ORIGIN STORY I suddenly found myself overloaded with many new audio gadgets to review in the midst of a home remodel to make it more interesting, and the Kefine Klanar stands out amongst the noise. Kefine is a new brand that aims to jump in the Planar realm with an oddly similar planar driver size. I think they hit the mark and delivered a more forward sounding Timeless with less sizzle in the top, and for nearly half the price at an easy to digest price of $119. As a newcomer, Kefine is named after the founder Ke, and mashed together with Refine...

Intro It’s IEMs like the $629 BGVP DM9 that make listening enjoyable and ruin the lower tier IEMs. BGVP came to prominence with their DM6 and DMG back in the day and made their forum victory laps for a while until new toys came out. There have been several iterations of the DMx family, although they were above my typical shopping price range, a quick survey says they have been well liked. The BGVP DM9 is a nine driver hybrid with famed balanced armatures from the market leaders Sonion and Knowles, and the newer technology of EST. The BGVP DM9...

IN THE BEGINNING CCA has decided to follow others in releasing a “pro” model of one previous IEM, the well received C10 model. The $35 CCA C10 Pro is a familiar recipe, a safe and popular tuning packed into the same shell as their C12. Characterized as a mild v rough Harman outline, the CCA C10 Pro adds some additional sparkle up top and leaner bass then it’s kissing cousin KZ ZS10 pro. If this is interesting or if the color scheme of your favorite sports team is black and gold, keep on reading. SOUND While I never purchased the CCA C10, I do own...

BEGINNINGS This was my first CCA endeavor although I have plenty of experience with the sister company KZ. Other CA models such as the CCA CA10 have gotten plenty of praise, so the CCA CA16 intrigued me given the new midrange balanced armature drivers, and I was particularly drawn to the layout of a 7mm dynamic driver surrounded by the BA drivers. I was hoping this would lead to a nice cohesive hybrid concept. Unfortunately for me this mystery all ended once they arrived. SOUND Isolation on the CCA CA16 is good since they fill my ear well, but I...

Intro Lots of choices these days for single dynamic drive IEM’s how is one to choose? The HIDIZS MS1 Rainbow enters the ring and wants a chance and I think it should be given one. At $69 retail it is above the “budget” threshold of the magical $50 dividing line so it needs to prove it can compete with the likes of similar recent popular contenders such as the KBear Diamond and TinHifi T4 also found near this price range. The Hidizs MS1 Rainbow doesn’t have a fancy DLC or CNT driver, but boasts a bio-cellulose driver instead. Reminds me of fancy...

INTRO Anytime there is a “new” version of anything you have to wonder if the new shiny item will only be a placebo or if it actually does anything different. BQEYZ does a good job of putting out models that are never overlapping, and I don’t think there is a single model in their lineup that has disappointed the majority of users. I consider them the budget Moondrop moonshot. So now that the BQEYZ Spring 2 is out, they reach even deeper into branching out from their semi-budget roots. At a tested price of $169, the market competition can be tough...