VentureCraft are a Japanese company well known for their portable headphone amplifiers and amp/DAC combo units. Today, I will be taking a look at their latest offering in this category: the feature-packed SounDroid Vantam. On paper, it may just be the audiophile’s ultimate portable companion: DSD playback, balanced 2.5mm output, line/optical/USB in, line/optical out, digital upsampling and op-amp exchangeability are all crammed into its tiny aluminium chassis. Colour me impressed! How impressed? Let’s find out below.
 

Package and Contents

 
Not much to see here. Inside the cardboard box, we have the Vantam which comes in a flimsy synthetic cloth bag (I definitely don’t want to be storing/carrying the unit around in this), a USB A to micro-B cable and a warranty card that tells you to look on VentureCraft’s website for the manual (currently only available in Japanese). That’s literally all you get, which I suppose helps VentureCraft to keep the Vantam’s price as low as possible.
 

Design and Functionality

 
The SounDroid Vantam measures 66mm wide by 126mm long by 18mm deep and weighs a paltry 180g. By what black magic VentureCraft managed to fit so much tech into this thing, I don’t know, but it certainly is impressive. The construction is all aluminium, with the exception of the switches; the unit seems to be quite sturdy and well-built overall. It’s form factor allows it to stack comfortably with most modern smartphones and larger music players (iPod Touch, AK240, Calyx M and the like), although you will need to provide your own rubber bands. The provided USB cable measures about 65cm from terminal to terminal, so you may want something shorter if you aim to use this as your daily driver.
 

 
Starting with the front panel, we have the very pleasing volume/power knob which turns on/off with a satisfying and recognisable click and has a pleasing resistance as you turn it, reducing the likelihood of accidental volume adjustments. Next to it is the signal LED which will turn different colours to indicate what kind of signal the Vantam has locked on to (e.g. orange for 44.1-96kHz, purple for DSD 64 etc). The function switch to the right also doubles as a power LED and battery indicator that will turn red when the unit requires charging – how nifty is that! This switch allows you to change between use as a DAC for iOS devices, regular USB DAC and Sync with iDevices/iTunes. We also have the balanced 2.5mm output, Line in/out/optical in combo jack and 3.5mm unbalanced/optical out combo jack. Again, you will need to provide your own interconnect cables for all of these.
 

 
On the rear of the unit, we have a USB micro-B (for charging and use with PC/Mac) and USB A port (for use with portable devices).
 
    
 
The bottom of the unit (if you go by the facing of the text on the front) is perhaps the most interesting, featuring 6 switches which allow you to alter:
 

1. The speed of the digital filter (for what the manual describes as either a clearer or more natural sound)
2. Smartphone connectivity
3. Line in or out functionality for the combo jack
4. Low or high gain
5. Sample rate and bit depth of digital upsampling

 
These switches are very shallow and contained in a recessed housing, making them difficult to flick either by accident or on purpose. You will need a pen or some other narrow object to adjust them, which I found to be annoying, although I doubt most users will be changing these very often.
 
The Vantam contains a 3500mAh battery, which VentureCraft quotes as providing about 7 hours of playback time. When using the unit’s amp and DAC functionality, playing 16bit/44.1kHz FLAC files, I found this figure to be closer to 4 hours – far shorter than the 10 hours we’ve come to expect of the typical audiophile player or portable DAC. You will probably need to charge the unit every day or carry a power bank with you if you plan on using it for your daily commute. I imagine that this would also make the Vantam a pain to use on long flights or while travelling. Thankfully, the unit can be charged while playing on a PC/Mac, although charging is disabled (for obvious reasons) when the smartphone switch is turned on.
 
Speaking of smartphones, I did have issues getting the Vantam to work with my Xperia Z1, running Android 4.4.2 – most of the time the phone would fail to recognise or output to the device at all. I’m not sure that this would be different with other models or versions of Android, but this is just my experience.
 

Sound

 
The scope of my sound test was very narrow, given the Vantam’s rather impressive list of functions; as I had problems running the device from my phone, I plugged it into my PC via USB and used it in combination with my UM Miracles and Ortofon e-Q8’s. I experienced no noticeable channel imbalance or noise from the unit and it drove these two rather sensitive IEMs very well. I was unable to verify the unit’s performance with high-res or DSD files, nor sound from the balanced output as I don’t possess the files/equipment. Nevertheless, what I heard was pretty darned impressive. The Vantam’s sound is very uncoloured and clear, with an expansive soundstage and instrument separation that is right up there with some of the best I’ve experienced. That’s not to say it’s analytical sounding though: the bass comes through with decent quantity and force and is very snappy and responsive. Mids, particularly vocals are clear without being sibilant, although positioning is perhaps a step back from what I usually like to hear. The treble provides all the detail and sparkle I’m after and is never hot or harsh.

I think it’s a sound that will be pleasing to most people, however, those seeking a particularly warm, smooth or ‘intimate’ sound may wish to look elsewhere. Another option for such folks is to try rolling in alternate op-amp units (as with the SounDroid Typhoon) sold separately by VentureCraft, which may allow you to tune the sound to your liking.
 

Conclusions

 
The SounDroid Vantam is truly an engineering marvel with so much functionality packed into an very portable form factor, that is decent looking to boot. Oh, and did I mention it also sounds amazing? The let-downs with the Vantam are really its short battery life and what I experienced to be finicky Android device support, although your mileage may vary on the latter. If these aren’t a worry for you, then I think the Vantam could just be your ticket to audio bliss.

IEMs with tuneable sound seem to be getting more popular nowadays with offerings from brands like JH Audio, AAW and Vision Ears. The downside, however, is that most of these offerings are custom IEMs, adding the inconvenience of impressions and lead time to the equation.  It certainly doesn’t help that the abovementioned examples cost well upwards of USD1000.
 
Enter the Velvet: Earsonic’s new flagship universal IEM, featuring 3 BA drivers in each side with a 3 way crossover, which is user tuneable. Earsonics are asking EUR749 (approx. USD900 at time of writing) for this unit, however, it certainly can be found more cheaply elsewhere online. While this is still by no means cheap, it may a more palatable alternative for those seeking customisable sound but unwilling to take the custom route.
 
The Velvets appear to have quite lofty ambitions, so let’s see if Earsonics are able to make good on their claims.
 
Full Disclosure: This unit was lent to me by Musica Acoustics for the purpose of this review. You can find more information and purchase the unit here.
 

Package and Contents

 

 
The Velvet comes in an unassuming cardboard box, wrapped in a decorative sleeve. The contents are protected by high quality closed-cell foam. While it doesn’t necessarily feel ‘premium’, I suppose it does allow Earsonics to cut down on packaging costs.
 

 
Inside the box, you get:
 

1. The Velvets themselves
2. 5mm to 6.3mm adapter
3. Semi-hard carrying case
4. Tuning tool & instruction card (described in further detail under Design and Sound)
5. Cleaning tool
6. Spare silicone tips (1x small bi-flange, 3x medium bi-flange, 1x large single flange)

 
I was somewhat baffled by Earsonics’ decision to include 3 medium size tips. While, statistically, it might be the size most people will be using, I think including so many of them is superfluous. It might be more productive to instead include some foam tips for those who prefer them.
 

Design

 
“Understated” is how I would describe the Velevets in one word. The earphones themselves are housed in a glossy piano black plastic shell, with no real distinctive features aside from the embossed EarSonics logo and white tuning dial.
 
      
 
By turning the dial with the provided tuning tool (essentially a fine flat bladed screwdriver), you can adjust the crossover to one of three preset sound profiles: Warm, Balanced or Tight (or anywhere in between). The profiles are represented by the three raised dots on the faceplate which you must align the groove of the dial with. I must admit that this was quite fiddly at first and I found myself consulting the reference card (pictured above) frequently. It also doesn’t help that the dots are difficult to see in low light. However, I did find that the process became easier with practice.
 
While owners of the first batch of Velvets reported issues with shell durability that caused a widespread recall, EarSonics’ Japanese distributor, Musica Acoustics has assured me that no such problems should be present in units from the second batch and onwards and I am happy to say that I haven’t experienced any issues of the like with this unit.
 
    
 
On the issue of durability, however, I will say that I am quite disappointed with the build quality of the tuning dial, the face of which is composed of a soft plastic, which appears to be very susceptible to wear and tear as you adjust it. It is easy to nick the edges of the groove with the metal tuning tool, especially in low light and other potentially disruptive situations. This will eventually erode the groove, in turn making it more difficult to turn the dial and also to see which setting the dial is pointing to. The dial on the left earphone became practically unusable after barely more than two weeks of use, in my case. Seriously, EarSonics – this thing needs to be made of metal.
 

 
I was quite pleased with the included cable. It has a slim profile, feels fairly durable, is easily coiled and tangle resistant. Its glossy black finish also blends well with the aesthetic of the earphones themselves. As with other EarSonics models, the cable is detachable and uses a standard 2-pin connector as found on the likes of JH Audio and Westone IEMs. It should be noted, however, that compared to other brands using the same connector, the polarity is reversed, so you will need to consider this when purchasing an aftermarket cable or making your own.
 

Isolation and Comfort

 
I do not consider myself to have particularly small ears, but the large size of the Velvets occasionally made it difficult to keep it seated in my ear, in turn causing the seal to break as the earphones moved around. This might be ameliorated by better-fitting tips, although I did not try any others than those included in the original package.
 

Sound

 
I must confess that the name “Velvet” initially generated expectations of a very thick and warm sound a-la Sennheiser IE80. However, upon trying them, I was quite surprised to learn that this was not the case. They certainly are smooth like velvet, with a very liquid sound absent of any offensive spikes in frequency response, while at the same delivering all the speed, detail and imaging capabilities that I desired. Overall, the sound reminded me of the Ortofon e-Q8, only better: the Velvets display none of the niggling faults that plagued the former while adding some additional bells and whistles, although you would expect this of an IEM that costs more than twice as much.
 
My impressions below are intended as a baseline or general description of the way this IEM sounds, based mainly on listening to the ‘balanced’ setting. At the end of this section, I will also give specific notes on how each particular mode affects the sound.
 

Bass

 
The bass on the Velvets ticked all the boxes for me – well extended, plentiful and delivered with hearty impact, while leaving other frequency ranges virtually untouched. It’s also quick and precise enough to keep up with busy genres like house and dubstep. However, due to prioritising an overall smoothness, rather than revealing every last micro-detail, you won’t get the kind of crunchiness and texture from the likes of the UERM or ATH-CK100PRO. Never the less, it’s still an incredibly enjoyable experience; almost at the level of the Unique Melody Miracles, which I regard as producing the best bass I’ve ever heard out of an IEM.
 

Mids

 
In keeping with the overall sound, the mids are liquid smooth while still being very detailed. I felt that the Velvets were equally competent with male and female vocals, which are positioned quite intimately to the listener and reproduced with all of the texture and breathiness needed to create a convincing and moving experience. Whereas the e-Q8’s had somewhat of a high-mid hump, the Velvets are more linear, resulting in a lesser emphasis particularly on female vocals.
 

Highs

 
I found that the highs on the Velvets to be highly dependent on the sound tuning setting. In ‘warm’ and ‘balanced’, they lacked the degree of treble extension and sparkle that I was after, causing instruments like cymbals and high hats to step out of the spotlight and in some cases become easy to ignore. However, I do not consider this a deal breaker as this can be fixed by switching the IEMs to the ‘tight’ setting.
 

Soundstage and Imaging

 
The Velvets display what I think is their greatest strength here, with an incredibly spacious presentation backed by excellent separation and layering of vocals and instruments that simply sounds effortless. In my reckoning, they trumped many a similarly priced or even more expensive IEM in this field by a significant margin. Absolutely a class act.
 

Sound Tuning

 
I see the Velvets’ sound tuning feature being most useful in allowing you to enjoy a wider range of genres with the same pair of earphones. I didn’t find that changing the setting altered the fundamental sound signature and presentation, but provided boosts or reductions in certain frequency ranges that can emphasise certain instruments you want to hear more of or de-emphasising potentially annoying features of a song. Without further ado, let’s take a look at the characteristics of each mode:
 
Warm mode is more or less what the name suggests. The lower ranges gain additional quantity and impact, to practically head-shaking levels, although I am unsure it will satisfy some bassheads. The sound is warmer and thicker overall and treble becomes somewhat rolled off, occasionally making it easy to miss high hats and other instruments in this region. With the increased quantity of bass, I felt as if it also became slightly less controlled and also noticed some bass bleed into the mids in certain songs.
 
I spent most of my time in balanced mode, which I found offered the best mix of snappiness and impact in the bass and the most natural overall sound. With no significant emphasis on any particular frequency range, this mode allowed music to sound the most well-proportioned and in perspective. Although treble is slightly boosted compared to the ‘warm’ mode, balanced mode lacked my desired degree of sparkle in some songs.
 
Tight mode brings boosted treble and reduced emphasis on the lower-end, particularly sub-bass. Bass feels more tightly controlled and responsive in this mode and I felt that I was able to perceive more details in this mode. It added all the sparkle I was looking for and then some. The boost in higher frequencies adds a clear edge to female vocals, and appears also to introduce some minor sibilance. Tight mode also produced the reverse of the problem I experienced with warm mode: cymbals and high hats were brought to the forefront, while in exchange, I found it more difficult to hear the bass drum in some songs.
 
Perhaps it feels like I’m bringing up more negatives than positives in this section, however, I found that the key to using the tuning feature successfully is experimenting to see which setting works with particular genres and artists, thereby effectively expanding the range of music you can enjoy with this single pair of IEMs.
 

Closing Comments

 
The EarSonics Velvets really surprised me with just how capable and flexible they proved to be. Their smooth, accurate sound and exceptional staging made listening a pleasure, and they remained unfatiguing even for lengthy listening sessions. The tuning feature was really the icing on the cake, allowing them to convincingly and enjoyably render a wide range of genres at the turn of a dial. This, however, also proved to be the Velvets’ greatest weakness due to the tuning dial’s poor build quality.
 
Still, these IEMs offer exceptional sound quality on par with many flagship CIEMs I have heard, plus the added benefit of customisable sound, all for less than USD1000, which is a praiseworthy achievement for EarSonics in my book. Definitely worth a listen, should you have the opportunity.

The Consonance V2 is a pair of earphones manufactured by Russia-based Fischer Audio which forms part of their Fundamentals lineup. With its in-line microphone and remote control unit and low impedance, it appears to be aimed squarely at smartphone users. As you can tell from the name, the V2 is their latest revision of the well received Conosnance. However, as I have no experience with its predecessor, I will not be able to provide any comparisons to it here today. Technical specifications, taken from Fischer Audio’s website are as below:
 
Driver Diameter: 8 mm
Frequency range: 20-20000 Hz
Sensitivity: 96 dB
Impedance: 16 Ohm
 
RRP: USD 99
 
Many thanks to Dimitri from Musica Acoustics for sending me this model for review. Pricing and purchase information can be found at their website.
 
Without further ado, let’s get into the review.
 

Package and Contents
    

 
The Consonance V2 comes in a well presented box which contains the earphones themselves, a set of spare ear pieces of various sizes and a mesh carrying pouch.
Instructions for how to operate the in-line remote are printed on the box and a simple multilingual manual is also included.
 

 
Also included is an adapter that allows the microphone to be used with older devices.
 

Design

 
     
Moving onto the earphones themselves, I found their looks to be rather pleasing, with a sci-fi-esque aesthetic that is quite striking in the bright orange that my sample came in. Colours are matched nicely, with accents of black and silver throughout the design.
 
The Consonance V2 is also available in white and black.
 

 
I was quite impressed by the quality of the cable, which has a smooth plastic finish that is pleasant to touch and feels quite durable. Most importantly, however, they exhibit very little microphonic noise. Wind noise in particular was almost non-existent, making them very pleasant to use on the go. The cable is also fairly resistant to tangling, which is a plus, but due to its springiness can be difficult to coil up for storage.


 
The in-line remote control features only one button, which is fine if you are only using it to pick up and end calls on your phone. However, using it to control your music player requires you to tap or hold the button in different sequences for functions like play, stop and next track, which I found to be difficult to remember and easy to mistake. I suppose this is something you might get used to with practice, however.
 

Isolation and Comfort

 
The default earpieces provided by Fischer Audio were quite comfortable and stayed in my ear quite securely. Isolation, however, was only mediocre, which I suspect may have something to do with the port at the rear of each unit.
 
Although Fischer Audio does say that the Consonance V2 can be worn over-ear, I found this to be quite fiddly and uncomfortable due to the lack of ear guides.
 

Sound Quality

 
The Consonance V2 has a warm sound signature which is bass heavy and has what I perceived to be recessed mids and somewhat rolled-off highs. As I typically prefer a brighter and more energetic sound, they sounded unexciting to my ears, although your mileage may vary. Amping (with the Tralucent Audio T1) did not appear to change the sound noticably, so I do not believe impedance matching is an issue for these earphones, which you would expect, given their market.
Although plentiful in quantity and well extended, the bass is not very well controlled, with a very soft and round quality to it. Thankfully, while the bass is somewhat boomy, by and large, it is polite enough to not trample all over the mids and highs as many similar sounding earphones typically do.
Vocals sound close in terms of positioning, but poor detail retrieval and lackluster midrange causes them to sound muffled. It can also be difficult to pick out percussion in the highs such as cymbals and high hats. The V2 also struggled to keep up in some faster or more complex songs.
I was, however, surprised at the width of soundstage and quality of instrument separation that the V2 delivered, which helps to provide some perspective to the low-end-heavy sound.

 

 Conclusions

 
Although their sound is not my cup of tea, I found the Consonance V2 to be a stylish and functional pair of earphones that are quite comfortable to use.
If you’re looking for functional earphones under USD 100 for your smartphone and are a fan of the bass-heavy sound signature, the Fischer Audio Consonance V2s may be worth your consideration.

The AP100 DAP (Digital Audio Player) is the initial offering from Chinese new-kid-on-the-block, Hidizs (which I have no idea how to pronounce), officially released at CES in January of this year.
It claims to be a ‘high fidelity audio player’ which are big words at the modest price of around USD300 . Let’s see if it lives up to Hidizs’ lofty ambitions.
 
I would like to thank Musica Acoustics for lending me this particular unit for review. You can find more information and purchase if from their website.
Tech specs and more information on the AP100 can be found on Hidizs’ website.
 

Package and Contents

 

 
The AP100 comes nested in a series of stylish but understated cardboard boxes. There is no foam padding inside, but it seems sufficient to protect the player and other contents during transit.
 

 
Hidizs really went all out with the included accessories, which I was pleasantly surprised to see. In addition to the multilingual manual, quick start guide and warranty card, you will receive:
 

1. A screen protector
2. A cleaning cloth
3. A 3.5mm interconnect cable
4. A  stereo 3.5mm to RCA cable (for use with the player’s coaxial input/output)

 
Basic earbuds are conspicuously excluded. I suppose Hidizs figured that they would likely be a meaningless inclusion for their target audience.
 
     
 
My AP100 also came with a brown pleather case with a magnetic latch, which admittedly does feel a little cheap, but does not really intrude on day to day use and provides some degree of protection for the player.
 

Design and Functionality

 
With the exception of the screen and plastic accents around the front control pad, the AP100′s body is constructed of a well machined and finished aluminium, giving it a very nice premium feel. It weighs in at 156g (according to the manufacturer), which is by no means heavy, but enough to make the player feel solid. Dimensions are 107 x 65.5 x 16.2mm, making it of greater girth than most other commercial DAPs, but it’s still small enough to comfortably fit inside most pockets. Carrying just the AP100 around was much more pleasant and manageable than my typical DAP + Amp setup (see photos below).

 
    
 
Hidizs quotes the AP100′s battery as providing 10 hours of playback time. However, I feel that this is an absolute best case scenario. Typically listening at less than one quarter of the volume, I got about 8.5 hours out of a single full charge. I suppose this is about what you would expect given all the hardware they’ve put in there.
 
It really is amazing to see how much functionality Hidizs were able to jam into this player. It plays most audio formats (WAV, FLAC, WMA, OFF, AAC, APE and ALAC at bit depth/sample rate of up to 24 bit/192KHz), offers native line out and also has coaxial input/output, allowing you to send digital output to an external decoder or have the player receive digital input. There is 8GB of internal memory (approximately 7GB is actually available for storage) and support for up to 64GB MicroSDHC cards.
 

 
The front panel features navigation/playback buttons, volume up and down buttons and the 2.4″ 320 x 240 resolution TFT screen (of decidedly meh quality).
 

 
Up top, we have 3.5mm headphone out, line out and power/blank screen button.
 

 
Down the bottom, you have 3.5mm coaxial in and out , MicroSD card slot and the USB charging/data transfer port. Unfortunately, the AP100 cannot be used as a USB DAC.
 

 
The left side features buttons to cycle between bit depth/sample rate presets and sound EQ presets (which I found a little useless).
 

 
The right side has a lock switch, which disables all other button presses when turned on.
 

Interface and Ease of Use

 

 
The AP100′s UI might be described as ‘bare bones’. While I dislike the trend of many manufacturers providing silly and unnecessary features with their players like games and voice recorders, Hidizs appears to have taken the exact opposite approach and cut down the AP100′s software to be as simple as possible. Options are limited, however, navigation is quick and simple and responsive, with no lag or freezes as with my Sony F-series Walkman, using a far more complicated Android OS. I also never experienced any skips or stutters during playback as was occasionally the case with the Walkman.
 
My qualms with the AP100 really start when it comes to track browsing/navigation and playback display. The player makes no attempt to sort your library (e.g by artist, album, genre etc), relying on you to sort all your tracks appropriately through folder structure (track navigation is essentially done through a glorified file browser). Additionally, the browser does not read the tags of your files: it only displays the file name. I typically use a program like CDex to rip my CDs to FLAC, leave the default file name (usually something like 01- Audio Track 01.flac) and add the tag data and cover art. On the AP100, that left me with my albums looking like this:
 

 
The “now playing” view also appears to be very picky with your files’ tags. For most of my files, it will show me the cover art, file name and sample depth/rate of the file as below.
 

 
Nowhere – and I mean absolutely nowhere – can I check the song title, even in the song properties screen, which to me is just beyond silly.
 

 
The player does actually display metadata for some songs (I’m not exactly sure why – perhaps it was the way they were tagged?) but in this case there is no way for you to view the cover art. You just can’t win with this thing…
 
The moral of the story is: if you’re going to buy this player, you should be very meticulous in naming the files in your music library.
 
There is also no way to create or edit playlists on the player, however, you can create a list of favourite songs, which I suppose is a bit similar.
 
The circular pad of playback buttons on the front of the AP100 double as your D-pad for navigating around the menus. They will only perform their marked function (e.g. play/pause, next track, fast forward etc) when in the “now playing” view. This means that they can’t be used to quickly perform track changes or pause playback etc. (unless of course you always make sure to leave it in “now playing” view) which could prove to be an annoyance to some.
 
I should note that the player does get a little warm during extended use, but never uncomfortably so.
 

Sound

I’m happy to say that the AP100 did deliver in the sound department – where it really matters.

 
Its overall sound is very ‘hi-fi’ – that is to say detailed, transparent and uncoloured. There is no particular emphasis on any frequency range: it all sounds very neutral and balanced. If you want sound that is in any way coloured or ‘augmented’, leave that to your amp or earphones.
Compared to my usual Sony NW-F806 + Tralucent T1 combo, the AP100 (using the 3.5mm headphone output) was able to deliver a more detailed sound with a noticeably wider and better separated soundstage. Colour me impressed!
 
In addition, the internal amplifier seems to have no problem driving sensitive IEMs like the Ortofon e-Q8s or Unique Melody Miracles and was also able to provide enough juice to drive my AKG K701s to decent volumes at less than half of the maximum setting. I would say that an amp is definitely not necessary to enjoy this DAP.
 

Closing Comments

 
When you consider that the AP100:
 

1. Delivers a clear, reference-style sound
2. Plays most file formats with support for high-res audio
3. Can drive both very sensitive and demanding earphones/headphones  and
4. Look decent

 
all while costing less than half than players like the Walkman ZX1 or AK100, this DAP is an amazing achievement for Hidizs, especially given that this is their very first offering to the market.
 
However, for that price, the sacrifices do have to come from somewhere. In the AP100′s case it is the interface and overall user experience, especially when dealing with song metadata.I imagine that if you were very diligent in naming all your music files correctly, you could mitigate this to the point where it is practical, but frankly I am too lazy to go through all that effort

The AP100 was designed to do one thing and one thing only: play music, of which it does an amazing job. As long as you aren’t expecting it to do any more than that, it won’t let you down.

Released earlier this year, the e-Q8s are a pair of single balanced armature (BA) driver earphones which are the new flagship to Ortofon’s long stagnant IEM lineup.
I purchased mine not too long after their release in April 2014 for 36930 yen (approx. USD 350) and so at the time of writing have approximately six months of experience with them as my daily driver IEMs. I will be providing comparisons to their entry level model, the e-Q5, which I also own.
 
Package and Contents
     
 
The e-Q8 comes packaged very nicely. The external box is a very shiny silver cardboard, which contains a stiff, felt-lined box, almost like one you might receive from a jewelry store.It is certainly packaged like a premium product.
The contents are of course, the earphones themselves, a selection of different sized silicon tips and single pair of foam tips, spare filters, filter changing tool, carry case and instruction manual.
 

 
I quite like the carry case. It is made of a leather or leather-like material that is pleasant to the touch. While it is only semi-hard and not as sturdy as say, a Westone Monitor Vault, it does provide a decent degree of padding while having a slim and stylish profile, almost like a business card case or small wallet. This makes it ideal for carrying in a bag or pocket.
 
Design
 

 
The e-Q8s only come in a silver metal housing with rubberised white plastic accents – a minimalistic and in my opinion, very stylish design.Some, however, may prefer something more understated and less bling-tastic: these earphones make a statement. Those who like to keep their earphones in pristine condition will be warned that scratches do show easily on the highly reflective metal housing with use over time.
 
Their profile is rather long, similar to that of the e-Q7s, so they do stick out a bit from your ear during use. More about this below under the discussion on comfort.
 
     
 
The cable is sheathed in white nylon from the right angled 3.5mm jack to the rubberised white Y-split,and from there on is your standard rubberised fare. This contrast struck me as an odd design choice and to me, makes the cable feel a little cheap.
In use, the cable is without a doubt the single worst part of this IEM. It tangles and kinks very easily (especially the more rigid nylon-sheathed part), easily picks up noise from your every movement in addition to being microphonic as anything and as if that weren’t enough, it isn’t removable either. Ortofon could really improve their IEMs by allowing users to change the cables out – this would be especially handy in cases where the earphone starts malfunctioning (e.g. losing a channel) due to poor contact between the earphone and the cable, as happened with my old e-Q5s.
 
Isolation and Comfort
 
Isolation from the default silicon tips was average. They did form a nice seal, however, they proved to be somewhat easy to knock out of place due to the earphones' long profile, which makes them stick out my ears some distance.
I have also tried the e-Q8s with Sony Noise Isolation tips, which I had trouble fitting over the sound bores without stretching or tearing the tips, hence I decided not to use them. Monster gel tips were the exact opposite, often falling off the earphones from slight bumps or getting stuck in my ear when I tried to remove them. Your mileage, of course, may vary.
 
Sound Quality
 
In a nutshell, the e-Q8s offer a sound that is fast, energetic and accurate without being nitpicky, anemic or otherwise offensive. I found that while they do well in a majority of genres, they appear to be tuned for a specific taste, as I shall explain below.
 
Bass
 
The e-Q8s happily possess both quality and quantity in this department. Bass is quick, snappy and relatively accurate. I say “relatively” as they do have a soft, rounded edge to them; they remind me of the bass on many Sennheiser products such as the IE800. This is not the territory of more analytic cans like the ATH-CK100PROs or K701s where drum beats have a clear, almost palpable outline. Bass hits with significant impact , however it is well controlled and is able to remain distinct from the mids and highs at basically all times. The one, perhaps fatal flaw is that it is (in comparison to other earphones at least) not very well extended, being mostly concentrated in the mid-bass. This was particularly evident when I was A/B testing with my Unique Melody Miracles. The quality of the bass is generally enough to make me forget about this deficiency in most songs, but I would not recommend the e-Q8s to those who really need that sub-bass rumble and/or are partial to electronic genres such as dubstep or house.
 
In comparison to the e-Q5s: The e-Q8s are head and shoulders above their little brothers in the lower ranges which are quicker, punchier and better separated in addition to being more plentiful. Drum beats are given an extra kick and bass guitars have that visceral growl, which really enhanced my enjoyment of most songs.
 
Mids
 
The mids are where it’s at with the e-Q8s. In terms of frequency response, they are quite mid-centric and boy do they get them right. They are particularly adept at rendering female vocals which sound very forward, clear, airy and silky smooth. This is perhaps emphasised by a bump in the upper mid range frequencies. I believe this is at least in part gives the e-Q8s their very energetic, euphoric sound.  Both male and female vocals as well as guitars have a visceral texture to them, which makes them quite engaging.
 
In comparison to the e-Q5s: The e-Q5s are close in their overall presentation of the midrange, but lack the finesse of the e-Q8s. Vocals lack that airy feel and are less fluid, in addition to not being as prominent.
 
Highs
 
The highs on these IEMs are competent, but not their strong suit. If anything I would say that they are there to complement the mids. They provide a sufficient level of sparkle with good, quick decay and never outstep their bounds by being sibilant, tinny or too hot, which I found was what ruined the ATH-CK100PRO for me. They always retain that smooth quality that makes the e-Q8s easy to listen to for long periods without the sound becoming fatiguing.
 
 In comparison to the e-Q5s: The e-Q8s deliver a more sparkly and detailed top-end in comparison to the e-Q5s, however it may be the boosted treble that is contributing to the increase in perceived detail.
 
Staging and Instrument Separation
 
The soundstage on the e-Q8s is impressively wide, especially considering that they are running only one BA driver in each channel. However, it is not to the point of delivering a true ‘out of head’ experience. Instrument separation and positioning is also excellent, which aids in these earphones being easy to listen to, as it requires very little effort to hear into the mix.
 
In comparison to the e-Q5: The e-Q8s win out easily here, making the e-Q5s sound muddled and confused in faster songs, where they instruments can tend to sound flat or blended together.
 
Other Comments
 
For lack of a better place to put this comment, I will note here that the e-Q8s are quite sensitive and you will need to match them with an appropriate amp (i.e one with low output impedance) to get the most out of them. They sounded flat straight out of my Walkman NW-F806: soundstage was diminished and bass lacked sharpness and impact compared to the Tralucent Audio T1 or Ortofon MHd-Q7 amps.
 
Conclusion
 
I have long had the problem of preferring an agile and energetic sound in my audio gear, which has often led me to gear like the AKG K701s which, although excellent for shorter listening sessions, does get become fatiguing after a while due mainly to its hotter treble. In terms of sound signature alone, the e-Q8s are a great solution to this issue, enabling long, enjoyable listening sessions with their euphoric but smooth sound, with the added benefit of their substantial and punchy lower end. However, they are of course far from perfect. I found the cable to be very disappointing, the earphones came out of my ears easily at times and the poor bass extension was an issue for some genres.
 
Ortofon know how to make a great looking and great sounding IEM, but as is, their user experience leaves something to be desired. Ah well, 2 out of 3 ain’t bad…

Package and Contents
     
 
The MHd-Q7 comes in a plain cardboard box with closed-cell foam packing. Contents are minimal: you get the amp itself and nondescript 3.5mm interconnect and USB charging cables. Fair enough.
 
Design

 
Ortofon really knows how to make a good looking product. The MHd-Q7 really feels high quality with its clean and stylish aluminium construction that has a smooth, pleasant-to-touch finish with absolutely no rough or jagged edges whatsoever. It weighs in at about 150g, which is enough to make it feel solid but not unnecessarily heavy.  I wish more amps looked and felt this nice.
 

 
The wonderfully minimalistic design extends to its functionality as well – no unnecessary switches or knobs here. All you get is the 3.5mm input and output jacks, volume knob, power and recharging indicator LEDs on the front and USB charging port on the back. I was quite impressed at the quality of the volume knob which also doubles as the power switch – it feels solid, giving very granular volume control and has a satisfying click when turning on or off.  Unlike my daily driver, the Tralucent Audio T1, I did not notice any channel imbalance whatsoever, nor any noise while adjusting the volume – absolutely brilliant!
 
Although it calls itself a ‘headphone amplifier’, you can tell that it was designed mainly for driving IEMs, which it can do to volumes that would be more than satisfactory (or safe) for most listeners. It, however, struggled to drive my K701s, which are 60 Ohm headphones (albeit quite inefficient)  – maxing out the volume achieved barely adequate volume levels for me. I don’t like the prospects of this amp driving your 300 Ohm Beyers or other high impedance phones.
 

 
The MHd-Q7  measures 67mm wide by 84mm deep (including volume knob)  and  27mm high (as per the manual). This makes it unusually short, wide and deep compared to many other amps out there. This means that it will be quite difficult to stack it with some players such as my F-series Walkman as the widths do not line up  and the difference in length introduces problems with shorter     interconnects. This may make it an awkward choice for people looking for an amp to use on the go.
 
Battery life is decent, with a single full charge lasting about 20 hours (the manual quotes 18). You can also use the device while charging it – not being able to do this was a minor annoyance with the T1.
 
Sound
 
The MHd-Q7 produces a very smooth, analogue sound overall. I would not call it muddy, however, as it retains a high degree of clarity with a spacious presentation and excellent instrument separation. I would say that it wins out against the T1 in this respect.
 
Bass is more pronounced, yet with a soft and rounded quality to it. The T1 produces a tighter and more controlled lower end, however I did find that the MHd-Q7 had a more natural sounding timbre, especially for instruments like bass guitars and brass instruments.
Mids retain that signature Ortofon warmth and close presentation – vocals especially sound very intimate and smooth.The high end is less pronounced than that of the T1, so it does lack a little bit of sparkle. Instruments like high hats and cymbals also sound somewhat diminished in comparison.
All in all, I would say that the overall sound characteristics of this amp are close to that of the Ortofon e-Q8, and tend to emphasise them when the two are used in combination.
 
Closing Comments
 
The Ortofon MHd-Q7 is a strange beast. Very handsome looks and solid feeling construction pair awkwardly with odd dimensions that hinder portable use, which it was supposedly designed for. I also take issue with it terming itself a ‘headphone amplifier’ when it struggles to drive much more than IEMs. Its sound is sweet and smooth and spacious: while not particularly my cup of tea, I can certainly appreciate the finesse with which it renders the music – there is not a hint of sluggishness to be found here.
 
If you’re a fan of vinyl-like sound and can make its peculiar form factor work for you, I think the MHd-Q7 is certainly worth your consideration.
 
Full Disclosure: This unit is a loaner from Musica Acoustics for review purposes - you can find additional information on their website, where you can also purchase it.