THE HEADAMP GILMORE LITE MK2: A VENERABLE CLASSIC RETURNS! I’ve been a huge fan of HeadAmp’s products. Simply put, they make some of the best headphone amplifiers around. I find their products to be incredibly transparent and revealing through their upmost attention to maintaining a high degree of transparency. I’ve owned many of their products through the years, from the (now discontinued) GS-1, Pico, GS-X and their current flagship dynamic headphone amplifier the GS-X Mk2 ($2999 – $3199) has sat in my audio system for several years now. Throw...

Having finding myself in need of a lower cost portable digital-to-analog player, I began my search for a reasonable solution. If you've been around Head-Fi, you are most certainly going to stumble upon FiiO's recent upgrade to their venerable X5 DAP, the X5 Mark III. Priced at only $399, don't let the incredibly reasonable price tag through you off; you are getting some serious technology and audiophile level sound quality in this little wonder. At the heart of the FiiO X5 Mark III are dual AKM AK4490EN DACs using their "Velvet Sound" low...

I've been a fan of NuForce's products for quite some time and have reviewed many through the past few years. All punched well above their price points respectively and offered outstanding value. Well, the good folks from both NuForce and Massdrop have got together and released a new in-ear monitor: the Massdrop x Nuforce EDC. As soon as it arrived, I was very much impressed with the packaging and provided accessories. This very much resembled IEMs costing $400+. Everything you will need to get a great fit and use with a portable amplifier or your...

With the very recent announcement of the headphone jack-less iPhone 7, many folks will be scrambling to find portable headphone or in-ear monitor solutions that won’t require the traditional headphone TRS plug. No wonder the sales of Bluetooth headphones has been steadily increasing over the past few years and it appears that the designers at NuForce have just released a product that has stepped up to fit the bill perfectly. The new NuForce BE6i in-ear monitors are my wireless IEMs. Yes, I’ve used Bluetooth headphones like the Bose QC35i or PuroSound...

I’ve been a big fan of NuForce and its products for many years. I’ve owned several of their headphones, IEMs (in-ear monitors) and their well renowned u-Dac 3 portable headphone amplifier and DAC. So I was a bit dismayed when I learned that Optoma had purchased NuForce as I wasn’t sure what direction the new ownership would take this well respected audio company. Thankfully, NuForce is back and with a bang! It is releasing some great new products for the portable audio enthusiast. I was recently contacted by NuForce to try out their new NE800M IEMs...

A few years back, my family and I underwent a rather large home renovation (including not having a kitchen for 10 weeks; suffice it to say I was sick of take-out food after the summer of 2014). As a result of this renovation, I was forced to box up my main headphone setups (both dynamic and electrostatic) and put them away. What I was left with, was just my portable rig; which in all honesty was neglected for a number of years. So I needed a portable solution to tide me over the summer. That set me off on a journey to find a great pair of closed-back...

When Blue Microphones (started in California in 1995) announced the Mo-Fi, I was immediately intrigued. Here was a well-respected and highly regarded microphone manufacturer with outstanding industrial designs venturing into the world of personal audio. And just one look at the Mo-Fi was all I needed. They have a 1950’s sci-fi look and incorporate newly designed drivers and a built-in headphone amplifier. The Mo-Fi’s are most reminiscent of Blue’s highly regarded microphones in their construction and offer a design motif that is certainly unique to...

Astell & Kern AK100 II: Portable Pleasure   So I have a confession to make: I’m a DAP “noob”. I’ve basically been old school with my on-the-go Hi-Fi, using iDevices and a third party amp (HeadAmp Pico, RSA Audio Hornet, et cetera…) or even an Amp/DAC combo like the Beyerdynamic A200p. Then I tried the Astell & Kern AK100 II. While I’ve heard some lower priced DAPs, I’ve never felt the need to reach outside my iDevice/external amp setup. That is of course until I got to review the AK100 II. Astell & Kern is a division of iRiver and based out of...

I've had the pleasure of listening to many NuForce products through the years and I've always found them to offer outstanding price-to-performance ratios. Their products perform quite well and punch higher than their weight class. This time around I'm reviewing the really small uDAC-3 and all I can say is that trend certainly continues with this outstanding little product. Don't let the small size fool you, the sound that you get from the uDAC-3 is B-I-G!    My setup was simply from my Toshiba notebook (using Audirvana w/ iTunes) and my various...

Audeze LCD-XC   When I first put the LCD-XC’s on my head I thought to myself: “Wow, finally I no longer have to sacrifice sound quality or a natural/neutral presentation when listening to closed headphones.”   The first group of closed headphones that I’ve previously owned were ones that isolated well enough but really made you constantly feel that you were giving up a bit too much in the sound quality department. Some were not very expensive like the beyerdynamics DT770/600s; while some very expensive like the Ultrasone Ed. 8LE.    The second...

The Audez’e LCD-X:   Well after a few weeks with these great headphones, I think I’m ready to post my review of them. I was an original owner of the LCD-2 R1 when they were released many moons ago…so suffice it to say that I’ve been a big fan of Audeze and their products ever since.   Gear used for my evaluations:   Desktop Rig: Cambridge Audio CDP via SPDIF or iMac Apple Lossless via USB --> Byrston Audio BDA-2 DAC --> HeadAmp GS-X MK2  [Fully balanced front to back]   Portable Rig: iPad - FiiO E11 (a minimalistic approach to my portable...

Here's a link to a wiki I wrote about the differences between the LCD-2r.2 and LCD-3s that pretty much sum up my thoughts quite well.   http://www.head-fi.org/a/comparisons-of-the-lcd-3-and-the-lcd-2-rev-2   I've had them now for more than 3 months and they still get 80% of my head time. My HD800s/T1s/Ed.8s/HF-2s are sadly not getting the time they rightly deserve since the LCD-3s arrived. I was also able to sell my HE-6s as the improvements in soundstaging and air in the LCD-3s have made the HE-6s redundant in my collection.   Just a few...

HeadAmp GS-1 – A Forgotten Treasure   So after hemming and hawing for several months about picking up a solid state amp to compliment my Woo Audio WA22, I finally made the jump. I was looking for a solid stage amp in the $700-$1200 price range. Amps I considered were the Violectric V200, Corda Classic, Audio gd Phoenix, SPL Auditor, Burson HA160, and HeadAmp GS-1.   Having a great sounding euphonic tube amp already, I was looking for a contrast that would be complimentary to that sound. I was looking for a neutral, transparent amp that was...

So, my Edition 8 LE headphones have had about 48 hours of burn in and here are my thoughts (i.e. mini review).   First off construction: Absolutely stunning! These are the most beautiful closed headphones I've ever had the pleasure of owning. Everything from their outstanding leather box, to the headphones themselves. I understand why the cable is NOT more "industrial" as these are supposed to be also portable, but another foot or two in length on the main cable would have been more ideal for me.   They feel very well built (or should I say...

So I've had my pair for around a month and they have very quickly shown themselves to be deserving to be amongst some of the very best headphones I've ever heard.   Bass: Absolutely the best bass of any headphone I've ever heard. Deeper, more defined and controlled than anything out there. The amazing thing is just how scary good it is and with ZERO bleeding into the mids.   Mids: Along with the T1s, I consider the LCD-2's mids to be the best I've ever heard as well. Both male and female vocals excel exceptionally well with them...

My comments echo Skylab's. These are simply the best dynamic headphones I've ever heard. While the may not be technically equal to the Sennheiser HD800s, they certainly make up in the fact that their overall presentation simply works better than every headphone I've heard to date.   I love the HD800s, but I limit listening to them to jazz, classical, and some prog rock. The T1s on the other hand are incredible all rounders and work with everything that I've ever thrown at them. They even rival my all time favourite rock cans the Grado RS1s.  ...