.
 
IEM Case: This case is a zipper closing type, used for storing the eartips and the IEM itself.
 
User Manual: Contains instructions to operate the A151P Gen2 and other warranty information.

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Design and Build: The A151P Gen2 has an excellent overall build quality. 
 

 
The entire housing shell is made up of high quality fibre, and is painted in gloss black colour and coated. These are very light in weight. MEE logo is printed on the rear side of the housing shell. Left and Right markings are easy to see, and are clearly indicated. 
 

 

 
Strain reliefs are well implemented, and do their jobs. Mic button is firm and reliable to operate upon. Y splitter is nicely finished, no nitpicks anywhere. Plug is 90 degree angled and gold plated.  Overall, Cable has a great build. It is light, braided flexible and does not get tangled. On the first look, this cable looks like a premium IEM’s spare cable. I could not notice the presence of any microphonics.
 

 

 

 

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Comfort: A151P Gen2 ’s are very comfortable to wear in general, A151P Gen2 is light weighed & ergonomically designed. These IEM’s are deep insertion type, since the nozzle is quite long. The cables are supposed to be worn around the ear and down from behind the ears. Thus placing the IEM’s firmly in their place. These are also suitable while jogging, running or during gym time. Since A151P Gen2 ’s are closed back IEM’s, these will isolate the listener from outside noise. This level of isolation is very good for a traveller.

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Sound: As for the most important part, the A151P Gen2 has a very neutral, very clear & airy , detailed sonic character. 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 impressed me 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 lacking in depth, and eventually it becomes deeper, Mids will sound more open, airy and natural. Highs become slightly smoother; soundstage opens up by a margin.
 
 
(Image courtesy MEE) This graph shows, the new driver update will be much appreciated with respect to sound quality.
 

 
 
Lows: are accurate, tight and refined; but have a low impact and depth, owing to their BA drivers.
 
Mids: sound very neutral, airy and clear.
 
Highs:  Detailed treble with slight grains and sparks. Unforgiving on bright recordings
 
Soundstage: Unlike majority of portable IEM’s, the A151P Gen2 ’s soundstage is more airy natural and circular soundstage. Depth is excellent. Instrument separation is very good.
 
I am really impressed by sound quality of these IEM’s. A151P Gen2 portrays music in such a way that, one feels as if the music is all around him (excellent soundstage for an IEM in this price). According to my observation, these cans sounded good in all genres I tried, and hence I also observed these are unforgiving to poor recordings. Hence these are appreciably transparent in character. It has very airy, a vast 3D like soundstage.
 
Bass impact/depth (in quantity) is the only thing to be compromised when switched over to BA from dynamic. But BA drivers provides in all sonic characters like accuracy, details, soundstage, instrument separation, imaging, dynamics and what not. The difference is easily audible & I feel BA drivers are best choice for IEM’s, if an enthusiast truly appreciates listening to all components & qualities of sound.
 
Instruments placement & positioning is really great.   Neutral, detailed, transparent are the key words for A151P Gen2 . Its resolving power is very good, considering the price point.
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. Especially in case of A151P Gen2, where the insertion is deep, if they fit in a wrong way, they will leak sound leading to missing details.

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Amplification: The A151P Gen2 ’s are rated at 32 ohms, and designed to be power efficient, and hence are fairly 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 very important aspect here, but a transparent setup indeed does help in increasing SQ;

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Conclusion:  I feel the A151P Gen2 ’s are really impressive pair of IEM’s, especially considering their price. Sound quality is phenomenal, is very pleasing, with great soundstage. I really like to listen to these cans. I have nothing but praises for the A151P Gen2 .
 
A151P Gen2 ‘s will replace the S0 IEM’s as my favourite IEM’s in 50$. The A151P Gen2 pleased me in every aspect considered by a music enthusiast. Overall A151P Gen2 will be an excellent purchase for IEM at 50$. In my opinion No enthusiast one can go wrong with these. Performs excellent when related to its price, and is worth every single penny spent. 
 
The A151P Gen2 takes my strong recommendation all enthusiasts who love the true components of music for an IEM under 50$.
 
Pros: 
 
1) Build Quality: The A151P Gen2  has a good Fibre/Rubber/plastic build. Cable build is just excellent and  the new Knowles driver update is really appreciable.
 
2) Sound quality: Sound presentation here is very neutral, detailed, & airy. Its very much ‘ideal’ & accurate. The soundstage, instrument separation, clarity, resolution & speed cannot be found anywhere else at this price.
 
4) Value:  After understanding all the qualities A151P Gen2 offers us, its undeniable fact that it also offers an unbeatable price/performance ratio for IEM’s under 50$.
 
Cons: Nothing at considering price point, Bass quantity will be a trade-off when shifting to BA driver IEM'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.


 

Intro:  Bravo Audio is a popular Chinese brand specializing in the area of Tube Headphone Amplifiers. Bravo was established in 2010.  Even though a relatively newer establishment in the field, Bravo managed to capture attention of the world by their amp offerings which had attractive price tag & appreciable performance. Back in 2010, tube/hybrid amps would be expensive, and out of reach of a humble Enthusiast. Bravo made well performing hybrid amps in an affordable price.  Bravo was the one who made hybrid amps in sub 100$ category. This made them a well known name across the Audiophile World. 

 



 

All of Bravo’s amps are hybrids, and are driven by Mosfet’s, and are pure class A. This ensures in mammoth output power, appreciable clear sound quality, but heat dissipation is high, and the amp physically gets hot even to touch comfortably. Bravo has been famous since its release of V1 (6922) & V2 (12AU7) amps, which were budget friendly, yet performing, which won ears of many enthusiasts. The V3 goes ahead in V1’s line, providing hardware equalizing option and performance. The V3 is a unique hybrid amp design from Bravo, & it has a hardware frequency equalizer as a advertising feature, along with further improvements.

 

Specifications of V3:

 

Input Power: DC 24V 1.5A

 

Input Sensitivity: 100mV

 

Input Impedance: 100KOhm

 

Headphone Impedance: 20~600 Ohm

 

Frequency response: 10Hz-60 KHz +/- 0.25dB

 

Signal/Noise Ratio : >90dB      Gain: 30dB

 

Dynamic range: 84.6dBA (300 ohm) 89.8dBA (33 ohm)

 

THD: 0.016% (300 ohm) 0.45% (33 ohm)

 

MD + Noise: 0.045(300 ohm) 0.42(33ohm)


 

Let us see what the V3 amp has got for us,

 

Packaging and Accessories: The V3 amp arrives packed inside a general cardboard box, packed inside a removable foam packing. Default tube included is a well acclaimed Electro-Harmonix 6922EH, which is made in Russia. Packaging is generic, but nothing to complain about. But all the included accessories have a good quality and feel to them.

 

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

 

 Power Adapter: AC to DC 24V 1.5A power adapter EU/US/AU/UK is supplied as per specifications.

 

 Electro-Harmonix 6922EH Tube: This is a good move by Bravo, this tube has a great build & is well known, popular in the tubey-world.


 

Design and Build: The V3 has a very good overall build quality. Its design is very practical. Though it is enclosed in open acrylic sheets to save manufacturing costs, and also for funky DIY looks. The V3 looks much different& funky, and stands out from the crowd. It looks more of a DIY-amp. Even then, the open case is of good quality transparent fibre & metal supporting beams. The transparent sheets make us gaze through it and onto the well soldered circuit board. The V3 is fairly small in size, but larger than the Bravo’s flagship ocean amp . The V3 weights only about 300 grams.

 



 

At the front we have volume knob, ¼” headphone output socket & an 3.5mm input socket, At the rear side of V3, we can observe the presence of power socket & on/off toggle switch. On the right of the V3, we also have RCA input option. If one input is plugged, other gets canceled. The Three Band Equalizer sliders are present on the top.

 



 

Volume knob rotation is smooth and knob has just the right size for fingers. ¼” jack is also a very sturdy, but is slightly tight. The ¼” socket employs clip mechanism, which may cause scratches/damage on the headphone jack. Power switch has a pretty great operation and strength, and is very precise in its job.

 



 

Internals quality is certainly good, if not very good. The V3 amp has no manual wirings inside; everything is fixed on the PCB. Soldering & joints are very well done. Volume pot is well known Alps branded, which a plus for both volume control & audio quality. Please do note that the Mosfets run very hot, be sure not to touch anywhere near them, otherwise burn injuries are guaranteed!

 



 

The Three-band equalizers slide very smoothly, no complaints here. The 9 pin Tube socket is ceramic type, has a great build. There is a blue LED below the socket, which gives a cool look in dark background. There also a red LED behind the tube socket. I sometimes wonder why there are two LED’s, one would have sufficed.  There are no op-amps in V3, since it is a mosfet driven hybrid amp. The V3 accepts only the 6922 family vacuum tubes by default. But one can swap 6DJ8, 7308 without any issues, but the 6922 tube is rated at slightly higher voltage, so if you pop in the 6DJ8 (which require slightly less voltage) its tube life may reduce by a few hours. Also, the stock 6922EH is pretty great, thereby eliminating (or reducing) the need for rolling.

 

I also observe a drawback in the power supply, it is not earthed. I am at a loss of understanding why Bravo did not include a third earthing pin or ground to make the amp safe. Since it is a DC supply, few ripples will be present in the final output. These either cause light electrocution/sock or audibly raise noise floor of the amp.  All Bravo amps use the same 24V 1.5A power brick, and are not grounded o earthed. So if you happen to find a better quality laptop power supply within this specification, then it is a plug in replacement or upgrade.

 




 

Sound: Despite being a hybrid tube amp, the V3 has a very clean, clear yet airy sonic character. ‘Balanced & Enjoyable’ is the key word. I find it very appealing and pleasing for casual music listening.  Presentation is in such a way that, mids are little more intimate, with lows & highs sound tad more relaxed and laid back. Surprisingly, Stock tube is pretty great and does not necessarily need to be changed/upgraded. 

 

Burn in: These improve a lot with time. Let’s say a playback of about 20 hours provides few audible improvements, Bass prior to break-in is quite muddy, and eventually it becomes more accurate and clean, Mids will sound more open & slightly forward, airy and natural. Highs become slightly more smooth, soundstage will open up by a margin.

 

Tube rolling:  One can roll 6922 family tubes on V3 amp. There are plenty of these tubes (and their variants, brands) for tube rollers. And the good news is that all these tubes are available within 10-15$ shipped on ebay!   Another thing to mention is, there are trim pots which adjust the power supply balance to tubes, if a multimeter is in hand, please do tune them to perfection for different tubes rolled in. This is result in optimal supply for tubes and hence better sound. The default 6922EH is neutral and balanced. Amperex 6DJ8 which I tried had slightly more colour presentation with more natural but less neutral character.

 



  

The gain is fixed at 30dB, which is quite high and certainly not recommended for IEM’s. This amp is extremely powerful and can drive any dynamic/Planar magnetic cans to insane loudness with just 30% of the volume used, which is at 10 o’clock. Anything above 11 o’clock is unbearably loud.  This incredible power brings out the best out of a matching headphone. Ideally, neutral or slightly brighter dynamic headphones go well with the V3 amp.

 

Lows: are accurate, tight and refined; have a great impact & extension. Depth is decent.

 

Mids: Slightly forward & sound very natural, and appealing, and have a slight warmth (I guess that is in a good way, comes very pleasing to our ears). Tonality particularly, one of the best at this price point. This character makes V3 a strong contender for classical music.

 

Highs: Very clear with desirable amount of sparks. They are airy with good amount of space sensation.

 

Soundstage: feels airy, natural and nearly-circular. Width is very good, & depth is fair enough for imaging. Instrument separation & detailing is pretty good. Initially, tonality is a bit harsh & mids are slightly sucked out (since the tube was new in box), But after burn in, its goes in great with the V3 amp. So replacing tube is not really necessary here.

 

Equalizer function: The given Three-band Equalizers work well, and are quite refined in function, does not feel bad or artificial at all. Just one thing I noticed that volume also increased along with the desired band when slider was slid upwards. It is the first time I have come across a band equalizer across am headphone amp. This is really a creative idea, but requires much better implementation & circuitry which would not be feasible here.

 

According to my observation, the V3 sounded good in all genres I tried, and hence I conclude, The V3 is decently transparent, detailed and also slightly forgiving to poor recordings. Hence I can say the V3 is an all rounder. It does not compromise anything too much to affect any of its characters.


 

Comparison: There is really not a worthy competitor for the V3 amp in this price of 80$. I have tried a few other Chinese hybrids like Little Bear, Indeed and many more, all are outperformed by The V3 amp. Though, a lot of excellent finished  & more reliable amps Like Little Dot 1+, Schiit Vali & Bravo’s own ocean amps are priced around 120$-150$.


 

Conclusion:  I feel the V3 is a unique hybrid amp in its price range. Build quality is good, sonic presentation is very pleasing, it can drive almost any cans & its sonic character can be tailored to meet one’s taste by tube rolling and equalizing.

 

Pros: 

 

1) Build Quality: even though it is open by case, the V3 has a very good interior build. No compromise to be seen anywhere in exterior too. Interior circuitry is also neat & well built.

 

2) Sound quality: Sound presentation here has a touch of naturalness, but yet is detailed, spacious, which is very much like-able for music listening. Sweet mids deserve a special mention. The V3 amp generally matches up well with slightly neutral to bright sounding headphones.

 

3) Rolling Capability: Enthusiasts can roll great number of 6922 tubes in a minimal cost.

 

4) Driving Power: The V3 amp has a sheer output power. It definitely can comfortably drive any set of cans from 20-600 ohms. Good job!

 

 

Cons:

 

1) Heat emission:  Actually not really a con, it is quite normal for a hybrid mosfet driven amp. But during operation, the V3 amp gets very hot, it becomes very difficult for a user to touch the surface of amp more than 2 seconds. The 6922 tube itself is just warm, It is the Mosfet heatsinks, which are exposed are hot & is due to heat emission from the mosfets.

 

2) Power Supply: The default power supply is not grounded, hence a fair change of light electrocution and audibly higher noise floor. Thus one needs to earth it by connecting the input cable to a grounded source (like PC, which will be earthed)

 

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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.

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Intro:  Thinksound is a new US brand specializing in the area of headphones and IEM’s. They are based in Somersworth, NH. Their products are all designed & developed in the U.S, but made in China by high standards. ON1 is the On-ear Closed-back headphone offering from Thinksound.
 

 
Thinksound has a specific vision in making their products: The products should last long and must be made up for eco-friendly materials. Infact, Thinksound is the first brand which has taken up such environment friendly initiatives in audio industry. Currently all of their headphone and IEM lines are closed back, solidly built by wood, fabric & cotton components, and all of them have a very natural and musical listening experience with them. Mr. Aaron Fourniner is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Thinksound.
 

 
Specifications of the On1:
 
Type: Closed back, On ear with Passive Noise Isolation
 
Driver: 40mm dynamic
 
Frequency Response: 5Hz-22 kHz
 
Impedance: 50 ohms
 
Hand crafted wood housing
 
Plug: 3.5mm steel reinforced gold plated
 
Cable: Kevlar® reinforced, tangle-resistant fabric cable
 
Earpads: Memory Foam Pleather

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Let us see what the On1 has got for us,
 
Packaging and Accessories: The On1’s arrive packed inside a strong cardboard box with a removable outer sheet, on which features and other information have been mentioned upon. Once the box is lifted open, The On1 is seen resting. The layer of cardboard can be lifted off to reveal another storage compartment, in which cotton pouch and user manual are present. Packaging is very eco-friendly, which reduces synthesized materials as much as possible. Thinksound has done some really innovative and eco-friendly packaging out here. Even the small velcro is made up of natural cotton material.
 

 

 

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

 
Fabric Cables:  One short 1.25M four pole 3.5mm audio cable with mic and volume controls, and another regular 2.0M cable.
 
Cotton Headphone Pouch: This pouch has a eco-friendly finish to it, and functions as a storage pouch for the On1.
 
User Manual: Contains instructions to operate the On1 and other warranty information.

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Design and Build: The On1 has a very good overall build quality, except a few areas where the plastic arms are not finished well and give out a finnicky look.
 

 
The entire housing shell is made up of high quality Wood, and is well polished and coated. cans are pretty small, and appear to be large in pictures. These are light in weight. Thinksound logo is printed on the rear side of the housing shell. Left and Right markings are particularly easy to see, and are clearly indicated. Headband is made up of natural sewn cloth. Earpads have pleather material as cushions.
 

 
The On1’s are already nimble, easy to handle, wear on and power requirement is low. Along with all these, these are fold-able, and are easy to carry around. On1 has a common 3.5mm cable socket, hence the cable is of very common type, a 3.5mm audio interconnect. This ensures, even if the current cable breaks, a replacement is easy to obtain, any 3.5mm cable audio cable will fit in. One downside I observe here is, wiring for opposite driver is embedded on upper end of headband, and through yokes and into the housings.
 

 

 

 
Cable has a very good build. It is light, flexible and does not get tangled. I could not notice the presence of any microphonics. Plug is straight and gold plated. Both ends of cable have same connectors, thus the cable can be used either way: topside down or vice versa. The stock cable does a great job in transferring signals along with great transparency, but the stock cable provides a slightly  ‘thin’ sound delivery, and this can be changed for any optional upgrade 3.5mm cable, which are are very easy to obtain under 15$.
 

 

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Comfort:  ON1’s are very comfortable to wear in general, and its yoke is long enough and hence comfortable for almost any-sized heads. On1 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 On1’s are closed back headphones, these will isolate the listener from outside noise. This level of isolation is very good for a traveller. Going by weight factor, these feel really light and very easy on head. Clamping force is relaxed and not at all imposing and pressing against ears. Headband has a good cushioning, but it can dirty quickly due to its fabric nature. Also, the On1’s housings have high degree of rotation, ensuring a good comfort for any given heads and ears.
 

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Sound: As for the most important part, the On1 has a very neutral, clear & airy sonic character. It is very transparent and detailed. We have to keep in mind that, with on-ear headphones, sonic presentation may feel different with different fit. Therefore fit/angle is the deciding factor for sound being perceived by ears.
 
Burn in: These improve a lot with time. Let’s say a playback of 20 hours provides major audible improvements, along with softening of pleather earpads and better clamping force. Bass prior to break-in is slightly looser, and eventually it becomes more accurate, Mids will sound more open, airy and natural. Highs become slightly smoother; soundstage opens up by a margin.
 
Lows: are accurate, tight and refined; have a strong impact. Depth is very good.
 
Mids: sound very neutral, airy and clear.
 
Highs:  Detailed treble with slight grains and sparks. Unforgiving on bright recordings
 
Soundstage: Unlike majority of portable cans, the On1’s soundstage is more airy natural and circular soundstage. Depth is excellent. Instrument separation is very good.
 
On1 portrays music in such a way that, one feels as if the music is all around him (excellent soundstage for a portable closed can). According to my observation, these cans sounded good in all genres I tried, and hence I also observed these are unforgiving to poor recordings. Hence these are appreciably transparent in character. The On1 sounds almost like open headphone, very airy, a vast 3D like soundstage.
 
Instruments placement & positioning is great.  I wouldn’t call On1 a natural sounding, but as neutral, detailed, transparent. Its resolving power is very good and worth mentioning.
Low volume listening is pretty impressive. One can hear On1 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. Especially in case of On1 where the earpads are very compact, if they fit in a wrong way, they will leak sound leading to missing details.

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Amplification: The On1’s are rated at 50 ohms, and designed to be power efficient, and hence are fairly 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, and the difference in quality is clearly audible. Power is not very important aspect here, but a transparent setup indeed does help in increasing SQ;

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Conclusion:  I feel the On1’s are a very special and unique set of cans. Build quality is phenomenal, sonic presentation is very pleasing, with fairly good soundstage. I really like to listen to these cans. I have nothing but praises for the On1. The On1 is also a very responsible headphone when it comes to environment; it is designed as eco friendly headphone with recycled packaging box, cotton pouch.
 
On1 also minimizes the use of artificially used materials like plastic. The idea implemented is very again very inspiring & may lead to major manufactures to make a similar move. Overall and satisfactory and excellent purchase for an On ear headphone. The On1 is available at amazon for 200$ and performs excellent when related to its price, and is worth every single penny spent. 
 
Pros: 
 
1) Build Quality: The On1 has a good wood/metal/plastic build, and is more environment conscious than majority of its counterparts.
 
2) Sound quality: Sound presentation here is very neutral, detailed, & airy, it is very much like-able and fatigue free for music listening.
 
3) Power Requirement: On1’s can run off on smartphones without issues, and still sounding very good. Amplification or source requirement is comparatively less. One can satisfy the hunger of ON1’s’s with just a cmoy amp.
 
4) Eco-Friendly: As per my memory, Thinksound is the first brand which has been manufacturing headphones while keeping environment safety in mind. It is not very easy to do the same in current industrial situation which focuses mainly on Plastic/Fibre.
 
Cons:
 
Rough Surface: The plastic finishing in the outer body of headphones is not well done, and gives rough edges and finicky feel. I hope Thinksound will improve the On1 in this regard.
 

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Me: I am a 21 year old Engineering 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.
 
Intro:  Audinst, is a renowned Korean headphone amplifier manufacturer. They are based in Incheon, South Korea. The brand was established in 2009. All their products are made in Korea.
 

 
Specifications of HUD-Mini as per Audinst:
 
Interface: USB 1.1/2.0  SNR: 113dB
 
Sampling Rate: 16/24 Bits 44.1/48/88.2/96 KHZ
 
Output: 6.5mm/3.5mm headphone Jack,
RCA Line out & Optical out
 
Headphone Impedance: 16-300 Ohms
 
Weight: 160 grams
 

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Let us see what the HUD-Mini has got for us,
 
Packaging and Accessories: The HUD-Mini arrives packed inside a large colourful cardboard box (typical Audinst Style), on which features and other information have been mentioned upon. Once the box is opened, the main unit and all accessories are put in a foam packaging.  Accessories are found beneath a pseudo-bottom compartment. No complaints here. Nothing special to mention about either; all accessories have a good quality, build and feel to them.
 

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

 
USB Cable: Standard black coloured USB A to B cable, 1.5 metres long.
 
RCA Cable:  Audio cable for Line out function, about 1.5 metres long.
 
Rubber Feet: For attaching to bottom surface of HUD-Mini, thus making it scratch and skid resistant.
 
User Manual: Detailed and informative Instructions about operation, also contains warranty information.
 

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Design and Build: The HUD-Mini has a very good overall build quality.
 

 
The outer case is made up of aluminium, and is painted in greyish silver. Front panel is black coloured; volume knob is rubberized, and has a grippy feel to it. In pictures HUD-Mini looks larger, but in real, it is quite compact in size.
 
On the front side, we have Volume control knob, an output toggle switch (between headphone out and Line out) and an output headphone jack is present in both 6.5mm & 3.5mm format. An active colour changing LED indicator shows the status of operation.  The LED turns green once songs/signal start playing from the source, and stays orange incase there is no signal incoming. On the rear side, we have USB input port, RCA Line-out jacks & Optical output port.
 
 Speaking of Internals, HUD-Mini has a double sided PCB with no wirings. All components used are of premium brands; including all dale resistors, Alps pot, premium caps. The HUD-Mini employs a 24/96 VIA Chip (which obviously has 88.2 support over the popular Tenor’s) There is only one user replaceable part on board the HUD-Mini: The DAC output Op-Amp (which is by default LME49860 in DIP8 format) other op-amp is AD8397 but it is permanently mounted on PCB. Audinst has always been a strong contender in the field of Build, interiors, components and PCB. The HUD-Mini stays & operates very cool no matter what.
 

 
The HUD-Mini is powered solely off the 5V USB line. This makes it also to work straight off an android smartphone, which is a definite advantage for travellers. The HUD Mini also has Line out for speakers or external amps, which again works quite well with crisp and clear output. But the volume control will no longer function when line-output is selected.
 

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Sound:  I feel the HUD-Mini is neutral, detailed and accurate in sonic presentation. Sound-stage width is moderate. Depth is pretty good. Absolutely zero audible hiss/noise. No channel imbalance, and zero EMI pickup & pops.
 
Lows are strong and accurate and go fairly deep. Infact, Mids natural and clear, slightly intimate if I must say; Highs are clean, airy and non grainy, just right amount of sparkle to keep the music alive.
 
Soundstage on HUD-Mini is very good, and realistic and to some extent, lacking in width. Depth is fair. HUD-Mini does not give a fully circular imaging, instead gives out an elliptical stage (with comparatively more depth and lesser width) Detail retrieval, and dynamics are decent enough. Overall the sonic presentation is very much neutral. Also, the final sound impressions of HUD-Mini can be manipulated by using different op-amps.  I have changed to Op-Amps and I could observe that the current op-amp (LME49860) does a very fine job, and I feel there is no need for op-amp rolling to increase sound quality. But the HUD-Mini scales very well with any op-amp installed.
 
As per my observations & comparisons, The HUD-Mini is going to be the most ‘clear & neutral’ sounding amp/dac from Audisnt. Its higher end counterpart MX-1/2 did not quite please me, owing to their dark-sound character.
 
Comparison: The only competitor for the HUD-Mini is its fellow Koran amp/dac: Audiotrak’s Prodigy Cube (99$), which too has very similar functions, features and circuit design. But the Cube will have slight edge & advantage over the HUD-Mini in terms of features (Coaxial and microphone support) but in terms of sound quality, both are neck-to-neck, with Cube providing a slightly warm, smooth and laidback sound character, and HUD-Mini providing a little more upfront and clear signature.

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Conclusion:  HUD-Mini is a great sounding portable amp/dac in its price point, Infact, the sonic performance is the best one can get in sub 150$ portable amp/dac’s. This device is actually pretty great on features and practical aspects. At the price point of 120$ shipped, HUD-Mini stands as best option for travellers with smartphones or laptops.  I can recommend HUD-Mini for any music enthusiast who wants a handsome portable USB amp/dac to drive low impedance headphones.
 
The Pros: 
 
1) Design and Build: HUD-Mini has very well designed and implemented build. It can run off 5V source, eliminating the use for a separate power supply. The HUD-Mini can also run directly on android smartphones. It is also very compact, with practical features.
 
2) Sound quality: The sonic presentation on this little unit is neutral and vastly uncoloured. Default op-amps LME49860 & AD8397 perform very well, I can imagine it would pair well with almost any headphones.
 
3) Value: The HUD-Mini unit carries a great price to performance factor, which is hard to beat in this price range. Perhaps the HUD-Mini is the best portable amp/dac in this price range.
 
 
The Cons: 
 
1) Fixed Volume in Line-Out: Alright, so this is not really a flaw, but it would have been perfect if the HUD-Mini had volume control working even under Line-out mode. Thats it, apart from this I am unable to find any drawback or flaws.

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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.

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Intro:  Bravo Audio is a popular Chinese brand specializing in the area of Tube Headphone Amplifiers. Bravo was established in 2010.  Even though a relatively newer establishment in the field, Bravo managed to capture attention of the world by their amp offerings which had attractive price tag & appreciable performance. The Ocean is a flagship amp offering from Bravo, & it is the only amp to be fully enclosed in a case by Bravo.
 

 
All of Bravo’s amps are hybrids, and are driven by Mosfet’s, and are pure class A. This ensures in mammoth output power, appreciable clear sound quality, but heat dissipation is high, and the amp physically gets hot even to touch comfortably. Bravo has been famous since its release of V2 amp, which was budget friendly, yet performing, which won ears of many enthusiasts. The Ocean goes ahead in V2’s line, providing more reliability and performance. Back in 2010, tube/hybrid amps would be expensive, and out of reach of a humble Enthusiast. Bravo made well performing hybrid amps in an affordable price.  Bravo was the one who made hybrid amps in sub 100$ category. This made them a well known name across the Audiophile World. 
 

 
Specifications of Ocean:
 
Input Power: DC 24V 1.5A
 
Input Sensitivity: 100mV
 
Input Impedance: 100KOhm
 
Headphone Impedance: 20~600 Ohm
 
Frequency response: 10Hz-60 KHz +/- 0.25dB
 
Signal/Noise Ratio : >90dB      Gain: 30dB
 
Dynamic range: 84.6dBA (300 ohm) 89.8dBA (33 ohm)
 
THD: 0.016% (300 ohm) 0.45% (33 ohm)
 
MD + Noise: 0.045(300 ohm) 0.42(33ohm)

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Let us see what the Ocean has got for us,
 
Packaging and Accessories: The ocean amp arrives packed inside a general cardboard box, packed inside a removable foam packing. Tubes are included inside the foam socket. Default tube included is a generic 12AU7. Packaging is generic, but nothing to complain about. But all the included accessories have a good quality and feel to them.
 
List of accessories in the box, which include the following: 
 
 Power Adapter: AC to DC 24V 1.5A power adapter EU/US/AU/UK is supplied as per specifications.
 
User Manual: Contains instructions to operate the ocean amp and other warranty information.

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Design and Build: The ocean has a very good overall build quality. Its design is very practical.
 

 
The Ocean looks much different owing its blue paint, and stands out from the crowd. Personally, I very much liked the blue case colour of the ocean amp.The entire case is made up of high quality brushed aluminium, and is painted in Matt Cyan-Blue. The ocean is fairly small in size, though the ocean amp weights only 400 grams, It feels slightly heavy when held owing to its good build. At the front we have an On/off switch, volume knob, ¼” & 1/8’ headphone output socket, and a red indicator LED. At the rear side of ocean, we can observe the presence of power socket , 1/8” input, RCA inputs & outputs.
 

 
Volume knob rotation is smooth and knob has just the right size for fingers. ¼” jack is also a very sturdy, but is slightly tight. The ¼” socket employs clip mechanism, which may cause scratches/damage on the headphone jack. Power switch has a pretty great operation and strength, and is very precise in its job. The red LED is particularly very bright, and can be disturbing if you look at the amp. So I advise to slightly push in the LED using a small pin, so that it’s brightness is drowned inside the amp.
 

 
Internals quality is certainly good, if not very good. The ocean amp has no manual wirings inside, everything is fixed on the PCB. Soldering joints are well done. Volume pot is alps branded, which a plus for both volume control & audio quality. 
 

 
The 9 pin Tube socket is ceramic type, has a great build. The ocean accepts only the 12AU7 type vacuum tubes by default. The tube is physically protected by a vertical metal arc, incase the ocean amp falls off the table or similar situation arises. To change/replace the tube, one has to unscrew the top four screws and carefully pull up the cover to avoid damage to existing tube in the socket. There are no op-amps in ocean, since ocean is a mosfet driven hybrid amp. IRF510 mosfet is used here, which a widely used & fairly popular one. The only downside I observe here is, top cover has to be removed every time to change tube. This is not really a drawback, but it would be more difficult and inconvenient for tube rollers to do this way.
 

 
I also observe a drawback in the power supply, it is not earthed. I am at a loss of understanding why Bravo did not include a third earthing pin or ground to make the amp safe. Since it is a DC supply, few ripples will be present in the final output. These either cause light electrocution or raise noise floor of the amp. It
 

 

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Sound: Despite being a hybrid tube amp, the ocean has a very clean, clear yet airy sonic character. ‘Balanced & Enjoyable’ is the key word. I find it very appealing and pleasing for casual music listening.  Presentation is in such a way that, mids are little more intimate, with lows & highs sound tad more relaxed and laid back. Surprisingly, Stock tube is pretty good and does not necessarily needs to be changed/upgraded. 
 
Burn in: These improve a lot with time. Let’s say a playback of 50 hours provides few audible improvements, Bass prior to break-in is quite muddy, and eventually it becomes more accurate and clean, Mids will sound more open, airy and natural. highs become slightly more smooth, soundstage will open up by a margin.
 
Tube rolling:  One can roll 12AU7 family tubes on ocean amp. Mullard  12AU7A, RCA Clear Tops, long plates, halo getter type tubes particularly match pretty great on ocean  and result is a very clear, clean and airy sound with a lifelike 3D soundstage. And the good news is that all these tubes are available within 20$ shipped on ebay!
  
The gain is fixed at 30dB, which is quite high and certainly not recommended for IEM’s. This amp is extremely  powerful and can drive any dynamic/Planar magnetic cans to insane loudness with just 25% of the volume used, that is at 9 o’clock. Anything above 10 o’clock is unbearably loud.  This incredible power brings out the best out of a matching headphone. Ideally, neutral or slightly brighter dynamic headphones go well with the ocean amp.
 
Lows: are accurate, tight and refined; have a great impact & extension. Depth is pretty good.
 
Mids: Very little forward & sound very natural, and appealing, and have a slight warmth (I guess that is in a good way, comes very pleasing to our ears). Tonality particularly, one of the best at this price point. This character makes ocean a strong contender for classical music.
 
Highs: Very clear with desirable amount of sparks. They are airy with good amount of space sensation.
 
Soundstage: Soundstage is airy, natural and circular. Depth is very good. Instrument separation & detailing is pretty good. With the default Chinese 12AU7, tonality is a bit harsh & mids are slightly sucked out, But after burn in, its goes in great with the ocean amp. So replacing tube is not really necessary in ocean amp. The tube in ocean amp seems superior to rest of the generic Chinese 12AU7’s.
 
According to my observation, these cans sounded good in all genres I tried, and hence I conclude ocean is decently transparent, detailed and also slightly forgiving to poor recordings. Hence I can say ocean is all rounder. It does not compromise anything too much to affect any of its characters.

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Comparison: The main competitors of  Bravo Ocean are the Little dot 1+ & Schiit Vali along with Project Starlight which are all similarly priced. All these are hybrid amps.
 
Little dot 1+:  Hybrid amp which uses op-amps for amplification. Op-amps have their own kind of sonic touch to them, which feel refined & smoothened out when compared to mosfets. Power supply is Internal type and  well made (which results in very low noise floor, and safe operation) But as a disadvantage, Tube rolling is not as economical and convenient as ocean, since Ocean supports a single 12AU7, which are very common to obtain & no hassle for a matched pair.
Summary:  Best hybrid amp available in 200$, but lacks punch & power delivery of ocean amp. No preamp out.  Not most economical to roll, availability & interior circuit build quality is a concern.
 
Project Starlight:  At 225$ built & shipped this is the most expensive amp of the bunch. But Starlight has best internal build quality (along with Vali). The Starlight is not fully enclosed in a case. Its output power at headphone is quite limited, and is lowest of all these amps. Starlight also has 4 op-amps and support for 6/12V Dual Triode tubes. Starlight is specifically suited for lower impedance & less demanding headphones.
Summary: Best option for DIY’ers. But expensive to roll op-amps, since there are 4 op-amp sockets. Driving power is not the best.
 
Schiit Vali: Has no rolling options. Everything is fixed in. Output impedance is quite high at around 6.5 ohms and is not suitable for IEM’s. Power supply is again external, but definitely better than Bravo Ocean. Vali uses 16V AC/AC adapter (similar to O2 amp adapter) Vali also has a best build quality.
Summary: Good choice for beginners who don’t want to roll anything. A nice amp for 50-300 ohm headphones which are slightly bright in nature. 
 
The ocean amp has an edge over all hybrid tube amplifiers when it comes to output driving power, delivery & is most economical of all amps to be tried in 200$. Though Little Dot’s 1+ without a second thought reigns as king , considering its allrounder overall performance, Ocean amp deserves to be a runner-up for the position, and performs very well indeed.

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Conclusion:  I feel the Ocean is a excellent hybrid amp in its price range. Build quality is very good, sonic presentation is very pleasing, it can drive almost any cans & its sonic character can be tailored to meet one’s taste. I can whole heartedly recommend Ocean for any enthusiast who would prefer a slightly musical sonic presentation, yet retaining decent amounts of accuracy.  I really liked the ocean amp.
 

 
Pros: 
 
1) Build Quality: The Ocean has a very good all-metal build. No compromise to be seen anywhere in exterior. Interior circuitry is also neat & well built.
 
2) Sound quality: Sound presentation here has a touch of naturalness, but yet is detailed, spacious, which is very much like-able for music listening. Sweet mids deserve a special mention. The ocean amp generally matches up well with slightly neutral to bright sounding headphones.
 
3) Rolling Capability: Enthusiasts can roll great number of 12AU7 tubes in a minimal cost.
 
4) Driving Power: The ocean amp has a sheer output power. It definitely can comfortably drive any set of cans from 20-600 ohms. Good job!
 
 
Cons:
 
1) Heat emission:  Actually not really a con, it is quite normal for a hybrid mosfet driven amp. But during operation, the ocean amp gets very hot, it becomes very difficult for a user to touch the surface of amp more than 2 seconds. The 12AU7 tube itself is just warm, It is the outer case is hot & is due to heat emission from IRF510 Mosfets.
 

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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.

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Intro:  Somic is a headphone manufacturing brand headquartered in Guangzhou, China. Somic was established in 1999, it is one of China’s oldest and largest headphone brand. It has obtained the esteemed ISO9001/2008 and other such certificates for its ability in manufacturing.
 

 
Somic currently has a wide range of budget headphone offerings, which it also OEM’s to other brands. The MH463 is their flagship headphone.
 

 
Specifications of MH463:
 
Drivers: 50MM CCAW coil
 
Rated Impedance: 45 Ω
 
Frequency Response: 8 ~ 30,000 Hz
 
Sensitivity: 93dB

Weight: 388 Grams
 
Plug: 3.5mm with screw on 6.5mm Gold plated
 
Cable: 1.6 Metres, Fixed & non removable.

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Let us see what the MH463 has got for us,
 
Packaging and Accessories: The MH463’s arrive packed inside a black cardboard box. Once the case is flipped open, The MH463 is seen resting behind a plastic window. Nothing fancy, basic accessories included. But each and every part has a premium quality and feel to it.
 

 

 

 

 

 
List of accessories in the box, which include the following: 
 
Screw on ¼” Converter: To plug in the MH463 in the 6.5mm headphone jacks.
 
Velcro: An velcro to tie up the lengthy cable when not in use.

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Design and Build: The MH463 has a great build quality. The entire housing shell is made up of high quality forged aluminium & fibre. It isn’t painted, but is anodized, which is again a step forward in engineering. These are not light in weight, and feel fairly (but not excessive) heavy on head.  Headband is made up of steel, covered by a pleather cushion. Earpads are pleathers. These are fully open, and over ear headphones, and the design/calculations has been extremely well carried out.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Cable has a very good build. It is light, flexible and does not get tangled. I could not notice the presence of any microphonics. Plug is straight and gold plated, and is very well built. The stock cable does a great job in transferring signals along with great transparency. But the cable is fixed & not detachable.
 

 

 

 

 

 
Previously, many users had reported creaking frames or similar issues, and as of now, most of those issues have been addressed & solved by Somic, and I cannot observe any creaking movements.

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Comfort:  MH463’s are very comfortable to wear in general, owing to its oval earcups and very comfortable clamp, long yokes, the MH463 is literally fits well all enthusiasts. It can be made comfortable for long sessions by upgrading to a better earpads.
 

 
The clamping force and headband angling is very well implemented, and clamp force is very adaptive & accurate without exerting undesirable pressure on our skull. The yoke is also long enough to provide a good comfort for enthusiasts with longer/larger heads. Even though MH463’s are fully-open headphones, these leak sound, but not as loud as majority of open cans.
 

 
The stock earpads of MH463 lack in ventilation hence are uncomfortable for ears & cause sweating. So in my opinion, it is necessary to switch over to HM5 velour pads, which are very economical at 20$ a pair. This step ensures in a big step up in comfort. The MH463 is quite heavy feeling can when worn over head, because it weighs 388 grams (result of a great build). This is the only real con (unavoidable) in comfort area.

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Sound:  The MH463 has a neutral character, with a slight emphasis on upper mids. I really liked the way MH463 presented itself sonically. Overall character is such a way that, lows are really accurate and tight; hence focus falls on mids to highs. This helps us to better retrieve the details, pick out instruments and gives us a sense of increased air and soundstage.
 
Burn in: These improve a lot with time. Let’s say a playback of 100 hours provides audible improvements, along with relaxed and adopted clamping force. Bass prior to break-in is slightly more sterile, and eventually it becomes more in body, Mids will sound more open, airy and slightly more forward. highs which were ‘noticeable and aggressive‘ become slightly more smooth and natural, soundstage opens up by a margin.
 
Lows: are very accurate, tight and refined; have a strong impact. Depth, and extension is moderate.
 
Mids: sounded slightly recessed at first listen, but with burn-in, mids open up and get slightly forward and pleasing.
 
Highs: Very are clear, detailed, and in just about the exact quantity required.  I can describe highs not as ‘bright’ but as ‘right’
 
Soundstage: The MH463’s soundstage is airy, spacious, and 3D like. Depth is excellent. Instrument separation, detail retrieval is very good. According to my observation, these cans sounded good in every genre I tried, but particularly excelled in instrumentals, and classical. Vocals were good if not great. I can say the MH463’s are not forgiving to poor recordings. Hence these are revealing and resolving.

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Comparison: The MH463 holds an unbelievably great value and price/performance aspect, it is unmatched by any open back headphone within 100$. Not only that, its performance, build, comfort is very much comparable to sub 200$ headphones.
 
Hence, I will pick Sennheiser’s HD598  & Audio Technica’s AD900X as MH463’s chief competitors, even though latter ones cost more than twice the price of MH463 at 60$ shipped. All these are low impedance, and easy to drive, open and over-ear cans.
 
HD 598: By comfort & build, these are really superior, owing to their light weight construction, velour earpads and a softer headband. But by sound quality, HD598 falls slightly behind MH463 in the area of precision, instrument separation, clarity & soundstage. But these are slightly easier to drive than MH463’s. HD598’s are available at around 150$ in amazon.
 
AD900X:  Again, edges out the MH463 in terms of comfort, build, and also sonically outperforms the MH463, but these cost three times the price of MH463. At 170$ shipped, It is one of the best can available in the price range, but MH$63 simple offers a great value and a near-performance in 1/3^rd of its price.
 
So, ultimately without a second thought, The MH463 has a tremendous value, impressive sonic performance, & reigns as the King of sub 100$ cans, and competes very well with sub 200$ headphones.

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Amplification: These MH463’s are rated at 45 ohms, hence are designed to be power efficient, and can be run by weak sources .The need for a dedicated headphone amplifier is comparatively less, although a dedicated amp can improve can sound quality by a good margin. O2/ODAC setup brings out the best in MH463’s. Or even a 30$ homemade cmoy brings out the potential in them.

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Conclusion:  The MH463 can be considered as a wonderful set of headphones. It has an exceptional price to performance ratio. I am really impressed. The MH463’s are a pair, which I feel everyone should probably try out in their audio journey, because they’re a great pair in their own right. I can whole heartedly recommend them to anyone who loves audio. From a budding music enthusiast to a studio mixer to a veteran audiophile. Nobody can really regret buying the MH463.  With these, even an average music enthusiast can afford to listen to quality music.
 

 
 
The Pros: 
 
1) Build Quality: The MH463 has a great all-metal/fibre build.
 
2) Sound quality: Sound presentation here is very neutral, with slight emphasis on upper mids and is very much helpful for critical listening as well as musical pleasure.
 
3) Value:  Sheer and unbeatable value & one of the best price to performance ratio headphones one might encounter.
 
The Cons:
 
1) Comfort: This is definitely a downside considering the weight of 388 grams, which is on heavier side. .Also, the earpads needs to be changed/upgraded for a better comfort and listening experience.

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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.

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Intro:  Shanling is a well established, but a lesser known Chinese brand specializing in the area of OEM Manufacturing & Headphone/Power Amplifiers. Shanling started operating in 1988, has come a long way since then & currently manufactures supplies parts/products for famous western audio brands.
 

 
Shanling have a specific vision in making their products: The products should have a accurate and neutral sonic performance, quality and should have a practical operating aspect.  All their products are manufactured in their own factory in Shenzhen. The M3 DAP is the entry level DAP offering from Shanling.  The M3 uses a modern and unique styling, design, UI and aims to capture the ears of budding music enthusiasts.
 
Specifications of M3:
 
Frequency Response: 20Hz ~ 20kHz
 
Total Harmonic Distortion: <0.004%
 
Recommended Headphone Impedance: 16 ~ 300Ω
 
Output power: 250mW @ 32Ω; 16mW @ 300Ω
 
Battery charging time: About 6 hours on 5V 2A Adapter
 
Battery playback time: About 7-9 hours on general plaback
 
Power supply: Built-in lithium polymer battery 3600mAH
 
Input: Line in, USB, Optical fibre
 
Output: Line Output, Optical fibre, Headphone out
 
Memory size: Inbuilt 8GB, support external TF card upto 128GB
 
Dimensions (W × D × H): 69 × 21 × 125.5mm
 
Net weight: about 220g

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Can M3 compete with existing mainstream DAP’s? Lets find out,
 
Packaging and Accessories: The M3 arrives packed inside a plain black cardboard box, packed inside a foam packing. Packaging is minimalistic, but nothing to complain about, considering M3’s high value aspect. But I feel atleast a storage pouch and a cleaning cloth could have been provided by Shanling.
 

 

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

 
USB Cable:  USB to Micro USB cable for charging and data transfer.
 
User Manual: Contains instructions to operate the M3 and other warranty information. (Unfortunately, In Mandarin language)

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Design and Build: The M3 has a 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 black/silver, and is resistant to fingerprints. It is rectangular in shape with smoothened edges, the M3 fairly large in size, and just appears to be smaller in pictures. It feels fairly light when held in hand.
 

 
At the front we have a analog volume knob (which is rare to see at this price point) which includes a control Joystick, a power button with embedded indicator LED.  The circular knob present here, has a dual role of adjusting volume, along with control functions. For control functions, the M3 employs ‘joystick’ style movements to perform (up, down, left, right) as found in common DAP’s .Volume knob rotation is not 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. The LED is embedded right in the middle of the button, which gives it a really attractive look.
 

 
The display screen here is again large enough for comfortable viewing, and color/resolution on M3 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 3.5mm headphone out socket, and a reset hole. 3.5mm jack is 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 SD card slot, a micro USB port, and a coaxial output, and one lineout, both in 3.5mm socket format. All these work without any hassle, and are of good quality.
 
 

 
On the either sides of the M3, recessed curves and recessions in the main body for a comfortable grip for hands (very much like the QA360) 
 

 

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Sound: The M3 in has a very ‘clear’ and ‘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.
 
Burn in: The M3 audibly improves with time. Let’s say a playback of 100 hours provides few 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 SD 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 M3 for best possible neutrality.
 
Driving Power: There is gain setting Low/High, which if switched, provides an high gain (ideal for demanding cans). Else, will provide a low gain (ideal for low impedance dynamic cans & IEM’s) The M3 has 60 step volume knob, which is quite accurate and precise. I hardly ever cross ‘30’ volume.  I can say, this DAP is very powerful when it comes to output power, and can drive demanding cans in low gain itself. The M3 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 really good.
 
Mids: sound very neutral, clean and airy. Mids are neither forward nor recessed, and are just about the neutral line.
 
 Highs: Very clear and detailed treble with very less grains.
 
Soundstage: Soundstage is airy, precise and circular. Depth is excellent. Instrument separation & detailing is appreciable. I really liked the way M3 picked out the details.
 
The M3 portrays music as it was recorded. The M3 is very transparent and neutral in nature. Faulty recordings are not forgiven, and are immediately picked out by the M3. I am fully satisfied by the performance given out by M3, as I firmly believe, sources should be as transparent as possible, and M3 wins in that. Due to its transparency and neutrality, M3 does not sound organic, natural or lifelike. But inturn it sounds like a very detailed & accurate high fidelity DAP.
 
The M3 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. The M3 can also accept input from Line in, SPDIF (hence act as amplifier/interface) I find the M3 DAP is really versatile.

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Battery & UI:  Battery life on M3 DAP is quite decent, with about average 5-6 hours general playback. Absolutely no heat detected when charging or during playback. But charging time is quite long, (at about 6 hours) even by using a 5V 2A adapter as recommended by Shanling. 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 Shanling in upcoming days.
 

 
In M3, the control buttons are made to work by operating the joystick/volume knob. Flip it up/down/left/right, and the functions are the same up/down/left/right. The select or ‘centre’ key as we might say it, is not present in M3 DAP unlike other DAP’s. So, the implementation here is: Right key alternatively acts as play/pause, with Left key as back/menu, Up and down keys as scrolling and fast forward and rewind. Actually UI & button layout it’s pretty simple, yet very advanced functional layout, which I quite like. With M3, Shanling has definitely rolled out a very unique, modern yet practical design, which is simple to operate for everyone alike.
 
The M3 has gain setting, pitch or tone settings, and a software controlled rate upsampling. Ultimately the M3 has an edge over DAP’s to be tried in 300$.  

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Conclusion:  I feel the M3 is a phenomenal DAP in my view. It offers an amazing neutral sound quality, and employs cutting edge design, modern UI and a very neat and easy controls. Build quality is very good, sonic presentation is neutral, transparent, detailed. It can fairly drive any cans upto 300 ohms. I can whole heartedly recommend M3 for any enthusiast who would prefer a very neutral, clean, sonic presentation. I very much prefer M3 over X5 & DX90, making M3 my favourite DAP next to QA360.
 
Pros: 
 
1) Build Quality: The M3 has a very good all-metal build. No compromise to be seen anywhere in exterior. Analogue volume control is an added bonus.
 
2) Sound quality: Sound presentation here is very neutral, transparent, detailed and spacious, very much appreciable for becoming a good source, which is the base of sonic chain. Probably the most performing DAP in 300$
 
3) Driving Power:  M3 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 M3 stands out from rest. M3’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, M3 has just one joystick, from which user can operate the entire DAP. No need to lift fingers at all.
 
Cons:
 
1) Battery charging time:  Actually not really a con, Infact this issue is common with many DAP’s. The charging time (full) taken by M3 is about 6 hours. Which can be really irritating for enthusiasts who listen for a long session or while in travel.

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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.

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Intro:  Fostex is a well known & established audio brand which is headquartered in Japan. Established in 1973, it is one of the oldest audio brand specializing in the area of headphones and audio equipments. Their products are all designed, developed in Japan, but manufactured in China. The TH600/900 line is a very popular and long running closed headphone range by Fostex. TH500 is the first open back audiophile grade headphone offering from Fostex.

 



 

Fostex has a specific vision in making their products: Their products should employ the best possible, precise engineering and last long (very long) and accurate, yet with an enjoyable sonic reproduction. In fact, Fostex’s precision and engineering has made them memorable across the oceans and continents.

 



 

Specifications of TH500RP:

 

Driver: Regular Phase Dynamic Driver

 

Rated Impedance: 48 Ω

 

Frequency Response: 20 ~ 30,000 Hz

 

Sensitivity: 93dB/mW


Weight: 375 Grams

 

Plug: 6.5mm Gold plated

 

Cable: straight, Oxygen Free Copper, anti RF & non removable.

 

Let us see what the TH500 has got for us,

 

Packaging and Accessories: The TH500’s arrive packed inside a black cardboard box. Once the lid is lifted off, The TH500 is seen resting. Nothing fancy a carrying pouch included. But each and every part has a premium quality and feel to it. Packing is in a typical Sennheiser style. The matt black box, the foam cutout simply reminds us of a Sennheiser box.

 



 



 



 



 



 

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

 

Carry Pouch: This is a pleather case, and supplied to protect and store the TH500.

 

User Manual: Contains instructions to operate the TH500 and other warranty information.

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Design and Build: The Th500RP has a phenomenal build quality. Simply one of the greatest build and design one would ever see on a headphone. Build is very similar to higher TH600/900 models. Absolutely no compromises/cut shorts to seen anywhere. The TH500’s are open (practically, semi open) cans which are powered by a Regular Phase Dynamic drivers as called by Fostex. If we take a closer look, the driver looks very similar to a planar magnetic driver, but the drivers are dynamic.

 



 



 



 

The entire housing shell is made up of high quality forged aluminium & fibre. It isn’t painted, but is anodized, which is again a step forward in engineering. TH500 weights about 375 grams, but when worn on, feels very light and comfort. Headband is made up of steel, covered by a pleather cushion. Earpads are made up of pleathers. These earpads vaguely reminds us of Audeze’s LCD series pads, but TH500’s pads are much narrower and aim towards a tight and fixed fit.

 



 



 



 



 

Cable has again has a superb build.  Cable build is extremely fine. It is light, flexible and does not get tangled. I could not notice the presence of any microphonics. Plug is straight and gold plated. The stock cable does a great job in transferring signals along with great transparency. But the cable is fixed & not detachable, which is quite disappointing. This can also be troublesome in a long run.  If the cable gets damaged/cut one may have to visit service centre. 

 



 



 



 

TH500 has a specific ‘rail’ & ‘ball bearing’ mechanism to stabilize and control the headband length when user shortening/elongating them. This mechanism is one of the smoothest, reliable & most reliable one I have ever experienced. The TH500’s also have a well implemented and very comfortable clamp force, and headband angling, for a good listening experience.  Overall, It has a phenomenal Summit-Fi level build quality, which is similar to the build of TH600/900.

 



 

 

Comfort:  TH500’s are very comfortable to wear even in long sessions; Length of the headband, clamping and cushioning are very fine and comfortable. Since TH500’s are semi-open headphones, these do leak sound, but not as loud as fully open cans. But the earpads of TH500 may feel somewhat lacking in width to almost all enthusiasts, due to its narrow width. So this results in our ears touching the edges of earpad or inner area. Our ears are soft and sensitive, and this contact results in pain or discomfort.

 



 

Though TH500 is ergonomically designed and are really comfortable, the only issue here is, TH500 primarily designed for a tight fit to achieve an optimum angle to the drivers, for a natural sound perception. Concept is very creative, but comfort is compromised in the process.

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Sound:  The TH500 has an overall neutral character; tonally it’s a dark sounding headphone. It can be called as ‘Mid-Centric’.

 

Burn in: These improve a lot with time. Let’s say a playback of 50 hours provides audible improvements, along with softening of earpads.  Bass prior to break-in is slightly more sterile, and eventually it becomes more in body, Mids will sound more open, airy. Highs which were ‘slightly doused off‘become slightly more noticeable, soundstage opens up by a margin.

 

Lows: are extremely accurate, tight and refined; but as a trade-off, have a considerably low impact. Depth is less than average. Lows did not quite satisfy my sonic tastes.

 

Mids:  sound pleasing and natural. Mids are slightly more intimate than rest of the frequencies. This makes TH500 a good contender for vocals.  .

 

Highs: are clear, detailed, yet smooth and not harsh.  Highs are presented in such a manner that these do not attack the music, but take a back seat.

 

Soundstage: The TH500’s soundstage is airy, spacious, but not fully circular or 3D soundstage, but more of a 2D like with left and right separation. Depth is pretty good. Since TH500’s are bass shy, Presentation is in such a way that, focus will fall more on, mids and highs, hence giving a perception of better Instrument separation & detail retrieval. According to my observation, these cans sounded good particularly in instrumentals, and classical. Performance on electronic/Trance were not particularly likeable due to its lack in lows. I can say the TH500’s are partially forgiving to poor recordings. Hence these are not very revealing not resolving. Another aspect which puts me off is the clarity and resolution on TH500’s is not great, but just decent.

 

 

Components of TH500: (Image Courtsey HeadRoom)

 



 

 

 

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Comparison: Price point of TH500 is somewhere in between that of Mid-Fi cans and Summit-Fi ones. Therefore, important contenders are Sennheiser HD700 & Beyerdynamic T90.

 

HD700: A popular and a long standing headphone from Sennheiser, and is sonically well acclaimed. Sonically, HD700 is the Little brother of HD800, neutral has a accurate bass; Mids are very good, highs are transparent with very less harshness. Highs are present in just the right amount to keep the music alive. Soundstage wise, they are very 3D and lifelike.

 

T90: Younger sibling of the T1 from Beyerdynamic. The T90 is very detailed, unforgiving to poor recording, and has a slightly bright highs. The T90 also has a accurate but slightly stronger bass than HD700, neutral mids, and slightly bright highs. Soundstage is very appreciable and 3D like, but a step behind the HD700’s.

Build quality wise all three cans are in same league. Sonically, both HD700 and T90 are very neutral & revealing, but they present sound ina slightly different kind of signatures. But the TH500 is way darker when it comes to presentation and tonality. Sound quality (especially clarity, detail, resolution) wise, TH500 is noticeably inferior, and is left behind the two.

 

TH500 is available at around 699$, and Both the HD700 & T90 are priced at 649$. The price point of TH500’s does not justify its sonic qualities. Sadly, TH500 is not only outperformed, but outclassed by HD700 and T90 sonically.

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Amplification: These TH500’s are rated at 48 ohms, but are not to power efficient, hence cannot be run by weak sources and thus need a dedicated headphone amplifier. Although TH500 can sound ‘good’ with setups like setup like an O2/ODAC or M/M stack, but the full potential is unleashed on  powerful setups like Gustard H10 or Audio GD’s: It is like these cans are on a whole new level now. And the difference in quality is clearly audible by any enthusiast.

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Conclusion:  The TH500’s are a good pair of headphones. Build quality is really great and on par with acclaimed headphones. I also liked the TH500’s tonality, as it is easy to focus on the Mids. This type of presentation will be useful for vocals and classical.

 

But as drawbacks, Lows were although very accurate, had low impact and below average depth. The clarity was also lacking & did not quite appeal my tastes. Also, due to TH500’s design, enthusiasts with moderate to large ears may not prefer the comfort in these, since ears will touch the surface of earpads. I also feel Fostex should improvise the drivers for TH500 t perform sonically well.

 

Pros: 

 

1) Build Quality: The TH500 has a phenomenal all-metal/fibre build.  Even the cable has a great and appreciable build.

 

2) Sound quality: Sound presentation here is easy going, but also fairly detailed with a good amount of soundstage. The TH500 is mid centric, and quite enjoyable for vocals and classical music.

 

3) Comfort: Comfort is very good in general. But it is definitely a downside for enthusiasts with moderate to larger ears. The TH500 cannot accommodate larger ears inside its earpads. .Also, the earpads lack ventilation, and may cause sweating/discomfort in warmer climates.

 

Cons:

 

1) Lows:  Lows on TH500 lack in quantity, impact and depth, leaving the listener longing for more.

 

2) Clarity & Resolution:  The TH500 when compared to its counterparts lacks clarity, detail, and resolution in its sonic quality.

 

3) Value: Because of the mentioned drawbacks, TH500 will ultimately hold a lower price to performance ratio.

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