Reviews by YoYo JoKeR | Page 3 | Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org

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: Little Dot is a famous Chinese brand specializing in the area of Tube Headphone Amplifiers. They are rolled out their first product around 2008. The 1+ hybrid is the entry level amp offering from Little Dot.

Those days, OTL/tube amps would be expensive, and out of reach of a humble Enthusiast. Little dot products made well performing OTL amps in an affordable price. This made them a well known name across the Audiophile World. Little Dot have a specific vision in making their products: The products should have appreciable sonic performance, quality and should have a practical operating aspect. All their products are handmade by good workmanship. Mr. David & Mr.Yang are the key people behind Little Dot.

Specifications of LD1+:

THD+N:

0.2%: 1Vrms @ 1000Hz

0.6%: 3Vrms @ 1000Hz

1.0%: 5Vrms @ 1000Hz

Signal-to-Noise: 92dB

Headphone Impedance: 8 - 600 ohms

Input Impedance: 50K ohms

Power Output:

150mW @ 300 ohms

300mW @ 120 ohms

800mW @ 32 ohms

User variable gain settings: 6.5x or 3.25x

Power Consumption: 15VA

Let us see what the LD1+ has got for us,

Packaging and Accessories: The LD1+ 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 6J1. 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:

RCA Cable: One short 1.8M RCA to RCA cable for input connection.

¼” Converter: To plug in the 3.5mm headphone jacks in the 6.5mm sockets.

Power Cord: A mains AC power cord EU/US/AU/UK is supplied as per specifications.

User Manual: Contains instructions to operate the 1+ and other warranty information.

Design and Build: The LD1+ has a very good overall build quality. Its design is very practical.

The entire case is made up of high quality brushed aluminium, and is painted in gloss black, which is a finger print magnet. The LD1+ fairly large in size, and just appears to be smaller in pictures. It feels heavy when held owing to its 1.5 Kg weight (thanks to strong & reliable transformer). At the front we have a volume knob, ¼” headphone output socket, and a blue indicator LED. At the rear side of LD1+, we can observe the presence of power socket, power switch, and RCA inputs.

Volume knob rotation is smooth and knob has just the right size for fingers. ¼” jack is also a very smooth operator, which is neither too tight nor too loose. The ¼” socket employs ball bearings instead of clips to avoid scratches/damage on the headphone jack. Power switch has a pretty great operation and strength, and is very precise in its job. RCA jacks are gold plated, and the plating wears off along with the time. Since Little dot amps are hand soldered and assembled, I feel soldering and assembling could have been done in a more precise or in a neat way. The volume pot along with most of the components is of generic make, which is quite disappointing, but this is to be expected as LD1+ has a very competitive pricing.

The 7 pin Tube sockets are ceramic type, have a great build. LD1+ accepts single pentode or triode type vacuum tubes. Matched pair is technically not essential for operating the LD1+, however matched pair does add up to proper channel balance and slightly better performance. LD1+ is a very versatile and customizable hybrid amp, users can roll different op-amps and three families of vacuum tubes as per their tastes.

The only downside I observe here is, bottom chassis has to be removed every time to change gain/tube settings. This is not really a drawback, but it would be more easy and convenient for users (especially for tube/op-amp rollers) to do this way.

Sound: The LD1+ has a slightly rich, euphonic yet airy sonic character. ‘Musical presentation’ is the key word. I find it very appealing and pleasing. Presentation is in such a way that, mids are little more intimate, with lows & highs sound tad more relaxed and laid back. Stock tube and op-amp is pretty mediocre and needs to be changed/upgraded. I also recommend changing the stock volume pot to Alps-16 100K for further improvement in SQ.

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.

Op-amp rolling: Any dual precision audio op-amp will work on LD1+, but there are few renown and high performance audio op-amps, & after trying on many, like, 2134NA, 4562NA, 6171,6172, 2111KP, 49720HA/NA, 49860NA, 49990MA, OPA209/627 /827 I have settled on 2X LME49710HA (metal cans) on browndogs. This results in a very detailed, natural, airy presentation with precise and lifelike soundstage.

With stock op-amp, LD1+ runs fairly cool. With replacement op-amp, amp runs warmer by about 20%, But with op-amps mounted on browndog, Surface temperature rises by 40% (probably due to power intake by op-amps)

Tube rolling: One can roll 6J1/6AK5/5654/WE403A, WE408A, EF91/92/95 family tubes on LD1+. Essential thing to do is set jumpers before tube rolling. Failing to do so can burn up tubes or damage the amp itself. Out of all these, The Mullard EF91, Yugoslavia 6HM5, and Voshkod 6ZHP1 tubes particularly match pretty great on LD1+ 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 at 20$ a pair shipped on ebay!

I can conclude op amps have overall 30% effect on final sonic character of LD1+, whereas tubes have around 70%. So tube rolling can bring major audible changes than op-amp rolling.

The LD1+ has a solid power supply which delivers. No distortions, works great even when directly plugged into mains (no need for power purifier etc like some tube amps) No distortion/ out-of-breathness found on any combination of op-amps or tubes. There are gain jumper present (J3, J4), which if removed provides an high gain of 7X (ideal for 300-600 ohm cans). Else jumpers engaged will provide a low gain of 3.5X (ideal for Planars and low impedance dynamic cans) I also can confidently say that EF91 + LME49710HA is the best possible combination on LD1+ for all planar magnetic headphones.This amp is pretty powerful and can drive demanding cans like LCD2’s in low gain and less than 50% of the volume pot.

Lows: are accurate, tight and refined; have a good impact. Depth is pretty good.

Mids: sound very natural, and appealing, and have a prominent warmth and lush (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 LD1+ a strong contender for vocals.

Highs: Very smooth treble without grains and sparks. Highs convey an image of smoothened darkness, just like a caramel chocolate. Highs are airy with good amount of space sensation.

Soundstage: Soundstage is airy, natural and circular. Depth is excellent. Instrument separation & detailing is pretty good. With the default Chinese 6J1, tonality is a bit harsh, and soundstage is limited. But once you pop in the upgrade EF91, soundstage very 3D, airy and clear. At this point, the 1+ shows a hint of its potential.

LD1+ portrays music in such a way that, one feels as if the music is all around him. The sonic character here is so natural and eased that the tonality sounds very life-like. According to my observation, these cans sounded good in all genres I tried, and hence I conclude LD1+ are not very transparent, and are forgiving to poor recordings. Hence these are not resolving, but very musical in character.

Comparison: The main competitors of LD1+ are the Bravo Ocean & Schiit Vali along with Project Starlight which are all similarly priced. All these are hybrid amps.

Bravo Ocean: Hybrid amp which uses mosfets for amplification. Mosfets have their own kind of sonic touch to them, which I quite don’t like. Power supply is external DC type and not well made (which results in higher noise floor, light electrocution) But as a advantage, Tube rolling is very economical and convenient here, since Ocean supports a single 12AU7, which are very common to obtain & no hassle for a matched pair.

Summary: Just like a Bravo V2 on steroids, small & powerful. Most economical of all, easy tube rolling. But noise floor, power supply are a question mark.

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 a 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 & Tube/Op-amp rollers. But expensive, 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.

Ultimately the LD1+ has an edge over all tube amplifiers to be tried in 200$. LD1+ cleany sweeps out Vali, Ocean & edges out the Starlight. We can observe here, the competing amps lack one or the other feature with them, but LD1+ has them all. LD1+ is an allrounder. It has dedicated, strong & reliable internal power supply, can drive anything from 8-600 ohms, gain is changeable, comes in a excellent built case, one can roll tube/op-amps (even without matched pairs)

Conclusion: I feel the LD1+ is a phenomenal hybrid amp. 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 LD1+ for any enthusiast who would prefer a musical (or magical) sonic presentation. I am absolutely in love in LD1+. I can safely bet, that LD1+ is best sounding hybrid amp in 200$ range.

The LD1+ is a clear winner.

Pros:

1) Build Quality: The LD1+ has a very good all-metal build. No compromise to be seen anywhere in exterior.

2) Sound quality: Sound presentation here is very natural, detailed and spacious, which is very much like-able for music listening. Sweet mids deserve a special mention. Tubes for a natural presentation and solid states for accuracy. Best of both worlds.

3) Rolling Capability: Enthusiasts can roll tubes, op-amps to match their sonic tastes.

4) Driving Power: The LD1+ can comfortably drive any set of cans from 8-600 ohms. Good job!

Cons:

1) Internals: Actually not really a con, Infact there are just three components which I feel one should upgrade. these are volume pot, stock tubes and op-amps. But once upgraded, LD1+ is a beast unleashed!

Many thanks.

Great review, as always. You seem to review all the things I am interested in. Question, same as I asked you before; Does the LD 1+ have a full 2V input sensitivity, or do you need to adjust the output gain of your source?

Thank you very much!

Although it can drive any set of dynamic headphones, the LD1+ is not very powerful when it comes to demanding headphones, as it does not have full 2V I/P sensitivity, also the LD1+ has gain structure of 3.5X/7X if you have a dedicated full size DAC (which give out a very powerful output) I would recommend you set to the DAC's gain manually, depending upon headphones.

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: Master & Dynamic is a new US brand specializing in the area of headphones and IEM’s. They are based in New York. M&D rolled out their first product in July, last year. Their products are all designed & developed in New York, but made in China by high standards. ME03 is the In-ear closed-back earphone offering from M&D.

Master & Dynamic have a specific vision in making their products: The products should last long (very long) and should have a natural sound reproduction for pure music enjoyment. Currently all of their headphone and IEM lines are closed back, solidly built by metal & leather components, and all of them have a very natural and musical listening experience with them. Mr. Jonathan Levine is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of M&D.

Specifications of ME03:

Drivers: 8mm Neodymium

Rated Impedance: 16 Ω

Weight: 25 grams

Plug: 3.5mm Gold Plated 4 pole

Cable: Flat type Oxygen Free Copper

Let us see what the ME03 has got for us,

Packaging and Accessories: The ME03’s arrive packed inside a strong black cardboard box with a removable outer sheet, on which features and other information have been mentioned upon. Once the box is slid open, The ME03 is seen resting. Cables are wound behind the foam sheet in the center of the box. This layer of foam can be lifted off to reveal another storage compartment, in which pouch and user manual are present. M &D has done some good packaging as usual. Each and every part has a premium quality and feel to it. The attention and perfection implemented here is one of the best I have ever seen, and is really more of a lavish style. Even the small paper clip or a velcro is made up of excellent quality material.

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

Leather cable case: This is a genuine leather case, and supplied to protect and store the IEM’s.

Canvas Pouch: This pouch has a high grade jeans-finish to it, and functions as a storage pouch for the ME03.

Ear Tips: Four pairs of different sized single flanged silicon eartips in white color.

User Manual: Contains instructions to operate the ME03 and other warranty information.

Design and Build: The ME03 has a very good overall build quality. It employs a practical design for day-today listening.

The entire housing shell is made up of high quality forged aluminium. It isn’t painted, but is anodized, which is again a step forward in engineering. The housings are pretty small, and appear to be large in pictures. These are light in weight. The mesh on rear side of the housing shell potrays as open back, but these are closed IEM’s. Left and Right markings are particularly hard to see, Infact, I could not find them anywhere.

Cable is flat, and prone to microphonics. Cable particularly is not well built, along with strain reliefs. It seems to be stiff and has plastic-y feel to it. A Mic (and its control button) is present, which are again made up of aluminium. Rubberized volume control buttons are also present on opposite side of the mic. Cable slider is absent, and Plug is 90 degreed and 4 pole gold plated.

Comfort: ME03’s are decently comfortable to wear in general, but I feel ME03 may not be very comfortable to wear for longer durations, owing to its stiffer cable, which will dislodge the IEM’s eventually. Since ME03’s are closed back earphones, these will isolate the listener from outside noise. This level of isolation is good enough for a traveller. Going by weight factor, these feel fairly light (25 grams), and are definitely feasible.

Sound: The ME03 has a neutral, slightly warm, easy going, yet airy sonic character. ME03’s sound relatively most clear/neutral when compared to the whole bunch from Mater & Dynamic product line. Sonic presentation is pleasing and non fatiguing. Presentation is in such a way that, mids are little more intimate, with lows & highs sound tad more relaxed and laid back. We have to keep in mind that, with In-ear earphones, sonic presentation may feel different with different fit/tips used. Therefore fit/angle is the deciding factor for sound being perceived by ears.

Burn in: These improve with time. Let’s say a playback of 50 hours provides audible improvements. Bass prior to break-in was not very accurate, and eventually it becomes more accurate and nice bodied, Mids will sound more open, airy and natural. highs become slightly more smooth, soundstage opens up by a margin.

Lows: are accurate, tight and refined; have a moderate impact. Depth is good.

Mids: sound very clean, neutral, and have slight warmth.

Highs: Very clear yet non fatiguing treble without sparks.

Soundstage: The ME03’s soundstage is slightly more airy than rest of the Thinking Caps. Instrument separation is decent. According to my observation, these cans sounded good in all genres I tried, and hence I conclude ME03's are also more forgiving to poor recordings. Comfort and fit plays a vital role in sound being perceived to our ears. If eartips fit in a wrong way, they will leak sound leading to missing details.

Amplification: The ME03’s are rated at 16 ohms, and designed to be power efficient, and hence are very easy to drive, and can be driven by almost any sources, smartphones and DAP’s. Although setup like an O2/ODAC does indeed increases the 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;

Conclusion: I feel the ME03’s are a unique set of IEM’s. These are not like just any other IEM's. It is more like they are built out of passion. Build quality is very good, sonic presentation is easy going and will appealing to most, with fairly good soundstage. On the downside, cable can be annoying and sometimes get stiff and may dislodge ME03’s out of your ears.

But at this price point of 150$ there are many well acclaimed IEM competitors like Vsonic GR07, Brainwavz B2, Rockit R50 and many more, which sonically perform better and offer better value in a handsome price. So, ME03 will face a stiff competition here.

I will recommend ME03 for those, who would prefer a unique, easy-to-listen sonic presentation earphones which are compact, portable and have a great build, but one may have to slightly compromise the performance & value aspect offered by ME03’s Chinese counterparts.

Pros:

1) Build Quality: The ME03 has a very good all-metal build. No compromise to be seen anywhere.

2) Sound quality: Sound presentation here is very relaxed, neutral, and is very much like-able for casual music listening.

3) Features: ME03’s offer a dedicated mic and volume keys, which are compatible with Apple smartphones. One can get a very nice with ME03’s with just a cmoy amp.

Cons:

1) Cable: This is definitely a downside, as the flat cable here has slight microphonics, and is comparatively stiffer & relatively heavy due to presence of mic and volume controls, which are again made up of metal.

2) Value: There are many IEM’s in this price range which offer a better value/performance aspect, but none of them can match the dedication with which the ME03’s are made.

I've seen lot of comments on reviews of this saying that it's not really an "audiophile" sound. Could you comment on that please?

Thats why I stressed on 'easy going' sound presentation, but I meant its audiophile grade by all means.

The thing is, many enthusiasts may perceive sound of ME03 as 'non audiophile' by comparing to other IEM's in this range. But honestly speaking, I feel ME03 is just a unique IEM, and it does offer a good quality sound characteristics.

@YoYo JoKeR

@YoYo JoKeR
I couldn't agree more.

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: Master & Dynamic is a new US brand specializing in the area of headphones and IEM’s. They are based in New York. M&D rolled out their first product in July, last year. Their products are all designed & developed in New York, but made in China by high standards. MH30 is the On-ear Closed-back headphone offering from M&D.

Master & Dynamic have a specific vision in making their products: The products should last long (very long) and should have a natural sound reproduction for pure music enjoyment. Currently all of their headphone and IEM lines are closed back, solidly built by metal & leather components, and all of them have a very natural and musical listening experience with them. Mr. Jonathan Levine is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of M&D.

Specifications of MH30:

Drivers: 40mm Neodymium

Rated Impedance: 32 Ω

Weight: 260 grams

Plug: 3.5mm Gold Plated 4 pole

Cable: Woven with Oxygen Free Copper

Let us see what the MH30 has got for us,

Packaging and Accessories: The MH30’s arrive packed inside a strong black cardboard box with a removable outer sheet, on which features and other information have been mentioned upon. Once the box is flipped open, The MH30 is seen resting. Cables are placed inside the hard leather case in the centre of the box. This layer of foam can be lifted off to reveal another storage compartment, in which pouch and user manual are present. Packaging is very similar to the MH40’s.

M &D has done some real premium packaging out here. Each and every part has a premium quality and feel to it. The attention and perfection implemented here is one of the best I have ever seen, and is really more of a lavish style. Even the small paper clip or a velcro is made up of excellent quality material.

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

Cables: One short 1.25M cable with mic and volume controls, and another regular 2.0M cable.

¼” Converter: To plug in the MH30 in the 6.5mm headphone jacks.

Leather cable case: This is a genuine leather case, and supplied to protect and store the cables.

Headphone Pouch: This pouch has a high grade jeans-finish to it, and functions as a storage pouch for the MH30.

User Manual: Contains instructions to operate the MH30 and other warranty information.

Design and Build: The MH30 has an excellent overall build quality. It has a top notch build which is as good as any Summit-Fi headphones.

The entire housing shell is made up of high quality forged aluminum. It isn’t painted, but is anodized, which is again a step forward in engineering. These cans are pretty small, and appear to be large in pictures. These are light in weight (feels much lighter than MH40’s) M&D logo is printed on the rear side of the housing shell. Left and Right markings are particularly hard to see, since the L/R markings are very small. Headband is made up of Cowhide leather. Earpads are covered with Lambskin leather, but actually have pleather material as cushions.

MH30’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. MH30 has cable socket at both the drivers, but only one need socket to be used, according to user’s choice. The cable is of very common type, a 3.5mm 4 pole jack. This ensures, even if the current cable breaks, a replacement is easy to obtain, any 3.5mm cable audio cable.

One downside I observe here is, wiring for opposite driver is embedded on upper end of headband, like the DT880’s overhead cabling. Personally, I don’t think this is the best mechanism here, and since MH30 has two sockets of jacks, so instead of overhead wire, which will be unreliable over time, M&D could have used both of these sockets to obtain HD600 cabling style.

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, and for any optional upgrade cable, one will have to spend above 50$.

Comfort: MH30’s are very comfortable to wear in general, but I feel MH30 may not be very comfortable to wear for larger heads, owing to its short yoke (shorter than MH40’s yoke).Though MH30 is ergonomically designed, it is primarily designed for people with smaller head size. Enthusiasts with larger heads may not prefer the comfort of MH30. Length of the yoke will be slightly less for a good comfort. Since the earpads are madeup of leather, ventilation will be less, thereby causing sweating; especially in tropical climate.

Since MH30’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 fairly light (260 grams), and are definitely feasible.

Sound: As for the most important part, the MH30 has a dark, warm, smooth, yet airy sonic character. ‘Musical presentation’ is the key word. I find it very appealing and pleasing. Presentation is in such a way that, mids are little more intimate, with lows & highs sound tad more relaxed and laid back. 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 leather earpads and better clamping force. Bass prior to break-in is overpowering, and eventually it becomes more accurate, Mids will sound more open, airy and natural. highs become slightly more smooth, soundstage opens up by a margin.

When I hear to the MH30’s here is what I experienced: utter & sheer pleasure

Lows: are accurate, tight and refined; have a strong impact. Depth is very good. Lows are present in a little more quantity than MH40’s

Mids: sound very natural, and appealing, and have a prominent warmth and lush (like the HD650’s) 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 MH30 a strong contender for vocals.

Highs: Very smooth treble without grains and sparks. Highs convey an image of smoothened darkness, just like a caramel chocolate. Highs are slightly more airy than in MH40’s.

Soundstage: Unlike the MH40’s, the MH30’s soundstage is more airy natural and circular soundstage. Depth is excellent. Instrument separation is very good, I believe MH30’s presentation is like sitting in fifth row of an opera theatre. (with MH40’s being in second or third row)

MH30 portrays music in such a way that, one feels as if the music is all around him. The sonic character here is so natural and eased that the tonality sounds very life-like. According to my observation, these cans sounded good in all genres I tried, and hence I conclude MH30's are also forgiving to poor recordings. Hence these are not resolving, but very musical in character.

Comfort and fit plays a vital role in sound being perceived to our ears. Especially in case of MH30 where the earpads are very compact, if they fit in a wrong way, they will leak sound leading to missing details.

I will not be directly comparing the MH30’s to other headphones since these are quite unique in their own regard. But for the sake of it, MH30's will sound (especially mids) are very similar to HD650's. Perhaps a touch more dark and thick.

Amplification: The MH30’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 a O2/ODAC does indeed increases the 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;

Conclusion: I feel the MH30’s are a very special and unique set of cans. Build quality is phenomenal, sonic presentation is very pleasing, with fairly good soundstage. I never did quite like the on-ear cans, but with MH30’s it’s all about to change. I am absolutely in love in these. I have nothing but praises for these. On the downside, this type of presentation will be useful for listening to music, but definitely not for mastering or critical listening. Due to MH30’s compact design, enthusiasts with moderate to large heads may not prefer the comfort in these. Only area I would like to see improvement is in increasing the yoke length about an inch, which might help a lot for enthusiasts with larger heads.

At the price point of 349$ these may seem slightly more pricey, but these are worth every single penny spent. I can whole heartedly recommend MH30 for those, who would prefer a very musical (or magical) sounding , easy-to-drive headphones which are compact, portable and have a great build, plus whose head size is relatively smaller inorder to enjoy a good comfort and fit. Want a set of on-ear cans sounding close to HD650’s? MH30 is the way to go;

Pros:

1) Build Quality: The MH30 has a superb all-metal/leather build. No compromise to be seen anywhere.

2) Sound quality: Sound presentation here is very natural, and is very much like-able for casual music listening. Tonality of vocals deserve a special mention. One of the finest tonality I have heard in 500$ price point.

3) Power: MH30’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 MH30’s with just a cmoy amp.

Cons:

1) Comfort: This is definitely a downside for enthusiasts with moderate to larger heads. MH30 cannot accommodate larger heads even with maximum yoke length.
Also, as the earpads are not ventilated, hence may cause sweating/discomfort in warmer climates.

Thanks Biggy!

Well, going by sonic character, On1 & MH30 are quite opposite to each other:

Bass is very deep, accurate & quick in On1, full bodied & punchy in MH30 along with same depth as On1, but with more quantity.

Mids on On1 sound very open & clear, MH30 has a thick & silky presentation with a beautiful tonality.

Highs on On1 are sensitive & revealing. In MH30's they are presented smooth fashion and highs are not sensitive here.

So we can say, the MH30 is tuned for musical pleasure, where as the On1 is more of a transparent & precise headphone.

On1 sounds very transparent & clear, with excellent soundstage. MH30 is warm, & 'thick' with Intimate soundstage. Enjoyable tonality in mids. Compared to the On1, MH30 overall sounds dark.

On1 is physically lighter due to fiber & wood construction, and more comfortable for larger heads (like mine) MH30 hands down has better & all metal robust build quality, but will feel slightly heavy on when worn on head.

MH30 costs @350$ & On1 is available @200$ on amazon. Considering all the above aspects, On1 will be a better purchase. But MH30 is a lovely headphone for music listening. Extra cost has to be justified by build quality.

On1 is like a glass of plain milk & MH30 is more of a chocolate milkshake.

Thanks very much Joker, very thorough comparison indeed!

I'm loving the sound signature of my On1's (Sounds fun to me) but am a bit disappointed by the build quality. Besides the cups, it feels like they just added the headband etc. as an afterthought.

Thanks again, and I love reading your reviews

Have you by any chance compared the MH30 to the Sennheiser HD25? In terms of sonic character and isolation.

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 amp/dac manufacturer. They are based in Incheon, South Korea. The brand was established in 2009. All their products are made in Korea. Amp-HP is their lone offering in portable amplifier category.

Specifications of Amp-HP as per Audinst:

Input: 3.5mm

Output: 3.5mm headphone Jack,

Maximum power output: 300mW @ 32 Ohms

Headphone Impedance: 16-300 Ohms

Output Impedance: 5 Ohms

Input Impedance: 11K Ohms

Battery: 800 mAH 3.6V

Weight: 134 grams

Let us see what the Amp-HP has got for us,

Packaging and Accessories: The Amp-HP arrives packed inside a large colourful cardboard box, 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 typical 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. The accessories are made in Korea too.

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

Power Adapter: Standard 15V 1A DC power supply for recharging the Amp-HP.

3.5mm Interconnect: Standard white coloured 3.5mm cable, about 20 cm lengths.

iPOD Cable: Audio cable specially for ipods of 20cm length

Pouch: A soft velvety pouch to store the Amp-HP.

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

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

Design and Build: The Amp-HP 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 Amp-HP looks larger, but in real, it is quite small.

On the front side, we have Volume control knob, an on/off switch and a output headphone jack in 3.5mm format. An LED indicator shows the status of operation.

On the rear side, we have 3.5mm input jack, along with DC power input jack.

Speaking of Internals, Amp-HP has a double sided PCB with no wirings. All components used are of good brands; including all dale resistors, Alps pot, premium caps. There is only two user replaceable parts on board the Amp-HP: Muses 8820 with DIP8 socket other op-amp is AD8397 and is permanently mounted SMD. Audinst has always been a strong contender in the field of Build, interiors, components and PCB.

Battery life on Amp-HP is very good (considering its output power), which lasting about 10-12 hours. And recharging time is just about 2 hours. Its gets slightly warm during charging process.

Sound: I feel the Amp-Hp is neutral, detailed and slightly smooth in sonic presentation. Sound-stage width is moderate. Depth is pretty good. Absolutely zero audible hiss/noise.

Lows are strong and accurate and goes very deep. Infact, it’s rare to see such good quality bass in sub 100$ portable amps. Mids natural and clear, slightly intimate if I must say; Highs are smooth and non grainy, just right amount of sparkle to keep the music alive.

Soundstage on Amp-HP is very good, and realistic and for some, lacking in width. Depth is fair. Amp-HP does not give a circular imaging, instead gives out an elliptical stage (with comparatively more depth and lesser width) Detail retrieval, and dynamics are decent enough. Overall he sonic presentation is very much like-able. Also, the final sound impressions of Amp-HP can be manipulated by using different op-amps. I have changed to Op-Amps and I could observe that the current op-amp (MUSES 8820) does a very fine job, and I feel there is no need for op-amp rolling to increase sound quality.

Comparing the Amp-HP with JDS Labs Cmoy, I feel the Amp-HP audibly outperforms the latter. Amp-HP is slightly thicker and smoother, whereas Cmoy is thinner and feels more transparent, with wider soundstage. Although the Amp-HP clearly wins in design, build quality, utility and features; Amp-HP & LCD2’s have a good synergy going between them, but It is definite observation that Amp-HP lacks power to comfortably drive them.

Conclusion: Amp-HP is a great sounding amp in its price point, especially the sonic performance of lower frequencies is the best one can get in sub 100$ portable amps. This device is actually pretty great on features and practical aspects. At the price point of 99$, Amp-HP stands right in the middle of a 70$ Cmoy and a 130$ O2. Amp-HP like an intermediate between the two. Sound quality is definitely better and well defined than a JDS Labs Cmoy, but not upto the Objective2 level.

I can recommend Amp-HP for any music enthusiast who want a handsome and fine sounding portable amp to drive low impedance headphones.

The Pros:

1) Design and Build: Amp-HP has very well designed and implemented build and intelligent three way on/off feature.

2) Sound quality: I very much like the sonic presentation on this little amp, I can describe it as slightly thick, smooth and pleasing, and might I also mention the intimacy. A very fine sounding op-amp Muses 8820, I can imagine it would pair well with almost any headphones.

The Cons:

1) Output Power: Output power at headphone jack is about 300mW @ 32 ohms, which seems quite good on paper. But in real, it is insufficient to drive power hungry headphones. So, this will limit Amp-HP’s usage to IEM’s and easy-to-drive headphones.

Sure they are, but does the 5 ohm out Impedance make an audible difference in driving the BA IEM's?

To me, BA IEM's audibly sounded fantastic.

My point is not that high impedance will ruin the sound, it will just change the sound signature. IEMs that are good will still sound the fantastic it won't destroy the SQ, just the signature or frequency response due to loading.

Bass will sound more pronounced and punchy on low out-impedance sources than on higher ones whereas recessed mids will be a little forward on high impedance sources compared to lower ones. The sound quality though will remain unchanged.

I did not perceive any such issues. Sound signature and presentation (Lows, Mids, Highs) of the IEM remained intact. The only coloration present in the pair was due to Muses 8820 Op-Amp.

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: Master & Dynamic is a new US brand specializing in the area of headphones and IEM’s. They are based in New York. M&D rolled out their first product in July, last year. Their products are all designed & developed in New York, but made in China by high standards. Mr. Jonathan Levine is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of M&D.

MH40 is the top-of-the-line offering from M&D, and currently has flagship status.

Specifications of MH40:

Drivers: 45mm Neodymium

Rated Impedance: 32 Ω

Weight: 360 grams

Plug: 3.5mm Gold Plated 4 pole

Cable: Woven with Oxygen Free Copper

Let us see what the MH40 has got for us,

Packaging and Accessories: The MH40 arrives packed inside a strong black cardboard box with a removable outer sheet, on which features and other information have been mentioned upon. Once the box is flipped open, The MH40 is seen resting. Cables are placed inside the hard leather case in the centre of the box. This layer of foam can be lifted off to reveal another storage compartment, in which pouch and user manual are present.

M &D has done some real premium packaging out here. Each and every part has a premium quality and feel to it. Really a nice and satisfying experience. The attention and perfection implemented here is one of the best I have ever seen, and is really more of a lavish style. Even the small paper clip or a velcro is made up of excellent quality material.

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

Cables: One short 1.25M cable with mic and volume controls, and another regular 2.0M cable.

¼” Converter: To plug in the MH40 in the 6.5mm headphone jacks.

Leather cable case: This is a genuine leather case, and supplied to protect and store the cables.

Headphone Pouch: This pouch has a high grade jeans-finish to it, and functions as a storage pouch for the MH40.

User Manual: Contains instructions to operate the MH40 and other warranty information.

Design and Build: The MH40 has an excellent overall build quality. It has a top notch build which is as good as any Summit-Fi headphones.

The entire housing shell is made up of high quality forged aluminium. It isn’t painted, but is anodized, which is again a step forward in engineering. These cans are pretty small, and appear to be large in pictures. These are fairly heavy, but manageable by our neck muscles. M&D logo is printed on the rear side of the housing shell. Left and Right markings are particularly hard to see, since the L/R markings are very small. Headband is made up of lambskin leather. Earpads are covered with cowhide, but actually have pleather material inside.

MH40 has cable socket at both the drivers, but only one need to be used, according to user’s choice. The cable is of very common type, a 3.5mm 4 pole jack. This ensures, even if the current cable breaks, a replacement is easy to obtain.

Wiring for opposite driver is embedded on upper end of headband, like the DT880’s overhead cabling. Personally, I don’t think this is the best mechanism here, and since MH40 have two sockets of jacks, so instead of overhead wire, which will be unreliable over time, M&D could have used both of these sockets to obtain HD600 cabling style.

Cable has a good build. It is light, flexible and does not get tangled. But I feel the cables have slight 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. A mute button is also present on right cup, which once pressed cuts off the signals and hence stops the sound generation from drivers.

Comfort: This is the area where I am not particularly satisfied. I feel MH40 is not very comfortable to wear for larger heads, owing to its nimble and compact design.

Though MH40 is ergonomically designed, it is primarily designed for people with smaller head size and ears. Enthusiasts with larger heads and ears may not prefer the comfort of MH40. Length of the yoke and size of the earpads in particular will be far less for a good comfort.

Since the earpads are madeup of leather, ventilation is less for ears, along with lesser accommodating space. Thereby causing sweating, especially in tropical climate. Larger ears may not fit inside the earpads at all, and even if they do fit in, ears will touch inner sides of the ear pads and will cause discomfort.

Since MH40’s are closed back headphones, these isolate the listener from outside noise. This level of isolation is sufficient for a subway traveller. Going by weight factor, these feel fairly heavy, but very much manageable when tried on our heads.

Sound: As for the most important part, the MH40 has a warm, smooth and intimate sonic character. A very appealing sound.

Lows: are accurate, tight and refined; have a good impact. Depth is also good enough (but not very good)

Mids: sound very natural, and appealing, and have a prominent warmth and lush (like the HD600’s) I guess that is in a good way, comes very pleasing to our ears. Strong point for vocals.

Highs: Very smooth without grains, Highs convey an image of smoothened darkness, just like a caramel chocolate.

Soundstage: Closed-in, Intimate, natural and circular soundstage. Instrument separation is very good, but definitely not airy or spacious. I feel MH40’s presentation is like sitting in second row of an opera theater.

MH40 portrays music in such a way that, one feels as if the music is all around him. The sonic character here is so natural and eased that the tonality sounds very life-like. According to my observation, these cans sounded good in all genres I tried, and hence I conclude MH40's are also very forgiving to poor recordings, therefore not resolving, but very musical.

Comfort and fit plays a vital role in sound being perceived to our ears. Especially in case of MH40 where the earpads are very compact, if they fit in a wrong way, they will leak sound leading to missing details. I will not be directly comparing the MH40’s to other headphones since these are quite unique in their own regard. But for the sake of it, MH40's will sound somewhat similar to HD650's.

Amplification: The MH40’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 amp like an Objective2 does increases the sound output audibly, the difference in quality is clearly noticeable. Amplification factor is not very important here, but a decent amp indeed does help;

Conclusion: I feel the MH40’s are a very special and unique set of cans. Build quality is phenomenal, sonic presentation is warm and pleasing, with intimate soundstage. This type of presentation will be useful for casual listen to music, but definitely not for mastering or critical listening. Due to MH40’s compact design, enthusiasts with moderate to large heads will not prefer the comfort in these.

But at this price point of 399$ there are many well acclaimed mainstream headphones like HD600, DT880, Q701, HE400 and many portable/power efficient ones like T51 etc, which sonically perform better and offer good comfort in a handsome price.

So, I will recommend MH40 for those, who would prefer a unique, easy-to-drive headphones which are compact, portable and have a great build with a euphonic warm/smooth/intimate sound signature. Plus, whose head size is relatively smaller inorder to enjoy a decent comfort.

The Pros:

1) Build Quality: The MH40 has a superb all-metal/leather build. No compromise to be seen anywhere.

2) Sound quality: Sound presentation here is natural, and is very much like-able for casual music listening.

The Cons:

1) Comfort: This is definitely a downside for enthusiasts with moderate to larger heads. MH40 cannot accommodate larger heads even with maximum yoke length, and same goes earpads.

2) Value: As per current scenario in Mid-Fi headphones category, there are many better performing and more practical headphones available in the same price range.

I found this a very useful review. I am very familiar with both the Senn HD600 and the Audeze LCD-2, which are my main headphones. Can you give me some comparatives between these headphones and the other two? I'm thinking mostly of amplified use and occasionally portable amplified use.

thanks!

Hey mate,

MH40's bass will be increased in body than both of HD600 & LCD-2 , but at the cost of accuracy. Mids are thick, euphonic( than both HD600, LCD-2) & pleasing (less accurate/detailed). Highs are very smooth and refined. Sounstage is intimate, with a sense of closeness.

So overall, these are good headphones with coloration in their sonic presentation for casual music listening. But definitely technically inferior in performance compared to both HD600 & LCD-2.

Let me know if you have any more queries,

That's consistent with what I've been hearing. Considering these for mobile use, sounds like a good match for non-critical, just-fun listening.

Thx!

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: Astrotec, otherwise known as Aspen Tsui Astrotec, was established in 2002 and is headquartered in Shenzhen, China. "Astrotec" stands for Astro (Sky) and Tec (Technology). Astrotec provided headphone drivers for other brands during its early years, and now it mainly manufactures its own IEM line. Astrotec got particularly famous after it rolled out its ‘AM90’ low cost BA earphones, which was well received by enthusiasts.

GX50 is Astrotec’s latest release, and was released in Jan 2015.

Specifications of GX50 as per Astrotec:

Driver unit: 9.0mm rare earth permanent magnet

Bandwidth Range: 12Hz-25000Hz

Sensitive: 104dB / 1mw (SPL 1 KHz)

Impedance: 16 ohms

Wire: 12m ± 0.3m PU cable

Plug: 3.5mm gold-plated

For-line interface: MMCX

Rated power: 3mW

Maximum power: 10mW

Let us proceed to the review part,

Packaging and Accessories: The GX50 arrives packed inside a small and sleek blue coloured cardboard box, on which features and other information have been mentioned upon. The GX50 housing shell is seen resting inside a transparent window, the rest of cable and the accessories are packed inside the pleather pouch. Nothing special to mention about, packaging does its job. However, I feel the GX50 packaging is quite mediocre, packaging technique is poorly implemented and users will have a hard time in pulling off the unit off the box.

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

Eartips: Plenty varieties of good quality eartips are included to fit almost any kind of ears; pair of foam tips are also included.

Pleather Pouch: This pouch is supplied to protect and store the GX50.

User Manual & Warranty card: Contains instructions and other warranty information.

Cleaning cloth: To wipe or clean the IEM’s.

Design and Build: The GX50 has a fairly good overall build quality. The entire housing shell is made up of good quality fibre. It is designed to look like a gem or a precious stone. Nozzle is slightly longer, considering its shallow fit. The shell is a finger print and scratch magnet. Astrotec logo is printed on the rear side of the housing shell. Left and Right markings are easy to notice.

Cable has a very good build (better build than housings). It is light, flexible, braided and does not get tangled. Cables have almost zero microphonics. Cable slider is embedded inside the Y splitter. Plug is 180 degree angled and gold plated. The cable is remove-able type, and in the top portion there is a memory wire, which functions good.

Connecting mechanism is a simple push and pull. However the connectors themselves are fragile, loose fitting and not confidence inspiring.There is a lot of room for improvement in terms of build quality.

Comfort: Though GX50 did not excel in build quality, it is very comfortable to wear, is ergonomically designed, and its cable is light and memory wire does a good job. Their presence is barely noticeable after wearing them. GX50 particularly provides a good isolation, this will be a definite advantage for a traveller.

The provided ear tips are well designed and are ear-friendly. I can confidently say, these are very comfortable to wear.

Sound: As for the most important part, GX50 In overall, has a warm, intimate and closed–in sound character. Detail retrieval is fairly good.

Lows: are fairly accurate (a little loose) and strong; have a good impact.

Mids: sound somewhat artificial and un-natural, not at all appealing on vocals.

Highs: are smooth, not too smooth to cause a darkish impression and not bright to cause sibilance. ‘Just right’

Soundstage: Closed in natural and circular soundstage. Instrument separation is not upto mark, overall feels congested. This, I believe is a cause for fatiguing listen.

Comparing the GX50 with S0, I feel the S0 definitely outperforms the GX50 in terms of sound quality (soundstage, neutrality, separation and imaging). The S0’s are also more relaxing to listen to; whereas the GX50 is warmer, intimate and closed in. The GX50 wins hands down in terms of cable quality, and ergonomics. The final sound (and comfort) of GX50 can be slightly changed by using different ear tips.The final sound (and comfort) of GX50 can be slightly changed by using different ear tips.

Amplification: The GX50 is fairly easy (not very easy) to drive. They will benefit from light external amplification. An amp like an Objective2 does increases the sound output audibly, the difference in quality is noticeable. Amplification factor is not very important, but cannot be ignored either.

Conclusion: I was not quite satisfied with the sound presentation of GX-50. The build quality too did not live upto my expectations. For me,The only positive aspect about GX50 was the comfort offering. I feel IEM’s like Havi B3 might be a much better buy than GX-50.

The Pros:

1) Comfort: GX-50 is quite comfortable to wear for many hours, owing to its light weight, good fit and ergonomics.

2) Sound Quality: A warm, intimate character with good detail retrieval, but lacks soundstage, feels congested.

The Cons:

1) Connectors: The connectors particularly have a very mediocre build, and may give away with time.

2) Value: At this price point, there are much better performing IEM’s available (Havi B3, Brainwavz S0/S5, RE100, VSD3 etc)

I actually think that the build quality is quite good.

Agree, the one thing is that there are 15$ MMCX cables (USD$13.00 Item NO.: LN004992) from lunashops

Oh, LN004992 wont't fit GX50, but Earphone Cable For JVC HA-FX850 Fidue A83 Ultrasone edition 8 julia USD$13.00 Item NO.: LN004947 will.

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: Lotoo, is a sub-brand of Infomedia and is headquartered in Beijing. The brand was established in 1999 as a broadcasting systems manufacturer; it has evolved since then to manufacture high end audio recorders, and more recently, its first audio player. The PAW Gold is the flagship (and lone) DAP offering from Lotoo.

Specifications of PAW Gold as per Lotoo:

Headphone Output: 500mW@ 32 Ohms.
+15dB on High gain 0dB on Low gain (without load)
Headphone Driver: TI LME49600
Line Output: 2V RMS +9dB (without load)
Processor: Blackfin 514 DSP
DAC: Burr Brown PCM 1792
Sample Rate: 8KHz-384KHz
Clock Jitter: 5ps
Formats: ISO, DSD, DFF, DSF, FLAC, WAV, ALAC, OGG, CUE, APE, MP3, M4A
Interface: USB 3.0 upto 90 MB/S
Display: 1.8” OLED 160*128 resolution
Storage: SDHC/SDXC upto 2 Tera Bytes
Battery: 22Watt hour 6000mAH 3.7V
Chassis: Aircraft grade Duralumin
Weight: 280g

Let us see what the PAW Gold has got for us,

Packaging and Accessories: The PAW Gold unit arrives packed inside a outer cardboard sheet, in which a strong plain black cardboard box is contained. The box has magnetic locks everywhere, and can be lifted off to reveal the multiple storage compartments, in which all the included accessories are present. Necessary amounts of accessories included in the package, and again are made up of good quality. I can confidently say that Lotoo has done packaging in a very premium and extravagant fashion.

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

Charger: 5 V 2A universal charger for charging the PAW Gold. This charger is the sole mode of charging it.

USB 3.0 Cable: Short length cable for high speed data transfer. A disc is also included for drivers installation.

Pouch: Velvet type with strings, provided to store the player.

User Manual & Warranty card: Contains instructions to operate the PAW Gold and other warranty information. (In Chinese, meh)

Design and Build: The PAW Gold has an excellent build quality.

The entire shell is made up of high quality duralumin metal. Duralumin is a very hard and tough type of aluminium used to build aircrafts. The DAP is painted with matt grey colour, which ensures PAW Gold is not a fingerprint magnet. The PAW Gold Is heavy in weight owing to its robust build, but still it can be comfortably operated using one hand itself, since the PAW Gold is actually a small DAP, it just appears large in pictures.

On the front side, four navigation buttons (Up/down Left/Right) are present, along with a central select key. The navigation buttons are used to navigate songs, or forward/backward operations depending upon the situation. A select key is present in the middle of navigation keys, and is used to select or play/pause the songs. Buttons are well designed, and operates flawlessly. PAW Gold has a very ergonomic build, which means everything is placed at right places and is comfortable to operate.

Volume knob, navigation and power keys are 24 karat gold plated. Hence comes the name ‘Gold’

Volume controlling is extremely fine, and works very well with IEM’s and headphones. One can achieve even minute attenuations in volumes without any issues. Volume switching is silky smooth and very gradual, which is a big plus especially sensitive IEM’s. Display screen is good enough, though screen clarity or screen resolution is not impressive, but still it does the job just fine. (This is expected almost of all DAP’s)

File button has the function of browsing the folders on the SD card. Setup button takes us to the settings option for this DAP. List button leads the user to the song playlists. APE/PMEQ button takes us to the hardware coloration and equalizing options. The button named as ‘Fn’ is a key for which we can define the function of our choice. Power button (Press and hold type) is present, with a white coloured breathing light around the button itself. This button is used to power on/off the DAP.

On the left side, a charging port is present, to which charging jack of the given charger has to be connected to recharge the battery of the PAW Gold. High speed USB 3.0 port is also present just above the charging port. This port only handles data, and charging cannot be done with this port via USB.

On the right side, there are no controls present.

On the top side, Outputs jacks are located. Headphone output, Line output both are present in 3.5mm format. These jacks are well built and implemented, and have a good feel to them. A sliding lock button is present, whose function is to lock down all the keys once lock button is activated. A sliding gain switch with Low/High gain setting is also to be seen.

On the bottom side, a full size SDHC/SDXC card slot is present. The slot operates smoothly without any hitches. Insertion and removal of card is fairly easy, with just a simple push. Rubber flap is present to cover up the slot from any foreign material.

User Interface: The current firmware version is V5.0.1.5, and is upgradeable as new versions are released by Lotoo. Startup and shut down happens within just 3 seconds, which makes PAW Gold quite fast in operation. The firmware itself is fast, responsive to browsing and switching operations. No hanging or slowing down whatsoever. I sometimes wish there should be improvement in screen resolution, because as of now the fonts appear pixelized.

Setup key opens up the settings and other options. This DAP is DSD capable, along with one can change many advanced settings like layouts, key speed, DSD settings, playing settings. Volume controlling is available even on Line output, and custom gain can be selected.

The battery indicator accurately calculates the actual amount of battery power remaining, and has stable readings. One undesirable thing I notice about PAW Gold is that, it gets fairly warm during playback. But during battery charging, there is no such issue noticed. Battery life is fairly good. As for me, the battery lasts for about 7 hours, which is quite good. The battery capacity of PAW gold is of 6000mAH. The battery has to be charged by a 5V 2A adapter, and is included in the package. Charging time using this adapter is around 2 hours.

Overall, the firmware is simple, is fairly fast to flip around, is customizable and is quite reliable and stable. But there is room for improvements.

Sound: As for the most important part, the PAW Gold is highly resolving, transparent, Neutral and Detailed sounding with excellent spacious & expansive yet accurate sound stage. Another thing to mention about this DAP is that, there is absolutely no ‘lag’ and sound response is ‘quick’ and ‘fast’

Dynamics are superb, giving a circular spacious sound. Soundstage is airy and spacious, but in a natural and realistic way. I am clearly able to differentiate between FLAC and 320kbps MP3 for the same song. Instruments separation is great, and there is a lot of room and air between the instruments, which again contributes for an immersive experience.

The PAW Gold has hardware controlled equalizers and preset colourations. These are called as ATE/PMEQ, which upon selected, perform their tasks very well. But I feel, to enjoy the ultimate transparency and neutrality of the source, one should always turn off colorations/equalizers.

Considering its neutral sound quality, it can match up with any genre and any headphone without sounding bad in particular. The transparency is really appreciable. PAW Gold is very resolving, transparent. Due to its resolving nature, it is unforgiving towards poor recordings. But feed it with good recordings, it can churn amazing sound quality.

Output power at headphone jack is very good and is sufficient to drive any and all IEM’s and also to drive most of the headphones, to extremely loud listening levels, I always listen to volumes below 60 on IEM’s and below 110 on headphones. Noise floor is audibly dead silent and pitch black. I could not detect any audible disturbance in any form from the PAW Gold. EMI pickup is completely nil, along with no pop sounds on startup or shutdown, which is really appreciable.

Comparing the PAW Gold with HiFiMAN’s HM901, I feel the competition is head-to-head in terms of sound quality as well as build quality. The HM901 is relatively warmer and intimate (depending upon card used), otherwise as detailed. Whereas the PAW Gold is very transparent, neutral, and relaxed. (Of course, we have to remember that PAW Gold costs about 800$ more than the HM901)

However, PAW Gold wins hands down in ergonomics, portability factor and output power. The PAW Gold is way smaller than the HM901, more comfortable to hold and operate, along with support for high speed USB 3.0 connectivity. It also has a more ‘simple and user friendly’ firmware than the HM901. Battery life is also marginally better in PAW Gold.

But one cannot deny the HM901 simply carries a sheer value aspect with it, and if right amp card is matched up, then the sonic quality & value aspect of HM901 will be preferable for many.

Conclusion: Although Lotoo is an unfamiliar brand in the audiophile world, The PAW Gold is an amazing and stellar DAP. It offers top-tier transparency, resolving power along with a greatly neutral sound quality. The sound quality is phenomenal and Build quality is supreme. The sole drawback I find is, it offers lesser price/performance ratio compared to the HM901, which is priced around 1200$. As you go higher up, Law of diminishing returns applies.

The Pros:

1) Build Quality: The PAW Gold has a top notch and extremely good build quality. absolutely no compromise to be seen anywhere. Battery life & UI too are pretty decent and reliable.

2) Sound quality: Top-tier sound quality and is very neutral, detailed, and expansive. Ideal sonic qualities for a DAP, and one of the best I have ever heard.

3) Transparency & resolving power: These deserve a special mention. Transparency and resolving power in the PAW Gold is simply one of the finest available in sub 2000$ category.

The Cons:

1) Heating: The PAW Gold’s chassis warms up little bit during song playback. I did check up with other members, it seems like the warming up is not really an issue. Even the HM901 warms up to this level.

2) Value: The PAW Gold is priced around 2000$ and considering the pricing of many of its rivals, I feel this one might posses a little lower price/performance ratio.

Pardon me gents,

Did not have access to the accessory cable with HM901. The PAW Gold itself is very resolving, neutral with a touch of smoothness and naturalness. Good synergy with LCD2's, a lovely silky smooth presentation on HD600's and not-so-great synergy with MH40's.

Making indians proud brother............kudos!!

Nice review. As a Indian I really get pissed that even today we don't have a place where we can listen and choose audio equipments. Availability is a major concern. As a result I end up buying>regretting>selling(at loss)>buying again. And I don't have so much money to burn to keep that cycle running. It's good to see you can get hands on so many goodies.

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: Dunu-Topsound, or simply known as Dunu, is a famous Chinese IEM manufacturer. The brand was established in 1994 as an OEM parts maker; it has evolved since then to manufacture full scale IEM’s and has earned the esteemed ISO-9001 certificate. The DN2000 (popularly known as DN2K) is the flagship In Ear Monitor offering from Dunu. DN2000 is the big brother of the famed DN1000.

Dunu: Delicate, Unique & Utmost

Specifications of DN2000 as per Dunu:

Drivers: 1X Dynamic, 2X Balanced Armature

Rated Impedance: 16 Ω

Frequency Range: 10Hz-30 kHz

Noise Attenuation: 26dB

Pressure level: 102dB

Plug: 3.5mm Gold Plated

Cable: 1.2m

Let us see what the DN2000 has got for us,

Packaging and Accessories: The DN2000 arrives packed inside a strong and sleek Dunu style flip-open black cardboard box, on which features and other information have been mentioned upon. Once the box is flipped open, The DN2K housing shell is seen resting inside a transparent window, the rest of cable and the accessories are packed inside the hard case. I can confidently say that Dunu has done some real premium packaging out here. The hard case can be lifted off to reveal the storage compartment, in which all the included accessories are present. Huge amounts of accessories included in the package, and again are made up of good quality. Packaging is done in a premium way “The Dunu Style” Really nice and satisfying.

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

Eartips: Plenty varieties of good quality eartips are included to fit almost any kind of ears; pair of foam tips are also included.

Wings: These have the job of securing the DN2K on our ears and make sure they don’t fall off.

Ear Hooks: These come in to play when DN2K is worn upside down, securing the cable over out ears.

Shirt Clip: To reduce microphonics and to secure the hanging cable to the shirt.

¼” Converter: To plug in the DN2K in the 6.5mm headphone jacks.

Airplane adapter: To plug in on the airplane entertainment systems, when on flight.

Spacers: 1.1mm 1.2mm 1.0mm coloured rings are included to adjust the gap between eartips and driver nozzle, thereby tweaking the final sound quality.

Hard metal case: This aluminium case is supplied to protect and store the DN2K.

User Manual & Warranty card: Contains instructions to operate the DN2K and other warranty information.

Design and Build: The DN2000 has an excellent overall build quality.

The entire housing shell is made up of high quality metal. It is painted in matt golden colour, Feels good and heavy in hand. The housings shell is actually tiny despite the Tri-driver presence. The nozzle is chromed. Nozzle is slightly long to accommodate spacers.

Dunu logo is printed on the rear side of the housing shell. Left and Right markings are particularly hard to see, since the L/R markings are very small. We know, DN2K is a hybrid IEM, and employs well acknowledged Knowles balanced armature drivers. DN2K has three drivers on each side connected in a three way configuration. 1X Dynamic driver for lows, 1X BA driver for mids, 1X BA driver for highs.

There is an arm stretching out of the main driver housing shell. The function of this arm is to hold ‘wings’ which are provided as accessory. The wings will sit on the outer part of ear, and hold the DN2k firmly in its place during rigorous head movement. (It looks very similar to one used in Bose IEM’s)

Cable has a very good build. It is light, flexible and does not get tangled. Cables have almost zero microphonics. Cable slider is embedded inside the Y splitter. The lower part of the cable also has a velcro to bind up the lengthy cable. Plug is 90 degree angled and gold plated.

My only concern in the build quality is the cable; I think the cable could have been braided to further secure the connection and longetivity.

Comfort: DN2K is very comfortable to wear, is ergonomically designed, and its cable is light in weight and not heavy. No worries about the stretching arm on the driver housings, as their presence is barely noticeable after sometime of wearing it.

The provided ear tips are well designed and are ear-friendly. The presence of protruding arm does not hinder the comfort. Instead it makes sure of a better fit.
The ‘wings’ are provided in different sizes according to different ears. Spacer rings function well, and do not take the housing shell too far.

Only issue in comfort being DN2K is slightly heavy, but one can get accustomed to it real soon.

Sound: As for the most important part, DN2K has a very natural, expansive and pleasing sound quality. Its three way configuration works like a charm. A very appealing sound.

Lows: are very accurate, tight and strong; have a good impact. Depth is also good enough (but not very good)

Mids: sound very natural, open and appealing, and have a slight lush (like the HD600’s) I guess that is in a good way, comes very pleasing to our ears.

Highs: Very natural, airy, just right amount of sparkle. Highs are well perceived, with not being too smooth to cause a dark sound and not bright to cause sibilance. ‘Just right’

Soundstage: Very relaxed, natural and circular soundstage. Instrument separation is very good, overall feels very airy and spacious. This, I feel is very essential for a comfortable & non fatiguing listen.

The final sound (and comfort) of DN2K can be changed by using different ear tips and space rings.

Silicon ear tips provide the most natural sound. Whereas the foam’s provide the best fit and isolation, but at the cost of comfort (deep insertion). The space rings determine the exact distance the drivers are from our ears. If IEM’s are too far, IEM may fall out of ears, or sound may leak more than optimal. If they are too near, soundstage depth is decrease by a small margin.

Right amount of space rings results in a very excellent sound stage. DN2K puts an fully circular and relaxed stage, which is important for a natural and non fatiguing listen. Using the provided space rings, I can notice, increase in soundstage depth and overall refinement.

Direct competitor to DN2K is none other than the Fidue A83. The A83 is more neutral with an even more relaxed soundstage, and is more comfortable owing to over ear wearing style, and also a comparatively shallow insert than DN2K. Comparing the DN2K with A83, I feel the A83 definitely outperforms the DN2K in terms of neutrality, soundstage. The A83’s are also more relaxing to listen to; whereas the DN2K is slightly more fun to listen to; The A83 is greatly transparent and neutral, with relaxed and natural soundstage. The A83 also wins in cable quality, and ergonomics.

Amplification: The DN2K is very easy to drive, (even though it is a three way) and can be driven by almost any sources, smartphones and DAP’s. Balanced Armatures are known to be energy efficient, and low on diet. Although amp like a Objective2 does increases the sound output audibly, the difference in quality is minimal. Amplification factor is not important here, but a clean and transparent source is sufficient to drive the DN2K to their maximum potential.

Conclusion: Without a second thought, DN2000 is a great IEM. It has a very high value aspect, sound presentation simply excellent. It scores as one of the best IEM in 300$. The DN2K is almost a perfect IEM. DN2K is an easy recommendation to any enthusiast who is looking for a quality IEM in 300$ price range. But also check out the Fidue A83 (also a very capable and great IEM)

The Pros:

1) Build Quality: The DN2K has a great build quality. No compromise to be seen anywhere.

2) Sound quality: Sound quality of DN2K is very natural, expansive, and is like-able my almost anybody.

3) Comfort: DN2K is quite comfortable to wear for many hours, owing to its customization options and ergonomics.

4) Value: I do not think there are much better performing earphones available within the same price tag as of DN2K, thus making M3 of having a superb price/performance ratio.

The Cons:

1) Cable: Currently, the cable has very good build to it, but it would be more practical step to upgrade to a braided cable.

I thought the cable is already perfect, mate! It's very very supple and I love it. The only thing that matter is the housing is prone to scratch and cracks because of heavy housing and supple cable that make it easy to fall

Yep, after a lot of mingling around, I can say, cable is indeed reliable, and the housing is heavy, tends to fall off, so I use wings to secure them on my ears.

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 amp/dac manufacturer. They are based in Incheon, South Korea. The brand was established in 2009. The MX2 is the successor for MX1, and hence is the flagship amp/dac offering from Audinst. All their products are made in Korea.

Specifications of MX2 as per Audinst:

DAC Sampling Support: 16/24 Bit

44.1/48.0/88.2/96.0/176.4/192 KHZ 123dB SNR

Input: USB 1.1/2.0, S/PDIF Optical

Output: headphone Jack, Line out, Optical out.

Maximum power output: 1.5W @ 32 Ohms

Headphone Impedance: 16-600 Ohms

Let us see what the MX2 has got for us,

Packaging and Accessories: The MX2 arrives packed inside a large colourful cardboard box, 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 typical-amplifier’ packaging. Accessories are found beneath a pseudo-bottom compartment. No complaints here. Nothing special to mention about; all accessories have a good quality, build and feel to them. The accessories are made in Korea too.

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

Power Adapter: Standard 15V 1A DC power supply for MX2.

USB Cable: Standard black coloured USB A-B cable, about 1.5m length.

RCA Cable: RCA Male to RCA Male cable of 1.5m length

Rubber Feet: For attaching to bottom surface of MX2, thus making it scratch and skid resistant.

Allen wrench: To remove the volume knob (and hence disassemble the MX2)

User Manual: Detailed and informative Instructions about operating the MX2, also contains warranty information.

Design and Build: The MX2 has an excellent overall build quality.

The outer case is made up of aluminium, and is painted black. Front panel is silver coloured, volume knob is fully metallic, and has a solid feel to it. In pictures MX2 looks larger, but in real, it is very nimble.

On the front side,We have Volume control knob, input and output select switch, and headphone jack in both 6.5mm and 3.5mm formats. An LED indicator shows the status of operation.

On the rear side, We have USB input jack and a optical input jack, along with DC power input jack. As for outputs, RCA line out jack and optical output are present.

Speaking of Internals, MX2 has a double sided PCB with no wirings. All components used are of good brands; including all dale resistors, Alps pot, premium caps. There are only two user replaceable parts on board the MX2: OPA2134 for Line Out. OPA2227 for Differential.

There is also a gain jumper, which if removed, sets the MX2 to a higher gain for 300-600 ohm dynamic headphones. For planar magnetic headphones, IEM’s, low gain 16-300 ohms (closed jumpers by default) suits much better.

Audinst provides two years warranty for the MX2; which again reassures us of the build quality of the MX2.

Function and Features: Important features of MX2, which distinguishes it from others:

1) It can churn out 1.5W @ 32 ohms power output at headphone jack.

2) MX2 amp/dac can run solely on 5V USB cable, and also on 12VDC power.

3) It has both ¼” and 1/’8” headphone jacks.

4) Intelligent LED indicator and interface.

5) Optical interface support.

This is an intelligent little box that does it all; it automatically cuts off USB power, once adapter pin is plugged in. We are able to connect all terminals, at once and later select the desired input and outputs without disconnecting anything. The provided dual headphones out jacks are very convenient, I don’t need to buy an additional adapter. Both the headphone outputs can work simultaneously.

MX2 works wonderfully even on just a USB cable. This feature has really impressed me. There are a very few devices who can do actually do this. This feature makes it semi-portable, and a dedicated power supply not necessary. MX2 DAC supports 24/96 on USB connectivity, and 24/192 on optical connection.

When LED is red, it indicates input line has been selected but not connected.
When LED is orange, it indicates input line is selected and connected.
When LED is green, it indicates, input is connected and active.

MX2 gets slightly warm in temperature during continuous operation on 15V adapter. But when it is fed off solely on USB power, MX2 remains completely cool.

Sound: As for the most important part, I feel the MX2 is slightly warm and dark in presentation. Sound-stage width is moderate. Depth is pretty good. The overall presentation is intimate.

With 5V USB cable, Soundstage is little closed in and intimate. But surprisingly, the output power is still very good. With 15V Adapter, Soundstage opens out by about 20% and lows get tighter and accurate, along with more driving power due to sufficient power supply. Rest of the qualities remain almost the same. On IEM’s I could not make out any difference in sound by using the adapter, so we are good with the USB power. For headphones, best performance is extracted by using the given adapter.

But with any combinations, there is slight audible hiss in IEM’s when MX2 is idle. There is a presence of audible background noise. I could also hear a channel imbalance at the beginning of volume control with sensitive IEM’s. Left channel starts up first, followed by right channel. I could hear clearly music from left channel, even when I had completely turned down the volume knob.

Lows are strong and accurate but does not go deep enough.

Mids feel far-off and blown away, definitely a deal breaker for those who love vocals.

Highs are a touch laid back and smooth, giving the final impressions about darkness in sound output.

Soundstage on MX2 is modest and for some, lacking in width. Depth is fair. MX2 does not give a circular imaging, instead gives out an elliptical stage (with comparatively more depth and lesser width) Detail retrieval, and dynamics are decent enough.

Also, the sound of MX2 can be manipulated by using different op-amps. I have changed the Op-Amps and I could observe instant improvement in sound output quality.

But even after this upgrade, MX2’s sonic output will remain titled on darker side. After trying out more than twenty op-amps on MX2, I rested upon OPA2111KP in Line out socket and LME49860 in differential socket, and I was better satisfied with the sound output. I also used MX2’s Lineout function, to connect a powered speaker system by RCA cable. It performed up to my expectations. Volume control is functional. Infact, I liked the sound at line-out more than its headphone taps. I like the Line-Out of the MX2 better than its headphone outs.

Comparing the MX2 with O2/ODAC, I feel the latter audibly outperforms the MX2. The O2/ODAC is also more pleasant, relaxing to listen to; MX2 is slightly darker and feels congested sounding, whereas O2/ODAC is greatly transparent and neutral, with relaxed and natural soundstage. Although the MX2 clearly wins in design, build quality, utility and features; But O2/ODAC wins, in what matters the most: The sound. O2/ODAC & LCD2 are a great combo, but I feel O2 lacks power to comfortably drive them. Though MX2 drives the LCD2’s better, but the pair has less synergry (owing to darker sonic output of MX2)

Conclusion: MX2 is an all-in-one device; this device is actually pretty great on features and practical aspects. I can recommend MX2 for enthusiasts who travel often. This little box will be very handy amp/dac as it won’t need any dedicated power supply at all, and is nimble and powerful.

I expected much better sonic qualities from this champ; I have to admit MX2 has left me disappointed and longing for more in this regard. But In 250$ range this device is pretty decent, and stands next to O2/ODAC.

The Pros:

1) Design and Build: MX2 was very well designed and implemented. It has a very practical and versatile design and build.

2) Functions and Features: This is the area where no other amp/dac outrun the MX2. The MX2 particularly excels in this category.

The Cons:

1) Sound: Since the MX2 did not quite live up to my expectations on the sonic part, I will list it as a con. But it is not necessary that others too should not like it.

2) Value: According to me, there are much better performing devices available around the same price tag as of MX2 (example: Aune T1, O2/ODAC, M/M) But the competition is really stiff, and ultimately the choice solely depends on requirements.

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: Brainwavz, established in 2008, is a famous and renowned brand across the world. Speciality of Brainwavz is that, they always deliver quality products in an affordable price. The M3 is the flagship In Ear Monitor offering from M series of Brainwavz. The M3 took back seat for quite some time, owing to release of newer S series.

Specifications of M3 as per Brainwavz:

Drivers: Dynamic, 10.7mm

Rated Impedance: 20 Ω

Frequency Range: 20Hz-20kHz

Sensitivity: 115 dB@1 mW

Rated Input Power: 10 mW

Cable: 1.3m, Y-Cord, (Cu/Ag) PUR

Plug: 3.5mm Gold Plated 45°

Let us see what the M3 has got for us,

Packaging and Accessories: As usual, the M3 arrives packed inside a typical-Brainwavz-style colourful cardboard box, on which features, accessories and other information have been mentioned upon. The box is sealed by Brainwavz factory. Once the box is opened, The M3 housing shell is seen resting on a transparent plastic, the rest of cable and the accessories are packed inside the hard case. Nice step taken by Brainwavz, considering thousands of miles journey the M3 has to undergo before reaching its destination. The hard case can be unzipped off to reveal the storage compartment, in which all the included accessories are present.

Brainwavz has always been generous in case of accessories, by providing good amount of accessories. Over all the packaging and accessories is nicely done (as usual) by Brainwavz.

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

Eartips: Plenty of good quality eartips are included to fit almost any kind of ears, a pair of comply foam tips are also included.

Shirt Clip: To reduce microphonics and to secure the hanging cable to the shirt.

Hard case: This case is supplied to store and protect the M3.

Warranty card: Contains warranty information.

Design and Build: The M3 has a very good overall build quality. Feels sophisticated and refined. The M3 has a very practical and ergonomic build.

Housing shells are made up of high quality fiber materials. Nozzle is made up of metal. Housing is painted in black gloss colour, Feels good in hand. The housings shell is actually tiny, light in weight.

One peculiar thing a person can see about M3 is that, there is a arm stretching out of the main driver housing. The function of this arm is to hold the M3’s steady while our head is moving (during jogging) and to not allow M3’s to slip deeper into the ear canal.

Cable is braided and has a very good build. It is very similar to the cables of SoundMAGIC E30 earphones. It is light, flexible and does not get tangled. Cables have almost zero microphonics. Plug is 45 degrees angled. This is again more convenient and easier to use than the 90 degree and 180 degree plugs.

My only concern is the absence of strain relief on housings and on Y splitter. Cable is most likely to wear at these two places. We can see here that a cable slider is too not present.

Comfort and Fit: M3 is quite comfortable to wear, its light in weight, ergonomically designed, and its cable is light in weight and not heavy, stiff like the S0’s. No worries about the stretching arm on the driver housings, as their presence is barely noticeable after sometime of wearing it.

My ears are quite large, and the M3’s fit me well. So I would also presume that M3 would fit almost all kind of ears. The presence of protruding arm does not hinder the comfort. Instead it makes sure there is better fit. The isolation provided by M3 is quite mediocre, owing to shallow fit and insertion.

Sound: As for the most important part, th sound. The M3 has a slightly 'V' shaped sound signature.

Lows: are fairly tight and strong; goes deep enough for a good impact.

Mids: are pushed back a little, not a strong point for vocals.

Highs: are sparky and are a touch artificial sounding. There are a few spikes audible in the highs,

Sound-stage width is a little bit congested. Depth is pretty decent. The overall presentation is warm, intimate and closed in. I also remember M3 sounded a touch processed and artificial. This may make one to feel fatigued even after a short listen. Also, the sound of M3 can be manipulated by using different eartips. Sonic results can vary greatly by different ear tips used. But, I found the default tip to be most balanced sounding amongst all included tips.

Comparing the M3 with S0, I feel the S0 definitely outperforms the M3 in terms of neutrality, soundstage. The S0’s are also more pleasant and relaxing to listen to. M3 is slightly warmer and feels congested sounding, whereas S0 is greatly transparent and neutral, with relaxed and natural soundstage. (Also, S0 costs half the price of M3). M3 clearly wins in terms of cable quality, and ergonomics. One cannot simply ignore the fact that, S0’s have tremendous value with them. I was fatigued by M3 in a short amount of time (Spacious sound of S0 spoilt me)

Amplification: The M3 is very easy to drive, and can be driven by almost any sources, smartphones and DAP’s. Although a dedicated low cost amp like a Topping NX100 does increases the sound output noticeably, the difference in quality is minimal. Amplification factor is not important here, but a clean and transparent source is sufficient to drive the M3 to their maximum potential.

Conclusion: M3 is a decent earphone, but I did not quite like its sound presentation. I would instead recommend an enthusiast to consider the popular S0 which costs half the price of M3, with a much more acclaimed and neutral sound quality. The M3 is also comparatively outdated when it comes to value prospect.

The Pros:

1) Build Quality: The M3’s have a very good build quality. Particularly the cables are well built.

2) Sound quality: Sound quality of M3 is relatively warm and intimate. For those who appreciate this kind of sound presentation, they would prefer the sound quality of M3.

3) Comfort: M3 is quite comfortable to wear for a few hours, owing to its light and ergonomic build.

The Cons:

1) Value: I think there are much better performing earphones available within the same price tag as of M3, thus making M3 of having a mediocre price/performance ratio.

2) Not for everybody: The sound quality presented by M3 may not be appreciated by every enthusiast.

Intro: Brainwavz aftermarket Headphone ear pads are custom made ear pads for HM5 headphones and many other similar sized headphones. In case of HM5, These ear pads will bring a positive sonic change and overall improvement in soundstage, tonality and naturalness. There are two types of ear pads available, one is pleather type other is velour type.

Full review on HM5 here: http://www.head-fi.org/products/brainwavz-hm5-studio-monitor-headphones/reviews/12055

Steps for Installation: (You will need a flat scale or ruler)

1) Detach the current ear pads from driver assembly by giving them a circular twist.

2) Using a flat surfaced scale, remove the current ear pads completely off the base plate.

3) Take the aftermarket ear pads, first insert one end of the pad into the plate, and then gradually slide the edge, along the base plate by using a flat scale.

4) Adjust the ear pads accurately, and fit back to the driver assembly.

Headphones known to be compatible with these ear pads:

- Brainwavz HM5

- AKG Q701

- Audio Technica ATH-M50

- Shure SRH 440

- Koss DJ100 / DJ200

- Takstar HI 2050 and Pro 80

- Ultrasone HF 580 / SH 1 Pro / HFI 780

- Sony MDR V6 / ZX 700

- Fostex T50RP T50

- M-Audio Q40

- JVC S500S

Sonic Changes: We know that there are two kinds of earcup options available on HM5. There are important and major differences in sonic performance by ear pads on both of these ear cups. So I will explain every combination possible on HM5.

1) Stock Closed Ear Cups

2) Custom Semi Open Ear Cups

Exclusive review on semi open ear cups: http://www.head-fi.org/products/brainwavz-hm5-semi-open-headphone-cups/reviews/12261

Let us see how the ear pads perform on both of these ear cups.

Stock Closed Cup with velour earpads, lows are tighter and are well controlled. The overall sound is more airy with increased soundstage. Sounds much more relaxed than the pleather ear pads and provide more neutral sound quality. Increased wearing comfort and ventilation is a bonus. We have to remember that, since these are ventilated, they will leak sound into the surroundings. Apart from that, most of the sonic changes are positive. On pleather earpads, Lows are strong but a little boomy, Highs are a touch smoothened, and soundstage feels congested. Overall sounds dark and muddy when compared to velour pads. Although comfort is good, and high level of isolation is achieved by these. These pads provide much better seal than the velours, and are thicker in width. Stock ear pads sound noticeably inferior compared to the above two, and is relatively uncomfortable, due to its thin padding.

Semi Open Cup with velour pads, there is too much sound leakage, causing almost nonexistent lows and highs, and bloated, muffled mids. With aftermarket foam pads, which provide better seal, the sound is comparatively more balanced, but still sounded more ‘far’. Velour pads are best used with stock closed earcups, and foam pads performed a little better than velours. But still I feel there is a presence of ‘bloat’ and sound feels ‘muffled’, taking away the details. Best match with semi open ear cups was achieved with stock ear pads. I suppose thats due to best seal (flexibility) of the earpads and the drivers being more nearer to our ears, it evened out the ‘farness’ feeling. But the stock ear pads are least comfortable amongst all ear pads.

Comfort:

Pleather Pads: These pads are thicker, and give a more pronounced clamping effect owing to already strong clamp of the HM5. Since these do not have any ventilation; they cause our ears to sweat. These are also comparatively more fatiguing to wear because of reasons mentioned above.

Velour Pads: Velour pads are widely acknowledged as most comfortable pads available and same holds true here. These velours provide good ventilation to our ears, hence we feel less sweaty and more comfortable. The velours are more cushion-y and thus reducing the prominent clamping on the HM5. Also due to the given air movement, sound coming from velour pads is more natural and relaxed.

Conclusion: These ear pads have a great value, comfort and sound to them. For those who already own the HM5’s with stock earcups, velour ear pads are definitely worth considering. I did not quite like the comfort and sound of pleather ear cups owing to lack of ventilation and clamp (effects are clearly felt in tropical climate) For enthusiasts who plan to upgrade to semi open ear cups, stock ear pads are best match; hence there is no need to get aftermarket earcups.

I would like to add that, semi open ear cups + stock ear pads combination provides the best possible sonic performance in the HM5.

Advantages:

1) Sound: Major Improvement in soundstage, naturalness and tonality on stock ear cups.

2) Comfort: The HM5 is now far less fatiguing and are very comfortable, so one can listen to it for longer sessions on stock ear cups.

3) Value: These ear pads cost have a very good performance, and are economically priced.

Limitations:

1) Usability: If you plan to get the Semi open ear cups, there will be no need for any of the aftermarket ear pads.

2) Build Quality: The build is good enough, but not great on velours. Stitches can come out and get loosened during installation. But this is really not an issue since these are very economically priced.

I am penning down my opinion about the QLS QA360 Digital Audio Player. I will try to keep this review simple as possible and I hope it would be easy to read, and will help fellow enthusiasts to know more about the QA360.

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: QLS-HiFi, is just another Chinese DAP manufacturer hidden from the world’s eyes, QLS is however a renown brand inside China. Their flagship DAP is the QA360, released in April 2014, after 3 years of its development. QA360 is a Mid-Fi DAP, with DSD capability.

Specifications of QA360 as per QLS:

•   PGA2311 for Advanced digital volume control.
•   Three Low jitter TCXO for PCM & DSD.

•   SDHC/SDXC Supports up to 128GB with FAT32.
•   Firmware upgradeable

•   Menu: English and Chinese Simplified/Traditional.
•   High power Class A headphone amplifier.
•   PGA2311 150-Steps high-performance Digital-Controlled Analogue Volume Control
•   4-layers PCB for all circuit boards.
• Audio Support:
- 16bit/24bit, 44.1-192Khz, DSD 1bit 64FS.
- Audio format supported:
- WAV : 16/24bit, 44.1~192 kHz.
- AIFF : 16/24bit, 44.1~192 kHz.
- FLAC : 16/24bit, 44.1 kHz~48 kHz, compression level 0~8.
- APE : 16 bit, 44.1 kHz, compression level fast and normal.
- ALAC : 16 bit, 44.1 kHz
- MP3 : 16bit, 44.1/48 kHz, 96k bps~320k bps, CBR/VBR/ABR encoding.
- CUE : ANSI / UNICODE / UTF-8 Encoding.
- DSD : DSD64 1bit, Stereo---DIFF、DSF、SACD ISO.
- Digital output: PCM / Dolby Digital output/ DTS Digital output / DSD (DoP V1.0).
•   Digital output: Coaxial (3.5mm), Optical (Round Port).

•   Analogue output: 3.5mm Line Out.
- Analogue Line out: 2V (RMS), frequency response 0Hz-20KHz, SNR 116dB, Distortion 0.0006%
- Headphone out: 490mW/16Ω; 245mW/32Ω; 55mW/300Ω; Frequency response: 0Hz-20Khz; Output impedance: 0.075 ohms
•   DAC Chip: CS4398. LVP: AD8620.
•   Battery Type: 3.7V 3120mAH Li-Po battery.
•   Battery life: 10 to 11 hours for PCM, or 7-8 hours for DSD.
•   Dimensions: 117x72x27mm

Packaging and Accessories: The QA360 arrives packed inside a plain matt black cardboard box, on brand name has been mentioned upon, cardboard box is quite sturdy and strong, and can withstand the long journey during shipping times.

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

Charger: 5 volts/2 amperes universal charger for charging the QA360. This charger is the fastest mode of charging the QA360.

USB charging cable: Sufficiently long, can be used for charging the QA360 from computer or any other 5V source.

SD Card: A full size Sandisk SD card (16GB 30MB/S)

SD Card reader: A full size SD card reader for data transfer using the SD card.

Screen guard: A spare screen guard for applying on QA360's screen. Also includes a cloth for cleaning the screen.

User Manual: Contains all information about operating the QA360. English and Chinese languages included.

Warranty card: Contains warranty information.

Silicon case: This translucent case is supplied to protect the QA360 from falls or scratches, and also gives a firm holding grip and anti-skid feature to the QA360.

Packaging is nicely done, with accessories provided being sufficient in quantity and made up of great quality. Almost all of included accessories are manufactured/endorsed by QLS themselves, ensuring a handsome quality control.

Design and Build: The QA360 has an excellent build quality. Its built like a tank (reminding me the build of M-Stage’s) the main body and even all buttons is made up of metal, most probably containing aluminium. QA360 has a rectangular shape with curved edges, though it is a bit thicker. The QA360 Is fairly heavy in weight owing to its heavy build, but still it can be comfortably operated using one hand itself. QLS Audio provides an 3 year warranty on the QA360, which is quite impressive, considering most of the others DAP’s have only 1 or 2 years warranty at most. This again reassures us about the QLS’s faith in their products. Ergonomics and comfort factor is fairly good in QA360, because QA360 has a great build quality, it feels a bit heavy and might be a little difficult to operate for enthusiasts with smaller hands.

On the Top side, the QA360 has a socket for antenna extension. Surprising as it may seem, QA360 is capable of remote controlling. The remote is available as optional.

On the left side, An full size SD card slot is present. The card slot operates smoothly without any hitches. Insertion and removal of card is fairly easy, with just an simple push.

On the right side, A sliding lock button is present, whose function is to lock down all the keys once lock button is activated. A sliding power button is also present. I actually prefer sliding power button over an conventional push button, that is because one can flip on/off in just a second, when compared to 3-5 seconds on push type power buttons. Both of these sliding buttons have very fine and sturdy operation. Feels confident and slick to slide one. Two volume buttons are present, Volume controlling is very fine, it has 150 volume control, and works very well with IEM’s and headphones. One can achieve even minute attenuations in volumes without any issues. Volume switching is smooth and very gradual, which is a big plus especially sensitive IEM’s.

On The front side, Four buttons (Up/down Left/Right) are present, along with select, menu and back keys. The navigation buttons are used to navigate songs, or forward/backward operations depending upon the situation. A select key is present in the middle of navigation keys, and is used to select or play/pause the songs. The back key, as usual takes the user to the previous menu. Buttons are well laid and are very convenient and nice. Buttons feel very smooth, fine and very accurate.

Display screen is good enough, though screen clarity or screen resolution is not impressive, but still it does the job just fine. (This is common in almost of all DAP’s)

On the bottom side, Output and charging sockets are located. From left to right, Headphone output, coaxial output and optical output respectively. It is convenient that optical and coaxial outputs are also included in the QA360, But I could only utilize headphone output in this review, (since I dont have access to any optical/coaxial devices) To far right, a charging port is present, to which charging jack has to be connected to charge the QA360. All the jacks are well built and implemented, and have a good feel to them.

Battery life: Battery life is fairly good. As for me, the battery lasts for about 6-7 hours, which is quite good.The battery capacity of QA360 is of 3120mAH. Even though it is a good capacity battery, Playback time is pretty decent at 6-7 hours. The battery has to be charged by a 5V 2A adapter, and is included in the package. Charging time using this adapter is around 3 hours. QA360 always plays it 'cool' and never gets warm, not even during charging.

User Interface: The current firmware version is V1.3, and is upgradeable as new versions are released by QLS. Startup and shut down happens within just 2 seconds, which makes QA360 quite fast in operation. The actual firmware is very fast, responsive and zippy when it comes to browsing. No hanging or slowing down whatsoever. I sometimes wish there should be improvement in font and screen display brightness/resolution, because as of now the fonts are quite small for viewing, and are pixelized. I feel a much more advanced brightness and resolution settings can be provided by QLS, in their next firmware update.

Menu key opens up the settings and other options. This DAP is DSD capable, along with one can change many advanced settings like themes, layouts, key speed, DSD settings, playing settings and sound filters. The sound filter options are slow/fast, by selecting slow, the sonic output was a little laidback, and natural. By selecting fast filter, I felt the sound was somewhat shallower by a margin and more artificial. The QA 360 by default comes with loads of high-res FLAC, WAV DSD music files stored in its 16GB card. Though most of them are in Chinese, many are instrumental and English vocals. This is again a nice initiative by QLS. The battery indicator accurately calculates the actual amount of battery power remaining, and has stable readings.

Overall, the firmware is simple, yet has all essential features, is super fast to flip around, is customizable and is quite reliable and stable. I feel the interface of QA360 allows users to personalize the DAP as desired.

Sound: As for the most important part, The QA360 is overall Transparent, Neutral and Detailed sounding with excellent but accurate sound stage, imaging and detail retrieval. Dynamics are superB, giving a circular spacious sound. Soundstage is spacious, but in a natural and realistic way. I am able to differentiate between FLAC and 320kbps MP3 for the same song with the QA360. Considering the QA360’s neutral sound quality, it can match up with any genre and any headphone without sounding bad in particular. QA360’s neutrality is not at all harsh/piercing or irritating like some other DAP’s. Instead, the QA360 manages to produce a slight natural flavour.

The transparency on QA360 is really appreciable. QA360 is very resolving, transparent, yet natural sounding to human ears. I was really stunned for the first time I listened to the QA360. The QA360 also has Tonality as its plus along with transparency. Its tonality is slightly ‘organic and pleasing’ This tonality trait can make ‘thin’ and ‘cold’ sounding headphones to sing along. The tonality of QA360 is such that, it does not make compromise in transparency, neutrality or dynamics. Listening to hi-res vocals and instrumentals on QA360 is a pure bliss.

Output power at headphone jack is fairly good and is sufficient to drive any and all IEM’s and also to drive most of the headphones, to loud listening levels, I always listen to volumes below 60 on IEM’s and below 110 on headphones. Noise floor of the QA360 is audibly dead silent. I could not detect any audible disturbance in any form from the QA360. EMI pickup is completely nil, along with no pop sounds on startup or shutdown, which is really appreciable. Pairing LCD2’s with QA360, the result was more than pleasant; the combo sounded pleasing and had sufficiently loud volume levels.(considering LCD2’s are power hungry) But I have always felt that sonic character of headphones improve with an dedicated amplifier. But even then, it’s a great praise for QA360 in driving the LCD2’s.

Comparing the QA360 with FiiO X5, I feel the QA360 definitely outperforms the X5 in terms of sound quality as well as build quality. X5 is slightly warmer and feels a bit congested sounding (comparatively), whereas QA360 is very transparent and neutral, with relaxed and natural soundstage. (Of course, we have to remember that QA360 costs about 200$ more than the X5) However, X5 wins is portability factor and output power. The X5 has reasonably more powerful output at headphone jack than the QA360. Also the X5 is way slimmer and lighter than QA360, along with support for USB connectivity. X5 also has a more ‘user friendly’ firmware than the QA360.

Conclusion: Though QLS is a relatively newer-known brand in the audiophile world, The QA360 without doubt is an amazing DAP. I never expected such a good sounding DAP from them. It offers a excellent transparency, along with neutral sound quality with a touch of naturalness. The sound quality is phenomenal (considering its competitors) and Build quality is supreme, which is not found on many other DAP’s.

The Pros:

1) Transparency: Transparency of QA360 is worth mentioning. The transparency, resolving power of QA360 is simply phenomenal (in its category)

2) Tonality: I feel QA360 has a slightly organic and pleasing organic tonality, but it does not sacrifice dynamics, neutrality or transparency. Maybe this is the reason why I can listen to QA360 for hours together without any fatigue.

3) Sound quality: Sound quality of QA360 is accurate, mostly uncoloured and neutral. Detail retrieval is very good. Soundstage and dynamics are just amazing. This is definitely an advantage. I always have felt that a source (base of the sound chain) should be neutral and transparent.

4) Build Quality: Build quality of QA360 is top notch and hence I assume it will also be durable for a long time to come.

5) Value: The overall performance of QA360 is excellent, especially considering its price, and also the fact that there are limited DAP’s available in around 500$ range. I can say, QA360 has a Mid-Fi price tag, but its sonic offering is nearly at Summit-Fi level.

The Cons:

1) USB connectivity is absent: The QA360 does not have USB port, so one has to manually remove the SD card, connect to PC and then transfer the files. This can be irritating for frequent data transferor’s like me, and also, since USB port is absent, the charging port is via an seperate DC 2 pole connector, this makes us to carry the special charging cable to wherever we travel. Definitely a cumbersome drawback for travellers. But I think this drawback can be taken as blessing in disguise, as QA360 will be free from any technical issues from internal memory/corrupt software or hanging issues, Thus achieving more reliability.

2) Portability: Though this is not really a drawback, the QA360 is comparatively thick and heavy, probably due to its nice build. Enthusiasts with smaller hand size may find QA360 to be heavy, or difficult to operate with one hand. But it should be manageable. As for me, I would anyday trade thickness and weight in exchange for a better build quality.

Does this play FLAC above 48 kHz? Is that a typo in the specs?

Why no comparison to the Hidizs AP 100 in the pic? I'd really like a little comparison between them

Hello,
The battery for my QLS QA360 is dead.
I wanted to replace it but can't find the description for battery replacement.
Did you come across it?
If so please share the link.

I am penning down my opinion about the Hidizs AP100 Digital Audio Player. I will try to keep this review simple as possible and I hope it would be easy to read, and will help fellow enthusiasts to know more about the AP100.

Me: I am an 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 headphones, and realized the true components of recorded music. I usually like to listen to Indian Classical Music along with Bollywood songs.

Intro: Hidizs, (pronounced Hi-di-z’s) [thats quite a unique name there] established in 2009, somehow not an renown brand in the audiophile world, but Hidizs released their first product in 2014, the AP100, which grabbed everyone’s attention. Hidizs made a bold entry into audiophile world by introducing an DAP as its first product, which is an quite a task. The AP100 is the only product offering from the house of Hidizs. AP100 is aimed to function as a fully portable High fidelity digital audio player.

Specifications of AP100 as per Hidizs:

Packaging and Accessories: The AP100 arrives packed inside a matt black cardboard box, on which features, accessories and other information have been mentioned upon. The brown pleather case for AP100 is included in an separate box, cardboard boxes are quite sturdy, and can withstand the long journey during shipping times.

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

3.5mm interconnect : A short cable with 90 degree 3.5mm jacks, To connect to an portable amplifier.

coaxial cable : This is for connecting to the AP100's coax terminals. One end is 3.5mm (AP100 coax terminal) and other end is RCA (full size coax terminal)

USB cable : Sufficiently long, can be used for both data transfer and charging.

Screen guard : An spare screen guard for applying on AP100's screen. Also includes an cloth for cleaning the screen.

User Manual : Contains all information about operating the AP100.

Warranty card : Contains warranty information. English language included.

Pleather case : This case is supplied to protect the AP100 player from falls or scratches, and also gives an premium touch to the AP100.

Packaging could have been done better in an more efficient way. But anyways, packaging was decently secure and practical, with accessories provided being sufficient and made up of good quality.

Design and Build: The AP100 has a fairly good build quality. The main body is made up of metal and most buttons are made up of fibre. AP100 is ergonomically designed and has an rectangular shape with curved edges, just as most of the other DAP’s. AP100 Is fairly light in weight, and can be comfortably operated using one hand itself.

On the Top side, the AP100 has headphone out and a line out, both as 3.5mm format. These feel good quality and hold on the jacks quite well. An power button is also present on the right corner. One has to hold power button for 3 seconds to turn on/off the device.

On the left side, SRC and Equalizer buttons are present. The function of equalizer button is to change or colour the output sound as desired. There are a few preset equalizers included in the firmware by default (like jazz, pop, rock etc), along with these presets, one can also manually set the desired custom equalization setting in the menu. The AP100 is hardware EQ’ing capable, which is quite an appreciable feature. So, according to my understanding, all the custom set equalization settings are hardware accelerated by the Cirrus Logic CS48L10 chipset. I do not realize the exact function of SRC button, but what it does is, increase the soundstage width and depth, along with bass bloat. With SRC at 24/192, the bass seems very much bloated, and soundstage feels artificially extended. So I feel, the SRC setting is best turned off, to extract an accurate sound output.

On the right side, lock button is present, whose function is to lock down all the keys once lock button is activated. This same button broke off by its own within the first month of its use, leaving me disappointed and hence Indicating, a better designing is required from Hidizs.

On The front side, Volume keys, forward, backward, next, previous, select and back keys are present. Two volume keys, one for increasing the volume and another for decreasing are present. Forward/backward, Next/previous keys are present in a typical Ipod-style. These buttons are somewhat stiff and they wobble, causing inaccuracy in navigation. Some buttons are harder and some buttons are looser, so one might have to press harder. I feel Hidizs should rectify this issue at their earliest. The back key, as usual provides an back function in the firmware. when pressed for more than 3 seconds, it pops up an command to delete the file. The display screen size is 2.4 inch diagonally, and display, I feel is good enough for an DAP. Resolution, brightness are decent enough for viewing.

On the bottom side, a micro USB port, Micro SD card slot coaxial input and output terminals are present. Though I could never use the coaxial terminals, so I cannot comment on their performance. Charging and USB connection use the same microUSB port.

The paint quality (black) on AP100 is quite mediocre, as it tends to rub off and imprint on other devices. Included case looks like a leather case, but actually its made up of pleather material, and the case itself is not fitting well enough with the AP100. This fault is due to careless in designing and cutting process. An simple silicon cover would have been much more economical and practical than the current pleather case.

Battery life: Battery life is okay-ish, and battery indicator miscalculates the actual amount of battery power remaining. As for me, the battery lasts for about 5 hours, even on lowest brightness and other settings. I feel the playback time should increase atleast upto 8 hours on a full charge. The battery capacity of AP100 is of 3000mAH. Even though it is a good capacity battery, Playback time is modest. The battery has to be charged by an 5V 2A adapter, and is not included in the package. Charging time using this adapter is around 3 hours.

User Interface: The current firmware version is 067, and is upgradeable. Audio formats supported are WAV FLAC MP3 OGG AAC APE ALAC. Gapless playing is not supported. Currently the UI supports only simple ‘File Browsing’ type navigation foe song playback. A browser with atleast album playback was expected, but nevertheless it can be added in future firmware updates. The current UI is reasonably fast, and its features are limited as of now. The current 067 UI is just moderately reliable, as it tends to shut down anytime at random, without warning. Many might not know, If your AP100 hangs off or gets struck, press and hold both power key and back key together for 10 seconds, and AP100 will turn off. No need for using a pin to reset. Currently I feel, AP100 may need better quality management and a better user interface to achieve a good reliability. Buttons and firmware are the mostly noticed unreliable features on AP100.

Sound: The AP100 is overall neutral and clean sounding with good sound stage depth and decent width, imaging and detail retrieval. Considering the AP100’s neutral sound quality, It can match up with any genre and any headphone without sounding bad in particular. Sound-stage width and depth are very good especially for an DAP in this price range. Imaging and dynamics live upto expectations, giving an circular spacious surround sound. Neutral and balanced sonic performance.

I did not quite like the hardware equalizer on the AP100; as it sounded somewhat compressed and narrow. So I have always set the player in general mode. SRC function too did not impress me, as it made the music seems to come from very far away and Bass was very much bloated. Hence the SRC option too was turned off. I listen to AP100 without using any of the coloration or enhancements like SRC or EQ.

Power output is pretty good and is sufficient to drive any and all IEM’s and also drive most of the headphones to loud listening levels, I always listen to volumes below 30 on IEM’s and below 50 on headphones. Noise floor of the AP100 is not dead silent. It has slight audible hiss, which can be heard by sensitive IEM’s. The AP100 employs a relay, so EMI pickup is completely nil, along with no pop sounds on startup or shutdown, which is really appreciable.

Comparing the AP100 with FiiO X3, I feel the AP100 definitely outperforms the X3 in terms of sound quality. X3 is warmer and slightly on darker side, whereas AP100 is neutral and balanced. Though the X3 is way better in terms of reliability and build quality, compared to the AP100.

Conclusion: Hidizs AP100 does its job and does it very well. It offers very good neutral sound quality along with good portability and decent features, in an decent price range. With Minor improvements from Hidizs team, this DAP can be amazing. Though Hidizs is a relatively new brand in the audiophile world, the AP100 is quite a good DAP, considering it is their first release. I hope and believe they would improvise their upcoming DAP's to meet our expectations.

The Pros:

1) Neutral sound quality: Sound quality of AP100 is mostly uncoloured and neutral. This is definitely an advantage. I always have felt that a source (base of the sound chain) should be neutral and transparent. Any desired colouration required should be chosen later on, higher on the sound chain (like headphones or amplifiers)

2) Value: The overall performance of AP100 is good, especially considering its price, and also the fact that there are limited DAP’s available in sub 500$ range.

The Cons:

1) General Reliability: The AP100 is not quite as reliable as it should be, owing to firmware, battery and build issues of the AP100.

2) Firmware Issues: The current firmware version has limited features and reliability. However, these issues can be solved, when the firmware will be updated by Hidizs, in near future.

3) Moderate Build Quality: Although overall quality of AP100 is fairly good, but in areas like buttons and body paint, the quality and functioning is not upto expectations.

I am penning down my opinion about the Brainwavz HM5 Over ear Studio Monitor headphones. I will try to keep this review as simple as possible and I hope it would be easy to read, and help fellow enthusiasts to understand more about the HM5.

Me : I am an 21 year old Engineering student living in a small town in India. I would like to call myself an 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 headphones, and realized the true components of recorded music. I usually like to listen to Indian Classical Music along with Bollywood songs.

Intro : Brainwavz, established in 2008, is an renown brand in the audio world. I always have felt that, Brainwavz excels in delivering quality products in an affordable price.The HM5 is the only over ear and closed headphone offering from the house of Brainwavz. HM5 is aimed to function as Studio monitor, rather than solely for Audiophile listening purposes.

Packaging and Accessories : The HM5 arrives packed inside an typical-Brainwavz-style colourful cardboard box, on which features, accessories and other information have been mentioned upon. The box is sealed by Brainwavz factory. Once the box is opened, the HM5 and accessories are packed inside the hard case. Nice step taken by Brainwavz, considering thousands of miles journey the HM5 has to undergo before reaching its destination. The hard case can be unzipped off to reveal the storage compartment, in which all the included accessories are present.

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

1) 1.3M headphone cable: Practical step taken by Brainwavz, The cable is of short length and suits much better for portable use. The cable terminates in 1/8” jack. I find myself using this cable for most of the time.

2) 3M headphone cable: This cable has extra length, same features, and is intended for non-portable purposes in studio. This cable too terminates in 1/8”.

3) ¼” converter: This converter can be screwed-in directly to both short and long cables for plugging in ¼” headphone jack, and is gold plated.

4) Spare Earpads: One spare set of stock pleather earpads.

5) Hard Case: To store the HM5 headphone and its accessories.

6) Zipper line : It is an long cord with hooks to attach to hard case and can be hung around our shoulder while travelling.

7) Warranty: Contains warranty details of the HM5.

Overall, the packaging and accessories gives an positive first impression. Packaging is secure and practical, with accessories provided being plenty and made up of premium quality. They all have the same sophisticated feel as each and every part of the HM5.

Design and Build : The HM5 has an excellent build quality and has been built with professional grade materials. Metal cups, steel headband, high quality audio jacks, reliable overall sturdy construction. Nothing feels finicky. HM5 is a little smaller than how it appears in pictures, thus making it very portable and nimble. Headband is made up of high grade steel. Headband padding is cushioned and is good enough to keep us comfortable for 1-2 hours on an continuous listen. On the top side of the headband padding, The brand name ‘Brainwavz’ is engraved, giving the HM5 an professional look.,

Headphone cable is made up of good quality materials, 1/8” jack terminal is gold plated and feels high quality. The mono jack ending for the headphone, marked red for right and blue for left, The ¼” converter too has a premium quality. The driver housing cup is light in weight, has metal plated outer finishing, and has clearly visible Left and Right markings. Strain relief on the housing are rigid and well implemented. Headphone cable connector design is simple yet reliable and practical, with mono 3.5mm connector. With an simple push inside the socket, the connector sits snugly in its place.The HM5 feels rubbery when held in and has matt finish, which increases the holding grip, and does not it slip off from our hands.

Another thing to mention about HM5 is that, it is completely modular, with user removable and replace-able parts. Headband, earcups, earpads, and even the driver unit can be removed out of the HM5, which increases HM5’s reliability and durability along with ease of maintenance for the user. The HM5 in overall is made up of high quality materials, also, the HM5 has excellent finishing. A 3D Brainwavz logo embossed on the ear cups looks very attractive!

Specifications of HM5 as per Brainwavz:

Drivers : Dynamic, 42mm
Rated Impedance : 64 Ω
Frequency Range : 10Hz ˜ 26.5kHz
Sensitivity: 105 dB @ 1 mW
Rated Input : Power 100 mW

Features :

Over ear Design : Ensures in good fit and comfort, and has oval shaped earcup design to comfortably fit on our oval shaped human ears. Earcups have have plenty of space inside to accommodate larger ears.

Easy to drive: HM5 is rated at 64Ohms and having an dynamic driver, and is easy to drive from most of the portable devices. Which is an plus point of portability.

Detachable cable : HM5 has an simple detachable cable mechanism, which of snug-fit simply push type. Though replacement cable are rare in mono 3.5mm headphone plug, its always convenient to have an detachable cable.

Portability : It is appreciable that, an over ear headphone which is truely portable practically. Most of the over ear headphones are cumbersome to carry around, whereas the HM5 can sit comfortably in its carry case, and is easy to carry around.

Modularity : This feature vaguely reminds me of the HD600’s, just like HD600, the HM5 is modular, with most of its parts user repairable and replaceable. This feature allows us to easily change the earpads, earcups, and allows other modifications.

Comfort : Comfort level on HM5 is good enough. HM5 headphones are very light in weight, does not get dislodged when head is shaken. The HM5 is ergonomically designed, except for the headband assembly and clamping force, which I feel lets the comfort levels down.

Since the HM5 is compactly designed, The headband cushioning is quite mediocre, is very less in length and thickness, and this can cause slight pain or discomfort for larger heads. Clamping was so tight that, I carefully bent the steel supports to suit for my head. But this 'bend' reverses back, to default, once the HM5 is stored back in its hard case. I have to mention, earcup comfort is very good, considering the oval shaped cups suitable for human ears and lots of ear-space inside the earpads.Velour pads may be itchy for sensitive skinned people. The headband screw cover is bare and exposed right besides the headband cushion, and touches my head.

Sound : The HM5 is overall ‘clean and clear’ sounding with very good sound stage depth and decent width, imaging and detail retrieval (for an closed can). Considering the HM5’s overall neutral sound character, It can match up with any genre and with any source without sounding bad in particular. Sound stage depth is very good especially for an closed can, width is decent and good enough. Detail retrieval is excellent. Imaging and dynamics live upto expectations, giving an circular spacious surround sound. Gives an neutral and balanced sonic performance.

The final sonic output in HM5 noticeably changes from different earpads and earcups used:

Aftermarket Pleather earpads : Lows are strong but a little boomy, Highs are a touch smoothened, and soundstage feels congested. sounds dark and muddy when compared to velour pads. Although comfort is very good, and maximum isolation is achieved by this pleather earpad.

Aftermarket Velour earpads : Lows are tighter and are well controlled. the overall sound is more airier with increased soundstage. Sounds much more relaxed than the pleather earpads and is sonically more neutral. Increased wearing comfort and ventilation is an bonus. Though isolation is least in this pad.

Stock earpads : Sounds noticeably inferior compared to the above two, and is relatively uncomfortable, due to its thin padding.

I could imagine that more sonic improvements and neutrality can be achieved with installation of the custom semi open earcups; though I do not have opportunity to try them.

The Downsides :

1) Headband Padding : The head padding provided is minimalistic, and is not very comfortable for larger heads (like mine), causing headaches and sore heads after an hour of continuous listen through the HM5.

2) Clamping : The HM5 has tight clamp force, and my face felt jammed between the earcups of HM5 on the first use. The clamp force did reduced a bit after few hours of use, but not upto to my comfort.

The above two downsides should not be much of an issue for people with smaller or moderate head size.

3) Quality in some areas: Although overall quality of HM5 is very good, but at some places, like inner earcup swing-arm has an hollow appearance. This feels as an compromise in quality. Headband securing screws are completely exposed and have finicky feel to them.

Conclusion: The HM5 is designed to function as an studio monitor, and that explains its closed design to capture every detail in accurate way possible. The HM5 offers very good neutral sound quality along with excellent portability and features, in an affordable price range. The HM5 is an very capable headphone, but one may have to purchase velour earpads and semi open earcups, in addition to the headphone itself, for an more pleasing experience. Headband can be bit of an issue for people with larger heads.

Thank you!

Where did you get the aftermarket ear pads?

Here you go, http://www.mp4nation.net/brainwavz-hm5-velor-memory-foam-earpad-suitable-for-large-over-the-ear-headphones-black

I am penning down my opinion about the ‘most-buzzed-about’ C5 amp. I will try to keep this review simple as possible and I hope it would be easy to read, and will help fellow enthusiasts to know more about the mighty C5 amp.

Me : I am an 21 year old Engineering student living in a small town in India. I would like to call myself an 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 headphones, and realized the true components of recorded music. I usually like to listen to Indian Classical Music along with Bollywood songs.

Intro : Spark Audio used to be a subsidiary electronics department of the Chinese Air Force. Its association with tube electronics and dates back to the old days when aviation technology employed vacuum tubes. After its privatization in 1993, Zhuhai Spark electronic equipment ltd. decided to apply its technical expertise into consumer audio, and has become one of the most reputable audio companies in China. It designs, manufactures and markets its own products under the name “Spark” in China.

“Cayin” is a brand under Zhuhai Spark electronic equipment ltd. They mainly manufacture desktop and tube amplifiers. Cayin was not renown to most of us, until it released its famous C5 portable amp. C5 is the flagship portable amplifier offering from the house of Cayin.

Packaging and Accessories : The C5 arrives packed inside an simple yet rigid golden coloured classic cardboard box. The box is plain with only ‘Cayin’ written over it. The box has an slide-able sticker, which needs to be slid to one side to lift off the lid of the box.

Once the lid is lifted off, The C5 is seen to be resting on an pseudo-base, packed inside an soft cover. The pseudo-base can be lifted off to reveal the storage compartment, in which all the included accessories are present.

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

1) 3.5mm interconnect cable: For attaching to an DAP, as its of short length and connects are 90 degree angled.

2) Micro-USB interconnect cable: To utilize the power bank feature of the C5, by connecting to DAP or smartphone.

3) Rubber feets: To attach to the C5 amp for getting better grip and for avoiding scratches.

4) Rubber bands: For binding the C5 with the DAP. Hence attaching them both as one whole unit.

5) Velvet pouch: To store the C5, and therefore avoiding dust and scratches.

6) Manual: Contains the instructions for C5 amp and warranty details. The entire manual has recently been updated to English language.

Overall, the packaging and accessories gives an positive first impression. Packaging is secure and practical, with accessories provided being plenty and made up of good quality.

Design and Build : The C5 has an excellent build quality and has been built with professional grade materials. Metal panels, high quality audio jacks, switches and reliable overall sturdy construction. The C5 is roughly about the size of a 5 inch touchscreen smartphone, and is convenient to attach to most of the smartphones and DAP’s making it perfectly portable.

On the top part of the amp, Volume control, LED indicator and input, output jacks are present. The volume knob is embedded inside the main body of the amp, and feels comfortable to turn. The jacks are perfectly positioned and don’t cause hindrance of space.

On the bottom side of the C5, an micro USB charge inlet and an charge outlet are present. An 3 LED charge indicator is present on the front-bottom side of the amp. Bass-boost and gain switches are on one side of the amp, and feel ‘solid’ and smooth to switch. The C5 includes OPA134 as Op-Amp and LME49600 as prower driver, Alps pot as volume control, among other good quality interior components.

Overall the C5 has solid exterior construction, along with well designed interior circuitry, which ensures in its long life and reliable consistent performance.

Here is the schematic of C5 as per Cayin:

Specifications of C5 as per Cayin:

Rated output power: 800mW + 800mW (32Ω load)
SNR: ≥101dB (A-weighted)
Life time: about 12 hours (32Ω load)
Frequency response: 20Hz-100kHz (± 1dB)
Sensitivity: ≤500mV (gain H)
Charge limit voltage: 12.6V
Charging time: about 4 hours (off state, using DC5V / 2A charger)
Total Harmonic Distortion: ≤0.02% (1kHz)
Lithium battery capacity: 1000mAh / 11.1V
Size: 136x63x15mm
Weight: about 185g

Portability and Features :

The C5 is fairly light in weight, sleek in thickness, and is well designed, with controls and switches placed at right places in right manner. It slides in easily inside an jeans pocket.and hence be considered as completely portable. It gets charged by standard 5V micro-USB cable, and that gives it an worldwide charging opportunity.

Headphone protection relay : The C5 employs an smart relay, which ensures one does not hear any noise or EMI apart from the music itself. The relay automatically switches on when the amp is turned on/off, and absolutely no pop/click is heard from the C5. EMI pickup is absolutely Nill.

Power of Zeus : The maximum output power of the C5 is 800mW@32ohms. Which is an advantage for driving full size headphones. This amount of power is more than sufficient to drive anything from IEM’s to headphones to their very loud listening levels, and the C5 does an excellent job here.

Smart charging indicator : An 3 LED mechanism shows the level of charge in the amplifier and the current charging status in Low-Medium-High fashion, which I find is very convenient and well implemented. The LED's blink one by one when charging and also indicating the charge level simultaneously. I should also mention that, C5 can be switched on and used during charging also, and has no audible noise even during charging.

Memory volume knob : The volume knob is practically designed, and the knob has a slight play in horizontal movement, which ensures, the volume does not change, if the knob is accidentally jerked or turned unintentionally. It also has numbers imprinted on it, to remember the position of the knob and level of the volume.

Power bank : This is an interesting yet very useful feature which Cayin has incorporated inside an portable amplifier, The C5 has an charge out port, from which one can charge DAP or smartphone. Though it is not a very strong power bank, but it can be very useful in emergencies.

Bass boost : This feature is found in almost every portable amplifier, in C5, the BB feature is better implemented than most of the rest. BB switch in C5 Provides an fuller pleasant sound instead of solely extending and loosening the bass quantity. The bass boost performs very well without an hitch.

Sound : The C5 is overall ‘clean and clear’ sounding with excellent sound stage depth ( along with very good width), imaging and detail retrieval. Considering the C5’s overall neutral sound quality, It can match up with any genre and any headphone without sounding bad in particular. C5 is not as transparent as the O2 (as a reference) but is very close in terms of sonic performance. Sound stage width is very good especially in this range, and depth is phenomenal. Detail retrieval is excellent. Imaging and dynamics live upto expectations, giving an circular spacious surround sound. C5 can overall be considered as having holographic soundstage along with incredible neutral sonic performance.

C5 pairs very well on an dynamic Sennheiser HD600 and Planar Magnetic Audeze LCD2. It drives both HD600 and LCD2 with authority and with plenty of power to spare. The pairing results in an pleasing and clear non-fatiguing sound to our ears. Enthusiasts who wish to drive Summit-Fi headphones on an sub 200$ portable amp, C5 is the answer.

Gain setting (high/Low) is very wisely implemented, with low gain specifically implemented for IEM’s and high gain for headphones. Gain setting provides more than adequate output power. An slight hiss is noticeable with IEM’s on high gain, but that can be expected as high gain would be too much and not recommended for IEM’s. Low gain is more than sufficient for IEM’s, in this state, there is no sign of hiss. With headphones, there is absolutely no audible noise, hiss, EMI in whatsoever configuration!

Impressive indeed.

Comparison with fellow amps :

Since Objective2 and FiiO E12 are the top contenders in 200$ category portable amps, they are chosen for comparison with C5. Lets see how they put up against each others;

Objective2 : The O2 wins in terms of sheer transparency. C5 is close behind on its heels. The C5’s sound stage is massive, O2 also provides a very natural and effortless soundstage. O2 ‘sounds’ transparent, whereas C5 is also transparent sounding, with being a touch ‘bright’. Though O2 definitely Lacks output power, features and portability factor of the C5.

FiiO E12: The E12 has upper hand in output power with 880mW@32ohms and also has an slightly better build quality than O2 and C5. But E12 is noticeably warmer and is more forward sounding than both O2 and C5, which makes the E12 to possess a narrower soundstage. It is easy to conclude that C5 is a step ahead in terms of sonic qualities when compared to E12.

O2 offered supreme sound quality but suffered practically. E12 was designed practically, but sound quality was forward, and hence the sound felt compromised compared to O2 and C5. I feel the C5 delivers best of both worlds, with sonic quality very similar to O2, and with features and portability similar (or even better!) to an practically designed amp like E12.

Conclusion : Cayin C5 is an truely amazing, If not an mesmerizing portable amplifier. The C5 offers phenomenal Sound quality along with excellent portability and features, in an decent price bracket. It is an easy recommendation for an portable amp. I can safely bet on C5 as the best sub-200$ portable amplifier.

Not to mention, the C5 amp has won my ears.

Hi nice review
I'm from India and im interested in Cayin c5.
I have fiio x5.
Is there any authorised distributor in India?
Im not able to find them in India.
Please help.

Thanks,

Nope, there are no authorized sellers/distributors present in India, you may buy the C5 from Ebay.

How the bass boost compare to e12, would to connect this amp to my mojo when i wanna listen to some edms

The Brainwavz S0 IEM I am writing about, is an review sample provided by Audrey from Brainwavz.

I am writing my honest opinion about these IEM’s. I will try to keep this review simple I hope it be easy to read, and will help fellow enthusiasts to know more about the S0.

Brainwavz is an renown brand in the audio world. What I like about Brainwavz is that they always deliver quality products in an affordable price. The S0 (zero) is the latest In Ear Monitor offering from the house of Brainwavz, which was probably released to compliment the already loved S5.

Me : I am an 21 year old Engineering student living in a small town in India. I would like to call myself an music enthusiast, rather than an audiophile.

I was inspired by music since childhood. My mother had taught me to play ‘Sitar’ and ‘Harmonium’ instruments many years ago. As time passed, the passion of music grew in me, I tried to reproduce and listen to the recorded music, and that subsequently led me to join Head-Fi. Eventually, I found the pleasure of listening to music by the HD600 headphones, and realized the true components of recorded music. I usually like to listen to Indian Classical Music along with Bollywood songs.

Let's go down to the review, shall we?

Packaging and Accessories : The S0 is sophisticatedly packed inside an attractive finished cardboard box. The box itself has features and functions of S0 written over it. The fonts, colouring is nicely done. The 3D connector cable sticker on the front of the box took me by surprise!

Once can flip over the outer cover and look through the window provided onto the S0 drivers. The flip cover has magnetic lock to it, which feels very special indeed!
The contents are sealed inside the actual box, and can be slid open.The S0 housing shell is securely placed inside an transparent sheet, and the cable stored in the hard case, in which the rest of the accessories are present.

Brainwavz has been generous in case of accessories, by providing exceptional amount of accessories, including hard case, shirt clip, manual an band to tie up the cable, six pairs of single flange tips, a pair of double, triple flange and comply tips each. The accessories again remind us of the refined Brainwavz quality management. They have the same high quality and sophisticated feel as each and every part of the S0.

Overall the packaging and accessories leaves an very positive first impression on one’s mind.

Design and Build : The S0 has an excellent and practical build quality with professional grade materials. Metal housings, durable cables and reliable overall construction, The driver housing shell is light weight, made up of metal and has clearly visible Left and Right markings. Strain relief on the housing are rigid and well implemented.

The cable is 1.2 metre long, flat type exterior, has a rubbery feel to it. It is noisy to some extent. The Y splitter on the cable has correct size and includes an sliding cable lock function. The cable is a comparatively rigid and heavy from housing shell till the Y splitter. From Y splitter till the connector, the cable is fine and flexible. The 3.5mm connector jack is gold plated and straight type.

Overall the S0 has solid construction, which ensures in long life and easy maintenance of the IEM.

Comfort and Fit : The S0 is pretty comfortable to wear. Apart from, The driver housing shell is quite long and protrudes out of my ears. The cable from housing till Y splitter is quite heavy and if the cable is swayed, the housing may be dislodged from their positions inside the ears. This can be avoided by simply using the shirt clip provided on the cable.

The comply tips suited my ears better, as my ear canals are slightly uneven. Next best fit for me was the default medium sized single flange tip.

Sound : The S0 is overall ‘clean and clear’ sounding with smooth highs, good sound stage, imaging and detail retrieval. Considering the S0’s overall neutral sound quality, It can match up with any genre without sounding bad in particular.

Lows : Lows are punchy. Balanced and fairly tight and clean. But I have always felt mid bass and sub bass were stronger than the rest of the lows.

Mids : Mid frequencies are flat, clear and open sounding.

Highs : Smooth and laid back. An advantage of laid back highs is that, one listen the S0 for hours without any fatigue, which is an plus for sensitive ears like mine.

Sound-Stage and Details : Sound stage width is good especially for an IEM in this range, though it is not deep or layered as an headphone. Detail retrieval is also comparatively very good.

According to my observation, the S0’s sound qualities can slightly change according to the tips used. When using the comply’s the S0 sounded a little ‘closed in and dark’ than the single flange tips. This happens due to a slight leak in seal and hence the bass leaks out giving the silicone single flange tips an more clear and spacious presentation.

Amplification requirements : The S0 does not technically require amplification from an external amplifier. It sounds good straight from an decent sounding source, but the sound quality is noticeably improved, especially in terms of soundstage and dynamics, when paired with an good sounding amplifier like Objective2.

Specifications by Brainwavz :
Drivers : Dynamic, 9mm
Rated Impedance : 16 Ω
Frequency Range : 18Hz ˜ 18kHz
Sensitivity : 100 dB @ 1 mW
Cable : 1.2m/Y-Cord/Flat/Copper
Plug : 3.5mm Gold Plated

Conclusion : The Brainwavz S0 is an truely capable contender in its own range, and is an very good IEM. The S0 ensures one does not spend much for an good listen. It has almost every feature an music enthusiast may look for : good build quality, sound quality, comfort, and along with all these, the S0 is affordable.

Pro’s of S0 :
Good Sound Quality
Appreciable build quality
Accessories and value.
Affordable.

Con’s of S0 :
Cable is relatively heavy and noisy.

Scope for Improvements: Engineers at Brainwavz have done a very good job in designing these, But nevertheless, small improvements can make the S0 even more perfect.

1) It would be appreciable if Brainwavz could reduce the weight of the cable from housings till the splitter and make them a little more flexible, If possible.
2) I would also like to suggest that the 3.5mm connector can be made 45 degree angled instead of an straight type.

I would like to thank Audrey for providing me an opportunity to review these.

The Objective2 is my first amp along with my beloved HD600 headphones. Here is my review after my experience with it for several months.

Intro : I am an 21 year old Engineering student living in a small town in India. There is not much audiophile-community presence in India, Though lot of potential remains to be tapped. Auditioning an amplifier before purchase is almost impossible in India.

I would like to call myself an music enthusiast, rather than an audiophile. I mostly listen to Bollywood and Indian Classical Music.

I had bought off the O2 amp solely based upon its reputation, and also because of not being left with enough funds buy an more feasible amp.

The O2 amp is designed by an famous American electrical engineer. It is well documented and measured amplifier, leaving no second thoughts on its performance. The goal of O2 amp is to achieve transparent sound with good measurements and at a reasonable price point, So that every enthusiast could afford an decent amplifier.

The O2 can also be customized easily. It is available as a kit, or readily assembled, with/without case. It is cost effective and has many more add-on options.

Design and Build : It is an very well designed and built amp. All components are mounted on an single PCB, with no manual wiring, which ensures longer life. It consists high quality double sided PCB, passive components, semiconductors and an Alps potentiometer. Exterior case has equally good build, with finished anodized and brushed aluminium case. Front and back panels are mounted by 4 screws, which can be removed easily to slide out the O2 board. All controls and jacks are mounted on front panel of O2.

Overall,The O2 amp has Excellent build quality and design. Cant ask for more from an DIY amp.

Sound : O2 is very transparent. It has no ‘sound signature’ of its own. The output from the O2 depends very much on the source and ultimately on the headphone you are listening; it’s a wire with gain. It is an reference amp in sub 200$ price category, and comfortably competes with amps which costs much more.

The O2 amplifies the input signals without adding any flavour of its own, which results in improved soundstage, dynamics and imaging. This transparent sonic character makes the O2 amp suitable for any genre of music. O2 has zero audible background noise and pitch black background. It has a very low EMI pickup, which is an advantage for Smartphone users.

Output Power: Specifications state that O2’s output power is sufficient for most of the headphones. O2 amp can drive both dynamic and planar-magnetic headphones, though the latter seems much difficult to drive; The O2 takes the dynamic HD600 and planar magnetic LCD2 to loud listening levels, but ultimately lacks dynamics and power to ‘drive’ them properly.

We know that the O2 can have custom gain settings. Though by default, the O2 comes with 2.5X/6.5X gain. Once the gain is flipped to 6.5X, background noise and distortion increases. I feel the gain switch is best set at 2.5X. But this again limits the O2’s output power for demanding headphones.

The O2 amp has low output impedance and is hence is also suitable for IEM’s and earphones. One can hear an small ‘pop’ noise from headphones when O2 is switched on/off.

Portability : The O2 amp is not sleek or light as the Cayin C5 or FiiO E12. The O2 is more of an transportable amp than truly portable.The O2 amp can work either on Internal Rechargeable 2X 9V Batteries or on External 15-20 VAC Adapter.

Once fully charged, The O2 works on battery power for around 6-8 hours, which is quite decent. It doesn’t have any audible differences when running on batteries or on AC Adapter.
Slow recharging process in implemented in-order to avoid over-charging the batteries. Once the AC Adapter is connected to the amp, the battery recharging process is initiated. It takes around 12 hours to fully recharge the O2. There is no indication to the level of charge in the batteries; we have to manually estimate the approximate battery life remaining.

Most of the portable amplifiers use 5V USB Charging. Whereas O2's AC Adapter is heavy, and is cumbersome to carry around. This further limits the O2’s portability.

Though O2 is an excellent amp, but It's portability side suffers. If one wants to sacrifice the transparency of O2 for better portability, CAYIN C5 and FiiO E12 are pretty good amps, which have higher output power and are truly portable, along with very good sonic quality.

Conclusion :

The Objective2 is an fantastic amp, It is hard to beat O2 amp in its own category. O2 is an easy recommendation for an budget amp. Though not very portable, the Objective2 does its job and does it very well.

The following features make O2 amp unique amongst others :

1) Transparent Sonic Character
2) Battery/Adapter operation
3) DIY and customization
4) Decent output power
5) Easy maintenance
6) Transportable
7) Affordable.

O2 is like an transparent window, which shows us, the view into music.

My SennHD600 lack punch with the O2. I followed the instructions and changed the 4 gain resistors to very high gain. If you hear scratching or noise you can correct it by lowering the volume. The amplifier is powerful! I like to have extra power because it makes me feel that I can control the music when needed. If you want to know more you can contact me. Look at the instructions manual and consult the gain. When I was 15 years old every device used tubes. We had no problem with that.

The Sennheiser HD600's are my first set of headphones. I have long wanted to pen down this review, and here I am writing this review after several months of experience with my beloved HD600’s.

Intro : I am an 21 year old Engineering student living in a small town in India. I would like to call myself an music enthusiast, rather than an audiophile. I mostly listen to Bollywood and Indian Classical Music. There is not much audiophile-community presence in India, Though lot of potential remains to be tapped. Auditioning an headphone is almost impossible in India. At the time of my purchase, I took recommendations from fellow Head-Fi ‘ers who guided me into right path, towards the Mighty HD600.

I will try to keep this review simple and hope it will help fellow enthusiasts to know more about the wonderful HD600.

Sennheiser HD600 is an upgraded version of the HD580, which was an revolutionary headphone released in 90’s and has won thousands of ears along its journey till today. The HD600 is made in Ireland, and comes packed in an thick and strong cardboard box which is cushioned from inside, where the HD600 stays put, for its onward journey towards the beloved owners! No complaints here.

Design and Build : Excellent and practical build with professional grade materials. High quality joints, nothing squeaky, sturdy grills, conventional yet very reliable connectors. nano-carbon material ensures in light weight. Very durable, sturdy and reliable construction, along with an attractive Marble finishing. Now not many prefer marble finishing, but as for me, I love it! The HD600 is modular! One can fully dismantle it and assemble it back with ease! Which ensures in long life and easy maintenance of the headphone.

Comfort : It is very comfortable, can be worn for hours without any sign of discomfort, thanks to oval shaped earcups. The Initial clamp force is a bit strong, but the force relaxes off gradually according to the shape of our head. Ventilated velour pads along with head cushions keeps us cool and comfortable, which is a big plus for Hot climatic countries like India.

Sound : The HD600 is an Wonderfully sounding headphone. It’s sound can be consider as ‘Euphonic’ Rich, Textured, magical sounding with very good sound stage and details. It’s natural, smooth and grain-free sonic quality often makes one feel as If they are hearing their music in real concert and not through an headphone!

Lows : Very good bass and sub bass. Balanced and Tight, well extended, and clean.

Mids : Seductive and very natural. Mids are presented in a lush and rich manner, which results in its pleasing natural sound.

Highs : Realistic and smooth. Not Bright. Just ‘Right’

Sound-Stage and Details : Sound stage is very good though not as wide as Q701 and not as detailed as DT880. The soundstage and detailing of HD600 is very balanced and ‘Just Right’ and ‘Realistic’

The HD600 can be said as more natural than neutral with respect to its sound. The HD600 gives Hi-Fi sound at Mid-Fi price point. One can listen to HD600 for hours together without any hint of fatigue or discomfort. Another positive point about HD600 is that, HD600 scales very well with equipments! I can easily recommend the Bottlehead Crack, which is an excellent OTL amplifier, has special synergry with the HD600. Otherwise an economical O2 amp will also do for an very good listen. The stock cable is quite thin, a reasonably priced Cardas cable would further enhance the already wonderful sound of the HD600.

Conclusion : HD600 is an truely amazing and exceptional headphone! One can cherish it for lifetime. The HD600 is an masterpiece, which is a bliss for audiophiles and enthusiasts alike.

The following features are hard to find anywhere else, but are present in the HD600 :

1. Eternal Sound Quality
2. Super Comfortable
3. Very Durable
4. Scale-ability
5. Modularity
6. Affordable.

I would like to thank Sennheiser for creating the legend and Head-Fi for continuing the legacy.

The Sennheiser HD600 is not just another headphone; It’s a Legend.

Oh yeah theres differently no veil in the HD 600's

Great review. I own the HD650 myself and I appreciate the extra upper treble, smoother upper mids and warm mid bass. But the HD600 has always intrigued me, especially that 90s marbled finish.

Stop. They don't have subbass - they roll off starting at 75 Hz.