Small but mighty – this is the only phrase that comes to my mind after using USB type-C dongles of this kind. This time it is Hidizs SD2 – the newest USB dongle that is designed to squeeze more juice to drive headsets to the appropriate levels when compared to the integrated sound amplifiers. It is not the first take of Hidizs on dongle DACs and by this point they have quite an experience and knowledge to design tiny, yet powerful DAC&AMP. Although, there were always pros and cons of using such devices which would be described in this article...

MS1 Galaxy are not the first single DD budget-friendly IEMs by Hidizs. There were MS1 Rainbow and Seeds preceding Galaxy and I still honor Seeds as one of the best single DD IEMs with very accurate and delicate sound. Unfortunately, those have been discontinued and had one huge drawback – integrated audio cable. I even had 2 versions of Seeds at once – SE and balanced to switch between the sources. Therefore, Hidizs has the expertise to design and build good budget single DD IEMs. MS1 Galaxy specs: – High-Performance Dual Magnetic Circuit Dynamic...

Hidizs brand has been quite active and brought intriguing and worthy stuff for the past couple of years. Their latest MP145 planar IEMs made some noise before the launch and early bidders have already started to receive their parcels and supply own very positive impressions. Glad to see that the feedback on the sample items the reviewers have shared this summer finally turns into pleasing satisfaction of Hidizs customers and supporters and the campaign turned out a success in overall. This time I’d share my experience and impressions of spending...

It’s been a while since the last review posted on this blog due to extended logistics. Sending items for the review to Ukraine is quite cumbersome lately, thanks God it arrives undamaged. Hidizs has made quite an effort on assuring that their new MS3 IEMs would finally reach in here, even resending the package twice. Anyway, MS3 are with me now and I can acknowledge the audience of this blog with my own impressions. Last pair of IEMs reviewed by me were quite peculiar and unusual – KZ ZEX with electrostatic driver in its schematics and Dethonray...

One device for one function – I admire Anson’s unique and stable approach of developing masterpieces in every audio hardware niche… Let’s be honest, even a perfect device with limited functionality is risking to be buried down by millions of all-in-one mere consumer choices just because it is more convenient to use… DSLRs are almost out of the consumer market, as well as voice and video recorders, book readers, DAPs, etc. Most of the users would still agree that prosumer or pro-level stand-alone devices deliver much better quality but who cares if...

Our world moves forward, the future is inevitable, new technologies would change our habits… All of that comes in mind when we think of our own previous convictions that were broken by the success of modern products and approaches. TWS IEMs – true wireless, means that such products represent a bunch of interconnected technologies to create flawless and pleasant experience, totally wireless, with high audio / voice quality, fluent and versatile functionality that would free you from wires… Still sounded quite assertive couple of years ago as we were...

*This review is based on the review of the first version on Hidizs AP80 Pro with the additional findings, highlights and details of the PRO-X successor. For the last few years I’ve been observing how Hidizs has developed from a small domestic single-product company to the international and respected portable HiFi gear brand. My experience covers each single piece of their audio technology: AP100, AP200, AP60, AP60Pro, AP80 DAPs, all IEMs, cable DAC converters, stand alone DAC, etc. Can’t state that all of those had flawless performance but none has...

Once upon a time, in a very far galaxy I’ve decided to try out the new for the time brand in IEMs – Knowledge Zenith. It happened around 3-4 years ago and the unit was KZ ED16. I was never willing to try anything from this brand since than. Why? KZ ED16 turned out too piercing for me on treble, with highly accented V-shaped signature, holding quite bad against its rivals those days. Although, time goes by, KZ has grown significantly, right to the point that I can easily purchase most of its products in local audio store of my country (Ukraine)...

Controversial topic, isn’t it? The endgame should be limited to one… What we mean is not another product of the same category, but the perfect match for the first endgame that we insisted on some time ago – Dethonray Tender 1 planar IEMs. Here is the link to our Tender 1 review if you have missed that. Such IEMs are very demanding in terms of source quality and very power-hungry. We have tried it in pair with various DAPs and DACs, but the best synergy is achieved only with DTR1+ which we would describe a bit later in this review. Furthermore, since...

As TWS victorious march on mass market continues, even highest audio quality focused individuals (as us) are sometimes turning their heads to see whether wireless technologies are getting closer, or to find the most convenient compromise for a regular use. Large amount of TWS options that are currently available for purchase are always divided in three segments (at least in our heads): utilitarian TWS, musical TWS and wireless buds that would never serve a purpose for an audiophile (like Apple EarPods) due to its shortcomings in physical design and...

Important notice: read only in case if you are bored of recent market trends and heavily V-shaped tuning IEMs with only slight deviations that have conquered the market, if you believe that you already have developed audio tastes & habits, if you strive for relaxed enjoyment of music instead of punchy bites of sounds on the go, if you grown up and want to listen, hear and discover the tiniest details and feel the deepest emotions in each favorite track… All that notions made us uncomfortable with the existing IEMs, forced to search further and...

Seems that Hidizs company is on march with the release of new products this year. A whole bunch of USB dongles, DAC/amps and several IEMs. Most of the products have either became a bestseller or joined the leading tribe, at least. The last announcement was S9Pro – more powerful and revised version of S8/S9 type-C ultraportable DAC/amp that won several customer polls in social networks as one of the most balanced / feature-packed options. The passion has not yet subsided while Hidizs has announced S3Pro type-C USB DAC dongle with fresh design and MQA...

About a week ago Hidizs has announced the launch of a successor to its highly popular balanced S9 USB DAC/amp that is already on pre-order state. We have reviewed the original S9 some time ago and defined it as highly recommended for those who want to upgrade smartphone/tablet/laptop sound and squeeze out much more juice from music quality. New version gets PRO suffix due to some significant changes in HW that increases output power and improves other characteristics of this small but mighty device. While the exterior left untouched, main...

One product from a very much hyped brand in DAC/amp field – SMSL. This is our first experience with the brand as well as the new experience of playing with a pure desktop standalone DAC. All of previous products that we have dealt with were equipped with headphones output, at least. But not this one… SMSL M100 MKII is designed to be used only with active speakers or as a preamp for home audio system, not providing any types of outputs besides RCA. Such products do have the demand on the market, especially for those who have desktop PC’s and well...

Oh, how we like when the new companies step in with fresh look, full of motivation, creating lots of additional incentives to conquer and build its audience. First products are more likely to be revolutional while the following lineup growth regularly derives from the core or flagship products. It is quite common that any new brand starts with the aces since the public should be astounded with the virtues, superiority, experience or other model characteristics. Capturing the attention is vital for a good launch, much efforts are invested, a lot at...

NF Audio – IEM brand that we’ve been eager to try out for a long time but never had a chance… Shenzhen Ningfan Acoustics (NF Audio) has one of the most expensive IEM models (JD24) with 2 electrostatic tweeters + Knowles 4 BA combination and price tag of USD1,800. Electrostatic drivers are still rare among IEMs and we hope to review some models of this type soon. Besides that, NF Audio offers a wide selection of other models for different budgets and we would start our journey with this brand from NM2+ single dynamic driver IEMs (USD169). As found in...

Great news from Hidizs: right after the release of new hybrid MS2 IEMs, Hidizs has announced two more products: DH80 and DH80S. The chosen names are inherited from and join portable DAC/amp “DH” family lineup which will now consists of 3 devices. The first one – DH1000 – was released quite long ago and still stays one of the most balanced product in this niche with very smooth and appealing sound. Despite the similar final purpose, DH80 and DH80S intended to be used differently and have the unique features and scenarios which we would like to...

Since the first encounter with devices by FiiO we had a strong feeling of playing with something accomplished, well put together to the extent that missing some additional functions fade away under the tons of positive experience of working with such devices. At the first glance FiiO products doesn’t scream of its superiority in the related niche, but when digging deeper suddenly comes the understanding that there are lots of interesting functions wisely developed and perfectly integrated inside its logics. Recent FiiO UTWS3 (universal Bluetooth ear...

Never had a chance to play with product from TIN HIFI brand before. We’ve seen a lot of positive feedback about various IEMs of this brand on Facebook pages, in posts or comments which have raised our expectations preliminary to the arrival of the today’s topic sample. It is always kind of tricky that the information coming from net builds our perception of a product that we have never seen or touched in a real life. Sometimes such expectations crashing against the wall of reality and sometimes become a proof that masses don’t lie. Anyway, today we...

It’s been a while since Hidizs last IEM release which was Mermaid MS1 Rainbow single dynamic model, preceded by MS1 and MS4. The latter was and still stays their flagship – first hybrid IEMs by Hidizs, based on the combination of 3 Knowles BA units and 10.2mm polymer diaphragm. Both, MS4 and MS1 variants got warm welcome on the market with very positive customer feedback. Personally, we have tested all models and still have all in the possession. Can’t insist that either MS4 or MS1 is the best ever bargain for now since those were released quite...