The N8ii was kindly loaned to me by Cayin, the unit is now returned and I didn't receive monetary or any other kind of compensation for writing this review. The price is $3499 and you can order it from all authorized dealers around the world. Cayin N8ii DAPs are getting better and better, companies are focusing on the higher end of the market rather than mid priced models while budget DAPs are becoming obsolete as being replaced by the USB DAC dongles. One of the latest flagships is the eye watering expensive Cayin N8ii, a master quality digital...

The review sample was kindly provided free of charge in exchange for my honest and subjective evaluation. I only covered import fees and tax. The current price is €849 and you can order it from FiiO.eu. FiiO K9 PRO ESS When you read about FiiO then your mind instantly goes on earphones and portable sources. Truly enough the only larger sized FiiO device was the K5 PRO, well until relatively recently when they released their first ever true desktop DAC/amp with an internal linear power supply, the K9 PRO. The first batch was a limited one...

The review sample was kindly provided by Drop+ free of charge in exchange for my honest and subjective evaluation. The regular price is $149 but sometimes gets discounted as low as $99. The headphone is exclusively available from Drop. HIFIMAN HE-R7DX Drop has a long established and creative partnership with HIFIMAN, they have produced some excellent planar magnetic headphones like the HE4XX and the HE5XX that are well regarded among the community. However the HE-R7DX is their first ever collaboration in a closed-back headphone. Technical...

The review sample was kindly provided free of charge in exchange for my honest and subjective evaluation. The FiiO KA1 price is $50 and you can buy it using this non affiliate link FiiO.eu FiiO KA1 FiiO was a little late to the USB DAC/amp dongle party but now they are doing their best to catch up as fast as they can. It's not been a long time since the FiiO KA3, a balanced DAC/amp dongle with great performance, as you can read here and now they have released it's younger brother, the FiiO KA1. Technical highlights and operation The FiiO KA1 is...

The review sample was kindly provided by Linsoul in exchange for my honest and subjective evaluation. The price is $25.99 and you can order it by Linsoul, using the following non affiliate link Linsoul. Tripowin Tripowin, which was established in 2019, is essentially a Linsoul in-house brand. Reading at their website we learn that "At Tripowin, we use the latest and most advanced driver technologies in order to deliver incredible audio performance at a budget price. By focusing on uncompromising driver quality and engineering experience, we have...

The Gryphon was kindly loaned to me in exchange for a honest review. The review was originally featured in hxosplus printed edition and website. This is the translated and adapted version for Head-Fi. iFi Gryphon Griffin, the legendary creature with the body, tail, and back legs of a lion but the head and wings of an eagle. Yes, you read that right, this is still an audio review, the subject is the new iFi portable DAC / amp with the emblematic name xDSD Gryphon, which aspires to combine the best elements of the two previous models xDSD and xCan in...

The review sample was kindly provided free of charge in exchange for my honest and subjective evaluation. The ADVAR price is €699 and you can order it from Meze Audio. (Note - The main review project was arranged for hxosplus printed edition but I have decided to publish my impressions for the fellow members of Head-Fi. In this review I will be skipping technical and marketing details that are already available in Meze Audio website.) Meze Audio ADVAR After two illustrious, full sized flagships, the Elite and the Liric, it was time for Meze...

The review sample was kindly provided by Hidizs in exchange for my honest and subjective evaluation. The price is $89 and you can buy it directly from Hidizs using the following, non affiliate link. Mermaid MS2 The Hidizs Mermaid MS2 is a hybrid, dual drivers earphone with a budget-friendly price. It features a custom developed 10.2mm large dynamic driver with dual voice coils and dual voice chambers to achieve a pretty strong impact, fairly good sufficient depth and extension as well as excellent transient responses. The treble is reproduced by...

The review sample was kindly provided free of charge in exchange for my honest and subjective evaluation. I only covered import fees and tax. The current price is $1599 and you can buy it directly from the HiFiMan online store. Arya Stealth edition Arya is one of the most known HiFiMan headphones, strategically positioned between the Ananda and the TOTL models of the company. The version reviewed here is the third one, the Arya is revised now with the new Stealth magnet system by HiFiMan without any further increase in the selling price. Stealth...

The review sample was kindly provided free of charge in exchange for my honest and subjective evaluation. I only covered import fees and tax. The K5 Pro ESS price is $199 (€199) and you can buy it using this non affiliate link FiiO.eu. FiiO K5 Pro ESS The FiiO K5 Pro ESS is a compact sized, high performance desktop DAC and preamplifier with a headphone amplifier. This is not a new product, the original K5 Pro was launched back in 2019 and since then has been one of the best selling products of FiiO. The original K5 Pro featured the AK4493 DAC...

The review sample was kindly provided by MusicTeck in exchange for my honest and subjective evaluation, I only covered import fees and tax. MusicTeck is the official USA distributor of Unique Melody, the MEXT is priced at $1099 and you can buy it using this, non affiliate link. Introduction Unique Melody is one of the most renowned IEM and CIEM manufacturers in the world with very popular models like the famous MEST MK2. Most of their models (including the MEXT) are available in universal and custom editions. This is my first experience with a...

The review sample was kindly provided free of charge in exchange for my honest and subjective evaluation. The JH3 is selling for $59.99 and if you are located in EU you can order it using the following (non affiliate) link FiiO.eu Jade Audio Jade Audio is a subsidiary brand of FiiO Electronics Technology Co., Ltd. It is 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. Regular readers should...

The review sample was kindly provided free of charge in exchange for my honest and subjective evaluation. The price is $259.99 and you can buy it using the following (non affiliate) link. Introduction While some of you may not be familiar with LOXJIE, you certainly are with SMSL. LOXJIE together with SMSL and SABAJ are sister brands under the same parent company. The LOXJIE brand shares the same design and build language with SMSL but they are targeted at the budget market with more cost effective products. LOXJIE D30 (2021) - Technical...

The Onyx was provided free of charge in exchange for my honest and subjective evaluation. The selling price is €491.67 and it is exclusively available from Earsonics. About Earsonics Earsonics was founded in 2005 by Franck Lopez, a musician and sound engineer, who, unhappy with the quality of in-ear monitors available at the time, decided to create his own. In 2006, he began to offer his creation for sale and enjoyed immediate success, even equipping the biggest French music tour at the time. Earsonics was born ! Franck then decided to release a...

The review sample was kindly provided free of charge in exchange for my honest and subjective evaluation. The AMP8 MK2 is priced at €190.83 ex.TAX and you can buy it using this non affiliate link. Introduction The AMP8 MK2 is a discrete amplifier module that can be installed in the DX240 digital audio player. As you may already know the DX240 is a modular DAP from iBasso, a really portable digital player with excellent sound. You can read everything about the DX240 in my in depth review. AMP8 MK2 - Discrete balanced amplifier module According...

The review sample was kindly provided by HiFiGo free of charge in exchange for my subjective and honest review. The selling price is $39.99 and you can buy it using the following, non affiliate link HiFiGo. Tanchjim, which was founded in 2015, is a pretty well known earphone manufacturer from China, mostly known for their models called Oxygen and Hana 2021. However this is my first experience with the company. Their newest model is a budget earphone named OLA. Technical highlights The OLA is a single dynamic driver IEM designed with lightweight...

The RU6 was kindly provided by Cayin in exchange for my honest and subjective evaluation. The selling price is $249.99 and you can order it from all authorized dealers across the world. Full product specifications are available here. Introduction The Cayin RU6 is a 24-bit USB dongle DAC/amp featuring a discreet R-2R ladder network. The recent chip shortage, led many companies to revert back to the roots, the R-2R era where digital conversion was done with this particular method before the invention of the modern D/S DAC chip. (The text includes...

Introduction The Sennheiser IE600 was loaned to me by their Greek distributor for local reviewing purposes but I have decided to share brief impressions at Headfi. The IE600 is the new, single dynamic driver iem from Sennheiser which is positioned between the flagship IE900 and the entry level IE300. The selling price is €700 and is available from all authorized retailers. Technical highlights Resilient AMLOY-ZR01 amorphous metal housing, 3D-printed in Germany. Direct, neutral tuning with fast, accurate bass. Select 7 mm TrueResponse...

The M17 was kindly provided by FiiO, free of charge in exchange for my honest evaluation. The retail price is €1499.99 without VAT and you can buy it from FiiO.eu. Introduction FiiO has long ago decided to abandon the budget / mid-priced DAP category in order to concentrate their efforts on higher-end products. They started with the M11 Plus LTD, featuring two AK4497 DAC chips, which after the chip shortage was succeeded by the M11 Plus ESS version and now they have released their cost - no object flagship, the prestigious M17. FiiO M17 The M17...

Introduction Recently and after reviewing the exquisite Lab12 dac1 reference, I have become very interested in R2R Non Oversampling DACs with tube buffers. The Lab12 has become my resident reference DAC but since it is quite expensive, I have embarked into a quest to find less expensive DACs featuring the same design principles. I know that this kind of sources don't have the best measured performance but as long as they sound good and can't hear any negative artifacts, I really don't care. Mhdt Labs One brand that comes to mind when searching for...