published on April 30, 2016   - download a printable 8-page PDF version of this review (link goes to a location on my Dropbox)   (click any photo in this review for a larger version)   Intro   Ever since I discovered the original AD2000 in 2006 (which I still own & love), I’ve owned or otherwise heard a variety of Audio-Technica’s headphones over the years—some great (like the AD2000, and more recently the MSR7), and some not-so-great (the FC7 comes to mind). When the R70x was released last year, I was curious enough for an impulse purchase...

published on October 29, 2015 Manufacturer's Response added on November 3, 2015 (see bottom of review) updated on April 25, 2016   (click any photo in this review for a larger version)   Intro   Garage1217's Project Solstice was released earlier this year as an alternative to their other amps, and when I asked them for a loaner unit back in June (for a Head-Fi meet in Denver CO on 6/27 that I was then organizing), they were happy to oblige. Once again I have to thank Garage1217 for being so willing & generous in providing me with loaner amp...

Anyone looking for a set of closed portable headphones needs to try the Yamaha MT220. Why the MT220 and not one of the many other models available on the market? It’s simply one of the overall best-sounding closed portable headphones I’ve heard, regardless of price—and the fact that until recently it was available from B&H Photo for $150 practically made it a steal!   The MT220 is one of those headphones that probably won’t impress anyone upon first listen; it certainly didn’t impress me initially. There was no “wow” factor—its treble was just a...

published on September 22, 2014   (click any photo in this review for a larger version)   Intro   I first heard about Garage1217's Project Polaris (just "Polaris" from here on out, for the sake of brevity) directly from them back when I did a review of their Project Ember earlier this year. The Polaris was finally released back in late July, and once again Garage1217 was generous enough to provide a loaner review sample, which I was able to spend approximately 2 weeks with. Normally I would've preferred spending more time with the amp to get...

(click for a larger version)   Intro   I recently got the opportunity to audition the LCD-X in-home for 6 days thanks to HeadAmp's Headphone Demo program (getting in on it at the tail end of the West list, right before they were to go back to HeadAmp) which calls for my usual disclaimer: 6 days was naturally not long enough to truly get to know the headphones, so my opinion should not be considered finalized and is subject to change (so, extra grains of salt and all that). I was able to listen to the LCD-X for about 4-6 hours each night while I...

published on January 26, 2014   - download a printable 4-page PDF version of this review (link goes to a location on my Dropbox)   (click for larger photo)   Intro   This is basically a short mini-review of the AD2000X (AD2KX from here on out) from while I owned it, which was June 2013 through January 2014.   Equipment Setup   - Source components: Plinius CD-101 (CD player), NAD T533 (DVD player) - Headphone amplifiers: Burson Soloist, HeadAmp GS-X MK2, HeadAmp Gilmore Lite w/ DPS, Micromega MyZic, Garage1217 Project Ember -...

published on January 19, 2014   - download a printable 3-page PDF version of this review (link goes to a location on my Dropbox)   (click for larger photo)   Intro   This is basically a short mini-review of the AKG K712 from while I owned it for a few weeks in December 2013 through January 2014.   Equipment Setup   - Source components: NAD T533 (DVD player) - Headphone amplifiers: HeadAmp Gilmore Lite w/ DPS, Garage1217 Project Ember - Comparison headphones: Audio-Technica ATH-AD2000 & ATH-AD2000X, Sennheiser HD598, Shure SRH1540  ...

published on January 12, 2014 updated on October 27, 2015   - download a printable 6-page PDF version of this review (links go to locations on my Dropbox) - download a printable 7-page PDF version of the notes that were written for this review. The notes should be considered a supplement and not a replacement for this review (as the review is not straight from the notes).   (click any photo in this review for a larger version) (photo note: case pictured below is the optional hard case sold separately on Garage1217's Web site)   Intro   I...

Originally published on April 11, 2011 Updated on December 11, 2011   Note: this review is an exact cross-post from post #1 of this thread on Head-Fi, which contains some user discussion on the review that may be relevant to read: http://www.head-fi.org/t/548875/review-audeze-lcd-2-r1-r2-hifiman-he-6-stax-sr-507-stax-oii-mki-bhse-et-al - download a printable 9-page PDF version of this review (links go to locations on my Dropbox) - download a printable 15-page PDF version of the notes that were written for this review. The notes should be...

Originally published on February 6, 2012   Note: this review is an exact cross-post from post #1 of this thread on Head-Fi, which contains some user discussion on the review that may be relevant to read: http://www.head-fi.org/t/594426/mini-review-audeze-lcd-3-vs-lcd-2-r2-sr-007-et-al - download a printable 5-page PDF version of this review (right-click the link & save target) - download a printable 5-page PDF version of the notes that were written for this review (right-click the link & save target). The notes should be considered a supplement...

Originally published on November 11, 2012   Note: this review is an exact cross-post from post #1 of this thread on Head-Fi, which contains some user discussion on the review that may be relevant to read: http://www.head-fi.org/t/635893/mini-review-stax-sr-009 - download a printable 6-page PDF version of this mini-review (target goes to a location on my Dropbox) Intro I've been an owner of the HeadAmp BHSE for just over 3 years so far, which I use with the Stax SR-007 (OII MKI). My opinion of the OII/BHSE is that it forms the best...

Originally published on September 6, 2010   Note: this review is an exact cross-post from post #1 of this thread on Head-Fi, which contains some user discussion on the review that may be relevant to read: http://www.head-fi.org/t/511201/review-beyerdynamic-t1-vs-sennheiser-hd800 - download a printable 8-page PDF version of this review - download a printable 9-page PDF version of the notes that were written for this review. The notes contain much more detailed info broken down by individual CD tracks and will probably be worth reading for those...

Originally published on September 6, 2010   Note: this review is an exact cross-post from post #1 of this thread on Head-Fi, which contains some user discussion on the review that may be relevant to read: http://www.head-fi.org/t/511201/review-beyerdynamic-t1-vs-sennheiser-hd800 - download a printable 8-page PDF version of this review - download a printable 9-page PDF version of the notes that were written for this review. The notes contain much more detailed info broken down by individual CD tracks and will probably be worth reading for those...

Originally published on October 6, 2011   Note: this review is an exact cross-post from post #1 of this thread on Head-Fi, which contains some user discussion on the review that may be relevant to read: http://www.head-fi.org/t/574882/5-year-re-review-audio-technica-ath-ad2000 - download a printable 7-page PDF version of this review (target goes to a location on my Dropbox) Intro How many times does one get to re-review of a set of headphones originally reviewed exactly 5 years ago? Not very often, that's for sure, and the reason I was...

Originally published on June 2, 2013   (click for larger pic) - download a printable 5-page PDF version of this review (target goes to a location on my Dropbox) Intro I'll admit it upfront, I haven't exactly been a fan of Beyerdynamic's headphones so far. The 2005 DT880, 2003 DT770-80, 2003 DT250-80, T50p, T1, and T70 have all been disappointments to me in one way or another. But when I started reading the raving on the DT1350 last year, including by Tyll Hertsens (of InnerFidelity.com), I decided that I had to hear them for myself and...

Originally published on June 16, 2013   Note: this review is an exact cross-post from post #1 of this thread on Head-Fi, which contains some user discussion on the review that may be relevant to read: http://www.head-fi.org/t/668277/review-v-moda-m-100   (click for larger pic)   - download a printable 4-page PDF version of this review (target goes to a location on my Dropbox) Intro I first heard V-MODA's M-100 at CanJam@RMAF 2012 (in October), where it was "unveiled" for the masses following a long period of pre-hype on Head-Fi. I'd...

Originally published on July 11, 2010   Note: this review is an exact cross-post from post #1 of this thread on Head-Fi, which contains some user discussion on the review that may be relevant to read: http://www.head-fi.org/t/501781/mini-reviews-luxman-p-1u-and-p-200 Intro First, thanks to Todd @ TTVJ for allowing me (and the other people in this loaner program) to audition the Luxman P-1u at home for serious evaluative listening. I wanted to participate in this loaner program because I've had a long-running interest in desktop solid-state...

Originally published on August 2, 2009   Note: this review is an exact cross-post from post #2 of this thread on Head-Fi, which contains some user discussion on the review that may be relevant to read: http://www.head-fi.org/t/501781/mini-reviews-luxman-p-1u-and-p-200   Please note that I never wrote a review of the FET-A and cannot write anything about it now as I no longer have it and all impressions were forgotten. The following is sort of my "mini-review" of the P200 to share my impressions. Disclaimer: these impressions are based on 6...

Originally published on February 22, 2010   Note: this review is an exact cross-post from post #1 of this thread on Head-Fi, which contains some user discussion on the review that may be relevant to read: http://www.head-fi.org/t/473873/mini-review-woo-audio-wa22   Below are my impressions of the Woo WA22 from while I owned it (October 2009 - February 2010). However, while I owned the amp for that long, I should add a disclaimer that I put in only 2 weeks of actual listening on the amp. This is only my opinion of the amp and even I might disagree...

Originally published on November 16, 2011   Note: this review is an exact cross-post from post #1 of this thread on Head-Fi, which contains some user discussion on the review that may be relevant to read: http://www.head-fi.org/t/580636/mini-review-schiit-lyr   Intro This mini-review covers my thoughts on the Schiit Lyr vs HeadAmp GS-X in balanced mode, specifically for the Audeze LCD-2 r2 (with additional comments on the Senn HD800 and Audio-Technica AD2000 as well). Why these two amps? Because I already had the GS-X and was curious to find...