Fir Audio Krypton 5 - $2,999 Hybrid IEM (Universal) Introduction & Caveats Fir Audio have been on my radar for quite a while - their branding has always drawn me to them, but only taken the plunge in the last few weeks with KR5. The XE6 gets huge praise from their latest range, and KR5 seems to be by comparison somewhat under the radar. I've tried the XE6 on a couple of occassions and it didn't really click, I found it a bit too warm/mid bass focused and somewhat overwhelming in that regard - I have however heard from a few fans of XE6 that it...

Softears Turii Ti ($2,449 Single Dynamic Driver) Introduction and Disclaimers The Turii Ti ($2,449) is the latest flagship dynamic driver from Softears. It was introduced in early 2022, and has been on and off my radar since then - I've been holding off due to the high price tag (especially for a single driver), and very few impressions or reviews out there in the wild. The original Turii has been available for maybe two years now (I think?), and while highly regarded (but often hard to find), the question on whether the new Ti was 'worth' the...

Twilight "the light from the sky between full night and sunrise or between sunset and full night produced by diffusion of sunlight through the atmosphere and its dust" (Merriam-Webster Definition) Introduction & Caveats Twilight is the latest single dynamic driver from Softears, and is available from a number of online dealers with an RRP of $930 at time of publication. I purchased mine from @MusicTeck at a reduced price in exchange for a review. I must note that my own investment in the set equates to a much larger percentage of the total...

Aroma Audio Jewel Introduction & Caveats Let's get the caveats out of the way first - I purchased Jewel at a reduced price from @MusicTeck in exchange for a review. Impressions shared here are following about six weeks of use, as such plenty of time to form a clear view on where they sit in my collection. Thanks to Andrew as always for his incredible service. The Jewel is available from Musicteck, currently bundled with the Liquid Links 'Venom' cable at a $5,430 price point at time of writing... HERE I am not a professional reviewer, it's my...

Oriolus Szalayi - Pump up the volume... Introduction & Caveats Amazed there are no reviews up for Szalayi (SZA) yet - I guess for many, to include myself, far too busy enjoying them... which gives a hint as to the gushing praise that is to come in this review. Get some caveats out of the way first. I purchased SZA pretty much on day of release from Musicteck at a reduced price in exchange for a review - always a risk when a new product on the market and no impressions to go on, but being Oriolus, I was pretty confident they will have done a...

Lotoo Paw 6000 - also known as, 'P6K' Introduction & Disclaimer I've been curious about the LP6K for quite a while, often reading the reviews on Musicteck and trying to find a way to convince myself I 'need' a new DAP - the inner narrative mostly being, "it looks like a pretty small DAP, that would be very handy for out and about... not to mention reviews speaking so highly of it's fast UI, and reference sound" - anyway, needless to say, that inner voice was strong, and I eventually reached out to Andrew in Musicteck, and asked if he might be so...

Meze 'Advar' Introductions and caveats... First up, I would like to thank @Andykong for including me in this tour. This is a loan unit, provided for a period of 10 days with no input from Meze on the content of the review. The 'ask' is the publication of honest impressions on Head-Fi. Unfortunately, timing for my slot on the tour wasn't fantastic as it coincided with a number of other life priorities, and I didn't have as much time as I would like to properly evaluate, and compare with others in my collection. I will say that I enjoyed Advar...

Yanyin Moonlight... twinkle twinkle little, eh - oh, never mind... Introduction and caveats Yanyin have been on my radar for a while - I've read a lot of good reports on some of their previous offerings and when Moonlight was launched, the initial impressions and reviews led me to figure it would be something I might enjoy. I have experience of tribrids with the same configuration of DD, BA, and EST but at much higher price points; i.e. Traillii and X - I was very curious to hear what's possible in a $650 set, a few thousand dollars cheaper -...

DUNU VULKAN - the bar raiser... Introduction & Caveats I had been in contact with Tom from DUNU following the launch of the ZEN PRO - curious to hear how it differed to the OG ZEN, Tom was kind enough to arrange a tour. We stayed in touch, and Tom kept me up to speed on plans for VULKAN, and ultimately asked would I like to participate in evaluating ahead of launch. I am delighted to have been asked, and very much appreciate being included in this pre-launch review. The VULKAN was sent free of charge and as always, my thoughts are my honest...

Aroma Audio Thunder... the Goldilocks of IEMs Introduction I have to open this review by saying I am shocked, horrified, and dismayed that there are no reviews already for Thunder - this is an absolute disgrace! - tongue in cheek, but only sort of. I have bought and tried many IEMs over the last couple of years and I can say with certainty that Thunder represents the best all-rounder I have heard, beating even Traillii or X when it comes to playing absolutely everything in my library with ease - in addition, it is one of the most comfortable; an...

BQEYZ 'Autumn' Caveats BQEYZ reached out and asked if I would like to try 'Autumn' in exchange for a review. Being a big fan of single dynamic drivers, and always curious to hear various types of tuning, I naturally said yes. As always, my impressions are my own, and no influence from the brand on the content. This is my hobby, I'm not a professional reviewer - just enjoy sharing my journey with the community. Thank you for the opportunity BQEYZ. The BQEYZ is available from a number of dealers to include: LINSOUL, HifiGo, and Penon Audio and at...

Shanling M9 - The Music Sounds Better with You... Introduction I mentioned in a previous review that I worked in the consumer electronics industry for many years - initially in retail back in the 1990's, and ultimately working directly for various brands in the 2000's. This included a period of importing consumer electronics from around the world for distribution in the UK and Ireland. I introduced a number of DAPs to these markets in the early 2000's to include Rio, MPIO, iAudio, and FiiO. I say this not as a 'CV', but to express my lifelong...

Unique Melody 'MEXT' Caveats: I purchased the UM MEXT at a reduced price which was offered by MusicTeck in late January. I am not a professional reviewer, this is my hobby and I enjoy extending that to trying out various IEMs, and attempting to share my thoughts with the community. I would like to thank Andrew for the opportunity and the fantastic service as always, a pleasure to deal with. MEXT is available from MusicTeck HERE @ $1,099 (at time of publication...) Unboxing and Packaging MEXT arrives in the exact same packaging as MEST MKII...

Disclaimers and Caveats First of all, I would like to thank @DUNU-Topsound for the opportunity to share further impressions of my experience with the ZEN PRO - following the ZEN PRO tour in November, DUNU kindly provided me with a discount to purchase a unit for myself. It is always a pleasure to engage with the DUNU reps, their wealth of knowledge and customer focus is admirable. I am by no means a professional reviewer but enjoy sharing my impressions as part of the hobby. My views expressed here are entirely my own, based on just over a month's...

Disclaimers & Caveats I purchased the FAudio Dark Sky from Musicteck at a reduced price in exchange for my honest impressions following discussions with Andrew (owner of Musicteck, for those of you who may not know him!) on how it might compare to other single DDs - Andrew generously offered me the opportunity to find out for myself - all he asked in return is that I share my honest impressions by way of a review. Also, it should go without saying but I will note none-the-less: this is indeed an incredibly subjective hobby and many of us hear...

Introduction I want to share some thoughts on the IE900 after almost two weeks of daily use. I’m sorry to say I’m not sufficiently technical to address in a way that many look for, as such, it will be a layman description with the knowledge I do have where possible. I am a music lover for many years (and once upon a time 90s DJ...) and up till last year, mostly listen via my separates systems and a variety of headphones and earphones - as of last November, I didn’t even know what a hybrid IEM was, let alone a single DD or an EST driver, they were...