The review sample was kindly provided free of charge in exchange for an honest review. I didn't receive monetary or any other kind of compensation and I don't use affiliate links. The price of the FiiO K7 is $199.99 and you can buy it from here. FiiO K7 As always with FiiO we skip the lengthy introductions because they are so well known that they don't need one. The FiiO K7 is the balanced version of the much acclaimed K5 PRO ESS which is one of the best selling FiiO desktop DAC/amps. For the K7, FiiO have ditched the ESS chip for two pieces of...

The review sample was kindly provided free of charge in exchange for an honest review. I didn't receive monetary or any other kind of compensation and I don't use affiliate links. The price of the TC44A is $81 and you can order it from the ddHiFi official store. ddHiFi TC44A ddHiFi might not be a very large company but they are very well known in the personal audio community for making some of the best, and rare to find elsewhere, audio adapters as a couple of tiny USB DAC dongles. Like the ddHiFi TC35B and now the TC44A, a miniature USB DAC...

The review sample was kindly provided free of charge in exchange for an honest review. I didn't receive monetary or any other kind of compensation and I don't use affiliate links. The price of C3 is $49 and you can buy it from the TinHifi online shop. TINHiFi C3 The C2 and C3 are two brand new, budget friendly, earphones by TINHiFi that have been launched simultaneously. The C3 uses a 10mm PU+LCP composite diaphragm with very strong elasticity. It realizes higher accurate high-frequency vibration and excellent transient response. It is also...

The review sample was kindly provided free of charge in exchange for an honest review. I didn't receive monetary or any other kind of compensation and I don't use affiliate links. The price of the M0 Pro is $129 and you can buy it from the Shanling Amazon store. A Flashback Do you remember the Shanling M0 or the FiiO M5? These, and other miniature sized DAPs, were once in high demand but they have fallen into obscurity after the evolution of USB DAC dongles that have flooded the market. But times are changing, history goes in circles and it seems...

The review sample was kindly provided free of charge in exchange for an honest review. I didn't receive monetary or any other kind of compensation and I don't use affiliate links. The price of the Celest Pandamon is $59 and you can order it from the Linsoul online shop. Kinera Celest Pandamon The Celest Pandamon is a budget friendly earphone by Kinera Audio that uses an enhanced Kinera SPD 2.0 driver providing the following acoustic quality improvements: First overall frequency sensitivity is enhanced by 3db to be an even mobile phone friendlier...

The review sample was kindly provided free of charge in exchange for an honest review. I didn't receive monetary or any other kind of compensation and I don't use affiliate links. The price of the DS1 is $75.99 and you can order it from the Fosi Audio online shop. Fosi Audio were kind enough to offer a 10% off promocode: CAR10DS1 for the readers of this article. Fosi Audio Fosi Audio might be unknown to you as it was to me so in order to get acquainted with them you can read the following information as derived from their website. "An audio...

The review sample was kindly provided free of charge in exchange for an honest review. I didn't receive monetary or any other kind of compensation and I don't use affiliate links. The price of the Vortex is $219 and you can buy it from Penon Audio. Penon Audio The Penon Audio online shop was born in 2013 with the main goal to sell the best selected audio products at the most affordable prices for both the audiophiles and business users. Together with selling products from various brands, Penon have started building their own earphone cables and...

The review sample was kindly provided free of charge in exchange for an honest review. I didn't receive monetary or any other kind of compensation and I don't use affiliate links. The price of the ZuperDAC Max is $149 with a USB type-C cable and $159 with an extra lightning cable. You can order it directly from the Zorloo online shop. ZuperDAC Max (and PRO) The Zorloo ZuperDAC family was inaugurated with the 1st gen USB DAC dongle that was like a USB stick with a 3.5mm headphone output and then followed the 2nd gen ZuperDAC-S with a detachable...

The review sample was kindly provided free of charge in exchange for an honest review. I didn't receive monetary or any other kind of compensation and I don't use affiliate links. The catalog price of the HiFiMan Ananda Stealth edition is $999 but you can buy it as low as $699 directly from the HiFiMan store. HiFiMan Ananda Stealth edition HiFiMan lately have been revising some of their headphones with the new stealth magnet technology that was introduced with their flagship Susvara. It's not long ago that Arya got the new magnets and now time...

The review sample was kindly provided free of charge in exchange for an honest review. I didn't receive monetary or any other kind of compensation and I don't use affiliate links. The price of the FiiO FH15 is $229 and you can order it from here. FiiO FH15 The FH15 is FiiO’s new hybrid in-ear monitor that introduces the company's brand new naming scheme that is a little bit confusing to memorize. This is literally the successor of the FiiO FH5 and FH5S. You can read about the new naming scheme in the following illustration. Anyway, back to the...

The review sample was loaned by the local Sennheiser distributor for writing a review for "hxosplus" printed edition. There was no obligation for an international review but I have decided to share my impressions with the community. As always I haven't received monetary or any other kind of compensation and I don't use affiliate links. The price of the Sennheiser HD660S2 is $/€600 and you can buy it from all authorized dealers around the world. Sennheiser HD660S2 Below you will find some useful information about the design principles and the...

The review sample was kindly provided free of charge in exchange for an honest review. I didn't receive monetary or any other kind of compensation and I don't use affiliate links. The price of the JD7 is $99 and you can buy it from here. Jade Audio As you may already know Jade Audio is a subsidiary brand of FiiO. A stylish, technological, and youth-oriented brand aiming to provide high-quality yet cost-effective audio products with an excellent listening experience for the younger generation all around the world. Previous products include the JD3...

The review sample was kindly provided free of charge in exchange for an honest review. I didn't receive monetary or any other kind of compensation and I don't use affiliate links. The price of the EVO is $169.99 and can be ordered directly from the 1MORE online shop. 1MORE EVO 1MORE is by now a well established brand with a couple of well known and much acclaimed products in their portfolio like the Triple Driver in ear monitors. Lately they have been expanding to include wireless earphones with active noise canceling like the EVO. The 1MORE...

The review sample was kindly provided as an extended loan in exchange for an honest review. I didn't receive monetary or any other kind of compensation and I don't use affiliate links. The price of the Lyr is $599 without a tube and $649 with a premium 6SN7 tube and you can order it directly from the Schiit website. A Flashback If you don't know about Schiit, the US based company that revolutionized the audio market and defined the actual meaning of price to performance ratio then you must immediately educate yourself by reading their very...

The review sample was kindly provided free of charge in exchange for an honest review. I didn't receive monetary or any other kind of compensation and I don't use affiliate links. The regular price of the S12 PRO is $169 but you can find it as low as $135.20. You can order yours from the LETSHUOER online shop. LETSHUOER S12 PRO LETSHUOER is a China based company run by expert audio engineers and keen audiophiles that makes custom and universal in-ear monitors while they have recently expanded their line of products to include a mini-sized USB DAC...

The review sample was kindly provided free of charge in exchange for an honest review. I didn't receive monetary or any other kind of compensation and I don't use affiliate links. The regular price of the S12 PRO is $169 but you can find it as low as $135.20. You can order yours from the LETSHUOER online shop. LETSHUOER S12 PRO LETSHUOER is a China based company run by expert audio engineers and keen audiophiles that makes custom and universal in-ear monitors while they have recently expanded their line of products to include a mini-sized USB DAC...

The review sample was kindly provided free of charge in exchange for an honest review. I didn't receive monetary or any other kind of compensation and I don't use affiliate links. The price of the DC03 Pro is $69 and you can buy it from here. iBasso DC03 Pro The iBasso DC03 Pro is the brand new and updated version of the old favorite DC03 that was discontinued because of the infamous chip shortage that affected Cirrus Logic chip production. It was eventually replaced by the DC05 that uses an ESS DAC chip but now that production is back to normal...

The review sample was kindly provided free of charge in exchange for an honest review. I didn't receive monetary or any other kind of compensation and I don't use affiliate links. The price of the Aune Flamingo is $219 and you can buy it from here. A Bluetooth version is available for $289 here. The remote control is sold separately here. Aune Audio Aune audio is by now a well established brand that has been devoted to developing desktop and portable audio products such as DACs, digital transports, music players, headphone amplifiers and earphones...

The review sample was kindly provided free of charge in exchange for an honest review. I didn't receive monetary or any other kind of compensation and I don't use affiliate links. The price of the FiiO PL50 is $150 and you can buy it from here. Why do I need a good quality power supply? There are a lot of audio devices that are powered by an external power adapter which is usually a generic switching power supply (SMPS) of average quality at best. And while the device itself should have an internal rectifying and regulation circuit, it is always...

The review sample was kindly provided free of charge in exchange for an honest review. I didn't receive monetary or any other kind of compensation and I don't use affiliate links. The price of the FiiO Q7 is $799 and you can order it from here. FiiO Q7 - Technical highlights The Q7 is FiiO's flagship transportable, desktop class DAC/amp, a product in a category that has been vacant for quite a long time since the latest products were the, now discontinued, Q5S TC and the entry level Q3 MQA. Not surprisingly the Q7 is based on the successful...