A Whole New Level of In Ear that Competes with Full Sized Exotic Headphones The A18 has made me rethink in ear audio as I have never heard anything like this before. With the A18, I am not comparing to other CIEMs as it is at a whole new level - I am comparing to my full sized HPs. My HD700, LCD2.2, and my HEX are all now second class to my A18. The HEX is my best for sound stage, detail, sub bass, and everything else that maters to me in music, but the A18 outperforms it. Like Marrying the Hot, Rich, Talented, Intelligent Girl from College – She’s...

Having listened to almost all top tier DAPs, the Calyx M has been frustrating to audition being relatively rare and absent from all audio shows and Head-Fi meets in the US that I have attended. Hearing/reading constant claims of top SQ, I knew that I needed to hear it, but doubted that it could be that good knowing that it utilizes a Sabre implementation which are bright and blaring in practice. With the prices coming down to a reasonable level, I took a chance on buying one to audition knowing that I would just sell it after my audition satisfied my...

Disclaimer: I do not own the i5 yet with this being tour sample that was provided by Cayin. I sent this unit on to the next tour member at the end of my 7 day trial so the UI insights are from a newbie providing initial thoughts and not a seasoned Cayin UI pro. Thank you Cayin and @Andykong for including me once again as your products never fail to impress. Having said this, below is my honest opinion as always with no punches held back.   This is a great little DAP for $500. It sounds wonderful direct and doesn’t require an amp like most DAPs do...

Disclaimer: I do not own the X7 nor the AM5 yet with this being tour sample that was provided by FiiO. I will be sending this on at the end of my 10 day trial to the next participant. Thank you FiiO and Sunny for including me once again as your products never fail to impress. Having said this, below is my honest opinion as always with no punches held back. But in this case, the good outweighs the bad so no worries.   With the completion of the FiiO X7 amp module lineup, I was given an opportunity to get the tour package back with the addition of...

Tour Unit Disclaimer: I'd like to thank Cayin for letting me have the opportunity to get a chance to demo the iDAC-6/iHA-6 stack for a week. However, I need to point out that I do not own the unit personally. The stack will be sent on to the next tour participant at the end of the week.   Note: Please note that this tour provided both the iDAC and HA as a stack and this review is looking at both as a paired unit. However, as mentioned below, I found that the iDAC stands alone quite nicely.   Initial Thoughts While this TOUR stack looks and fits...

I typically run and hide when someone wants me to listen to a transparent device thinking, oh no, another weak, lifeless, and non-fun way to listen to music. But here I stand singing praise for the Aune family and my Hidition NT6pros which are known for their stellar transparencies. What I am trying to say is that IMO the HD800 is an example of something that is done wrong, unless driven correctly bring it to life. Yes I love the HD800 and will eventually buy one – especially with the new JJ triple tweak mod setup that I am using on my HD700s right...

Disclaimer: I do not own the X7 yet with this being tour sample that was provided by FiiO. I will be sending this on at the end of my 10 day trial to the next participant. Thank you FiiO and Joe for including me once again as your products never fail to impress. Having said this, below is my honest opinion as always with no punches held back. But in this case, the good outweighs the bad so no worries.     Skipping right to the good stuff, this is an awesome TOTL DAP that anyone would be happy to own. Yes, I almost immediately added my amp and...

Note: Please note that this LCD-X was received as part of the HeadAmp Headphone Demos tour for the LCD-X. I do not own the X, but had it for a 7 day period where I was able to test and write a review, then send it to the next tour participant. These are my opinions and YMMV based on your preferences and your equipment.   Having the LCD-X tour unit for a few days, I decided to do an Audeze family shootout between the 2, 3, and the X – and added the Fostex TH900 for good measure. Using m2man’s experienced ear, we tested the lineup using his...

Please Note: This is a pre-production review unit from FiiO as part of their pre-release “World Tour.” The review period was 10 days, during which I used it extensively, before sending it on to the next reviewer. I did not have to pay for the unit, nor did I get to keep it. Because this was a pre-production review unit running beta firmware, it is possible that release models will feature changes and/or improvements to hardware and firmware over what is reflected here.     X5ii, Splitting the Difference between the X5 and DX90   While the...

Disclaimer: This unit was part of a tour held by Justin at Headamp.com. As the second in the tour to hear these headphones, it likely was not properly burnt in. I thank Justin for giving me the chance to hear them and encourage anyone considering buying them to work with Justin. He is wonderful to work with in my experience providing excellent customer service.                           While I can say that the HE560 sounds awesome and is very much a TOTL HP, saying why is more of a challenge. What I can say that is unique to this TOTL...

The Geek Out 1000 (Serial Number 1254) being a USB DAC/AMP is absolutely the wrong solution for my needs, but given its reputation for sound quality and knowing it has a DAP sibling on the way, I had to hear it when I got the chance to borrow miceblue’s. This is all about SQ for me and boy has it been an ear opener, wow.   Listening Notes: Signature: WOW!!!!!! The Geek Out 1000 has a very euphoric/euphonic, thick, smooth, warm, and textured tube like sound with forward lush mids and a very impressive timbre. The sound stage is intimate, but...

    Disclaimer:   This is not my personal DAP, as part of the X5 Preview tour, I only had the chance to evaluate the unit for 10 days to form my opinion. As a preview model, there may be material differences compared to the commercial version - especially in the firmware. The following review is based on my personal needs and tastes using equipment that I personally own unless otherwise noted.   Pros: Top grade sound, powerful quality internal amp, superb micro-detail, great value, ability to obtain full quality sound in a compact package...