A while back I reviewed the V200 Bluetooth, Active Noise Cancelling headphones from the Southern California based company iDeaUSA. Although I wasn't blown away by the sound quality I was very impressed overall, in particular with it's stellar build quality in relation to the price. So when the company asked me if I would be interested in reviewing their latest model I agreed without hesitation as I was curious to see if they could maintain such high standards at a budget entry level. And so here we are today, taking a look at the V203. This model doesn't have ANC like the V200 but it is another aptX Bluetooth headphone with an even better stated battery life (40 hours) than the previous models. Let's take a look and see what it has to offer.

Disclaimer
This product was provided for the purpose of an honest review. I'm not affiliated with the company and all observations and opinions here are my own, based on my experience with the product.

The V203 currently retails for $55.99 and is available on Amazon and AliExpress.

http://www.ideausa.com/

Amazon link

AliExpress link

Packaging and accessories

The V203 comes in a small, green and black box (mine got a little beaten up in transit), with a nice image of the headphone on the front. Opening it up we find the headphones seated in a molded plastic tray. Underneath the tray are the rest of the goodies but let's break it all down into a list, so here's what you get in the box:

• V203 headphone
• USB charging cable
• 3.5 mm cable
• soft carrying pouch
• User manual
• Warranty card

Okay, that's everything you need to get going out of the box. The 3.5 mm cable is a little on the thin side but is good quality and similar to the one found on the much more expensive B&W P5 wireless.



The carrying pouch is a really nice, soft protein leather with the AtomiX logo embossed into the front, supple in the hands and feels great. It's quite small but the headphones fit easily as the earcups rotate and fold in, making them very portable.



Build, comfort and isolation

Just like their previous models, iDeaUSA has another extremely well built headphone with the V203. Weighing in at 225g they're not only light but they look great too.

Starting with the headband, it's nicely padded and covered with protein leather. There's an adjustable metal slider covered by hard plastic with enough leverage for all manner of head sizes. The plastic feels strong and durable and should have good longevity.

The earcups are made from a lightweight aluminium and are plain on the outer side apart from the subtle, embossed AtomicX logo. On the underside of the left earcup is the micro USB plug and a pinhole CVC 6.0 microphone.

cVc is a suite of algorithms that work on the transmission and receiving path of voice calls to deliver optimum voice quality

Click to expand...

On the right earcup are the volume and multi-function buttons.



Earpads on the V203 are filled with memory foam and hug the ear nicely, making them very comfortable and at the same time providing a good seal. The insides look a bit small but there's actually a space underneath the pads that the ears go into. Even my large, Dumbo-ish ears fit comfortably inside. Clamping force is firm but not uncomfortable at all and the headphones sit securely on my smallish sized head. The padded headband rounds out the experience and overall this is a really comfortable headphone, more so than the V200. On the inside of the earcups there's a large L and R denoting left and right sides, similar to Bose headphones.



Being closed back, aluminium cans these do a pretty good job of isolating outside noise. I can't hear myself typing on my mechanical keyboard right now. In fact I can't hear much of anything except for my music (being played at low volume) and the occasional word from the nearby television. It's about average for a closed back headphone, perhaps a little better than some because the memory foam in the pads does form a consistent seal around the ears.



Bluetooth
The V203 come with 4.1 and covers A2DP/AVR CP/HSP/HFP /APT-X, enabling high quality wireless audio. With a range of 10m you have plenty of room to move. In fact these headphones have some of, if not the very best Bluetooth connectivity I've ever experienced in a headphone. When leaving my Samsung Galaxy Note 5 on my desktop in the living room I can walk through the kitchen and all the way to my back door without a single cutout or hiccup. That's really impressive, especially considering there's a thick wall standing in between. Pairing is simple, fast and painless and is accompanied by audible voice cues.

Battery life
Rated at 40 hours of playback the V203 has a well above average battery life and during my testing I found the numbers to be accurate. With a 3.5 hour charge time these headphones have an astonishing 1200 hour standby time. The 500mAh rechargeable lithium-ion battery provides the kind of experience I can really appreciate in a wireless headphone and makes it seriously worth "cutting the cables". For good or bad, this one is going to be my benchmark going into the future as far as battery life is concerned.



Sound

Gear used for testing

• Samsung Galaxy Note 5
• Acoustic Research AR-M20
• Audio Engine H3 Wireless (built-in headphone amplifier)

What you get when it comes to sound is a mainstream oriented V-shaped signature, similar to the V200 but this time around there is significant improvements in all areas. These have the popular, fun tuning that you would expect for something in their price range but they do it better than many others that I've tested.

When using the audio cable these cans are easy to drive from any source without any significant loss in quality. They sound equally as good from a smartphone and a quality DAP. I didn't notice much difference when moving up to higher quality headphone amplifiers.

Like the V200 the V203 has boosted bass but this newer model is less boomy and better controlled. It has a real authoritative punch and is quite prominent in the sound. Sub-bass is well taken care of too, having pretty good extension and a well disciplined rumble that behaves itself quite nicely. Bass can on occasion be a little too eager to please such as in "Leech" by Katatonia where the kick drum has a bit too much impact.

Midrange is recessed and sits behind the bass and lower treble but it does maintain good clarity and only suffers minimal bass bleed. Tonality is quite good, doesn't sound overly colored and manages a natural sound. Female vocals stand out a bit better due to a boost in the upper mids while male vocals sound somewhat thin in comparison. There's quite a peak around 2-3kHz that gets a little shouty and can cause some discomfort but overall it's not bad.

Treble is boosted again, hence the V-shaped signature but it's pretty good, with a peak between 8-9kHz but above that things are pretty smooth. In The Pineapple Thief's "No Man's Land" the crescendo of electric guitars and crash cymbals towards the end often has me scrambling for the volume down button but with the V203 I had no problem with it whatsoever. Dr Dre's Compton album has quite a bit of inherent sibilance throughout the recordings but again the V203 manages to keep it in check.

Soundstage is pretty good for a closed back headphone, especially one with such a strong bass. It has more width than depth of course but the imaging is impressive making this a good one for gaming though it obviously has a positive effect in music too.



Conclusion

iDeaUSA continues to release great value Bluetooth headphones and with the V203 they've really raised the bar. The battery life alone almost makes these worth considering. You get a full 40 hours of aptX high quality wireless audio which is an outstanding figure and negates one of the biggest drawbacks (in my opinion) of using a Bluetooth product. With that kind of longevity between charges it actually does make using a cable the less desirable option.

The next thing this has going for it is the exemplary build quality, which by the way comes with a one-year warranty. This is a really well built product that can take a beating and come out unscarred. And being foldable it's compact enough to easily throw into a bag without consuming much space.

All this comes in an attractive and comfortable form factor which at this point is just icing on the cake. This is a great looking headphone with an understated style that doesn't try to impress with gaudy or flashy appendages but simply looks good. Will it satisfy the discerning audiophile? Maybe not but then again it's not really aiming at that demographic. This is for people who want a decent sounding Bluetooth headphone with good battery life for watching videos, gaming or listening to music. Priced at just $59.99 the iDeaUSA easily gets a recommendation for it's feature set and outstanding value.

Disclaimer
This sample was sent to me for the purpose of an honest review. I'm not affiliated with the company in any way and all observations and opinions here are my own, based on my experience with the product.

The Meze 99 Neo is currently priced at $249 and can be purchased from the company's website: https://www.mezeaudio.com/


Packaging and accessories

The Neo arrived in a high quality, light gray cardboard box with a partial image of the headphone on the front. The box is sealed by a magnet and when opened reveals the hard carrying case inside, nestled among some black protective foam.

Opening up the case presents you with the headphone and a hockey puck-shaped zippered case which contains the cable and two adapters (x1 airline, x1 3.5 mm to 6.35 mm). The hard case is a great addition and is perfect for protecting your headphone when not in use or during transport.



The included cable is nice and a perfect length for desktop use while still being practical enough for portability. The lower section has a braided material covering and above the Y-split it changes to a rubberized sheathing. At the top end are the two 3.5 mm plugs that connect to either side of the headphone. A small feature that goes to show Meze really does pay attention to detail is the slight raised ridge on the left cable plug where most manufacturers opt to make both sides identical.



On the left side is the metal in-line microphone and rubberized single button controller. The button has a nice tactile click to it and feels quite durable. Finally the cable terminates in a straight metal, 3.5 mm plug.



Build, comfort and isolation

Onto the headphone itself now and this is where so much of the Neo's appeal comes from, in its sublime form and design. Simplicity is key in this aspect and it lends an effortless elegance to the Neo's appearance. The basis of the frame consists of a double sided manganese spring steel arch which is lightweight yet very sturdy. Connected to this is the self adjusting headband that's screwed in to the lower section. This particular headband is a wide pleather with "99 NEO" embossed on the top side. There's very little down force to it which is a good part of the reason this headphone is so comfortable but the fit feels really secure and sits firmly in place, even when you're moving about.



Meze have cleverly forgone the usual clasp that secures the metal arch and instead connected it directly to the earcups. This time around, gone are the wooden earcups and they've been replaced by charcoal black ABS plastic. The earcups have a slightly textured matte finish, look great and at the same time very robust. Lastly the earpads are a medium density memory foam that softly hug your dome and have enough space inside to accommodate even large ears.



Comfort is excellent with the soft pads and light clamping force and I can easily wear the Neo for hours on end without discomfort. The closed backs mean that your ears might get a bit hot but hey, closed back headphones are always going to be like that. The wide, well padded headband and low down-force add again to the comfort.

Isolation is pretty good too as you'd expect with closed backs and there's really not much more to say about that. While I personally prefer to use in-ears on the go the Neo is also well suited to the task and there's enough isolation given to use it in most scenarios without issue.

Sound

Gear used for testing

• Acoustic Research AR-M20 > 99 Neo
• ATC HDA-DP20 > Phatlab Sassy II > 99 Neo
• Foobar2000 > Topping DX7 > 99 Neo

The Neo does not require amplification as it's super easy to drive with an impedance of just 26 Ohm. It can be paired with almost any low powered device but as always, a better DAC will usually provide superior overall sound. Due to the warm nature of the headphone I'd recommend a neutral source to get the best results.

I never had an opportunity to hear the 99 Classic so I wasn't exactly sure what to expect from the Neo. I was pretty certain they'd be good considering the coverage, awards and hype that had surrounded the Classic. My first listen gave me something very different from what I was anticipating. I thought it was going to be a very "audiophile" tuned sound, rather linear, perhaps even close to neutral with a clean, tight bass, loads of detail and resolution etc. Imagine my surprise when I heard the accentuated, meaty bass and warm overtones. "Wait a second" I thought... This is tuned for fun. It's built to be emotive, to make you forget that you intended to do some critical listening and instead draw you in and lose yourself to the music. These things are designed for pleasure plain and simple.

Bass has a healthy boost taking it way north of neutral. It has a slow attack, giving bass notes a soft edge and similarly the somewhat slow decay adds to the rounded effect. At times it even seems a bit loose but that's not necessarily a bad thing although on occasion it does mean that some detail in the music gets lost. There's a definite mid-bass hump that carries over into the lower mids and adds to the overall warmth. Sub-bass in contrast is quite tame in tonal balance but can still provide a satisfying rumble. It extends fairly well but does roll-off a little and plays second fiddle to the mid-bass dominance.

Midrange is lush and organic, very musical and not in the least bit dry or analytical. In "New Horizon" by The Gentle Storm the mids occasionally struggle for a foothold and are suppressed by the thick drums. In Loreena Mckennitt's "Emmanuel" however, the Neo shines on this vocal and strings based track, its warmth smoothing Loreena's high notes and bringing out the rich resonance of the classical backing strings. An album that's a great match for the Neo's properties is Language of the Ancients by S1gns of L1fe, with it's soothing, ambient sounds and hypnotic bass lines.

Treble is unremarkable but only because it plays a lesser role in the overall warm tuning. Timbre is accurate and the extension is there, it's just that the treble doesn't have much prominence. It does make the Neo easy to listen to and should appeal to the treble sensitive. Listening to Utada Hikaru's "Traveling" the track's inherent sibilance can still be heard, so the treble is not artificially smoothed over but rather sits at the back of the mix. Still in Bill Withers' "Soul Shadows" the hi-hats have a great lift and come out to play throughout the whole track.

Soundstage is above average for a closed back headphone. There are plenty of times when it can reach outside of the headspace, generally in music with lighter bass this becomes more evident. Depth though is very good and the imaging is excellent. Positional cues are accurate and defining in the large sized sphere portrayed which provide the added bonus of making the Neo good for some first person gaming as well.



Comparisons

Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro 250 Ohm ($179 USD)
The DT990 is well known for its strong V-shaped signature so it has similarly boosted bass levels but also has a lot more treble as well. It's more resolving than the Neo and reveals more small details but can get a little strident or overenthusiastic on the high frequencies. The DT990's bass notes are more defined and controlled bringing more punch where the Neo brings the thump. Both headphones are exceptionally comfortable and well worth their respective prices.

Ultrasone Performance 860 ($362 USD)
The 860 is much more linear across the board so offers a very different sound compared to the Neo. Bass is tighter and faster without any of the same boomy properties found on the Meze. Midrange in comparison is a lot thinner and less lush than the Neo's. The treble is where these two have the most in common, being neutral-ish on both. The 860 reveals more details in music but presents itself in a more clinical and less emotive manner compared to the "fun" tuning of the Neo.



Conclusion

The Meze 99 Neo is more than just a good sounding headphone. The look and feel of it combined with the sound provided all add up to make it an experience that's quite unique. If you're a fan of attention to detail and subtle elegance you'll get a kick out of how well this headphone is designed. However those looking for neutrality should seek other options. Sure it might not provide the best audio quality out there but you have to keep in mind the very affordable $249 price tag which ultimately makes this a very easy recommendation for anyone looking for something comfortable, stylish and downright fun to listen to.

Specs:

• Transducer size: 40mm
• Frequency response: 15Hz - 25KHz
• Sensitivity: 103dB at 1KHz, 1mW
• Impedance: 26 Ohm
• Rated input power: 30mW
• Maximum input power: 50mW
• Detachable Kevlar OFC cable
• Plug: 3.5mm gold plated
• Weight: 260 gr (9.2 ounces) without cables
• Ear-cups: ABS Plastic

Penon Audio is well known among Head-Fiers and respected for their high standard of service and fast worldwide shipping. Well now they have their own branded earbud as well. It's called the BS1 Experience Version and it comes in a box (^_^). Let's check it out.

Disclaimer
This sample was provided for the purpose of an honest review. I'm not affiliated with the company and all observations and opinions here are my own, based on my experience with the product.

The BS1 Experience Version currently retails for $39 and can be purchased from Penon Audio: https://penonaudio.com/Penon-Audio-BS1-Dynamic-Driver-Earbud

Specification

• Driver: 15.4mm dynamic driver
• Frequency response: 15Hz-25KHz
• Impedance:32Ω
• Sensitivity: 114dB
• Cable length: 1.2m
• Plug: 3.5mm

Packaging and accessories

The BS1 comes in a little blue box with Penon's logo in the top corner. The box is magnetically sealed and super easy to open. Inside is a little carry case which holds all the goodies inside. Let's take a look at the contents:

• BS1 earbud
• Carry case
• 5 pars of foam eartips
• Shirt clip

I also received a pair of silicone ear-hooks and the Penon complimentary Velcro cable tie that never fails to come in handy. So that's all there is to it. It's simple but satisfying and has everything you need.



Build, comfort and isolation

What first caught my attention was the fantastic cable so I'm going to start with that. It's like something you would expect with a more expensive product. I kid you not, this is better than what you find on a lot of IEMs that cost well over $100. It's an SPC affair with clear plastic tubing and is supple, smooth and downright gorgeous. At the top where it attaches to the shells there is a good strain relief. Down further is a small rubber chin slider that sits above the metal Y-split. The cable terminates in a straight, metal gold-plated plug that again has a good strain relief and is adorned with the Penon logo.



The main body of the housing is shaped like a lampshade and made of metal with a plastic front. There are no sharp edges or visible seams so as far as earbuds go I found them quite comfortable. The provided foams are very pliable and easy to put on or remove. Having different colors is appreciated as the tiny white dot denoting the right earbud is very difficult to see so the foams are great for determining left and right, assuming you have a different colored cover on each one.

There's really not much more to say about the build - it's an earbud after all but I will say the build quality seems excellent overall. They're lightweight with rounded edges and feel very durable.

I find the BS1 pretty comfortable as far as earbuds go. They stay in place easily enough with or without the foam covers. Isolation is almost non-existent which one usually expects with earbuds so be prepared for the external noises to come in at will. If isolation is important to you then you should be looking at in-ear monitors..



Sound

Gear used for testing:

• ATC HDA-DP20
• Acoustic Research AR-M20
• Foobar2000 > Topping DX7

The BS1 has a very balanced sound, with a little warmth thrown in and slightly mid-centric to my ears. There's some extra mid-bass and a smooth high end. It's a very clean sound compared to other earbuds I've heard (admittedly that's not many) yet smooth without any roughness or artificial tonality. There's a slight emphasis on the upper mids/lower treble that provides some energy in place of the laid back upper treble.

Bass is fairly light but maintains a good amount of punch and is well textured. The amount of bass is greatly determined by the fit that you get - similar to how good a seal you get with earphone eartips. Pop these in loosely and the bass fades away and the midrange gains clarity. Wedge them in securely and the bass comes out to play but this often results in a muddy overall sound. But I digress. I have a hard time getting a fit with earbuds so they're generally sitting pretty loosely in my ears. Sub-bass is there and doesn't roll-off too early but again (I have to keep going back to this I'm afraid) if you've got a loose fit both mid and sub-bass will take a backseat. Having said that if you can find that sweet spot the bass is quite satisfying.

In the midrange is where the focus of the sound lies. It's warm, rich and forward with great tonality and realism. Things can get a little congested during busy segments, resulting in a loss of separation and detail. In Ludovico Einaudi's "Andare" the piano and violin sound organic and natural, something that can often reveal a poorly tuned earphone but the BS1 handles both with confidence. Vocals sound good too with that added warmth in the lower mids bringing male voices to life and the slight emphasis in the lower treble giving a vibrancy to female voices like Anneke van Giersbergen in "The Moment" from The Diary.

Treble plays a smaller role in the BS1's sound but still has enough presence to create some excitement and provide some spice. The lower treble has more prominence than the upper registers which fade into the distance but don't show signs of any heavy roll-off. The upside of this is that things don't get harsh or fatiguing up top and it allows you to enjoy the richness of the mids and snappy bass.

A wide soundstage is one of the staples of earbuds and in the BS1 it's no different. They are more than capable of giving you an out of the headspace experience but it comes at the cost of lower than average imaging. There's plenty of width there but not a great deal of depth. With the BS1's expansive openness music takes on part of your environment and makes you feel as if it's floating through the air but it's not easy to tell exactly which direction separate elements are coming from except for left and right.



Conclusion

The BS1 comes across as a rather mature sounding earbud with its smooth, refined tuning - light, crisp bass, forward midrange and a playful treble make for an entertaining experience that emulates some of the more expensive offerings. Build quality is top-notch and other brands should take note of the spectacularly good cable. At $39 this one is a must for fans of budget earbuds to get their hands on.

ATC Lifestyle is a Hong Kong based company which was established in 1997. They're mostly known for their portable batteries and battery chargers and are also an authorized Apple accessory developer and manufacturer.

With over 60 years of experience I expect ATC has some very refined manufacturing expertise to draw from. Recently they extended their product line to include some high end audio products, one of which I'll be looking at today - the HDA-DP20 DAP that has some impressive specifications including a dual Wolfson DAC solution, line and coaxial outs and powerful headphone output. Read on to find out more.

Disclaimer
This sample was sent for the purpose of an honest review. I'm not affiliated with the company and all observations and opinions here are my own, based on my experience with the product.

The HDA DP-20 is $370 and is available from ATC Lifestyle and Amazon UK.

Packaging and accessories

The DP20 arrives in an interesting little box that is made of high quality cardboard and has a collage made up of various images in gray-scale with some bright patches of orange throughout. It's a refreshing change from the norm and the color scheme reminds me a lot of my all time favorite PC game featuring a particular scientist (a gold star for anyone who can name it!)

Inside is the DAP sitting pretty in a foam cutout and beneath that is a smaller box with the added accessories which include:

• USB to Micro USB cable
• Coaxial cable
• Protective carry pouch
• 32GB Sandisk MicroSD card
• Quick Start Guide
• $20 Voucher card inc. 20% discount on a single purchase at HDtracks

So that's a nice little package right there with some great extras thrown in. It's nice to add a carry pouch but I would much rather be provided with a protective leather or even plastic case as DAPs can take quite a beating when used regularly if you're taking them out and about. The MicroSD card however is a great addition that ensures you have everything ready to go out of the box.



Build and functionality

Solid is the first thing that comes to mind when you pick up the DP-20. It weighs in at a solid 168 g which is just 10 g shy of the Astell & Kern KANN. The all metal body has a matte black finish that's smooth, has a nice texture and is resistant to fingerprints. It's sits in the hand well and can be easily operated with a single hand.

Starting with the front side there's a metal wheel in the top right corner which takes care of volume control. The wheel is recessed into the chassis to avoid accidental volume changes and has a good amount of resistance built in. I find it to work really well and it is easy to manipulate single-handed with either hand.



Next is the 2.3 inch IPS screen with a native resolution of 400 x 360. It's protected by a glass cover and has a bright, clear display. Album art looks great, being vivid and colorful and the screen is bright enough to comfortably use outdoors on a sunny day.



Down in the left corner are three buttons, namely the Play/Pause/Select, Now Playing settings and Back button. The Now Playing settings are quite interesting. It brings up a rotary menu which is different from the main Play Settings menu and has quick access to things like gain switching, playback and shuffle options, add to playlist, add to favorites and delete.

Finally at the bottom right is the large scroll wheel which is used for navigating the menus. It has a nice, smooth action and is useful for scrolling through lists.



On the left side of the player are (from top to bottom) power button, back/rewind button and forward/fast forward button, a MicroSD card slot and a pinhole reset button. A short press on the power button turns the display on/off and a long press powers on or shuts down the device.



Now on the bottom are (from left to right) Micro USB port, line/coaxial output and headphone output.



Overall the build quality is excellent and the player feels premium and extremely robust.



Moving on to some of the features now, we'll start with the UI (user interface). The DP20 runs on a Linux based OS and is fast and responsive with no signs of input lag. There are 5 different themes available that allow you to customize the appearance to your preference - I always appreciate little touches like this.

Gapless playback is present and works flawlessly with no pauses or pops between tracks. There're low and high gain modes, a 10-band graphic EQ with preset and custom options and adjustable maximum volume. You can favorite songs or add them to a playlist easily from the Now Playing rotary menu.

One outstanding feature is that the DP20 can be used as a USB DAC which adds a lot of versatility. You can use it to bypass your computer's lackluster built in audio solution and keep the player charged at the same time. It also worked perfectly with my smartphone using an OTG cable. That's really neat.

The headphone output power is 240mW@32 ohm and THD+N comes in at a very impressive <0.0025%.



Battery life
The 3000mAh battery is rated at 9 hours on the company's website but most of the time I seem to get up to 11 or 12 which isn't an amazing figure but should be sufficient for most people to last through a busy day.

Sound

Gear used for testing: DUNU DK-3001, Ultrasone Performance 860, LZ A4, Veedix NC50

Sound is handled by dual WM8740 DACs and is backed up by dual AD8610 high precision JFET input amplifiers and judging by the results, that is a good combination to have under the hood. The DP20 has a full-bodied, textured bass, wonderfully precise midrange and treble and a great sense of timing. Extension at both ends of the spectrum is really good and it imparts a sense of air and space to the music so you'll never feel too closed in or congested. There's a real analog, musical feel that never fails to be expressive dynamically and all the details are left intact.

Midrange has great resolution, details and separation while still maintaining that airiness that I mentioned above. Vocals are clear and intimate while staging and imaging are superb for a mid-tier player. The tonality is sweet and untainted and never comes across as being either colored or thin but earthy and natural.

Soundstage has above average width, adding to that feeling of open space between instruments and is able to convey depth as convincingly as more expensive DAPs. The DP20 sounds smooth and organic without sacrificing accuracy and puts down layers that are full of texture and richness. In Anathema's "San Francisco" everything from the multi level synthesized notes to the piano to the steady percussion is all laid out around you and comes together as a cohesive whole.



Conclusion

The HDA-DP20 is an excellent device, particularly when it comes to sound quality. It's extremely well built, has a decent battery life, nice screen and a rock solid, responsive UI. The standalone DAC feature is a really handy bonus, making it a great companion for a laptop or smartphone.

If you're not concerned with support for streaming services or Bluetooth and just want a straightforward, great sounding DAP that can also double as an external DAC then the HDA-DP20 could be the perfect solution.

BGVP has been around for a while and as far as I know they used to be known as Sidy, or at least released several earphones/earbuds under that name. So, with that very informative little nugget of information let's get into it. Today I'm looking at the BGVP YSP04, a single dynamic earphone utilizing 10.2 mm titanium composite drivers and tuned for those who like bass. Lots of it.

Disclaimer

This sample was provided for the purpose of an honest review. All observations and opinions here are my own, based on my experience with the product.

The BGVP YSP04 is currently priced at $29.90 and is available from Penon Audio.

Packaging and accessories

The YSP04 arrives in a simple black box that is wrapped in a black sleeve. The sleeve is plain except for the BGVP logo on the front. The box itself is adorned with the same logo and is likewise bare except for some specifications on the back.

Inside the box you're presented with the earphones in a foam cutout. Underneath are the accessories which include:

• 9x pairs of silicone ear-tips
• Carrying pouch
• Shirt clip
• YSP04 earphone

It's a very basic package but this is one of the methods manufacturers can employ in order to bring consumers high quality products at lower prices and I for one appreciate this as most of the time boxes just end up in the trash or repurposed anyway.



Build, comfort and isolation

Right away you'll notice the YSP04 is very well built considering its low price. They're crafted from a lightweight, gunmetal colored metal in an unusual and striking teardrop-shaped design. There's a truncated cone attached to the side that holds the cable connector, has a small bass port and also denotes the Left and Right sides. On the inner side of the housing the model number is printed in black text. Overall the build quality is exceptional.

I noticed that the nozzles are very short but they have a good lip on the end which holds tips securely and because the nozzles sit at the tapered end of the housing you can still get a good insertion depth.

The YSP04's cable is also excellent with its black and silver coloring and clear outer tubing. Starting at the top there are some decent strain reliefs attached to the housing. Down the right side is a metal in-line remote with microphone. Even the button is metal and feels solid with a nice tactile click. The Y-split is also metal and just above it is a hard rubber chin slider. The cable terminates in an angled, gold-plated plug which again has good strain relief. Even when wearing them cable down there is very little microphonics present.

Comfort is surprisingly good despite the unusual shape and these IEMs can be worn over-ear or cable down. Even though the housings have a flat back with a straight edge I found the YSP04 to be right up there with the most comfortable of IEMs.

Isolation is above average (assuming you have a good seal) with the "teardrop" filling in the ear's conch and providing a natural barrier to the outside world. These are definitely suitable for noisy environments.



Sound

Sources used for testing
ATC HDA DP-20
Acoustic Research AR-M20
Music Bee > Topping DX7 > YSP04

The YSP04 is easy to drive and doesn't require amplification but hooking up to a good source improves separation and layering. Having said that though it still sounds fine coming straight out of my Galaxy Note 5.

This is where things get a bit tricky for me. At times I feel the YSP04 sounds great and others pretty underwhelming. It depends a lot on what kind of music you're playing. I'll start by saying that the YSP04 has a very bass heavy sound. However it's still surprising that this earphone is also capable of revealing quite a lot of detail and good tonality. With its L-shaped signature there's lots of emphasis on mid and sub-bass which carries over well into the lower midrange but quickly clears up once you get to the middle midrange. I found that it responds very well to some EQ and with a bit of tweaking can sound much more balanced and quite nice.

Bass is definitely the star of the show here and is pretty huge. It's not boomy or loose but rather thick with good impact. Despite its slow attack and long decay it does manage to keep pace reasonably well during complex segments. Sub-bass gets a great rumble going on and is capable of shaking skulls but the metal housing and quality dynamic driver keep things in check, avoiding any distortion or looseness.

Midrange is fairly recessed particularly in the upper mids. Male vocals get plenty of love, coming through thick and rich but retaining good tonality regardless. Female vocals don't fare quite as well as they tend to get swallowed up by the low end. What is impressive here is the separation and detail that still manages to come through the thickness of the low end.

Treble is polite on the YSP04 but it does have good extension and timbre. On bass light tracks you'll appreciate its nimbleness and lightness but most of the time you're attention will be drawn to the low frequencies.

Soundstage is decent but depends a lot on the music you're listening to. Bass heavy tracks feel a little confined but in acoustic music the YSP04 is able to spread itself out a lot more. Imaging is not bad but it's not great either falling somewhere in between.




Comparisons

Brainwavz Jive ($28 USD)
The Jive has long been (in my opinion) the undisputed king of budget IEM build quality and while the YSP04 comes very close it can't quite match the exquisite craftsmanship of this offering from Brainwavz. Another area where the Jive is unmatched is in the accessory bundle which included the fantastic semi-hard carry case.

In terms of sound the Jive has a really clean and clear sound and a relatively linear bass in stark contrast to the massive mid-bass hump and colored lower midrange of the BGVP. While the Jive will leave bassheads feeling deeply dissatisfied it's much better suited for those who prefer a more balanced approach.

Accutone Lyra ($39 USD)
The Lyra is one that escaped the attention that it deserves as it's a very competent budget earphone. The build quality is excellent, as is the cable but the YSP04 a better feeling, metal in-line remote. The Lyra also comes with a magnet sealing semi-hard carry case. It's much more balanced than the BGVP although it does have a boosted bass presence. The Lyra has a fantastic treble that's energetic and lively but never becomes strident or harsh but does leave the mids a bit recessed.

Similar to the Jive, bassheads will likely be left feeling underwhelmed with the Lyra and if it's bass you want the YSP04 brings it in spades.



Conclusion

While the YSP04 won't appeal to everyone, those who like a good extra dose of bass won't be disappointed. A standout characteristic is how it's able to allow the details to come through and the tonality to remain fairly good. It's testament to the fact that the titanium composite driver and housing materials are top quality. It comes across as an intentional tuning rather than poor implementation which is why I'm giving it a 4/5 rating even though it's not my preferred type of sound signature - objectivity and all that.

So it's very well built, does what it's tuned to do (bass) well, is comfortable and priced at around $30. If you're a budget basshead you'll most likely get a kick out of the BGVP YSP04.

Bowers & Wilkins has been around for over half a century and is still at the forefront of premium home audio. It all started in 1955 with some ingenuity and later the company was officially formed at the urging of an elderly lady (Miss Knight) who apparently had a good ear for quality audio. From the Bowers & Wilkins website:

Bowers & Wilkins is now a very large company, with distribution chains and customers all over the world. But it started life with John Bowers hand-assembling speaker systems for local clients in Worthing, West Sussex, in the back of the electrical store that he ran with his friend Roy Wilkins.

Today I'll be looking at the P5 Wireless on-ear headphones (from hereon known as the P5W) that boasts a 17 hour battery life and exquisite craftsmanship. But is it worth the hefty price tag? I'll let you decide.

Disclaimer
This sample was a loaner from Bower & Wilkins Thailand and will be returned to them. I have no affiliation with the company and all observations and opinions here are my own, based on my experience with the product.

Thanks to Music+Cinema Thailand for arranging the sample. The P5 Wireless currently retails for around $299.95 on Amazon.

http://www.bowers-wilkins.net/



Packaging and accessories

The P5 Wireless arrived in a high quality, glossy, black box. On the front is an image of the right earcup and the brand name and model embossed in silver print. Inside are the headphones, sitting in a sort of rubberized foam tray. Take out the tray and underneath is a very classy fabric pouch that seals with a magnetic clip and has a diamond pattern stitching. It's a really nice pouch that looks and feels premium. It should provide some decent protection though obviously not as much as you'd get from a hard carry case.

There's a little inner pocket inside the pouch and in here you'll find an extensive user manual, USB charging cable and a 3.5 mm to 3.5 mm audio cable for the headphone.

The supplied cable is very thin rubberized affair that is full of kinks and while it works as intended it looks and feels very cheap in stark contrast to the finely crafted headphones.



Build, comfort and isolation

Bowers & Wilkins are well known for creating quality products and it's easy to see with the P5 Wireless. From the luxuriously smooth, black leather headband and ear pads to the twisted aluminium arms these headphones are crafted from fine materials and build to last. They have an appearance that's classic yet modern at the same time and oozes with a timeless elegance.



The ear pads are attached magnetically and can be easily removed to reveal the drivers beneath. Inside of the left earcup is a cleverly hidden jack for the 3.5 mm cable that is not only stealthily minimalist and helps maintain the outer styling but also doubles as an enhanced form of strain relief.



On the back of the right earcup are the 3 control buttons (volume + and - and play/pause/answer calls). The buttons respond eagerly to your bidding without any delay. Under the left earcup is a dual purpose switch that powers the headphones on and off and puts them in pairing mode. Connecting is fast and easy and there are little audible cues to let you know the current status of operation. The P5W comes equipped with aptX for high quality wireless audio.



Battery life is rated at 17 hours and that's right on what I was getting from a single charge. If used for only an hour or two each day you can enjoy the P5W for weeks without needing to recharge the battery.

I found the P5W to be pretty comfortable to wear although it did take a little getting used to. The almost flat ear pads and considerable clamping force were a bit unpleasant at first but after a couple of sessions I guess the pads softened up a bit and my ears became accustomed to the feel. There's some nice padding on the underside of the headband that works well to distribute some of the pressure but most of it comes from the sides with the clamping force. At 213 grams the headphones feel light and fit securely even when moving around.

Isolation is a little above average for an on-ear headphone, with the genuine leather doing a good job of creating a solid seal. That coupled with the closed back style block out quite a lot of external noise. The P5W therefore is more than suitable for noisy environments and will do the trick if you feel like taking them outside with you.

Sound

Sources used for testing
ATC HDA-DP20
Acoustic Research AR-M20
Flac/Foobar2000 > Topping DX7 (USB) > P5 Wireless

An evolution of the P5 Series 2, the P5W carries over much of the former's audio attributes. It has a nicely balanced sound with a slightly boosted bass, great clarity throughout and a non-fatiguing signature.

Midrange has great clarity and a very clean presentation. There's a hint of warmth in the lower mids then a slight dip before it gains some more emphasis in the upper midrange. I found classical music in particular to shine with great tonality and realism.

Bass has some good impact and speed but a natural decay that adds some weight to the low end. It's only slightly boosted, adding to the mature signature the P5W portrays. A play through of Scarface's "Untouchable" reveals a sub-bass that extends surprisingly well and rumbles nicely in the earcups without upsetting the overall balance of things.

Treble has good extension and sounds great, sitting slightly behind the upper midrange. It doesn't have any noticeable peaks and is not sibilant or harsh. Cymbal sheen is well recreated and seems to hang in the air without rolling off too early.

Soundstage is pretty impressive with plenty of width and a good amount of depth. Listening to the live version of "Beethoven's Symphony 6" by Carlos Kleiber and the Bavarian State Orchestra gives a great sense of the area and collective instruments feeling rather epic. Imaging is also on par and distinctly indicates where different sections are.

Comparison

Thinksound On2 ($199 USD)

The On2 has a similar amount of bass but some extra warmth in the lower mids and more pronounced treble. Vocals sound a little more airy than the P5W which is a bit more intimate - This is probably likely to the On2 having much thicker ear pads adding space between the driver and your ears.

The P5W has an undeniably more premium look and feel but there is a certain charm to the wooden earcups of the On2. The two cables that come with the On2 are of a much higher quality than the weedy little one packaged with the P5W but in the latter's defense it is marketed primarily as a wireless headphone. With a much lighter clamping forces and thicker ear pads the On2 is the more comfortable of the two but there's not much in it.

I'd be happy with either of these headphones as far as on-ears go as they both sound great. The P5W has the added versatility of aptX Bluetooth so that could be a deciding factor for some.



Conclusion

So, is the B & W P5 Wireless worth the price? In a word, yes. The materials, high quality build and great sound all make it so. These headphones make a statement with their appearance and feel, something akin to designer watches or bespoke suits. Not only that but they sound great too. Throw in aptX Bluetooth and 17 hours worth of nonstop listening on a single battery charge and everything adds up to a fine product. For those not concerned with Bluetooth you can grab the P5 Series 2 for about $100 less. But if you're looking for a wireless headphone and have an appreciation for the finer things in life then be sure to put this one on your short list.

I've owned several Benjie DAPs and I'm not afraid to admit that I'm a bit of a fanboi when it comes to their music players. Not only do they sound good for such a low price item but I also have a respect for their longevity, implementing what I would consider standard functions (breakpoint resume etc) and solid battery life. Recently they released a new model the Benjie T6. This time around there's Bluetooth added along with low and high gain modes. Is it a worthy upgrade from their previous offerings? Hopefully this review can help you decide.

Disclaimer
This sample was sent to me for the purpose of an honest review. I have no affiliation with the company and all observations and opinions here are my own, based on my experience with the product.

The Benjie T6 costs $49.90 and is available from Penon Audio.

Packaging and accessories

First things first, there's another one of those black, textured cardboard boxes that have been popping up lately, a different approach from previous Benjie packaging. The box is bare except for the Benjie logo on the front.



Opening it up we find the player nestled in a black foam cutout.



Underneath the foam slab are the rest of the accessories which include a User Manual, USB to Micro USB cable and some earphones.



The included earbuds are actually not just a throwaway addition. They're really quite good and you could do a lot worse than to be stuck with these.



Build and functionality

A single CNC metal molding is used for the T6's chassis. The size and shape are almost identical to some of their previous models ie: K9 and X1, with and elongated shape and portrait oriented screen.

The player has a nice feel to it, with decent weight that feels good in your hand but the corners on the unit are excessively sharp which is a little annoying but not a deal breaker.

The back side of the player has what feels like a glass backing, which I find quite strange considering the screen is just a thin plastic.

On the front, just under the screen is a 4-directional D-Pad style control with an additional central button. I really like this method of navigating the menus but it would be so much better with an additional dedicated back/return button.



Moving to the bottom edge, there's the Micro USB port for charging and data transfers and the 3.5 mm headphone out.



The left side contains the power button which also acts as the screen lock and the Micro SD card slot.



On the right side are the volume control buttons.



Overall I like the button layout of the T6. Controlling volume is really simple, even when the player is in your pocket. I do wish that there was a dedicated lock switch though because it's easy to hit the volume and power buttons by accident when they're in a tight pocket.

The 1.8 inch TFT screen displays album art nicely but just like the Benjie K6 and X1 (same display) text gets truncated and makes it difficult to navigate folders because everything is so narrow. Also just like the aforementioned models the screen on the T6 is not glass but a thin plastic that get scratched very easily. I really hope to see Benjie upgrade their screens in future models.

Similar to previous models the T6 has a very good breakpoint resume function built in and it now also supports true gapless playback that worked flawlessly during testing. Even a lot of the much more expensive DAPs out there still can't get gapless right so it's a real achievement on Benjie's part that they've done it so well in a budget offering.

Navigating the menus has improved over the older models but it's still a little awkward because there's no "back" button. So for example if you are on the Now Playing screen and want to go to the previous screen you first need to press Down on the D-pad which takes you back to the menu and from there if you want to go back again you press Left on the D-Pad. It's not a deal breaker although it is a little frustrating but you get used to it fairly quickly once you start using the player on a regular basis.

The UI has Benjie's usual snappy responsiveness which is one of the things I've always loved about their DAPs. When you press a button the corresponding action triggers immediately, with no signs of sluggishness or delay.

There's a ten band equalizer which has several presets and a custom setting. I tend not to use EQ but I know many people do so it's always good to have.

There's no built in storage but it supports Micro SD cards up to at least 128 GB in size.

Let's have a quick look at the main menu screen before we move onto the sound.

Going clockwise from top to bottom there is:

• Podcast
• Bluetooth
• Albums
• Playlists
• Music
• Settings
• Artists
• Folder View
• Now Playing

Sound

DAC duties are handled by the Cirrus Logic CS42L51. The T6 sounds quite similar to many of the budget DAPs that I've reviewed with a bit of a warm tilt and a little extra bass bump. However it seems to be a little more resolving and adds a touch more air to treble notes than the competition. There are no pops or hissing in the sound in both low and high gain modes. For testing I mostly left the player on high gain even though I was predominantly pairing with low impedance IEMs.

Soundstage on this little player is impressive too as is separation and layering, with the end result being really impressive for such a low cost item.

Battery life
The 600mAh battery seems to last around 8-10 hours depending on playback volume and file format. If you're using the Bluetooth feature expect it to be a bit less again.

Bluetooth
Bluetooth on the T6 is bidirectional which is something I've only seen in higher priced DAPs previously. So you can connect the player to some Bluetooth headphones or you can alternatively connect to an external Bluetooth device like a smartphone and use the T6's DAC to play files from your phone.

Connecting is really simple and range is good with no noticeable cutouts or issues. Very solid.



Comparisons

RUIZU A50 ($55 USD)

When it comes to build quality the RUIZU A50 wins hands down. The chassis is more complex with smoother, rounded edges and a real glass screen that's much harder to scratch. The UI is also superior on the A50, being a little clearer with easier to read text. Navigating the menus/folders is easier on the RUIZU too because of the dedicated Back button and scroll wheel/button.

For the best sound I would give that claim to the T6. Although both are fairly close in audio quality the T6 has better treble extension and because of this has a better sense of air and shimmer in the high frequencies. Then there's the Bluetooth feature which could be a major feature that users want depending on their intended use for the device.

There's no clear winner here, it really depends which features and characteristics are more important to you.

Mrobo C5 V2 ($49.90 USD)

This is a rather interesting comparison as the two players are priced exactly the same. Build quality is drastically better on the C5 with its finely crafted chassis but the screen has a very low resolution and album art is so small it's hardly worth even having. Navigation is slightly more intuitive on the C5 but the button layout makes it more cumbersome to use than the T6. The biggest and best feature of the C5, in my opinion is its massive battery life of over 50 hours of continuous playback time.

Sound quality is very similar between these players with no clear winner, so just like with the A50 the best choice for anyone choosing would likely come down to which features are more important to them.

Conclusion

Once again Benjie have produced a fantastic DAP with loads of features and great sound. Bidirectional Bluetooth in a $49 player - are you serious? The company's trademark snappy UI is present again, as is their superior support for varying album art formats. It has PCM: 24BIT/192KHZ and native DSD support...

Granted, it's not perfect. The plastic screen cover is rubbish and the UI navigation is far from perfect. I've been waiting a long time for Benjie to make a new DAP with an upgraded display with a higher resolution and better text readability so it was disappointing to say the least when the T6 carried over the same old, tired one from their previous ultra-budget models. But you know what? I don't really care. This thing sounds good. Really darn good. And it costs $49.

If you've been wondering why people buy DAPs instead of just using their smartphones and have been interested but hesitant to spend big money to find out, then I suggest you go for a cheap little player like this. If you do, I doubt you'll ever want to play music from your phone again.

Introduction

As planar magnetic technology becomes more widely adopted the benefits trickle down to the consumers in the form of more choices and lower prices. Now I'm not going to go into detail about how planar headphones work here or the pros and cons as there's plenty of information on the internet for those curious to learn more.

Acoustic Research has just released their first ever planar magnetic headphone and they're calling it the AR-H1 and that's what we'll be looking at today.

About Acoustic Research

Acoustic Research was founded in 1952 and has a long history of innovation in Hi-Fi speakers. In 1983 it was acquired by VOXX International Corporation, a Global manufacturer and distributor of lifestyle products. Since 2011 the company has had a “Renewed focus on High-End and Digital”. In 2015 they released their second generation M class Hi-Res audio player and USB-DAC. 2016 saw the introduction of the M20 as the third generation Hi-Res player. The company says they have:

A long term commitment to excellence” and wish to “continue to honor the vision of the founder and to build sound systems that most truthfully reproduce the information they receive from recordings.

Disclaimer

This sample was sent to me for the purpose of an honest review. I have no affiliation with the company and all observations and opinions here are my own, based on my experience with the product.

The Acoustic Research AR-H1 has a suggested retail price of $599 and will be available for purchase soon directly from Acoustic Research's website.


Specifications
- Open back circumaural design
- 86mm planar driver with NdFeB magnet array
- Genuine leather headband
- Low resilience ear cushion
- Interchangeable headphone cable
- Frequency response: 10 to 60kHz
- Sensitivity: 99dB/V
- Impedance: 33 ohms

Packaging and accessories

*Please note that this is the pre-production box and the final retail version may vary slightly. However the headphones themselves ARE the final production version.

The AR-H1 arrives in a large box covered in a matte black sleeve. On the front is a glossly black outline of the headphones with some of the features listed. On the back is simply printed "TRUTH IN LISTENING" in white print.

Removing the sleeve reveals the box itself which is again a matte black with the AR logo embossed in silver on the front. The top section of the box opens up like a book cover and inside you see a flat black panel with a ribbon pull-up attached to the bottom. Lifting this up you're presented with the headphones held securely in a soft black foam. On the underside of the flat panel pullout is a layer of protective foam with a small box attached at the top which is clearly labeled "ACCESSORIES". Inside this is the cable and a gray colored, soft, suede-like protective pouch and a screw on 6.35 mm adapter..

The cable is approximately 1.5 meters long and has a smooth, rubberized PVC sheathing. The cable feels to be of good quality and seems very durable. It's supple with no sign of kinks and sits quite nicely. At the top are two 2.5 mm 2-pole plugs that connect to the headphones. Down further is a rubber Y-split with nice strain reliefs on at both ends. Finally the cable terminates in a straight 3.5 mm gold-plated metal plug with an AR logo on it. The plug and adapter feel very premium and join together seamlessly.



Build, comfort and isolation

As soon as you lift this headphone out of the box you can feel it's very well built. The AR-H1 boasts an all metal construction that feels well weighted (but not heavy) and robust. The metal arch connects to a metal clasp from which the self adjusting leather headband extends. The yoke is really solid and has absolutely no flex or bend to it and feels particularly strong. This is of course attached to the rectangular earcup housing which is covered with a ventilated metal grill and contains the 86mm planar driver with NdFeB magnet array.

The yoke swivels back and forth to help achieve a comfortable fit and the earcups also swivel up and down and adjust themselves to your particular head shape. This means that you don't really need to fuss with anything, you can simply put them on and they'll sit correctly autonomously.

Silky smooth and soft pleather ear pads adorn the driver's front plate and feel very premium. They're filled with a soft memory foam and are attached via a clip-on mechanism making them easy to replace should you ever need to.

Personally I find the AR-H1 very comfortable. The memory foam ear pads are nice and soft and big enough to fit fully around even my large ears and at the same time forming a good seal. The headband is nice and wide but there's a fairly strong down-force and it's quite stiff so I would have liked to see a little more padding on the underside. For the most part though I can wear these for a long time with no problems.

Being an open back style sound isolation is not very good as you probably can imagine so like most open back headphones you'll need or at least want a fairly quiet environment. Noise leakage is present but nowhere near as much as I expected. It seems the AR-H1 let's in more noise than it lets out which could be good or bad depending on the situation.



Sound

Sources used for testing

• Flac/Foobar2000 > Arcam irDAC-II
• Flac/Foobar2000 > Topping DX7
• Acoustic Research AR-M20
• ATC HDA-DP20 > Phatlab Sassy II

The AR-H1 has a fairly linear sound signature that is slightly mid-forward with great separation and clarity throughout. While being detailed and largely uncolored it's still very musical and entertaining. It's quite dependent on source as I found the properties of different sources to play a large factor in the final sound (more info in the "pairing" section below).

Music has a very "clean" presentation, again with clarity being a word that keeps coming to my mind. However the AR-H1 is not what I would consider a detail monster. It's still pretty forgiving to poorly recorded music and doesn't reproduce the most subtle of micro-details but tends to smooth them over a bit. That means it's not the most resolving but personally I find it a strength as it draws the line between musical and analytical and allows the AR-H1 to remain on the side of the former.

Bass is close to neutral with well a well defined edge to bass notes but still has a natural decay. It can keep pace with busy/fast tracks just as well as it brings the "meat" in slower bass oriented hip-hop and electronic music. Sub-bass has a little less emphasis than the mid-bass and has good extension but is fairly low-key. Listening to Westside Connection's "So Many Rappers in Love" the deep sub-bass notes can be clearly heard but don't drown out everything else which can sometimes happen with less technical headphones. Bassheads will likely feel shortchanged but lovers of neutrality should be pleased.

Mids are lavishly articulated with great tonality and instrument separation. Vocals show no signs of graininess and are reproduced with accuracy. The vocals in "Quickly" from John Legend's Evolver album are a joy to listen to with Brandy's silky smooth voice in particular coming to the forefront. There's great balance to be heard in "Seven 2 Eight" by Triosense with the piano just slightly taking the lead but leaving plenty of space for everything else to come through.

Treble is close to neutral and is fairly polite. It gives a good sense of air and never becomes intrusive. Extends very well and the sheen of cymbals sounds very lifelike and natural. There does seem to be a slight peak in the lower treble that sometimes edges on sibilant and I would have liked to see a hint more of a dip there to keep that in check. Overall though there's great texture and realism in the treble.

Soundstage: in Pink Floyd's "Money" sounds are clearly outside the headspace. There's a great sense of open space with the AR-H1 but the sounds don't become distant and the imaging remains strong with positional cues. In Solar Field's "Random Friday" the swirling digital sounds near the beginning of the track can clearly be sensed as if moving 360 degrees around your head.

Amping/pairing

While rated at just 33 ohms the AR-H1 does need some decent power behind it to bring out the best performance.

ATC HDA-DP20: With the ATC HDA-DP20 which has a rated maxumum headphone output power of 255mW@32 ohm on quieter tracks I can turn up the volume to 100% and it sounds good but there's no leeway if you want to go balls to the wall so to speak. So ideally you'd want a bit of extra amplification with this particular DAP. Adding the Phatlab Sassy II tube amplifier to the chain brings this combination to life in a big way.



Acoustic Research AR-M20: Using Acoustic Research's own AR-M20 maxing out the volume makes things louder than I'm personally comfortable with. The sound is smooth and full-bodied, which are inherent characteristics of the AR-M20. Perhaps unsurprisingly the synergy between these two components is really good.



Topping DX7: The DX7 is a very neutral DAC/AMP and probably not the best choice for powering the AR-H1. The sound is a little thin throughout although the bass has a nice sharp edge to it. This isn't a fault of the DX7 at all, just that I think it's better suited to headphones with a slightly warm tilt.

Arcam irDAC-II: An underrated DAC (IMO of course) especially in regards to the headphone output stage which was carried over from their flagship A49 amplifier. The irDAC-II is a great match for the AR-H1. It's smooth yet highly resolving sound is the perfect partner for the linear tonality of the AR-H1.



Comparisons

Oppo PM3 ($399 USD)
The PM3 is slightly thicker in the lower midrange with some added warmth to the mids in general and the bass is a bit more forward in comparison to the AR-H1. It has a smoother presentation that still brings good detail with it. It's lighter in weight and both have good build quality. Being a closed back headphone the PM3 doesn't have the same airiness and the soundstage is more narrow and intimate.

Ultrasone Performance 860 ($260 USD)
The 860 has more sub and mid-bass presence. The AR-H1 has a bit more separation in the mids and mids are slightly more forward. Mids sound a bit more resolving on the AR-H1. Treble has more prominence on the AR-H1 and marginally better timbre. The open backs of the AR-H1 give a sense of more width in the soundstage. Amazing built quality on both these headphones and comfort levels are roughly the same. Two great headphones in this comparison with the main differentiates being the price and weight in the bass. 860 for those who want the bass and the AR-H1 who want that extra resolution.

Conclusion

If this is a sign of things to come from Acoustic Research I believe we can expect them to grab a decent chunk of the planar headphone market in the future. One of the things that stands out in my mind about this product is the quality of materials and manufacturing attention to detail. The AR-H1 puts many well regarded veteran brands to shame in regard to build quality. Comfort is good and I'm able to wear these for long sessions without any issues whatsoever and I would only wish for the headband to be a bit softer or have a little more padding on the underside.

The sound that these headphones produce is fantastic, especially considering that this is the company's first attempt at a planar magnetic headphone. All this comes at what I would consider a reasonable price for what AR is providing with the AR-H1. So with that said, if you're looking to purchase some headphones with an uncolored and linear but still musical signature, definitely get your hands on one of these for an audition. These guys (Acoustic Research) mean business and they're coming out of the gate strong.

Introduction

With their headquarters in Taiwan and manufacturing plant in Dong Guan City, Guangdong, China DUNU is quickly becoming one of the big players in portable audio. Established in 1994 the company began as an OEM/ODM manufacturer. Fast forward ten years and the DUNU brand was officially launched in 2004 and started creating earphones under the same name. Since then they've had a string of successful product launches including the very popular DN range and have become one one of the major respected names in the business. They've invested heavily to the best equipment for their manufactures including "the most advanced professional Anechoic Room among Asia earphone manufacturers".

Today the company continues to innovate and has recently released their current flagship model the DK-3001, a 4 driver hybrid earphone consisting of a 13mm dynamic driver and triple balanced armature drivers which we'll be checking out today.

Disclaimer

This sample was provided for the purpose of an honest review. I am not affiliated with the company and all observations and opinions here are my own, based on my experience with the product. The DUNU DK-3001 currently retails for around $470 and can be purchased from Amazon and other trusted audio stores. You can check out the company's full lineup on their product page here.


DK-3001 Specifications

Drivers Dynamic(13mm)*1
Balanced Armature*3
Frequency range 5 Hz-40 KHz
Impedance 13Ω
Sensitivity 110±2dB
Connections 3.5mm Gold-plated
Cable 1.2m
Weight 31g

Packaging and accessories

The DK-3001 box is wrapped in a white sleeve of high quality cardboard with a large image of the earphone on the front. On the back are some features along with details on the included accessories.

Removing the sleeve reveals the textured, black box underneath which is simply adorned with the DUNU brand name in silver print. Opening the magnetically sealed box you're presented with the earphones, secured in a felt covered black foam inlay and a Pelican style, protective plastic case.

The earphones come installed with a pair of medium size, white silicone tips. The other included accessories are:

• Warranty card
• Shirt clip
• 6.35 mm adapter
• Airline adapter
• 3 pairs of gray silicone tips
• 3 pairs of white silicone tips
• 4 pairs of Spinfit tips
• 1 pair of Comply foam tips
• 1 3.5 mm single-ended MMCX cable
• 1 2.5 mm balanced MMCX cable
• 1 protective plastic case

That's a pretty satisfying collection of accessories (which you should expect for something in this price range) that covers everything you need. It's nice to see a wide variety of ear-tips included and surprisingly even the stock Large silicone tips are big enough for my over-sized ear canals - thank you DUNU!



The carry case is actually really nice too. On the bottom of the inside is a thin layer of rubber with DUNU embossed into it and under the lid is a layer of black foam. There's just enough room inside for one of my budget DAPs (Benjie X1/T6, Ruizu A50) and the earphones so it's quite handy.



I loved the cable on the DN-2000 so was very pleased to see that the DK-3001 comes with one in a similar style, albeit this time with memory wire. The PVC sheathed cable is smooth and supple so it doesn't have or form any annoying kinks and is also very tangle resistant. Due to the high quality of the cable and being worn over-ear there are virtually no microphonics present.

The angled MMCX connectors have good strain relief and the right one also has a red indicator ring that makes it very easy to determine which side is which. This is something I really like to see on IEMs and a lot of other manufacturers neglect the smaller details like this.

Moving down the cable we come to the metal Y-split which is adorned with the DUNU logo and strain relief. There's a metal cable cinch here as well that joins seamlessly with the split when not in use making it more attractive and unobtrusive. This kind of attention to detail really adds to the overall experience.

DUNU's excellent rubber cable tie is present here too, and it's probably the best solution I've seen to date for securing and storing cables. Finally, the cable terminates in a right angled, gold-plated metal plug which again has very good strain relief.

Quite simply DUNU produces some fantastic, high quality cables that are some of the best I've ever used.



Build, comfort and isolation

Crafted from stainless steel the DK-3001 shells are exceptionally well built. The main body is a circular disk shape with a protruding, angled nozzle. On the top is a horizontal female MMCX connector. The two sides of the disk are immaculately joined with the seams being barely visible even on close inspection.

On the outer sides of the shells is a raised circular area with DUNU printed in white and surrounded by a silver circle.

Overall the quality of the shells and the finish is superb and in line with what you'd expect for something that costs a substantial amount of money.

In terms of comfort I find the DK-3001 to be pretty good but for one small grievance. The nozzle length and overall shape are good but the raised ridge on the outer sides (where DUNU is printed) specifically the aforementioned silver ring has quite a sharp edge and I find that during long sessions it causes an uncomfortable hot spot in my outer ear. It's not a major problem (and in fact might not be a problem for others at all, depending on ear shape) but I feel it could have been easily avoided by simply rounding or smoothing those ridges a little.

For isolation I would say these are about average for a hybrid IEM. The most significant determining factor will be how good a seal you get with your selected ear-tips. They do a fairly good job of blocking outside noise but can't compare with something that fully fills the conch of your ear. Having said that though, these are definitely suitable for most normal situations and environments.



Sound

Sources used for testing

• Benjie T6
• Acoustic Research AR-M20
• ATC HDA-DP20

The DK-3001 is an interesting and complex beast when it comes to sound. Cohesiveness is excellent with the 4 drivers in each side working together to form a perfectly blended and unified sound. The general sound signature is fairly balanced with some emphasis on the bass with fairly forward mids and a neutral treble. The sound is organic and natural, coming across as deceptively smooth and non-fatiguing, very musical and engaging.

Bass has a fullness with loads of impact even at low volume pumping it out effortlessly. Edges are a little soft and decay falls off naturally but it's not slouch. It manages a full-bodied punch without any signs of sluggishness or being overbearing. It's one of the best implementations of bass I've heard in an IEM and the way DUNU has maintained such impact with an agility and balance goes to show they really know about tuning. Sub-bass has a little less emphasis but is just as impressive and is far reaching in its extension. The rumble can be felt as much as it is heard and the stainless steel of the shells keeps a tight reign on things and stifles any distortion or loss of control.

Midrange carries over the same smoothness as the other frequencies yet is really packed with exquisite detail. Instrument separation is stellar with plenty of space between different elements. Male and in particular female vocals are both rich with innate tonality and realism bringing lyrics to life. Lovers of classical will also be pleased with the magical resonance that the DK-3001 brings to string instruments and piano notes in tracks like "Andare" from Ludovico Einaudi's Islands Essential Einaudi. Guitars sound great too, like in Distant Dreams' "Sleeping Waves" there's texture in abundance to be heard.

Not content with a partial mastery of the spectrum the DK-3001 also owns the treble regions. There's great extension here and natural timbre abounds but perhaps best of all is it achieves this while never becoming strident or losing detail but finds that sweet spot in between. This is one of those IEMs that you can turn up loud on brighter tracks without feeling the icy needles of pain and instead just get purely immersed in the music. It does all this without 'darkening' the sound and cymbals still ring and shimmer the way they're supposed to.

Soundstage is another strength of the DK-3001. It's not the widest in terms of space but depth is very good. The percussion instruments at the beginning of Mathias Eick's "Hem" are outside of the head-space and the separation of the trumpet and violin is very clear and you can really sense the positioning of both in the track. You'll never feel boxed-in listening to this IEM.



Comparisons

Custom Art FIBAE 2 - demo unit ($550 USD):

I only spent a short time with the FIBAE 2 and took some notes. I did have the DUNU with me at the time so was able to do some A/B testing but keep in mind the time was short so take this comparison with a grain of salt.

I found both of these to have a similar sound signature, with slightly elevated bass and forward midrange. The FB2 has a little more treble emphasis but is still polite and does not have any sibilance. Both are very detailed while maintaining musicality and non-fatiguing sound. I found the FB2 to be far more comfortable and it also had much better noise isolation.

TFZ Balance 2M ($199 USD):

The TFZ has more mid and sub-bass. Vocals are a little more forward while treble is a little more recessed. Noise isolation of the 2M is superior as is comfort. Soundstage similar on both but separation and imaging goes to the DUNU. The cable on the DK-3001 is far superior as the 2M cable is very prone to tangles. Build and materials are good on both. The DK-3001 is the superior IEM as far as sound is concerned but it is more than double the price. The TFZ Balance 2M is still a very good alternative for the money, especially if you like some extra bass.

LZ A4 ($195 USD):

The LZ A4 has been well received by many enthusiasts and with good reason. It's a very competent and engaging IEM that comes with loads of options for customization. After switching through various setups I settled with the black rear filter and gray front or what I call "The Batman". The A4 can go toe to toe with the DK-3001 in terms of detail but doesn't have the same level of cohesion that DUNU's offering achieves. The DUNU's bass to my ears falls somewhere between the Black and Red rear filters of the A4. With my setup the A4 carries a little less weight in the mid-bass but keeps pace just as deftly. The higher frequencies are a little more pronounced on the A4 giving it more of a V-shaped signature. The A4 has the eager energy of a promising youth while the DK-3001 comes across as a seasoned veteran, its moves are second nature and effortless compared to the more aggressive, showboating style of the A4.

For build quality the DUNU comes out ahead due to its more premium materials but the A4 is still really well put together for something less than half the cost. Both IEMs could be improved on ergonomically but I have a hard time trying to think of how the DK-3001's sound could be any better than it already is.

Conclusion

Despite the increased price tag of the DUNU DK-3001 I wasn't sure what to expect with this IEM. From my previous experience with the DN-2000 I knew the build quality would be very good and the audio quality would likely be pretty good as well. Well before the first song had finished playing I knew that DUNU had achieved something special with this release. As time went on my respect for this flagship model only grew and I am still in awe of the level of sound that this thing can produce. How the company managed to bring such detail, separation and engagement together with a full-bodied, smooth and non-fatiguing signature is beyond my comprehension.

There is however still some room for improvement in regards to comfort and ergonomics. There's no doubt about the quality of materials and build - this is an exceptionally well manufactured earphone with a well-rounded bundle of accessories in addition to one of the best cables out there but the comfort level leaves something to be desired. I do hope (and believe) that this will improve with future releases.

Considering the price point of just shy of $500 I would definitely rate the audio quality of the DK-3001 as near perfect but taking into account the slight comfort issues this one gets 4.5/5 total. If you're exploring IEMs in this price range you really ought to put this one on your (very) short list.

Introduction

Located on the Pearl river in what is currently China's third most-populous mainland city is a company named TOPPING. Founded in 2008, TOPPING aims to

make affordable but great value HIFI products.
Over the years the company has made a series of DACs, amplifiers and headphone amplifiers, including their very popular NX series of portable DACs and amps. Recently they unveiled a full balanced DAC & Headphone amplifier, the DX7 and today we'll be taking a look at how it performs. The DX7 supports PCM 32bit/384K and DSD and can be used as a DAC/AMP, standalone headphone amplifier, a digital transport and a preamp, making it a pretty versatile device. Read on to find out more.

Disclaimer

This sample was sent to me for the purpose of an honest review. I have no affiliation with the company and all observations and opinions here are my own, based on my experience with the product.

The Topping DX7 currently retails for $399 and can be purchased from Amazon and AliExpress.

Topping website: http://www.tpdz.net/en/index.htm

Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073TS193L

Packaging and accessories

It all starts with a rather large, textured, black box that simply has TOPPING printed in white text and a High-Res AUDIO label on the bottom right corner. This looks great and has an understated elegance to it.



What's in the box

Sitting in a slab of thick, black foam in 3 cutout sections is the DX7 DAC & Amp, remote control USB cable and power cable, along with a User's manual and warranty card. Also included is a 3.5 mm to 6.35 mm adapter. It's a nice presentation that lays everything bare for you to see right away and as you can see from the pictures everything is held securely in place and should be well protected during transit/shipping.



The USB and power cables are both thick and of nice quality but the real highlight of the accessories is the gorgeous, fully metal remote control. It has a weightiness and solidity to it that makes it feel very premium in your hand. The matte, anodized aluminum finish is smooth to the touch and also resistant to fingerprints. It's actually the same finish that's used on the DX7's chassis which is a classy touch and makes it feel a cohesive part of the system rather than a lackadaisical addition.



Build and design

With dimensions of 25 cm x 20.5 cm x 5 cm and weighing in at 1.95 kg the DX7 takes up a fair whack of desktop space but luckily it's sleek and unimposing design looks great and with 2 color choices (silver and black) it should fit in well with your surrounding decor.

The chassis is constructed from anodized aluminum and is a straight edged, rectangular shape. On the top and sides are two ridges running in parallel from front to back to break up the otherwise plain surface. There are no ventilation vents anywhere on the unit which will help prevent dust from reaching the internals and makes it rather surprising that the DX7 doesn't get hot or even warm during use.

On the front panel (from left to right) are:

• 6.35 mm headphone output
• Balanced headphone output
• OLED screen
• Remote control receiver
• Volume knob /Multi-function Button

Moving to the rear panel we find (from left to right):

• 2-1 Right channel analog XLR output
• Left channel analog XLR output
• Left and right Right channel analog RCA output
• COAX output (only available when there's a USB input)
• USB input
• COAX input
• OPT input
• AES input
• Power input
• Fuse
• Power switch

Everything on the rear panel is cleanly laid out and clearly labeled. Input selection can be done via the multi-function button or remote. A double click changes the output mode between headphone out, DAC+headphone out and line out.

The OLED display has 2 brightness levels but can't be turned off. Fortunately it's neither gaudy or offensive but I'm sure there will still be some people who would like the option to turn it off. However I think it's fantastic with text that's large and clear enough to read from a distance without being distracting or gaudy. It's particularly useful for seeing the current volume level as the volume knob itself spins infinitely and does not give any indication of level so you know when plugging something in, like a sensitive IEM for example whether you need to make any adjustments before hitting the play button.

Finally, on the bottom there are 4 silicone feet that lift the DAC slightly up off the surface and provide a good, grippy footing. Overall the DX7 is a plain but attractive, straightforward device that's very easy to configure and use.



Internals

The DX7 utilizes dual, separate ES9018K2M DACs and amplifier chips for the Left and Right channels. There's also a possibility of an upgraded version in the future that will use the ES9038Q2M.

Specifications:

TOPPING's product page DX7 specs

Sound

Equipment used for testing

PC/Foobar2000 > DX7 via USB > Acoustic Research AR-H1, Meze 99 Neo, Ultrasone Performance 860, Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro, DUNU DK-3001, LZ A4.

For testing I had the filter set to "Slow". I found the changes when using different filter settings are very slight and for the most part barely perceptible.

6.35 mm vs balanced output: I currently have two headphones that can be used with the balanced output and both are low impedance. I didn't notice any significant changes when using them balanced compared to the standard output (apart from balanced having more output power) but it sure is nice to have the option there.

The impression I get of the DX7 is transparent, detailed and balanced that faithfully reproduces sound and lets your accompanying equipment do any coloring or alterations. While not as smooth as the Arcam irDAC-ii it does reveal lots of detail and has an excellent soundstage (and is roughly half the price). To my ears it has a very neutral presentation which means that what you're hearing comes down to which headphone or IEM you plug in.

Listening to Keb' Mo's "France" the DX7's rhythm and timing is spot-on just and there's a great sense of depth in the soundstage that makes the live recording come alive. The vocals seem slightly more forward compared to the ATC DP20 DAP that I've been listening to lately. With "Groove Attack" by Infected Mushroom the punchy drums are driven along effortlessly with perfect pace and excitement while all the smaller details rise up out of the bass heavy track. Treble notes have a light openness about them giving tracks air and energy.

Headphone compatibility is listed as 16-300 ohms from 6.35 and 32-600 mm from the XLR output so it should be compatible with your transducer of choice whatever that may be. At no time have I detected any hiss, pops or background noise with the DX7, it simply does it's job. The THD+N (Total Harmonic Distortion) from the headphone out is only >0.003% at 33 ohms for the 6.35 mm and >0.0007% at 300 ohms from the balanced out so you can rest assured that you're hearing music just the way it was recorded.

I tested the line out via Coaxial connected to the Arcam irDAC-II which worked perfectly so if for any reason you want to use the DX7 as a digital transport it's very easy to do. Testing was also done using the RCA output, connected to the FX-Audio 1002A (great budget amp by the way) and my Elac Debut B6 speakers and was again very satisfied with the result.

Pairing

Ultrasone Performance 860

This is a headphone that I feel doesn't get as much recognition as it deserves with its stellar build quality along with a linear, balanced and detailed sound. Pairing with the DX7 is a real treat with it's black background and resolving presentation. There's plenty of bass punch, excellent soundstage and loads of detail while still being musical and non-fatiguing.

Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro

With its heavily V-shaped signature and impressive detail the DT990 is also a good match for the DX7. The accentuated bass is very pleasing to the ears but for some the treble might seem a bit strident. Personally I prefer this headphone with a slightly warmer source, ideally something with tubes!



Acoustic Research AR-H1

The AR-H1 is the brand new planar magnetic from Acoustic Research. It has a very balanced sound with superb instrument separation and a very controlled, punchy bass. While not the most revealing in terms of detail it still has plenty of musicality and emotion and being open backed has an impressively wide soundstage. The impedance is only 33 ohms but it does benefit from a powerful source. I've tested with single and balanced output and found little difference in the sound apart from higher volume coming from the balanced output. It's fantastic paired with the DX7 and only slightly outdone by the irDAC-II which seems to give the sound a little more body.



Although the 6.35 mm headphone out has an output impedance of 10 ohms it handles IEMs with aplomb. I don't currently have any pure multi-BA earphones with me but the single dynamic + 3 BA DUNU DK-3001 sounds spectacular through the DX7, as did all of the earphones that I tested.

Conclusion

The title of this review was probably an early indicator of how I feel about the TOPPING DX7. It has a professional yet unassuming aesthetic with impeccable build quality. The OLED screen is a very handy feature to have, giving you plenty of information about what's going on at a glance. It has lots of options for inputs and outputs making it compatible with a large number of devices and it's very versatile as well, being a DAC, DAC + headphone amplifier, preamp or digital transport. Then of course there's the single ended or balanced headphone jacks allowing you to use almost any headphone in your arsenal without the need of adapters and that fantastic remote! At the retail price of $399 the DX7 is one of the cheaper units to offer balanced XLR output. It is an excellent and affordable solution for anyone wanting to dip their feet in the waters of balanced sound or just looking for a very capable DAC/AMP solution.

I guess it's time to accept that most of us can't keep up with all the new earphone manufacturers coming out of China. But there will always be those who create something unique, special or remarkable that brings them onto our collective radar while others fade back into obscurity. The former is where we are today with Kinera and all the hubbub that has arisen surrounding their latest (and only second) product release.

Formed in 2007 the company was moderately successful with their first earphone the BD005, a low budget, dual driver hybrid and now they're expanding their product lineup with a new triple driver hybrid the Kinera H3. Early impressions and reviews have been almost unanimously positive and for good reason but are they really that good? Read on to find out how I feel about them and hopefully it will help the reader to decide whether they want to grace their ears with the Kinera H3.

Disclaimer: This sample was sent to me for the purpose of an honest review. I have no affiliation with the company and all observations and opinions are my own, based on my experience with the product. I'd like to thank Kinera for the opportunity to test the H3.

At the time of writing the Kinera H3 retails for $99.

https://www.facebook.com/kinera2017/


Packaging and accessories

The H3 comes in a nice, textured black box with the brand name and model number embossed in gold print on the top. After opening the magnetic flap/lid you're presented with an airline adapter, a 3.5 mm to 6.35 mm adapter and semi-hard carrying case. Under the case is a user manual and thank you card. The case is very handy and large enough to easily accommodate the earphones with ample space left to throw in a small DAP. It's a bit too big to fit in your pocket but is the perfect size to carry in a bag.

Inside the case you'll fine the earphones, cable and 3 pairs of silicone ear-tips (S, M, L). The silicone tips are really nice quality, being supple yet grippy so you can imagine my dismay when I had confirmed that they are all too small for my ears.



Let's take a minute to talk about the cable. This is an exceptionally nice cable for an IEM in this price range. It's supple yet feels durable and there's no stickiness to it. Starting at the top are the 2 pin connectors with a very subtle yet clever system of colored dots on the front side to denote Left and Right (blue for left, red for right). The connectors sit securely in the earphones but are still very easy to remove and insert. Further down is the flexible, transparent Y-split, accompanied by a matching cable cinch/chin slider. The cable terminates in a straight, metal plug that is quite long but of good quality with excellent strain relief.


Build, comfort and isolation

The designer/s of the H3 must have been feeling inspired when they created this IEM as they've produced something that not only looks fantastic but is also extremely comfortable. I feel that the appearance alone of the H3 played a big part in the early hype of the product as it looks very premium and more like higher priced IEMs.

The outside of the acrylic shells is an inverted teardrop shape in glossy black with the brand logo printed in gold lettering. On the inner part of the shells is the same material but here it's translucent allowing you to glimpse the internal drivers and wiring. This part is shaped similarly to a custom IEM and there's a small vent just next to the female 2 pin connector. All the edges are rounded and smooth plus the face-plate and main body are seamlessly joined adding to the overall aesthetics.

Although the H3 looks a little awkwardly shaped on the inner side it actually provides a very nice and comfortable fit. It was quite a bold move by the company to adopt this build but it has paid off handsomely, resulting in one of the most comfortable CIEMs that I've ever used. The shells fit wonderfully inside the conch of the ear which also means they don't protrude out as much as you might expect.

There are some shortcomings in the build though and the first lies in the design of the nozzles. The usual lip or ridge is absent here and that coupled with a slightly more narrow than average diameter means that ear-tips have a tendency to come off when removing the earphones. Secondly I was experiencing a lot of driver flex, mostly when first inserting or readjusting the shells but also when moving my jaw. Fortunately the driver flex has all but disappeared with the tips that I finally settled on (remember the provided ones were all too small for my ears).

Due to the way the H3 sits in and fills the ear's conch sound isolation is above average but keep in mind they are vented so some sound will still come through. Regardless of that though, these still block out a good deal of sound and are very suitable for noisy environments, allowing you to enjoy your music without needing to pump up the volume to dangerous levels.



Sound

Sources used for testing:

• Samsung Galaxy Note 5
• Benjie T6
• Acoustic Research MR-20
• PC/Foobar2000 > Topping DX7

With an impedance of 48 ohms the H3 benefits from some extra driving power and may suffer a little from weaker sources like some smartphones. It's most evident in the authority of the bass notes and I'd recommend using a good DAP or headphone amplifier to get the most out of this IEM.

The H3 has a clear, energetic sound that's packed with detail and has good instrument separation. It can be a little aggressive in the high frequencies and may cause some fatigue if listening to certain music genres (rock, metal etc) or at high volume.

Bass is controlled and has nice body but is pushed back a little behind the mids, particularly the upper mids. Sub-bass reaches fairly low but again struggles to make itself felt due to the overreaching nature of the upper-mid peak. It does have that natural dynamic feel and in the right tracks sounds great and fairly linear, very nicely textured without being overbearing.

The midrange has a lot of clarity and detail, is very energetic up in the higher mids and overall has good tonality. It can sometimes come across as a little thin which you might or might not like depending on personal preference. Vocals sound natural and uncolored and are quite forward while remaining the same clarity seen throughout the midrange.

When we get to the treble there's a peak that brings certain sounds very forward in the mix which can throw off the balance and as a result there's some loss of cohesion. Listening to Ludovico Einaudi's "Indaco" things get off to a good start until he hits the high notes which sound unnaturally loud. A similar effect can be heard on certain high hats and snare snaps among other things. However the timbre remains accurate and adds some shimmer but there is a sense of the sound always teetering on sibilance.

Soundstage is fairly wide and while not the widest to be found in this price range it's also far from being narrow. There's a fair sense of depth as well with fairly good imaging and instrument placement that isn't razor sharp but surely lets you know where sounds are coming from.



Comparisons

TFZ Exclusive King ($95-$99 USD)
Has more more mid-bass punch and is a little warmer in the lower midrange. Is more cohesive and evenly spread in the upper frequencies. Sub-bass digs deeper and gives a little more rumble. More warmth in the lower mids and slightly more in general. I feel it has just a little bit superior tonality. Has a slightly wider nozzle and a lip to keep tips secure. Is easier to drive. The cable is good but not the same stellar quality as the one provided with the H3.

Thinksound ms02 ($99 USD)
Is more natural and organic with a comparatively relaxed treble. A little more recessed midrange which is noticeably less clear than that on the H3. Switching between the two the ms02 sounds a little muddy in comparison but in reality it isn't - it's just that the H3 has such exceptional clarity in the mids. Has a non-detachable cable. Bass and lower mids have more weight and body than the H3 and it has a more easygoing signature.


From left to right: TFZ Exclusive King, Thinksound ms02, Kinera H3

Conclusion

Kinera's H3 is a great looking, great fitting IEM that has certainly got people's attention around the web's audio sites and related social media communities. It has a wonderfully appealing design aesthetic that looks premium and desirable but there's still a little room for improvement, mainly in regards to the nozzle. The sound signature of the H3 could be polarizing, appealing to those who like an emphasis on high frequencies and a bright sound but deterring for people who prefer a more relaxed and non-fatiguing listening experience. There's no doubt that it produces a clear and detailed sound but it does so at the risk of being a little too energetic on occasion. It's certainly an interesting product that deserves recognition is it's crowded price bracket and should not be overlooked if you're shopping for something around the $100 mark. With the release of the H3 it looks like Kinera are setting themselves up to be a serious player in the IEM market.

4/5

RUIZU is known by many in the Head-Fi community for their budget level music players. The company also makes other electronic devices such as watches and voice recorders but not much else is known at this time although I was able to find their website here.

Their latest DAP is a step up (at least in price) to their previous offerings so I was very keen to run it through its paces and see how it compares to other similarly priced players in this suddenly burgeoning segment. So let's get started and take a look at the RUIZU A50 Lossless Mini Sport Mp3 player and see if it deserves to be part of your personal rig.

Disclaimer
This product was sent to me for the purpose of an honest review. I have no affiliation with the company or seller and all observations and opinions are my own, based on my experience with the product.

The A50 currently retails for $55 and can be purchased from Penon Audio: https://penonaudio.com/RUIZU-A50

Packaging and accessories

The A50 comes in a typical styled, white box with an image of the player on the front. On the back are listed some of the features.



Opening the box reveals the player secured in a white foam cutout. Under the foam is the included USB charging and transfer cable, a User's manual and warranty card.



Build and functionality

The A50 feels good in your hand from the moment you pick it up. It has a nice weight to it that makes it feel strong and premium. The matte black finish of the aluminum chassis feels really smooth and it doesn't show any fingerprints at all. The screen is a glass panel that takes up the entire front side and is actually real glass, unlike some other budget DAPs that throw on a plastic one so it should be fairly resistant to scratches but it does become marred easily with fingerprints. Fortunately with the player being so small it's very easy to wipe the screen clean.

In use the 2.5 inch TFT screen, which has a resolution of 240 * 320px shows text clearly but album art is very small, similar to the IQQ C18 and Mrobo C5. The brightness level is adjustable but it can still be difficult to see the display in direct sunlight even on the brightest setting.

The player is rectangular in shape with a couple of subtle additions that give it a nice aesthetic appeal. First is the top right corner which is rounded off to follow the contour of the control wheel. Secondly there's a raised section on the right side that gets slightly bigger at the bottom and this really helps give the A50 an interesting look rather than just having a straight box shape. The corners on the front are a little sharp for my preference (except the rounded top right one) but it doesn't cause any discomfort in your hand or pocket.

On the top there's a 3.5 mm headphone jack, metal power button and scroll wheel. The scroll wheel is used to scroll through menus (also available with side buttons) and volume control. It's also a button that functions as the select key in menus. On the now playing screen a long press on the button acts as the play/pause button and with a short press brings up the option to add the song to a playlist or delete the file. The power button doubles as the screen on/off. While the screen is off all buttons become inactive except for volume control.



There are 3 buttons on the left side and they are (from top to bottom) back/previous screen, forward and back. A long press on the back button returns you to the main menu. The forward and back buttons can be used to navigate menus, rewind and fast forward and for shuttle control. There's also a pinhole reset between the back and rewind buttons.



On the bottom are the micro USB port and Micro SD card slot. And that's all there is to it. It's a relatively simple setup and I found it to be much more intuitive to use than the NiNTAUS X10 and Mrobo C5 and on par with the IQQ C18 but the scroll wheel on the A50 is more accurate and easier to use.



Onto the menus now and from the main menu screen these are the options:

• Settings
• Music
• Category
• Folder view
• Equalizer
• My favorite
• Play Settings

For some reason the Category menu and the Music menu are the same and I'm not sure why. Perhaps it's an error or a filler but maybe it will be changed/fixed in a future firmware update.



I used a 64 GB Micro SD card for testing the A50. After inserting the card the player would take about 20 seconds to update the music library but I recently formatted the card and there aren't a lot of files on it. With a full card the update takes a bit longer but during my testing it didn't take longer than a minute.

The UI feels snappy and responsive, much more so than the IQQ C18 DAP. Navigating is simple using the scroll wheel/button and the back button. For the most part everything works in a logical fashion apart from a couple of minor quirks but none worth mentioning.

Album art needs to be fairly small in size, otherwise it doesn't display and you get a generic cover image. The now playing screen shows all the relevant information including (from top to bottom):

• Volume
• Play mode
• EQ setting
• Available storage space
• Battery indicator
• Album cover
• Song title
• Artist
• Album
• Current bit-rate
• Play/pause indicator
• Song position/length
• Track number

Note that the player is said to support DSD256 but at the time of writing this review it does not. It should do in the near future with RUIZU's next firmware update. I did test DSD128 and it works flawlessly and plays instantaneously without the slightest startup delay.

Unfortunately there's no gapless playback at this stage but that might also change with a future firmware version. Only a few of my albums are seamless so the lack of gapless didn't bother me at all. It's something to keep in mind however, if that feature is important to you.

Breakpoint resume IS supported and it works very well. If music is playing when you switch the player off it will resume playing after powering on and if the music is paused at the time of shutdown it will be paused when you turn the player back on. Perfect.

Overall the A50 is a pleasure to use and my only (very minor) gripe is that I wish the scroll wheel had a bit more resistance in order to avoid accidental volume changes while handling the unit.

Specification

• Brand Model: A50
• Headphones, the output power ≥ 80mW
• Transmission interface: MICRO 5PIN, USB2.0
• System language: support multiple languages
• Expansion card: Support MicroSD (TF) card to 128GB
• Storage type: Flash Memory
• Memory capacity: NO Memory
• Screen size: 2.5ISP glass screen 240 * 320 display
• Battery: 800 mA polymer battery
• Operating system audio format: Window XP, VISTA, WINDOWS 10
• Support Format ：MP3, WMA, WAV, APE, FLAC, ACC, OGG, AIFF, DSD256
• Charging time: about 1 hour (using 5V / 1000 mA charger)
• Play time: about 15 hours (headset volume 30 screensaver to play lossless music)

Sound

Most of my testing was done with the DUNU DK-3100 because I'm also reviewing that at present but also because it has quickly become one of my favorite IEMs. For critical listening and comparisons however I resorted to the Ultrasone Performance 860 because of its linearity and excellent resolution and because it is my reference headphone.

The A50 sounds musical and full bodied but still detailed. That's doesn't mean it has a warm sound though, just that it is mostly transparent and reproduces sound in the same way it was recorded. It doesn't appear to add any coloring to the sound but neither does it have an analytical presentation. While not as resolving as higher end DAPs it's certainly up there with the best I've heard in the sub one hundred section.

Soundstage on this little player is good, with a nice spacious presentation that goes fairly wide but also has some depth. There is good layering but I have some misgivings about the dynamic range. It seems to be lacking extension in the very high frequencies and drops off suddenly after 10 kHz. There's usually not much happening in music at that range but it does seem to lessen the sense of air at the high end.

Pairing

The A50 worked surprisingly well with everything I threw at it. I tested it with many different IEMs including the LZ A4, TFZ Balance 2M and DUNU DK-3001. I couldn't detect any background noise or hiss with any of those. I found that with the earphones I was using a comfortable listening level was between 10 and 20 (maximum is 100).

When it came to full-sized headphones, the A50 again took the task in it's stride, including the Ultrasone Performance 860, MSUR N650 and Acoustic Research H1 Planar Magnetic. Those are all low impedance headphones but I was astonished at its ability to drive the 250 Ohm Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro which I was using at only around 50% volume! Not only that but the bass still had loads of authority and the sound was full-bodied and satisfying.

Battery life

The battery life is rated at around 15 hours and I found this to be fairly accurate. If you're using a sensitive IEM at low to moderate volume it might be a bit more. Adversely, if you're using something harder to drive or high volume it may be a little less. Overall though I was happy with the amount of play time and with fast charging technology built-in the device needs only an hour for a full charge.



Comparisons

NiNTAUS X10
Has a better screen layout and album art looks sharper. The UI and navigation is inferior with the unnecessarily complicated volume controls and awkward button layout. Battery life is more than double the A50 but output power is significantly lower. Soundstage is slightly more narrow but there's very little in it. Tonality is very similar but layering doesn't seem quite as good. Has a dedicated line out which the A50 lacks.

Mrobo C5 V2
The screen and album art is inferior compared to the A50. UI and navigation is inferior with awkward button layout though fortunately volume is controlled in the same manner (with the scroll wheel). Battery life is more than double but output power is lower. Tonality is similar with resolution and layering almost indistinguishable between the two. Soundstage is very similar on both though maybe a little less depth on the C5.

Benjie T6
Album art is vastly superior but menu text is very narrow making navigation more difficult. The T6 has its "D-Pad" type controls which is by far my preferred system but it would be so much better with a dedicated back button added. Soundstage is slightly wider and there seems to be more extension in the upper treble adding an airiness to the sound. Although the T6 has a high gain setting it still has less maximum output power. Battery life is very similar. T6 has Bluetooth but also has an inferior plastic screen compared to glass on the A50. Superior dynamic range.



Conclusion

The A50 has a fantastic build quality that outshines all others that I've tested in the budget segment, even the Mrobo C5. RUIZU's player is the only one that has a proper glass screen, making it look more premium and also making it more resistant to scratches and loss of clarity over time. The chassis is beautifully crafted and all metal buttons are icing on the cake. It simply looks and feels more premium than the competition.

With a very logical UI and button layout, plus the scroll wheel it's a pleasure to use and the small size makes it extremely portable and convenient. When the sound quality is added to the equation the RUIZU A50 stands out as an incredibly good value and if you're looking for a high quality, budget DAP there are not many that can compete with this one.

I had my first experience with Creative a long time ago. In fact it was so long ago I'm embarrassed to say exactly when it was. Let's just say that at the time AMD was leading the computer graphics card race, Pentium CPUs were all the rage and ribbon IDE cables were still a thing. Anyone who has been into computer audio solutions has probably at least heard of Creative and particularly their Sound Blaster sound cards which were first launched in 1989.

Founded in Singapore in 1981, Creative has become a veritable giant in the Personal Digital Entertainment (PDE) market with a user base of 400 million worldwide. Yes, you read that right, 400 million.

My first ever multimedia speaker upgrade was a Creative 2.1 speaker system that served me well for several years. Since then I've had quite a few of their 2.1 offerings as well as a couple of their PCI internal sound cards. Even my current computer has a Sound Blaster Recon3D taking care of the on-board audio duties.

Some say staying at the top of the game is harder than getting there in the first place. Not content to sit on their laurels, the company has this to say:

Today, Creative is spearheading new product categories with its groundbreaking Sound BlasterAxx audio enhancement devices and solutions, highly-acclaimed Creative D5xm Signature Series of modular Bluetooth wireless speakers, Aurvana premium headsets, Sound Blaster wireless gaming headsets, and cross-platform Sound Blaster Recon3D for Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC or Mac.

Today I'll be taking a look at the Creative iRoar Go, a weather and splash-proof portable Bluetooth speaker with SuperWide technology that packs in a bundle of features. How does this reddot design awarded speaker measure up in this somewhat saturated category? Let's find out.

Disclaimer

This sample was sent to me for the purpose of an honest review. I have no affiliation with the company and all observations and opinions are my own, based on my experience with the product. The iRoar Go currently retails for $199 and can be purchased directly from Creative's website or one of the many other retailers that carry Creative stock.

https://us.creative.com/p/speakers/creative-iroar-go

Packaging and accessories

The iRoar Go is presented in a tiny, little, high quality, black box with a glossy image of the speaker on the front plus some features and accessories on the back. At first sight I was surprised at how small the box was and thought that I had received a gimmicky, toy trinket speaker but when I picked the box up the reassuring weight of it told me there was a substantial object within.

Opening the box I found the speaker wrapped in a protective foam bag and held securely by a cardboard insert. It's unusual to see something like this without any foam padding but I suppose that Creative either have a high regard of mail couriers worldwide or are confident in the robustness of the speaker. I'm guessing it's the latter.



What's in the box

• Creative iRoar Go
• Power adapter
• Interchangeable adapter plug(s)
• Micro USB Cable
• 3.5mm microphone adapter
• User Guide(s)

Build and design

Weighing in at 810g the iRoar Go feels great in your hand. The design is what I would call mature and utilitarian with it's basic box shape and Creative's classic black with silver accents color scheme. On the front side is a metallic, black grill and a control panel at the top. On this panel are (from left to right):

• Power button
• Volume down/up
• Bluetooth pairing/answer call button
• Source select button
• NFC hotpsot
• Selected source indicator LEDs

There's a bunch of stuff on the speaker's top panel. Starting with the left side, there is the iRoar button along with media playback/record buttons. On the right side of the top panel is the I/O section complete with a rubber gasket with (from left to right):

• 15V power socket
• Auxiliary in
• USB port
• Micro USB port
• Micro SD card slot

On each side of the speaker is a machine-finished passive radiator with the Creative branding and silver-colored metal borders that add some razzle dazzle to the speaker's modest appearance.



Internally the speaker has a total of 5 drivers including 2 far-field tweeters, a subwoofer and 2 passive radiators. It's actually a bi-amplified design with one amplifier powering the bass and midrange while the other one is dedicated purely to the high frequencies.

Overall the iRoar Go is very well constructed, rugged and practical. With an IPX6 rating it's water and dust resistant so is ideal for the poolside or beach as well as anywhere around the home.



Connectivity

There are a whole bunch of options for music sources available. From the Bluetooth 4.2 which also supports AAC, SBC codecs, to the USB up to 128GB and microSD card (SD and SDHC) of class 4 and above, up to 32GB. On top of that there's the 3.5 mm auxiliary jack that can be connected to a phone or DAP and even the ability to connect your computer via the micro USB port. I did find the omission of aptX a little strange but it really doesn't seem to have a detrimental effect on audio quality. Maybe it isn't necessary with Bluetooth 4.2, I'm not sure but I can say that I couldn't discern any signs of inferior sound.

The speaker's built-in music player supports MP3 and WMA up to 320kbps and FLAC up to 1.3Mbps. Playback can be controlled via the speaker's top panel, your Bluetooth source or via the downloadable SoundBlaster connect app which also gives easy access to the custom or preset EQ options.

Bluetooth connection is easy peasy. Works just as you'd expect. You can either connect the old way or if your source has NFC you can just tap it on the hotspot and let it take care of business.



Battery life

The Built-in Li-ion, 5200mAh boasts a 12 hour battery life which is pretty good but even more impressive when you can see the diminutive size and hear the amount of sound that comes out. When the battery is getting low you can simply plug in the 15V charger and you'll be up and running again in no time. There's also an auto power down function that will kick in after 15 minutes of no signal coming from any source which will help extend the speaker's battery life.

Sound

The iRoar Go can be used in two different orientations each with its own properties. Horizontally the speaker has a wider, more room-filling sound while the vertical orientation produces a louder and more direct audio sound field.

So how does this speaker sound? In a word great. I can scarcely believe what this minuscule thing can blast out. When playing "Only Your Mother" from Scarface's Balls and My Word it was able to fill my entire house with the music and maintain the tidy bass and clarity without distortion.

Bass is punchy but not overdone and even when playing at low levels still has a weighty presence thanks to Creative's Terabass that "Intelligently Boosts Bass When Audio Levels are Low".

The mids are clear and engaging with natural tones, good detail and separation. Because of the iRoar Go's dual amplification system it's able to avoid the mid-bass bloat and congestion that some similar speakers suffer from and maintains more accuracy.

Higher frequencies are handled by the two far-field tweeters and are balanced well with the bass and mids. There's plenty of energy there and for me at least the treble never sounds harsh or overly bright.

For most of my testing I just left the ROAR setting on as I enjoyed the fullness of it but for some types of music the custom, preset and flat EQ settings that are available add a lot of versatility to the already excellent sound.



Comparison

vs Edifier Rave MP700 ($187.45 USD)

The MP700 and iRoar Go are very near in price but there are some significant differences. The most glaring difference is in size and weight with the MP700 being roughly twice the size and a lot heavier than the iRoar Go. In terms of pure audio I'd say the Edifier comes out ahead with a bigger, meatier sound but you'd expect that coming from the bigger speaker and there's not a whole lot in it. You'll get about 8 hours of playback time with the MP700 compared to 12 on the iRoar Go.

There are other things to consider though. The MP700 does have aptX but it's only running Bluetooth 4.0 compared to 4.2 on the Creative. Both have an 3.5 mm auxiliary input, NFC and both have the ability to charge a phone via their USB ports. That's about all these have in common when it comes to features. The iRoar Go adds a MicroSD card slot, voice recording, the ability to be used as an external sound card for PC, voice prompts, a built-in music player and custom or preset EQ options.

Overall these are both fantastic speakers and I'd easily recommend either one depending on the features that are most important to you. If you want the biggest or absolute best sound then Edifier's offering is the way to go. If you want smaller form factor, lighter weight, longer battery life and the other extra features then the iRoar Go would be the ideal candidate.



Conclusion

The current state of Bluetooth speakers continues to surprise me. With their battery life, large lists of features, build quality and sound they've become a very viable product, even for people who demand better quality audio than average consumers.

The iRoar Go is no joke. Not only does it get loud but it does so without compromising its very capable sonic performance. Add to that the multiple connection options, custom and preset EQ settings, the SuperWide iRoar technology and IPX6 rating making it splash and weatherproof and you've got an amazingly versatile and great sounding portable speaker that you can pick up and take anywhere. Are there better speakers out there? Well yes there are but are there any the same size or smaller, with the same number of features and at the same cost or lower? None that I know of (let me know in the comments if you do).

It's not cheap but I truly believe that what the iRoar Go has to offer makes it worth the admission price. If you're still unconvinced try to audition one and hear it for yourself. I'm sure you'll be pleasantly surprised.

4.5/5

Since 2005 Audioengine have been making innovative audio gear. The company has released several award winning products and aim to "create products for the way people listen to music today with the look and feel of classic, old-school audio gear." Their newest products the HD6 wireless and HD3 wireless attempt to give consumers an all in one mini system that can play all of your music from any device, be that a computer, smartphone, streaming device or even turntable. Based in Austin, Texas they say

We design and build innovative audio gear that works seamlessly with all your favorite gear and streaming services. No matter how you connect and listen, we’ve got you covered.

So how do they perform? Today I'll be looking at the Audioengine HD3 wireless speakers. Let's see what they can do.

Disclaimer
This sample was provided for the purpose of an honest review. I have no affiliation with the company and all observations and opinions are my own, based on my experience with the product. The HD3 wireless currently retails for $399 USD and can be purchased directly from the Audioengine website or Amazon.

http://audioengineusa.com/

Special thanks to Brady and ProPlugin Thailand.

Packaging and accessories

When you open the HD3 box (which has a convenient handle on top for carrying) the first thing you're presented with is a couple of microfiber pouches with drawstrings sitting in a recessed layer of soft, white foam. Inside the pouches are all the included accessories and cables. The pouches themselves are of a nice quality and hint at a high quality product inside. It's a presentation I haven't seen before and I quite like it a lot. The speakers themselves are also shrouded in the same (albeit larger) microfiber pouches so you can be assured that the surfaces will be clean and unscratched when you first take them out. There's quite a lot packed into the little box, which is a good thing because the HD3 provides everything you need to get the system connected and running though despite the front mounted volume knob a remote still would have been appreciated. Let's take a look at what's inside:

HD3 powered (left) speaker
HD3 passive (right) speaker
Antenna
Speaker wire (16AWG), 2 meters (~6.5 feet)
Power supply
AC power cable
Mini-jack audio cable, 1.5 meters (~5 feet)
USB cable, 1.5 meters (~5 feet)
Microfiber speaker bags
Microfiber cable bag
Microfiber power supply bag
Quickstart guide
Product line brochure



Build and design

The HD3 comes in a choice of three colors: walnut, satin black and cherry. The unit I received is the cherry version. A wooden veneer covers the retro-styled speaker bodies giving a very nice, smooth finish to the surface. On the front is a detachable magnetic grill that's super easy to remove or attach. I chose to leave mine off to protect the drivers from dust but if you remove them it reveals the 2.75″ Kevlar woofers and 3/4” silk dome tweeters. Just under the grills is an aluminum trim with the audioengine branding and under that is the near full-width horizontal, front facing bass port.

At just under 18 cm/7" in height these are the perfect size for the desktop or a shelf and with the color choices and understated aesthetics should fit right in with your decor no matter where you place them.

The left speaker acts as master and the right as slave so all the business end is found on the left with the right only having the interconnect input ports. Things are a lot busier on the back of the left speaker which has:

• Stereo inputs & outputs
• Wireless antenna
• Stereo mini-jack input
• Micro USB input
• Bass reduction switch
• Power supply connection
• Output to passive (right) speaker

On the left speaker's aluminum strip is the power and volume knob, headphone output and wireless pair button.

To think of these as mere speakers doesn't really do them justice as there's a whole lot more going on apart from the 30W peak per channel dual analog class A/B monolithic amplification. There's also the 24-bit PCM 5102 DAC that's been taken from the D1 and a headphone amplifier utilizing the OPA2134 low-noise opamp that provides 2-volt output making it powerful enough to drive a large variety of headphones.



Connectivity

The HD3 provides an abundance of options to connect, including Bluetooth 4.0 with aptX, 3.5 mm stereo input, analog RCA input and USB. Also included is an analog output that you can use to connect an external subwoofer.

For most of my testing I used the USB connection from my computer and it's as simple as plug and play. I did find one issue where the HD3 would sometimes cut the first second of a song off when starting up from its idle state. Not a big deal but frustrating nonetheless.

For kicks I also connected my Arcam irDAC-II via the analog inputs and this worked without a hitch. This really is a versatile little system.

Of course the Bluetooth had to be tested as well and for this I connected with my Acoustic Research M20 DAP, Benjie T6 DAP and Galaxy Note 5 smartphone. Pairing is very simple and works flawlessly. The range is very good and I can move around the house without any breakup in the signal unless there's a significant wall in the way. With an unobstructed line of sight the range is rated at up to 30 meters.



Sound

It's important to note that the HD3 has a bass reduction switch which frees up the drivers a bit do provide more clarity and control in the mids. It's a handy feature to have if you want to hook up an external subwoofer and take some of the strain of the speakers but I also found the tonality more natural with the extra bass turned off, even if the sound does become thinner. I spent my time switching back and forth between the two modes but left the bass mode Off for most of the time because when it's on the speakers suffer a little from mid-bass bloat and can get a little messy in busy tracks.

Overall the HD3 has an energetic sound with an emphasis on the midrange. Imaging is very good for near field listening, which is what these are designed for, with vocals seeming to float up from the top of my computer's monitor. There's even a pretty good perception of depth that comes out of these little boxes.

With a frequency response of 65Hz-22kHz ±2.0dB it comes as no surprise that these don't produce a whole lot of bass but in a relatively small space there is enough of it there to get things rocking. Kick drums are nice and snappy and have good texture and it's really only the sub-bass that is a little underwhelming but that can be negated by adding an external subwoofer via the analog outputs. In Katatonia's "Leech" from Dead End Kings the HD3 punches along happily, especially in bass reduced mode.

The mids is where the focus of the HD3's sound lies so it should come as no surprise that this is where they really excel. The midrange is crystal clear and rich so naturally tracks like "What Am I to You?" by Norah Jones sound great with her voice rising up above the backing music. With the extra bass switched on there's sometimes significant bleed over into the mids which can become distracting but that's highly dependent on the type of music you're playing.

The silk dome tweeters give high notes a very nice timbre via the analog amplification and blend together well with the upper mids. During testing I didn't experience any harshness and treble sounds natural and not at all artificial. The HD3 strikes a perfect level balance in the highs, bringing energy, contour and airiness but never taking anything away from the rich midrange.

Headphone amplifier

HD3's built-in headphone amp works really well in conjunction with the PCM 5102 DAC and can deliver up to 2.0V RMS which can easily drive all but the most demanding headphones. It doesn't sound as good as a high end dedicated headphone amp but for most people will be more than adequate for music, movies and games when they don't want to disturb others nearby.



Conclusion

For small spaces and near-field listening these speakers should definitely be able to put a smile on your face. They produce a big sound for such tiny speakers and are perfect for desktop use or for a small sized room but they really shine when you're up close and can appreciate their imaging and soundstage. At $399 they are by no means cheap and some might be turned away by the price, especially if they get to see the diminutive size in person. However when you consider that the system also provides a very capable DAC, powerful headphone amplifier, aptX Bluetooth and several other connection options and the ability to connect a separate subwoofer it all starts to make sense. These make regular computer speakers look and sound like cheap toys in comparison. On top of all that they also look pretty darn awesome! If you're looking for an all-in-one solution for your desktop the Audioengine HD3 is currently one of the best options available.

From sunny Southern California and launched in 2011 comes the technology company iDeaUSA. They have headphones, wireless speakers and tablets among other things and they focus on bringing innovative solutions to the masses. From their website:

Our team strives to bring quality and affordable products to the everyday user without any limitations of proprietary technology.

Good ol' Bluetooth. I seem to be saying that "B" word a lot lately. Seems that it's no longer an emerging technology but one that has settled itself into many areas of our daily lives. As the technology improves so does the end user's experience with better battery life, codecs and adopted standards. Today I'll be looking at the iDeaUSA AtomicX V200 Bluetooth headphone that comes with ANC and up to 16 hours of battery life. Let's go.

Disclaimer
This sample was sent to me for the purpose of an honest review. I'm not affiliated with the company in any way and all observations and opinions here are my own, based on my experience with the product.

The iDeaUSA AtomicX V200 retails for $74.99 to $99.99 depending on where you buy it from. It's available on Amazon and AliExpress.

iDeaUSA website: http://www.ideausa.com/

Amazon link

AliExpress link


Packaging and accessories

The V200 comes in your average type box, black body with green top and bottom. On the front is an image of the headphone and on the back are another couple of images along with the features and specifications listed.

On the inside is a nice zippered, semi-hard carrying case with the AtomicX logo on the front. Inside is the V200 headphone, a 3.5 mm to 3.5 mm auxiliary cable, airline adapter, USB to micro USB charging cable, user manual and warranty card.

The supplied cable is actually really nice and seems to be an upgrade over the one that comes with the V203. It's significantly thicker but retains the supple feel and is very resistant to tangling. It doesn't feel rubbery or sticky and all and is terminated at each end by a straight plug with good strain relief.



Build, comfort and isolation

It's immediately apparent as soon as you pick up this headphone that the build quality is excellent. It's mostly metal with just a small amount of plastic on the outer part of the earcups. Starting with the metal headband, it has a cushioned pleather cover, has a good amount of flex to it and feels very robust. The adjustment slider is also metal and very solid at almost 3 mm in thickness. The slider connects to a metal fulcrum that's connected to the earcups and feels just as solid as everything else.



The outer part of the earcups is metal and on the right side is the Power/Bluetooth button, surrounded by volume up and down, forward and previous buttons. Just under these is the 3.5 mm cable jack, microphone and an LED indicator. All the buttons are firm and have a tactile click to them, adding to the overall feeling of a quality build. The earcups rotate 115° so they can be laid flat on a desk or stored more easily. This also improves comfort as they'll adjust themselves to sit more comfortably on your head.



On the left side is the switch for turning ANC on and off and on the underside is the micro USB charging port and another LED which lights up when the ANC is turned on. The pleather earpads are nice and thick and fit around even larger ears quite comfortably.



When it comes to comfort the V200 is not too shabby either. Thanks to the thick earpads, soft pleather and padded headband it can be worn for long sessions without getting uncomfortable. Because it's a closed back headphone things can get a bit warm on the ears after a while but not more so than any other closed system. Clamping force is about spot on, keeping the headphone firmly in place without putting to much pressure on the sides of your head. Overall the V200 performs well in this aspect.

Isolation is good, even with the ANC turned off because of the closed back and meaty earpads. Once the music is playing you won't hear much of what's going on around you.



Bluetooth and pairing

Fitted out with Bluetooth 4.1 pairing is very simple with the V200. Just turn on the headphones by holding down the power button for a few seconds and you'll get a voice prompt telling you "Power on". After you select the V200 from your source you get another prompt saying "Pairing" which is soon followed by "Connected" and you're ready to go.

The connection is very reliable and I have not had any disconnections or dropouts when using with my Galaxy Note 5 or Acoustic Research M20. Range is quite good and about average for a Bluetooth device. The headphones play uninterrupted up to about 12 meters away from the source before the signal shows signs of cutting out.

Call quality is also good. Voices come through clearly and the built-in microphone does pretty well at picking up your voice as the person I talked to for testing could hear me without any issues.

Battery life

Playback time is rated at 16 hours or 9 hours with ANC enabled and in my testing I found that to be accurate. That should be enough to get through the day or several days of sporadic listening. Charging only takes a couple of hours which makes a pretty impressive charge to playback time ratio.

Sound

Sources used for testing

• Samsung Galaxy Note 5 (Bluetooth)
• Acoustic Research M20 (Bluetooth)
• PC/Foobar2000 > Arcam irDAC-ii (wired)

The sound varies quite a bit when using ANC compared to when it is turned off. For this section I'm going to talk about the sound with ANC Off because while alone at home there isn't really any background noise that needs to be silenced. In general the V200 is a V-shaped, consumer oriented heaphone that is perfectly suited for modern music, movies and games.

This is a bass heavy headphone, similar to the iDeaUSA V203. It's a little woolly and is definitely boosted but not so much to detract from the overall experience (especially with ANC on). It has quite an impact and should get people in the mood for some dancing. I can see this being the perfect companion for doing stuff around the house when you just want music in your ears and aren't doing critical listening. Most emphasis is on the mid-bass but the sub-bass reaches pretty well too and is great for electronic and hip-hop music.

Midrange is nice and clear albeit slightly recessed because of the V-shaped signature but it's not beaten into submission by the boosted bass. Vocals are fairly intimate and in Anathema's "The Lost Song, Pt. 2" Lee Douglas' voice comes through strongly and without graininess. Separation is not too bad though in busy segments things can sound a little congested. Tonality overall is very good for an ANC headphone.

Treble is behind the mids and bass and lacks sparkle but the timbre of ride and crash cymbals stays true to the recording. You'll find most of the focus on the other frequencies which makes the overall sound a bit dark but there's enough in the high ranges to keep things lively.

With ANC On

When the active noise cancelling is turned on the bass steps back a bit and the midrange leaps forward. Treble is more pronounced in this mode too and the effect is a brighter overall presentation. Soundstage is also increased a lot with ANC on, giving more sense of openness and space. Some will prefer the sound more with ANC on and that's very cool, essentially giving users the option of two different sound signatures.


The V200 can also be folded up for improved portability

Conclusion

I've enjoyed my time with the V200. The comfort and sound are good but I really can't stress enough just how impressive the build quality is. This looks and feels like a much higher priced headphone. Battery life is pretty good though not outstanding, however it's in line with the majority of the competition and if you do find yourself without power there's always the option to use the supplied 3.5 mm cable.

ANC works fairly well, though it obviously can't compare to something like the Bose QC line, however it does a good job of cutting out low frequencies and things such as fans, air conditioners and droning motor sounds so should also be great for using on flights.

Overall the V200 is another solid product from iDeaUSA. It probably won't appease demanding audiophiles when it comes to audio quality but for casual listeners it's a well rounded headphone with lots of features. These are great for watching movies and gaming too and if I were to take a flight or long bus/train ride these would certainly occupy a space in my travel bag. The excellent hard-case and rotating earcups make them ideal for portability without fear of them getting damaged or being too bulky. If you're looking for an inexpensive headphone with active noise cancelling make sure to give this one a look.

Now more than ever people are beginning to realize that they can get a much better audio experience by forgoing the on-board sound from their computers or smartphones in favor of a dedicated DAC. Not only that but it's becoming less of a hardcore enthusiast type of product because with so many new startup companies such as Sabaj bringing prices down, DACs can now be found at mainstream prices that are far less prohibitive to mainstream consumers and non-audiophiles. Also with the booming increase in streaming and digitally downloaded music there are more people than ever using computers as their main storage device and source for their music collections. It's for reasons like this that products such as the Sabaj D3 Audio DAC are created and that is what we'll be looking at today. Read on to see if this is something you want to add to your setup.

Disclaimer
I purchased this item directly from Amazon for the purpose of this review.

Amazon link here: https://www.amazon.com/Sabaj-D3-Headphone-Amplifier-Optical/dp/B01M7RNYU5

Sabaj website: http://www.sabaj.com.cn/en/index.asp

At the time of writing the Sabaj D3 is retailing at $78.99 USD.

Sabaj (SHENZHEN DAHAO TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD) was founded in 2016 in Shenzhen China. According to their website they are an "internet-direct factory store" with a goal of allowing music lovers and audiophiles to "get a good unit with a much less cost".

Packaging and accessories

The D3 comes in a simple, clean looking box that is black on the sides and white on the front and back. On the front is just some basic text with brand and model and on the back are diagrams of the front and back panels plus specifications and features printed in Chinese and English.

Inside the box are the DAC and bundled accessories all held securely in black foam. It's simple and to the point, basic but includes everything you need to get up and running with minimal fuss. So let's see what we have inside: Sabaj D3 DAC/AMP, 5V power adapter and USB to micro USB cable. Okay, well that was short and sweet but that just means we can get to the listening sooner.



Build and functionality

The D3 boasts an aluminum chassis with a matte finish, small form factor and rounded sides. It's really quite small, not much larger than your average drink coaster so it's perfect for those who have limited desk space.

On the front panel are the power/source select switch, LED indicators, headphone jack and volume knob which also functions as a button. The power button also acts as the source selection switch. Simply give it a short press to cycle through the available inputs and a longer press turns the unit on and off. LED indicators on the front display the currently selected input and bitrate. Next is the headphone jack which is a standard 6.35 mm. Finally the volume knob which is also a button (can I call it a knobbon?) It changes the volume and when pressed acts as a mute button. Because the volume is digitally controlled the knob spins infinitely and also means that there's no output channel imbalance.



Moving around to the back we have (from left to right):

• Left and Right RCA analog outs
• coaxial In
• optical In
• USB in
• DC5V In

The analog outs are variable level outputs so the D3 can be used as a preamp. This unit also has support for the OTG function so can be connected to some smartphones as well.



Specifications

-USB input:16bit-32bit/44.1kHz-384kHz(asynchronous)
-Optical,Coaxial:16bit-24bit/44.1kHz-192kHz
-RCA Output:2Vrms
-DAC Dynamic range:111dB
-DAC SNR:91dB
-Headphone Amp SNR:89db
-DAC THD+N:0.0009%
-Headphone Amp THD+N:0.0035%
-Decoder IC:CS4932
-Digital Receiver IC:LC89091
-Op Amp IC:NE5532
-Power consumption:1.3W
-Headphone power (@0.1%THD+N)
-32ohm/152mW 64ohm/236mW
-150ohm/114mW 300ohm/55mW
-Distorton:0.003%@10mW 300ohm
Accessories: 5V power adapter,Micro USB cable


The Sabaj D3 is almost the same size as my laptop's mouse!

Sound

Surprising to say the least. When you're talking about a DAC/AMP that's less than a hundred bucks you tend to expect some pretty serious drawbacks but the Sabaj D3 is really a strong performer. The sound is clean and balanced and throws out sound with an ease that belies its modest price tag. It's immediately apparent that the sound is a step up from a computer's built in audio solution and it only takes a good song to let it be known. Throw on Triosence's Go For It and the D3 flexes its rhythmic agility and conveys the upbeat excitement of the track with aplomb. Of course it's not as refined as a higher end product, lacking a little of the dynamics and greater detail of a higher end DAC but nevertheless it impresses with a transparent and uncolored presentation that's sure to challenge its low budget peers.

The amp section also does well with its clean output and no apparent background noise even when using sensitive IEMs. There's enough grunt to power the Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro (250 ohm) but that's starting to push it to its limits as far as output power goes. It won't be able to drive really inefficient or higher impedance headphones but for 250 ohms and under, all the way down to low impedance IEMs it does an admirable job indeed.

To get an idea of the DACs performance I hooked the RCA output up to the class-A Phatlab Sassy II portable tube amplifier and the result was gratifying. The DAC really shone here, delivering an uncolored and clear sound that was further enriched by the warm characteristics and enhanced soundstage of the Sassy II. Having mentioned that, it goes without saying the D3 is also great for using as a preamp to power speakers as well.



Conclusion

I'm going to say this right now - at $78.99 the Sabaj D3 DAC/AMP is a steal. Able to decode up to 32 bit files - it's actually ahead in that regard to most competitors in the sub $100 niche. It has a clean and balanced sound, is versatile with several input options plus an analog output. There's a lot of functionality packed into this little thing. It will comfortably power most things up to 250 ohms, OH and I forgot to mention that it can be powered from your computer's USB or even a power-bank, without the need to plug in to the mains.

If you want to get your feet wet in the world of HIFI and are looking for an affordable upgrade from your computer's built-in sound then this is a great place to start.

4.5/5

Yet another earphone manufacturer hailing from China, Sendiy came onto the scene in 2016 with their M2, a wooden IEM that came out of the gate with a lot of praise and recommendations. Things went awry shortly after when another seller released their own version which looked identical but was reported to be inferior sonically. Controversy aside, the people who got the genuine article seemed to be very pleased with it. Fast forward to late 2016 and Sendiy released a new flagship IEM, the M1221. It's a hybrid unit with a single Dynamic driver plus one balanced armature. Is it any good? Let's get on with the review then and hopefully by the end you'll be able to decide if this is one you'll want to add to your collection.

Specifications

Drvier 1x Dynamic + 1 BA
Impedance 20 Ω
Cable 1.2 m, 6 core silver plated copper
Sensitivity 110±5dB

Disclaimer

This sample was sent to me for the purpose of an honest review. I am not affiliated with the company and all observations and opinions here are my own, based on my experience with the product. Thanks to Sendiy for the opportunity.

The Sendiy M1221 is currently priced at $199 and is available from Sendiy's Aliexpress store: https://sendiyaudio.aliexpress.com/store/2229115

Packaging and accessories

The M1221 comes in a very nice, irregular hexagon shaped black box, complete with little pyramid shaped metal studs securing the carry strap and box clip. On the front is the Sendiy branding in glossy silver and the company's motto "Music changes life--enjoy it". On the back is a list of features and specifications along with a frequency response graph and a diagram of Sendiy's unique driver configuration (more on that later).

Inside the box is the provided carrying case which holds the earphones and all of the accessories. The case is a bit unusual compared to what we usually get with IEMs in that it's an IP68 graded water and dust proof affair (similar to Pelican cases) that has a waterproof depth of 33 meters and can withstand falls from heights up to 5 meters. It's a very nice case indeed, although it does require a bit of force to open and close. Sendiy was also considerate enough to provide an additional regular semi-hard case that's pocket and bag friendly.

Alright, let's take a look at the full list of accessories that come with the M1221:

• M1221 earphone
• x2 detachable silver coated cables with MMCX connectors
• 6 pairs of tuning filters (silver, gray and black in 6mm and 8mm variations)
• 2 pairs of foam tips
• 3 pairs (S, M, L) double flange silicone tips
• 3 pairs (S, M, L) single flange silicone tips
• carrying case
• shirt clip

As you can see there's fairly comprehensive list of accessories provided and should include everything you could want to get sorted. The only thing I would wish to see added is some larger ear-tips as every one of the 8 pairs were too small for my ears but to be fair that is the case with 4 out of every 5 earphones I get. Luckily I have a personal collection of extra large tips on standby so I was ready to go in no time.

Both of the provided cables are very nice but the upgraded braided one is my preference. It's braided with metal, color coded MMCX connectors and a heat shrunk plastic tubing that forms nicely over your ear. Microphonics are practically non-existent and it feels supple yet sturdy. There's a metal chin slider and Y-split with good strain relief. The cable terminates in a 90° 3.5 mm plug that is a nice mix of metal and translucent plastic.



Build, comfort and isolation

These things are light, much lighter than you'd expect for a metal earphone but Sendiy has used an aerospace grade aluminum alloy that supposedly has 10 times the hardness and density of normal metal. Well I'm no metallurgist so I'm going to take their word for it. I can tell you however that the housings feel incredibly strong and the build quality is just superb. The CNC carved housings feel great in your hand and everything is aligned perfectly. You can barely feel the seam where the two halves are connected. All the surface is smooth and rounded with not a sharp or straight edge to be seen, or more importantly felt when in your ears.

On the outer sides of the housings is the Sendiy branding in a concave recess that runs from front to back. There aren't really any other features worth mentioning except for the minuscule port that's just under the front end of the MMCX connector. My description probably hasn't done the build justice. I believe you'd have to feel them in your hand and take a real close look to get a grasp of how well these are constructed as pictures just don't do them justice.

The tuning filters are also expertly crafted with a series of notched rings on the surface, similar to a crown on a wristwatch. These make the filters very easy to grip and turn when inserting or removing them and they also have the added benefit of letting you choose whether to have the ear-tips slightly extended from or flush with the end of the nozzle as they sort of "click" into place for each position. The threading is smooth and precise and it's super easy to change filters.

For this writer's ears the M1221 are extremely comfortable because of their light weight, smooth, rounded edges and diminutive size. The two different filter lengths are a nice touch and for me I found the longer ones to give the best fit. I could easily wear these all day long without a problem.

Isolation is about average for this type of IEM, meaning pretty good so long as you're getting a proper seal and they're great for blocking out external noise.



Sound

Sources used for testing

• Benjie X1
• Acoustic Research M20
• Samsung Galaxy Note 5
• PC/MusicBee > Sabaj D3 DAC

Tuning filters

There are three filters which are described as thus:

Silver (bass boost)

Gray (reference)

Black (high boost)

The filters have a fairly subtle effect, mainly making slight adjustments to the amount of bass. They work as expected from the descriptions, with the gray filters giving the most balanced presentation. I've been listening to a lot of EDM and ambient music lately so have mostly stuck with the silver filters for a little extra body and that's what I'll be basing evaluation on.

Bass is very controlled with good impact and excellent separation from the midrange. Even with the silver filters it remains reasonably tame but there's enough impact for EDM, hip-hop and other bass driven tracks. It won't be enough to satisfy the extreme bassheads out there but for most it should be more than ample. It's pretty fast regardless of filter choice and has that solid presence that dynamic drivers bring. Sub-bass can be a lot of fun with the M1221. The undulating sub-bass swoops in Connect Ohm's "Snow Park" (again with silver filters) and the thick, heavy kick drums is a pretty intoxicating experience bringing some skull penetrating vibrations without any signs of distortion. Overall the bass aspect of this IEM is, in my opinion one of the highlights.

Mids are delightfully clear and resolving and remain free of the influence of the bass notes. There's plenty of detail to be found here as well with good separation and space between elements. Female vocals are nice and smooth without sounding recessed or thin and the upper midrange is graciously forgiving. Even Utada Hikaru's "Traveling" can be listened to at moderate to loud volume without discomfort with its inherent sibilance and bright notes. It's also a good song to test the mids as it's a very busy song with a lot going on and can become congested and lose details on lesser IEMs but that's not an issue here. Male vocals are slightly thinner but sound natural and are not overshadowed by upper midrange instruments.

The treble is well extended but never strident, though it isn't the most exciting aspect of the sound. There's not a great sense of airiness but there's definitely enough presence to lift the sound and keep its balance with the mids and bass. It's one of those trebles that doesn't become fatiguing at higher volumes so if the mood takes you there's no harm in turning things up. There's slightly more treble than the TFZ Balance 2M but less than the LZ A4 (depending on filters). For the most part I like the treble here but at times it can be a little stale.

Soundstage is neither overly large or small but gives more of a sense of width than any depth. Compared to the LZ A4 it is a bit confined and while it's far from disappointing it's fairly ordinary. At other times though, like in "When I Fear You, All Else is Where it Should be" by iiah it opens up considerably and renders the haunting track wonderfully.

Comparisons

vs LZ A4 ($195 USD)

While the M1221 does have various filters it can't come close to the customization possible with the A4's double filter system. Despite the more balanced presentation of the Sendiy I find the A4 to reproduce more micro details, even though it has a more colored sound. With the silver filters the M1221 has more bass presence than the A4 with black rear filters and overall the Sendiy is a little more forward in the midrange. Comfort of the Sendiy is superior to the LZ because the housings are much smaller, though the A4 gives you the option of wearing over ear or with cable down.

vs TFZ Balance 2M ($199 USD)

TFZ's B2M has an L-shaped signature with a weighty low end and has more bass than the M1221 even when using the silver filters. The Sendiy is a little more revealing which is usually expected with hybrids but still comes across as smooth, however the B2M has a rich organic feel with a silky, intoxicating midrange. Those who prefer a more balanced approach will appreciate the M1221 but for bass lovers the B2M is the way to go. Both have great build quality and accessories but the M1221 pulls slightly ahead in terms of comfort due to its much lighter weight and smaller shells.


From left to right: Sendiy Audio M1221, LZ A4, TFZ Balance 2M

Conclusion

Meticulously crafted the Sendiy M1221 brings a well balanced, clear and engaging sound. The accessories bundle should please most people and the IP68 graded storage case is a nice addition, particularly if you're planning to go anywhere near water with your IEM.

There are some excellent contenders available in this bracket, including the A4 and Balance 2M (in the comparisons above) but the M1221 can definitely hold it's own with those and would be a solid choice if you're looking for something more balanced and fairly linear. I think Sendiy has done a great job with this earphone and they are on track to be a very strong player going into the future. If you're looking for something in this price range the Sendiy M1221 should not be overlooked.

4.5/5 stars

There has been an explosion of Bluetooth enabled audio products in recent years. A quick search for Bluetooth speakers on Amazon yields hundreds of results from ultra-budget to astronomical prices. It's safe to say it's a competitive segment and will probably increase in popularity in the future as people embrace everything wireless and streaming.

Edifier was established in Beijing, China in 1996 and has since enjoyed fantastic success on the international market. Focused primarily on speaker systems for home and computer audio they have a wide variety of products to choose from. They also have a growing list of Bluetooth enabled products and today I'll be looking at their MP700 that Edifier describes as:

A portable speaker for the wanderlust



Disclaimer
This sample was provided to me for the purpose of an honest review. I am not affiliated with the company or seller and all observations and opinions here are my own, based on my personal experience with the product.

The MP700 is currently selling for $187 USD and can be purchased from Amazon HERE.

Edifier website: http://www.edifier.com/int/en/

Sample provided by: 5-Decibel Thailand

Packaging and accessories

Delivery content is a clean, white box with a clear image of the speaker and a feature list on the front. Over on the back are some more photos, feature list and specifications. Inside this is another plain black box and when you open this you find the MP700 wrapped in plastic and held securely in a sheet of black foam. To the left of the speaker is a smaller box containing the accessories which include user manual, warranty card, a power plug and a 3.5 mm to 3.5 mm auxiliary cable for physically connecting a source. That's everything you need to get started. It would have been nice to see some kind of carry bag but then again when you consider how the speaker is built (more on this later) it's not really necessary. Overall a simple yet satisfying unboxing experience.



Build and design

When I pulled this from the box I though "holy cow!" I wasn't expecting a fully steel case with such a hefty feel to it. There's no bending of the grills or frame under your grasp here, it's akin to picking up part of a car engine or something off a factory floor. Then there's the handle...a solid bar of steel that cements the impression upon you that this is no gimmicky toy speaker but rather is here to do some serious business. Although the Rave is not especially large with a width of around 30 cm it weighs in at around 1.6 kg so the handle becomes a necessity for conveniently moving the speaker around. Fortunately the solid steel handle with Edifier branding embossed in the top is perfect for the task. It can also be swiveled back to sit behind the speaker leaving the control buttons unobstructed and easily accessible.

When you see this speaker from a distance it looks so unassuming and modest in its appearance. It can easily blend in to an environment without drawing attention to itself. However, when you look at it up close you can see the intricate patterns in the grill. It looks traditional yet contemporary at the same time, with a hint of steampunk elements thrown in.

Hidden and protected under the grill are the two 70 mm midrange drivers and two 19 mm silk dome tweeters which add up to an impressive 36W of output power.

The entire underside of the speaker has a rubber surface which helps it so sit firmly in place on any flat surface and also protects whatever it is sitting on from scratches.

On the top area is a blue LED indicator and there are the three control buttons (from left to right): Power, - and +. To the right of the buttons is the NFC tag used for connecting a source.

Over on the right side panel there's a rubber flap covering (from top to bottom): 3.5 mm auxiliary input, a USB port (can be used like a power bank) and the 5V power input. There's also a series of blue LED indicators here that show you the battery status but they're only visible when actually charging, changing sources via the power button or when you first power the unit on. Perhaps an easier way to display the current battery level would have been handy here but that's just nitpicking. Speaking of the rubber flap, the MP700 is splash and dust resistant so there's no need to panic if you get caught in a rain shower but I wouldn't want to expose it to a heavy downpour for any significant amount of time.

Overall the design is utilitarian and rugged but when you get near its understated elegance is revealed. I think Edifier has done a great job on the build and aesthetics making it look nice and be very robust and practical at the same time.




Functionality

Pairing couldn't be more simple than this. A quick press on the power button and the speaker comes on with the LED indicator flashing blue, meaning it's in pairing mode. Enable Bluetooth on your source and tap the NFC tag on the MP700 and within a few seconds you're paired and ready to go. Of course if you wanted you could simply plug in via the 3.5 mm auxiliary port but where's the fun in that!? After you've connected a device the first time it will automatically reconnect the next time you turn on Bluetooth or turn on the speaker. The + and - buttons change the volume with a short press or skip to previous/next song with a long press. Oh and the power button also doubles as a source selection button. That's all there is to it. What a great design!

Bluetooth and connectivity

Just like the Edifier R1700BT connectivity is practically flawless. With its APTX functionality you get low latency, high quality streaming (assuming your source supports it). During testing I had no dropouts whatsoever and the range is good too. I'm able to go from the living room to the kitchen or even outside without interruption to the music. Need I say more? It works and it works good. Done.

Battery life

The battery is charged via the 5V power adapter and this is the only way it can be charged, so it needs to be plugged into a socket and can't be done from your computer. I personally prefer this method as it's much faster than charging with USB. It's rated at 8 hours of use and through multiple charge cycles I found it to be quite accurate, although it can vary a little up or down depending on how loud you set the volume. Now 8 hours isn't spectacular but I'm not complaining because the output power is fantastic and I doubt I'll ever need to use it for longer than that in a single session.

Sound

The Rave boasts a surprisingly mature and balanced sound that goes in a different direction from most other portable speakers that try to impress with their loose, overblown, flabby bass. This is also a bit brighter than the average portable solution which makes this a very lively and energetic sounding speaker. The Rave's ability to throw out sound is mind boggling and can easily fill a large room and works wonders outdoors. There's no need to huddle around it like a dying fire on a cold winter night as it projects amply in a wide arc on its front side and if you're indoors you can even be parallel with it at a good distance and get a full-bodied sound.

The Mp700 has a linear, punchy mid-bass that won't shake the walls but it doesn't distort or break up either. Its really clean and fast and can handle most genres easily, keeping pace without bleeding over into the mids. Listening to "Smartz" by Scarface (The Untouchable album) the beat drives the song along energetically, striking a good balance with vocals and letting them shine through.

Sub-bass is where the speaker falters a little, a well known symptom of Digital Signal Processing (DSP) and Dynamic Range Control (DRC) that puts a rein on certain frequencies to prevent distortion and maintain proper frequency levels. Speakers of this size generally have a weak sub-bass presence due to the digital processing and physical limitations and just like Edifier's desktop R1700BT the sub-bass is there but rolls off pretty hard and fast and is kept at a low level. This doesn't affect music too negatively though, especially because of the strong mid-bass performance.

Some extra bass impact and presence can be achieved by putting the speaker close to a wall or in a corner where the two rear bass ports can bounce off a hard surface.

Midrange is neat and clear and is the focal point of the MP700's presentation. There's a bit of warmth in the mids though like the bass its fairly linear and gobs of detail are noticeable as there's minimal coloring or added weight. Electric guitars have a good crunch and realistic presence as do other instruments in this range. Vocals are wonderfully clear though perhaps a little thin in the lower regions but still have enough body to be engaging for male vocals and really shine for female voices.

Even in busy segments separation is excellent and nothing sounds congested with good spacing between the parts. For such a small body this thing spreads out the sound really well, giving a sense of space no matter what angle you're listening from unless you're actually behind it. I can't get over how well vocals are reproduced, sounding rich and smooth and eliciting plenty of emotional response.

With treble the Rave also does exceptionally well, finding that sweet spot with fantastic extension yet never getting close to strident or piercing. Timbre of high hats and cymbals is superb and carries lots of details and is a pleasure to listen to. It seems to be well in line with the mids and never gets lost or overbearing but adds some lightness and pzazz up top. It's just another area where this thing amazes me for a portable speaker and would put many computer speakers to shame with its clarity and maturity.

Conclusion

It would be an understatement to say that the MP700 surprised me with it physical and audio quality. Actually it blew my socks off from the very first listen, far surpassing my expectations of what a portable Bluetooth speaker can achieve. One thing that in particular that stood out is its balanced presentation in favor of the usual V-shaped tuning that this type of product usually goes for. This should appeal to the more discerning listeners as well as people who just want a portable device that can "play loud".

The construction is extremely solid and should be able to handle some time in the trunk of a car or bouncing around in a backpack without any problems. Being water resistant you don't have to worry about a spot of rain or a splash from the pool and there are so many scenarios where this would be a welcome addition, such as backyard BBQs, picnics, at the poolside, at the beach or just about anywhere you can imagine.

When you add the build quality to its superb sound the Edifier MP700 seems like a real winner. Sure it's not exactly cheap but the price isn't outrageous either in context of what you're getting for your money. Does this all sound overly positive to you? As a reviewer I try to remain as objective as possible but at the same time I want to give my honest opinion on things. With that said I think this one is an absolute gem and you have to hear it to believe it.

There's no doubt that the age of Bluetooth is here and for the moment at least it's here to stay. With improvements to Bluetooth itself, APTX and battery life the platform has matured to a point where it's a viable alternative for all but the most demanding music fans. At the present time even a lot of the ultra-budget DAPs are equipped with Bluetooth and pretty much all mid and top tier DAPs now have built-in support as well. So today I'll be taking a look at a headphone with Bluetooth and APTX from a company called Archeer. According to their website, Archeer's goal is:

developing, manufacturing and vending innovative, attractive and novel electronic gadgets & peripherals for every customer in the world to enrich and ease their leisure lifestyle with comfort, consideration, entertaining and convenience

The Archeer AH07 is currently priced at $49.99 and can be purchased from Amazon or AliExpress. You can follow the links from their website HERE.

Disclaimer

This sample was sent to me for the purpose of an honest review. I am not affiliated with the company in any way and all observations and opinions here are my own based on my experience with the product. Thanks to Phoebe for reaching out.


Packaging and accessories
The AH07 comes in a simple, black box with "ARCHEER" printed in white at the top and a nice, clear image of the headhpones. Inside are the headphones folded up and sitting in a plastic tray. Under the tray you'll find the accessories which include a USB to micro USB charging cable, a 3.5 mm to 3.5 mm audio cable and a user manual - basically everything you need to get up and running although a carry pouch would have been nice.



Build, comfort and isolation
When I took the headphones out of the box I was quite surprised with how sturdy they felt. They arrive in a folded configuration that is nice and compact, making them good for portability. As you open things up and pull the cups down there's a satisfying click as they snap into place.

The headband is constructed from metal and is generously covered in padded pleather that serves well to be comfortable on the top of your head. Running down the sides are strips that look like metal but are in reality plastic. That's probably a good thing as it helps reduce the overall weight and it feels sturdy enough.

The ear cups are plastic and rectangular in shape and have a good length but are very narrow meaning those with larger ears may experience some discomfort. My ears barely squeeze inside but the padding is sufficient enough to make them bearable. Clamping force is a little intense, at least for me and I found the pressure on my ears combined with the narrow pads forced me to take them off every thirty minutes or so to get the blood circulating in my ears again. One thing I do really like about the ear cups is that they can swivel a bit from front to back and top to bottom so you can get a really good fit with them. Because of that and the clamping force these have really good noise isolation which means you don't need to turn your music up as loud and it blocks out a lot of external noise.

On the right ear cup is where you'll find the control buttons, of which there are three in total. The top one is for powering on or off and also used to answer and hang up phone calls. Under the top button is an LED indicator that flashes when in pairing mode. Below that are the volume up/down buttons that also act as track forward and rewind. These buttons are on the back side of the cup and for me this is perfect as they're easy to reach and press using my thumb.

On the bottom edge of the right cup are the 3.5 mm cable jack for wired listening, the microphone for making phone calls and micro USB jack for charging.

Overall these do not feel inexpensive at all. There are no rattles or loose joints and the materials feel light yet strong.



Sound
Sources used for testing

• Samsung Galaxy Note 5 (Bluetooth)
• Acoustic Research M20 (Bluetooth + wired)
• PC/Foobar2000 > Sabaj D3 (wired)
• Benjie X1 (wired)

Archeer's offering has a "fun" tuned, bass heavy sound with a good dose of warmth. The AH07 won't likely blow away a seasoned listener with its technical ability but for the average consumer they should be a hit. This type of sound signature is perfect for games or action movies with things like explosions giving you a really good rumble and visceral impact. It's also suitable for casual listening and depending on what headphone you're coming from you should find your brain adjusting to the excessive bass in a fairly short time and be able to enjoy what it has to offer. I did personally find these to react really well to some equalization and when you pull down the bass a bit they actually sound pretty nice.

Its a super easy to drive headphone so there's no need for additional amplification and it doesn't seem to benefit any from using a different source though I would suggest pairing it with something neutral or bright if possible.

Bass is the star of the show here or, at least it's where the AH07 tries to get your attention. It's thick and boomy with a pretty large mid-bass hump that tends to dominate whatever is being played. Sub-bass is fairly meaty too but it doesn't have the best extension. The bass has decent control and by that I mean it doesn't distort at higher volume but it doesn't display the same control when it comes to separating itself from the lower mids or interfering with the overall presentation as there is some significant bleed into the lower midrange.

The mids have the task of competing with a bloated bass, however in bass but still in the end they sound pretty sweet. Vocals, both male and female sound clear and natural as do most other instruments but during busy sections things can get a bit congested. Detail retrieval is surprisingly good (even more so with EQ applied) and I was surprised by some of the small sounds I was able to pick out as the bass thumped along. The upper mids sound just a little bit off in tonality with things like transient on snare drums making them seem a little colored or veiled.

I don't pay much attention to the treble with these headphones to be honest. That's not because it's bad but because it gets overpowered again by the bass. There aren't any noticeable peaks or excessive early roll-off and again just like with the mids, taking a bit of the bass out with EQ allows the treble to stretch its legs. Crash cymbals are not a problem here, coming off fairly smoothly which is great for busy drum sections like in Pineapple Thief's "No Man's Land" where there's an abundance of cymbals smashing towards the end of the song.

Soundstage is fairly intimate and narrow giving a very stereo type presentation without much depth or space. Even on "Midwest", the title track of the Midwest album by Mathias Eick which normally sounds wide on almost anything things still sound inside the head-space. Imaging is also very average with everything coming together in a mashup in the middle so this area is definitely not a strong point for the AH07.

Bluetooth and pairing
Pairing is very easy and also fast with the AH07. You simply hold the power button down for a few seconds until you hear a beep and see the LED indicator flashing and it's in pairing mode. Once you choose the AH07 from your devices Bluetooth settings the pairing is very fast and painless.

I've had no dropouts or signal loss while connected and the sound quality to my ears is just as good as when using in wired mode. I can go into another room and the signal remains strong but if there's a thick wall in between you'll get some dropouts as you move farther away from the source. As an example I can leave my smartphone on the computer desk in the living room and go into my kitchen, which is behind a wall and the signal holds up perfectly until I get near to my back door. That's a good 10+ meters with a wall in between. Not bad at all!

Battery life
One of the things that steered me away from Bluetooth headphones for a long time was the short battery life that many suffered from in the early days but there have been significant improvements with power efficiency and battery technology in recent years. That has made the experience much less bothersome than it used to be and the AH07 fares really well in this department. You can expect an average of 14-15 hours of solid playback time with this headphone before needing a recharge or switching to wired mode.

Comparisons
vs Yenona/Oneodio Studio Pro ($38.50 USD)
The first difference I noticed is that the Yenona requires several extra bumps on the volume to match the same listening level. Compared to the AH07 the Studio Pro sounds a lot more balanced in terms of bass (although it is a bassy headphone). Upper mids sound a bit more natural as well and when it comes to comfort it's the Studio Pro all the way with its large, wide and thick pads along with much less clamping force. Soundstage seems quite restricted on the AH07 in comparison. Where the AH07 wins is obviously its wireless capability and it's better suited for portability, with a smaller size and more secure fit.

Conclusion
It never ceases to amaze me how many bargains are available to music fans right now and the Archeer AH07 is a perfect example of this. With its solid build, portability, decent sound, wireless connectivity and good battery life it's really good value for money. While the sound isn't the most refined it's those other aspects that make it a good thing to have in your collection. The additional option of going wired also makes it really versatile and if you find yourself low on battery power it's not really a problem, just plug in the 3.5 mm auxiliary cable and you're good to go again. Overall for the sound I'd give it 3/5 stars but considering it's other strong points as well as a very reasonable price I think it's worthy of a 4/5 rating.

"He is happiest, be he king or peasant, who finds peace in his home." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
TFZ or "The Fragrant Zither" burst onto the IEM scene not so long ago but since then has gained quite the name for itself amongst enthusiasts. Starting with the "Series" series which were regarded as having some pretty serious bass, they followed up with the Balance 2/2M which were indeed fairly balanced but still had a heavy does of the low end. Fast forward to the present and TFZ has a new series going by the title "Exclusive". The Exclusive King Experience Edition is soon to be released as the Exclusive King Formal version. The Formal version will have detachable cables in place of the fixed found on the original. Today I'll be reviewing the Exclusive King so without further ado let's get down to it.

You may be wondering what the heck a zither is. Being the considerate person that I am, I shall provide a brief description -

zith·er
ˈziT͟Hər,ˈziTHər
noun
a musical instrument consisting of a flat wooden sound box with numerous strings stretched across it, placed horizontally and played with the fingers and a plectrum. It is used especially in central European folk music.

Disclaimer
This sample was provided to me for the purpose of an honest review. I am not affiliated with the company or seller and all observations and opinions here are my own, based on my personal experience with the product.

The Exclusive King is currently selling for $99 and can be purchased from Penon Audio.

Penon Audio website

Penon Audio on AliExpress




Packaging and accessories

On this occasion the King's carriage comes in the form of a classy silver box emblazoned with shiny silver print. Under the lid is the striking blue IEMs laid out before you in their snow white plastic tray, the colors contrasting wonderfully. You'll also see the white carrying pouch here, adorned with the TFZ logo on the front. Underneath the pouch is a recessed pocket with the cable coiled up and held with a Velcro cable-tie.

Lifting out the tray reveals a few extras and a smaller silver box containing the rest of the accessories. All together you'll find:

• user manual
• warranty and information cards
• 3x pairs silicone tips (S, M, L)
• 1x pair double flange silicone tips
• 1x pair foam tips
• 1x pair silicone ear-guides
• shirt clip

It's a nice package overall with an elegant presentation and gives you pretty much everything you could want to accompany your new IEM.



Build, comfort and isolation

The King is constructed with shiny, blue metal face-plates covering a transparent blue, plastic housing. The shells are smoothly contoured with high quality construction and feel every bit as good as they look. There's quite a bit of heft making them feel substantial and solid but they don't feel as heavy as the Balance 2M and don't feel heavy when worn.

The angled nozzles have a good length and a raised ridge to prevent ear-tips from sliding off and getting stuck in your ears. There's also a metal grill in place to prevent debris and earwax from entering the housings.

Coming out from the top of the shells are the translucent strain reliefs with the cable embedded inside. Farther down is a translucent Y-split and chin slider/cable cinch. The cable itself is pretty nice, a clear, twisted affair that has a good thickness and weight to it and terminates in a translucent, 45° angled plug with TFZ branding printed in red.

For my ears these very comfortable, especially with shorter, third-party tips (all the provided ones are too small for my ears). There's no memory wire in the cable so it can easily sit over your ears and is barely noticeable. Unlike many other UIEMs (including the B2M) these don't cause any hotspots for me so I could really wear them all day without a second thought.

For isolation I find these pretty good too, mostly due to having large ears so the shells sit nicely in the conch of my ears, almost as if they were customs. Your mileage may vary of course as we're all special little snowflakes with unique anatomy. With music playing quietly I don't hear much outside noise and when the volume is turned up I am oblivious to what's going on around me.



Sound

Sources used for testing

• Benjie X1
• Acoustic Research M20
• PC/JRiver Media Center > Sabaj D3 DAC/Amp

It's often the case that as you go higher in price then you'll get less V-shaped signatures with earphones and that's true with the King. It has a more balanced sound and is aimed towards the enthusiast group who are looking for a more refined or unique presentation, so there's an emphasis on the higher midrange and lower treble with very little of the coloring that you find in the general consumer targeted products.

There's bass here. Not a lot in terms of quantity but ohh this is all about the quality. You won't hear any bloat, or woolly beats (unless the track was recorded that way). Rather the bass is punchy and fast with next to no bleed into the lower mids. There's an almost hybrid like separation of the bass from the other frequencies all wrapped up in a coherent bundle. Sub-bass can let out a growl when it's called upon and displays nice extension but never overexerts itself or becomes too boisterous. Kick drums and bass notes have a great edge to them with fast attacks and decay and drive the music along without blurring the lines.

Midrange is allowed to shine as it doesn't need to compete with an overly aggressive bass. Sure it's a little on the thin side but it's smooth with great instrument separation and choc full of detail and clarity. In the Addictive Glance "How Far You've Gone" Evgeny Lebadev remix all the minute pitter-patter sounds are easy to distinguish amidst the energetic, driving bass. Female vocals get special treatment via the slightly emphasized upper mids like in "The Moment" from The Gentle Storm's The Diary - Anneke van Giersbergen's voice rings out sounding natural and uninhibited. In the lower spectrum the male vocals in Katatonia's "Residual" come off as a touch dry but it's a worthy trade-off when you hear the great drums backing them up.

When it comes to treble this is perhaps the King's weakest point. Actually let me rephrase that because it's not really a weakness - the treble is not quite as impressive as the bass and midrange. It's prominent enough to give the overall sound a bright edge and at times borders on being a bit aggressive but I wouldn't call it abrasive or harsh. There isn't any real shimmer or airiness to it though like I find in the Whizzer A15's treble. Still the timbre is very true to form and it's a very good match for the overall signature of the King's sound.

Soundstage and imaging are definitely above average for an IEM at this price. These have really good soundstage depth and the stereo imaging is nothing short of excellent. You can get a real sense of distance and positioning which is so often hindered by heavy bass and midrange thickness in a budget earphone.

Comparisons

vs Thinksound ms02 ($99 USD)

The ms02 sounds more organic while the King has a digital like cleanliness that is full of detail. Bass has similar levels on both but is more defined with a cleaner edge on King. Thniksound's ms02 has a warmer overall sound but is still lively in the treble. Both are comfortable but the ms02 is even more so with its traditional barrel shaped housing that basically leave only the ear-tips making contact with your ears. You can't go wrong with either of these as they're both great performers with the deciding factors being over-ear or cable down wear along with whether you prefer a brighter, more detailed sound (TFZ) or a slightly warmer and smoother one (ms02).

vs Accutone Gemini HD ($119 USD)

These each have their own unique approach and differ greatly in sonic presentation. On one hand you have the King with its upper tilt focus while the Gemini HD is more about lower mids and mid-bass presence. Treble is much more pronounced on the TFZ compared to a subdued one on Accutone's offering and as a result the Gemini HD has a darker, non-fatiguing sound. Build quality is fantastic on either one but I find the TFZ more comfortable because the Gemini HD has a straight back edge that causes hot-spots in my outer ear after prolonged use. The updated version of the King (Formal edition) will also have the benefit of a detachable MMCX cable that could prolong its longevity and also gives the user the ability for some customization.


From left to right: TFZ Exclusive King, Accutone Gemini HD, Thinksound ms02

Conclusion

Like I said earlier the TFZ King is not targeting the average listener as it's more tuned for audiophiles. Actually I really don't like that term because after all what is an "audiophile"? Just a snobbish term for an audio enthusiast! Jokes aside though, the King has a lot going for it technically, aesthetically and ergonomically as well as a good accessory bundle that makes it pretty impressive for the price. The tuning might not suit everyone but I am certain it will appeal to a lot of more seasoned listeners looking for something outside of the common V-shaped sound. For $99 the TFZ Exclusive King Experience version is in a small, select group of products that aims to please a more demanding demographic. TFZ has created something that is truly unique in this price bracket and for that reason alone you should aim for an audience with the King.