Curiosity killed the cat as they say and in my case it was a great one to experience the Drop+ THX AAA linear amplifier so i have asked for a loaner sample in order to review it. Drop+ replied and they have kindly provided a long term loaner unit in order to test it and keep it as future reference never asking for a favorable review. As always this my subjective and very honest opinion that I would like to share with the Headfi community. Introduction No introduction is needed as this is one of the most talked and measured amplifiers in the hobby...

This review is part of the Cayin N3 Pro loaner tour and reflects my subjective and honest opinion of it. Thanks Cayin and Andy for making it happen. Introduction The Cayin N3 Pro is a mid priced digital player that costs $479. Full specifications are available here https://en.cayin.cn/products_info?itemid=132 Technical specifications Digital conversion is done by two AKM AK4493 chips in a fully balanced configuration. This is the most affordable dap in the market to offer dual timbre solid state and vacuum tube analog output. The solid state...

Tronsmart asked for Headfi members willing to review the brand new bluetooth speaker Force 2 and I was among the qualifying ones. The sample was kindly provided free of charge and this is my honest and subjective evaluation of it. Introduction Tronsmart is a tech brand that designs and manufactures world-class tech accessories. The core value of Tronsmart is to make your life easier by providing you with high-tech, high-quality and high-performance products. The founder of Tronsmart, Eric Cheng, being located in Shenzhen - Asia's Silicon Valley of...

The Flux Lab Acoustics FCN-10 was kindly loaned for the purpose of this review. This is my honest and subjective evaluation of it. All links provided are not affiliated and I don't earn anything by clicking on them. You can buy it directly from their website. https://fluxlab-acoustics.com/product/fcn-10/ Introduction Flux Lab Acoustics is a Ukrainian company dedicated to the design and manufacturing of high-end audio products. Fully designed and manufactured in Ukraine. Flux Lab Acoustics is devoted to developing best-sounding audio equipment...

The Vali 2+ was kindly provided by Schiit Audio. This is my honest and subjective evaluation of it. (A Greek version of the review is uploaded at hxosplus website - https://www.hxosplus.gr/reviews/schiit-vali-2-review/) Introduction Well , Schiit Audio needs no introduction. Widely known since 2010 they have started a revolution in the audio industry by designing audio products with really great value to performance ratio. Run by the legendary Mike Moffat and Jason Stoddard it is a company that is always evolving , never resting on their laurels...

We have asked for a review sample and Dekoni Audio kindly provided one free of charge. This is a honest and subjective evaluation of it. Introduction The US based Dekoni Audio is a widely known manufacturer of aftermarket pads and ear tips for various headphones that offer improved durability plus sound fine tuning. We have recently reviewed the Elite Hybrid ear pad for the HD660S. https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/dekoni-audio-elite-hybrid-replacement-ear-pads-for-sennheiser-hd600-series.24739/review/24625/ For this review we have something...

The FD5 was kindly provided by FiiO and is still under their ownership. This is my honest and subjective evaluation of it. The retail price is €300 and you can get it from FiiO.eu Introduction After a long and adventurous journey into multi driver iems - hybrid or not - including the much acclaimed FH3 , FH7 and FA9 , FiiO is back to where it all began. Six years ago the EX1 was their first iem , a single dynamic driver design as is the case with their brand new flagship the FD5 Technology inside Say hello to FD5, a single dynamic driver iem...

The TWS800 sample was kindly provided by HiFiMan and is still under their ownership. This is my honest and subjective evaluation of it. Introduction. True Wireless earphones are becoming more and more popular so it is not of a surprise that traditional brands like HiFiMan design such products putting a lot of effort towards a more audiophile sound quality. Technical parameters. The TWS800 is a True Wireless Bluetooth 5.0 earphone with the codec support limited to AAC and SBC. The retail price is $299...

The A30 was kindly provided by SoundMAGIC for review and evaluation. Introduction The SoundMAGIC A30 is a USB portable headphone dac/amp with an embedded cable. It is a small barrel shaped USB dongle with a 3.5mm output jack and a cable extension input that ends with an L shaped USB C plug. A USB A-C adapter is provided for use with regular USB ports. It is compatible with Android and Windows OS devices. The recommended price is €79 and you can get from Headphonebar.eu Physical description The A30 is small and portable with a total length of...

The UTWS3 sample was kindly provided by FiiO and is still under their ownership The review reflects my own personal , honest and subjective opinion. You can get it from FiiO.eu Introduction. The FiiO UTWS3 is a True Wireless plus (TWS+) bluetooth adapter with a built in amplifier that can be connected to most earphones that come with a detachable cable system. It is offered in two variants with MMCX or 2 pin (0.78mm) connectors. The earphone we would like to use should be compatible with the "cable around the ear" wearing style. The only thing we...

Preamble The NEO iDSD was provided by iFi for one week as part of the Headfi loaner tour. Due to the holiday season I was privileged to abuse that time. I would like to thank them very much for letting me participate. The review reflects my personal honest and subjective opinion. iFi never asked for a favorable review of any kind. About the firmware A few words about the supposed noise problem that was discussed here in Headfi. My loaner sample came with the original release firmware and was dead silent during all the tests I have performed. After...

The HE5XX was kindly provided by Drop and is still under their ownership. This is my honest and subjective evaluation of it. Note After further listening tests and further research we have edited the section HE5XX vs Deva. Kindly read again. Introduction The Drop/Hifiman HE5XX is a brand new open back planar magnetic headphone that is selling for $220 and can be bought exclusively from Drop. This is not the first time that Drop and Hifiman join forces together but rather the sixth with various models available such as their great success HE4XX...

The BTA 30 was kindly provided by FiiO and is still under their ownership. This is my honest and subjective evaluation of it. You can get it from FiiO.eu Introduction FiiO BTA 30 is a long awaited high fidelity bluetooth transceiver and dac with a friendly asking price of about 99€. Although there is a great demand for such transceivers it seems to be some kind of shortage regarding the available models or at least the decent ones. The best rival we can think of is the iFi Zen Blue which retails for 150€ and it's been a long time since we enjoyed...

The Q5s TC was kindly provided by FiiO and is still under their ownership. This is my honest and subjective evaluation of it. FiiO Q5s (Type C) is a new version of the very popular Q5s. There are only two differences between the two versions. Differences between Q5s TC and Q5s 1 - The Q5s TC includes the standard THX amp module AM3D 3.5mm+4.4mm (the Micro USB port is changed to Type C port), while the Q5s includes the AM3E (2.5+4.4+3.5+Micro USB port). 2 - Change of the Bluetooth chip from CSR8675 to QCC5124 which supports the new aptX adaptive...

Preface We have directly asked AUDIOFLY to review the AFT 2 and they kindly provided a review sample that it does not need to be returned. They didn't asked for any kind of favors and they didn't read the review before it was published. AUDIOFLY team thank you very much for the opportunity. Introduction Based in Australia, the Audiofly team of creative and diverse music lovers has been developing ground-breaking audio technology creating iems for professional and casual use with wired and wireless options. Technology The AFT2 is the second True...

Preface The headphone was kindly provided by Hifiman after our request and is a long term loaner for future reference. Hifiman never asked for any kind of a favourable review. Hifiman Sundara isn't exactly a new model and we are a little bit delayed to post our impressions but it's never too late to review a good headphone so here we are! Technology and physical The Sundara is an open back planar magnetic headphone with a specially designed driver. The driver is featuring the brand new NEO supernano diaphragm which is 80% thinner than previous...

Preface The Q3 was kindly provided by FiiO and is still under their ownership. This is my honest and subjective evaluation of it. Q3 is the latest battery powered portable dac/amp offering from FiiO. It seats just above the entry level Q1 mkii and before the flagship Q5S retailing at about 150$/160€. You can get it from FiiO.eu Physical and layout The resemblance to the Q1 mkii is obvious as are the dimensions with the Q3 measuring 105x59x12.5mm with a weight of 110g. Sandblasted aluminum is used throughout with built quality and finish being...

Preface Dekoni Audio asked here on Headfi for users willing to test ear pads for various headphones and provide their unbiased impressions. We have applied and luckily we were selected to test the replacement ear pads for the Sennheiser HD660S so Dekoni Audio kindly provided a pair of our choice free of charge. The USA based Dekoni Audio is the largest and most well known maker of aftermarket ear pads for various models of headphones. They also make aftermarket ear tips plus hearing protection ear plugs and some other very useful accessories...

Tronsmart Apollo Bold TWS A TWS for the bass lovers Introduction To be honest we didn't know anything about Tronsmart and their products until they called out for reviewers here at Headfi for their latest product a budget friendly TWS iem with the name Apollo Bold. Specs and photos were promising so we applied for the review and luckily we were selected so Tronsmart provided a free sample of Apollo Bold to be reviewed. Tronsmart Audio never asked for a favorable review or any other kind words. As always our subjective but honest review is...

The review sample was kindly provided by FiiO and is still under their ownership. This is my honest and subjective evaluation of it. You can get it from FiiO.eu Do you hate iems penetrating into your ears? No problem we have the solution for you! Introduction Do you remember open fit ear buds? They were once the only available in - ear headphones that they ruled supreme till the introduction and evolution of the iem's which eventually almost whipped them out. Well almost because there has always been a small limited audience that continued to...