SMSL is becoming well known for the affordable DACs with great value and SU-8s tries not to be an exception. The asking price of 349 USD is located in the middle of the SMSL DAC offering, just a small step below their previously released SU-9. Even though the price is shaved by one hundred dollars, SU-8s still brings many interesting features. Hopefully, these features will lead to good performance, but that’s what we aim to determine today, so let us begin. Build and Connectivity SMSL SU-8s looked from the outside resembles a lot to its older and...

So here’s the thing, being completely honest I’ve never even heard about Verum 1 until the brand founder Igor contacted me asking if I would be interested to take a listen. A quick search revealed very interesting-looking headphones, designed and made by a small manufacturer in Ukraine some two years ago. But this is a second iteration carrying the same name, so to avoid confusion I used MKII to distinguish this version from the older one. Now, if you’re familiar with iiWi reviews’ at all, you probably know that I like discovering new things and...

MS2 is the latest in-ear model coming to us from the Hidizs and at 89 USD. Even though I have no experience with this brand’s earphones I did test Hidizs Sonata HD dongle DAC a long time ago, found it to be very good for the asking price, and actually kept using it to this day. Today I’m quite happy to explore what Hidizs can offer at the earphone front, and in my experience in-ears priced around one hundred US dollars are often great value. In the Box Aside from the earbuds themselves, in the box, you’ll find a detachable cable of a really decent...

Loxjie D30 is your typical DAC and headphone amplifier combination, but it has few aces up its sleeve, and that makes it a very interesting device. If this is your first time hearing about Loxjie brand, don’t worry, it’s because they’re fairly new on the market. What I can tell you from my previous experience with it, they make some of the best bang for the buck offerings you’re ever going to find. At least, that was true last time I tested their more affordable model D10, but let’s see if it still holds true with D30. Build, Connectivity, and...

Topping A50s is a small headphone amplifier, the second-most affordable one in Topping’s lineup. However, it does have few tricks up its sleeve to justify the small price hike compared to its less pricy cousin L30. So without much ado, let’s dig in and find out all about it. Build and Connectivity Topping A50s is small, palm-sized, amplifier that will not consume much space on your desktop. Still, a diminutive size doesn’t take anything from its great build quality. The moment I picked it up, I realized it’s weightier and more solid than your...

MT-602 is not my first encounter with the Xduoo brand, which belongs to a TA-05 model. But just like the first time around I'm again having a hybrid tube headphone amplifier on the bench. Build and Connectivity xDuoo MT-602’s design took a new turn compared to TA-05. First of all, it’s smaller, packed in a sand-blasted grey aluminum body. Except for the protruding tubes on the upper side, the red volume knob also makes sure the look feels fresh and modern. I’m usually not a fan of punchy bright colors but for some reason, it looks just right in this...

Topping L30 is the most affordable head-amp in the brand’s lineup and its overall design and dimensions are meant to perfectly match their capable entry-level DAC Topping E30. But does being affordable means making too many compromises? Let’s dig into this review and find out. Build Topping L30 is made mostly of aluminum that comes in black or silver finish. The front panel is black on both versions though and it’s some sort of acrylic glass that looks slick. If I were to nitpick, I’d prefer for the pointer on the volume knob to be a little more...

Clear Tune Monitors CE320 is made by CTM (Clear Tune Monitors) company, based in Orlando, USA. CTM works with many music industry creatives, and that cooperation is noticeable in this product. But let’s dig into the review and I’ll explain that claim in more detail. Packaging, Build and Fit In the box, you’ll find three pairs of silicone ear tips, three pairs of foam ear tips, a nice looking carrying case, and a 3.5 to 6.35 mm adapter. The earphones themselves are made of clear plastic. They’re lightweight and slim in profile, which makes for a...

Sparrow is a portable DAC brought by EarMen – a quite fresh brand on the market, but I have to say they entered it with aplomb. While writing this article, one of the brand’s first products TR-Amp is sitting on my desk and juicing my headphones. It really says something about the product when you don’t want to stop using it after the review is done. But today, it’s about finding out if EarMen can repeat its success with a truly portable and tiny device. Let’s dig in. Build and Package A lot of devices call themselves portable nowadays, but sticking...

NOTE: I read RikudouGoku's review just before making my own and was puzzled by his experience. He criticized the things I personally hate to hear myself and I do complain about that type of tuning every time I hear it. Not really sure what's going on here (some sort of QC issue maybe) but it feels like we are listening to a different model altogether. My unit also came from the HiFiGo (thanks for that guys). That said, I'll dig in into my own experience with Freya. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . ...

KS2 is a budget-friendly model from Kbear and at the same time my first encounter with the Kbear brand. KS2 is one of those models you suppose to hook around your ear and comes in a fairly simple package without any goodies, but it would be rude to ask anything more for a modest price of $25. So let’s dig into the review and see how they perform. Build and comfort Kbear KS2 is made out of plastic but it feels well-made and sturdy enough so you don’t have to worry about occasional rough handling. This also means they’re lightweight which is always a...

TRN has just introduced its latest model to the market and it’s called VX. It comes with whooping 7 drivers and costs around 70 bucks. Ten bucks per driver sounds like a good deal, right? Well, at least in terms of quantity but I was more interested in their quality and skill of producing high fidelity sound. Let’s dig into it and find out. Build, fit, and cable TRN VX is made of aluminum and coated with a pint that has a kind of soft-touch feel to it that’s very pleasant. It might not be apparent trough pictures, but there’s a real premium feel to...

Fiio FH1s is the latest entry in Fiio’s rich in-ear portfolio, here to carry the torch instead of the older FH1 model. With the price of 69$, it hits that sweet spot of being affordable, yet managing to offer some interesting technical solutions. Without making this review longer than necessary, let’s dive right into it. BUILD AND FEATURES FH1s is mostly made out of plastic but it feels sturdy and lightweight. What’s more important is what’s inside of it. To start with a dynamic driver, it is an unusually large 13.6 mm bio-polymer diaphragm. The...

TR-Amp is brought by EarMen, a newly established brand on the market, but make no mistake it is not an inexperienced one. The founder and lead engineer behind it is Milomir Trosic, known better as the face of a more luxurious brand Auris Audio. But let us get back to the thing at hand. I’m interested to see how one of EarMen’s first products performs so let’s dig in. BUILD AND FEATURES TR-Amp is a portable DAC and headphone amp. It is quite small in size but made of thick aluminum. When picked up it leaves the impression of a well made, solid, and...

I was offered a pair of Tyr for a review. They didn’t look like much at first glance, but the first impression can be deceiving so I accepted the offer. Few long weeks later, thanks to COVID-19, when I already forgot about them, they arrived at my doorstep. I put them through their paces to see what are they made of. PACKAGE, BUILD, FIT In the small hexagonal box you’ll find just bare essentials. There’s a flat leather-like carrying case that looks stylish, ear tips and earbuds themselves. For the low price of $29 I couldn’t ask for more. The cable...

Many audiophiles out there don’t believe that digital signals can be better or worse. Zeros are zeros and ones are ones is their philosophy. Such people would argue that USB regenerators are just a hoax, a snake oil meant to trick us into emptying our pockets. But I was curious to test that myself and I bought this unit during the last call for $49 + $33 shipping to my country... So it's not produced anymore, but there are plenty to be found on a second-hand market if you wish. So Schiit Wyrd is a USB regenerator and recklocker, that made me create...

This is my first contact with the Dunu brand and it started with opening an oversized box. Inside of it, I found a very nice looking carrying case, set of ear tips, detachable cable, and earphones themselves. BUILD AND FIT Earphones are made out of plastic, they are light but feel solid. Provided cable is smooth to the touch and doesn’t tangle easily – points for that. Looks is subjective of course but I liked the mix of black and white used here. I’m not particularly fond of this whole cable around the ear thing. That said I didn’t really have...

BUILD AND FIT Tin Audio opted for a proven formula with a full aluminum body feels solid and sturdy. The cable is different this time around with preshaped ear-hooks that fit around your ears. Other than that it’s still braided, quite soft and very prone to tangling. I’d prefer a classical no-hook cable as we had on T2 but that’s really a matter of preference. Detachable cable means you can change the default one with any MMCX connector cable you like. It’s a very personal thing, but achieving a good and secure fit was quite easy for me. That’s...

This is my first contact with Moondrop's earphones but right out of the box it promised to be an interesting one. Besides earphones themselves, you get detachable cable, several ear-tips and small carrying case. BUILD AND FIT It seems that earphones are made of marble or some similar material. They feel reassuringly heavy and sturdy in hand. On the other hand, the braided cable feels delicate. It's quite thin, soft and sufficiently long. I really liked the softness of preshaped hooks that go around the ears. They're easy to mount and adopt to any...

It's been a long time since I tried any Sennheiser in-ear so I was curious about these. The first thing I’ve noticed when picked them up is how light these buds actually are. Unlike so many earphones nowadays, these are almost entirely made out of plastic. The cable is quite thin and lightweight too, and not removable. It has a rubbery feel to it and I’m happy to report it doesn’t tangle at all. The downside of this lightweight build is that cable is quite microphonic. It is prone to picking up your movements as it rubs off your clothes. SOUND...