Thanks to Concept Kart for organising this review tour of 2 dacamp dongles. Audiocular is Concept Kart's own brand and is their first foray under the brand. Wishing them the very best in bringing excellent products under the umbrella!

TP20 Pro and TP30 Pro are balanced and single ended dacamp dongles that are affordable and provide excellent features in a tight budget. The review is from a very neutral standpoint and has absolutely no influence in any way from Concept Kart. All opinions are mine only.

Specifications

The TP20 Pro dacamp comes with dual independent Cirrus Logic dac chipsets (CS43131), supporting 3.5mm (SE) and 4.4mm (Bal) ports on the output section, while taking a usb c input. It supports 32 bit/384khz PCM, DSD256 decoding as well as MQA decoding.

The TP30 Pro comes with dual ESS ES9038Q2M chipsets that has a 3.5mm (SE) and 4.4mm (Bal) output with a similar usb c input. The dac decodes 32 bit/768khz PCM, DSD512 decoding as well as MQA decoding.

Both dacamps have an option of USB C or Lightning cables, for use with appropriate input sources.

There are minor differences in terms of THD, sensitivity, SNR, dynamic range parameters, while providing a similar output impedance of 32 ohms. The TP20 Pro has a green LED while the TP30 pro has a red LED indicator when they are powered on.

Package and build

The devices come in identical carboard packages with the corresponding usb-c to usb-c or lightning cable nestled in foam, while the dacamps are nearly identical in terms of dimensions.

The TP20 Pro is a black brick, while the TP30 Pro is a golden brick (or biscuit!). Both look solid with metal construction that looks like it can take a lot of abuse. Both weigh a bit and give a feeling of solid metal mass.

The input and output ports are near identical on both units, with the output ports switching order in comparison to the other.

The TP20 pro comes with a gain switch as well as volume buttons that control the source volume nicely. The TP20 pro also has a Play/pause button that pauses and resumes play on the source (Even on a windows laptop!).

The TP30 pro does not have the gain switch or the pause/play button, but has a similar volume control buttons.

Screen printing on the cases of both dacamps are similar, with the logo on one side, and the name and chipset capabilities on the other side.

Both units came with identical cables.

Sound profile

With impressive output power specs on both units (2Vrms - single ended, and 4 Vrms on balanced), there is plenty of juice to drive iems with ease. I was able to drive KZ PR1 Pro and CCA PLA13 to ear shattering levels on both dacs.

Tuning

TP20 Pro - The TP20 Pro has a slightly more pronounced bass, of the two. Details are good, lots of head room without any distortion experienced at any level. The mids are pushed slightly back in comparison with the TP30 pro, more due to slightly bassiser output.

TP30 Pro - The TP30 Pro is slightly more neutral sounding of the two. The mids are a touch more clearer, with excellent treble detail. The bass is more rounded than the TP20 pro, that has a bit more oomph. The typical sabre glare is mostly avoided, and the sound is very clean.

Conclusions

Coming at excellent price points, both dongles offer very high value in terms of features and excellent sound. The only probably qualm is that both are on the chunkier side. This could auger well as the metal builds inspire confidence in terms of longevity. Standard usb c input means the most common failure point of dac dongles is well addressed.
The TP20 Pro is an easy recommendation for those looking for a fun sounding dongle, while the more detail oriented and technical audience will enjoy the TP30 Pro more. Well done, Concept Kart / Audiocular!

Thanks to Concept Kart and Pulkit Dreamzz for organizing the review tour of the Mext. The Mext is available at Concept Kart (https://conceptkart.com/products/unique-melody-mext-wired-iem)

The unit is part of the review tour, and no compensation for the review has been received or entertained in exchange for the review. All opinions are mine.

SPECIFICATIONS​

Headphone Type: Coil Bone Conduction + Dynamic +Balance Armature
Air Conduction Frequency Bandwidth: 20Hz-23kHz
Vibration Conduction Frequency Bandwidth: 200Hz-7kHz
Sensitivity of Air Conduction: 108dB @1kHz
Sensitivity of Vibration Conduction: @1kHz 5m·N | Peak @400Hz 79m·N
Crossover: 4-way Crossover
Driver Counts: 6 Drivers
Impedance: 16Ω
Configuration:1 Coil OBC Driver + 1 Bass Dynamic Driver + 2 Mids BA Drivers + 2 Treble BA Drivers

PACKAGE, BUILD AND ACCESORIES​

The review tour unit came in the UM carry case, which is a pseudo leather case that is adequately wide to house the iems and cables comfortably. It also has an interesting velcro based restraining strip to hold the iems in place without moving around. Nice touch.

The review unit came with the Sednafit Xelastec tips in the M size. I used the Spinfits CP100 instead for the review, as I am more comfortable with it.

The stock cable comes with a 2pin connector and is very pliable with no microphonics. It does not seem to tangle much either. Well built and pretty good looking. The cable terminates in a 4.4mmm balanced connection.

I have used an aftermarket TRN cable (with 2.5 termination along with the stock 4.4 terminated cables for the audtition.

Source : Youtube Premium & Tidal with iBasso DC04, Hipdac v1, Chord mojo (v1). I specifically included the list so that it is easily accessible to users, specifically avoiding exotics.
Source matching - The iems are warm sounding, and will pair well with slightly brighter sources. I had good synergy with the dc04 and the AK pee51 dac dongles. The hipdac and mojo being a little warm, made the iems more warmer. I like balance, and hence personaly prefer the other synergies more.

FIT​

The iems are fairly large/thick and do stick out of the ear (for me). The nozzles are also on the bigger side, similar to the thieaudio and bgvp iems. With the spinfits, the fit was pretty good, with the Bone conduction driver kicking in and making an impact, as opposed to my experience with the Mest 2.

They fit similar to Mest 2 in terms of size and fit.

DRIVABILITY​

These are quite sensitive and can be driven very easily. No need for fancy amping.

TRACK SELECTION AND LISTENING COMMENTS​

Track 1 - Forest of Gold (Mazde) -
This is an ambient/synth track that I recently discovered. The Mext is made for the trance/edm/synth genres. It does an excellent job at immersing the listener with the soundscapes offered. The bass hits home nicely with a midbass rumble and a bit of subbass too. The treble is not overly bright and almost on a slightly laidback level. This will make an excellent work iem!

Track 1a - Carbon based lifeforms - Derelicts album ()
Another immersive track with chill trance, again excellent pairing with the Mext. The subbass slowly thumps away while you float away in the rest of the synth music.

Track 2 - OMNIA - Fee Ra Huri ()
Fee Ra Huri is a fusion track of folk flute, and other folksy instruments combining with acoustic guitars and drums. The listener is placed right in front of the stage with very good positioning. There is good cohesion across the various instruments , inspite of a smallish stage. The vocals are slightly recessed here.

Track 3 - Huun Huur Tu - Chiraa Khoor

One of my favorite mongolian throat singing bands! The Mongolian throat Look up Mongolian Throat singing for more info.
This song takes away the advantage of the BC driver, with no drums, drops, leaving it to the incredible vocals and accompanying strings and crowie shells in a wooden container. The bass from the singer's deep notes, combined with the high pitch whistle simultaneously, is very well represented. The listener can feel themselves in the grassy meadows with the horses and the singers. Beautiful balance across the board, lets music and singing do the talking. As it should be.

Track - 4 Have a Cigar - Main Squeeze ()
Outside of PF/Gilmour, the best rendition of Have a Cigar, along with original (mindblowing) guitar solo, this is a fantastic band. The track is a studio recorded live track with enough instrument cues, layering and imaging.
One of the standout instruments in this track is the cymbals and snare drums. The mext is able to reproduce the shimmer of the cymbals right off the bat. The presentation is right in the middle of the room with the musicians. The lead singer's slightly nasal singing can be heard clearly. The main guitar is just left off centre, while the drums are in the right. The positioning cues are quite adequate, with a little bit of layering being felt. The piano is in the background and is lightly heard. There is a little bit of fuzzyness on the faster sections in the solo. The drum sticks on the drum sides is very standout on the right side.On certain sections at the end of the solo, the cymbals have a slight harshness.

Very enjoyable and inoffensive listen. Nothing is in the face and have a slight laidback presence.

Quick Comparisons​

Vs. Mest 2
UM tried its bone conduction drivers starting from the Mest and followed it with the Mest 2. Due to its fit, I could not feel the bone condution do much for me. In comparison, the Mext has come through in spades. The bone conduction coil throws in a very perceivable rumble in the mid and subbass areas. The treble was a little bit more extended with the Mest 2, with slightly more brighter presentation. The Mext is a little more fun tuned, taking away some of the edge from the treble. I think the Mext has pushed itself in front of the competition with the Mest 2.

Vs. Monarch mk1
The Monarch (mk1) has been my benchmark for how hard the bass can hit, at this pricepoint. Its bass shook the entire being, while still holding up well in the treble areas. The mids were a slight bit recessed as a result. The Mext, attempts to go after the Monarch's class leading bass, and scores decently well. But Monarch still prevails. Easily.

Vs Monarch Mk2
The Mk2 tuned down the bass of the Monarch 1 and sounds fairly similar to the Mext. The treble section was a little more detailed/brighter than the Mext. The mids were slightly forward compared to the Mext. Both sound quite similar, and will be equal picks, with specific nuances; more laidback and fun sound with the Mext, slightly more mid forward with the Monarch mk2.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS​

The Mext is a fun sounding iem with bass emphasis via the bone conduction drivers. It is not very bright, and hence makes listening to fairly poor recordings, movies etc, very fun. It is very forgiving, and can be used for long listening sessions if the fit is fine. If you want to spend sessions with the band and music around you in an intimate manner, Mext is a fantastic option. It reminds me of the Vision Ears VE8 in a lot of ways!

Disclaimer : This review is part of the Hifigo Review Tour (https://hifigo.com/)https://hifigo.com/ of the Kinera BD005 Pro. The opinions provided are mine only and have not been influenced in any way

Kinera is a fairly well known brand with good iems (Odin, Norn etc). The BD005 Pro is a budget hybrid iem with 1 DD (Berylium) and a Knowles BA driver.

Package and Build : The Review unit came in a iem case with a set of 3 sized wide bore tips. The shell is acrylic, with a medium-large nozzle. It feels well built and fairly light. So comfort is very good with it. The cable is a stock 3.5 terminated twisted cable with a 2 pin termination into the iem. It can be switched with other aftermarket cables comfortably.

I switched to sony tips for getting the fit right, as well as to tame a little bit of the mid-treble brightness. The iems have excellent sound isolation, helped by a good fit

Sound

While the standard approach to the sound review is through separation of components, I will take a different approach while describing ceratain reference tracks that I use.

Out of the box, the sound stage is wide. Excellent instrument imaging and separation at this pricepoint is a very good positive about the iem. Orchestral pieces sound full. My reference track here is the Danish Orchestra's rendition of the Good Bad and Ugly title track. The instruments felt real and could be identified and layered very well with the iem.

The vocals department has a bit of nitpicks. For the most cases, vocals are nicely forward. However, for certain male vocals, the upper mids do get a bit shouty and harsh. This is also consistent with trumpets getting ahead of others in terms of energy. This is a potential tuning point.

Stringed instruments felt real, very fast decay and impact. The sound does feel cohesive and real, and are not just a bunch of instruments.

Comfortably Numb, Live in Pompei, felt like listening from the stadium. Very nice presence of space. Gilmour's rasping can be heard slightly left of centre, while the instruments and the chorus is in the background. When the electric main guitar rolls in, it is present and slight harsh. Rest of the track is enjoyable, nonetheless.

Closer - Kerala Dust is a track I use to review bass, bass extension and low end speed. The maracas in the start of the track feel real. The background flare is nice. Once the bass section starts off, the beats come on very nicely, without bleeding. The subbass is light, surprising for a 9mm Be driver. The decay feels more like BA. The vocals are clear and well present. There is a slight treble brighness coming through.
However, when I run it through the Corda Quickstep, this is something else altogether. The subbass is more present. The harshness is mostly gone, as I suspected. Amp it folks!

For speed test, I use the Janine Jansen's Vivaldi : Four Seasons as the test album, with 1. Primavera Allegro and L'estate Presto as the test tracks. The instrument attack and decay is very coherent and feels real. The speed is excellent with even the busy sections of both tracks well separated. They are able to present through the details without muddying the instruments. These do justice to well recorded orchestral peices. Some of the high sections do have a little bit of a harshness, especially at the ending of the Presto. Overall, well done indeed.

Conclusion : These are very nice for the pricepoint. I would like to tune the mids and treble a bit to take out some of the harshness. Otherwise, this is an easy buy recommendation. If the harshness is tuned out by the way of amping, this can be 4 or 4.25 rating.

Thanks to AG and Canpur for the CP622B review unit.

As always I dont have nor expect incentives of any kind for the review and all opinions are mine.

Overview

Canpur have been making waves in the high end iem segment with stunning iems. The CP622B (herein referred to as 622) are no exception.

The iems are fairly large sized with a stunning faceplate. The iems sport 2 pin connectors and the review units shipped with a 4.4 balanced cable with some
really fancy splitter and connector components.

The iems also came in a rectangular faux leather case with a microfibre cloth and a pick to clean the iems with. The tips are of 2 types - black and white with an orange
sleeve inside.

The iems themselves are resin based and carry impressive tech - 6BA + 2EST + 2BC per side, explaining the need for large shells.

Fit
The shells being fairly large sized, and with wings, have a little bit of an issue with small ears (like I do). I was able to get a good fit with the small sized tips and used the same for the review.
The cables, with their memory wire helped to hold the iems in place, but do have a little bit of tug and cause sensitivity around the ears over time

Sound and Driveability

Inspite of all the drivers in the iem, they are very easy to drive at only 10ohms. This results in being able to be driven by anything from a mobile phone upwards.

The combination of drivers provide the iems to drive most genres with authority. They are quite detail oriented, with the deep rumble of the BC drivers.

Bass - They have strong bass thanks to the Bone conduction driver pair per side. This gives it an immense rumble and slam. On some tracks they rumble the brains out.
Bassheads, this one is for you!

Mids - The mids are present in greater extent when compared to other V shaped iems. These do have a slightly pushed back mids but only slightly.

Treble - With the multiple EST drivers, the treble is fast and very detail oriented, providing a lot of technical cues, be it imaging or stage. There is quite a bit of air to
make the iems sound spacious too. There is no congestion inspite of all the details being thrown around.

Conclusions
Canpur CP622B is a TOTL offering and does well with almost all genre. Start saving up!

Thanks to Hifigo (https://hifigo.com/products/kinera-urd-1) and gadgetgod (https://www.head-fi.org/members/gadgetgod.528602/) for organising the review tour of the Kinera Imperial Urd.

The Urd comes with the following specifications

• 2 Sonions EST + 2 Titanium Crystal Diaphragm Coaxial DD + 1 Kinera Customize 11021 BA
• Impedance: 20 ohm
• Sensitivity: 107db±2db
• Frequency Response: 5Hz-50kHz
• Modular 6N OCC + OCC with Silver Plated + OCC with Gold Plated Cable

BUILD AND ACCESSORIES​

The review unit came in a blue canvas case with adequate space for the iems and the adapters. The unit also came with excellent cables with replaceable connectors, with the selection of 2.5, 3. and 4.4mm terminations. The cable is nice and soft with low to no microphonics. The cables terminate in a 2-pin connection into the iems. The units came with a selection of 2 silicon tips and a cleaning brush.

FIT​

The Urd shell is on the bigger side. When worn, it does jutt out of the ears, looking a bit comical. The blue shade on the shell is beautiful and has a very nice shimmer in the light. It looks very nice overall. I was afraid of the fit of the iems, as I have small ears. The Urd had absolutely no problems with the fit, thanks to its medium sized nozzles. The nozzles are slightly long and help with the comfort. There was no pain experienced despite long listening sessions.

SOURCE - SONY CD WALKMAN (D-NF420)​

I dug opened my vintage Sony CD Walkman and put a battery in it. And the damn thing worked beautifully after a decade and a half of non-use! Sony take a bow! The sound output from the Walkman is incredible and gave me a very good reason to break out my old CDs collecting dust. Hence, for this review I use my CD collection, so no links, sorry!

TRACK SELECTION​

Pink Floyd - Time (Dark side of the Moon)
The Clocks at the start have the same wake up impact, as I heard it for the first time. The clocks are positioned super accurately, with the westminster chime finishing the clock part. The beginning of the next section with the deep guitar and percussions is absolutely enveloping. I could be standing right in the middle of a concert! Guitars are placed left and right, with the Gilmour in the center and the drums are layered at the back. The backing vocals are also coming from the back of the singer. The distortion guitar can be literally felt. I havent felt this much connection with the music in iems, apart from the EX1000, Qdc Gemini and the z1r. I just want to close my eyes and just immerse in the music. Stage width is good, as well as the depth. The height is average with this track. All details are present, vocals are brilliant. The grittiness in the voice is very nice.

Eric Clapton - Unplugged - Tears in Heaven
The Urd does something magical with strings. What a match with the acoustic guitars on this track. Each pluck with its nuances, brushes, can be heard very cleary. I have a front row seat in the audience with this track, very close to the stage. The space is very good, with Clapton sometimes hitting the highs with a bit of energy. Layering is spot on, as is the imaging. The soft female backing vocals comes across very delicately, complementing Clapton's vocals. When the audience roars and claps, is when you are brought back to the stage. The immersion is unreal. I want to listen to more tracks. Will come back later for more reviews!

Carmina Burana - O Fortuna (from the OST of The Doors)
I next picked up the OST of The Doors movie (it is what it is!), and track 10 is O Fortuna. This is one song to play during Ragnarok/Judgement Day kind of scenarios. And boy does the Urd do justice to the track. The chorus starts off grandly, proceeding to the light movement, building up to its crescendo, with the large drums kicking in like cannon fire. And it feels like it. The tension build up is incredible. If you have a huge task that you need to accomplish, or face a serious hill climb, I recommend the O Fortuna track, especially from the Urd. The sense of balance is very good. It sounds like a very good pair of full sized headphones. The cymbal strikes at the end of the track, feel real with its recoil. Very nice!

The Best of Bob Marley & the Wailers - Is this Love
One of my all time favorite tracks, the song is so groovy right through. The guitars sound so crisp and in place, with cow bells used on both sides of the stage, with Marley's voice at dead centre. The drumsticks on the cowbells sound real and pointed. Again, I just want to close my eyes and listen. There is a lot of instruments, trumpets, tuba etc in the background, that meld with Marley crooning out the belter track. Thoroughly immersive again.

Deep Purple 30: Very best of - Child in Time (25th anniversary remaster)
Another of my all time favorite tracks, one of the magical ones to get lost in for a long time (especially on the Live in Tokyo album). The vocals are in front, with the moog/synth on the right. The cymbal strikes again feel real.. like really real. The building crescendo with the howling/screaming, makes you want to join in. This track has one of the best guitar solos of all times, with incredible improvs in every live play. The guitar is slightly left off centre. Even in the faster sections, there is no muddiness. Incredible EST implementation here. I think the best of CD mastering has a little bit of mastering issue with treble peaks for a little bit of the guitar solo. Even with the slight glare in the mastering, the music is very cohesive and comes together very well.

Dire Straits - Sultans of Swing (Money for Nothing - West germany print)
This is one of the better mastered albums around. The main guitar, rhythms guitar, cymbals, vocals, everything is so beautifully rendered. There is enough space between the instruments, with excellent articulation, speed and timbre. Difficult to listen without keeping my eyes closed. This is definitely an iem made for listening to music in its entireity. With Knopfler's main guitar bang centre of the stage, the other instruments are spread around, with a front of the stage presentation. Personal concerts galore! The drums, when coming front, sound very realistic among the other instruments. Bass guitar is heard through the track in cohesion again!

P.S:
I wanted to put in more review tracks, but damn, the Urd just wants me to close my eyes and listen. So thats what I will do!

COMPARISONS​

Mangird Tea
The Teas are priced slightly lower than the Urd, but with a different configuration from the Urd. In the stock form, the bass is harder hitting, and the treble has traces of sibilance. The Urd, on the other had, has a slightly lesser bass impact, with almost a DF neutral bass response. The treble is also a little more forgiving than the Tea.

BGVP DM8
The DM8 is an all BA (8 drivers per side) unit, that does things quite well. The bass has a slight BA timbre, but is compensated for with good fitting tips. All other areas are very good, with excellent articulation of treble and slightly laidback mids. The biggest sore point on the DM8 for me is the fit. The nozzles are massive. The Urd in comparison has no such issues and sits very well in my ears, with no discomfort for long term listening sessions.

QDC Gemini
I am comparing Fiats with Ferraris here, but hear me out. The QDC Gemini is the best balanced iems that are not single DD, that I have put in my ears. It is supremely comfortable and easy to drive. The balance in sound is the best I have heard, full stop. The Urd, comes quite close to reproducing the balance, with a slightly lesser amount of detail. The balance is in the same ballpark. Both immerse you in the music very well. (Single DDs are my choice of poison and the better ones are exceptional, with better immersion and organic tonality)

CONCLUSIONS​

The Urd is not your analytical monster, or the defining benchmark for detail. However, it does convey all the details in the music in a very cohesive and balanced manner. It is, for me, a thoroughly enjoyable iem, that makes you enjoy the music. I thoroughly enjoyed the iems and found them to be a lot more enjoyable than a few other iems I have heard in the recent past. I will highly recommend them if you are after magical string reproduction, vocals and realistic tonality.

Disclaimer : I am reviewing the Burson Playmate 2 as part of the Burson review tour. The opinions expressed are completely mine, and there was no gift/cash in exchange for the review.

Packaging and Build
The amp arrived in a corrugated box, with the retail box inside. It was in immaculate condition, so full marks for the packing and shipping straight from Burson.
The kit consisted of amp, the power brick and a 2 pin power cable, a USB-c to USB-c cable and a Mic / speaker splitter adapter.

The amp itself is a very sturdy metal enclosure with hex screws on the front and back panels. On removing the screws, the case opens from the top, allowing for access to the opamps. Very sensible design!

Source and pairings

In order to be consistent with the review, I usedmy trusty HP EliteBook with B&O tuning as the source with the USB-C port acting as the source of data. On windows, I could set the sampling rate to 32/384 Khz from the control panel, without the need for additional drivers.

I used the following headphones and iems to test the setup.

1. AKG K240M 600 ohms (I use this as one of my torture tests for gear as it is quite hard to drive)
2. Yamaha YH1 (Again a torture test)
3. HD600 / HD599
4. HE560 v1
5. Fiio FD5

The first 2 headphones allow for testing the driving capability of the amp for gain and distortion. The HD599 is a sensitive can and checks for hisses and noises due to its low impedance

The HD600 is used to test for the mids and the HE560 for stage and details. I tried the FD5 (great pairing) as a test of FD5's ability to scale more than a test of the Burson.

The Sound/Amping

With both the k240 and the yh1,I had to increase gain to about 90, in order to sound full. Which is about 10 less than the highest value. So this is a scrape through of the amp, with the stock NE 5532/34 opamps.

With the stock opamps though, the amp sounded a bit bright, with a slightly elevated bass. Vocals sounded thick as well as thick drum notes. The mids were slightly recessed, but with a warm tinge to both male and female voices.

On the other hps, the details were nicely retrieved, while being on the V curve quite a bit. The notes were decently fast and the stage wide.

On the Danish Orchestra's rendition of Good, Bad and Ugly, it was a warm ride through and through. There was good stage reproduction, but depth was a bit shallow. The instruments were spread out evenly and sounded alright.

Next on was a favorite bass test Kerala Dust- Untitled/Late Sun. The sound was warm and engaging. The subbass was quite light with the amp.

Bubbles by Horikawa was a bit brighter than usual. Some amount of sibilance was felt on the track right through.

Since the stock opamp was used, and I didnt have replacement options (V5 or V6), I finished the tests with the stock options only.

Nitpicks

• The dac and amp sections come together. There is no option to supply in analog input to the amp, and has to be in via toslink or usb.
• Gain is alright for headphone amping, but without rolling of opamps, it is not the best sounding dac amp out there. At this pricepoint, it is fair to expect a set of opamps to be accompanying the amp.

Summary
Overall, well built amp which can help reduce the number of devices on the desktop by combining the dac and amp in one device, with built in intent and support for opamp rolling.

Thanks to @gadgetgod for the review unit of Aful Cantor - MarineEcho 4.4 edition.

Overview​

The Cantor is the Aful flagship, and sports an all BA combination. The iems are claimed to sport 14 BA drivers, although I wasnt able to get info about whether those include drivers on both sides (I think so considering the size).
Aful has been well received in the recent past with their well rounded Aful Performer series of iems. The Cantor takes the series up a notch with a fantastic faceplate with a sound that is well within the house tuning.

Build and Package​

The iems came in a nice medium sized box with the product info on the outer sleeve. The inner box is a nice 2 piece faux leather finished one with iems nestled in foam and a
fairly large leatherette carry case housing the cables, and 3 sets of tips, a cleaning brush, all nestled in a golden velvette fabric on the inside.

The iems are quite lightweight and sport small diameter nozzle (Yay). They also have a slight metal extension, allowing for deep insert.



The faceplate looks fantastic with blue-silver mosaic in resin.

The cables are a sturdy paracord sleeved iems terminating in 4.4 on the source end and slightly angled 2 pin connectors with a chrome plated housing. They plug in flat into the iems.
Nicely minimal packaging without going over the top.

Sound pairing​

As usual, I paired the iems with the trusty Lotoo PAW S1 with music from my playlist selection from Qobuz and YT Premium. The iems drove well at a 50 volume on high gain on the device and was plenty loud.

Sound impressions​

The Cantor is tuned for musicality (based on the house signature) and that means it is not analytical, harsh/bright in any way. It is a balanced and a slightly subdued (treble wise) iem that works very well with vocals, Jazz and old bollywood in general very well.
The music is rendered very soulfully and does not intend to wow the audience in presenting a lot of energy in either the bass or treble areas. Instead it is a nice warm cup of soup on a cold night.
Bass : 3.75/5 - The bass is quite deep and has a soft presence. There is sufficient quantity of bass, without going over board with slam or bleed into the mids. However, it hsa a softer landing and sustain
Mids : 4/5 - Both male and female vocals are well represented with good amount of emotions carrying through. Without any interference from the bass area, mids are quite well rendered.
Treble : 4/5 - While the iems are bright, there is good amount of treble detail and the all BA config allows for very fast transients being rendered without getting mushy. This is all presented without any harshness whatsoever even on
fairly bad mastered tracks. They may not impress a treblehead, but there is nothing missing in the music.
Stage and Imaging - The iems are average in terms of stage size, and goes wide from a imaging perspective. However, the depth is quite shallow and the presentation feels 2d.

Comparisons​

Aful P8 - In comparison to its older sibling, the Cantor has a touch more details in the treble and with a slightly deeper bass. The relatively small nozzles also help with long usage and provide a more mature listening session.
Sony IER M9 - Are we comparing this to the classic from Sony? Why not, considering that both are in a similar price range and are both all BA iems! The M9 has more pronounced bass and detail retrieval, and shows off an upper hand in the music arena.
However, the Cantor is no slouch either, and hits back with better wear comfort (as there are no parts touching the back of the concha, unlike the M9). The fact that it is being compared to a legendary iem as the M9 itself is a commendation of the quality of tuning.

Conclusions​

The Aful Cantor is a nicely done iem which work very well with genre such as Jazz, vocals, old bollywood etc and for older ears that would like a velvetty treat without harshness.

Background
I do own/have owned discrete(ish) devices (R2R dacs, Sapphire discrete amp etc) and loved the analog sound out. I primarily use iems and headphones and have done a fair share of opamp and tube rolling on dacs and amps.

I had read up a lot of blogs about discrete opamps, and I wanted to see what the fuss was about. I had also read a lot of reviews calling out that the discrete opamps have more noise due to the design than tightly packed single die IC opamps. In order to satisfy this itch, I ordered the Sparkos dual discrete opamps from the manufacurer site directly. A couple of weeks later, I received it in a simple but well protected packaging.

Disclaimer: All devices mentioned in the review were purchased by me, and dont have any influence or compensation of any kind from anyone else.



Platform
I am partial towards my old Xduoo XD05 (original version), as it provides me an excellent platform to test out different opamps, while supporting high bitrates, while also providing a powerful amp section.
The XD05 with the LM 6172 was my preferred dacamp of choice, with the Hifiman Arya being the transducer to validate the chain.

I had to use another dip switch to provide some height to the opamp DIP on the board, (hack, yes, but easier than having to move the capacitors out to make space. This worked well, btw). Once the second dip adapter was added, I was able to install the Sparkos with no further issues.

What did the Sparkos do?
I had to put the amp on high gain, keep the bass on low (to prevent a Protect being triggered).

The LM6172 made the soundstage spacious with good sparkle on the treble. It made an otherwise ordinary dacamp to a fantastic dacamp. This is easily my favorite recommendation over bursons (v5i or v6).

In comes the sparkos. In terms of drivability, the sparkos offered the same output levels as the LM6172. However, what it added was magical. There was a very analogy sound from the amp. The lows were nicely rendered with a little bit of smoothness over the clinical sound from the LM6172.
The mids got a lot of support and male and female vocals sounded full and rich.
String instruments were more lifelike (slightly less treble than the 6172, but more real). The plucks felt real, the violin felt emotional in a way that the LM6172 hasnt.

The soundstage was very similar to the LM 6172. Wide open with a lot of air. This is incredibly close to the R2R sound. All the talk about noise being added to the stage goes through the window. Noise is still sound, and some of it added to the "Patina". The music became more lifelike. What is not to like about this..

And then the realization sunk in. I cant close the case of the xduoo as the opamp projects out from the dimensions of the case. Well.. I guess you cant have em all.

Comparisons with Orange Dual Discrete Opamps
I had ordered the Orange dual discrete opamps and coincidentally, received the Orange on the same day as the Sparkos. This made comparisons much more easier! Talk about luck.
(https://orangeamps.com/product/op-amp/)


The Orange layout is more vertical than horizontal. (Pics will be updated later today). This allowed me to plug the Orange straight into the primary DIP socket.

In terms of sound, the Orange has a more active treble (sizzly), and a slightly better soundstage.

Both opamps are brand new and havent been used for more than an hour in total. I will update back once I have used them for sufficient time.

Comparisons with NewClassD Dual Discrete Opamps Ultimate Edition (2021 version)

I had ordered the NewClassD 2021 edition from Lars (https://www.newclassd.com/index.php?page=125&hv=1) and had an excellent turnaround! Thanks Lars!

The NewClassD is the largest among the opamps that I have tested, dwarfing the Orange even. It also has LEDs on to indicate operation. Again, I havent used the opamp for more than 5 hrs (similar to the other opamps).

Overall, the NewClassD is a lot more V shaped, with emphasized bass with a lot of detail in the upper mids and treble sections. As a result, the mids are pushed back a bit. The stage is as wide as the other 2 opamps, with lower current draw ( the XD05 did not go into protect mode even on very high volumes with high gain and high bass). This was promised as per the update from Lars, and it does hold out the promise well.

The notes are very rich and organic, with excellent heft. Layering is excellent too, with equal performance from all 3 opamps.

Conclusions

I will recommend the discrete opamps for someone that has a platform that supports opamp rolling and is looking for an analog sound on the cheap (in comparison to a discrete amp or an R2R dac).

My personal preference, and this is quite subjective to the device and music used.
Sparkos > NewClassD > Orange, by very slight margins.

Thanks to AG and Penon for the review tour of the Penon Voltage iems.
As always the opinions expressed here are mine only with no influence of any kind requested or endorsed.

OVERVIEW
The Voltage is the flagship of Penon with 4EST+4BA+2DD Hybrid with 2 Tuning Switches. They are available in both Universal as well as CIEM form.

The review unit as expected, is the Universal. It came with the well received Penon Liquer tips (both black and orange) in a nice blue carry case.

The iems are resin shelled with 2 tiny switches on either earpieces that adjust the bass and treble side of the sound respective.
The faceplate have Gold speckling on red backing plate with the name of the company and the iem on either shells.

The cable is a nicely braided 4 core OCC with a gold plated OCC as well as per the Penon website.

The nozzles are a bit on the thicker side, so people with small ear canals need to try to understand unit comfort.

DRIVEABILITY
In spite of the number of drivers, the iems are fairly easy to drive, running comfortably at a 40 mark on the Lotoo S1.

SOUND IMPRESSIONS
The iems with the switches at 00 on both iems, sound very balanced and neutral, with a good imaging, zero bleed and good representation across the spectrum. For vocal lovers, this is a very nice option.

The vocals are front and centre and with a lot of nuances. With Horikawa - Bubbles, the bass is very nice quality, and the balls, marbles etc are very accurately placed and the speed is excellent all round.
Stage is fairly wide, about the size of a large hall.

With the bass switch enagaged, the mid bass and sub bass get a slight boost in terms of presence. However, the bass boost is really realized with both switches at a 11.
The iems get a sudden boost in terms of liveliness, both from the bass perspective (more than just the 10 config), while treble has more sparkle to complement the nearly V shaped graph.
Mids are still clear of the bass intrusion, with no bleed. The vocals do take a slight backseat.

The 01 config of the iem switches however dont make the iems into a treblehead pair. They are still on the safer side of tuning. I would prefer a little more sparkle in the treble in the 01 config atleast.
Just a nitpick.
In summary
00 - Mostly neutral with forward vocals, details and imaging
10 - Slightly more bass than neutral
11 - More bass and treble with a V shaped sound (most lively)
01 - Little more treble weight

CONCLUSIONS
The Penon Voltage is a well made flagship pair, with tuning options, without true flagship prices.

Thanks to gadgetgod for the review unit of the Questyle CMA18.

Questyle is well known for quality audio products for a while now. The CMA18 is a portable dac amp that sounds like the swiss army knife of portable audio products.

Package and Build
The CMA18 comes in a fairly large carboard box, with foam inserts for the dacamp and accessories. The dacamp itself is a sight to look at on opening the box.

The large transparent window showcases the circuitboard with all the components on display. The size of the dacamp is about 3x the size of the M15 dongle.
While the unit itself isnt heavy, I wonder how the transparent top will take a fall from a considerable distange. This is one of my main worries of transparent units.

The accessories that come with is a very good selection. Lightning cable (for apple devices), usb-c cable for android and windows alike, toslink cable, adapters. wow this will fit almost all use cases

Features

The dacamp supports ios, android and desktop (linux/mac/windows) out of the box thanks to the xmos USB decoder.
It support the following inputs - USB, optical, bluetooth
Output - USB out, bluetooth (LDAC, aptx), 3.5mm SE, 4.4mm balanced and lineout on both outputs.

The volume is controllable via volume rockers on the side, and from the source device.

With support for multiple codecs (BT, DSD512 Native, PCM768 etc) the device can run in so many configurations.

Sound

Boasting a 2W x 2 power output with the current mode amplification, the device can drive a lot of hard to drive iems and headphones with ease.

I tried a lot of headphones including HD650, Fostext T50rp mk3 and a selection of iems to determine its ability to drive. Aside from the T50rp, the CMA18 was able to drive all the devices thrown at it with ease.

The DAC duties are performed by a well implemented AK4493 chipset. The characteristic house sound questyle - clear all through while being musical at the same time is the tuning here too.

The dacamp itself does not add color to the sound in a perceptible way. However, with excellent clean power, the CMA18 sounds dynamic with a large stage (again depending on the transducers being driven).

Boasting a 10hr battery and 60hr idle time, this will keep the music flowing through the day.

Another feature that I didnt test out but am very impressed with is the analog line in on both the 3.5mm and 4.4mm balanced connectors. This enables usage of the device for recording from analog sources.

While playing back, the device does get a bit warm. So they may not be exactly pocketable over a little bit of time, but play a suberb role on the desk.

Conclusions
The CMA18 is a no brainer device for those looking to drive hard to drive gear, or even for recording analog audio with very good fidelity. This device is a veritable swiss army knife of the portable audio world.
Well done again, Questyle !

Thanks to Amin Karimpour for organising the VE8 tour.

Disclaimer : The VE8 is part of the Vision Ears review tour. The opinions expressed are solely mine. There are no exchange of gifts or cash in lieu of the reviews.

Since Vision Ears is well known, I will cut right to the chase.

When I approached the iem, I was expecting a detail monster, with a very analytical sound. I expected a top of the line iem to be near reference tuning.

And then I put the VE8 in the ear.

And it hurt a bit (A little about it later).

I started off listening to my standard list of reference tracks, bubbles, lady labyrith, vivaldi etc, I found that the tuning was not reference at all. I was ready to give up on the iem. And then I switched to pop. Specifically, the King of Pop. And behold, VE8 came out in all its glory. This is an iem that will have purists say "All I wanna say is that they dont really care about us!". The VE8 is a definite Thriller. With Pop, this is Dangerous.

And then I recalibrated my brains to look at what Vision Ears have done with the VE8. They have taken the route of going full on Pop. R&B and Hip Hop sound so much fun on these. Oh and then I used it to watch a re-run of Thor:Ragnarok! An the VE8 delivered in spades.

Having been through this roller coaster of experience, I think it will be pointless to go through the standard reference approach. I understand why other reviews have been short about the iem.

Sound
These are mildy V shaped. There is definite bass presence, and you can make out the BA timbre on these. However, they are present in excellent quantity. There is a resonance of the bassy sound in the background, makling them very fun when listening to pop, hip hop and R&B genre very much. This exact quality provides the rumble of Thor or the rage of Hulk come through to the fore. Thanos sounds so much more menacing now.

I listened to vocal tracks and they dont dissapoint either. The male and female vocals are well presented, and are very nicely enjoyable. MJ grooves and grooves on, on these.

On the treble front is where there is a little bit of a nitpick. Considering the overall SQ tuning of the iem, the treble is quite nice. However, on some tracks there is a hint of sibilance. On fast tracks especially with a lot of instruments, the VE8 is defeated on the faster sections. The instruments become a little blurry, separation takes a backseat.

The soundstage is wide, with excellent imaging. However, the trademark issue that I encountered in other VE iems (EVE20 and VE6XC) is continued here, with respect to stage depth. While the depth is better than either EVE20 or VE6XC, it is still shallow. I have some theories about this, based on the full acrylic shell based construction, but will ignore it for now.

On movies, explosions, background scores, vehicles, gunfire etc are excellently represented. I will recommend users to try this with movies. This adds so much to the fun factor.

Fit
This is one area that VE8 does fall short for me. The stock tips shipped were the Spin Fits. Those tips cause a vaccum to build up on insert and gets painful. I quickly switched over to Final audio tips and things were significantly helped.
The iem is clearly not ideal for small ears. They caused physical pain when used for more than 30 mins for me. (I have small ears). It might fit larger ears better. Please try the fit before splurging on the iem.

Cable and build
The cable initially looked frail. However,it proved to be quite strong. It reminded me very much of the old Westone 3 cables. No microphonics or tangling with the stock cable. The 2 pin arrangement allows for plenty of experimentation with aftermarket cables (as expected).

The iem itself is very light, with a full acrylic build. It looks beautiful with multiple color options available.

Verdict
Fun iem, that lets you indulge in your guilty pleasures and have you dancing along! If only it was not as expensive!

Thanks to Concept Kart and gadgetgod for the review tour of the Softears Studio 4.
As always, there is no incentive for me to post anything favorable unless I actually feel so in the product.

Softears have had a good run in terms of quality iems at the mid-upper budget segment (or lower luxury?) of the price range.

The Studio 4 is another such example of well done iems for a specific target audience.

Build, package and fit

The Studio 4 iems came in the stock padded pelican like case which feels luxurious. A lot of much higher priced iems come with lesser box than this.

The iems are covered in a drawstring velvette pouch to protect the iems. The iems themselves are resin based shells with a minimalistic lettering on the shells.
The iems come with 2-pin detachable connectors and slightly above average sized nozzles. This did cause a bit of a pain for me to use. These are not monstrously big,
but comparable to nozzles of BGVP iems or the CA Solaris.

The cables are strong and lightweight with very little to no microphonics. The review unit came with the 3.5mm termination and that was used for the review.

I paired the iems with the Penon Liquer tips, as they help with large nozzles for me. Aside from the nozzles, the fit is pretty good with the iems almost feeling weightless.
This is a good fit for long term studio monitoring.

Sound Impressions

The Studio 4 is a neutral with 4 BA drivers doing the duties of sound reproduction. They are tuned to not add any color to the sound, and this is the case with the iems.

They are easily driven (considering a low 14ohm impedance) and dont seem to carry forward any interference noises. Well done from a monitoring perspective.

Overall signature - The iems are mostly neutral with a rounded sound, with no peaks anywhere in the spectrum. As a result, people looking for treble extension, brightness and bass slam could find it boring.

Bass - 3.5/5 - The bass detail is good, with bass guitars, double bass and percussion sounding just about right, without any added emphasis.
Mids - 4.5/5 - Vocals come through with a lot of nuances and detail. This is true of both female and male vocals. No recession of the vocals in the overall sound. Inhalation, trills, and any detail in the track is represented well.
Treble - 4/5 - Treble is well represented in terms of quality. There is no sibilance or brightness from the instruments. Speed is not an issue again, with fast decay thanks to the all BA setup.
Stage - Intimate - The listener is put in front of the performers in a intimate setup to savor and monitor all the details required.

Conclusions
The Softears Studio 4, after a detailed listen, is a very good iem that is an excellent monitor.
However, for genre that dont need sharp treble, deep bass slam, will be well rewarded with the iems from a pure music enjoyment. This is especially the case with true instrument based presentations including classical, rock, jazz, blues etc.

These may also work well with movies and games, where details are important, without the listener being fatigued. Easily one of the better mid budget iems that I have reviewed in the recent past.

Thanks to Concept Kart and gadgetgod for organising the tour of the Artti iems. Below is the review of the Artti R1.
All views of the iem are my own and have no incentives of any sort for the same.

Artti is a relatively new brand to hit the market with a set of iems that have gathered positive reviews quickly.

Build and fit

The R1 sports an all metal shell and is very reminiscent of the MP145 in terms of feel or alteast the faceplate. The iems come with a very nice
looking braided brown cables with no microphonics and feels nice and sturdy. The iems sport 2pin connectors and the stock cable came with the 3.5mm termination.

The iems sport a 3 DD combination that I was quite surprised (having not read reviews of the iems before the listen! I roll like that).
The shells seem to be normal sized, and fit quite well even with the above normal sized nozzles.

The iems came in a standard fabric covered carry case that seems sturdy enough for every day usage.

Sound impressions

The iems drive well with most sources and dont need much power. However, they can scale with amping, give the 3 DD setup of the iems. I paired them with the Penon Liquer tips due to the fairly large size nozzles (I have small ears)

Overall sound is very large, with a lot of reverb that makes a lot of tracks sound like being listened to in a theatre. The largeness of the sound makes me think they will be wonderful for open world games and action movies!

The tuning is quite mature, with hardly any bass bleed into mids. The iems sport 3 way crossovers that have done an excellent job of controlling bleed.

The vocals are slightly recessed, with the instruments on both ends of the spectrum being given a more prominent positioning. However, vocal nuances are not lost.

Bass - 4/5 - There is plenty of slam and rumble with a deep insert. I docked about 0.5 points for the nozzle size that makes it a little painful for me to get a deep insert.
However, for whatever little time that I got a deep fit, the bass goes deep and slam hard. The texture is a little bit muddied though, just a tiny bit, to get a higher score.

Mids - 3.75/5 - As mentioned, the mids are slightly recessed in comparison to the rest of the spectrum, especially with the deep fit. Nuances and details are good and enjoyable.

Treble - 3.75/5 - Treble extends quite a bit with a lot of details. However, speed is touch slower for the faster tracks, along with a slight bit of harshness in the upper registers.

Soundstage - The stage is super sized. One of the larger stage sounds that I have heard in recent times. The experience is theatre like and there is no missing the largeness of sound.
They remind me of the Final VR3000 in terms of stage size, that extends in height and width equally.

Imaging - Above average imaging provides a very nicely done instrument presentation. These will add atmosphere to open world and FPS games alike.

Conclusions

Artti R1 definitely took me by surprise on first listen, giving a very different flavour from the competition, that makes it well worth adding to the collection! And at budget! I am looking at you, very expensive but poor implemented iem!

Thanks to Concept Kart and gadgetgod for organising the tour of the Artti iems. Below is the review of the Artti R2.
All views of the iem are my own and have no incentives of any sort for the same.

Artti is a relatively new brand to hit the market with a set of iems that have gathered positive reviews quickly.

Build and fit

The R2 is a fairly small iem that dissappears into the ears fairly easily. The shell is resin based with a nice tesseract like faceplate in brown.

The R2 comes with a 2pin detachable cable and the the cable is a nice sturdy brown cable, but I dislike the L shaped taper.
The review unit came with a 3.5mm SE termination. The nozzles are fairly short and slightly above average in diameter, and did give me a fair bit of tip rolling
to get a semi decent fit. I wish the nozzles were a bit longer, and help get a deeper insert. This could be an overall dampener as the fit could be a bit of a compromise for people.

The driver is a beryllium DD. Wow, a BE diaphragm driver at this budget price is definitely welcome! Without going into the controversies in the annals of BE driver history (kbear believe et al),
the driver at this price is definitely an option to try atleast.

Sound impressions

While the iems drive alright at low volumes, I "believe" this will scale better with more power.

The sound is quite balanced, and quite reminiscent of the other BE iems that i mentioned earlier. Warmish neutral is how I would put it.

It is not a basshead or treblehead iem. The tuning is fairly neutral with very good detail retrieval and imaging. If I had a deeper fit with longer nozzles, I believe this iem has very good potential. Maybe a V2 will sort it out.

Bass - 3/5 - I was unable to get a deep fit and hence the bass was light overall. I think the bass body will definitely be helped with a longer nozzle.

Mids - 4/5 - Excellent textures and upfront presentation the vocals. Both male and female vocals are well represented

Treble - 4/5 - The treble speed is very good as expected from a BE based drivers. The iems are very nuanced on the treble end, without getting too bright.

Imaging - Above average imaging provides a very nicely done instrument presentation. Precise presentation of vocals and instruments are a highlight

Conclusions

The R2 is so full of potential, if only the nozzles were extended a little bit more. So close!

Thanks to Concept Kart (https://conceptkart.com) for the review tour. ​

​

The unit arrived in the iem case with what looks like a silver and copper hybrid cable, with the typical qdc tips (spinfits cp100 I think). It is available at the Concept Kart site (https://conceptkart.com/.../qdc-anole-vx-standard-wired-iem)

FIT AND BUILD​

The QDC Anole VX is built like a piece of jewellery. Lots of silver specles in a clear shell, that looks very nice when worn. It brings in the bling very well. Those looking for an understated appearance, use masking tape
The shell is very nicely sized and shaped. It is very light weight and fits comfortably for me, carrying forward the good fit trend across the QDC lineup.
The review unit came with the CP100 (like?) tips in the M size. It fits me well again, and is the preferred choise of tips for the QDC range.
The cable is soft and pliable, with gold plated 2 pin connector at the earpiece end. It came with the standard 3.5mm SE termination.
The VX comes with 10 BA drivers with the crossovers expertly tuned by the engineering team and is the highlight. The VX was the previous flagship of QDC and has its name origins in the VX gas which is a very powerful nerve poison used in the military.

TUNEABILITY​

The Anole VX features 3 switches for the Low, Mids and High frequency emphasis and work to enhance the respective areas. The switches work well and allow for various combinations to tweak the sound. I preferred to keep them off for the rest of the review (purely personal sound preference, as the switches do impact the sound well)
Out of the box, the iem is almost W shaped, with near perfect mids. There is bass as well as treble extension as expected from a former TOTL.

DRIVEABILITY​

The VX is a fairly easy to drive iem, but requires a little bit more drive than say the Gemini.

SOURCE​

People who have been reading my reviews know that I prefer a lot of portable and accessible options for selection of source. Since the iem does not require much power to drive, I selected the LG V30+ with Tidal and the AK PEE51 dac with Qobuz, Tidal and Youtube Premium as sources.
Sensitivity : 110-113dB SPL/mW
Frequency response :10Hz-20000Hz
Impedance:15-19Ω
Track selection
I used the following tracks for this review.
TR1> Ecstasy of Gold from The Good Bad and Ugly - Yo-Yo Ma (https://tidal.com/browse/track/18016422)
This track has some very fast violin/cello reproducing the legendary Good Bad and Ugly's Ecstasy of Gold, with additional embellishments from violin, trumpet etc, with a light percussion track. This is a busy track with a lot of transitions, instruments and space.
Impressions - The AnoleVX aced the speed test. Right from the word go, the violin stands out in front, with the other instruments layered at the back. The space is wide in front. The timbre of the violin comes through authoritatively. The AnoleVX breezes through the track, handling speed and transients effortlessly. There is a little bit of a bass support that makes the iem feel a bit warmish. The trumpets are layered in the center, a little behind the violin.
TR2> Why so Serious - Hans Zimmer - The Dark Knight OST (https://tidal.com/browse/track/1855831)
This is one track that keeps getting more and more intense, with a decently paced build up, the metallic droning sets this mood for the track from the workd go, with clock like sound and shepard's frequencies adding to tension.
Impressions - The droning starts from the beginning, increasing in frequency through the first minute. The droning has a lot of texture, and puts the listener in a state of suspence. The violins then take theme forward with a a more bassier plucked string, with a chorus of instruments translating the urgency in the track. The clock ticks like percussion and the thumping chorus then envelopes the user. Following it is more bassy metallic droning/drumming, with a lot of detail pickup in the AnoleVX. Incredible resolution. There is a bass rumble at near infrasonic frequencies from 3:29. The rumble is felt. No need for fancy bone conduction drivers or anything else. This is addicting. The subbass is in the background, with some more sticks on a metal tube of some sort, some foot steps and metallic sawing, before the percussion again comes back with the bass. So much happening, and the Anole presents the details wonderfully. The fantastic score by Hans Zimmer, makes you as tense as watching the movie, and is presented with all the details in a wonderful manner. I thoroughly enjoyed this track on the iems. There is speed, decay, very minor details (minor welding like sounds around the 6:40 mark, until about 7:13. You know the ominus and full blown chorus is coming. What a buildup by Hans! The bangs feel like gunshots proper, and feels like it. The clock ticks around the extreme left and right of the listener towards the end of the track indicates the soundspace and width! What a track! Take a bow Sir Hans, and Qdc
TR3> Speak to me & Breathe(Live in Gdansk) - David Gilmour - (https://open.qobuz.com/track/47026334, https://open.qobuz.com/track/47026335)
This is a track that opens the Live in Gdansk performance by David Gilmour. These tracks put you right in the centre of a phenomenal live performance by Gilmour and the band, playing the ever popular PF numbers.
Impressions - Right from the first claps to the roar of the crowd puts you right at the centre of the stadium. The energy and noise can be felt and positioned very well. This then transistions into the songs themselves, with Gilmour at the centre right of the stage. The drums and chorus are layered behind, with a wide presentation. Full marks to QDC!
TR4> Gaddar - Bloodywood (https://open.qobuz.com/track/133134251)
This is an intense heavy metal (nu-metal) track from the debut album by Bloodywood. This features heavy distortion, lots of screaming and energy. I use this track to test the ability to handle lots of instruments, brightness handling and cohesion of the iems. The benchmark for listening to this track is through the IER-Z1R. Most other iems and headphones sound a bit bright with this track.
Impressions - For this track, I enabled the bass boost on the iem. The iem feels a bit bright, due to its treble extension. The distortion guitars do sound a little faded on the treble, and having a lot of brightness on the track. Detail retrieval is very good, and a lot of the drum percussion coming through strong. I have found a few single DD iems or ones with DD handle this track a little better than most all BA iems. There is no sibilance however.

COMPARISONS​

Vs QDC Gemini
The QDC Gemini has been my reference for a perfectly implemented iem. The Anole VX, especially with all the switches off, sounds very similar to the Gemini. The fit is near identical too. The Anole has a slight extension and detail retrieval, when compared to the Gemini. The AnoleVX feels like a nice improvement in those areas. The switch on the Gemini allowed for adjustment to the sound without removal of the iems from the ears. The VX requires a supplied tool (behind the cleaning brush) to make signature changes.
Vs Sony IER-Z1R
The Z1R is tonally very different when compared to the AnoleVX. It sounds like a headphone with insane scaleup with amping (and requires amping). The AnoleVX is relatively easier to drive and does almost all frequencies right, on well recorded high bitrate songs. It does show out a poor track or source very quickly. The Z1R makes even poorly recorded tracks fairly well and is a lot more forgiving.
Vs Vision Ears VE7
The Vision Ears VE7 is the best comparable iems in the VE stable around the same pricepoint as the QDC. Both iems share the tonality, speed, cohesion and clarity near equally. One area where the QDC edges out the VE7 is the layering and stage, where there is a lot more depth cues than the VE7. I will be happy with both iems in my collection . Nothing much to differentiate the two well made and well fitting iems.
Vs 64Audio Nio
The Nio is a fantastic offering at a slightly lower list price than the QDC. It comes with tunable Apex modules instead of switches, with the M20 module sounding the best and most fun. The Nio is a more V shaped iem, with excellent subbass and V signature. The detail retrieval and extension of the Anole is better than the Nio, with Nio adding in a lot of fun factor without losing out on either resolution or soundstage.

CONCLUSION​

QDC Anole VX is one of the best resolving iems, with a very coherent sound. It has great air and space representation on an all BA iem. Some of the very best, if you provide it quality sound.

Thanks to Concept Kart and gadgetgod for organising the tour of the Artti iems. Below is the review of the Artti T10 .
All views of the iem are my own and have no incentives of any sort for the same.

Artti is a relatively new brand to hit the market with a set of iems that have gathered positive reviews quickly.

Build and fit

The T10 is the planar iem offering from Artti. Sporting a 14.2mm planar driver, the iems are moulded into a ABS plastic like shell with a CNC milled aviation aluminium faceplate.

The iems come with a nice 4 core SPC cable with a 2pin connection to the iem shells. The iems are very lightweight as a result, with a very nicely sized nozzle. As a result,
long term fit and usage is excellent.


No microphonics in the cables, excellent comfort overall. Best fitting of all the Artti iems.

Sound impressions

Typical of a planar driver, the iems scale on power, but are fairly decent to drive easily. They are well tuned with a V shaped tuning with a very slight mid recess.

Bass - 4/5 - As the iems are planar drivers, they dont get the decay of a well implemented DD for bass. However, there is plenty of slam and texture to keep the overall composure.
Bassheads will love the bass for sure.

Mids - 3.75/5 - While the vocals are slightly recessed, there is still a lot of details and nuances that the drivers are able to portray. However, there is a little bit of domination from the bass.

Treble - 4/5 - The treble speed is very good as expected from a planar iem. There is a touch of brightness on poor tracks, that are typical of planar drivers.
Again, treblehead heaven.

Imaging - Above average imaging provides a very nicely done instrument presentation. Precise presentation of vocals and instruments are a highlight

Conclusions

The planar budget game is definitely heating up with the T10. It is a superb offering for the price, outcompeting some of the previous gen planar iems like the Hook X or the Tangzu Zetian Wu.
Artti is definitely promising and a brand to watch out for

Burson - Supercharger - A quick review

Thanks to Burson audio and Bhavneet Matharoo for the review unit of the Supercharger.

The Supercharger is a power adapter that provides clean power from noisy power sources.

Build and package : The supercharger comes in a nice box, with the super charger, and 3 adapters for the various power plug configurations across the world (australia, europe, US). Functionaly and securing the items in the box, as can be seen from the image.


The build quality is good quality ABS plastic and weighs in slightly more than most laptop chargers.


How does it perform
My office power supply comes from a power backup that is extremely noisy. When I connect any audio device (dac or amp), or even charge the laptop. noise creeps into the iems/ headphones. This is the normal state of affairs.
In the Supercharger world, the noise is near completely eliminated, almost like someone closed a very well padded door. The current delivered to the amp is very clean, and the device performs very well, thanks to the super charger.

Whom will I recommend it to - Anyone with poor grounding, noisy power supply and those willing to upgrade the power source of their dac/amp (24V 3A VDC), they are in for a treat with the Burson Supercharger!

SoundRhyme Prado - Flagship impressions​

Thanks to AG and (Penon) SoundRhyme for the review unit of the Prado.

All views of the iems are mine and are not compensated for in any manner.

OVERVIEW​

SoundRhyme have been making waves with their SR and DTE lines of iems in their mid-budget segment with very good value fun tuned iems.


The Prado is their flagship (https://penonaudio.com/Sound-Rhyme-PRADO.html) sporting an incredible number of drivers - 4 EST and 12 BA drivers.

With a nicely speckled shell and faceplate, the iems are relatively small and compact for the number of drivers in the iems. The shells are resin with a sparkle effect
and a very light construction. The iems use the 2pin connection and have a medium large nozzles leaning on the broad side a little more.

The iems sport 2 tuning switches per side with the following configuration according to the product info on Head-fi
1, 2 off: pop music
1, 2 on: wide sound field
1 off, 2 on: clear voice
1 on, 2 off: deep bass

DRIVEABILITY​

The iems are fairly easy to drive off dongles (middling 40s on the Lotoo PAW S1 and the Questyle M15i. I drove them off the 4.4 balanced output of both dongles.

OVERALL SOUND SIGNATURE​

The iems are tunable via the switches, and the sound signature does change a bit with the switches on and off.

With 1 and 2 off, the signature is a relatively fun sound without overemphasis on either the bass or the treble end. The mids are decently present in this configuration

With 1 on, the bass is more pronounced and more forward. As a result the sound is quite warm, but with decent amout of details. The mids take a slightly recessed position.

With 1 off and 2 on, the treble is a little more extended and offer a lot of detail retrieval. There is a touch of brightness that creeps in with poor recordings.

With 1 and 2 on, the V profile is very prominent with deep bass and treble extension.

With the bass switch on, there is a lot of bass rumble, but there is a little bit of muddiness that is felt. Decay is slightly off with a little more sustain on the bass, with a thud being more prominent than a slam.

Fun tuned for sure, and a lot of fun can be had. Also I reached for the toothpick to change the switches for each genre change that I did as part of the audition, and the iems did change the sound quite significantly.

CONCLUSIONS​

The Prado is a nice looking and compact flagship with a large number of drivers, and a fun tuning with a lot of promise.

Disclaimer : I am reviewing the Moondrop Aria as part of the Hifigo review tour. The opinions are purely mine and dont involve any cash or kind compensation

Overview The Aria (2021) has been a well hyped and received iem from Moondrop, featuring a Liquid Crystal Polymer based single DD in a beautiful anodized shell. It is a good overall performer across genre and does not offend anyone with its sound or pricing.
https://hifigo.com/collections/moondrop/products/moondrop-aria-2

Package and cable

The review package was the iems with the paracord sleeved SPC cables in a 2-pin configuration and memory wires near the earpiece. The iem came in a standard clamshell fabric box with additional tips. Fairly standard.

The cable did carry a bit of an odour due to the long review tour, otherwise doing a decent job. The cables after the Y-split did carry over some out of shape wire windings, carrying some memory of usage. There was no microphonics from the cable, which is great!

Sound

Source : Hiby R5, Lusya Fever dac > Quickstep Corda amp with Tidal Masters- Both sources are not colored and allow me to review the iem from a neutral standpoint.

The 10mm LPC diaphragm driver provides plenty of slam in the lower end and has a decent amount bass slam. I enjoyed the drums in Midnight Sky cover by Miley Cyrus, just foot tappingly enjoyable.

The synth sections are handled well without any jarring or sibilance. There is no trace of sibilance even on bad songs, making them ideal for poor recordings as well as good recorded tracks.

Einaudi's Lady Labyrinth (Live) had sufficient layering and width to warrant a good listen to the track. While the positioning was not pin point accurate, they sounded fairy cohesive, weaving a nice blanket of sound. The stage depth and height were slightly small, but sufficient to enjoy the music on its own.

Janine Jensen's Vivaldi did pick out chinks in the armour of an otherwise excellent iem. Cello/bass was well represented and juicy with the rendering. The violins were good too. However there was a bit of shoutiness in the upper mids/treble regions for certain sections. In the fast sections, the Aria did falter a bit at the fastest sections, with a little muddiness creeping in.

Vocals are fairly forward. A lot of the vocal details are well pronounced. Daler Mehendi's Tunak Tunak Tun had me dancing to his excellent singing and music.

Comparisons

Vs KZ ZAS
The KZ Zas is at the same pricepoint as the Aria. While the fit is quite similar, the KZ differs by using hybrid multi-driver approach against the single DD of the Aria. The bass slam on the KZ is stronger, with excellent treble energy. The Vocals on the Aria are slightly forward than the KZ. It is a matter of preference between the two and you will not be wrong for choosing either.

Vs Starfield
The slightly more expensive sibling of the Aria is slightly brighter and has a smaller low end. The Aria slams more. Again, they are complementary and fill different niches. Again you will not go wrong with either.

Conclusion

The Aria is an excellent iem that fills in the shoes of earlier stalwarts like the Kanas Pro and the iBasso IT01. The signature is in the same ballpark and offer good replacement options with good sound and nice fit.

Disclaimer : I am reviewing the Tanchjim Tanya as part of the Hifigo review tour. The opinions are purely mine and dont involve any cash or kind compensation
(https://hifigo.com/products/tanchjim-tanya-7mm-dynamic-hifi-earbuds)

Package and Cable
The very excellently priced Tanya comes in a simple box with extra set of tips and a velvetty cloth pouch, something that much higher priced iems dont offer.
The cable is very familiar looking, I think they were the same on some of the KZ iems with an added 2 pin connector.
They do have a little bit of microphonics, and wind noise does carry through. A shirt clip or around the ear wear will minimize the noise.

At this price, I dont expect any manufacturer to offer replaceable cables, and neither does Tanchjim


Sound

Source : Hiby R5, Lusya Fever Dac > Quickstep Corda playing Tidal Masters.

The Tanya features a single DD in an aluminium body with a fairly prominent vent at the back. The vent allows the drivers to breathe and offer a fairly wide stage. Starting with Tunak Tunak Tun of Daler Mehendi, the vocals came through prominently, taking me back to the 1990s. The sound was very familiar, with lean low end, but excellent everything else. Made me want to listen to older music where vocals and the rest of the instruments were more prominent than bass.

There was a wave of mastering in the 90s in India, called Jhankar Beats, which involved slightly wider and brighter instruments. The Tanya brings out the best from that era! Very nostalgic! Very few iems capture an era of sound/music. One among such an attempt was the Piano Forte by Final Audio Design. Tanya is an excellent attempt at the same!

A minor non destructive mod will be to close the vent with tape, to increase the bass slightly. Makes the iem a bit warmer while sacrificing some of the stage width.

I will skip standard tracks for this review and try to include tracks that are very familiar to India, but virtually unknown outside.

Starting off, a classic 90s track from DDLJ (Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge) - called Tujhe Dekha to (https://tidal.com/browse/track/85419905), where the nasal male vocals by the every popular Kumar Sanu, more than matched by the Indian nightingale - Lata Mangeshkar, transported me to listening to the soundtrack on tape and on TV/radios.

While not the 90s, the KANK (Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna) was an excellently scored movie song with powerful singing and excellent mastering. The Mitwa track has very soothing but upbeat quality that is conveyed very well by the Tanya (https://tidal.com/browse/track/2855462). The instruments are well placed and vocals are again centrestage! The tabla coming to the fore in the middle of the track is rendered very well again.

Next, over to my favorite pick me up track called Zinda from Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. This is an energy filled song that never fails to pick me up. On the Tanya, the vocals are a little laid back. With the vent mod, this track brings all the energy back and make you want to get up and go get it!

Conclusion
For the price ofa large pizza, the Tanya is capable of taking you back in time and wonderfully so!