Continuing off of my Bifrost 4490 review, the Schiit Lyr 2 is the amp. side of my upgrade from the Aune X1s. ‘So Army, you’re saying in one step you went from a $350 amp/dac combi unit to a $850 setup?’ And yup, I certainly did which goes even further into me being a prime example of this hobby being a Pandora’s box; that once you open it and have learned what true quality audio sounds like, you’ll always crave better.

So after having this unit for right at a year now, how do I feel the Schiit Lyr 2 performs? Can it compare and hold its own against much higher end dacs? Well, please allow me to discuss with you my thoughts and finding of the Schiit audio Lyr 2 headphone tube amplifier. Also, to disclaim. My review will be with using the matched pair of NOS ‘68 Amperex 6DJ8 Orange Globe tubes I purchased. I used the stock tubes very briefly but all the forums hit the veil they have right on the head. The Lyr 2 really opened up its potential with the better tubes and it’s been so long since I’ve heard them stock I honestly couldn’t remember how it sounded.





The Opening Experience


Disclaimer: The Lyr 2 DOES NOT come with tubes already in the socket. That was an oversight on my part to forget to take them out.

Schiit is very consistent with how they package and deliver their products. Each has the same color/design scheme with the only difference between products being the size of the boxes for the given frame style, i.e. magni/modi/vali, bifrost/lyr2/jotunheim, gungnir2/mjolnir, ragnarok/yggdrasil. In addition the framework to the units themselves are very similar with only the input/output ports being different (same examples as before). This is one of the ways that Schiit saves money on building their products, which in turn coincides with cheaper yet higher quality products for us as consumers. But enough of the generality, I should probably talk about the Lyr 2 specifically.
The Lyr 2 arrives in a plain white cardboard box that differs it by having the Schiit logo stamped on the sides along with the given product you purchased written in a blocked, well, box; For example the Lyr 2 115V with just the tubes is written as “L I 115 I S” As you open the box you’re greeted by, IMO, a very nice presentation and care given to a product to ensure it arrives safely and in one piece. Each side of the unit is encased in a very firm foam material that, from appearance (I never tested the durability myself), seems to be able to handle any reasonable falls or hits; also, right on top is the user/instruction manual. Finally the product itself is covered with a plastic sleeve to prevent dust from entering the unit, which even it is sealed by a Schiit quality approved sticker. In a small, separate box (that’s actually on top of the unit), you’ve the pair of 6BZ7 tubes (and/or the solid state LISST) which are very protected in a nice, yet softer type of foam. Lastly, on the bottom of the package, you’ve the power cable.
Lastly, on the bottom of the package, you’ve the power cable.
As I said in my Bifrost 4490 review, Schiit does a fantastic job at packaging their products and keeping them safe until they arrive at their customer's doorstep. They then present their product so that us as enthusiasts are genuinely excited to hook it up and hear what ti can really do. This is exactly the kind if thing I look for in a “handshake” given by a company in their unboxing experience. And finally, this is only a personal thing and doesn’t effect the review, rather for or against, but Schiit is an American based company that also builds their products here; and I personally really respect that. .


Construction



It seems like I’m comparing the Lyr 2 and Bifrost a lot but seeing as how popular and well build the Bifrost is that’s certainly not a bad thing. The Lyr 2 is build from a U shaped aluminum frame with thinner metal sides and bad which works as head blocks to protect both the Lyr 2 and whatever is around it (it can get quite toasty). The front of the unit, from left to right, has the Schiit Lyr 2 logo, very nice and buttery volume knob, and ¼” headphone jack. The back of the unit, from left to right, has the rca inputs, rca outputs, gain switch, power switch, and power input. The top of the unit is where the business is, for the top is where the 2 tube ports are which in and of itself is wrapped by a vented aluminum same as what’s on the sides and back. This does a great job at keeping the unit and tubes as cool as reasonably possible, helping the longevity of the unit and tubes alike.

There’s a good reason (well, most of the time) that a company becomes and stays popular, and Schiit does it for all the right reasons. They take pride in their appearance, they deliver their products with care, and also build them to last for many, many years to come.



Features




Though most amps. are pretty straight forward with the Schiit Lyr 2, in all honesty, not being much different, it does have some very important things build into the unit that, to me, set it apart from the rest. Available tube sets are 6BZ7, 6DJ8, 6922, ECC88, 2492 just to list a few but a GREAT reference for you is this Lyr 2 thread. This, and the Mjolnir 2, have the ability to be turned completely solid state by means of Schiit’s linear, integrated solid-state tube or LISST. Then, and this reason played a very large part in my purchase, there’s the ability for this amp. to be played with not only high power orthodynamics or even annoyingly picky headphones like the HD800 but they can also play well with sensitive c/iems such as my personal Empire Ears Hermes VI. That flexibility is EXTREMELY important to me for I don’t have the funds nor interest to buy multiple products to satisfy multiple needs, I need an amp. with the ability to do it all and do it all very well and during my year with the Schiit Lyr 2, it most certainly has.

Specifications (copied straight from the Schiit website)

Frequency Response: 20Hz-20Khz, -0.1db, 2Hz-500KHz, -3dB

Maximum Power, 32 ohms: 6.0W RMS per channel

Maximum Power, 50 ohms: 4.0W RMS per channel

Maximum Power, 300 ohms: 660mW RMS per channel

Maximum Power, 600 ohms: 330mW RMS per channel

THD: < 0.01%, 20Hz-20KHz, at 1V RMS, gain = 8 mode (worst case, stock tubes)

IMD: < 0.01%, CCIF at 1V RMS, gain = 8 mode (worst case, stock tubes)

SNR: > 98db, unweighted, referenced to 1V RMS, in gain = 1 mode

Crosstalk: < -65dB, 20 Hz-20KHz

Output Impedance: 0.7 ohms (high gain), 0.3 ohms (low gain)

Gain: 7 (16.9db) or 1 (0 db), via rear switch

Topology: Dynamically Adaptive Class A/AB, noninverting, hybrid tube/MOSFET, single voltage gain stage, DC-coupled input and output

Protection: standard muting relay for delayed turn-on and fast turn-off

Power Supply: Two internal power transformers, five internal regulated rails, with over 30,000uf of filter capacitance

Power Consumption: 30W

Size: 9 x 6 x 2.25”

Weight: 6 lbs

All measurements made on a Stanford Research SR1+ Audio Analyzer



Sound



Alas, what the main event of this entire review; how the legendary Schiit Lyr 2 sounds (please see my above disclaimer about the tubes I’m using). I’ve found that I’m most certainly a tube sound lover and definitely prefer it’s warm inviting distortion over that of the solid state accuracy (kinda counter intuitive seeing the amp. I’ve just recently purchased but oh well). And the Lyr 2 absolutely envelops you in its sound. The Lyr 2 pairs incredibly well with almost any headphone I’ve put through it from the HD650’s and 800’s, to Audeze LCD 2 to my custom Empire Ears Hermes VI. Each sounded so at home and really, imo, brought out close to, if not the, best out of them. The only headphone I’ve tried that didn’t pair too well with the Lyr 2 is the Audio-Technica W-5000, can’t put my finger on it but they just don’t sound that good on it.

My favorite thing about the Lyr 2’s sound it its control has over the drivers. The bass becomes very impactful and more controlled than with the other amps I’ve tried in this price range. The mids gain more body to them and more forward, not by much but enough to be noticed. I also feel that the amp. can take much better advantage of the source it’s receiving (like that of the Bifrost [whatever model you’re using]) and express all the detail that the dac is creating. The Lyr 2, when I listen to it, breaths such realism into the headphones that they’re powering that other amps costing MUCH more came nowhere near. An example I’ll compare it to is the SPL Audio Phonitor e. This amp/dac. costs roughly $1,800 and make no mistake it did sound great but, to my ears, it just couldn’t do what the Lyr 2 does with making music sound alive and musical.

I really and truly enjoyed my time I had with the Lyr 2 and I will miss it very dearly for its performance per its price really can’t be outdone (or at least I’ve yet to see anything compare). Though I’m not personally into tube rolling, for I did days of research to find what tube fits the sound I personally enjoy, the Lyr 2 can be adapted with a smorgasbord of different style tubes so the consumer may fine tune the sound to fit whatever sound they particularly are looking for. Schiit, to me, allowed the Lyr 2 to be one of the best gateway products to get people into the high end market. At full retail price of $449 this is a respectably affordable amp. that as mentioned earlier, performs MUCH higher than its price would let on. Even those who don’t use overly difficult products to drive, in fact quite the opposite, can be at rest with the Lyr 2 (so long as it’s in LOW gain mode). The Lyr 2 presents a, for the most part, black background that really plays well with my customs. I can’t really fault the Lyr 2 that much because DAP’s that cost MORE that are even made and claim to be silent have issues with the Empire Ears line.


Conclusion



To so sum up my thoughts on the Schiit Lyr 2. I am a firm believer that anyone, regardless of their setup, will benefit from the Schiit stack that is the Lyr 2 and Bifrost (whatever model). They pair so well together and price/quality are absolutely unmatched. I’ve since parted ways with both units but it took an amp and dac costing roughly $4,000 to make me part ways with them. Schiit proudly encourages you to compare their products to others costing multiples more and it’s easy to see why after owning them. They perform.




Also, make sure to check out my unboxing and review videos. They’re pretty awesome AND you getta put a face to the Army-Firedawg name. If this review helped you out at all please hit that thumbs up button for it really helps me out a lot. Till next time my friends, stay safe.

From an extended period of hiatus to two reviews within a month, I’ve been quite busy. This time around I’ve an iem from a company that has a history of providing some of my personal favorite products for, subjectively speaking, their warm and enveloping house sound just sings to my soul. But that’s the past, this is now, and this is the Fantasy that’s attempting to become reality. So without further adieu, allow me to share my thoughts on whether or not Cayin’s newest offering really had made my fantasy a reality.



The Opening Experience





Like all prior Cayin unboxing’s I’ve experienced thus far, the Fantasy is as beautiful, simplistic, and professional as one would ever desire. The large box itself entices me to experience the possibilities of what lies inside but never deters from a very sophisticated appeal. Opening the top I was greeted by the aluminum name plate which has, lately, been a staple with Cayin’s products (and on I personally hope they keep) and the two, stunning Fantasy iems. I usually try to open up the entire product before focusing on the main attraction but I couldn’t help myself in this case. The silver stainless steel casings were just too beautiful to not feel and admire. While writing this review, I checked out Cayin’s official page on the Fantasy and they state how their inspiration for the structure was from musical instruments and I can completely see it.
Actually getting on with the rest of the box, as you fold down the front flap (no the foam piece holding the iem’s don’t come up [without tearing it]) you’re greeted with two pull out drawers. The first one is where you’re provided with one of the most impressive assortment of tips that I can personally recall, like seriously, 12 pairs. These are actually impressively influential on the sound but I’ll touch more on that later in the review. Next to the tips, you’re provided a storage box for the faux leather storage pouch. In the bottom drawer, you’re provided with a storage box for the beautiful silver cable and also a box containing all the accessories (tweezers, brush, cloth, warranty and cleaning cloth).
My thoughts on my “handshake” that Cayin provided was definitely one that was firm and full of mutual respect. This is definitely not a product that was carelessly put in a box. Cayin put time and effort into their product's representation and it definitely shows.

Construction



So my “handshake” was definitely memorable but how is the product's actual construction? Well, if you recall from just a few paragraphs ago, very strong. Cayin forged their Fantasy iem from stainless steel and drew their inspiration of its form from musical instruments. As you’ve probably been thinking, ‘wouldn’t they be fairly weighty being stainless steel?’ And to that regard, you’d be thinking correctly. They do have a nice heft to them and really cements how sturdy the Fantasy feels in your hands and I’ve full confidence that, if treated properly, these will last you for many years to come. Moving down from the initial frame, the horns are on the larger side but not overly so, just enough to where your standard sized tips will be just too small to fit. Continuing downwards, the iem connects to its provided 3.5mm silver and OCC hybrid cable via a 2 pin port. Which is quite nice for if you’ve a cable you really enjoy, or prefer a balanced cabling, you can freely switch them.
My overall thoughts on the Fantasy’s build quality is that of a solid foundation. These things are hefty, elegant and very demanding of attention.

Comfort



Given the feel of these, I did admittedly have concerns about how they’d feel in my ears. Thankfully my concerns were quickly waived aside because similar to their younger siblings, the YB-04, the way they’ve softly curved the inside makes them fit so snug and comfortably in my ear I was easily able to wear these for multiple hours at a time. Additionally, the sound isolation, that does vary depending on your tips of choice, is really impressive. With the Fantasy in my ears, I pretty much heard nothing but the music/show I was listening to/watching.

Sound




My overall impression of the Cayin Fantasy sound is definitely one of surprise, to put it one way. Perhaps I’ve just been so sold on the Cayin house sound that I’ve judged this one a little harder but, subjectively speaking, it didn’t have that same magic that all the other Cayin products had when I experienced them. The sound, to me and my ears, of the Fantasy was definitely more cold leaning. I feel they really prioritized detail retrieval and reproduction over musicality and musical enjoyment that their other products have. Not saying it’s a bad thing or that these are bad, most certainly not, just something I wasn’t expecting. Apart from its general sound characteristic, the soundstage on the Fantasy isn’t very large but it is very detailed and pinpoint. Take the piece, He’s a Pirate by Klaus Badelt & Hans Zimmer. While listening to this piece you’re able to, quite easily, both hear and position each section of instruments and where they are placed in the orchestra. Or even Pentatonix’s Daft Punk; I was able to discern each vocalist from the other even when they’re singing together.
Now, as for my impressions on the individual characteristics of the Fantasy’s sound.

Treble

The highs, to me, could definitely be a bit too aggressive at times. A great example is that from Tobias Rauscher’s piece “Still Awake” or “BriansThing” saxophone performance of “Skyfall '' by Adele. There's a point in each piece that makes listening to the Fantasy very uncomfortable and unpleasant. Now, in general terms, the Fantasy’s treble presentation is stunning. The extension, as you’d assume, is very high and the ability to relay a piece’s energy is very well reproduced. Listening to violins and piano’s on this is a wonderful treat. Instead of just siting a single song/piece, just listen to the entire album from Your Lie In April (wonderful anime to watch as well).


Mids

The mids, though are beautifully clean and amazingly crystal clean, I do feel that their tones are edged slightly higher than they usually would/should be. Throughout my many hours and songs of listening over the past week and a half, I noticed this consistently but one of my favorites that fell to this was The Last of the Mohicans performed by Luca Stricagnoli. This is a very soft and calming piece only using acoustic guitars and is a piece I reference for many of reviews for how often I listen to it. But through the Fantasy, the guitar's pitch and tone sounded higher than I knew they should and though the music was still very beautiful, I just, personally, couldn’t fully enjoy it.
Switching gears to vocals. Vocals, though still share the same noticeable increase in pitch, are overshadowed by the amazing clarity that the Fantasy provides. A fantastic example is Skin by Rag’n’Bone man. This man’s vocals are, in my opinion, accented by the beautiful representation of the Fantasy. Additionally, remember how I talked about the tips earlier in this review? If you put on the memory foam (either the ones provided or of Comply’s [or similar]) you can soften the edge the highs add.


Bass

The bass was another surprise for me. After experiencing the mentioned coldness that the Fantasy’s have I thought the bass would be fairly light as well. However, the Fantasy can absolutely provide the impact and depth and that would satisfy, I’ll confidently say, the vast majority of people. From Eminem’s “‘Till I collapse” or “Godzilla” to Falling in Reverse’s “Popular Monster” or even INSAMIME (Crazy Train my Ozzy Ozbourne Remix). Each was very satisfactory for me to get pumped to before a workout (especially with the bass boost tips [also I did NOT work out with these and would recommend you not as well]). Also, and I’ll sum up the bass with this thought, the speed of the Fantasy’s bass hit without much decay was amazing.

Conclusion



My final thoughts on the Cayin Fantasy is that, though I personally didn’t care for the sound, I can completely see that these will very much make an audiophile's audio “fantasy” come true. These are beautiful, stylish, rugged and sound the part.





Also, make sure to check out my unboxing and review videos. They’re pretty awesome AND you getta put a face to the Army-Firedawg name. If this review helped you out at all please hit that thumbs up button for it really helps me out a lot. Till next time my friends, stay safe.

Firstly I've got to give a massive thank you to Jiffy Squid from Head-Fi for accepting me into the Loaner Program for Oppo for if it wasn't for him it's very unlikely I'd have had the honor and pleasure of listening and reviewing these quite wonderful works of art.

The Opening Experience

Getting these cans was like waiting for Christmas with Christmas being delayed because a previous beholder wouldn't follow the rules, so needless to say when I came home from work and seen these I was quite ecstatic (hence the forgetting to remove the case from the GoPro in the unboxing video). The Oppo PM-3's retail for $399.99 from their website which for what you get is an amazing investment worth the money. Upon opening the packaging you're greeted with a very nice denim headphone hard case and 3 sets of individually packaged cables (one with the Apple mic [which wasn't operating in this loaner unit], one with the universal mic, and finally one straight cable [all of which were 3.5mm]), and a letter style package that included the user manual and warranty paperwork.



When you open the case you're immediately greeted with a new leather smell (which is quite impressive seeing this is a loaner unit) and a very nicely laid set of headphone with a silk pouch between the headband and cans that hold the 10ft. cable (also 3.5mm). Something that did not come with these, which I'm quite surprised about, is a headphone 3.5mm to 1/4in. adapter so it can be paired with an amp. though I'm pretty sure the new retail version will. Very quick in terms of the microphone quality I was a bit disappointing because when I was playing with my friends in PS4 party chat they all said I sounded very distant from the mic almost as if in a well even though in actuality I was in my same “gaming position” as I'm always using.



 

 

 

 

 

 

Construction

Onto the V.I.P. of this review and that's the Oppo Planar Magnetic 3 (PM-3) headphones themselves. As mentioned earlier you're greeted with a very pleasant leathery smell which screams class and luxury which is very befitting of these. Upon picking them up you'll instantaneously notice just how uncharacteristically light these are which if I remember correctly is just under 10oz. Further looking over the Pm-3's you'll get a very nice sense of luxury and craftsmanship for these are made of very high quality and lightweight aluminum and very minimal plastic, even the back are covered with a nice piece of brushed aluminum. The ear cups rotate a full 180 degrees nice a buttery without any crinkling or popping sounds which is mimicked by the cups 30ish degree swivel which should accommodate most any adult head size. The ear cups are very soft and comfortable and is padded not with memory foam as I would've thought but instead a very soft foam that feels really nice (reminds me of the Sennheiser Momentum 2 ear cups). On a side note with the ear cups I noticed they both have 2 rubber stops so to keep them quiet when the cup hits the frame, a very small addition but a much appreciated detail that not only keeps them subtle but in better condition as well.



 

 

 

 

 

 

Comfort

Moving onto the comfort, I noticed they had a moderate amount of clamping force which for me was perfect but I will note that it may be too much for some. The fact that they're so light I'm easily able to wear them for upwards of 5hours (average 3.5hrs. consistent) without to much fatigue to my ears, which on that note is the first negative I found in these, the padding that covers the drivers. After even an hour or so the padding quickly starts to agitate my ears because it's constantly rubbing on them, now that could be because I've slightly larger than average ears but seeing the ear cups have a good amount of give, I don't believe that's the case. The isolation factor on these is great, during my shifts at the airport I could very happily put these on with music and be content. Background noise will still come through some but not enough to be a nuisance, in terms of noise bleed on your end there was none, even at higher volumes I couldn't hear anything unless I literally put my ear to the pad.



 

Sound

A quick disclaimer before I begin this next segment, these are the first planar magnetic headphones I've ever listened to so the behavior and characteristics are solely based on my demonstration of this unit. Now onto what is arguably the most important aspect of a headphone is and that's the sound. My sources are my phone (LG G3 running Power Amp Pro.) and computer (HP[something cheap model]), my amp. is a Garage1217 Project Horizon 3 with a JJ E88CC tube and Fiio E11K Kilamanjaro 2; I have no aftermarket D.A.C.s. I listened to these for roughly 20-22hours during my time with the unit and tested it via intentional testing and through general life usage (i.e. playing video games, streaming, and of course musical enjoyment).

Upon first listening to these I was quite intrigued because the sound signature is obviously something I've never heard before, perhaps I hyped myself up too much and am taking the wrong outlook on it. But when I started playing the music, though it sounded super clean and precise, they didn't move me or make me fill satisfied like my favorite and benchmark headphone the Bowers & Wilkins P7. After about 30min. or so listening to these from my computer I kept getting the feeling that these are hungry, that they needed fuel to ignite the potential fire in them. All I had on me at the time was my high impedance tube amp. that I wasn't sure would be a good fit for these seeing they're resistance is quite low then I remember being told that planers take high impedance amps very well and actually usually prefer them for their higher power output. So I tried it and the results were quite impressive, also keep in mind when listening to these that, like most headphones of this price and caliber, they'll chew up and spit out lower quality audio files.

From this point I'm splitting the review into two parts, before amplification and after because these can operate very comfortably and efficiently by just your phone.

Treble

1. Before

The highs I feel are very neutral in terms of being unbiased but I feel like the headphones somewhat struggle to really push the higher energy sounds to what is potentially there. Is this the fault of the headphone or the less amount of energy given from my phone I'm unsure.

1. After

The missing potential is instantly apparent for now that the cans have an ample supply of power they produce the most stunning treble I can remember. These can handle Samvel Yervinyan's (the violinist from Yanni's orchestra) most energetic pieces with ease and without flinching.

Mids

1. Before

The mids in these are very nice and neutral. Also they're very detail ridden, for when listening to Chris Jones' “Long After You're Gone” the guitar just resonated beautifully and each pluck of the string was audibly clean and precise. I'm unsure what the audiophile term is but these really portrayed the artists feelings wonderously

1. After

No drastic changes other than they sounded slightly more refined and less, stressed, if you will.

Bass

1. Before

This is where, in my opinion, lies the second downside to these are. For though the bass if BY FAR the most accurate, tight, and fastest bass I've heard, it just doesn't give you a nice sense of warmth. Now don't get confused I'm not a bass head by any means but I do prefer a warm and relaxing sound Going back to Chris Jones' “Long After You're Gone” that entire piece is a beautiful track for the mid upper bass and bass range, and these don't give you a great bass presence. Now also I have to add my third downside to these, and that these are inconsistent. What I mean by this is most songs that I know have a nice bass response these just don't provide it then on other songs that hardly have notable bass to them these put a giant spot light on them. The song “Let It Go” was playing and provided a off putting amount of respectably deep bass that I've never heard before (though I've only heard this song intentionally 3 times so my knowledge is somewhat low).

1. After

Once the power from the tube amp. was applied (which in and of itself provides a nice bass resonance) these really opened up what they can do. The bass just sung, I mean it was stunning. I got the warmth I felt was missing, though still not what I would like but what I feel this headphone should have seeing it's a rather neutral set of cans.

Soundstage and Depth

1. Before

The soundstage in is definitely accurate as far as positional ques and identifying individual instruments go but it's not that vast and spacious. I wouldn't say that it was right in your face, but it most certainly wasn't a concert hall either.

1. After

After an amp. was brought in there still wasn't a huge difference.



Conclusion

In summary, these headphones are truly a work of art both athletically and musically; They're very neutral with clean and accurate sound throughout the frequency spectrum. These headphones, though are very good by themselves, really open up their true potential once external amplification has been added. I'd recommend these to anyone wanting an accurate, super lightweight and neutral headphone but if you're like myself and enjoy a warm, relaxing and welcoming sound then unless your amp. is a warm tube then these might not be for you.

Till next time my friends, also check out my unboxing video here, and my full video review here!

Edifier has been producing several products that has drastically outperformed the price range their offered at. From my first product I reviewed for them, their $50 H850, to their flagship $100 W855BT and a few iems in between. Edifier has provided very sound audio products that I’ve gladly recommended to several people who’re looking for a great price/quality headphone that’s quite easy on the wallet. Introducing their introductory wireless product, the $40ish Edifier W800BT. So how will the youngest sibling in the W series hold up to its older brethren? Please allow me to share my thoughts and impressions during my time with them.





The Opening Experience






The initial handshake Edifier provided on their W800BT headphone is honestly about what I expect in a headphone of this price range. The front of the box does look rather nice I will say but the back goes to the standard “showy” design that’s to be expected in the most competitive price range. But upon opening the outer box up you’re given the W800BT positioned in a cheap white plastic shell that’s main job it to just hold the headphone in a solitary position. Lastly, inside the box, you’re given a smaller (obviously) second box which holds your micro usb charging cable, 3.5mm aux cable, warranty, and startup guide.

Not really a whole lot to talk about for the unboxing of the W800BT. It was a very normal handshake and with respect to the $40ish asking price, I honestly can’t expect much more than I received.


Construction




The build quality of the W800BT is again, quite normal for the $40ish asking price. It’s completely plastic, of cheaper quality, with no articulation sub the head adjustment, which does give very physical and audible clicks when changing. The right side of the ear cups have the power/sync button on the face plate with the volume/track control buttons on the back of the ear cup. The bottom of the right cup is where you’ll find the micro usb charging port, and on the bottom of the left cup is where you’ll find the 3.5mm aux port that can be used if you’re on a device without bluetooth of if the headphones battery dies. A side to add is that there is a silver plastic strip between the pads and the cups to offset some of the (in my case) red.

The padding is a pretty firm foam that is fairly easy to remove and replace if you were to find a correctly size aftermarket pair of pads. But taking the cost of these into consideration, I wouldn’t recommend investing in a pair of pads.

My thoughts on the construction of the W800BT is that it’s very basic. They are however incredibly light headphones as well as impressively durable (though at least in my case they do scratch fairly easily), which is to be expected with plastic. I mention this to say that for those looking for an inexpensive headphone for a younger child, these would actually be a solid choice. They can take a drop, they’re not heavy and have fairly decent isolation for one to watch their movie/show in peace.



Comfort



I’ll be honest and straight to the point with this one. The comfort can use a lot of work. The padding has zero breathability thus my ears grew a bit warm quite quick and well as the chosen material isn’t great for long duration of listening. The clamping force really isn’t that bad truthfully; the level of support is nice and i know that it’s not going to fall off my head if I bend over to grab something. What I believe to be a large factor in the level of comfort, other than the pad material selection, is that the cups themselves have NO articulation. This, at least in my case, cases pressure points on the front of my ears which limits my listening durations to not much longer than 2ish hours, but it wasn’t the best within that time frame either. Perhaps one with smaller ears/head will enjoy these more than I did.


Sound


So onto what most consider to be a very important factor in a headphone purchase, the sound quality. Coming into this I was under the pretense that this would have close to the same sound as the H850 headphone considering the similar pricing (but of course knew that the added Bluetooth feature would take away some). Unfortunately that is most certainly not the case. I mean you’re not going to be in pain listening to these, and they are very affordable, wireless, headphones, but imo they don’t perform close to what I’ve come to expect from Edifier. Now as for other $40ish headphones, um, they’re not bad, but they’re not great either, they’ll play a movie or music to pass time.

I will give credit to them for having fairly impressive musical separation (thanks to a viewer of mine for recommending the song Infected Mushroom by Spitfire). In the song just linked, it starts off fairly meh, but around the 28 second mark, when more sounds start getting introduced, the W800BT’s do a surprisingly good job at separating them and even making them sound out of your head.


Treble


The highs in the W800BT are fair. They don’t particularly give me chills but at the same time I’m not disappointed in it either. There’ve been a few cases where I heard a bit of sibilance but I’m unsure if it was the headphones or recordings because it wasn’t every time I listened to a treble based instrument/song/piece. Something I particularly did like in the W800BT’s treble is that I personally never grew fatigued with it or did it ever get harsh to me.


Mids


My personal favorite area in music in general. To me, this is where the soul is. As with the W800BT the mids are notably recessed but not to the point of being a v shape. Now, though the mids aren’t a shining focal point they do come across very clear and clean (with respect to the recession). Rather it be male or female it didn’t sound bad, just withdrawn from the rest of the music.


Bass


It’s present but it’s not gonna impress anyone. BUT with respect to the REST of the audio band of these headphones, the bass is definitely the most redeeming factor with the W800BT (reference the Infected Mushroom song again for a great example). When listening to rock music you can most certainly get a good bob your head beat.


Conclusion



My final thoughts on the Edifier W800BT is that it’s a headphone I’d say would be good to have if you just need something for a trip or want something that you don’t mind being rough with. If I may offer a recommendation, try and save up another $50 (I know it’s double the cost of these) to purchase their W855BT, the difference between the 2 headphones is astronomical, and I firmly believe will make you happier as well. The battery life of the W800BT is very good though I forgot to add earlier. I never stopwatch timed it or anything but I’d say their claim of 35 hours of listening time is quite accurate for my goodness they seem to last forever.








Also, make sure to check out my unboxing and review videos. They’re pretty awesome AND you getta put a face to the Army-Firedawg name. If this review helped you out at all please hit that thumbs up button for it really helps me out a lot. Till next time my friends, stay safe.

I was first introduced to Effect Audio when they partnered with the company Empire Ears to create their Arthur and corresponding Excalibur cable. I was unfortunately unable to hear this unit personally but as a huge fan of the Empire Ears brand I had to look into this Effect Audio company a little bit more and was very impressed by the quality and appearance of their products and grew to understand why Empire Ears would offer up their flagship Zeus to create what turned out to be an amazing product (again I haven’t personally heard this product and am only going off of reviews and impressions).

Fast forward to May of 2017, I was browsing through the forums and seen that Effect Audio was having a giveaway of a few models of theirs. Well I thought it’d be silly to at not put my name in the hat. Then, when I was beyond surprised to find out I actually was lucky enough to be a winner of their Ares 2 cable I was beyond happy. So after a month with the Effect Audio Ares 2 I feel comfortable enough with it to present my impressions.






The Opening Experience





My only experience with aftermarket upgrade cables is the BTG Audio Starlight cable that I purchased along with my Empire Ears Hermes VI, so they arrived together and I can only go off of the unboxing Empire Ears provided. The other is the Moon Audio Black Dragon cable they were kind enough to send me when I was reviewing the Sennheiser HD700, which was a rather, disappointing, unboxing experience. So when I received the package in the mail, I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting much. However, Effect Audio has most certainly given me the best unboxing experience of an upgrade cable to date. True, there’s not a whole lot you can do to make a cable exciting to open, but Effect Audio, I believe, did the best available.

So starting with the beautiful box supplied with the Ares 2 cable (I can only speak to this cable for I’ve no other experience with any of their products). The top of the box is very simplified with only the Effect Audio logo being present.The bottom has the full company name along with its logo and website information. Now, going back to the top of the box and as you’re looking at the box, as you turn in downward to where you’re looking at the sides the first panel has generic information as to what the product inside the box is which in this case is Effect Audio Premium Cable. Then moving clockwise the corresponding panels only say the words “Perfection”, “Design”, and “Sound” respectively. Yup, that it!

‘But Army, that doesn’t tell you anything? Why do you like unboxings like that?’

Well completely made up voice in my head, I like boxes like these because they feel enough confidence in both their brand name and their product that they don’t need bog down their box with specs., and various other “look at me’s” that many companies do. When products are simplistic on the outside, to me, it’s then telling me ‘my actions speak louder than my words. Listen to me and allow me to show you what I can do than simply boast about it (and often not follow through)’.

Finally, as you open the box you’re then greeted with the Effect Audio Ares 2 cable coiled around, and edged by, black Styrofoam. This is a very nice presentation of the aftermarket upgrade cable but I will say I wish they would have included a little information about the cable (which yes, is also found on the website) and also the warranty information (which this does not have any paper included HOWEVER, per Effect Audio, they DO warranty their cables for 1[one] year).


Construction



This is an immediate thing I noticed when I picked up the Ares 2 out of their box. The quality and craftsmanship that went into making this cable goes above and beyond any other cable (albeit few) that I have personally reviewed. From the connectors (both phone and c/iem) to the Y-split can be customized (somewhat) from the website and each is built very sturdy.]

Just from an appearance aspect I feel prideful wearing these out. Both myself and the team at Empire Ears put a lot of effort into designing my personal Hermes VI to look exactly like I imagined and when matched with the Ares 2 cable, the “premiumness” (I couldn’t think of a word so gimme a break will ya) just didn’t fully show, plus the copper cables color really matches my wooden back w/ red casing frame. My version is terminated in a 2.5mm balanced configuration with 2 separate cables going to each iem (4 in total). The Effect Audio company name and logo are printed on both the silver and carbon fiber appearing 2.5mm termination and the Y-splitter while the c/iem terminations have the Effect Audio logo facing the outside.

The cable itself is wound up in a niece, standard, weave pattern that maintains its flexibility while allowing it to “stretch” some in case of shock load or it getting stuck on something. I can see the terminations and Y-splitter either cracking or having its face start to peel off after some years but that’s just to be expected with the type of material used. I haven’t experienced anything of the sorts personally but, from experience, I can see this happening in the years to come.


Sound



The sound of the Effect Audio Ares 2, to me, was immediately noticeable when switching up from the silver cable of my BTG Audio Starlight. At first, I honestly wasn’t impressed and even somewhat disappointed. The sound was notably slower, there was a couple, albeit small, details that I couldn’t hear anymore in certain songs, the bass has slightly longer decay, the treble was more tame and the mids were a fair bit more forward (which I personally love). But after a few hours of listening to them and allowing my ears to adjust I grew to REALLY enjoy the more musical experience vs detailed one of the Starlight cable.

I really enjoy listening to acoustic music and when listening with the Ares 2 the strings sound more realistic and almost personal. Though going back to the note of loss of detail, on a few songs I can no longer hear the artists fingers scratch across the strings as they change notes. That is a little bit of a downside but the tradeoff, to me, is worth it.

I mentioned earlier that the treble was tamed. To be more precise I believe the Ares 2 makes the roll off a little sooner than that of the silver Starlight cable, which is likely to be explain the loss of scratching of the guitar strings being lost. The mids however to take a notable forwardness and sound more lifelike and have more body than what the Starlight cable presents. To be a little more specific on that, male vocals (such as Trace Adkins) sound incredible through the Ares 2 cable. Then finally to continue on, the upper bass also presents a little more forward which makes drums (some not all) present a little more prominent as do lower toned string instruments.


Conclusion


My overall thoughts on the Effect Audio Ares 2 upgrade cable is that it really is a splendid cable in both appearance and sound. Though it may not have the detail retrieval of my other BTG Starlight cable, it presents the music with a nice touch of warmth which, as most of you who know me know, is something I personally love. A couple people here and there will notice that my ciems are custom but it wasn’t until I equipped them with the Ares 2 cable that people really started taking note that I wasn’t just listening to some regular earphone, and even asked about the cable. The Effect Audio Ares 2 cable is a great upgrade cable that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg to get a nice”er” sound from your beloved c/iems. I honestly couldn't recommend this cable enough for its price/quality ratio is very respectable.



Also, make sure to check out my unboxing and review videos. They’re pretty awesome AND you getta put a face to the Army-Firedawg name. If this review helped you out at all please hit that thumbs up button for it really helps me out a lot. Till next time my friends, stay safe.

There’s a popular saving that the best is always saved for last. Well for this one I really like the saying that patience is a virtue, for I’ve hit delay after delay with getting this review underway and it’s finally time for me to get it written and provide my opinion of the well known and current flagship (at the time of writing this review) of the Audio-Technica brand. I couldn’t be more grateful to the good friend of mine who allowed me to take part in this review period and for being patient with me during my fire academy. Sir, you know who you are and both business and personal, you are a true friend and one I wholeheartedly mean when I say, an honor to have.

But with the pleasantries and excessive delays aside, please allow me to now give my opinions and thoughts during my time with the Audio-Technica ATH-W5000 Raffinato or “Refined” in Italian.








The Opening Experience






Now, I’m not going to for a second to even imply that I had any hope towards receiving a worthwhile unboxing experience from the ATH-W5000. Why? Because every previous model that I’ve received from Audio-Technica (minus the A550Z) was big disappointment. But, I must give each individual product the benefit of the doubt for who knows, maybe they’ll show their flagship product some love.

So the product itself doesn’t come in a traditional cardboard box but instead the W-5000 comes in a suitcase looking carryer complete with a handle and all, now the front of the carrying case does have a nice aluminum name plate with the Audio-Technica name and logo printed on it. So, cool, so far this is leaps and bounds better than their previous offerings (albeit admittedly strange) but we’ve yet to open the packaging, for all I know it could just be another cheap plastic headphone holder. NOPE! Audio-Technica really pulled all the stops for their W-5000 flagship. When you open the container of the ATH-W5000 you’re greeted with a truly premium presentation of royal red either satin or silk that covers both the lid and the bottom half with the headphones themselves being contained in a cutout in the foam underneath the smooth material. What more, that cable is also held inside of a felt case that admittedly I don’t think has any function other than to look nice, but I still personally enjoy the extra thought that went into this products presentation. Something else, you know how I’m always preaching how I wish the companies would put their technical information etc...well, Audio-Technica did that with these for there’s no writing at all anywhere on the carrying case. They really want you to put on the ATH-W5000 and let it speak for itself.



Construction




Audio-Technica continued their premium offerings to the build quality of the ATH-W5000. The majority of the W-5000 is made of a lightweight aluminum, including their so well known wing support system. The only plastic parts that I can tell are that of the still useless split headband, I really wish that the springs that hold them up was also strong enough to hold the headphones themselves up, that’d be splendid. The most notable part of this headphone (at least to me) is their striped ebony wood cups that is not just a beautiful visual touch they’ve added to their headphone but one that adds a nice warmth to them as well (to be discussed in more detail in the sound section). The pads are made out of firm leather that’s filled with foam but they’re much smaller than that of the younger ATH-W1000Z. They do still share the angled shape of them which helps the drivers point directly towards your ears, granted the angles themselves are also angled so these really are practically pointed at your ears vs to the sides. The cables are, unfortunately, still the same, cheap feeling, non-detachable cable as their other models; but they do have a really nice aluminum covered termination though.



Comfort




This is another area that I’ve been rather disappointed in with Audio-Technica thus far. Now, their ATH-W1000Z’s with their really thick pads I will say got a pass from me for they weren’t too bad, quite the opposite in fact, but the ATH-W5000’s don’t share the same thick padding. Getting back on track, starting with the clamping force; the clamping force on the W-5000’s like their other models I’ve no complaints about. Their wing support system, though goofy looking (IMO), does a splendid job at providing the perfect amount of force against my head. But then it’s quickly ruined by the useless split headbands and thin earpads. This not only puts all the weight of this product on my ears but it puts a lot of the pressure of the cups as well. To their credit, they’re not the heaviest headphones I’ve tried but they aren’t the lightest either, so this construction definitely needs some work.

Another note that REALLY off puts me is the angle of them. What I mean by this is that yes, the pads themselves are angled (as is the drivers themselves) but the headphones themselves have a very prominent “V” shape angle to them which I found rather uncomfortable and rather hurt the seal. This became even worse on someone with a smaller head, such as my wife. So though I’m able to wear these for an extended duration, it’s not a very pleasurable duration. I kinda more or less tolerate the fit more than anything. And I’m sorry, but a headphone that MSRP’s for $1200, I shouldn’t have to “tolerate” its comfort; even for the $6-800 range that these can be found shopping around for, I rather think could be drastically improved on.



Sound




I strongly recommend you read the preamble to this section, I’ve never had to write one before but it explains a very interesting characteristic of this headphone that I believe to be important. Unfortunately I even find it to be a boring read but an important one I feel nonetheless.




While listening to music through the Audio-Technica ATH-W5000 I can certainly see why this headphone is as acclaimed as it is, for it most certainly has some great potential when played through the right gear. Once you get by the awkward comfort of them they possess a wonderful ability to just sing to the listener. The W-5000’s do many things well and imaging is most certainly one of them. Vocals come through so beautifully clear that I’m able to perfectly visualize the artist and hear each time they take a breath between notes. Guitars, or rather most all string instruments, sound incredibly realistic. This, this right here is what I imagined a wooden back headphone sounding. The natural warmth that is present in these headphone are remarkable which makes it all the more interesting why they dislike tubes so much.

The soundstage is also a very nice and intimate one. And by intimate I don’t mean in your face and invasive, oh no. This soundstage is very welcoming, enveloping and private. I can also add that the instrumental separation is quite impressive for a closed back headphone. Right now I’m listening to the song “Daft Punk” and “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Pentatonix and I am easily able to differentiate between the vocalists, even when they’re all singing together. Even more they don’t sound like they’re overlapping each other they sound like individual people singing harmony together; hmm kinda like an acapella band should, what a concept.

Overall the Audio-Technica holds a very warm and mid forward sound that is, with the right gear, very enjoyable to listen and relax or even critically listen to. But let me discuss its individual aspects a little bit so that hopefully I can better portray my thoughts and opinions of them.


Treble



I’m amazed by the clarity of the highs in the ATH-W5000. The extension is far reaching but not fatiguing so long as you don’t consistently listen to high pitched treble songs. What I mean by this is that the treble extends very high and rolls off just AFTER the treble gets to be uncomfortable. While listening to the song “Where Is My Mind” by Maxence Cyrin, her piano notes really hit home in these headphones which makes me think that on certain songs that get even higher than her (not too hard to find) and I can see this producing a rather unpleasant glare which may turn some people off.

Other than the high extension, the treble on the W5000’s are airy and detailed and full of energy. I LOVE listening to the violin through the ATH-W5000 due to this brilliant energy and the headphones ability to transfer that, check out the song “The Phoenix (not to be confused with my German Shepard)” by Lindsey Stirling to see exactly what I mean by that.



Mids



The mids, as you can likely guess from my prior notion of the vocals earlier, are lovely. The vocals are so realistic and clean that I can gather every bit of emotion that the artist I’m listening to is portraying. Song that really hit home in particular are “Hurt” by Johnny Cash, “Arlington” by Trace Adkins and “Human” by Rag’N’Bone Man among many many others. I personally feel that the ATH-W5000’s really shine on acoustic style music for the mids are nicely forward and the natural and warm resonance of the striped ebony wooden backs add just a sense of realism that I have to go to headphone quite a bit more expensive (or rather headphones that are in what this headphone MSRP’s for) to get this level of vocal clarity. I’ll use the song “Son Of A Bitch” by Nathaniel Rateliff to describe the body that the W5000’s. In this song they clap their hands quite a bit and you can clearly hear the flesh of each clap and the slight differences between the different hands. And though it’s not completely hand and hand, when they’re hitting the tables you can also hear the difference between that and hands, a very pleasant detail that I personally really enjoy.

I honestly don’t have a single complaint with the mids on the Audio-Technica ATH-W5000. When pair with a good SS setup, these truly sing the life of the music you’re listening to, to you. It really makes me understand the draw that these headphone have.


Bass



The heartbeat of the audio. The bass is, to me, what makes music (or whatever audio you’re listening to) sound full. It keeps everything in rhythm and allows the user to also keep pace with events but also gives the user excitement and allows them to also physically feel the presence of the music as well.

As with the ATH-W5000 the bass is very controlled and surprisingly tight for a dynamic driver headphone but also surprisingly light. For all the praise I can give this headphone in its mid range it certainly takes away from the bass because listening to bassy songs like “Party Till We Die” by DJ Timmy Trumpet or “When The Beat Drops” unsure who makes this remix, you can hear that there’s supposed to be bass in these songs, even that they’re intentionally drawn out with extra decay but threw the ATH-W5000 they certainly lose the fun that comes with party much like them. I really like artists like Five Finger Death Punch and the like but none of them really sounded too good through these headphones due to the bass lightness, so those who listen to a lot of metal, hard rock, techno etc… should, IMO, look for an alternative.


Conclusion




I honestly can’t help but laugh at my love-hate relationship I’ve had with these headphones. When I listen to them on good solid state gear I love them and see the beauty of them; but when through tube amps, though I personally prefer them, I just do NOT like them at all. They have so much potential but also only really shine in with certain genres of music, and it’s actually for this reason that I can never see the ATH-W5000 being a front runner headphone. Regardless of your setup, the notable dip in the midbass range downwards and the potential harshness in the treble make these too much of a niche headphone to take over more well rounded headphones. In the $1200 range that these MSRP for I just think there’s a LOT more to be desired, in the $700ish range and through the right gear, I think they make a great companion headphone. If Audio-Technica can just modify a few things here and there I honestly believe these headphone can become a frontrunner in the audio world.






Also, make sure to check out my unboxing and review videos. They’re pretty awesome AND you getta put a face to the Army-Firedawg name. If this review helped you out at all please hit that thumbs up button for it really helps me out a lot. Till next time my friends, stay safe.

      
 
 
 I must first and foremost give a large and heartfelt thank you to secondipity for reaching out to me and asking if I would be interested in reviewing some products offered by them. This is both a great honor me and a great opportunity to provide an insight into a company that budget minded audio enthusiasts who don’t mind purchasing refurbished products may find interesting. On a short side note before the review they’re having a special website relaunch event from 01-15MAY2016 that will be further explained in the “Disclaimer & Coupon Code” section.
    Alright, now that all of the pleasantries are aside how about we jump into the meat and potatoes of this review shall we? Actually on another side note. Never jump into a tub of meat and potatoes; something tells me it wouldn’t be an enjoyable experience.
 
  
 
    
The Opening Experience
 
    *Disclaimer: These were shipped to me outside of the original packaging & instead in a normal shipping box. For this reason I can’t give an accurate unboxing experience.
    Now, I will say that this were shipped to me with great care and protection of the product. They look as good as if they were brand new from Sony themselves. They had protective paper stuck to the outside earcups and headband and everything was and still is completely operational.
    So, my impression of a product from a company that only deals with refurbished products is quite good.
 
Construction
 
                                                                                         
 
 
    The build quality of the Sony MDR-ZX330BT is about what you’d expect from a headphone of this price. It’s built almost solely of plastic that does feel on the cheaper side. With that, one does have to be conscious minded about how they handle these for there isn’t much give to them.
    The only padding this is present in the MDR-ZX330BT is on the supra aural ear cups, which is made of the standard ear padding material that I just can’t think of the name of. But I’ll touch more on this in the comfort section.
    The 300BT doesn’t have any foldability whereas instead the ear cups rotate on a 90 degree axis. This may potentially cause issues for people in who want to travel with these but with them being so flat I personally don’t think too many problems would arise.
    All the operational buttons are located on the right side ear cup. Their responsiveness is adequate once you get used to the positioning. A major downside to these however and also a rather annoying one is that the 330BT’s are bluetooth only! NO option for equipping an aux cable, so when your battery dies (which granted is decent at around 8 hours) you’re S.O.L.
 
Comfort
 
                                                                                       
 
    One of the most overlooked aspect of an audio product that I’ve began to realize after the last few years is how comfortable a pair of headphones are to wear. It seems that headphones that lay within the mainstream consumer market are putting a lot of the focus on the physical appearance of the product, often even over sound quality.
    So how does the MDR-ZX330BT hold up? It should go without saying that this section is very subjective and that your experience may vary, but for me personally I found these a little below average. Nothing completely unacceptable but my time is shortened with these, the main issue lies in it being supra aural (on ear). While instead of using your actual head as a caveat for the clamping force, it is all placed on one's ears which, at least for me, grows tiring (and often painful) pretty quickly.
    The padding has a good amount of firmness in them which is great because as mentioned above is ONLY on the ear cups. The headband has nothing but the plastic which isn’t, the best in terms of comfort. The clamping force at first feels a bit much but then I began to ease into them and found it to be just fine. Overall the comfort was meh, but it did stay on the head pretty well. Believe it or not, I actually found these one of the most comfortable on ear headphones I’ve ever listened to.
 
Sound
 
                                                                                             
 
    Alright so here we is, the important part of an audio piece. How well does it portray the sound to the listener? In relation to the Sony MDR-ZX330BT, it’s good for working out. What I mean by this is it has a very small soundstage with very little space and depth. In fact the best way I can explain the depth is it’s very wall like, as in everything sounds like it’s directly next to each other, no separation at all. Even at this pricepoint (rather 99.99 new or 39.99 refurb’d) I have heard better in both regards. But all's not lost in the sound just yet. Let’s dive into the individual aspects to hopefully revive this some.
 
Treble
 
    I was very impressed by the highs on the ZX330BT. Not just for the price point they’re located at but in general they had great extension and a really nice sparkle. I feel great energy when the violin peaks at its highest notes and even during my workout I could get the adrenaline from the music from the higher notes I would be listening to, so at least in the treble I was quite impressed.
 
Mids
 
    My personal favorite aspect of music. For to me the mids portray the artist's feelings and emotions to me. So I’m particularly finicky about this section and right off my impressions with the MDR-ZX330BT is a bit of disappointment. I was expecting this to have a very sharp V-shape sound curve for it appeals to the broadest of audience, which is what most headphones in this price point do. But these are super recessed to the point of sounding hollow. Though I could still enjoy the vocals of what I was listening to I never got the fulfilling sound or feeling that I so search for.
 
Bass
 
    Alright now to what the fan favorite aspect of sound seems to be, the punch. And when it comes to the 330BT these have the punch. One of my favorite songs to listen to to test bass is “When the Beat Drops” Naruto amv on youtube. I’m unsure if it’s a remix of the original but there’s so many of them that I honestly don’t know what the original sounds like but whatever that one is I like it. But when listening to this song I most certainly get to pop my head when I feel beat drop (hehe see what I did there) and though it hits hard and is very fun, it’s decay is horrible. It feels like it just wobbles on way past the next note which makes it very hard (at times) to discern one note or instrument from the next.
 
Conclucion
 
    So to sum up my thoughts on the Sony MDR-ZX330BT (and btw typing that out each time was as annoying as you’d think) is that of it’s certainly not a headphone I’d use as my daily listener because for what I enjoy in audio, these just fall way way short. But when I go from my run these actually do a really good job and hold their own. For when I’m in the midst of my workout (especially on my run [I really dislike running]) I honestly don’t pay too much attention to the fine details of the audio whereas the beat is my main focus and that’s precisely what these highlight on. The do a great job of staying on my head even after I begin pouring the sweat (which on a side note these ARE NOT sweat resistant to working out in these is not recommended) these stay on nicely. I do feel the need to be delicate with them because of their lesser quality construction but not to the degree that I’m afraid of a drop or two.
    Also I will say that despite these being a refurbished product I couldn’t even tell. They performed just as if I got them brand new from Sony so Secondipity did a fine job and has delivered a great product at an in all honesty great price.
 
 
                                                                                                                            
 
Also make sure to check out my unboxing and review videos. They’re pretty awesome AND you getta put a face to the Army-Firedawg name. If this review helped you out at all please hit that thumbs up button for it really helps me out as well. Till next time my friends, stay safe.

   
 
 
 I must first and foremost give a massive thank you to both Sennheiser and Bill Poteet for giving me the opportunity to review such an amazing product. Despite this being a flagship product it’s one I don’t see onto many lists of head-fi meets, so the likelihood of me having the ability of hearing this product let alone to such an extent would’ve likely been null and void. So again thank you for this humbling opportunity.
 
     
 
The Opening Experience
 
    The initial handshake is something I talk about in everyone of my reviews and will continue to do so for I firmly believe it’s one of the most important thing aside from sound quality. How does a company represent itself when it presents its product to the consumer? Will it be a memorable or will it be just another pair of headphones that don’t really mean anything?
    In the case with the IE800’s there’s absolutely no question I was delivered a firm handshake when I opened this product. The box feels premium and the graphics present this monitor as one worn by a professional.
    Upon opening you're greeted by that lovely new headphone smell and a presentation that screams excellence. The buds and custom, serialized, carrying case are gently placed within precision cut out foam grooves which leaves you giddier than a kid on Christmas to insert them in your ears and listen.
    
                                                                                                 
 
 
Construction
 
The build quality of the IE800 is top notch. Made of a ceramic body, these show no sign of weakness. It’s immaculate and high class sheen, beautiful and elegantly designed frame and notable vent ports on the back present a very close resemblance to a high end tower speaker.
The horn however gives me a decent amount of anguish. Not because it’s overly large which is my usual complaint but it’s almost proprietary. The tips provided with them, despite being various in size, don’t do much for my ears. I’ve grown accustomed to this ever since being spoiled with comply memory foam and their comfort, isolation and security in the ear. When I try and equip them to the IE800’s horn they barely stay on and always come off in my ear when pulling the earphones out which is vastly irritating, so I must use the tips provided which takes away from the musical enjoyment because I don’t get half the sense of security for they feel like they’re always falling out, even if they’re not. Also no matter which tip I used I could never get a great seal.
Moving down to the cable, I find it to be very well made, sturdy and fairly tangle resistant. Sennheiser went a step further and made these detachable in case one were to accidentally snag them, they can either break away preventing damage or easily be replaced. I’ve two downsides with this cable however. First is, I wish the interconnect would’ve been placed on the actual frame itself as opposed to a quarter of the way down. It’s more a personal thing but a negative for me nonetheless. Lastly, the cable is about 4-6” to small. I usually keep my phone in my back pocket and this cable just barely accomodates this.
  
                                                                                            
 
 
Comfort
 
    Arguably the second most important thing about a piece of audio gear is how long can it comfortably be worn? The IE800’s for the most part fair very well in this category. The frame is very light weight and the ceramic keeps them nice and cool in your ear. When I’m leaning back in my chair relaxing with these I completely forget where I am or that I even have these in my ear for that matter.
The horn is angles to put minimum strain on your tragus which is always a plus. But as said earlier the major takeaway from the comfort for me is the fact that you’re almost solely able to listen to these with the supplied silicone tips.
Finally is the cable, I do notice a small amount of feedback anytime the cable brushes against something. It’s not a huge distraction like other IEM’s I own but it is present nonetheless.
                                                                                                     
 
 
Sound
 
Finally there’s (at least in my opinion) the most important aspect in a piece of audio equipment and that’s how they perform musically. And I have to say these perform majestically. The IE800 could definitely perform admirably in the elite class but at only $800 these are definitely a pack leader in its respective price range.
The soundstage is wonderful, and quite vast considering it to be an IEM. To add onto the soundstage the separation presented is breathtaking. You can very easily discern different sections and almost individual instruments within a giant orchestra to such a wonderful degree I frequently forget I’m not sitting center isle.
The tonal balance is very neutral with a small hint of warmth which makes them ideal for what I look for in audio. Which is not entirely about sonic accuracy but more a warm, enjoyable, experience that swift's me away and relaxes me into the performance being delivered.
Once these were burned in and got rid of the veil on them they did this sublimely.
On the note of burn in, these absolutely need at least 10hrs. before they even start sounding like $800 earphones. The veil I just mentioned is very prominent in these and the expression “like taking off a dust shroud” couldn’t be any truer than with these. Unfortunately I didn’t have these long enough to fully burn them in but I guarantee they’ll continuously sound better with proper burn in. As for the individual aspects of the IE800’s sound,  I’ll divulge a small spoiler, amazing.
 
Treble
 
    The highs on the IE800 are awesome. They’re competent, energetic and full of life. I don’t find them tiring to listen to, even during extra long listening sessions. The only “thing” I could find, and I really searched for this, is these seem to wanna draw a little more juice to bring out the higher pitches. In comparison to the other notes the treble isn’t as, forward is the only word that comes to mind. Again not really notable at all but ever so slightly present nonetheless.


 
Mids
    
    The vocals, oh how I’ve come to love Sennheiser for their mids (most of their products anyways) and these are absolutely no exception. The vocals are stunningly accurate and intimate. I feel like I’m having a private concert performed with the accuracy and soulfulness that breaths realism. I have fell in love with the mids these produce. The only bias I can tell is a slight increase in the lower mid, upper bass which give a sensual warmth to it.
 
Bass
 
    Here I suspect will lose some people. The bass on these are not that heavy, in fact while playing some heavier bass songs these let me down a some. The upper bass range was great and meshed seamlessly into the mids but the mid bass is quite recessed, not absent but definitely recessed so bass heads will need to be aware. As for the sub bass feels, they’re there but very little.
 
                                                                                            
 
 
Conclusion
 
    To sum up the IE800’s, these are truly a work of art; both auditorily and aesthetically. When you’ve these in your ear you’ll not only feel like an audio professional, you’ll look like one. The sound is so silky smooth that I can about guarantee you’ll lose track of your surroundings while being drifted away into the performance being presented in front of you.
    I would recommend this without any restrictions to anyone who’s looking for not just a very accurate and neutral pair of IEMs but one gives a very relaxing experience as well. If you’re a bass head however these are most likely not going to be for you. As for the vast majority, it’ll be a purchase well spent.
 
Till next time my friends, also check out my unboxing video here, and my full video review here.

Yet again I find myself having to give a major thanks to Edifier and their team for selecting me to be a reviewer for them and for sending me a product in exchange for my honest review. So without further adieu let’s dive into their flagship I.E.M.
 
                                                                            
 
 
The Opening Experience
 
    The initial handshake was at first quite nice. The box is advertised with very minimal jargon on the box as is it keeping itself very minimalized. Upon opening the box everything else just seemed normal. Nothing was really that extravagant nor was it distasteful and limp.  A plus side though is these do come with a respectably nice carrying pouch.
 
 
                                                                                              
 
 
Construction
 
    Solid.  I’ve no concern whatsoever about the durability of this product. The horn’s are angled, the cable is flat yet strong and the monitors themselves are built quite taught. So for the $40 range these are built very very well.
 
Comfort
 
    Average. I personally didn’t have any issues with these in terms of them staying in my ear and being comfortable during longer listening durations. However about any IEM in this price range with an angled horn gives me the same amount of comfort. A downside though it the provided tips WOULD NOT stay in my ear at all, regardless of size tried. I am unfortunately out of my beloved Comply memory foam tips which led me to try, believe it or not, Klipsch tips. Yup the ones with the super small horn, stretched enough to fit over these and I was able to enjoy them from then on.
 
                                                                                                  
 
Sound
 
    Upon playing your first track with the P293 one will immediately know these are geared towards the mainstream crowd. The “V shape” is very prominent in the P293 even more so than their H850 I previously reviewed. Also and this is most likely due to its price range but I notice that when I’m listening to a large collection of sounds (i.e. a large orchestra or even simpler a stadium of people clapping/applauding) the sounds really come in and out like it has no idea what to produce and what it can’t. It’s the first I can honestly say I think I know what a confused earphone sounds like.
The soundstage is on par with others within this price, BUT the positional cues IF on a small platform (i.e. not a lot of moving pieces) are rather impressive and give a nice sense of immersion, I even used these to game with comfortably. Also on that note the microphone on these is awesome. Not once did I have a complaint but the opposite in fact, I got complimented on the clarity a couple times. But let me dwell into the individual aspects of the sound a little more.
 
Treble
 
    Superimposed to the point that it’s not realistic. I fully understand the desire to pull detail and give the mainstream crowd the “I heard things I’ve never heard before” experience but I feel this tried a little too hard. Now this is coming from someone who has a fairly decent understanding on what to listen for, the average listener I’m confident would rather enjoy this aspect. Also the treble does peek quickly but not before the note reaches a comfortable level. So those who’re hypersensitive to treble may really like these as well.
 
Mids
 
    My personal favorite aspect of audio. The P293’s reproduction on the mids are, drastically recessed past the point of hollowness. I was heartbroken at the recession of the mids. BUT I have learned that for some reason the casual listener prefers that type of signature so I can’t fault Edifier too much for gearing their prices and sound towards that crowd. But mmmm doesn’t make the rain cloud over my head go away.
 
Bass
 
    Punchy, potent and deep. While listening to “The Pride” or “Lift Me Up” by Five Finger Death Punch or “Hail To The King” by Avenged Sevenfold, I find myself always bobbing my head and enjoying the bass hit the P293 gave me. Yes they’re a bit more than what I personally go for but they fit the overall signature of these really well. If your forte is hard rock to metal then you should seriously try these.
 
                                                                            
 
 
Conclusion
 
    To sum, the Edifier P293 is an IEM that competes with any IEM at the $50 price point. They’re built very well and though the sound to me sounded average compared to others I still wouldn’t put these in the back shelves for these can really impress the average listener and can be a gateway IEM to bigger and better products.
    Lastly on a side note these paired ridiculously well with my Aune X1s. Yes I initially plugged it in just as a “hmm let’s see” but dang, it scaled quite well.
 
 
Till next time my friends, but till then make sure you check out my Unboxing & Review videos!

    
 

 
A little About me    
 
The Opening Experience
 
    I traded for this product here on Head-Fi so I can’t correctly give an accurate unboxing experience. But I can say I was super excited to get it in the mail *insert smiley face*. ALSO, this is the NFB 15.32 variant (newest). The product page says NFB 15.1 (original), same frame but updated insides.
 
Construction
 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    Though I can’t comment on the unboxing experience I can and most certainly will however say that the build quality of the NFB 15.32 is absolutely top tier. It feels completely stern in my hands and there’s no weak link that I can at least make out.
    The frame itself is made completely out of sleek black aluminum, The only plastics that I’m seeing is the power, inputs, and the plethora of knobs on the front that let you chose pretty much every function you could imaging. The back has the standard coax, optical, and usb inputs but quite misfortunate it ONLY has dac coax outputs. So it can only tether its dac to another amp. and not vice versa.
 
Specifications (Ripped straight from the manufactures website)
 
    


 
Functionality
 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    The ease of use for this unit is, at least not me, not easy. I had an unnecessarily difficult time trying to both find and then download the correct drivers for this device, Now a quick disclaimer, is that I often have this issue ever since I purchased this Windows 8.1 laptop so it may very well just be a difficult program I’m running (whatever came with this thing).
    Now, once you have the correct drivers downloaded you’re good to go as it’ll work absolutely beautifully as is. However for those more technically inclined than I am, there’s an “OS” and “Filter.” There’s an application you can download on your computer that allows you to program different sound signatures into the amp. (pretty much like EQing your amp). I tried this a couple times and each time I did I felt like I ruined the entire amp. For nothing but very loud static would come out. The owner before me was able to get it to work just fine so I’m simply saying I had a difficult time and just enjoyed the amp. with how it is stock.
 
Sound
 
    The Audio Gd NFB 15.32 is a wonderfully musical sounding solid state amp. It has a sensual warmth to it that really reminded me of a tube amp. The mids are super smooth and complement HD650s almost as good as tube amps. do (tubes really are the best for the 650). The NFB has really nice transition between the notes along with really, I mean REALLY amazing separation when considering this beasts price point ($250).  One of my favorite songs I’ve found to both listen to and test realism and soundstage is “Pirate of the Caribbean” by the Rhapsody Philharmonic. This is a flash mob style video/recording that really puts you at the performance within the crowd of onlookers.
    The NFB 15.32, being warm with soft mids, really accent that of the Cello and Double Bass that begins the performance. As the rest of the performers start joining in you hear the crowd react and the different instruments sound as spaced out as they look in the video (I’m aware a YouTube video is super hi rez yeah yeah, but it’s quick source for finding music I like both known and new).
    The power output on this is also very very impressive and very linear. Easily able to drive my HD650s quietly and with vigor. Though the Aune X1s is a flatter sounding combi unit and is also very linear in a direct A/B it pales to the NFB. Now, with this being said however; it is not as quiet as the Aune. The NFB 15.32 does read some feedback when placed too close to another device and is very apparent when powering my Empire Ears Hermes VI (ciems).
 
Conclusion
 
   
 
    So to sum up my thought of the NFB 15.32, I find it to be an incredibly musical combi unit that I’ve really came to love. This may be either a personal preference or even a deficit or maybe even both; but I really wish it wouldn’t try as hard to do too many things. It plays audio very very well and presents a wonderfully warm and engaging experience that tube lovers can come to be at home with, But it puts too many buttons on the front that almost forces the user to try and program things that doesn’t even need to be.
    The build quality is one that gives me complete and utter confidence for users to have years to come but it only having a dac out has really irritated me. Especially when other combi units I’ve listened to or even reviewed have had that feature. In fact I really wanted to make this unit my bedroom unit to listen to as I went to sleep because of its warmth but it has NO COAX INPUTS!!!! So there’s no way I can just plug my phone in and drift away.  Small shortfalls, absolutely but shortfalls nonetheless.
    For those who want a very simple and respectably affordable combi unit and you don’t want to do a “stack” then this is absolutely a unit you should look into getting for it seriously outperforms, in terms of audio reproduction, a vast majority of the competition in this price point. However, if you like to have the ability to do a stack or even play music from your phone through this then unfortunately this unit may not be the right fit for you.  





 
Also, make sure to check out my unboxing and review videos. They’re pretty awesome AND you getta put a face to the Army-Firedawg name. If this review helped you out at all please hit that thumbs up button for it really helps me out a lot Till next time my friends, stay safe.

It’s funny how coincidences happen. Almost 2 years to the day I reviewed the original portable amp from Aune, the B1. And if you’ve seen or even read my review, I’m pretty sure I got across that I rather enjoyed the little guy. So to be able to try out its successor made me, needless to say, very excited. But of course I must give my humble thanks and appreciation to both Aune for providing a unit for me to review, and fellow head-fi’er/reviewer MShenay for organising the tour and for allowing me to take part. So to you my friends, again, I give you my sincerest thanks. But with the pleasantries aside, please allow me to now share my thoughts on Aune’s portable headphone amp, the B1s.





The Opening Experience




The handshake that Aune gave me with their B1s was, overall, satisfactory. The box that came with my review unit was exactly what I personally like seeing. It was just a very simple box that only have Aune’s name on the front and some very generalized writing on the back. As I said in the unboxing video I’m not sure if the full retail version of this will have like a cover to the box that has anything else on it but I personally think this is exactly what you get as a consumer. When you open the box you’re greeted with 2 separate compartments that don’t focus a lot on looks over simple delivery functionality. The first compartment holds the beautiful Aune B1s and the warranty & owners manual, while the other holding the micro USB charging cable and a 3.5mm to 3.5mm aux interconnect cable.

So nothing really set the Aune B1s apart from any other portable amp’s or combi’s that I’ve tried and I’ll very likely forget about this unboxing, but I will say that I wasn’t disappointed at all either, it’s just a normal unboxing experience.


Construction




Aune continues to deliver quality build products within a very reasonable price. Their newest B1s portable amp. is made almost entirely out of aluminum minus some faux leather accents on the back. But the top of the B1s contains a 3.5mm headphone input, the really smooth and linear volume control knob, and the 3.5mm aux input. The right side of the B1s (if you’re looking at the front has the battery indicator light (simple enough) that I personally don’t like how Aune does it, but I’ll discuss that more in depth in the features section.

The left side of the unit (going from top to bottom) has the gain switch, current switch, and power switch. The bottom of the B1s has the micro USB charging port. The front and back of the B1s is super simple with only 2 panes of class showing the viewer the inner workings of the amp and the back, as mentioned earlier, has 2 faux leather accents.

I really don’t have any complaints but rather nothing but satisfaction and joy with the build of the B1s. It’s constructed very well and, though I haven’t personally tested this, I’m quite confident that it’ll survive a respectable fall and not skip a beat. Aune also paid mind to the size and I was very easily able to carry this without trouble in my laptop bag I took to work or in my pocket with my phone (I did need to use bigger pockets for this though, i.e. shorts or sweatpants) and wanted to jam as I shopped for groceries. So well done Aune


Features


For the most part the Aune B1s is a very straightforward portable amp. But there are two features that I would like to give special mind to. The first is the current switch. Aune implements a current switch that’s separate from the gain switch. This allows the B1s to be much more versatile in the products it can drive and, what I believe, gives it the ability to play so quietly with hyper sensitive c/iems. Now, please keep in mind that if you’re rocking high gain AND high current then the battery of the B1s will die quite rapidly. The 5 hours Aune claims on their site is quite close with ME PERSONALLY getting roughly 4.5ish hours when driving my higher impedance cans. And this little booger does live up to the class A name for it will also get a little toasty, nothing to cause worry or honestly even discomfort if being held, but certainly warmer than any portable amp I’ve personally held.

The second feature the B1s has is its battery indicator light, that I’ll be right up front in saying I really don’t like. Call me old fashioned or what have you but when I see a single indicator light that determines how much battery a product has left I like seeing it change from green to yellow and then to red. But in the case of the B1s they chose to go with blinks. As I was writing this review the battery of the B1s went out and when I clicked the indicator light expecting to see a red light I was greeted with a green blink. Quite perplexed I looked into the manual and it states that there’s 5 patterns the Aune B1s shows in relation to battery life.



1 flash indicates the B1s is at 10% of its battery or less

2 flashes indicate it’s between 10 and 20%

3 flashes indicate it’s between 20 and 60%

4 flashes indicate it’s between 60 and 80%

5 flashes indicate it’s between 80 and 100%


Now granted, I did not look through the manual before I played this product and if I did I would’ve known that it does this, but I still don’t personally like it.


Sound



To jump right into my thoughts on how the Aune B1s sounds, I really liked it. The B1s, to my ears, added a very nice touch of warmth and vocal forwardness that didn’t alter the overall sound of the headphones very much but it just added that little bit of sauce to add a touch more musicality to the notes. The most impressive results of this I got was on the Meze 99 Classics. My goodness did these two pair beautifully together and similar results were had with the Sennheiser HD660 S. Being completely honest, the B1s didn’t “open up” any of the headphones I listened to or make any sort of drastic improvement but that touch of warmth and musicality it gives the headphone is something that I really, and let me stress, really relished in during my short time with it. If I had to put my finger on a description of the B1s’ sound, it would be like adding tube like sound to a solid state amp.

The power to drive headphones is fairly respectable so long as nothing you’re not wanting to power anything too difficult. The B1s, on high gain and high current can drive, from my headphones I tried listed above, headphones from the HD660 S and below really nicely and with impressive results. However, when you move into more difficult headphones (in relation to the rest of what I was using) you definitely reach the upper ends of what the B1s can do. The website specifically mentions the Sennheiser HD650 in its product page so I made it a point to test mine with it to hear the results. So, yeah, it powers the HD650 with respectable vigor, but to my ears there’s definitely a lot more than the HD650 can put out and I won’t even start on the HD800 S. In terms of volume the B1s gave each of the two aforementioned headphones plenty of that for my ears to be able to listen to comfortable but there was most certainly more potential to be had in both headphones.

To my BIGGEST surprise and enjoyment, the Aune B1s played DEAD SILENT to my hyper sensitive Empire Ears Hermes VI ciems. I heard nothing remotely close to a buzz or jitter through them which is a major testament to the B1s because I’ve listened to combi’s and DAP’s that costs considerably more than this $230ish and there’s only a VERY small select few of them that have a background and noise floor as silent as the B1s presents. So Aune, you all have done a very nice job with your B1s.


Conclusion




My final thoughts on the Aune B1s is that I really enjoy the ‘tube like sound’ they give their solid state portable amp. The touch of warmth is something I personally greatly enjoyed and will miss having this really attractive piece strapped to my phone and laying back in my chair on in my bed just finding new enjoyment in music. It’s built very well and I’m conifdent that whoever purchases one of these, so long as they take reasonable care of it, will last them indefinitely. I do wish however, that the B1s had more power so that it really could drive more difficult headphones other than my reasonably portable ones, but for the majority of my collection it definitely sufficed.






Also, make sure to check out my unboxing and review videos. They’re pretty awesome AND you getta put a face to the Army-Firedawg name. If this review helped you out at all please hit that thumbs up button for it really helps me out a lot. Till next time my friends, stay safe.

Been awhile since I’ve made an appearance in the review scene and what better way to come back after an extended hiatus than with a product such as this wonderfully sophisticated looking Auris Euterpe (pronounced you-turp)? Before I jump into the review, allow me to give a heartfelt thanks to my friend Mshenay for bringing this product to my attention to review.





The Opening Experience



I was given this unit in a generic box after an audio meet. Therefore I will not include thoughts or review of the unboxing because I was unable to experience a “real” one.




Construction



The build quality of this rather petite combi unit is remarkably beautiful. Boasting real wood side panels that are hand polished, the appearance of the Euterpe will likely complement the design of any location it’s placed in. The body and base of the Euterpe is made from a black aluminum like material that only complements the dark wood sides. Though these are very premium materials, the weight of the Euterpe makes me strongly advise to place this in an area where the drop risk is minimalized (though I don’t recommend dropping ANY piece of equipment) because I don’t believe the Euterpe would fair well if an accident were to happen. An interesting part of the Auris Euterpe that I believe may go unappreciated is the separation of the unit and power supply unit (PSU). Auris deciding to go with this design not only reduces the physical size of the Euterpe but it also reduces noise and interference. Something that I’m personally happy to see is the power interconnect cable is respectably thick and seemingly well shielded to further reduce external noise and interference, it also looks pretty nice as well.

Going over the more specifics of the design and build, the top of the unit boasts only the 3 tubes (2 PL95 and 1 ECC81). Moving towards the front of the unit you’ve the amazingly buttery smooth volume dial, that’s as linear and responsive in its movement as any volume knob I’ve ever felt before, the brand and unit name, source & impedance selector switch, and the single ¼” heapdhone jack. Finishing off with the back of the unit we’ve the analogue input and output ports, another brand and model logo, misc warnings, the digital USB input port and finally the power input port.

Auris definitely focused on a simplistic and straight forward design with their Euterpe headphone amp. Focusing solely on a single headphone output as well as not offering a balanced configuration is definitely something I don’t see too much of today. Overall, the Euterpe is however built very solidly and representative of its $1,700 asking price.




Specifications (copied directly from the product website)






Sound



Probably the most important thing of an amplifier (or in this case a combi unit) is how well does it produce and transmit the information to your desired headphone device? The name Euterpe is derived from the Greek Goddess of music and the giver of delight as well as being one of the nine Muses. As with Auris’ interpretation I will say that I enjoyed my experience with it. Seeing the tubes on the top I was believing that it would share a typical tube sound but that’s not the case. The Euterpe is a very transparent amp that, at least to my ears, offered little to no coloration to the music that I was listening to. Despite the amp pushing out less than a watt of power, it has very impressive dynamics and control of the headphones. Now, to disclaim, I no longer have any really difficult to drive headphones with my most “hardest” one being my HD650’s but I don’t feel that the Euterpe had any difficulties allowing the HD650 the ability to perform its best.

The thing I was most impressed with during my time with the Euterpe was its DAC. The detail retrieval that I got was very impressive and could rival that of dacs costing almost this much by themselves or at the very least hold its own against $1,000 stand alones. Similar to the amp, I also felt that the dac was also very uncolored and did nothing but portray the source material as accurately as it could. Though that may not be what I personally seek out in my equipment it most certainly fits the bill of what traditional audiophiles seek.

Going back to the dynamics that I mentioned earlier, the Auris Euterpe, if I could only list one thing that it excels at, I would have to say it’s that. From the softest of whispers to the booming bass hits, the Euterpe’s ability to showcase them elegant and with such control certainly has impressed me. A negative I have noticed however is that the soundstage is smaller when compared to my AT-HA5000-PS Audio DL3 and/or Sennheiser HDVD800. It was by no means up and in your face but I immediately noticed that everything sounded a fair bit closer than what I’ve become used to from my personal rigs.


Conclusion




The Euterpe is named after the Greek Goddess of music and the bringer of delight. I was overall delighted during my time with the unit but I can’t say that I’m going to feel a yearning to experience it again, it just didn’t fit my personal tastes as to what I look for in an amp/dac/combi. Also, I fear that the very small amount of power output in respects to other products in this price range, and even much less, makes it a hard push especially when some users have reasonably stubborn headphones to power. The fact that the Euterpe doesn’t come with a balanced option didn’t make a lick of difference to me and I only need a single headphone output as well. The takeaway that will stick with me is the beautiful dynamics that the Euterpe entranced me with. The elegance that she presented and the finessing touch made this otherwise transparent combi almost an intimate experience.






Also, make sure to check out my unboxing and review videos. They’re pretty awesome AND you getta put a face to the Army-Firedawg name. If this review helped you out at all please hit that thumbs up button for it really helps me out a lot. Till next time my friends, stay safe.

                                                                         
 
 
 
The process behind buying this little guy was honestly a lot more complicated then what I'm sure most people go through. Why, you ask? Because this was and still is my very first tube amp. and home amp. as well so I didn't know at all what I was looking for, what would complement my Sennheiser HD650's well (yes my friends I bought the 650's before I had an amp. [to my credit it was only like a week] haha), what would look good, and most importantly what would give me the best performance for what small budget I had, which was $100 which begrudgingly against what I was hoping for, was increased to $300 for I was unanimously told if I wanted to have any sort of furture proofing that was the minimum I needed to go. So I had my price and so the search began, first brand in my head for the longest time was Schiit and I was right on the point of purchasing the Asgard 2 but yet again a whole lot of “no no no no”'s came in saying tube was the way I really should go but the Valhalla 2 was just to much for what I could afford, so the search continues, that was until my good friend @evshrug told be to look into a DIY company Garage 1217.
 
                                                                                        
 
The Opening Experience
 
     Before I begin this section I must disclose that I chose the pre-built option (I've no idea how build an amp. honestly) but one can opt in for the unassembled version which firstly will be I think $20 cheaper and the opening experience will differ from mine.
     I'm actually going to split this into two paragraphs for I believe it warrants it. The initial “opening” I had with this company is when I sent an email to them on the website asking a few general question because I was ,and honestly still am, a complete amp. novice so I wanted to get a good understanding of what it was I was putting my money into because, just putting my foot in the door of the higher side of audio spending $300 on an amp. just to power my slightly more expensive $500 headphones made me a bit squeamish. But Jeremy (the main guy of Garage1217) quickly answered my questions in a very individualized NONE UNIVERSAL email that really put me at ease and gave me enough confidence in them that he earned my business.
     The initial experience into what a company has to offer, the handshake if you will that says “Pleasure to meet your acquaintance my friend to the future of many hours of enjoying each others company”. So how did Garage 1217 do? Pretty boring and forgettable unfortunately (I actually had to go bad and watch my YouTube unboxing video of it because I forgot), the amp. comes in a USPS Priority Mail box(which is good they get it to the buyer very quickly) and inside that is just simple boxes holding the power cords and bubble wrap surrounding the amp itself with the tube already socketed. Is the opening experience an end all be all for a product? Goodness no but I mean come on, it's the initial greeting or handshake you do when ya meet someone, put some effort into it, in other words make it a firm one!
      
       
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Construction
 
     The build quality of this is very misleading, because at an initial glance it appears to be very badly put together with super cheap plastic and a couple screws, I mean you can see the complete inner workings of the thing! But when you pick it up and actually analyze it you'll quickly realize that this is impressively well put together and doesn't even so much as sway if you were to hold it on one of the corner bars.
     As said earlier it's a completely open design which enables the user to see write into the inner workings, and I'm not just referring to the tube and blah blah blah, oh no I mean everything. From the chips, to the cables, the the big black block looking things that get pretty darn hot (not super insightful on this stuff yet if you couldn't tell), to the actual connection when you plug in your inputs and headphone jack. This is a very cool aspect that I've never seen before and have grown very fond of it.
     From the manufacture you can choose either a see through lid (which I obviously chose) or an aluminum black top. You can choose from the silver or black volume knob, and finally a pretty nice selection of led colors that add a really nice appeal to the amp that the tube already had, I chose red for I figured it'd complement the existing tube color the best, but I've seen others and they've all looked very nice so pick freely my friends.
 
Specifications (ripped straight from the manufactures website)
 
Actual Project Horizon Measurements

1. Single ended OTL class-A output stage.
2. Power consumption: 13W continuous, 19W peak.
3. Power supply: 48VDC (0.55A cont, 0,8A peak)
4. Input Resistance: 11k / 31kOhm gain module dependent
5. Input Sensitivity (6N23): 270mV (dependent on tube)
6. Gain: 20dB (dependent on tube) Changed from the original higher 26dB specification
7. Max Output voltage (no load): 14.1Vrms at 300ohm
8. Output Resistance: Selectable 1.5, 35 or 120ohm
9. Frequency Response: 10Hz – 160 KHz (-0.5dB) with 32ohm load
10. Frequency Response: 4Hz – 400 KHz (-3dB) with 32ohm load
11. Signal to Noise ratio: 91dBA (dependent on tube)
12. Crosstalk: -88dB (dependent on tube)
13. THD: > 0.013% (dependent on tube)
14. Suitable for: 120-600ohm Headphones

Dimensions:

1. 6.5L X 5W X 2.75H in inches

Weight:

1. Acrylic Chassis 1lb (without power supply)

 
                                                                                               
 
 
 
Sound (W/ stock JJ ECC 82 tube)
 
     The thing about a tube amp is, is that there's no way for me to determine how the amp. itself sound for it must always have a tube inside of its chamber. So my review of the sound quality will most solely reflect the tube which came with it which is the JJ ECC 82.The main headphone I was using was of course my Sennheiser HD650's so some of my reference will inevitably reflect its own principles as well.
     Upon listening to this for the first time, oh my gosh, it was like the curtain had been raised and sound just poured into my ears like it never has before. The depth, the immersion, the warmth was so wonderful it rivals that of my benchmark Bowers and Wilkins P7. In fact when I hooked my P7 up to this (switching the gain switch to low) it even opened up the sound on these a very small amount as well. These are certainly not a match for this 120-600ohm amp. but it did bring a nice, change if you will, to the P7 signature. I wouldn't classify it as better or worse but it was something new and refreshing I haven't gotten from these in a while. If you've a pair of planars I found that these complemented the PM-3 I reviewed extremely well. It added a very nice sense of warmth to it that the PM-3's were missing. I found it added a nice forwardness to the midsection but didn't really touch the treble all that much if anything.
     Lastly these give a very subtle addition to the soundstage but I feel it unnatural. Again this being my first tube I don't have any other experience to go on but tubes in their design add harmonic distortion and for the most part I find it to be rather enjoying but during my time truly listening to the PH3 for the sake of critiquing I noticed they added actually a good amount of distortion that sometimes made the music I'm listening to not a pleasurable experience.
     Going back to the soundstage, if you've a setting on your audio app. (mostly android users) that says something like “Stereo X”. It's an artificial attempt to increase the size of the soundstage but though it does this sure for those of us who truly listen to our music it immediately becomes notable that it makes the music sound stretched and fake. Now don't get me wrong, though the PH3 does have this (with this tube) it's nowhere near to that degree, as to a reference to understand what I was trying to say; even so, for all the strengths I've found in this, this small take away I can definitely live with.
A final note on the audio quality, and this one only happens when you initially plug it into your source, and that is that these receive a massive crack, a bang almost it what comes to mind. What I mean by this is when I plug the aux jack say into my computer (or any other device, it consistently happens) there's this extremely loud pop that really sets me back for it is painfully as in physically painfully loud.
 
                                                                                      
 
 
Conclusion
 
     In summary, I am truly happy that I finally pulled the trigger on this outstanding quality amp. Though yes it has some draw backs with it's distortion so a critical listening experience isn't necessarily good for this but if you're someone like myself who just likes to sit back, unwind, and enjoy the music as it washes over you, then this amp. is definitely for you. The welcoming warmth it adds to headphones is almost always appreciated and never once have I had an issue with volume levels. I'm excited with this tube to have the ability to easily roll tubes and discover new sound characteristics and differences amongst different tubes.
     I was very finicky about picking my first (tube) amp. but after having it for roughly 3 months I've no complaints and would definitely recommend this company to anyone. The customer service you receive from Jeremy goes so far above and beyond in getting you the answer to your questions you'll, like me, feel like you're actually an important customer verses another sale number that I most always feel when buying products from larger brand names.
 
Till next time my friends, also make sure to check out my unboxing video here, and my full review video here!

   
 
 
 A headphone that’s been making waves. The direct “trickle down” of the legendary Hifiman HE-1000. To be accepted into such a prestigious tour is something I’m tremendously thankful for and for that @Hifiman, and to another friend who helped me, II thank you.
 
     
      
 
 
The Opening Experience
 
    I must say, this is one of the firmest “handshakes” I’ve ever been given by a company. The presentation is truly one I will not just remember but use as comparison for other unboxings. The pictures on the front and sides are extremely simplistic, professional and scream excellence. The back of the shell is a bit cluttered and could’ve been placed in the manual but it’s not terrible.
    Now once the shell is removed, there’s the real treasure. An all leather headphone case that is beautifully done with “Edition X” written on the front and Hifiman’s logo and Edition X stamp on the stone grey front.
    Upon opening the slightly difficult top you’re greeted with a precision cut headphone layout that adheres to every curve of the HEX, not just a styrofoam generalized cutout but truly specific made. Then in between the cans are the two cables, 1 standard 3.5mm and ¼” jack.
    An incredible visual and one that I will tip my hat to. Well done hifiman, THIS is the type of unboxing experience and “handshake” I admire in companies and it shows me that you take pride in your products and not just a new toy to make money on.
 
      
 
 
 
 
Construction
 
    As I take the headphones out I’m greeted with, a very difficult time. Despite looking better than the generalized styrofoam cut outs I’m used to these are a simple grab and equip, these take a little bit of work getting out, which I can already foresee using the case very little because of this.
    Once out of the cutout, I was honestly a little disappointed. For a headphone that costs just south of $2,000, there’s a lot of plastic on these. And it’s not even the high quality plastic but the cheap feeling kind. The headband, despite being a single minutely padded strip of leather feels pretty sturdy. The cans outer shell are higher quality plastic I feel and they have a beautiful purplish sheen to them. The grills protecting the planar magnetic drivers are well crafted aluminum that, despite hearing complaints from others, I had no quality control issues. Also on this note, in case you were unaware, these are completely open back. The noise bleed is real on these and EVERYONE will hear exactly what you’re listening to as if they had these on their heads regardless of what volume levels you choose.
    The cups themselves swivel 180 degrees effortlessly and is equipped with really nice leather/ velour hybrid padding. The cables are thankfully removable and are very well shielded and seem to be quite tangle resistant.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Comfort
 
    Perhaps the second most important aspect of a headphone, at least it is to me anyways. How comfortable are they to wear? Can I wear these for hours on end or will I have a set time limit? Well with the Edition X I must say they are extremely comfortable for about an 1 ½  to 2 hours. Now, let me explain where I can up with this deduction and why it won’t necessarily be the same for everyone. The clamping force and the pads are on point! As in I am incredibly satisfied with both of them as I am with the padding length. My large ears don’t touch any of the pads however they do touch the mesh that separates the ears from the diaphragm and it’s that that causes me to grow in discomfort in such a relatively short time frame. Now those of you with average or smaller ears will have nothing but super long and enjoyable listening sessions.
 
 
 
Sound
 
    Ah, finally. The most important factor to a headphone. How do they sound? Again, costing a hefty $1,800 I have extremely high expectations of these and will critique these as such.
    Also a large note that Hifiman cannot emphasize enough. These are meant for mobile/low power use! Further going into saying that applying too much amplitude will actually diminish the sound quality quite notably. So with that in mind I used my phone (LG V10) and my Aune X1s (w/ internal varying amplitude) for the purpose of this review.
    During my week I learned that the imagine on the Edition X is incredible! During the last night of my review period I watch “Naruto the Movie: The Last” (yes, I’m a huge anime buff) and I legitimately felt like I was there. Every sound was absurdly lifelike and add in the position accuracy bestowed in these and I was having adrenaline rushes during the fighting scenes and multiple times had to remove my headphones due to thinking someone was walking in the hall behind me or knocking on the door! While listening to music, these are a perfect critical headphone to listen to because they give little to no biased at all to the audio but instead play it as it was recorded.
Now let me dive into the individual aspects of what I have learned with the Edition X during my week with them.
 
Treble
 
    The highs are, acceptable. They’re extremely accurate and clean with a stunning amount of detail, however, they don’t sparkle at all. I greatly dislike reading the hz rating because of this reason. It’s rated for 8hz-50khz so I’m expecting high to extend waaaayyyyy out there. But what I got was rather dull and fast peaking treble. I never noticed and roll in the upper treble, in fact it was quite linear, but on songs that I use that have explicit high HIGH notes (i.e. colour of the moon, diva dance, etc…) I never got those chills or emotion but rather got breathtaking and controlled detail retrieval.
     Now make no mistake, I may be disappointed in the treble response and was expecting a great deal more, but the treble is still very impressive and those who enjoy the more controlled, tame, sound will find these perfect.
 
Mids
 
    The mids are very similar to the treble in the sense that they focus completely on accuracy and flatness. The vocals are either straight flat or very slightly recessed but reproduce the audio from the artists on point. Going back to the treble I feel those who seek a truly flat and clinical sound will greatly enjoy these but someone like myself who loves the warm sensual sound and a mid focused sound I found these to be rather boring, despite the transparency of sound.
 
Bass
 
    Oh dear goodness the bass! The control, the power, the authority, the speed! I LOVE the bass response the Edition X presents to not just my ears but my being. Now those who keep up with me should no I am NOT a bass head by any means nor are these a bass head headphone but instead show what true bass should sound like and FEEL like! Never was the bass fake, or overly extended to show unwarranted excitement as most due, instead tamed the audio and made it its own delivering what was meant to be heard, nothing more nothing less.
 
                                                         
 
 
Conclusion
 
    Overall the Hifiman Edition X is a striking headphone to the clinical music lovers. They produce accuracy and a critical sound that is more emotionless than the HD700’s. If the Edition X where a person, they would be the person that is of the utmost distinguished at their job but couldn’t care less about friends, communication; or rather anything except coming in, doing their job and leaving. These do the job of playing audio accurately as well as I’ve ever heard but in doing such provides a soulless and boring sound.
    They have the flattest tonality of any headphone I’ve ever heard and retrieve detail to a degree deserving of its price tag. They do not scale much at all so I was able to transfer from amp/dac to mobile use without missing much at all.
    Are these some of the best home headphones ever made and a potential flagship killer? Eh I doubt it, there’s just no remembrance I had with these that I feel can crush headphones that are of equal tier. Now perhaps on the mobile platform they’re at the front of the pack but I doubt many people will be walking around with these for they draw a lot of attention. While shopping I wore these into a store and had every aisle someone look and try and hide a laugh.
    So are these great headphone? Absolutely, I just feel they’re currently ahead of their time and are stuck between a rock and a hard place. Add the lowish quality construction to price ratio and you’ve a constant worry about dropping them but and enjoyable experience is certainly a guarantee.
 
Till next time my friends, also make sure you check out my Unboxing and Review videos as well!
 
 

Since my first experience with Meze and their 99 Classic headphones I have found every product that they offer to hit a wonderful sweet spot for my ears. The warmth and musicality that I experience with Meze had rapidly shot them to the forefront of my personal favorite company’s. Now, they’ve entered the summit class iem category with their Rai Penta, or Heaven/Paradise’s 5 (5 drivers). Some rather big words to have the product to live up to and I was quite excited to take the reigns of putting them to the test.








The Opening Experience







Construction


Beautiful. Truthfully, I could’ve just left this section with just that one word because it truthfully describes the Rai Penta perfectly but that kinda feels like a cop out. So starting with the frame and working down. The first and unavoidable thing I think one notices about the Rai Penta is the sheer beauty and elegance that the all aluminum chassis bestows. Soft and elegant twists and edging not only makes this iem stunning to look at but wondrously comfortable (as I’ll talk about next).

The horn is also aluminum and differentiates itself from other iems by utilizing 3 individual bores, each being dedicated to their paired drivers respectably. Behind the horn you’ll see 2 ports that aren’t just there for looks. The ports are what Meze calls a Pressure Equalization System (PES) and are used to regulate the internal chamber pressures. Truthfully, I’ve no idea what benefits that offers for I’m certainly no engineer but it is something I can’t recall seeing elsewhere. Lastly and, at least in my opinion, one of the most important features that the Rai Penta possesses is that they utilize detachable cables, MMCX in their case. By default the Rai Penta comes with an unbalanced 3.5mm silver cable but you can purchase the upgraded balanced cable (terminated in 2.5mm or 4.4mm) for $150 from their site if you so choose. As for the quality of the cable itself, I must say that not only does it look stunning but it’s also, seemingly, very durable (I never pinched or did any real durability test during my review so I can only go by its outward appearance). The only thing notable I found is that the cable is fairly prone to tangling but in the same sentence it’s easily detangled so kinda cancels out.

To conclude, the Rai Penta, from horn to termination, is not only build incredibly solid but also elegantly as well. Rai Penta doesn’t just hold the part, it looks it as well. For those who’re considering purchasing this totl iem, in terms of its longevity of service, you’ve nothing to fear.


Comfort




The only other non custom iem that I’ve ever listened to with this level of comfort that I can recall from memory is the RCA CL2. Consistently I was able to have 4+ hour long listening sessions with the Rai Penta and not have the slightest of ear fatigue. The smooth edging that I discussed in the previous section goes a long way in making these able to be experienced for the long haul. Additionally, Meze included a massive amount of different tip styles and sizes so anyone could comfortably find their perfect tip and fully enjoy the experience the Heaven’s 5 presents to the listener. For those who follow me I’m sure it’s no surprise to any but I swear by the Comply memory foam tips so if using them is an option, it’s likely the route I would choose.

For those who like to travel or be active while listening to your music the Rai Penta also keep up with you there too. The isolation factor of these is amazing. When I listened to these at work I couldn’t hear a darned thing (which sadly had me taking them off because I kinda need to hear things in my line of work), so drowning out the world around you and isolating you to your own Paradise is definitely a perk of these art pieces. Now, for those active users, the Rai Penta also stays firmly in place when I went for a light jog (stopped before sweating). Now, I will say do use these for physical exercise at your own risk because Meze, to my knowledge, doesn’t state these being sweat resistant in any shape, form or fashion.

To conclude, Meze’s Rai Penta is one of the most comfortable pair of iem’s, non custom, that I’ve ever experienced. Also, even my wife with her rather petite ears was even able to comfortably wear these without discomfort of adjustments.


Sound





Before I start this section. It should go without saying but though I link YouTube videos when I’m giving examples, this is for convenience only. If applicable, I HIGHLY encourage you to listen to the music I’m referencing on as high a quality as possible to experience the fullest sound possible.


The part where I’m sure many of you care the most about, how the Heaven/Paradise’s 5 sound. Does the Rai Penta live up to the prestigious name? To me and my ears, they most certainly do, perhaps after I explain them you too will become excited to experience what they have to offer. My first impression when listening to the song “Castle of Glass” by Linkin Park is that these are definitely a Meze product. The musicality and house sound immediately became familiar to me but yet also a bit different. Though I would still qualify the Rai Penta’s as an overall musical sounding iem, they share the audiophile friendly analytical side as their bigger brother the Empyrean’s do.

As far as overall characteristics, the Rai Penta has some very impressive separation that rivals, or even beats, many equally priced over ear models. A fantastic example is “Daft Punk” by Pentatonix. Throughout the performance I’m able to easily identify each different vocalist and not once did they mesh together (in the sense of being unable to hear them apart not musicality that they were going for). This video, though a good example, isn’t the best recorded but it came up on my playlist while writing this so bear with it. But the Rai Penta also has a great sense of depth and space. In the aforementioned video you’re sitting a few rows back from the stage and through the Rai Penta’s I’m aware of this fact with makes them even more so disappear in your ears and only leaving the music behind. I can discern the larger drum in the back left while also still hearing the smaller drums that take center stage. The Rai Penta, from my time with them, has shown me that they’re not out to make a statement about showing themselves off but instead showcasing the media you’re playing instead.


Treble


The eyes of the music, an audio products ability to reveal the slightest of detail while staying calm and controlled and never becoming harsh is something, to me, reminiscent of one's own eyes. As with the Rai Penta’s I think instead of eyes, gates would be more appropriate. Listen to one of my favorite pieces from an equally favorite anime, Your Lie In April, “Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso” by Camille Saint-Saëns. My disclaimer I put at the start of all my sound sections definitely apply with this piece but my goodness do I get so much energy and detail and sheer enjoyment out of this piece and the Rai Penta replicates that absolutely flawlessly. Even at the sharpest peaks it never grows harsh nor does it lose control or become strained to obtain those peaks. I stated that the gates make a good representation of the treble on the Rai Penta and I stand by that because it’s only a taste of the rest of the paradise that lies inside their realm.


Mids


My personal favorite area of a musical track, the soul of the music. Here is where the artist, their vocals and their emotions lie. To me and my musical tastes I want a product to allow me to physically feel the emotions that the artist is expressing. Joy, sorrow, anger, anguish, I want to feel it in the music I listen to. This is where the audiophile part I mentioned at the start of this review comes into play. Though the mids are quite neutral, to my ears, they still do a very good job at portraying the emotions I so seek while still maintaining the neutrality that most audiophiles prefer. The songs “Sound of Silence” by Disturbed and, a new favorite of mine, “Glassy Sky” by Yutaka Yamada are wonderful examples of how the Rai Penta maintains its musical sound while staying within an audiophiles neutral standards. I use the song “S.O.B.” by Nathaniel Rateliff to better explain this. Listen to the hands clapping as well as the fingers snapping. Yes you can hear them very well and very clearly but they, to me, don’t have that body and lifelike sound as real flesh hitting together has. This isn’t a pitfall of the Rai Penta’s but instead something that just about all audio products with neutral mids have.


Bass


The heartbeat of the music. Bass is what keeps the pace of the entirety of the musical track and without solid control and power the entire ensemble will die with it. Admittedly, when it comes to iems I rarely get excited with their bass. It’s nothing directly against them but it’s kinda hard to replicate the powerful bass full size cans can create when they don’t have near the size to work with. In regards to the Rai Penta I will say that they possess a very competent and fulfilling level of bass that never left me feeling that a song was empty; on the contrary, I was able to enjoy some fun house music such as Vigiland’s “Friday Night” and “Pong Dance.” What really impressed me with the Rai Penta’s bass wasn’t just the depth and respectable oomph that it had but its constant control and lack of decay. I really enjoyed listening to rock and house music because the Rai Penta provided the slam that got me the pump that I look for in said music.

To be able to drop to the level of depth that the Rai Penta can then immediately reach the peaks I mentioned earlier in this review doesn’t just showcase the dynamic fortitude but an overall full iem that should satisfy about any audio enthusiasts need.


Conclusion




My final thoughts on Meze audio’s flagship iem the Rai Penta is that it controls as much musical fortitude as it does design elegance. They maintain Meze’s musical house sound while also catering to the audiophiles desire for neutrality. The soundstage is as wide as the dynamics are vast and the fullness of the sound in between granted an experience that lives up to the Rai Penta’s name.






Also, make sure to check out my unboxing and review videos. They’re pretty awesome AND you getta put a face to the Army-Firedawg name. If this review helped you out at all please hit that thumbs up button for it really helps me out a lot. Till next time my friends, stay safe.

Arguably one of the most legendary headphone in audiophilia. A stable that’s practically a part of every single conversation when high end headphones are mentioned. And now we’ve the supposed “successor.” The HD800 S coming at us in a IMO tacky all black look and a new dampener that is claimed to fix treble spike which is considered to be the only fault of the original 800. So after many, and let me stress MANY months of saving and gear selling I was finally able to buy this endgame headphone…..off a total whim. Yup, I bought this $1800 behemoth before ever getting the opportunity to hear it, and even over my dream Oppo PM-1 headphone. Let’s talk about it.



The Opening Experience

The “consumer” flagship of the Sennheiser brand. To say I had EXTREMELY high hopes of this headphone is an understatement. Thankfully, I can say that Sennheiser delivered a truly beautiful experience that I still remember. The HD800 S comes in a amazingly simplistic packaging with the only words are the branding. This screamed try me try me, and honestly even gave me chill bumps to plug them in and experience them. This level of simplism gave me, the buyer, full confidence that I bought a product that will let its ability speak more than useless jargon on a box. As I opened the container I’m now greeted with a beautiful, but sadly cheap, cardboard box that is NOT small by any nature. On top of the box (somehow it fit) is the user manual and startup guide and warranty booklet, that interestingly enough, shows both the original and new 800’s on the cover.

As I opened the substantial box I’m immediately greeted with a new headphone smell and the visual prowess of a beautiful (and again all black) silky like material that gives a soft caress of the HD800 S headphones that lay cozy inside its embrace. Below the massive legendary headphones you’ve now 2 cables that are extremely premium looking AND feeling. Pre-connected is the single ended (SE) jack and next to it is the balanced connection (which I used entirely). Also, there’s a very fancy looking USB drive that already has my PERSONAL headphones frequency graph. Oh no, not a check one in every 1,000 headphone and print off that chart, this is my personal, serial#10029, HD800 S frequency graph. That, to me, is such a cool aspect and one that REALLY makes me feel like I have a top of the line, top shelf, best of the best, product. As a firefighter, I don’t make a great salary. So when I finally save up to be able to buy something nice like this, it’s really a great feeling to know that the company respects me to include what’s honestly a very easy thing for them but it goes miles for me.

So needless to say, I was extremely happy and pleased and happy with the handshake Sennheiser gave me. I feel like I’m valued and appreciated as a consumer and though I personally don’t like the all black look, they delivered a beautiful product that shows their level of competency.

Construction





To be honest, I kinda don’t know how I feel about its construction. At the price point of $1,800 I expected it to be much better made with much more premium materials than mostly plastic (high grade [feeling] plastic albeit but plastic nonetheless). They say that this was the material the gave them the best auditory results but I personally don’t really buy that. Granted, the HD800 S doesn’t feel flimsy in my hands but at the same time I do feel I need to baby this product.

The headband is a aluminum plate with the HD800 (not HD800 S logo interestingly enough) and serial # etched into it (which is a really cool feature). The ear cups move on a glide on top of the headband vs inside of it which I’m most accustomed to. The cups themselves are extremely large and easily fit over my above average ear size. My first worry comes from the aluminum backs surrounding the driver. They look beautiful but I find myself always worrying about something hitting them or my finger touching them when I take the HD800 S off my head and them breaking through. Now, I’m well aware that I’m likely being silly but it’s a something I do think so I make sure to hold the headphone by the cans outer edge when taking them on/off. The inside of the cups have a Sennheiser branded dust cover to help keep dust, hair, etc… from getting inside the drive units. Moving down you have the very proprietary BUT REPLACEABLE cables that fit VERY securely into the headphones. So securely in fact you really have to give it some force to disconnect them (and I’m not understating that). The cables themselves are quite thick and braided to help keep interference out of the signal and to preserve their life span.

Like I said at the start of this section, I really don’t know what to think about the build quality of the HD800 S. It’s not badly built but I don’t feel that these are $1,800 headphones either. Though yes, using plastic over aluminum drastically cut back on the weight it also, to me, drastically cuts back on the premium factor. So if I had to pick a side of the fence, I’d side with the being disappointed side.

Comfort




So we’ve a spectacular unboxing experience and a meh construction. So how comfortable are they? Pretty darned comfy if I do say so myself. They don’t massage my head or anything like that but they actually hardly sit on my head. And what I mean by that is I can hardly even feel them, so the headphone just disappears into the music. The padding is pretty thin but surprisingly I have no issue with them, so whatever combination of padding materials they used, they hit it spot on. For better or worse I’ve worn the HD800 S EASILY for more than 5 hours at a time, several times; mostly with heavy Destiny gaming sessions but I hit music pretty hard too. The ONLY irritation I have is if my head isn’t straight, or the headphones aren’t being supported by a pillow etc…, they’ll quickly start sliding off my head so I have to continuously adjust them, which does get old. But other than that small set back, I really love the feathery (light) feel of the HD800 S.


Sound





Alright, now onto the super important factor and one I’ve been really excited to talk about. Now, to disclaim, I have, and may at some points continue to, compare the 800 S to the original 800 however let me say upfront that my experience with the original 800 is very limited to the few minutes I’ve had a few times at the 2 audio meets I’ve been to. But with that being said I love the change they did to the S model. Though I found the original HD800 to be incredibly revealing, to me, it was just too bright and grew to be fatiguing, even after only the few minutes I’ve had with them (again personal experience). The new HD800 S is, to me, much more neutral and easy to listen to but that’s as far as I feel comfortable comparing the 2 in terms of sound due to my very limited time with the HD800. Another disclaim is that I’m using the HDVD800 amplifier sometimes with and sometimes without it’s built in dac as the source for the HD800 S. This amp. and headphone were literally made for each other so their may be some bias in the pairings.

The soundstage on the HD800 S in incredible. There’s so much air and space present that listening to, well recorded, live music is phenomenal. The ability to envelop the listener into what they’re listening to is better than anything I’ve ever heard to date (doesn’t blow out the Hifiman Edition X but still, to me, betters it). Add in the ridiculous amount of detail retrieval the HD800 S can do and prepare yourself for even the most replayed song you can think you’ve heard you’ll still likely hear something new. A great example that I can personally give is the song “Time 2” by Ewan Dobson. I’ve heard this song so many times google pretty much auto places it on my lists for me, but never, until listening through the HD800 S, have I heard what appears to be a door opening and closing a couple times in the background. It’s so faint but through the HD800 S is clearly recognizable.

I probably already made this point clear but the HD800 S sounds amazingly realistic. To my ears I can’t personally tell any bias in the frequency response at all. It, to me, sounds completely flat and neutral. This and the massive soundstage mentioned earlier gives the HD800 S beautiful imaging. As I’m writing this paragraph I’m listening to the piece “Shadow of Doubt” from the Escaflowne anime/movie (dunno the artist), and the cellos and violins sound so lifelike and musical that I can easily visualize each musician’s pluck and draw of the sting as well as where they’re located in relation to their counterparts. It’s an experience to no other headphone has ever given me and one that leaves me not just coming back for more, but staying and relishing in it for several hours at a time.

It goes without saying but the HD800 S is a phenomenal sounding headphone that these mere words I’m writing won’t come even close to doing justice. The HD800 S truly needs to be experienced to fully enjoy and explain what I’m trying to. But in hopes of explaining it, please allow me to talk about my personal thoughts and findings about the individual areas of music.

Treble

The eyes of the music. To me treble gives the listener a look into what the music is going to be like and heightens the ensembles presentation. When listening through the HD800 S, every note, every chime is like stars shimmering in the new moon sky. Absolutely stunning. One of my favorite instruments to listen to is the violin. So much energy can be portrayed with this instrument but at the same time an artist can show calmness and ease through one as well. A song I came across recently that’s quickly became one for reference is “A Moon Filled Sky” artist unknown. This piece gives me a sense of calm and relaxation and when listening through the HD800 S I can fully appreciate this sentiment. Not once throughout my listening experience has the HD800 S became anything remotely to sharp of sibilant. Every note played up to the highest of my ability to hear is played controlled and realistic.

The incredible treble extension present in the HD800 S enables it to reveal every spec of detail that may be present, rather good or bad, in the audio file. That does bring up a potential negative as well. If your files are not well rendered or recorded the HD800 S will put a shining beacon on that buzz or hiss that most other headphones would cover up. But when recorded/mastered competently, the results are all but guaranteed to give the listener chill bumps.

Mids

Though the mids are second in this list I find myself actually having to talk about them first. Right now I’m listening to the song “Rain” by Simply Three, and I’ll likely use this song again as reference in the treble section but section I’m listening to now just has so much realism in the cello that I’m almost physically feeling the vibrations in the strings. As I hear cars driving by in the background the cellist is playing his instrument so beautifully and through the HD800 S I am truly able to enjoy this stunning piece. I make no withdrawl about my bias towards headphones with a more forward sounding mid range for if you read/watched any of my reviews you know how important the mids are to me (for to me their the soul of the music) and though the HD800 S is extremely neutral the mids are still able to come alive and breath their fullest emotion to me the listener.

On the note of emotion, I’m a huge fan of watching animated music videos (or AMV’s for short), when taken pride in and matched to the music being played they do a great job of portraying the emotion the artist (in this particular case the content creator) was wanting to portray to the listener. What’s unfortunate is that through “normal” headphone or popular, overly bassy, headphones I just can’t ever get anywhere near the emotional connection to the video. Two examples I’d like to touch on are “Hello, Sasuke My Old Friend” (Sound of Silence by Disturbed), and “Naruto And Hinata Fight Song” (fight song by Rachel Platten). These two AMV’s I’ve listened to and watched countless times but it’s only through headphones like the HD800 S that I can truly experience the emotion present in the singers, then amplified by the video really envelops me into the experience. The artist's voice come through so clean, even on the rather poor YouTube compression, that I feel that I’m having a performance given to me alone.

Having the HD800 S has actually taught me that you don’t necessarily need to have forward mids to truly enjoy the presence of the artist's voice or draw of an acoustic instruments string. So long as the headphone is in general flat and neutral you can relish in the emotion without the mids being overshadowed by the bass or treble. And the HD800 S does a truly impeccable job in showing this.

Bass

The heartbeat of music. I actually laughed a little because that statement is so true but has become diluted over the popularity of super bass products. The heart needs to be in harmony with the body or else things just don’t feel right, and this is the same with music. If the bass is too heavy is just doesn’t quite feel right with the music. If it’s too light it feels empty and maybe even stale. When I was able to A/B the HD800 S with my other dream endgame headphones, Oppo PM-1, the HD800 S almost seems to be bass light and distant but when really listening to it the HD800 S, to me, shows true tranquility with the rest of the music being performed. If you’ve ever been to a concert you know how the entire ensemble sounds as one cohesive unit and that’s exactly what the HD800 S is.

The bass is by far the most controlled I’ve EVER heard on a dynamic driver headphone. There’s a sense of presence with each bass hit that, though light and not too impactful, doesn’t leave me feeling longing. It’s quite fascinating actually. The HD800 S CAN produce bass that you can feel but they don’t impact you like headphones with powerful bass can. Check out this remix of the song “Animals” (originally by Martin Garrix) by RAZON35. Admittedly it’s a rather bad rendition (personal opinion) but it gets my goal of describing the bass.

The HD800 S is by far not the headphone that people who like super heavy bass should even remotely have in their radar. The HD800 S is a symphonic (I think that’s a word) headphone that presents its much pure and undiluted.

Conclusion



I’ve had the Sennheiser HD800 S for a few months and I continue to fall in love with them like it was my first day. The sense of realism and musical space and depth is just unmatched. I purchased these on a complete 100% whim that they would live up to their claims of fixing the treble spike and I proudly say they’ve accomplished that. Though I’ll also be upfront and say they’ll always be the complementary headphone to my sometime will own dream Oppo PM-1’s (just fills my personal tastes in music). Make NO mistake however and I cannot stress this enough. The HD800 S is a truly phenomenal headphone that after owning one I can fully understand how these have become a staple in the end game audiophile market. The performance they CONSISTENTLY put out is just ridiculous for their respective cost. I do with they used more premium materials that the plastic used but the audio quality is just so, amazingly, clean and pure I can honestly say that I love this headphone with every fiber of my being.




Also, make sure to check out my unboxing and review videos. They’re pretty awesome AND you getta put a face to the Army-Firedawg name. If this review helped you out at all please hit that thumbs up button for it really helps me out a lot. Till next time my friends, stay safe.

It’s not too often that I get to experience what an aftermarket cable can do to a products sound, there’s just not an opportunity to try them out on the gear I have. So when Effect Audio put forth a tour showcasing their new Vogue line of iem cables I definitely had to put my name in the basket because I even own their Eres II cable and greatly love it. Believe me, during my 4ish years of showing my ugly mug on YouTube doing reviews I hear both sides um *cough cough* passionate debates on their feelings of cables being snake oil vs actually improving a products sound and I for one am a firm believer that a cable does make a difference in the sound (the cost of some models is to each users own discretion as far as if it’s worth it or not). With that being said, let me discuss with you what me and my ears heard during my time with the Effect Audio Vogue series of iem cables.





The Opening Experience






The opening experience to the Vogue series of cables was as simplistic and straightforward as I’d like it to be. They each come in a white box with Effect Audio’s logo and name on it with a sticker on the side that tells what the model is and the selected terminations. In terms of its simplicity, I loved it. Effect Audio, to me, is telling their users to let the cables do the talking for them; Effect Audio has no need to bog down their boxes with jargon, their cables are more than competent enough to speak their own praise. The only thing I REALLY wish Effect Audio added, was a lip of some sorts so that you can open the box easier, sometimes it’s a real turd to get that air suction to let go.


Construction



The build quality of the 3 cables is beautifully braided together in a 4 braid configuration with each cable terminated in a multitude of possibilities that the buyer can choose from when purchasing theirs (my review sample each came terminated in 2pin-2.5mm balanced).The split is an aluminum divider that also comes with a plastic slider which can cinch down on the user's chin or behind the head for extra security is the user so chooses.

Like most braided cables, though they’re my personal preference over their popular tubular rival, they do have a problem becoming tangled in themselves and it’s an entangling that actually requires you to pull it apart and not just “flick it” like you often can with tubular designed cables. Guess that’s the cost of beauty, and again on a personal note I gladly pay that because goodness to braided cables look beautiful especially mesh cables such as the Grandioso.

My only drawback that I potentially have with these cables is one that I commonly have with my personal Eres II cable and that’s the aluminum cover covering the terminations, on both ends, often like to come off and slide down the cable. To stress, this issue did NOT happen with the tour samples I was sent but for the most part they utilize the same construction so the potential is very much there.


Sound



Before I start this section. It should go without saying but though I link YouTube videos when I’m giving examples, this is for convenience only. If applicable, I HIGHLY encourage you to listen to the music I’m referencing on as high a quality as possible to experience the fullest sound possible.


Maestro




Starting with Effect Audio’s entry level Vogue cable, the Maestro is a pure copper cable and as such has an expected boost to the bass and mid range. I personally prefer the sound that copper cables provide because they give an iem a, with me, very welcomed boost to warmth and IMO sense of musicality. Effect Audio’s Maestro is of no exception. The Maestro improved the bass on the Cayin YB04 by adding a nice amount of oomph while also accenting the already full mids. Treble is noticeably reduced compared to it’s stock cable but that’s to be expected with the removal of the silver that Cayin used in it’s silver-copper mesh cable.

I really commend Effect Audio for what they did with the Maestro cable. For the very reasonable price, in reference, they’re asking ($100), the Maestro gives a very nice nod to musicality that will either accent an iems already musical sound or tone down a little bit of unwanted brightness.


-A/B with Effect Audio’s Eres II cable. As Effect Audio directly mentions that the Maestro is evolved from their Eres II sound I only found it appropriate and befitting to compare the Maestro with my own personal Eres II cable. This was actually a quicker comparison that I originally thought it would have been (before listening) but to me and my ears, the only difference that I can hear is that the bass on the Maestro is slightly deeper than that of the Eres II while the Eres II is objectively better made and accented, which is to be expected for it’s $50 more.


Virtuoso




The “middle of the road” in the Vogue lineup. The Virtuoso is an all Silver cable that was inspired by Effect Audio’s very successful Thor model. The Virtuoso, to my ears, is an incredibly revealing cable that does a very surprising job, when considering it’s asking price, at accenting a musical pieces micro details. In the song “Glassy Sky” by Donna Burke the shaker that’s played throughout the piece is always present whereas in the previous Maestro cable, as well as other companies stock cable I review this song with, the shaker is very quiet and only an afterthought that you kind of need to focus on to be able to hear as cleanly as you can in the Virtuoso.Listening to the song “Po Lazarus” by James Carter & The Prisoners in addition to hearing the actual rocks being moved inside the bucket, which is a feat that very few iems and cables can claim, around the 45 second mark there’s a very faint “pick” metal on metal sound (gonna need the CD version or better for that, YouTube isn’t able to produce it) that I’ve only heard a few times before, but truthfully forgotten about because it’s so rare to hear.

Most of the time, when I equip a silver cable to my iems of choice I only do so to listen to classical music and the like because, traditionally, the bass and lower mids drop off a bit harder than I prefer, hence I like copper cables so much. As with the Virtuoso’s granted they do have a noticeable bass drop off when coming from the Maestro and/or Grandioso cable but it surprised me as not being as prominent as I’m used to (from upper bass higher, the mid bass and lower is quite dipped down still).

Finally, and I’ll end on my used in about every review piece, the piece “Fertility of the Sea” performed by Senzoku Gakuen College of Music really shows off the transparency that the Maestro before it just couldn’t come up with. I believe this is due to the Virtuoso’s tuning towards detail retrieval whereas the Maestro was much more musical sounding in comparison. The drums sounded incredible and hyper life like. There’s many other percussion pieces I listen to that showcase this aptitude in the Virtuoso cable but I reference that one most often because I personally greatly enjoy the performance.


-A/b with BTG Audio Starlight cable. The analogy I made above with silver cables traditionally toning down the bass is a problem that BTG didn’t incorporate as much as other companies do, similar to that of the Effect Audio Virtuoso. Both cables focus on the micro details primarily vs the musicality for compared to the Effect Audio Maestro and/or Eres II the sound is much tighter, including the bass, but much less impactful. Now, directly comparing the Starlight, the bass is much heavier and impactful however the treble is nowhere near as transparent and airy sounding as the Virtuoso’s. My beloved Fertility of the Sea, though yes still sounds beautiful lost some of that realistic sound in the micro details when the performers Bachi hits the drum itself and not the drumhead.


Grandioso



The flagship product in the Vogue series. The Grandioso, if you haven’t already imagined, is taking the best of both the Maestro and the Virtuoso. The soundstage is a fair bit narrower than what’s on the Virtuoso but the micro details with the drums is very much there as is their impact. On the note of the bass, though it is very much so improved upon over the Virtuoso, to my ears, the impact was still more present and enjoyable on the Maestro’s. As for mids, they were just as clean and as musical as any of the other cables I mention in this review Kevin Staudt’s “Dear Agony” has a wonderful sense of emotion and everybit of it is heard as true as if he was singing to you personally, all while the piano’s timbre can have its own performance and none would complain.

• A/B with Cayin’s YB04 stock cable. As it would just so have it, I was coincidentally reviewing Cayin’s wonderful iem, the YB04, which also includes a copper-silver mesh cable so I was able to A/B them and the Grandioso. The first thing I noticed is that the Grandioso’s treble is significantly more accented than Cayin’s stock cable while also having a lesser bass impact. The first song I listened to was “Into The Coals” by Buffalo Jones and “Fertility of the Sea” performed by Senzoku Gakuen College of Music. On the note of the Fertility of the Sea, it was very slight but, to my ears, I did feel like the soundstage was a little bit wider. The drums didn’t sound as close to me as they did with Cayin’s stock cable.
  

Conclusion




My final thoughts on Effect Audio’s Vogue line of iem cables is that the build quality and sound their provide for the respectable asking price they are showcasing, IMO, is a fantastic place to start for people who have always been interested in betting how their favorite iem sounds but is a little hesitant about forking over a small fortune on other brands cable. They’re beautiful to look at, and to my ears, accent the sound with respect to the cable material you decide to go with.






Also, make sure to check out my unboxing and review videos. They’re pretty awesome AND you getta put a face to the Army-Firedawg name. If this review helped you out at all please hit that thumbs up button for it really helps me out a lot. Till next time my friends, stay safe.

                                                                                  
 
 
 
 The inspiration behind my purchase of these was very simple for they were a gift for my much better half. What I was looking for when I was searching was a pair of earphones that firstly had a very small yet comfortable tips, then from there I wanted something that reflected her. So I looked for something very sleek, classy and professional looking yet stood out from the social norm. I wanted something that was amazingly tough, strong and durable while looking seemingly fragile and lastly I wanted something that was agile yet never tangled up on itself, something that was not afraid to be used and durable to take everyday use without fraying. As for the sound I've learned from letting her listen to all mine that she likes very clean music that was accurate to the recording but yet not bland as some reference can be. She liked listening to the violin to hear what she will someday sound like so I new the higher frequencies would be a focus with the mids being clean, as for the bass well she likes it to be there but not at all a focal point. Taking all of these factors into consideration I new almost instantly that the Klipsch X7i was her to a “T”.
 
 
                                                                                            
 
The Opening Experience
 
What I thought the experience of opening this was going to be like is that of opening a piece of art that was encased in a museum for the presentation of these is still some of the best and most classy packaging I've ever seen. The actual experience, well drove me absolutely bonkers. First you must pull a piece of plastic off on the bottom nothing hard about that at all, from there the case the buds are in very easily slide out, but from here oh how you will be frustrated (unless you're NOT like me and simply tear apart the packaging, for then opening this isn't anything to you). But every fold of plastic I opened it seemed I had to open another piece of plastic to get to it and then I had to maneuver everything outta the slits given to hold them in position.
Once you finally get the 'phones free at the bottom of the cardboard box you get a nice array of difference ear tips (which are my favorite non-memory foam tips I've ever used), the warranty and info. paperwork and lastly the faux leather carrying case which is very sleek and low profile perfect for the space conscious traveler.
 
 
                                                                                                  
 
 
Construction
 
The construction of these are wonderful, very well made yet with not a single loss of style and class. The tips (which are patented to Klipsch) are oval shaped and fit just perfectly in the ear canal, so well in fact they're the only other tips I ever use besides Comply (memory foam). The frame is made of hand polished ceramic and if you've read any of my other reviews you'd know that anything that someone put time into instantly gets a better rating from me; but on that note the fact that they're ceramic means that they stay cool and not just in looks either (see the joke I slid in there? No? *le sigh* Well hmph I thought it was a good one). These buds don't get warm in your ear unlike most every nonmetal bud I've listened to these always stay a nice cool temperature.
The horns are slightly angled to allow optimum comfort and doesn't rest at all on the tragus. This is something I look for almost first when I'm looking for earphones because my goodness does it do wonders for comfort, isolation, and in my honest opinion even helps the sound a good bit.
Next is the microphone, in which is super low profile, despite it being pretty large it blends into the 'phones low profile design. The buttons are very responsive and require little effort to press. The quality itself is very very nice. Not once did someone I was talking to say they had an issue listening to me when I was stationary. This mic. is very sensitive and can pick up surrounding noise which includes over head announcements (I work at Charlotte airport, so I can test the extremes) as well as the brushing of your clothes when commuting. That sensitivity is the only fault I see in the microphone.
Finally there's the cable which is, as you can guess, sleek and low profile. But it's also flat and very tangle resistant and quite abrasive resistant as well, so in terms of durability of the cable I've no complaints. However one I do have and it's actually a pretty large one and that is the cable itself is very prone to feedback when it brushes against your clothes. Even the slightest of brush from the microphone higher will create a very audible, don't know the technical word for it but racket.
 
                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
 
Comfort
 
These I must say are one of the most comfortable pair of earphones I've ever listened to. They feel like air almost in your ear they're so lightweight. I can honestly say I've warn these for in excess of 3 hours without any discomfort, the most I had to do was push them further in the ear (which I don't even have to that when I've the Comply memory foam equipped). The ceramic body keeps both them and my ear nice a cool (my I.E.M.s tend to make my ear hot) which allows me to enjoy my music more without having to worry about discomfort.
The patented oval ear tips that come with them, as said earlier, are awesome and by far the most comfortable silicone tips I've ever used bar none. They ease their way into my canal as opposed to forcing its way in as the standard semi circle style which is something I always dread when demoing new earphones for most stores only carry those for their demo tips.
In terms of how well they isolate outside sound I'd say their quite decent but not great. Again working in the airport allows me to try them in some of the loudest places (that people would still be listening to music in) so I can get a pretty good feel. When I've music playing I can still somewhat hear the outside announcements and ambient murmuring but nowhere near to the degree that I'd be annoyed, but they nowhere near isolate to the level of my I.E.M.s which are my benchmark for isolation (I even take these to the gun range they do so well).
                     
                                                                                                         
 
Sound
 
The sound of these are extremely nice and silky smooth but are quite bright, I definitely notice this when listening to Five Finger Death Punch's lead singer; for the pitch of his voice with these is notable a little higher than actuality. Whenever someone says they like detail, bright, or a very clean overall sound that's not bass dependent, these are one of my go-to brands because 1.) they fall perfectly into that category and 2.) they never let me down. The sound quality these possess makes just about everyone from probies getting into the hobby or experts that know exactly what to listen for completely satisfied. These also have some of the best binural abilities of most any other earphone, heck even headphone, that I've ever listened, to the surround ques are absolutely something to behold.
 
-Treble
 
Klipsch's are known for their highs. The treble in these are so beautiful and precise that I get chills when listening to energetic music. You feel it in your soul and have no choice but to embrace the chill bumps. Want an example of this? Listen to the live version of Yanni “All Season” (easily found on YouTube) and prepare to be blown away. I have absolutely zero complaints about the treble in these 'phones and also have nothing I'd like to be changed, their perfect as is.
 
-Mids
 
The midrange on these are very nice and detailed but do give bias towards the upper frequencies. As said above they will slightly heighten the pitch of the artists voice, not to the point of being drastically inaccurate but still notable. Something I did note on these as well is that these have a defining dip in the lower midrange and upper bass. Despite the upper mid bias I still wouldn't change the mids on these that much because the mids seamlessly flow into the treble and just complement this phone too well.
 
-Bass
 
And finally we have the bass. As you can expect from a notable bright headphone the bass on these are not heavy (which is what makes them bright haha) but yet you can still get a full sense and feeling even when listening to heavy metal. The bass it tight and controlled but I do notice when that these will start to sound tired if the bass is a continuous hit so those who listen to a lot of rap may not want to consider these for I feel you may not get(my personal bias towards rap aside) the full experience. But if the bass is sparingly given throughout the music and hits when appropriate the accuracy of this bass is close to that of even the Planar Magnetic PM-3.
 
                                                                                      
 
 
 
Conclusion
 
To sum these beautiful art pieces up, they're a no worries earphone that is not only one of the most comfortable pair you'll ever wear but a work horse at that. These retail for $199.99 from their website and have become one of my go to brands anytime I'm looking for in-ear phones. They're an amazing American based company that though is better known for their tower speakers, produces some of the best earphones I've ever listened to. And though these are not their flagships I honestly still prefer these over their X11i models for their beautiful treble and silky smooth tonality. As for Christina, even after almost a year she loves them more than anything else we have at the house (maybe because they describe her so well ;-P)
 
Till next time my friends, also check out my unboxing video here, and my video review here!

The Opening Experience








Construction



I’m not really a Chevy fan but the old time commercial and song “Like A Rock” comes to mind when I’m holding the Cayin N6ii. Not only does this piece of art feel like a rock with its size but it also has the weight to join it. I rarely find myself saying this with DAP’s, and I adamantly do not recommend trying it, but in a worst case scenario and you were to drop the N6ii, I’ve a good feeling of confidence that the DAP would be just fine, especially if you’ve it placed inside its included, and very stylish, faux leather carrying case. Cayin built this unit to last.

As you look at the unit, you’re greeted with a very respectable 4.2” touch screen display on its front. Rotating the N6ii to its right side you’ve, from the top down, power button/ volume dial, track back button, play/pause button and the track forward button. Rotating the unit to its left side, you’ve only the micro SD card slot that, from Cayin, was tested to 512gb capacity (I’ve only up to a 200gb card to test). The bottom of the N6ii, from left to right, you’ve the I2S Type C mini HDMI port (I did not use nor test this component) and the Type C USB port. Finally on the top of the N6ii is where you’ll find the business end. The top of the N6ii is where you’ll find the replaceable motherboard that sits flush and contains, on the default A01 motherboard, from left to right, a 4.4mm balanced port, a 3.5mm unbalanced port, and a 3.5mm line-out port. The optional T01 motherboard is exactly the same except the 4.4mm balanced output is also a line-out

I’ve really nothing bad to say about how Cayin constructed their N6ii DAP, the thing’s a brute and feels every bit as premium as its $1200 price tag would suggest it should.


Features


I’ll get into the sound of the N6ii (of course) soon but don’t think for a second that just sounding great is the only thing the N6ii has going for it. Cayin stuffed this unit more than a person on a diet on Thanksgiving.

Right out of the gate Cayin made their N6ii an Android based DAP that comes equipped with 8.1 Oreo. What Android operating system would be complete without built in Wi-Fi? Exactly. Which is why Cayin included dual-band (2.4 & 5 ghz) capabilities. I greatly utilized feature this to listen to various YouTube amv’s but you know, there’s Tidal and all that other cool stuff too I guess.

For those wireless technology lovers, Cayin made the N6ii equipped with Bluetooth 4.2 and also added LDAC to ensure everything stays lossless.

Finally, and I suppose it’s the biggest and most notable feature, the N6ii has the ability to interchange its motherboards with other Cayin applicable ones (tested the default A01 and the optional T01). This is a feature that, no isn’t unique to Cayin but is a concept that is fairly rare to see and one that, to me, adds a lot of longevity to a products life because what better way to make a player sound new again than to completely change the Dac, amp and inputs? And Cayin’s implementation with their N6ii is not only simple but darned stylish. To change the motherboard out is as simple as unscrewing two screws on the back with the supplied screwdriver and using the lip on the back to carefully change out the motherboards.


Sound





Here we are, arguably the most important aspect of a high end, or rather any end, Digital Audio Player, its sound. For this first bit, I will focus on the default A01 motherboard and then will switch to the optional T01 model. The first and most immediate thing I remember thinking when I first pushed play on the N6ii is hot dang, that’s impressive. The sound is that of a slightly south of neutral warmth that makes the N6ii very audiophile friendly in the neutrality department but musical enough to satisfy those filthy casuals such as myself. I fully understand that this unit is $1,200 and that is by absolutely no means, a small sum but the level of detail retrieval I got from this portable unit rivals that of my own desktop unit power supply is a different story however. A song I like to use to really check out the micro details is “Po Lazarus” by James Carter & the Prisoners. Around half way through the song, there’s a bucket that’s getting picked up and moved and it’s only quality products that you hear that but it’s only on premium and top tier products can you hear the little rocks move around inside.

Something that is difficult for me to explain but it’s the best way I can talk about with the N6ii and the A01 motherboard is just a very smooth sounding audio player. It doesn’t matter what type of music I’m listening to it’s just such an experience. To me and my ears, as I said at the beginning, the A01 is a just south of neutral sound that I could very easily see becoming a reference for many a audiophiles due to its detail retrieval and dynamic capabilities.

A note I will add for the A01, and the T01 as well, is that this unit (the N6ii) showcases its capabilities the best with iems (even hyper sensitive customs) and low powered headphones. Though they’ll power headphones like my Sennheiser HD650 & HD660 S, when you get to higher powered headphones the difference in desktop vs portable setups becomes much more apparent. The loss of dynamics and bass punch though doesn’t necessarily dissapoint (headphone dependent of course) you will definitely notice a loss of what you’re likely used to on your personal reference gear.

Moving on to the T01 motherboard module. I loved this module and immediately knew it would be my prefered module upon pushing play. The T01, whereas the A01 focuses on neutralness, takes on the musically warm approach and it does it well. Vocals immediately became more forward and the bass hit just slightly harder. Acoustic instruments such as the guitar became much more surreal sounding that I got lost in time writing this review because I just couldn’t stop enjoying my music. A perfect example is “The Last of The Mohicans” performed by Luca Stricagnoli. On the T01, the guitars resonance just becomes so much more palpable that I swore I was sitting in the room with him as he performed. Male vocals such as Johnny Cash and Trace Adkins had a lifelike body to them that you can really experience the emotion that otherwise, to me, gets lost of more neutral sounding products. Though treble isn’t lost, it is pulled back or rather rolls off sooner than the A01 sibling. I personally found no problem with this but objectively speaking you may find you missing resonances on high pitched instruments (such as symbols) making them lose their realism.



Conclusion




In summary, I greatly enjoyed my time with the newest summit-fi DAP from Cayin. Everything I could want in a DAP is present and done exceptionally well and competently. I don’t often use DAP’s but even so I can tell that Cayin’s N6ii is something special. It’s default abilities and features already set it apart from other summit-fi DAP’s; add the ability to upgrade the motherboard and you now have a virtually future proof product that will only increase its value per dollar investment. If you’re in the market for a top tier summit-fi DAP then I urge you to give strong consideration to Cayin and their N6ii. If it’s neutrality then their default A01 will more than satisfy you. If you’re like myself and enjoy full bodied warmth, then their T01 module, though an extra $330ish, has an amazingly musical sound that all but forces you to relax and enjoy your music.






Also, make sure to check out my unboxing and review videos. They’re pretty awesome AND you getta put a face to the Army-Firedawg name. If this review helped you out at all please hit that thumbs up button for it really helps me out a lot. Till next time my friends, stay safe.

For as long as I’ve been into this spiraling hobby, electrostats always come up in conversation as a top tier option to strive for. Recently I was finally able to listen to the legendary Stax SR-009 (paired with equally infamous gear) and immediately understood what made them special. Sadly, that was the end of my experience, the audio meet. Until Hifiman allowed me to take part in their Jade 2 tour. Finally, after being able to experience an extended listening period, using my music and equipment, I understand what makes not only electrostats but the Jade 2 a truly special piece of equipment.

A little about me
I would like to say that first and foremost I am NOT an “audiophile” but rather an audio enthusiast. I listen to music to enjoy it. Do I prefer a lossless source? Yes, of course. But I can still be very happy streaming from Pandora or even my YouTube “My Mix” playlist. I also prefer equipment that sounds the best to me personally regardless of what frequency response it has or rather or not it's “sonically accurate” and I always have and shall continue to encourage others to do the same.
I'm a firefighter for both the civilian and military sector and the cliché of wanting to do this since I was born couldn't be more present with me. I've worked hard over the last several years to earn this position and now it's time for me to work even harder to keep it.
I enjoy fishing and relaxing to audio products and then reviewing them to help others decide on what products would work for them. Few things make me as an audio enthusiast/review feel more accomplished than when someone tells me that I helped them find the type of sound they've always been looking for.
Now, the sound signature I personally favor is a relaxing, warm and sensual sound that just drifts me away in the emotional experience of the music being performed. Yes, accuracy is still important but I will happily sacrifice some of that if I'm presented with a clean, warm sound that can wisp me away into an experience that makes me yearn for more.
My ideal signature are that of respectably forward mids and upper bass range with the bass being controlled but with some slight decay. I like my treble to have nice extension and detail reveal with a smooth roll off up top as to not become harsh in the least. Examples of products that have given me chills and keep giving me the yearning for more feels are (in no particular order) Bowers & Wilkins P7, Oppo PM-1/2, Empire Ears Hermes VI & Zeus XIV, Audeze LCD-XC, Meze Headphones 99 Classics.

Equipment used at least some point during the review
-D.A.C.(s)
-PS Audio DigitalLink 3 w/ Cullan Stage IV Upgrade
-Sennheiser HDVD800
-Sources
-LG G8 Thin Q/HP Pavilion
-Playing Pandora, YouTube, and various format personal music

Disclaimer
I am by no means sponsored by this company or any of its affiliates. They were kind enough to send me a product for an arranged amount of time in exchange for my honest opinion. I am making no monetary compensation for this review.
The following is my take on the product being reviewed. It is to be taken “with a grain of salt” per say and as I always tell people, it is YOUR opinion that matters. So regardless of my take or view on said product, I highly recommend you listen to it yourself and gauge your own opinion.


The Opening Experience
Why I feel so strongly about the initial unboxing experience
Please allow me to explain why I feel so strongly about the initial unboxing experience with a product. Maybe it’s due to my southern roots in the hills of eastern Kentucky, but I’ve always been raised under the pretense of when you introduce yourself to someone for the first time you present yourself with confidence, class, character, pride, and competence. You greet the other person with a true warm smile, eye contact and a firm handshake. Anything less or short implies to other person that you either don’t care about them, are too full of yourself, too busy to be bothered by the likes of them, or worse, just generally disrespectful.
As a consumer, I take this same belief to when I open a new product. Why? Because think about it this way. How else can a company introduce themselves to their customers? How do they present their products? Are they packaged with pride and presented in such a way that makes the listener eager to listen to them? Or maybe they’re just wrapped up and placed in an available space. How about the box itself? Is it bogged down with jargon that says look at this, look what I can do. I’m better than anything on the market and here’s why read this and check out that. Or, is the package clean, simplistic and classy? As if saying to the customer ‘Good day, pleasure to meet your acquaintance. Please give me a listen and allow me to show you what I can do and allow my actions to speak louder than my words.’
This is why I feel so strongly about the initial presentation of a product, and I feel it’s truly a shame more people don’t. But with all that aside, let’s discuss how this product introduced itself shall we?



Construction



Starting with the amp. This thing is a brick with grips. The amp boasts a very solid and impressive feel, being made of all aluminum, with the weight and looks to complete its role of a power house. Boasting a power button, 2 electrostatic inputs, a source input selector button, and a volume knob with a set max and min (doesn’t free spin )on the front, it all stays simple and straightforward. Moving to the rear, you’ve the power input with the voltage selector switch right under it (a good implementation that allows personal sales to different countries), and then both balanced and unbalanced source inputs on the back. There’s really not much negative to say about the Jade 2 amplifier. It’s built, at least IMO, very well.
Moving to the headphones. The first thing I noticed about the Jade 2 headphones was how incredibly light they are, at least from memory, they’re the lightest headphones I’ve ever felt. The headband and grille is made of lightweight (obviously) but very sturdy aluminum with the head strap sporting what feels like faux leather. The headband adjustment and driver cups are the only parts that I’m not sure about. The website doesn’t mention any plastic being used but these two pieces feel very plasticy but that’s neither here nor there. The earpads use a faux leather and cloth hybrid (my personal favorite) that, at least to me, looks and feels like it can’t be user replaced (but I didn’t push/pull very hard on anything). The driver cups are connected to the frame using 2 bolts which only gives the pads an up/down range of motion but no side/side. A negative I do have about the headphones is that these things are HUGE, as in the headphones themselves and not just the pads. I have a decent size head and I have to put the Jade 2 on their lowest adjustment setting so for those, like my wife, who’ve a smaller head, it's not very practical to listen to these headphones.
Finally, moving down to the cable. The cable is not detachable, though it looks and feels respectively durable, if something were to happen then you’re going to be out a more than likely costly expense to ship them to Hifiman (or authorized/similar repair facility), pay their fee and then ship them back.
But in conclusion, my final thoughts on the construction of the Jade 2 system is that Hifiman did a very good job at making their $2,500 system both look and feel as premium as their price implies it should.

Comfort



The Jade 2’s comfort is, for those who can wear them, incredibile. The Jade 2 pretty much disappears on your head they’re so light plus the padding has the goldilox level of support and give. I don’t receive any microphonics from the cable when I move around in my seat and the strap doesn’t mess with my head/hair even after very long listening sessions (I do keep my hair quite short as well). I can see some having problems finding the sweet spot on their head due to the Jade 2 not having any side/side movement of the pads.

Sound



Before I start this section. It should go without saying but though I link YouTube videos when I’m giving examples, this is for convenience only. If applicable, I HIGHLY encourage you to listen to the music I’m referencing on as high a quality as possible to experience the fullest sound possible.

From the time one presses the play button on their track of choice you’ll immediately understand what makes this Jade 2 system special. The level of transparency rivals or beats any other headphone that I can think of, they just disappear. Soundstage feels natural and accurate with the imaging quite pinpoint. The Sennheiser HD800 S comes to my mind when listening to the Jade 2. Minus soundstage, I feel like the Jade 2 is an upgraded HD800 S in most aspects but shares a similar analytical and stale sound, as well as a small treble spike and bass dip as well.

Treble

The highs on the Jade 2 are clean, controlled and have great extension. There’s also a presence of airiness that not many other headphones can relate to. A piece I found recently thanks to an awesome anime (Kono Oto Tomare! Sounds of Life) called “Tenkyuu,” IMO really shows off the capabilities of the Jade 2 system in relation to treble as well as the treble peak it sometimes has. And if the Koto isn’t your thing “A Moon Filled Sky” by Tenmon is another great piece but really gets high on the sharpness.

Mids

The mids really are full of body and emotion being played through the Jade 2. Despite not really having any accent to the mid range, the Jade 2 makes the artists voices sound so real and true that I find it very difficult to listen to them and not have my eyes close to take in all the sound. John Moreland’s “Hang My In The Tulsa County Stars” is just one of many of his songs that really come to mind when I talk about experiencing emotion by the artist. Female vocals are also just as, if not more, impressive. Rebecca Pidgeon’s “Spanish Harlem” also sounds as if she’s singing right to you but when listening to that song while writing this, I really got full sense of how black the background is on the Jade 2. It’s hard for me to put that phrase into words but the only thing present was just her and the instruments to accent her. I didn’t hear any background noise floor, static nothing. Sad I can’t listen to other headphones through this because the Jade 2 amp’s noise floor really impresses me.

Bass

Hmm. So, the bass on the Jade 2 is what I would call audiophile quality but not enthusiast quantity. There’s bass on the Jade 2 in respect to control, speed, and minimal to no decay but there’s is not a slam or impact to them or at least to the degree that makes enthusiasts really get into their rock, metal, or house (etc…) music. I can insert as many different examples as I can google search but my overall thoughts about the bass will basically be repeated.

Conclusion



To summarize my thoughts on the Hifiman Jade 2 system, Hifiman, IMO, created a wonderful product that even when taking its price into consideration, performs very respectable compared to other TOTL products such as the Sennheiser HD800 S I mentioned earlier. The Jade 2 is $2500 for BOTH the headphone and amplifier. To me, when considering how well they’re built and how comfortable, though very large, the Jade 2 headphones are and, objectively, how analytically sound they are, I would not be surprised if the Jade 2 becomes a staple in many of electrostatic or rather headphones in general conversations about what a solid step towards an audiophile sounding endgame (though endgame is a rather ambiguous term that truly doesn’t exist).





Also, make sure to check out my unboxing and review videos. They’re pretty awesome AND you getta put a face to the Army-Firedawg name. If this review helped you out at all please hit that thumbs up button for it really helps me out a lot. Till next time my friends, stay safe.