The All-Black Machine
 

 
Features:
Seated on the top-of-the-line portable headphone amplifier from Creative packs a class leading Cirrus Logic CS4398 DAC and chief amplifier Texas Instrument TI6120A2 is what fuels and sits behind the black chassis of the black machine.
The packaging is well thought out and laid with detailed features of the amp and accessories. The packaging looks and feels like a premium product that is set on targeting at audiophile’s vision.
 
Accessories:
Accessories that comes with it includes a standard USB cable, two amp rubber bands, amp stand as well as an optical cable. The accessories included are pretty standard with a nice inclusion of optical cable. The accessories can be more complete by adding in a 3.5mm to 3.5mm Line Out interconnect which gives users the ease of connecting it via the 3.5mm Line-out on most DAPs. A Toslink to 3.5mm adapter would be useful too.
 
Design and Built:
The amp is designed in a rather rectangular block with curves and cut edges that makes it look more of a “ferocious” product that is designed to impress. It has a rubber footing at the bottom of the amp which is a very well-thought out design to prevent slipping on table tops or surfaces. Built wise it is quite study although I would have preferred the unit to have a more “titanium” feel when held on hands as it is rather light-weight mixed with plastic  and metal chassis. The amp comes with abundant handy features such as dual headphone out, gain switch, Bluetooth, Line/Optical In, Line/Optical Out and an easy volume turning knob.
 

 
Source and matching:
For this review, I will be running the E5 with DAPs such as Astell&Kern AK100ii as well as the Ipod Nano 7 pairing with IEMs like the FLC8 (hybrid), Shure 846 and JH Angie. This three mentioned IEMs sports different characteristics which I personally felt that the FLC8 being the easiest to drive and not choosy with source. The JH Angie is rather easy to drive and match too but it does require some power or juice for it to perform and sound its best. The SE846, being a low impedance phone, is rather picky with source and will result in hiss if not properly matched. Background noise and hiss, even with the most sensitive SE846 is not detectable without music playing in the background which definitely is an added advantage.
 
Sound impressions:
Without going into the various features of the amp and with SBX off, the E5 sounded balanced and pretty neutral with a tinge of warmth in the lower registers. The amp has a rather strong/powerful output even in the Low Gain settings. Matching the E5 with AK100ii using max volume on line-out and low gain settings on E5, I could detect slight clipping.  When matched with a lower volume output, there is no such discernible clipping.  Comparing and running head-to-head with Fiio’s budget amp E11K, the E5 easily exposes the weaknesses of E11K. The E5 packs more punch and driving power opposed to E11K with a cleaner and airier presentation of sound. Bass sounds tighter, more natural with better decay. Mids are not as prominent as E11K giving it a more expansive and airier sound with better imaging and wider soundstage. Treble here is a rather tricky situation. On E11K, I found the treble to sound more “subdued” probably due to its prominent presentation of mid range. The E5, though has a further reach and extension in the highs register, do feel slightly “scratchy” or unforgiving sounding in the lower treble region with instruments such as cymbals. If you are not driving it with relatively bright sounding earphones it isn’t much of an issue.
 
Bass:
One would be expecting volcanic bass response judging from the specifications built on the amp and with its sheer driving power. But this is not the case. Bass response from the E5 hits with tactile delivering a tight, well-controlled with good decay bass punch. Bass depth wise, the E5 does not explore and dive deep into the sub bass region. It hovers around 20Hz region before rolling off at around 18Hz. The bass response does not creep into or tend to smear the lower mid region which is a task welcomed. Bass transient and speed is great as well and able to keep up with fast bass slams.
 
Mids:
The mids strikes a well balance without being overly forward nor recessed. In my opinion, it is the limelight of the E5. Vocals are well positioned without sounding overly intimate nor losing the lushness of both male and female vocals. I would say the E5 goes out to give the vocals an alive feel with a live presentation. The E5 carries with it a touch of warmness in its mid-range to give it a fatigue-free listening session. Instruments placement is more of a horizontal and wide left-to-right positioning rather than a closed in with depth position which does not give it a large 3D sound.  Instrument separation and details is superb as opposed to E11K probably down to the CS4398 chip driving force. Coupled with airiness and space, instruments can be detected and picked up easily without sounding forceful or strained.
 
Highs:
Having mentioned the highs are in a tricky position, this is where the E5 hits a controversial front. The highs does extend beautifully without being glaringly bright nor treble-happy. However, at the lower treble registers, there seemed to be a slight glow making instruments like the cymbals to come off with a “metallic” sound breaking the natural decay of timbre. Unless you’re treble-sensitive, this shouldn’t pose as a serious issue with the amp. I have not tried bright sounding phones with this amp, hence YMMV.
 
SBX:
Another cool feature packed along with easy operation is the SBX. With the SBX turned on, it sounded as though my IEMs were on steroids! The bass hits much harder than ever imagined with an enveloping soundstage with a 3D sound sphere. This SBX function I would say would be strictly for the bass-heads. Unless you’re looking for some excitement or fun in a short while, I would suggest keeping this feature turned off.
 

 
Final Thoughts:
This little black machine does pack a punch for its price. With the abundant features and functions, it works more than just a portable amp. If you’re looking for a all-in solution to gaming, desktop gear, the E5 works just neat. If you’re looking for a real portable headphone amp on the go, personally I would prefer an amp with a smaller profile. Sound wise, it is in the ballpark of performance with its tactile bass response and well-positioned, balanced mid range. The E5 does a really good shout-out to its competitors. I would be exploring further with this black machine such as the optical out which may even bring this amp further notch up.      

Sing Angie Sing!
 

Specifications:
 
Driver: Eight Balanced Armatures
Configuration: Dual Low, Dual Mid, Quad High
Triple Bore Design
Detachable Cable
Unique Red and Black Kevlar fiber with Machined Aluminum Black bezel and Carbon Fiber insert
 
 

 
 
 
Packaging, Accessories and Built Quality:
 
The Angie comes with a rather simple yet posh packaging sporting a large black box albeit luxury high end jewelry case with “Astell&Kern” engraved in the center.
Opening up the case you’ll be greeted with two unique red pieces that looks like red ruby! The interior of the box is rather simple though with the accessories packed neatly in a separate cardboard casing. The accessories included may not be as complete as say, the Shure 846 or even lower end Westone offerings. Included tips are three pairs of foam tips mainly small, medium and large size. Three pairs of silicon tips are included as well with the medium size attached onto the earpiece. Included in is also the cleaning tool as well as a small “jewel-liked” screw driver (well, however with much starring and thoughts, they still look like normal screw driver to me)  meant for adjusting the bass ports situated on the cable itself.  From a consumer point of view, I would be glad if they were to include a wider selection of tips due to the rather large looking red jewels sitting inside the box.
Beneath the accessories package lies the shimmering, metallic round machined aluminum billet case. I have to say this billet case is really well constructed. It’s a screw on cap and is rather heavy and built like a tank. But for practical usage wise, I found it too small to contain the earpiece effectively. The balanced cable can be found kept resting inside this billet case too. With an IEM of this size, I would suggest using a Pelican 1010 case for storage. (7/10 for completeness of accessories)
Next up is the built quality of the red monsters. These red monsters looked sturdy (well they better be) and gorgeous! With the Jerry Harvey and AstellNKern logo tattooed on right and left earpieces respectively, there is no shy to showcase the brand image of both companies. The Angie sits on the rather large side of IEMs and it would be really a wise choice to demo them first as those with smaller ear canals would find a hard time keeping these red gems inside your ears. Comparing with the Shure 846, these are like 2.5x larger. The single-ended cable (considering it is oem) is well-made too  and seemed to last. The cable is one of the best oem cable that I’ve come across. For this review, I’ll be using only the single-ended cable as my rig (Fiio X5 and DX90) does not support balanced output. (9/10 for built quality)
 
Comfort and Isolation:
 
With its sheer size, many would find the comfort to be lacking. For me, it sits nicely and pretty flushed against my ear. Isolation wise, I’m able to achieve a good isolation and fitting with the spinfit tips. Comfort and isolation though not on par with Shure 846 is still no slouch. (7/10 for comfort and isolation)
 
Sound Quality:
 
Signature:
The Angie is tuned with a reference quality sound signature in mind. With this statement, we can expect the Angie to offer a rather balanced sound signature with a neutral or flat response in mind. True enough, the Angie comes close with a balanced tuning that is slightly warm sounding with great clarity and extensions on both ends. I have not listened to any other JH offerings before thus cannot comment on the JH house sound. But what I gathered from Angie, is that, the mids and vocals and the vibe here with ample low end thump that does not by any means or chance, affect the mids. High extension wise is very generous too; very well-extended without sounding bright nor harsh.
 
Lows:  
With the bass dial set to one o’clock (which is my personal favorite setting), there is ample bass punch and slam. The bass digs well deep into the sub-bass region with a truly tight control with a quick decay. Though the bass goes deep low, you will not get the rumbling feeling often found on the Shure 846 due to the rather quick decay on Angie. Bass texture is first-class with the feeling of a slam that is dealt with authority and strength. Turning up the bass dial to full power resulted in a looser bass control with a slower decay eating into the lower mids slightly. At full powered bass, the resulting sound becomes warmer with a slight resonance. Turning the bass dial all the way down (bass dial set at zero), it resulted in a rather flat response which can feel too dry at times and albeit thin and bright sounding.  (8.5/10 for lows)
 
Mids:
Here comes the vibe of the sound. The mids of a tuning is often the critical point for audio-goers to praise or criticize an IEM. Some would prefer a laid back type of mids whilst others will prefer a forward presentation. The Angie does this section extremely well without sounding too lifeless, laid back nor too forward a presentation. Instruments carries the weight and texture across and delivered with a natural timbre. Guitars are extremely pleasant sounding due to the lush lower mid range giving it its flavor. Cymbals delivered across with authority with a brilliant decay without a bit of harshness. Instruments are well placed with good airiness which taps of the Angie wider soundstaging efforts. The mids here are not hindered or littered with any veil or clouding. The clarity achieved is superb with great coherence throughout transitions from the lows. Vocals gains another thumbs-up! Vocals come across as lush and intimate lifting both male and female vocals to life. It does feel as though you’re sitting at the first few rows of a large concert hall with breathtaking clarity and presentation. The mids are the show here which is detailed, natural and buttery smooth with the ability to capture the audience allowing every instruments and nuance of details to be easily picked up. (9/10 for mids)
 
Treble:
The treble here is another top class performance by the Angie!  The silky smooth and extended reach into the highs is not an easy feat. Many IEMs with focus on lows and mids tuning often dial down the highs losing the final touch of brilliance. The Angie breathes verve into the highs with great consistency and transition. This is especially apparent when switching in between sets such as the Shure 846 and Aurisonics ASG2. The Angie simply pounced them apart. With the great extension of its treble, the Angie gains the advantage of delivering minute details and bringing string instruments and cymbals to another animate and energetic level. The treble never sounded harsh or display any hints of sibilance even with bad recordings. High hats and snares are achieved with grand extension and decay. (9/10 for highs)
 
Soundstage and imaging:
The soundstage with Angie can be considered above average or towards the larger side opposed to Shure 846. The soundstage is very pleasant to listen to with a grand presentation. Left and right imaging is very precise. Listeners will be able to pick up or pinpoint the instrument placement with ease. (8.5/10 for soundstage and imaging)
 
Other notes:
I do find the Angie to require a good synergy or source matching to sound its best. Though an amp may not be required, it does require a considerable amount of power to drive it. Driving them direct from Fiio X5 or DX90, both players are set to high gain settings to bring out the potential. Even at low gain mode, both X5 and DX90 are able to drive the Angie to a considerable loud listening volumes but lacks the life and veracity of music. From the two DAPs, I preferred the DX90 matching. Pairing with DX90 gives the Angie a more dynamic sound whilst the X5 is more towards flat sound presentation.
 
Comparisons:
 
Shure 846:
 

 
 
The Shure 846 is another highly regarded IEM in the audiophile world with its customizable sound. For this comparison, it’ll be based on the bright filters.
Placed aside to the Angie, the Shure 846 looks like a dwarf. The Shure 846 definitely isn’t small as compared to sets such as Westone W60. In terms of its signature lows, the SE846 offers a more heart-felt and satisfying low ends beating. The SE846 creeps into the core of bass and sends it rumbling like an earthquake. The Angie presentation of lows is much tighter and faster fading off/decay. For the sake of comparisons, both have extremely well textured bass but the SE846 simply pulls ahead of the competition leaving most IEMs biting the dust.
In the mids section, the Shure is well-known for its dominance in mids as well as its house sound. The SE846 with the white filters, presents mid in a more forward fashion with extreme clarity as well. Vocals are slightly more forward with SE846 putting the listener right up with the singer. Both the Angie and SE846 does really well in this section but the Angie pulls ahead only slightly probably with a slightly more airy sound thanks to its wider soundstage. Timbre wise, both are equally good again but I would pick the Angie again for its excellence timbre in high hats and cymbals handling.
Treble wise, the Angie pulls ahead without looking back. That said, the SE846 does not crashed in the treble and highs region but simply put it, the transition and coherence of highs is just better handled by the Angie. The SE846 here, though presents minute details well, can sometimes sound a bit harsh with highs on bad recordings or on certain live recordings.
Comfort and isolation wise the SE846 easily win hands down.
I would not consider the Angie to be a total level up from the SE846 but rather a side grade. Both IEMs are top notch and anybody would not go wrong with either selection. However considering price wise, one would be contented with the SE846 given its customizable filters selection and comfort.
 
Aurisonics ASG2:
 
The ASG2 is another well-received IEM built in USA by Aurisonics. The ASG2 although tries hard, is not on the same playing ground as both the SE846 and Angie. The SE846 pulls ahead of the ASG2 and the Angie pulls even farther then placed side by side the ASG2. The ASG2 house sound focus more on the lows and mids of the spectrum. The bass on ASG2 is presented rather differently from both SE846 and Angie. It is more focused on the mid bass rather than sub bass. When tuned to a minimal level, the mid bass on the ASG2 brings the “meat” and flavor that enhances low mids and vocals section of the music which is rather pleasing and achieves excellent timbre. Vocals wise, ASG2 is up there with SE846 and Angie too. Vocals presentation on ASG2 is simply hard to forget and feels though you’re live right at stage. The treble, separation and clarity is where the SE846 and Angie pulls ahead.
 
Conclusion:
 
In conclusion, the entry level by JH Audio is really well-played with the introduction of Angie. The Angie really can sing!! 
 

Have been using the rockets for a few days now and the sound is simply brilliant! Pretty hard to imagine such a small IEM or a small driver can pump up such a full bodied sound. 
 
Here are my short take on the rockets with some comparisons.
 
Aurisonics Rockets:

 
Lows:
Low ends on the rockets are nicely done. Bass ain't overwhelming nor lacking. Bass hits with authority just reaching sub bass region before it starts to roll off at around 35-40Hz. The bass is extremely tight and fast with short decay. Bass texture is very good and sounds full, however not a bass head choice of phones.
 
Mids:
Mids are the limelight of the show here. The rockets retain the house sound signature of Aurisonics mids and vocals. The rockets could pose off as slightly mid centric whilst still retaining a balanced sound tilting towards flat or neutral response. Vocals are very well done here easily outshining sets such as SE535Ltd. Vocals sound really lush and intimate putting you right up next to the vocalist. You can practically hear every ounce of the singer's breath and the "rawness" in it. Vocals here does resemble the ASG2 which is highly regarded for its presentation of mids and vocals. Both male and female vocals sound excellent out from the rockets. Instruments separation is superb as well, with each instrument having air and space in between them and layered in a manner that it can be picked up quite easily from the rest. String instruments sound extremely crisp as well. However, due to the fast nature of the driver and short decay, it seems to have a toll on the timbre of the instruments. Though the vocals are presented in a forward fashion, soundstage of the rockets is surprisingly good, beating its elder brother the ASG2. The rockets is able to achieve a wide soundstage with very good imaging and depth.
 
Highs:
Highs and treble extension on the rockets is extremely linear though not as smooth as sets such as the Westone 4. The rockets can go bright on certain occasions depending on your setup and tracks used. It achieves impeccable clarity reaching the level of Hifiman RE272 but not as bright and sharp as the T-Peos H300. Due to the nature of the low end, the rockets have excellent detail retrieval capabilities and clarity which bests the ASG2. Instruments such as cymbals and snares does suffer slightly due to the fast nature of the driver resulting in very short decay.
 
Overall, the rockets are tuned more to a flat and neutral sound signature whilst retaining the Aurisonics trademark mids and vocals. It is not a dark or warm sounding phone but rather balanced sounding. Bass is extremely tight and fast which focuses more on quality than on quantity. Timbre wise, the rockets takes a hit here due to the fast nature of the driver.
 
 
Comparison with ASG2:
Placed aside its elder brother the ASG2, it does sound bass light in comparison. That doesn't mean the rockets is bass light but the ASG2 focuses more on heavy thumping bass with a slight bump in the mid bass region. The rockets on the other hand, has much lesser mid bass bump with sub bass just touching around 40Hz packed with rocket speed. 
 
Mids is where the fun begins. Mids in the rockets is simply nothing short of amazing. With side by side comparison with ASG2, it does sound pretty similar. Probably the ASG2 takes a slight edge here due to its warmer sounding signature and longer decay which increases the naturalness of vocals. However, it is worth noting that such a small driver in the rockets can churn out comparable mids with the ASG2 and easily beating SE535Ltd. Soundstaging is also slightly larger compared to the ASG2 probably due to the tamed nature of its low end.
 
The rockets does have better clarity and slightly better details retrieval due to lesser bass impact and a more linear and present treble extension. Timbre wise, the ASG2 is hard to beat.
 
 
Comparison with UE900:
The UE900 is another set of monitor that does not have a huge amount of low end coupled to it though it does have 2 dedicated drivers to take the role of lows. The UE900 is also a balanced sounding phone leaning more towards a flat response. Low ends on both rockets and UE900 seemed comparable with the rockets having a fuller sounding low end with a rounder bass impact. However, the UE900 does dig deeper than rockets especially when coupled with an amp. With the right setup, the bass on UE900 can be very fulfilling. 
 
MIds on the UE900 can often be hindered with a slight veil or clouding. Vocals on UE900 is portrayed very well with just the right distance away from the singer sounding very natural too. The rockets makes the singer comes "alive" and making the UE900 sound slightly recessed. Note that this is only apparent when placed beside the rockets. Details on UE900 is typical of a BA driver with excellent touch and presentation. However, the rockets does have more air and space between instruments making it sound more on-stage.
 
Highs are comparable on both sets with UE900 sounding smoother and slightly further extension. The rockets does have better clarity and can be brighter than the UE900 on certain occasions.
 
 
Comparison with T-Peos H300:
These are two very different sounding sets of IEMs. With the H300 taking on both extreme ends of lows and highs. The H300 is a really special sounding phones with simply jaw dropping low end which destroys sub bass impact of ASG2 and even besting the SE846 which sports a woofer like bass. Bass impact is no fight here with H300 taking home brilliant sub bass impact, quality, quantity and texture. Nothing i have heard has come close to H300 bass performance with only SE846 coming near. 
 
Treble extension wise, H300 achieves a further extension than rockets. But that comes with a cost. The H300 treble can be intolerable at times due to a treble spike which can also cause vocal sibilence. With that said, H300 is a bright sounding phone even when compared to Hifiman RE272. Details and clarity takes over the edge of rockets. But i do find that the rockets strikes a better balance than the H300. Clarity and brightness is done better on rockets than on H300.
 
MIds wise, no questions asked and rockets takes home the win pretty easily. Due to the emphasized low end and treble, the mids and vocals on H300 takes a back seat. Listening to vocals on H300 is like listening to a recording. It just simply lost the touch to make the music comes alive as opposed to rockets and ASG2. 
 
 
With the comparisons done, i would say that the rockets are simply a brilliant offering from Aurisonics. However, microphonics can be unbearable at times (i have no idea on how to use the anti loop as the cable does not seem to stay on when placed over the ear). 
The rockets is definitely a very good compliment to the ASG2 with UE900 taking the middle seat working well with almost all genres.