Preamble:  I have a set of around 30 – 40 tracks all in the FLAC from varying genres that I use as my test reference playlist. I try to cover as many genres and stick to recordings that have good reputations as well as tracks I know have been lovingly mastered.  I naturally prefer a more balanced sound signature and get treble ‘fatigue’ fairly quickly. Therefore I usually mark down anything that gives me discomfort in the higher registers.  I have experience in mastering, DJ’ing and have had a keen interest in Hi-Fi and Head-Fi for almost...

Preamble:  I have a set of around 30 – 40 tracks all in the FLAC from varying genres that I use as my test reference playlist. I try to cover as many genres and stick to recordings that have good reputations as well as tracks I know have been lovingly mastered.  I naturally prefer a more balanced sound signature and get treble ‘fatigue’ fairly quickly. Therefore I usually mark down anything that gives me discomfort in the higher registers.  I have experience in mastering, DJ’ing and have had a keen interest in Hi-Fi and Head-Fi for almost 2...

Preamble:  I have a set of around 30 – 40 tracks all in the FLAC from varying genres that I use as my test reference playlist. I try to cover as many genres and stick to recordings that have good reputations as well as tracks I know have been lovingly mastered.  I naturally prefer a more balanced sound signature and get treble ‘fatigue’ fairly quickly. Therefore I usually mark down anything that gives me discomfort in the higher registers.  I have experience in mastering, DJ’ing and have had a keen interest in Hi-Fi and Head-Fi for almost...

First of all, thank you to @ejong7 for arranging for me to be included in this review tour. I am in no way affiliated with Obravo or any retailer. I am a head-fi hobbyist and music lover :)   Preamble: I have a set of around 30 – 40 tracks all in the FLAC from varying genres that I use as my test reference playlist. I try to cover as many genres and stick to recordings that have good reputations as well as tracks I know have been lovingly mastered. I naturally prefer a more balanced sound signature and get treble ‘fatigue’ fairly quickly...

Will keep this review short but these are my impressions after a week of listening to a range of FLAC and a few HD files of every main genre of music:   Sources used: FiiO X5 Sony NW-ZX1 Audiolab 8200DQ Dac/Amp   Highs: Detailed but at this price point you can get a lot more 'detail' for your money. Highs are not very well seperated or is the soundstage very deep. The soundstage is very wide and not exaggerated. These are not fatiguing so that is good as I am particularly sensitive to treble.   Mids: For earphones of this price I found the...

Just want to state up front my review rating is an absolute rating, not one based on comparative performance, pricing etc.    These are my observations after using an iBasso DX50, MacBook air, FiiO E17 and Sansa Clip Zip as test sources. I found very little variation between those sources with the DX50 maybe bringing out a little bit more richness and depth. Highs: Well what can I say, the treble is of such a high quality I was surprised. They can be a tad sibilant depending on what you are listening to but generally I would say the highs are of a...

Just want to state up front my review rating is an absolute rating, not one based on comparative performance, pricing etc.    Having had the Shure SE215s for a while and not enjoying them I thought I would go up the range and try the SE315s. At first I was impressed as the nasty spiky highs and wooly bass seemed to have gone but alas it was not to last. My overall thoughts are: Highs: Good detailing, much better than the SE215s. Can get a bit sibilant but mostly are under control. Can sound a bit 'metallic' at times and if you get ear fatigue with...

My rating may at first appear harsh but I just want to clarify up front that it is an absolute subjective rating not comparative.   I really thought these would blow me away given all I have read about these but once again Shure have failed to live up to the hype. I cannot argue that the price is very attractive given the build quality and fantastic comfort but that does not influence my feelings on the sound character of these.   In summary I found the following: Highs - Nasty metallic 'piercing' sibilance with a lot of tracks not matter what...

Summary of my experience with these: Build: Feels cheap and plasticky. In fact the box appears better made than the earphones. :) Treble: Very detailed, forward and sharp. No real sibilance BUT is very fatiguing after even after short listening sessions Mids: Again very detailed but there appears to be some forward and some recessed elements depending on the track you are listening to. The soundstage in the mids is great. Very wide and layered. Bass: Very weak. I even tried my gel custom fit earbuds to ensure the fit was perfect but it didn't...

I will keep this ultra short. I spent 3 weeks with these and by the end I had had enough.   At first they 'wow' the user with a lovely full bodied and detailed sound but after a few hours (these had already been listened to for well in excess of 20 hours by a friend) the cracks start to appear. That lovely bass extension that was so impressive at first begins to tire, that detail in the highs begins to draw attention to the lack of mids. That price tag begins to look ridiculous given how little you have to spend these days for a good set of cans...

I will keep this ultra brief. Had this DAC/amp on loan for a couple of weeks and got quite a few hours of listening in and was so underwhelmed I actually felt sad at the end of using it.    I tried this with Sennheiser HD650s, Beyerdynamic T70p, Audio Technica ATH-900X, Westone 4Rs Denon AH-D600s and the Chord massacred everything it came into contact with. Deeply muddy mids, boomy bass with no definition, highs were all over the place and the when the music got going the mids became so recessed they were barely present.   At £800 this unit is a...

No need to elaborate on what has already been said about these but I summarise my time with the Sony MDR 1Rs:   Pros: -Nice build quality -Removable cable -Deep bass (not too deep) -Big soundstage -Can be great for some electronic music   Cons: -Recessed mids -Lack the resolution you would expect for the price -Bass can feel out of control at times -Not enough *POW* -Can feel sluggish -At the price (and way below) there are much better all round and bass-centric alternatives   Good attempt but Sony must try harder...

For the first week I LOVED these headphones but, sad to say, with time I found more and more holes in their performance. For the money these are very good value but not a 'must try' unless you are looking for a U shaped response curve. Detail in the highs is pretty good, nice airy feel instruments/vocals sound spread out. Bass is warm, gets low and is very good fun for the pseudo bassheads. The mids are where these really fall apart. At first I was so entertained by the highs and lows that I neglected the mids, then I put on my Audio Technica M50s...

Being a Brit you might think I would be biased in favor of the Arcam rPAC but I am sad to say this DAC has let me down big time. The overwhelming choice of headphone DACs out there puts the Arcam in a difficult position. Arcam has a good reputation in mainstream HiFi and is obviously trying to carve a niche into the headphone world also, but this attempt falls way short of the competition IMHO.   I compared this with a FIIO E17, NuForce uDAC2 and Audioquest Dragonfly.   Source headphones for my trial included: Sennheiser HD650, AKG K550...

Have tried many headphone DAC/Amps in the £50 - 200 range and nothing comes close to the resolving, enjoyale nature of this bit of kit. Western manufacturers should take note. Quality, performance and a great price point can all exist together! :) Had mine for almost a year now and have no intention of letting it go...

I will keep this short. I couldn't find many reviews so I decided to take a gamble and try these out for size. The gamble did not pay off! The Pro 750s have a horrible unnatural sound that defies belief. They do work with some electronic music but everything else just sounds wrong. It is not even a matter of taste, responsiveness etc, it is just a very poor technical design. I even let them burn in for around 20 hours to see if that would take off their horrible hard edged treble and overkill bass but it didn't work. They remained unnatural and just...

Have enjoyed using this little beauty. If you want a no fuss, great sounding player at a very good price then look no further. Unfortunately more recent players have up'ed their game and surpassed the Sansa in features and more importantly sound quality. The sound is clear, roomy and detailed but lacks full transparency and sounds slightly coloured in the mids. But given the price these points are minor. Good NOT great device in todays over crowded but full of great devices marketplace.

Very good headphones if you want something fun, lively and bassy. I was really impressed at first but with time I started to notice the short comings. Although relatively open sounding the sound is quite synthetic, almost forced. They do not give an accurate representation of the material listened to but that is not to say they do not give an enjoyable performance. Bass is well defined and lively, maybe too lively.  If you are after some 'truth' in your closed back headphones then I would steer clear of these. If you are looking for something fun...

Having owned quite a few closed back headphones I have never experience the open sound these AKGs produce. Yes they may be light on bass but they excel in every other quadrant. Detail, tone and space ooze from these headphones and draw you in. At this price point I would dare to say they are unmatched if you want a truly uncoloured musical listening experience. One snag is people with smaller heads may not get a good seal around the ear cups which will ruin the experience. Try before you buy!

Good NOT great player. Audio is ok but since has been surpassed by a number of better players (Cowon Z2, Sony Z and F series walkmans, Samsung 4.2 Galaxy etc.). Interface can be a dog and the touchscreen interface looks extremely dated now. Battery life is very good but again not class leading. Build quality is ok but it does feel a bit cheap. This once was head and shoulders above the rest but as with all things gadgety, it has had its day.