Having recently tested the new M23 extensively, I was very excited to see how it compared to its bigger brother, the M15s. With an RRP of €999, the M15s is priced slightly above the M23 and directly below the top model M17. As soon as you unpack it, you notice that the M23 and M15s hardly differ in terms of weight and size. However, the more expensive M15s comes with a genuine leather cover, which I would have preferred for the M23 instead of a simple silicone cover. The M15s also comes with a docking station including a cooler on which the DAP can...

The FiiO M23 is the latest DAP from FiiO. With an RRP of €749, it is priced between the M11s and M15s. The M23 not only continues the classic hexagonal honeycomb design and 18:9 format of the M11 series, but also offers significant improvements in configuration, performance and ease of use. The aim was to create a mid- to high-end DAP that offers both outstanding performance and an excellent listening experience. The M23 uses AKM's flagship AK4191EQ+AK4499EX. FiiO also uses "DWA ROUTING Technology" to further improve the signal-to-noise ratio...

Bellos Audio, founded by Vlad and Bogdan Belonozhko, known as the Bellos Brothers, stands out in the pro audio industry for its innovative approach and dedication. With more than two decades of combined expertise, Bellos Audio is more than just another player in the audio market. It is a response to the increasing demand for high-quality audio products. The company was born out of a partnership with FIR Audio with the aim of overcoming the challenges in the pro audio sector. The Bellos brothers embarked on a journey to understand and address these...

The Grand Maestro is FATFreq's flagship IEM and the ultimate choice for audiophiles seeking the pinnacle of music enjoyment. According to FATFreq, the Grand Maestro is designed to make listening to music an experience in a class of its own. It features an award-winning frequency response that delivers exceptional bass feedback and superb low-end tonality with plenty of slam. I have already tested the Scarlet Mini from FATFreq. And this already delivers an absolutely brute performance in the lower registers that I am very enthusiastic about. With the...

As I was already very enthusiastic about the current OH700VB model, I now wanted to get to know Oriveti's flagship model, the OV800. These are my impressions of this model. In contrast to the OH700VB, the OV800 uses only BA drivers - 8 of them. While the OH700VB sounds neutral and rather bright, the OV800 is the interpretation of a neutral, slightly warm reference tuning. The OV800 is priced at 999 USD compared to 700 USD for the OH700VB. As with the OH700VB, the workmanship is really 1A. Each cabinet is made by hand. I personally like the...

Jomo Audio, a Singapore-based company, was founded by Joseph Mou, a broadcast engineer with a passion for audio. Combining his expertise with the inspiration of Japanese craftsmanship, Jomo Audio quickly became a popular brand in the portable audio market in Southeast Asia. With 15 years of experience in audio and 10 years in IEM design, Joseph's journey began as a hobbyist before founding Jomo Audio in 2012. The company's commitment to innovation is evident in the blend of traditional techniques and advanced 3D technologies that result in...

QDC has become known worldwide for its Anole series of IEMs, which are considered the most neutrally tuned in the IEM landscape and are at the top of the charts on some platforms where tonality and resolution are considered the most important criteria. Over the last 7 years QDC has undergone many technological innovations, all of which have led to the latest product from QDC, the 8 Pro. Three different tunings can be selected with a switch integrated in the housing. With the Hifi, Studio and Live settings, the user can adjust the tonality to suit...

The OH700VB is Oriveti's current hybrid flagship, which is equipped with a total of 7 drivers. One DD driver for the bass, 4 BA drivers for the mids and 2 BA drivers for the treble. Oriveti's aim was to develop a very neutral and detailed sound. The extent to which this has been achieved will be discussed below. The workmanship of the OH700VB is really outstanding for the price of 699 USD. You can see that every single housing is made by hand and with attention to detail. I have never experienced such good workmanship and design in this price...

I was very excited about the Mini Scarlet from FatFreq, the specialist for IEMs from Singapore. The model promises nothing less than the deepest bass in the world in an IEM. This is to be made possible by the world's first 30dB sub-bass boost. But is it even possible to control such a sub-bass shelf? I want to get to the bottom of this in the following review. Not only is the bass range to be controlled in a very controlled manner below 200Hz, the other frequencies are not ignored either. FatFreq's specially developed tube-less hyper tweeter system...

The Xenon 6 (XE6 for short) is the flagship of Fir Audio's Frontier Series. The Xenon 6 is also priced slightly higher than the limited edition Radon 6 (RN6 for short). Together with the RN6, the XE6 reflects the sound peak of Fir Audio's portfolio. While the RN6 is much closer to a more neutral tuning than the XE6, the latter is aimed at purists who want to enjoy an IEM to the full with great sound colors and where every listening session becomes a true experience. In the following, I will examine whether this is ultimately the case and also make...

The PB5 Osprey is iBasso's answer to the question of the best possible portable amplifier with analog tube magic. Of course, no "real" electrode tubes are used here, as these would be too large in a portable device and their waste heat would also be too high. Instead, so-called nutubes are used, two of them in fact. These type 6P1 nutubes are manufactured by Korg and Noritake and are already in their sixth generation. Similar to a vacuum tube, a nutube has an anode grid structure and works exactly like a triode vacuum tube. Similarly, it also...

The Trifecta is the flagship from Campfire Audio. The name Trifecta is derived from the arrangement of the drivers in the form of a triangle. No other manufacturer has taken this approach before and I can already say that this IEM sounds like no other. The patent-pending triangular housing accommodates three dynamic drivers with a 10 mm ADLC cone that cover the entire frequency range. This should provide a massive and exciting sound with a very wide stage. That's the advertising promise. Whether it is kept or not will be shown in my later sound...

Spirit Torino, the high-end headphone manufacturer from Turin, is launching its first headphones with a planar magnetic driver, the Centauri model. The brand became world-famous with its Valkyria headphone model. This was followed by other models with dynamic drivers and an IEM, the Twin Pulse IEM Beryllium, which I also tested some time ago. Spirit Torino also invested a lot of time in research and development for these headphones in order to stand out from the competition. Simply building larger and larger drivers is not the way to go. A large...

The Fir Audio brand is world-renowned for its Frontier Series and the unique technologies it has introduced, such as the Kinetic Bass. IEMs such as the Radon6 or the XE6 are among the absolute elite in the current IEM market. With the E12, Fir Audio is moving away from a hybrid IEM for the first time. In this case, the number 12 in the name E12 does not mean that 12 drivers are used, but that a single 12 mm dynamic driver is used. At 1799 USD, the E12 is priced well below the Frontier Series, but offers a lot in terms of sound. I can tell you this...

The D90 III is the third iteration of the world-famous flagship DAC from Topping. The D90 LE/SE already topped almost everything available in the DAC sector in terms of measurements. On the SINAD charts of the ASR Forum, I think there are currently only 2-3 DACs ahead of the D90SE. The D90SE is based on the ESS9038Pro chip. With the D90 III, Topping raises the bar even higher by installing 2x ESS9039Pro chips and thus raising the measured values to an incredible 135dB dynamic range and THD+N <0.000045%. Even the advertisement, in which the D90 III...

The Ponderosa from Campfire Audio is an IEM from the new Chromatic series. Campfire's original mission has always been to offer uncompromising sound at an excellent price-performance ratio and with this new Chromatic product line, Campfire continues this mission. With an RRP of €899, the Ponderosa is significantly cheaper than an Andromeda, for example, but should still offer an incomparable sound experience and appeal to a wider audience for the price. I will shed more light on whether this has been achieved below. The Ponderosa is equipped with...

The FT5 is the first planar magnetic headphone from FiiO. Based on the FT headphone platform with which FiiO previously built dynamic headphones with the FT3 model, the latest model now uses a different type of driver. The platform itself with the construction of the headband, head cushion and adjustment mechanism has been incorporated from the previous development. The FT5 costs 500 USD and uses large 90mm planar magnetic drivers with a total of 20 N52 neodymium magnets. An ultra-thin 6 micrometer diaphragm is used. This thickness was chosen through...

First of all, I would like to thank Letshuoer for providing me with the new S15 for a review before its release (planned release is December 2023). Since I have already taken a close look at Letshuoer's top model, the Cadenza 12, I can compare the two models very well. With the S12, Letshuoer has already released the company's first planar magnetic IEM and has received a lot of praise for it. With the S15, this technology has now been taken to new heights with the installation of a passive filtering module for the first time. In addition to achieving...

The Composer is the new flagship from Austrian Audio. The very young company, which was founded in 2017 with a core team of former AKG employees, manufactures microphones and headphones. In the headphone sector, these have so far mostly been from the lower price segment up to a maximum of €399. This makes me all the more excited about the Composer, which has an RRP of €2500. Long before the Composer saw the light of day, relevant forums were already reporting on a new "super headphone" from the well-known and much "appreciated" headphone guru...

The FIBAE 7 Unlimited is the top model from Custom Art, which is based in Poland. Custom Art was founded in 2012 by Piotr Granicki and now has 12 years of experience in the field of IEMs. The first top model was the Harmony 8 in 2014, which was continuously improved to become the Harmony 8.2. At some point, the generation of FIBAE models was introduced, culminating in the FIBAE 7 Unlimited. The name is derived from "Flat Impendance Balanced Armature Earphone" and was the first system in the world to ensure that an IEM always maintains the same...