INTRODUCTION NuForce made its name under Jason Lim's leadership developing high-performance audio products that didn't break the bank. Their IEM were known for their warm, smooth sound, and I've read great things about their Primo8 quad-BA IEM. Jason Lim has moved on, but the NuForce brand is still going strong under the new Optoma NuForce brand name. Optoma is a well-known projector company that decided to diversify into the home and portable audio markets with its acquisition of NuForce. Recently, @jyri at Optoma NuForce reached out to me and...

  INTRODUCTION I've got a history with FiiO and could probably be considered a FiiO fanboy. The X5 has been my go-to DAP since release. Before that, it was the X3. I preordered both and remember those early days with equal parts fondness and frustration. They were my first "audiophile" DAPs. They sounded good, but boy did they have their fair share of user interface quirks at first. Lucky for us, FiiO was receptive to user feedback, and I spent many hours on the Bugzilla @Joe Bloggs set up submitting bugs, feature requests, testing beta firmware...

  Photo courtesy of Cayin.   INTRODUCTION While Cayin has been in the business of producing top-notch home audio gear for many years, they are a relative newcomer to the portable audio market. Prior to the N5, Cayin released a couple portable amps and the N6 DAP. I've personally tried their C5 portable amp and the N6 DAP. I've also reviewed their C5DAC (LINK to review). So as you can see, I've had some experience with Cayin's portable products. Out of that experience, I had some thoughts on where I'd like to see Cayin head. Regarding their C5 and...

  Photo courtesy of Shanling   INTRODUCTION Shanling is a relative newcomer to the portable audio market. Prior to the M2, they only recently released the H1 and H3 portable amps and the M3 DAP. I've had the pleasure of reviewing the H3 (LINK) and M3 (LINK) and enjoyed both of them. The M3 quickly became a favorite despite some quirks discussed in my review. After the reviews, I sent the H3 and M3 out on tour in the Head-Fi community, letting others get a taste of these hidden gems. Skip forward a few months, and Shanling announced the new M2...

Image courtesy of Brainwavz   INTRODUCTION Brainwavz is a company well-known on Head-Fi for budget-fi IEM with good sound, great accessories, and some quite unusual designs. I was introduced to Brainwavz when I purchased my FiiO X3 Classic from MP4Nation. The original S-series IEM, the S1, was included as a bonus with my X3 pre-order. With their unusual color scheme, flat cable, chunky strain reliefs and y-splitter, and all-metal housing, the S1 were quite different from most of the IEM I'd owned up to that point. I enjoyed them for a fun, v-shaped...

Photo courtesy of RHA     INTRODUCTION RHA is a company that needs little introduction around Head-Fi. The Scottish audio company is well-known for solidly built in ear monitors with a warm sound signature. I've been following them since I purchased a pair of MA750. I've also tested their T10i and helped coordinate a tour for their T20 IEM. I have an interesting relationship with their IEM. I really like the MA750. It was one of the first really good single dynamic IEM I heard, but I had issues with fit and ergonomics that prevented me from using...

  INTRODUCTION I'm going to let you in on a secret: I never tried the original Dunu TITAN 1. Why? The many excellent reviews were balanced out by reports of weak bass and aggressive highs. These discrepancies made me leery of trying them, but when I saw Fiio sponsor a tour for the EX1 (basically a FiiO-branded TITAN 1), I signed up without hesitation. Here was my chance to hear one of the most hyped IEM of 2015. If I didn't like it, no worries. If I did like it, maybe I'd end up buying it. Either way, I'd find out if the hype was deserved.    I'm...

t Dunu's teaser for the forthcoming Titan 5.   *****UPDATED MID-NOVEMBER WITH PICS & THOUGHTS ON THE NEW EAR STABILIZERS*****   INTRODUCTION I'm going to let you in on a secret: I never tried the original Dunu TITAN 1. Why? The many excellent reviews were balanced out by reports of weak bass and aggressive highs. These discrepancies made me leery of trying them. But when I saw Fiio sponsor a tour for the EX1 (basically a Fiio-branded TITAN 1 - LINK to review), I signed up. Here was my chance to hear one of the most hyped IEM of 2015. If I didn't...

t Dunu's teaser for the forthcoming Titan 3.   *****UPDATED MID-NOVEMBER WITH PICS & THOUGHTS ON THE NEW EAR STABILIZERS*****   INTRODUCTION I'm going to let you in on a secret: I never tried the original Dunu TITAN 1. Why? The many excellent reviews were balanced out by reports of weak bass and aggressive highs. These discrepancies made me leery of trying them. But when I saw Fiio sponsor a tour for the EX1 (basically a Fiio-branded TITAN 1 - LINK to review), I signed up. Here was my chance to hear one of the most hyped IEM of 2015. If I didn't...

INTRODUCTION I discovered these when there was a call for reviewers for the t096z, Torque Audio's recently released flagship IEM. What caught my eye was the various tuning valves the t096z uses to alter the sound signature. I previously reviewed the RHA T20 IEM (LINK), own the Trinity Delta, and have the FLC 8S in my review queue. They're all tune-able to varying degrees, so I'm quite familiar with the concept and think it's great that more manufacturers are exploring this. Since I'm sold on this idea, I've invested time and energy into testing them...

EDIT: As of the October 8th, 2015 firmware update, you can now alter all of the SBX settings when connected to your iPhone via Bluetooth. Nice job, Creative!   INTRODUCTION Creative is well-known for their sound cards. I remember building a PC when I was younger. I specifically sought out a Creative sound card to make sure I had a good audio interface for listening to music from my computer. It was during the days of Napster and 128 kbps audio files, so it was probably overkill but at least it gave me the potential for good sound. The fact that my...

      DISCLAIMER I was chosen to review the Aune X1S as part of a review tour sponsored by Aune. I am in no way affiliated with Aune, and this is my honest opinion of the X1S. I would like to thank Aune for giving me the chance to test drive the X1S, and I hope my thoughts prove useful for fellow Head-Fi members as well as for Aune.   INTRODUCTION Ok, so why review the Aune X1S?  I'm pretty familiar with portable gear but have little experience with desktop gear. I previously reviewed the Aune B1 and was impressed with the sound quality...

Image courtesy of HiFiMan   INTRODUCTION The HE400S is HiFiMan's latest offering in the HE400 series of open-back over-ear planar headphones. I first read about them in a teaser email HiFiMan sent out and was intrigued. I'd already read about the HE400i but didn't think it was what I was looking for. The HE400S however looked pretty interesting as an entry-level, easy to drive planar. The concept isn't new. Oppo's planars are also easy to drive. I've tested out the PM-2, but it wasn't what I was looking for, either. So what am I looking for? Well...

GEEK TRIVIA: The VE RUNABOUT was named after this Star Trek spacecraft. I love Star Trek, ergo I must love the VE RUNABOUT!    INTRODUCTION The RUNABOUT (RA) is the first portable amp from VE (Venture Electronics), an up and coming audio company from China most famous around Head-Fi for their outstanding ZEN earbuds. I got a chance to hear the ZEN earbuds earlier in the summer and was blown away. They sound amazing for the price and scale very nicely. When I heard that VE was releasing an IEM and amp, I was excited to give them a listen. Luckily...

INTRODUCTION The DUKE is the first IEM from VE (Venture Electronics), an up and coming audio company from China most famous around Head-Fi for their outstanding ZEN earbuds. I got a chance to hear the ZEN earbuds earlier in the summer and was blown away. They sounded amazing for the price and scaled very nicely. When I heard that VE was releasing an IEM and amp, I was excited to give them a listen. Luckily, I received a pair of DUKE for review along with VE's new portable amp the RUNABOUT.    Before diving into my review, please take a moment to...

INTRODUCTION The Encore RockMaster OE is a new crowd-funded Over Ear Headphone from SonicUnity, and new audio company formed by Rick Hopkins. Rick's a music industry veteran who's helped with concert design for a number of amazing bands, including one of my all-time faves - Rush. To design the RockMaster OE, Rick turned to a trusted name in portable audio products - NuForce co-founder Jason Lim.   Before we get started with the review, please take a moment and head over to Encore's indiegogo page and skim over the info: LINK.   You can also...

INTRODUCTION The Encore RockMaster IE is a new crowd-funded IEM from SonicUnity, and new audio company formed by Rick Hopkins. Rick's a music industry veteran who's helped with concert design for a number of amazing bands, including one of my all-time faves - Rush. To design the RockMaster IE, Rick turned to a trusted name in portable audio products - NuForce co-founder Jason Lim.   Before we get started with the review, please take a moment and head over to Encore's indiegogo page and skim over the info: LINK.   You can also find @Armaegis's...

  Photo courtesy of Cozoy   INTRODUCTION I recently tested out a couple battery-powered DAC/Amp (Cayin C5DAC and Shanling H3) solutions and the battery-free Calyx PaT DAC/Amp with the goal of getting better audio out of my iPhone.  When I ran across @DJScope's post about the upcoming Cozoy Aegis, my curiosity was piqued to say the least! While I hadn't yet heard the Cozoy Astrapi, I'd read about it and the Shozy Alien and the reviews were impressive. A bit of back and forth with the Cozoy team fed my curiosity with promises of great sound that...

  Photo courtesy of Onsong Audio   INTRODUCTION I recently tested out two battery-powered DAC/Amp solutions for getting better audio out of my iPhone, the Cayin C5DAC and Shanling H3. When I ran across @Hisoundfi's great review of the Calyx PaT, I was intrigued. Here was a category I hadn't paid much attention to - a battery-free smartphone DAC/Amp that could also double as a DAC/Amp for your computer in a pinch. When I saw that it had transport controls for play/pause, skipping/skimming through tracks, and controlling volume, I knew I needed...

    DISCLAIMER I was provided the Aune B1 as part of a mini-tour @money4me247put together after he reviewed the B1.  I am in no way affiliated with Aune, and this is my honest opinion of the B1.  I would like to thank @money4me247 for giving me the chance to test drive the B1, and I hope my thoughts prove useful for fellow Head-Fi members as well as for Aune.   INTRODUCTION Ok, so why review the Aune B1?  When I saw it announced, I wondered how the B1 wold to my Fiio gear (E12A, E12 DIY & X5).  I was also intrigued by the discrete circuitry...