Fabulous review. Appreciate the time this must have taken. I too bought the Cozoy Astrapi from CTC Audio. I just wanted to experiment with streaming Tidal from my IPhone while sitting outside away from my wired-in DACs and streaming Airplay units. While I agree it doesn't add a lot to the sound but what it does add makes it a very enjoyable experience. Works with my LCD-X, Momentum on-ear, Shure 535 and most surprisingly T-Peos D-202ns (at $36 from CTC Audio) which emphasize vocals making the combo really fun and pleasant to listen to for extended periods. Like it so much bought one for my teenage niece (who is really tough on her audio equipment. Already repaired her Grado 60s once) for her birthday. She's into audio!!!
Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org
Peter West
mosshorn
Wow, this was an excellent review.
imackler
Yeah, it really is.
Jeb Listens
Awesome and honest review with no stone left unturned! A thoroughly enjoyable read. What a cool little device.
rschoi75
Nice review! Extremely well written, and through.
One question though, did you notice the huge amount of gain when using iem's? I bought the Astrapi a few months ago for use with iem's, and found that the gain was so high, I couldn't even bear to listen to it on even the first volume step on my iphone 6 (1/16 steps) w/ Noble K10's and Shure se846's. Ultimately I had to sell it off because I couldn't use it for it's intended purpose. It did, however, power my HD650's very well.
One question though, did you notice the huge amount of gain when using iem's? I bought the Astrapi a few months ago for use with iem's, and found that the gain was so high, I couldn't even bear to listen to it on even the first volume step on my iphone 6 (1/16 steps) w/ Noble K10's and Shure se846's. Ultimately I had to sell it off because I couldn't use it for it's intended purpose. It did, however, power my HD650's very well.
money4me247
@Peter West, @mosshorn, @imackler, @Jeb Listens: Thank you all for your positive feedback. I am really glad that you guys found my review was enjoyable 
@rschoi75, thanks for your compliment! to be honest, I've drifted away from using IEMs as I personally experience discomfort from the deep in-ear insertion commonly found with the majority of high-end IEMs, so I don't currently have any reference-level IEMs to test the Astrapi on. I do normally listen on low volumes and I found the volume with the Astrapi + Bose SoundTrue In-Ear to be fine for my preferences. I am actually delving back into IEMs now that I am very satisfied with my headphone set-up, so will update my review with some nice IEMs and report back on whether I run into any volume issues using the more reference-level IEMs (that often have extremely low impedance & high efficiency). I am looking that the new offerings from Flare Audio and Dunu, and may be able to have the opportunity to test both IEMs on the Astrapi. cheers!
@rschoi75, thanks for your compliment! to be honest, I've drifted away from using IEMs as I personally experience discomfort from the deep in-ear insertion commonly found with the majority of high-end IEMs, so I don't currently have any reference-level IEMs to test the Astrapi on. I do normally listen on low volumes and I found the volume with the Astrapi + Bose SoundTrue In-Ear to be fine for my preferences. I am actually delving back into IEMs now that I am very satisfied with my headphone set-up, so will update my review with some nice IEMs and report back on whether I run into any volume issues using the more reference-level IEMs (that often have extremely low impedance & high efficiency). I am looking that the new offerings from Flare Audio and Dunu, and may be able to have the opportunity to test both IEMs on the Astrapi. cheers!
Paulus XII
What a review... OMG!!!
TheVortex
I always love your reviews as they so in depth and detailed. Great job as always.
vitzijak
Impressive review. FYI, Schiit does have a "USB Dongle DAC/AMP" - the Fulla $79
Fadem
Your review (+ other information online) convinced me, ordered a pair today!
Ultrainferno
I have one at home somewhere. I personally wasn't convinced but awesome review, really.
jem42
Great and detailed review. Thanks. Do you know what USB receiver chip they use? I've read in other articles online that this can make a real difference to the audio experience. Thx
jem42
Just went to the Cozoy product page and it turns out that they can't handle hi-res files only CD quality. Anything else is downsampled. Where as the Oppo HA-2 can handle DSD256 and PCM 384k/32-bit. So buyer beware
money4me247
@Paulus XII & @TheVortex & @Ultrainferno: glad to hear that you guys enjoyed the read
@vitzijak, yup, Schiit does have the newly released Fulla which I brought up in my price comparisons in the spoiler tag. The Fulla is not ideal for portable applications though with its design and heat, and I would not recommend it for people looking for a mobile solution. It does work very well as a transportable device for usage at home and with a laptop.
@Fadem, please let me know what you think of it! Hope you enjoy it
@jem42, if you are looking for an option with a detailed list of specs and parts, Cozoy is actually on of those manufacturers that do not like to publish that kind of information as I did inquire with them on further technical details. You are also right about down-sampling of "hi-res" files. If that is an important consideration for you, I would recommend looking into other device. I do want to note though that from my personal experience and trials, "hi-res" files do not provide any additional sonic benefits over lossless or CD quality files. You can check my profile for some interesting background information on higher sampling rates and bit depth (under audio-related tweaks). hope that is helpful! cheers
@vitzijak, yup, Schiit does have the newly released Fulla which I brought up in my price comparisons in the spoiler tag. The Fulla is not ideal for portable applications though with its design and heat, and I would not recommend it for people looking for a mobile solution. It does work very well as a transportable device for usage at home and with a laptop.
@Fadem, please let me know what you think of it! Hope you enjoy it
@jem42, if you are looking for an option with a detailed list of specs and parts, Cozoy is actually on of those manufacturers that do not like to publish that kind of information as I did inquire with them on further technical details. You are also right about down-sampling of "hi-res" files. If that is an important consideration for you, I would recommend looking into other device. I do want to note though that from my personal experience and trials, "hi-res" files do not provide any additional sonic benefits over lossless or CD quality files. You can check my profile for some interesting background information on higher sampling rates and bit depth (under audio-related tweaks). hope that is helpful! cheers
getclikinagas
Thanks for the review good sir. I enjoyed the read. Good testing methodology. Very good pairing section. Excellent pictures. 9.9/10 review
I may have a chance to give it a whirl soon, and with IEMs that I use I'm not expecting much magic. But I'm curious about how a Fostex T50RP will sound(compared to a GO450).
"Do note that I personally feel that headphones contribute to the majority of the sound quality improvements, so I always recommend to allocate budget accordingly. So I personally would recommend upgrading your headphones/IEMs until you find one you really love and no longer want to upgrade any further prior to investing too heavily into external components."
^This^ should be stickied in all the sub-forums. Very simple but often ignored advice.
I may have a chance to give it a whirl soon, and with IEMs that I use I'm not expecting much magic. But I'm curious about how a Fostex T50RP will sound(compared to a GO450).
"Do note that I personally feel that headphones contribute to the majority of the sound quality improvements, so I always recommend to allocate budget accordingly. So I personally would recommend upgrading your headphones/IEMs until you find one you really love and no longer want to upgrade any further prior to investing too heavily into external components."
^This^ should be stickied in all the sub-forums. Very simple but often ignored advice.
prot
great review!
and no worries about that "audiophile credibility" ... your credibility is just fine and the extra a-words don't matter
and no worries about that "audiophile credibility" ... your credibility is just fine and the extra a-words don't matter
