Mark Levinson is a luxury audio brand founded in 1972 by Mark Levinson, a musician, audio engineer, audio equipment designer, and entrepreneur. He left the company in 1984 and since then the company has changed ownership several times. Now, Mark Levinson brand is owned by Harman, a subsidiary of Samsung. The product range covers pre-amplifiers, amplifiers, turntables, streaming CD players, car audio systems. The № 5909 is the brand’s first headphones product and proudly exhibits the same characteristics of their line of products. It is all about...

Technics was late in the game on the true wireless earbuds, but it came in with a bang. The Technics AZ70 launched in late 2020 has almost everything in the package: active noise cancelling, ambient sound, adjustable EQ, smartphone app. This year, Technics took no chances and followed up with new TWS models – the AZ60 with ANC and the entry-level AZ40 without ANC. Panasonic Singapore reached out to me to try out the AZ60 few weeks before its retail launch in Singapore. At S$379, it is S$20 cheaper than the AZ70 launch price (now available at a much...

After my last review of the SS V5 Opamps, Burson has sent over some more SS (Supreme Sound) discreet op-amps for my review. Operational amplifiers are specialised amplifiers that have high input impedance, low output impedance, high gain as well as large bandwidth. Op-amps are one of the options to upgrade your headphone amplifiers and alter the sound quality. Based on my review, they do make a difference, and it is up to your ears to pick up the subtleties. All Burson Opamps have a lifetime guarantee. The 6th-gen V6 come with reverse power...

Technics is back in the audio game! Known mostly for their amplifiers and turntables in recent years, Technics spared no expense on the AZ70 to offer an almost complete set of true-wireless features that out-match the incumbents Sony and Sennheiser. Thanks to Panasonic Singapore for sending over this complimentary unit for my unaudited review. Here is the list of what it offers: Active Noise Cancelling with adjustable levels Ambient Sound with adjustable levels EQ that can be adjusted directly in the earbuds Manage earbuds with Smartphone App 10mm...

After completing the review of the Shure Aonic 5, I now move on to provide my detailed impressions on the Aonic 4. This is Shure’s first earphone that uses dual-driver hybrid setup – a balanced armature and a dynamic driver. This combination usually achieves good balance of bass and high frequency detail, allowing the earphone to produce a wider frequency range. Unboxing The Shure Aonic 4 is packed with so much variety of ear tips – Shure calls them “sleeves”. From the standard silicone (grey) to black conforming foam and even a triple-flange...

Shure has joined the bandwagon to offer their premium wireless headphones. The AONIC 50 is the over-ear headphones model and Shure has thrown in every feature that can possibly be made available on the latest wireless headphones. It is less expensive compared to Sony WH-1000XM4 and Bose Headphone 700 but its audio features and quality surpasses both. Unboxing The packaging is unique and certainly the largest I have unboxed for consumer headphones. Audiophile-grade wired headphones are typically big, but because those are not designed to be...

Months after I received the Burson Playmate and did a thorough review, Burson sent over two pairs of Supreme Sound (SS) V5 discrete opamps to review with the Playmate. By swapping opamps in existing DAC, audio signal is processed differently, resulting in an alteration of the sound quality. Playmate supports 4 opamps, in dual configurations, at various stages of the signal chain. You can choose to change 2 opamps or 4 opamps, and they need to be replaced as a pair. On its own, Burson Playmate is already sounding better than a lot of DACs. Now...

Shure Singapore sent me the Aonic 3,4,5 for my reivew. I started with the Aonic 5, and it took me more than 2 weeks to get the right tuning for me using the sleeves (ear tips) and nozzles. As it is so customizable, I don’t know if my review is a good reflection of what you might experience, since you could mix and match various accessories in the package to get a completely different sound as what I am hearing. The Shure Aonic 5 is driven by two woofers and one tweeter balanced armature drivers, which is the same setup as its predecessor, the Shure...

The Huawei Freebuds 3 is the first open-fit earphones with active noise cancelling. Despite its best efforts, it is extremely challenging to cancel noise with open-fit earphones. It works to a certain extent, and provides noise relief to consumers who totally cannot take the stuffed-up feeling of in-canal earbuds. Then the Freebuds 3i comes along. Usually when smartphone manufacturers produce in-house audio products, they are usually not comparable to the audio specialist brands. Hence I am delightfully surprised that the Freebuds 3i delivers an...

Aukey is known for its portable power solutions like wall chargers, power banks, computer accessories. They also expanded into audio products like wireless speakers and wireless earphones, the latter falls under their sub-brand called Key Series, recognisable with their key-like logo. Here on review is the EP-T18NC True Wireless ANC Earbuds. Unboxing and Operations The T18NC round casing has a sliding door that disappears when opened. The earbuds is inspired by the AirPod Pro or Pamu Slide with an elongated mic extension and an oval-shaped ear tips...

The last time I reviewed a Master & Dynamic headphones was the MW60 in 2016. I was very impressed with the overall craftsmanship of the product, while the sound quality is smooth though not exciting. The latest release MW65 is, in short, miles better in audio quality while retaining the supreme finishing. The Brand Since launching in 2014, New York City-based Master & Dynamic has kept to its vision of building premium quality, durable, timeless audio products. Inspired by WWII aviator headsets, they have retained the design DNA throughout the...

Jabra gained popularity in the consumer audio with their mono headsets in 2000s. They later expanded into stereo headphones which I reviewed with great potential. They continued to improve on their audio signature and met my listening standard with the Jabra Rox Wireless (which I bought). I also later bought the Jabra Sport Pulse, the first wireless earphones with heartrate monitor. Then the Elite series debuted and won many fans. On review here is the new Elite 75t. Compared to Jabra Elite 65t For far, the Elite 75t appears similar to Elite 65t...

FiiO is an audio brand established in 2007 that manufactured dozens of portable audio players, amplifiers earphones, and accessories. Like many China start-ups, they worked hard and produced a good track record of products which helped them grow globally. The EH3 NC is their first over-ear headphones as well as their first active noise cancelling model. The EH3 NC would have been a formidable product against the incumbents, if only they had gotten one thing right. Unboxing and Operations The EH3 NC is designed for the frequent traveller and...

Beyerdynamic has launched their first active noise-cancelling (ANC) headphones in Singapore and I’m really excited to get my hands (and ears) to do this headphones review. The 95-year-old company has undergone a corporate rebranding with a new logo and brand positioning which appears more welcoming to the younger crowd. The Lagoon ANC retails at S$599, putting it at the same price range as the Sony WH-1000XM3 and the new Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700. Unboxing and Details The Lagoon ANC comes in 2 colours, and beyerdynamic distinguishes...

Sudio Fem is Sudio’s third-generation true-wireless earbuds, and suffice to say, it gets better. So good that they are charging a little more with each new release. Unboxing and Operations With the Sudio Fem, Sudio design team improved on the design of the earbuds with more contours and better ergonomics. They are now IPX5 water rated, operates with touch controls, and each earbuds have two mics to improve voice pickup and noise cancellation. The package even comes with 5 pairs of eartips in various sizes, which is really appreciated to ensure...

Burson Audio is founded in 1996 by a team of audio engineers from Melbourne, Australia. For over 20 years, they developed premium quality audio products that define new benchmarks for the audiophile industry. Their current product catalogue includes headphone amplifiers, digital-to-analog amplifiers (DAC), and audio op-amps. For this review, Burson sent over their latest product, Burson Playmate, retailing at US$399. Unboxing The Playmate is technically a headphones amplifier, pre-amp, and DAC all-in-one. The review sample unit does not have the...

Alpha & Delta is a Singapore brand that designs and manufactures earphones. Being audiophiles themselves, their products receive a healthy following of audiophiles and fans. My first encounter with A&D earphones was the D2M wired earphones that feels amazingly comfortable with respectable audio balance. The new D2W is the first wireless earphones and takes after the D2. With the same earbud mould and behind-ear cable design, the D2W is equally comfortable. Like the D2, the D2W is IPX4 water rated, and connects via the latest Bluetooth 5. The...

Advanced Sound Group is an audio equipment manufacturer who makes earphones, headphones, DAC amplifier, ear tips, cables. With the relative popularity of Model X and their expertise in customised audio accessories, Advanced developed the new M5-TWS which is crafted using 3D-printing technology. Design The M5-TWS is the world’s first true wireless earbuds that is mass-produced with 3D-printing. Its ergonomic housing is designed based on 50,000+ actual ear impression data collected over the years to ensure maximum compatibility and comfort. Its...

Earfun reached out to me to review the Earfun Free, their crowdfunding true-wireless earbuds that are available for for US$49.99 at selected Amazon sites. The specs are impressive: Bluetooth 5.0, 6 hours play time per charge, 30 hours with charging case, IPX7 water resistant, wireless charging, USB-C, ergonomically-shaped earbud design. Crowdfunding Fatigue? There are so many crowdfunding true-wireless headphones that it’s so hard to determine if they are really as good as they have claimed. The challenge is that the prototypes were reviewed by tech...

I am a consumer tech blogger from Singapore. When Ausdom contacted me for a review opportunity on their products, I scrutinised hard. The brand is unknown, yet there seems to be quite a lot of positive reviews. To prevent disappointment, I picked one of the higher tier product, M08, to review. Build and design The build is mostly good quality hard plastic, but I love the classy design that does not look pretentious. Its synthetic ear cushions are comfortable, and there are pivots to adjust the speakers to fit your ears. The cushions offer sufficient...