The Sennheiser HD600 is an open dynamic circumaural head-phone which Sennheiser market for audiophiles, and also state as ideal for studio monitoring.     Pre-amble (about me at time of writing) I'm a 44 year old music lover.  I don't say audiophile - just love my music.  Over the last couple of years, I have slowly changed from cheaper listening set-ups to my current entry/mid-fi set-up.  I vary my listening from portable (i-devices + amp) to my desk-top's set-up (PC > coax > NFB-12 > HP).  My main headphones at the time of writing are the...

  The Audio-gd NFB-12 is a desktop combined dac/amp with a compact form factor.  It is advertised as having a warm - but still detailed signature.     About Me (preamble) I'm a 44 year old music lover.  I don't say audiophile - just love my music.  Over the last couple of years, I have slowly changed from cheaper listening set-ups to my current entry/mid-fi set-up.  I vary my listening from portable (i-devices + amp) to my desktop's set-up (PC > coax > NFB-12 > HP).  My main headphones at the time of writing are the Sennheiser HD600s...

These were purchased on impulse - more to experience the Grado/Alessandro sound than anything - and quickly became one of my favourite headphones.  Incredible sound, incredible value, and the ability to modify them yourself so that they punch far above their original weight.   For this review - I'm using them at my desktop with FLAC recordings using Amarok player (Linux) via and Audio-gd NFB-12 (using the brighter 8 x upsampling minimum phase apodising filter) .   Product Description The Alessandro MS1i is the entry level headphone from...

I originally purchased the E7 - mainly as a portable dac/amp, but as time progressed, I wanted to use it mainly for my desktop (bypassing the onboard), and needed a more powerful amp as I progressed to upgrade my cans.   The obvious choice was to use the E9, and pair it with the E7.       Technical Specs From Fiio's packaging / website Output power : 1W (16ohm loaded), 80mW (600 ohm loaded) Headphone impedance range : 16 ohm to 600 ohm SNR (line in) : ≥100dB (A weight) Distortion (line in) : <0.003% (100mW) Frequency response : 10Hz...

The DT880 Pro 250 ohm is a semi-open circumaural head-phone which Beyerdynamic market for monitoring.     Packaging and Accessories My DT880's (although purchased new) were actually sent as a demo unit - so I did not get the retail box.  They do some with a very nice padded canvas case which offers reasonable protection, and also a 3.5-6.3mm adaptor plug (screw on).     Technical Specifications From the Beyerdynamic website :   Transmission type   Wired Headphone design (operating principle)   Semi-open...

The SRH940 is Shure's top monitoring headphone, and the chance to step up from the SRH840 was one I wasn't going to miss.     Packaging And Accessories When I first got these, the first thing that hit me was the excellence of the packaging, and the completeness of the accessory package.   You get a nice carry case containing the SRH 940's, spare pads, 2 replaceable cables (straight and coiled) and a 3.5-6.3 mm adaptor.         Build / Comfort / Isolation The next thing I noticed was the "apparent" excellence of the build.  these look...

  Porta Tube (GoVibe) - Something Really Special.     I've never experienced a tube amp before - so all I can do (for now) is compare this to my E11 (portable) and E9 (desktop) setup.         For all three amps I am using the same source (iPod Touch G4 via LOD).  I'm comparing using a set of DT880 Pros (250 ohm), and I'll also briefly comment on my Alessandro MS1i & Brainwavz B2.     Physical Dimensions The Porta Tube measures approx 115mm x 73mm x 28mm.  Add another 13mm for the volume pot.  It weighs approx...

Sadly I'm saying goodbye to my SRH840's (as I move further up the SQ ladder) - but the experience has been memorable, and for an entry point to 'quality audio', I can give this model a very big endorsement. UPDATE 25/4/13 - repurchased - didn't realise how good these were until I had to spend time away from them! Product Description The Shure SRH 840 is a closed circumaural full sized headphone, that has a detachable single-sided cable, and is the former flagship of Shure's headphone range (since superceded by the SRH940). Shure describes the...

I originally purchased the B2 after hearing good reports about the DBA2 - and hearing that these were a clone.  The early reviews talked about an IEM that had a very neutral well balanced sound, and did everything well.  I come from Shure SE series IEMs (425's) and was looking for something with just a little more 'sparkle' - so these seemed ideal candidates.  Especially being a dual balanced armature priced below USD 150.00.   For this review - I'm running unamped from an iPhone 4.  Normally I would use my iPod4 and E11 combo though.  ...

My first full size set of cans .   We still have them - although they are for the kids now as I've moved up the chain just a little.     Overview The Sennheiser EH-250's are a closed supra-aural headphone, which are very lightweight and portable.   Tech Specs   Jack plug 3,5/6,3 mm stereo Nominal impedance 32 Ohm Weight w/o cable ca. 130 g Transducer principle dynamic, closed Ear coupling supraaural Cable length 3 m Frequency response (headphones) 14.....19000 Hz THD, total harmonic distortion...

The ATH-AD700 is an open circumaural can with a wing design for added comfort.   Technical specs:   Type: Open air dynamic Driver: 53mm Neodymium magnet. Copper clad aluminum wire bobbin type voice coil Sound Pressure Level: 98db/mW Frequency Response: 5~30000Hz Maximum input: 500 mW Impedance: 32 Ohms Weight: 280g/.62lbs Connector: Standard/Mini (gold plated), Stereo (2-way) Gold-plated stereo 1/8" (3.5 mm) connector with 1/4" (6.3 mm) adapter Cord Length 9.8 feet (3.0 meters)   Comfort and Build The AD700 is very light, and...

I purchased these after a lot of research.  The kids speakers (on a second PC) went belly-up, so I gave them my Logitech 2.1 set - and ordered the T20-S2 mainly for the smaller footprint (no sub), and also for the increased clarity.   BTW - the price above was NZD converted to USD at the time of purchase.  Audio in NZ is normally relatively expensive compared the the rest of the world.   Specifications From the manufacturer - the technical   Speaker power: 14 Watts RMS per channel (2 channels) Frequency response: 50Hz ~ 20kHz...

Shure SE425 - Highly Impressed - Great Build, Great Sound   I received these as a replacement for my SE420 - which unfortunately had to be replaced due to the cable splitting at the relief (luckily inside warranty).  Kudos to the fantastic team at Now Sound in NZ for their prompt work replacing them.     Build The biggest change from the older model has been the addition of a detachable cable - and the design for this is wonderful.  It now includes a memory wire (some love it, some hate it - I find it handy).  The housing is now hard...

This is my first AMP/DAC, so unfortunately I don't have anything to compare it with. I'm also using a mid-range set of Shure IEM's (SE420) and a lower range set of Sennheiser eh250 cans. For a source, I have a Cowon iAudio7, an iPod Touch 4G, and the PC just has a Realtek onboard sound chip. It didn't make a huge difference as an amp - but the dac is quite clean and better than my netbook's integrated audio. To be honest, there isn't a great deal of difference with my main PC's integrated onboard though. The design of the E7 is very simple. It...

Was given this through a reward scheme - and after using a Cowon iAudio7 as my main portable source - I was really interested to see how it performed.  I'm using Shure SE420 IEM's.   After converting my FLAC collection to ALAC - I loaded it up via iTunes, and then ran it through it's paces.  First impressions - really easy to use (intuitive), fun to play with, but definitely did not sound as good as my Cowon.  It just wasn't as lively or warm.  Disclaimer though - I do use a touch of EQ and also BBE on the Cowon.  Had a look at the built in Touch...