The HE-350 is dead; long live the HE-35X. But will the Massdrop x HIFIMAN HE-35X, debuting at a pre-order price of just $90, be crowned king of Massdrop’s entry-level audiophile headphone lineup? Nearly three years ago, Massdrop announced the HE-350, an open-back, 50mm dynamic driver headphone created in collaboration with high-end headphone manufacturer HIFIMAN. Priced at just $99 (cheap by any audiophile’s standards), and looking quite like its high-priced brethren at the time, the HE-350 seemed like an absolute steal. Having owned and enjoyed...

Shortly after sending my iFi Audio Pro iCAN review unit back, iFi hit me up with its stealthy Micro iDSD BL (Black Label), a portable desktop DAC and pre-amp/headphone amp combo that packs a punch and goes head-to-head against the very popular Chord Electronics Mojo (If you see this Chord, I’d love a demo). Much like the Pro iCAN, the iDSD BL is an iFi flagship product, but this time in its smaller portable/desktop Mirco line. Here again, iFi packs in strong feature sets bettered by trickle-down R&D and technology from iFi’s ultra-high-end parent...

It’s funny how things work out sometimes. Just before my annual spring/summer hiatus from pursuing #AudioNirvana, I decided to part ways with my Eddie Current Balancing Act amplifier, HiFiMAN HE-6 headphones, and Schiit Yggdrasil DAC as part of a downsizing, capital-raising, not-quite-sure-why-I-am-doing-this selling spree. During the process, the buyers of the HE-6 and Yggy both asked me how they would perform with iFi Audio’s Pro iCAN. Of course, I hadn’t the slightest idea because I had never used an iFi product in any of my personal audio...

Its sound is as unique as its looks. Its place in the market is as contested as its creator’s cables—OK maybe not that contested. And its performance appears to be either loved or hated. So often in audio, enthusiasts position a product in the black or white, better or worse, endgame or bust. But if there’s anything I can say about my audio experiences, it’s that every product worth writing about, discussing, photographing, and hearing has a place. For me, the NightHawk’s place is wherever I do my late-night listening. It’s fall, which means my...

  Meant to be married to the OL DAC, the O2 headphone amp matches it in shape, size and simplicity. What’s neat about the O2 is that JDS Labs allows for some simple customizations—you can choose the headphone jack size (3.5mm or ¼”), input type (RCA or 3.5mm), gain levels, and power jack location (front or rear panel), and whether to have it with or without a built-in DAC and lithium batteries for portable use. I went with a rear-mounted power jack and RCA input, so my front panel is nice and simple with just the power button, headphone jack, volume...

  I know a lot of people say a DAC is a DAC is a DAC, but I’m not one of them. A DAC’s chipset and its implementation, among other things, play a very real role in determining how it sounds. Well, the OL DAC doesn’t really sound like anything, and I don’t mean that in a bad way. Quite the contrary. The OL DAC is audibly transparent, which makes it a great reviewer’s tool. But what about for the rest of you?  Satisfactorily small and straightforward, the OL DAC was, as JDS Labs’ Jude Hopper  and John Seaber tell me, “an accidental child.” As...

  Budget audiophile brand Brainwavz Audio is back at it, closing out 2016 and kicking off 2017 with a bevy of new earphone offerings. Their timing was just right. Shortly before leaving for an eight-day cruise around the Caribbean, Brainwavz hit me up looking for my thoughts on the recently released M100 high fidelity audio earphone. Claiming to be crafted from aircraft grade metal, and boasting hand-crafted 8mm dynamic drivers tuned to present a “wide soundstage, well defined bass and clarity,” the M100 seemed like the perfect lightweight and...

BRING IT HOME   Having owned Beyerdynamic’s DT990 PRO and acclaimed T90 headphones early on in my journey to #AudioNirvana, I thought I knew what I was getting into when I was offered a review unit of the T90’s recently-released successor, the Amiron Home. I was dead wrong. In other words, wow. But I’m getting ahead of myself. If you’re familiar with the house sound of Beyerdynamic’s high-end headphones, you’ll feel right at home when you fire up the Amiron Home, which doesn’t stray too, too far from what has been a successful sonic...

  As I sit here in the cubicle of my nine-to-five anxiously awaiting payday, I’m happily rockin’ a review unit of Noble Audio’s Trident—the $399 “entry-level” in-ear monitor (IEM) in the Santa Barbara, Calif.-based company’s new Classic universal line—and wondering how much of that paycheck I’ll actually end up holding onto. For a few weeks now, I’ve been enjoying what Noble Audio describes as one of its “Generic fit in-ear monitors for immediate gratification with little commitment.” You see, the Trident and its siblings in the new Classic...

WOOD IS GOOD     “Are those new? They look stylish.” “New headphones? They’re spiffy.” “Ooo, I love those.” I can’t make this stuff up folks. There’s been no shortage of compliments since donning the Meze 99 Classics headphone at my office. Yes, you read that right. Sometimes part of my reviewing process includes testing products from the cubicle of my nine-to-five. Music plays a big part in getting me through the workday—drowning out the chatter of my office mates is also an excellent test. But let’s get back to those compliments. When the...

  Omni. From Latin origin it means something like “all, every, of all things, the whole.” To date, The Omni is the whole of ZMF Headphones. It’s the flagship offering; it’s the pinnacle of what Founder Zach Mehrbach’s constant tweaking and dissecting of a headphone in every way can yield. At ZMF Headphones, every headphone is assembled by hand, tweaked, tuned and sent out by Mehrbach, a painstaking process I’ve been privy to see firsthand on several occasions. In full disclosure, I first met fellow Chicago local Mehrbach some years back as a...

I have to give Massdrop a lot of credit for trying to bring high-end audio to the masses through their audiophile community. Those behind their initiatives have managed to bring together companies like AKG, Fostex, Grace Design, ZMF Headphones and now HIFIMAN, among others, to offer some great hi-fi products at affordable prices. So when I saw the drop for the $99 Massdrop x HIFIMAN HE-350 headphones, I thought it would be a great opportunity for new audiophiles and veteran headphone enthusiasts alike to pick up a pair of quality headphones to knock...

If you frequent my blog or The Sound Apprentice Instagram, you know that I’m a fan of Shure headphones. So it should come as no surprise that I intervened with a set of Shure in-ear monitors (IEMs) when I found out that my dear friend who loves everything music has been “blowing” cheap earbuds like crazy (and probably going deaf at the same time). Enter the Shure SE215 Sound Isolating Earphones. To me, with its inviting Shure house sound and moderate price of entry ($99 MSRP), the SE215 is a no-brainer. Performance-wise, you get a lot of bang for...

A few days after testing out the adventure-inspired Westone ADV Beta earphone, Brainwavz hit me up with the timely opportunity to give their latest earphone a test ride. Meet the newBrainwavz XFit XF-200 earphone that, as they say, is specially designed for users who engage in sports and athletic activities. What makes it special for the active audiophile? How about a compact, lightweight design; pre-molded, over-the-ear cable routing; a short cable that won't trip you up; and an assortment of accessories to keep you moving. Oh, and at $25 it...

The Spirited Uncle M surprised me recently by skipping over his usual snarky audio comments with an email that was straight to the point: “Did I ever give you a pair of Westone ear buds to try and review? UM.” My answer was a simple, “Nope.” Two days later the Westone ADV Beta was waiting in my mailbox. Unboxing Into camping, hiking, biking, or climbing? Westone is likely to catch your attention if you are with the picturesque images of adventuring that adorn its “Adventure Series” earphones box. The packaging is of nice design and solid...

  After two years of listening to Shure’s SRH840 headphone nearly every workday, I decided it was finally time for an upgrade. Not so much because the SRH840 isn’t a good headphone (you can read my review here), but more because I wanted something different. My workspace, where I use an ALO Audio Island DAC/amp to drive my music daily, calls for closed-back headphones. I had the Fostex TH600 in my collection, but its sonic signature never quite satisfied me. The TH600’s sub-bass is beyond fun, the sense of space is great, it’s quite comfortable...

Tucked away in a corner room, in a non-descript Chicago apartment, the barefooted and bearded Zach Mehrbach works away with scissors and soldering irons, spools of hook up wires and stacks of t50rp drivers, and a host of other tools of his trade. He is the main man behind ZMF Headphones, an easy-going guy that simply loves good sound. Hand assembled and made to order, Zach prides himself on being a “small shop” headphone builder that caters to his clients’ auditory demands (within reason of course). With the world of high-end headphones seemingly...

A lot has been written about Beyerdynamic’s T90 Tesla headphone. It’s easily one of those headphones that falls in the “love it or hate it” category. The sound signature is interesting, it’s involving, but it’s definitely not for every ear. The T90 is often referred to as the DT990’s big brother. In a sense that is true and in many ways it is so much more. Having had both, I feel confident saying that you will love the T90 if you like the DT990. While the frequency responses are relatively similar, the T90 is a truer reference level headphone. It...

Brainwavz was seeking new coverage of their M1 in-ear monitor. I was seeking an IEM in a pinch before leaving for an 8-day trip. I didn’t like the Brainwavz S0 too much, my HiFiMan Re-Zero IEMs hurt my ears, I’m now a spoiled audio snob that won’t use generic OEM earbuds, and full-size cans just weren’t an option for traveling with camera gear. The timing was perfect; Audrey at Brainwavz hooked me up with a pair of M1s for my journeys, and off I went. But before you think that I am just going to praise these because Brainwavz provided them, think...

You guys are going to think I’ve become a Brainwavz fanboy or something if I keep these reviews rolling, but that's not entirely the case. It just so happens that I received their all-new HM5 Thick Ear Pads (fan), Zirconia Headphone Stand (fan) and S0 In-Ear Monitors (not a fan) as a bundle to review. So here we go... Brainwavz recently redesigned their HM5 Ear Pads. This ear pad is quite popular among modders becase it fits a wide variety of headphones in both stock form and with some simple modifications. Design-wise, Brainwavz set out to...