I'm obviously a bit late to this party, having been the last stop on the US tour. (But thank you anyway @Andykong and @MezeTeam!) There have been plenty of unboxing videos, photos and impressions by now, so I'll just add some measurements, some brief thoughts and some thoughts on other reviewer's thoughts. I had carefully avoided reading anything about this headphone until after I'd had a chance to hear it. I then looked at measurements, and finally went through internet reviews looking specifically for the 'cons'. So I'll go in that order... I...

Disclaimers & Background I hereby acknowledge myself for having supplied me with a Tanchjim Darling that I can keep after this review :) I made a rather unusual decision to purchase this IEM blind, based on design alone. I was pretty sure this would fit my ears without any issues; the sound was a very pleasant and unexpected surprise. Now to explain my rating... It's tough to find any perfect product, and I don't claim the Darling is perfect, but it's so close I'd be nit-picking not to round it up to 5.0. Build and Fit The Darling is a hybrid...

What to do when stuck at home trying to avoid coronavirus? I know, I'll write another review... :) I'll skip the photos and the unboxing video, because you folks already know what the A8000 looks like and I have zero photography/videography skills anyway. Let's get to the important stuff. I should first point out that I can metaphorically rip any headphone to shreds given enough time and blank paper. The A8000, like every other headphone, has its faults. That being said, the A8000 doesn't have many faults, and the issues I have with it are...

Ouch, that's a lot of cons. Why would I give 4.5 stars to a headphone with so many negatives? Well, because the M5 can sound absolutely fantastic. I've tried one pair of M5s that were possibly the most enjoyable in-ear monitors I've ever heard. To my ears they sounded extremely natural, with good extension at both ends - not overpowering, but just enough of a lift at the extremes that they never sounded boring. If you purchase the universal model in the US, you can also customise your own cable on the FiR Audio website, which is pretty cool. I'd...

Acknowledgements and Disclaimers I'd like to sincerely thank Colum and the rest of the good people at RHA for kindly allowing me to be part of the North American CL2 tour. The CL2 used for this review was loaned to me and was passed on to the next reviewer at the end of my week-long review period. Any impressions from the measurements in this post are inferred at the reader's own risk. No measurement will tell you exactly how you'll hear, as our hearing is unique to each of us. Measurements presented here are raw (uncompensated) and should only be...

The main purpose of this review is to provide a comparison to the FLC8S and answer the question: "Is the FLC8N worth upgrading to?". As an FLC8S owner, I have been searching the forums for months and failing to get an answer to that question. So I decided to answer it myself and document my findings in the process. I won't reproduce more glamorous photos of the FLC8N in compromising positions and various states of undress, as they already exist in the excellent review from @moonstar. Moonstar's review would be a better place to start for somebody who...

The latest X7 Mark II from FiiO represents a step-up from the (already great) X7 in almost every regard. I would like to sincerely thank FiiO for allowing me to be part of the North American tour group. The loaned unit I received was returned at the end of my allotted time with the device, so my review was not in any way influenced by FiiO. Please note that to save me from carpal-tunnel syndrome I'm going to refer to the X7 Mark II as the X7ii throughout most of the rest of this review. I'll also be referencing the original X7, X5iii (third...

Preamble I would like to be able to start by thanking Beyerdynamic for the free pair of Xelentos. Unfortunately, I can't, because Beyerdynamic didn't give me a free pair of Xelentos, so I had to buy my own :frowning2: But the silver lining for anybody reading this review is that I truly wasn't influenced at all by payment or free review samples :wink: I truly found them good enough to spend my own money on. Beyerdynamic's Xelento took me by surprise. I'd heard of it, but had no particular interest in listening to yet another single dynamic driver...

Introduction    The following impressions and measurements were made using a loaned X5iii unit which was returned to FiiO after the review. I want to say a huge thank you to FiiO for their bravery in selecting me for the North American review tour group 4 for the X5iii. I've never been very good at sugar-coating things, and I don't hold back when reviewing a product I don't like; I don't court controversy, but gushing exuberantly over every product you review doesn't paint an honest picture for a potential buyer. I've written some fairly scathing...