HEAVEN ON EARTH I would like to thank @Questyle for organizing this tour. The opinions in this review are my own. INTRO Questyle has launched a new Flagship model, the Questyle CMA Fifteen. Continuing the design aesthetic of the CMA400i and The CMA Twelve, the 15 sports the flagship ESS ES9038PRO Sabre DAC which supports Current Mode output. With the adoption of the Sabre DAC chip, the CMA Fifteen is now able to decode MQA, as well as 32-bit/768kHz and DSD 512. Another new feature is the addition of a USB Type-C input which has priority over the...

This unit was sent to me for the purpose of a review. The thoughts and opinions in this review are strictly my own. I would like to thank Thibault at Earsonics for reaching out and including me in the unveiling of the Onyx! I got an email from Thibault from Earsonics asking me if I was interested in writing a review of a new IEM, the Onyx. Surprised and honored, I graciously accepted. I enquired about the price and the driver configuration, and I was told that it was confidential. A mystery! What would I get? In about a week or so, I was...

Introduction The Yulong DA1 DAC headphone amplifier was recently offered up on tour by Andy Kong, and I was eager for a chance to get a listen. After all, it is not only the DAC/amp, but also the DA1 Power Station that accompanies it as a $1,600 option. The DAC/amp itself retails for $2,500. The combo costs a cool $4K. I happen to be in the market for a desktop solution, so I was intrigued, and the power conditioner was the icing on the cake. Applying for the tour, I was delighted to be accepted. I want to just take a moment to thank Andy for...

Todd the Vinyl Junkie recently offered up the Focal Celestee ($990) on review tour. Described on the Focal website as “high end closed back headphones,” these cans use an aluminum magnesium moving coil dynamic transducer. On condition of the tour, we are obligated to offer our opinion in a review. We were in no way pressured to say anything one way or another. These thoughts in this review are mine and mine alone. Before we get into the music, I think it is fair to say a few things about where I am coming from. My experience with high end closed...

I was at Canjam NYC this past February, when I found myself in front of the Musik Tek table. The gentleman at the table eagerly asked if I would like to try a new hybrid IEM with “Bone Conduction” technology. In the sensory overload environment of the show, I misunderstood his description, and thought the bone conduction was a “sub-woofer” technology. I put them on, using my A&K SE100 DAP, and while they sounded good (I remember liking the bass), I couldn’t really discern any ‘tapping’ sensation in the bass. It all sounded gimmicky to me anyway...