There seems to be a formatting issue going on here. If you are bothered by the large images, I have another version live here. Rose is a China-based audiophile brand. They pride themselves on their excellent value-based audiophile IEMs and have developed several successful lines. Rose are the makers of one of my all-time favorite IEMs, the Cappuccino Mk. II as well. Today we are taking a look at the Rose Mini 3, the successor to the popular Mini 2. Spoiler alert: its pretty damn good. You can find the Mini3 for sale here, on Penon Audio, for $149...

Advanced Sound Furai Review: A Flagship Worth Touting I am no stranger to Advanced Sound’s products. The M4, the Model 3, the Alpha, the 747; there are tons of examples to point to in reference to Advanced Sound’s skill in developing unique and well-executed products. The original GT3 Superbass was released not too long ago; its release signaled that Advanced was serious about innovating in the dynamic-driver part of the IEM market. The Furai is Advanced Sound’s new, limited-run, flagship. Inheriting a dynamic driver from the GT3 Superbass and two...

Simgot EN700 Pro Review: The Complete Package Simgot has long been a favorite brand of mine. After reviewing several of their older IEMs, I realized that Simgot’s engineers were genuinely talented, with a knack for developing well-designed IEMs. Today I am reviewing the EN700 Pro, the final and most robust entry in Simgot’s EN700 lineup. Does it live up to the impressive legacy set by its predecessors? You can find the EN700 Pro for sale here, on Amazon, for $149.99. About My Preferences: Heads up, I’m a person! As such, these words are my opinion...

Akoustyx R-120 Review: Akoustyx is a brand-new brand, hailing from San-Jose, California. Their focus is on bringing affordable stage-monitor-styled earphones to the masses. Bands, performers, and audiophiles alike may find something to appreciate within their product lineup. Today, we are taking a look at Akoustyx’s Flagship IEM: the R-120. You can find the R-120 available on the Akoustyx official website for $169 (on sale!), here Note that since the R-1 series have identical external construction between its three members, I will be porting parts...

Xduoo, while not a household brand in the English-speaking markets of the West, has built many compelling products that serve the audiophile-on-a-budget market for the past couple of years. Today I’m reviewing their XP-2 DAC/AMP Bluetooth receiver. Its got a plethora of features that give it broad acceptability in a diverse collection of source chains. You can find the XP-2 for sale here from X-Technic, for $110. Tech Specs Connectivity: Micro-USB OTG, Bluetooth 5.0 Codecs: AAC, SBC, aptX USB Sampling Rate: 44.1 kHz-192 kHz, 16–24 bit Output...

Whizzer KYLIN A-HE03 Review: Great Build, Interesting Sonics My first contact with Whizzer, a Chinese earphone maker, was right after the release of their freshmen IEM, the A15. It’s stainless steel construction and tear-drop design made it a refreshing member of my review queue. Well, a lot has changed since then, and Whizzer is now on their third earphone: the A-HE03. It's a pretty big departure from the design language of their previous IEMs and paves a path for itself with a sound signature notably independent from its older relatives. It has...

Simgot MT3 Review: Cheap, Simple, and Effective Simgot is a long-time favorite brand of mine. The EN700 was a solid IEM, especially for their first-ever product, and the EN700-Bass was such a big improvement to its older sibling that I gave it full marks. The MT3 is a more mainstream approach to building IEMs from Simgot. It features colorful variants and an engaging sound signature. But does it maintain the pedigree set forth by its predecessors? You can buy the MT3 for $86 at Amazon, here. About My Preferences: Heads up, I’m a person! As such...

Akoustyx is a brand-new brand, hailing from San-Jose, California. Their focus is bringing affordable stage-monitor-styled earphones to the masses. Bands, performers, and audiophiles alike may find something to appreciate within their product lineup. Today, we are taking a look at Akoustyx’s entry-level IEM: the R-110. You can find the R-110 available on the Akoustyx official website for $99 (on sale!), here. About My Preferences: Heads up, I’m a person! As such, these words are my opinion, and they are tinged by my personal preferences. While I try...

Auglamour F200 Review: Metal on a Budget Ever since I saw the Auglamour R8, the company’s first mainstream IEM, I was captivated by its design language. A seamless blend of organic curves and hard edges made me wonder why I’d never heard of them before. The R8 kept it simple with a metal shell and a single dynamic driver. This formula worked well and I really enjoyed the R8 as a result. Since then, I’ve heard the RT-1, another metal-clad IEM, and now, today, the F2000. Is this IEM as good amongst its peers as its older siblings were? You can find...

Campfire Audio Atlas Review: Absolute Luxury With A Price to Match Campfire Audio is not a new name to the Hi-Fi scene. Based in Oregon, they set out to build world-class personal-audio products and, to that end, they’ve had consistent success. The Andromeda, an earphone that Campfire released in Spring of 2016, is wildly popular, even today. This is a feat that not many other brands could even begin to dream of. After all, the Andromeda demands its large following in spite of its $1100 price tag. Today, however, I’ll be reviewing the Atlas. It’s...

DEAT HIFI Small Review: Big Sound, Small Package Deat is a budget Chinese brand that I’ve never heard of. I tried to find some information about them online, but I can’t seem to find any English testimonials about the company itself. However, we don’t need any background to determine whether or not the IEM at hand, the Deat Small, is something worth buying. So, is it? You can find the Deat Small for sale here, on Penon Audio, for $29. About My Preferences: Heads up, I’m a person! As such, these words are my opinion, and they are tinged by my...

Symphonium Audio Aurora Review: Bitter Sweet Symphony Symphonium Audio is a fledgling audio brand emerging from Singapore. Its inception came from the founders’ dissatisfaction in the current state of the audio market — most IEMs were built to be disposable and cheap, while the ones that were truly good were so expensive that they were out of reach to most consumers. Seeking to in some part correct this trend, Symphonium deigned to build IEMs that were accessible and high-quality. As such, the Mirage and Aurora were born, that latter of which I am...

KZ AS10 Review: Cheap Champion KZ is a veritable titan of the audiophile industry. While you won't see their ads plastered in Hi-Fi magazines or their precious flagships displayed in carefully padded display cases, you can easily find their products being discussed on audiophile forums scattered across the internet. KZ’s specialty is producing “audiophile-grade” IEMs at an affordable price-point. The norm for KZ has always been “build an IEM for $15–$25, make it sound good, sell it online” and for the most part they’ve stuck to the “make it sound...

Advanced Sound GT3 Superbass Review: Bass Heaven I am no stranger to Advanced Sound’s products. The M4, the Model 3, the Alpha, the 747; there are tons of examples to point to in reference to Advanced Sound’s skill in developing unique and well-executed products. The original GT3 was released not too long ago; its release signaled that Advanced was serious about innovating in the dynamic-driver part of the IEM market. The Superbass, the new variant of the GT3, is the Ying to the original GT3’s Yang. It is billed as a rumble and impact-focused IEM...

TFZ Queen Review: Built for Royalty The Fragrant Zither, or TFZ for short, is somewhat of a titan on the Chi-Fi scene. They have a very sizeable lineup with a great variety of sound signatures. My last interaction with TFZ was with their Series 4 IEM. I really enjoyed its V-shaped sound signature, competitive performance, natural timbre, and attractive build. IBut is the Queen as competitive as the Series 4 is at its price point? Or does it fall behind its peers and siblings? You can find the Queen for sale here, on Penon Audio, for $129. About My...

Periodic Audio Be Review: Let There Be Sound Periodic Audio is a company heavily grounded in science. They take an objective, bare-bones, approach to audio that revolves around their R&D, not their marketing. It's not easy to find a company taking such a down-to-Earth development strategy these days and, as such, is quite welcome. The Be is Periodic Audio’s flagship IEM, coming in at a price of $300. Does Periodic Audio’s approach to creating IEMs result in competitive products? Or is the Be just another middle-of-the-pack design? You can find the...

Periodic Audio Ti Review: Titanium Never Sounded So Good Periodic Audio is a company heavily grounded in science. They take an objective, bare-bones, approach to audio that revolves around R&D, not marketing. Such an approach is not one that is easily found these days and as is quite welcome. The Ti is Periodic Audio’s mid-tier IEM, coming in at a price of $200. Does Periodic Audio’s approach to creating IEMs result in competitive products? Or is the Ti just another middle-of-the-pack design? You can find the Ti for sale here for $200. About My...

Lark Studios LSX Review: A Natural-Born Winner Lark Studios is a relatively young company, but only from a legal perspective. Their team has an enormous wealth of experience in the audio industry with some members having been around for over 15 years. It was created to service the worldwide desire for high-end, luxury-grade, audio products that never compromises on sound or aesthetics. The Lark Studios X, or LSX for short, is their first IEM: a 10-balanced armature driver monster that perfectly personifies the values of Lark Studios. Want to get...

Geek Wold GK3 Review: Carbon Fiber Goodness Geek Wold (not to be confused with Geek World) is a brand-new audio company that exploded onto the social media scene a number of weeks ago. Their maiden product, the GK3, is a budget IEM featuring not one, not two, but three dynamic drivers. But can this fledgling brand compete with the already established Chi-Fi titans? Well, let’s find out. The GK3 is on sale here, for $20. About My Preferences: Heads up, I’m a person! As such, these words are my opinion, and they are tinged by my personal...

Burson Fun Review: Dynamite Performance Burson builds audiophile-grade DACs and amps. Based in Australia, they use their technical expertise to build high-grade amplification and source devices nearly entirely out of discrete components, a trait that Burson says improves the performance of their products. They’ve recently released the Fun, a premium headphone amp, and the Bang, a 40W class A/B speaker amp. So now its actually possible to have a complete Burson source stack, from the DAC to the pre-amp, to the speaker amp. Let's see how well all this...