At-a-glance Card

Full Device Card

Test setup

Transports: Samsung smartphone and tablet, two different Windows 10 laptops, Sony NW-A55 DAP – Stock silicon eartips – 16/24bit-44.1/192KHz tracks

Physicals

Build

Sirius Pro TWS’ carry & battery recharge case is very, very nice design-wise, both in terms of aesthetics and of phyisical conception. The shell is fully metallic, with a sort of “unlockable cage” on the upper side safely keeping the buds down in their recharge position. The design follows a very well calibrated cyberpunk style, clearly clinging at such theme lovers but staying a small but decisive step “not too far” on that path, resulting in an item that can still stafely be taken out during an informal business meeting for example.

The metal case is complemented by fancy LED lighting – up to the user selecting their color by cycle-clicking on a button at the bottom, or disabling (!) them – and it’s very uncommon “open-body” shape indeed doubles as a bottlecap opener. Again: strong styles aesthetics design involved, but always with an eye at not really “overexceeding”, the result being still possibly compatible with the taste of an old somewhat conservative old european sole like myself for example. YMMV, needless to say.

I couldn’t devine what material are Sirius Pro TWS’ bud housings themselves made of – the manufacturer talks about zinc-alloy. Whatever, they are apparently very solid, and IPX5 certified which means they can bear moderate watering (like rain, or of course sweat) – no submersion or big water splashes tho so remember that when going to the beach or so.

Sliding the buds out of the battery case gets some… creativity, at least the first times you try. Their backsides are conic shaped and short, and they are almost impossible to safely grab with a fingertip pinch to pull them out both due to their shape & size and to the magnetic force applied between them and the case. The trick at least for me is to start pinching on the case (!) right below where the buds start emerging from it, and pull up while letting fingertips slide on the structure: this way they come out easilly and aergonomically as (I suppose) intended.

Access to the battery case is regulated by a metal “gate” which besides being aestheticall in-line with the overall style also serves the function of keeping the two buds safely into their case when pocketing them, and last but not least ensuring their bottomside contacts do fully match those on the receptacles, to initiate recharging when the buds are homed.

Fit

Sirius Pro TWS bud shells are very reasonably lightweight and their shape is quite anatomical. They fit easily into my ears but be warned: they need to be orientated the “right” way. Simply put, you have to make sure the “octopus legs” are pointing towards your lobe, and this for two reasons: one to get the best fit of course and two to avoid the mic hole being occluded. This is also properly mentioned on the manual (RTFM, FFS! )

Nozzles are oval shaped (à la Ikko OH1S, to give an idea) so are the bundled eartips. I must say this is one of those rare occasions where stock tips are perfect for the job. Caveat: it may be not so simple finding third party spares.

Comfort

Once properly fitted I found Sirius Pro TWS very comfy, also for prolonged usage timeframes – both listening and/or office calls. I presume this is another achievement coming from all the industrial design attention which was obviously applied to this project and product.

Tapping once on more on the housings allows the user to issue the usual commands e.g. track fwd, track backwards, play, pause, answer call, reject call, etc. Tunneling voice commands to Android assistant is also supported.

Connectivity and battery

Sirius Pro TWS support Bluetooth 5.2, but sadly only SBC and AAC codecs. No aptX, no LDAC. So forget hi-res audio in the first place with them, although as I will report more below that’s not their worse audio drawback.

Pairing with all the transports I tried them with was straightforward, no annoying bad surprises. Long-clicking the button at the bottom of the batterycase resets all BT pairing by the way.

The buds themselves turn ON when take off the battery case, and OFF when put back in. After pairing the two to a given source, they can be used together or one at a time as preferred – just leaving one of the two inside the case.

The battery-case on its turn has a USB-C port for recharging of course.

The small batteries inside the buds offer up to 4 hours of operation time, and the case can fully recharge them for 3 times, up to a theoretical autonomy of 16 hours. But : earbuds take 1.5/2h to recharge ! So if you imagine to use them continually until they are fully discharged you will have to bear a quite sizeable downtime every 3.5/4h. In more practical terms you can expect to use Sirius Pro TWS for more than a full working day (including even long commuting time) for calls, and for listening to music during free time, as long as you take them off into their case for a while every now and then to restore some juice up.

Sound analysis

As all TWS earphones/headphones, Sirius Pro of course carry their own small DAC-AMP which is in charge of analog reconstruction starting from the digital stream received via BT. Barred a few very high end (and expensive) cases, the overwhelming majority of budget-priced TWS drivers carry quite basic-quality DAC-AMP circuitry, from which of course we can’t reasonably expect top sonic results.

Sirius Pro TWS are no exception. Simply put, they offer some pleasant music rendering experience when evaluated under “non-audiophile” standards, while – like most of their peers – they fall way behind critical listening / audiophile quality standards offered by even more modestly priced wired options.

Sirius Pro TWS also carry some DSP capabilities offering the user 3 pre-set audio modes – Music, Gaming and Movie – each offering a different overall presentation which the user can switch onto on the fly by simply tapping on the buds’ housings.

Music Mode

Music Mode is probably the zero-DSP mode, i.e. the situation where I am direct listening to the unaltered Sirius Pro DAC voicing.

Tonality on Music Mode is V shaped, on a warm, dark-ish timbre.

Bass range is moderately extended, sub bass is hinted but does not deliver proper rumble. Midbass is pushed up, and too much proactive for acoustic music where it comes accross almost booming. May be liked by EDM and other non-acoustic music lovers.

Mids are evidently recessed and seriously overshadowed by the midbass. Highmids are also quite timid so even on female vocal prominent tracks the ryhtm section steals the scene to the leader. Trebles are inoffensive and unshrilling, at least that, but (quite coherently with the rest of the presentation) they clearly lack air thereby not succeeding in properly “counterbalancing” the overall experience.

Technicalities are very basic. Soundstage is intimate, with just a bit of depth. Imaging is hampered by the midbass. Microdynamics are nowhere near audiophile ballparks.

Gaming Mode

Gaming mode evidently expands the soundstage, a distributes imaging better on the X axis at least.

Midbass gets less invasive which makes at least female vocals come up more natural.

Movie Mode

Movie mode delivers a stage similar to the gaming one, and stretches (so to say) bass similarly too, so midbass is also less invasive, which is good of course.

The less good part is that mids are pushed forward and end up quite artificial from the sound fidelity perspective. Good for watching movies (as intended!), not for listening to folk singers nor jazz or most pop stuff of course.

Latency

Latency is very modest, and simply put it does not get in the way any seriously when watching movies. And that’s good.

While gaming… well, it depends on gaming levels. I expect an hardcore FPS gamer to underline the ever so slight delay Sirius Pro TWS deliver, but then again that individual would probably not choose a similar pair of TWS buds for his most engaging plays anyway.

Calls

I could quite successfully use Sirius Pro TWS for business calls, and I was very positively surprised by that.

As previously mentioned, it’s crucial to appropriately orientate the housings into the ears to get the best fit and properly expose the mic’s hole (again: RTFM). When that is taken care of, mic quality and Environment Noise Cancellation (ENC) is above decent at the very least – not comparable with professional vertical products of course, but way beyond usable.

On calls I ended up preferring Sirius Pro TWS on Gaming mode in terms of vocal quality.

Specifications (declared)

Considerations & conclusions

TWS earphones are no doubt a huge technical challenge in terms of achieving true audiophile results, comparable with wired alternatives.

Firstly, there ain’t such thing as “lossless BT communication” so that is an apriori negative bias no matter what technology or competence goes into the buds themselves.

Even more importantly, by definition TWS earphones must carry their own DAC-AMP. Think to how much did you spend for your DAC and your AMP, and/or for your DAP, add the cost of your preferred IEMs, then compare that with the budget you are investing into a pair of TWS IEMs : this will give you a rough measure of the expectations you may reasonably set in terms of output quality from TWS buds.

Indeed, it’s even worse than that: earbuds are small. The smaller the size, the more complicated (and sometimes impossible) it is to fit truly high quality DAC and especially AMP technology in.

With all the above in mind, looking at their asked price Gravastar Sirius Pro TWS are a wonderful piece of industrial design in terms of construction, ergonomics, features set and not least aesthetics (although carrying a definitely sided style at that). On the flip side they evidently lag behind in terms of pure hires sound reproduction quality – which I quite simply rate “no audiophile grade” – and make themselves more appreciated as a multipurpose music, office calls, gaming, movie watching audio gadget instead.

The Sirius Pro TWS set I assessed have been provided free of charge by Gravastar Europe, to whom my thanks goes for the consideration and the trust. They can be purchased from Gravastar web site, here. 16% off with discount code AUDIOREVIEWS.

Our generic standard disclaimer.

The post Gravastar Sirius Pro TWS Review – Wonderfully Industrial appeared first on Audio Reviews.

Cons — Deserves a tad more upper midrange and treble extension for a wider stage and more sparkle; not the fastest driver; limited applicability of third-party eartips.

Executive Summary

Introduction

IKKO is a Chinese manufacturer that has initially delighted us with their very few however innovative <$200 earphones (and accessories). Their first iem, the IKKO OH1 stood out by its metallic, unconventional shells with a great haptic. The “masterfully jazzy” well-dosed V-shaped IKKO OH10 made it onto our Wall of Excellence. They excel by their superb imaging and staging – and offer a sniff into the premium segment at a mid-tier price.

The – in contrast to the OH10 – brighter tuned IKKO OH1S is a highly underrated marvel, possibly because many influencers had their listening experience guided by the frequency response graph. The OH2 is physically very similar to the OH2. It appears that IKKO wants to appease those customers with there OH2 who found the OH1S too spicy. Will it work?

IKKO are currently expanding their product range into dongles such as the IKKO Zerda ITM01, microphones (for YouTubers), small speakers, and other desktop accessories.

Specifications

:

Physical Things and Usability

In the box are the earpieces, the cable, a set of IKKO I-Planet foam tips, a set of oval silicone tips, a storage wallet, an IKKO pin, an MMCX tool for safely disconnecting cable and earpieces, and the paperwork.

Just like the OH1S, IKKO OH2’s shells are premium built with mostly aluminum alloy and some resin, and they feature one of the companyʼs trademarks: oval nozzles, which help forming any eartip into the cross-sectional shape of your ear canals.

The shells are rather small and light compared to the OH10, they look and feel great, sit firmly in my ears and are very comfortable. The small size of the earpieces is certainly a huge asset. Isolation is not the greatest for me.

I find the haptic and ergonomics premium: 10/10.

I really like the included cable (same as with OH1S): spindly, wiry, light. Coated with hard pvc, it has the right stiffness for me and is not rubbery at all. Great in the days where cables are increasingly becoming ropes pulling our ears down. Less is more, also in this case.

Tonality and Technicalities

IKKO have tuned the OH2 differently from their other popular models. It is not V-shaped like the OH10 – and it is not as treble extended as the OH1S, although both share the relatively flat frequency response up to 1.5 kHz. As in so many cases, the OH2’s frequency response graph is literally misleading as it leads speculations into the wrong direction.

From a helicopter perspective, the IKKO OH2 is somewhat dry and slightly warm sounding iem. For me, the included IKKO I-Planet foam tips worked best. But foams in combination with my ears always generate a rather dry bass.

And it is rather dry indeed. Sub-bass extension is good, there is plenty of rumble down there, and there is no boomy mid-bass peak. Nevertheless could the bass be tighter – and it probably is with a different tips/ears combination. I’d call the bass typical for mid-price single dynamic-driver iems, but nothing special. It is certainly not the fastest around and can be somewhat blunt in some recordings.

The vocals have very good weight and decent definition, they are not set back, which is an asset at this price tag. There is a small congestion from the hesitant upper midrange (pinna gain is <10 dB) which compresses male and female voices a bit. A tad more energy at around 2 kHz would make them wider and airier. Higher piano and violin notes lack sparkle.

The top rolloff starts already in the upper midrange but becomes dramatic at above 5 kHz. Treble extension is audibly lacking and compromises stage width and overall sparkle/air.

And whilst stage is narrow, it has a good height and depth. Imaging and spatial cues are good and resolution, separation, and layering are average. The OH2’s biggest sonic assets are its note weight and its very natural timbre.

IKKO OH2 Compared

The $79 Hidizs MM2 with their exchangeable out vents are more versatile and may have slightly better imaging and staging (more headroom), but I find the OH2 have a better organic reproduction , note weight, and cohesion. Instant wow effect vs. slowly growing likability! I also prefer the OH2’s smaller earpieces for their small design and premium haptic whereas the light yet bulky MM2 shells are reminiscent of the budget KZ fare. I’d say the OH2 appeal more to the older, mature crowd (like me) and the MM2 preferably to teenagers.

The $79 Moondrop Aria, viewed as the dynamic-driver standard below $100, is much faster, brighter, and leaner than the OH2. It is technically cleaner with a better defined low end, a better extended treble, and more width. But it also has an upper midrange glare that may be unpleasant for some. The OH2 is less analytical, warmer, deeper, but also thicker in its performance, it has more “soul” and is more engaging to me. The Moondrop may be the “better” earphone, but the OH2 is more enjoyable to me.

The main question may be how the OH2 compares to the $159 IKKO OH1S? Well the OH1S may be brighter but they benefit from their treble extension, which results in a wider stage and better imaging. They provide more headroom. They also have better note definition and resolution. I’d say the price difference is justified – and I, quite frankly, prefer the OH1S as they are the better iem.

Concluding Remarks

IKKO iems are totally underrated in the internet’s echo chambers that cultivate herd mentality pushing überhyped yet short-lived products to promote compulsive buying habits. IKKO iems have a long shelf live for a reason.

The IKKO OH2 are the mellow alternative to all these brightish <$100 earphones such as the Moondrop Aria. They impress by their haptic and accessories, which are essentially identical to the OH1S at twice the price. They further have a decent tonality with an intimate midrange and an organic timbre.

The OH2 will appeal to the more mature budget “audiophile”, who cares about substance rather than gimmicks.

To give you my personal perspective: I really like the OH2 a lot – and not only for their sound but also for their handling (the importance of which for daily use is typically undervalued in reviews). But then again, I could say the same about the OH1S and OH10.

Until next time…keep on listening!

The post IKKO OH2 Review – A Purist’s Daydream appeared first on Audio Reviews.

Cons — V-shape; heavy earpieces, shoddy cable.

Executive Summary

Introduction

The OH10 “Obsidian” has been hanging on our Wall of Excellence for a while, mainly triggered by Alberto, who had written a glowing review. He characterizes the OH10 sensibly and exhaustively so that there is not much room for things to add.

I have tested the OH10 for 1/2 year with endless source combinations.

IKKO is a company that has excelled through excellent builds and a rather small quality rooster of iems (and lately other products), each of which has had a rather long shelf live. The company obviously designs sustainable quality, which is not easy to find in the Shenzhen environment.

The OKKO OH1, their first offering, may have been a bit bright for my taste, but it stuck out from the field because of its sturdy metal build and the unusual shape of their earpieces. It was recently superseded by the smaller OH1S, which is highly underrated because of anti-hype by the usual YouTube screamers. The OH10 was introduced between the two models. It has been on the market for a while, and it is still as relevant as on its first day.

Specifications

Physical Things and Usability

Please relieve me for once from describing the photo showing the content. Yes, the cable is crap and I use Final E tips.

The metal earpieces are super heavy and relatively big – and probably more suited for home use, but their haptic is great. The nozzles are long enough. Fit is good, comfort depends on how much I move, and isolation is average.

Tonality and Technicalities

I was for the longest time in the belief the OH10 featured a crisp single dynamic driver…but it is rather a 1+1 (dynamic driver and balanced armature driver) constellation…which speaks for its cohesion. Both drivers obviously harmonize well with each other.

To give you the helicopter perspective: the OH10 excels by its fantastic bass slam and its excellent imaging. The price paid is recessed vocals and treble extension.

OK, ’nuff said already. Now you know what Alberto and I think of the OH10.

Co-blogger Kazi gave his snappy account on Facebook:

• Unique shell design and very dense shell material. 
• Too heavy for some, myself included. I find them to weigh down on my ears after a while.
• Isolation is lacking.
• Sub-bass is excellent. Punchy, agile, with good amount of rumble.
• Mid-bass is slightly thinner than expected but got good texture. 
• Vocals are recessed. Not gonna set the world alight with midrange performance.
• Upper-midrange can feel peaky at times. I found them to be too up-front on some hard rock tracks. 
• Treble is inoffensive, decent amount of sparkle but lacks the extension and air of upper-tier stuff. 
• Good staging, not as wide or deep as E5000 but fairly balanced across all three axes. 
• Imaging is decent, did not stand out to be as much as, say, the Falcon Pro. 

IKKO OH10 Compared

People keep asking for comparisons with the IKKO OH1S “Gems”, which is redundant as both sound totally different. The OH1S is more forward and brighter, and one cannot replace the other. That’s why companies run different models simultaneously…duh!

More interesting appears to be a comparison between the OH10 and the Unique Melody 3DT with its three dynamic drivers. As you can see, both have largely overlapping frequency responses. But I have to disappoint you again as both iems sound completely different. The UM 3DT is much more analytical and less engaging than the OH10.

But what this tells us the limitations of frequency response graphs for characterizing the sound of iems.

Concluding Remarks

The IKKO OH10 gives $$$ conscious audio enthusiasts access to premium quality at a mid-tear price. With its excellent imaging, it plays in the league with the big, expensive boys…not on top, but well above the bottom.

What you sacrifice is comfort through the large and heavy earpieces and some vocals intimacy through the V-shape. But the OH10 does full justice to high-quality sources way above a phone.

It is for good reason a standard staple on our Wall of Excellence…and will remain there for a long time…and im my collection. Kudos to IKKO for demonstrating sustainability in the short-lived world of Shenzhen consumerism.

Until next time…keep on listening!

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All Our 316 Earphone and Earbud Reviews (with Links)

Disclaimer

The Ikko Gems OH1S were provided by Ikko for my review and I thank them for that. I also thank Alberto and Kazi for discussion.

Get the Ikko Gems OH1s from ikkoaudio.com

Gallery

The post IKKO OH10 Review (2) – On Our Wall Of Excellence appeared first on Audio Reviews.

This is a visual intro to the IKKO OH2 Opal. IKKO have been a company offering a small but fine selection of iems. That has changed lately as they have expanded into electronics. We at audioreviews.org have followed their iems since their OH1. The $199 IKKO OH10 made it even onto our Wall of Excellence.

The OH10 have a very safe, likeable V-shaped tuning with no peaks or pierces and huge stage. They are a first taste of the premium segment at a mid-tier price…and therefore a rare example of justifying the otherwise hollow marketing term “entry level” (with respect to premium).

The smaller $159 IKKO OH1S shows a completely different tuning with a strictly linear bottom shelf and a rather “vivid” treble that caused some confusion with the reviewers. The rumour arose that the OH1S don’t have “enough” bass and to much spice in the upper registers. In fact, their bass response is just fine and the treble extension may be a matter of taste.

What was also unusual is their oval nozzles for which I had issues finding third-party tips suiting my ears. On the other hand, the included IKKO foams work well in that they provide a good seal and help with the bass.

IKKO responded to the criticism of the OH1S with the new IKKO OH2. They are a tad larger than the OH1S and have the same accessories – at a much lower price. The biggest difference is in the tuning: while the bass shelf was kept the same, upper OH2’s midrange was somewhat reduced, and much of that treble extension was shaved off. The result is a more generally appealing sound.

Specifications IKKO OH2

Images

Get these earphones from IKKO Audio.

The post PhotoGraphed: IKKO OH2 vs. IKKO OH1S appeared first on Audio Reviews.

Instead of first impressions, we offer completely flavour-neutral optical treatments before following up with our exhaustive reviews of the products’ performances.

Current Photography

1. BQEYZ Autumn vs. BEQYZ Summer (Jürgen Kraus)
2. Hidizs MM2 (Jürgen Kraus)
3. IKKO OH2 vs. IKKO OH1S (Jürgen Kraus)

Vintage Photography (prior to March 2022)

1. AME Custom Argent Hybrid Electrostatic (Jürgen Kraus)
2. Anew X-One (Jürgen Kraus)
3. Blon BL-05 Beta (Jürgen Kraus)
4. Blon BL-05 Beta (Jürgen Kraus)
5. Blon BL-05 MKI & MKII (Jürgen Kraus)
6. BQEYZ Spring 1 (Jürgen Kraus)
7. BQEYZ Spring 2 (Durwood)
8. CCA CA16 (Durwood)
9. Drop + JVC HA-FXD1 (Jürgen Kraus)
10. Fidue A65/A66 (Jürgen Kraus)
11. FiiO FD1 (Jürgen Kraus)
12. FiiO FHs1 (Jürgen Kraus)
13. Hill Audio Altair • RA (Jürgen Kraus)
14. iBasso IT01 V2 (Jürgen Kraus)
15. Hilidac Atom Pro (Jürgen Kraus)
16. Ikko OH1 (Jürgen Kraus)
17. KBEAR Believe (Jürgen Kraus)
18. KBEAR Diamond (Jürgen Kraus)
19. KBEAR hi7 (Jürgen Kraus)
20. KBEAR KB04 (Jürgen Kraus)
21. KBEAR Lark (Jürgen Kraus)
22. Kinboofi MK4 (Jürgen Kraus)
23. KZ ASX (Jürgen Kraus)
24. KZ ZSN Pro (Slater)
25. Moondrop Crescent (Jürgen Kraus)
26. Moondrop Illumination (Jürgen Kraus)
27. Moondrop Kanas Pro Edition (Jürgen Kraus)
28. Moondrop SSP (Jürgen Kraus)
29. Moondrop SSR (Jürgen Kraus)
30. Moondrop Starfield (Jürgen Kraus)
31. NiceHCK Blocc 5N Litz UPOCC OCC Copper Earphone Cable
32. NiceHCK Litz 4N Pure Silver Earphone Cable (Jürgen Kraus)
33. NiceHCK NX7 (Jürgen Kraus)
34. NiceHCK NX7 Pro (Jürgen Kraus)
35. Queen of Audio Pink Lady (Jürgen Kraus)
36. Revonext QT5 (Slater)
37. SeeAudio Yume (Jürgen Kraus)
38. Senfer DT6 (Slater)
39. Sennheiser IE 300
40. Sennheiser IE 500 PRO
41. Shozy Form 1.1 and Shozy Form 1.4
42. Shozy Form 1.4 (Jürgen Kraus)
43. Shozy Rouge (Jürgen Kraus)
44. Simgot EM2 (Jürgen Kraus)
45. Simgot EN700 Pro (Slater)
46. Smabat ST-10 (Jürgen Kraus)
47. Tin Hifi T2 Plus (Jürgen Kraus)
48. Tin-Hifi T4 (Jürgen Kraus)
49. TRN-STM (Jürgen Kraus)
50. TRN V90 (Jürgen Kraus
51. TRN-VX (Jürgen Kraus)
52. Whizzer Kylin HE01 (Jürgen Kraus)

The post Photography appeared first on Audio Reviews.

The new version of iFi’s recently discontinued hip-dac, amongst the few low cost mobile dac-amps featured of our Wall of Excellence, is marketed at a very similar price (€ 189,00) compared to its precedessor.

At the end of the day, my opinion about hip-dac2 could be condensed in a simple one-liner: as good as Hip Dac, so very good for this price point, with the addition of a higher MQA reconstruction quality.

As I never published an article about original hip-dac I will take this opportunity to deliver an extended article on the “hip-dac franchise”, so to call it. I will clearly mark the differences between hip-dac2 and hip-dac within the text. Let’s go through it.

At-a-glance Card

Product analysis

Key features and general description

hip-dac2 (like its precedessor hip-dac) is a battery-equipped slim-bodied easily pocketable USB DAC-AMP.

Size-, weight- and shape-wise it’s just wonderful. The full metal shell is sturdy, greatly pocketable, and at the same time superbly stylish from the shape and finishing points of view. It “pairs” very well with an average smartphone when used in conjunction with that.

Sole audio input is the USB data port.  The input connector is the “usual” iFi USB-A recessed male plug. A USB-A(f) to USB-C and a USB-A(f) to USB-A(m) short cables are supplied free. No UBS-A(f) to micro-USB nor USB-A(f) to Apple Lightning are offered in the package.

No coax, optical nor analog input available. hip-dac2 (or hip-dac) can’t be used as a pure amplifier.

Two phone outputs are available: single ended (S-balanced, actually – more on this below) 3.5mm and balanced 4.4 mm.

No line-out analog output is available, which means that hip-dac2 (or hip-dac) can’t be used as a “pure DAC”, plugged into a downstream amp device. It still can be further amplified but the internal amp section will anyhow be involved as a “pre-amp”.

The internal battery cannot be charged via the digital input USB port. A separate charge-only USB-C port is dedicated to charging (a short USB-A to USB-C cable is included in the package). This is good as it cuts on much of the source-incoming noise typically carried by an active VBUS line. On the other hand it means that even when USB-connected to (say) a laptop the hip-dac2 / hip-dac will always only take power from its internal battery, and will eventually run out of juice.

Battery autonomy as always depends on usage (highres files and high volume listening consume more of course) but you can count on some good 6-7 hours of “common spec” listening. A full recharge takes like 3 hours.

When referring to similarly priced portable DAC-AMP devices, hip-dac2 / hip-dac’s power specifications are nominally impressively high vs high impedance loads (6.2V vs 600 ohm, just wow!) and a good step above average vs mid impedance loads (400mW vs 32 ohm).

iFi doesn’t table specs vs low impedance loads (< 16ohm) though, nor hip-dac2 / hip-dac’s output impedance on either of its phone out ports is declared.

Similar to what happens for most if not all of their devices, iFi offers a selection of easily user-installable firmware alternatives for Hip Dac 2 – ultimately yielding into alternative choices in terms of digital reconstruction filters.

Lastly, the device offers a manual High Gain button (labelled “Power Match”) and an XBass+ button. More on these later.

How does it sound: DAC performance

Considering hip-dac2 / hip-dac lack a proper Line Out, DAC performances are only partially assessable as some will be influenced by the integrated amp stage.

It is nevertheless quite evident that hip-dac2 / hip-dac’s voicing is very good when looking at pretty much any other similar portable DAC-AMP on this level of budget. Auditioned from its Balanced output port (more on why later) range is very well extended both towards the bass and the highs. Bass notes are well bodied, not particularly enhanced. Treble is smooth while more than nicely airy, and mids are quite evidently the best developed section.

There’s a quite evident warm tonality – difficult if not impossible to say which section (DAC and/or AMP) contributes to that most. But it’s there. If I have to compare with my experience with other iFi devices offering Line Out options (Nano iDSD Black Label, Micro iDSD Signature) I am ready to bet this is mostly AMP-related but again… it’s a guess.

Good DAC performance doesn’t come by chance. iFi adopts high-standard components even inside their budget products like hip-dac2 / hip-dac, and this is surely one good first step – but this often happens on many chi-fi devices, which on even or very similar “internal stuff list” condition in the end sound apparently much worse. The real key is engineering competence, really – and that can’t be so easily “cloned”.

One aspect: a fundamental requisite to obtain good performances from a DAC device is avoiding interferences on the incoming digital data. Not talking about human-audible interferences, of course. You might want to read this other article of mine to get a flavour of what I’m talking about. As already mentioned above, hip-dac2 / hip-dac don’t take power from the USB data cable, this way apriori cutting a lot in terms of noise “collection”.

Another aspect: unlike the overwhelming majority of the other budget mobile devices, hip-dac2 / hip-dac offer an analog volume control, not a digital one. The reason why this is way better for DAC performances is quite technical (check here for a good, reasonabe vulgarly-explained article) but putting it very simply: digital volume controls act upon the digital stream before it reaches the DAC, and deliver a “integral” digital data to the DAC only at their end-scale position (so at “100% volume” position); intermediate volume levels are realized by applying attenuatin to the digital data which de facto corresponds to reducing their digital resolution.

An analog-volume device like hip-dac2 / hip-dac always feeds its DAC chip at full digital resolution, and attenuates the analog output aposteriori only. Why not every device has this ? Quite simply because analogue volume controls are more expensive to implement and more complicated to design

Firmware options

Like most if not all other iFi DAC devices, hip-dac2 / hip-dac can run a range of firmware variants, each offering different features or optimisations. Firmware packages and the apps required to flash them are freely available on iFi’s web site, here.  The flashing process is really easy and straightforward, at least on Windows platform.

The 3 significant versions to choose from for hip-dac2 are:

For the original hip-dac a very similar option is available although it may be interesting to note here that there have been two hip-dac sub-versions, one tagged with serial numbers beginning with 54010 and the other with serial numbers beginning with 54040. The latter generation accepts the same 7-generation firmware packages as hip-dac2 (labelled respectively 7.2, 7.2c and 7.2b), while the former older generation accepts older versions of the same packages ( labelled respectively 5.3, 5.3c and 5.2).

DSD is a very interesting standard but I don’t de facto currently own nor plan to own music files sampled above DSD 256, so the two options which get my attention are 7.3 and 7.3c.

Their fundamental difference is one only but a significant one at that: with 7.3c iFi’s own GTO (Gibbs Transient Optimised) filter replaces Burr Brown’s native reconstruction filters.

I strongly recommend you read iFi’s whitepaper about why and how this may be technically desireable, or not.

The paper focuses on throughly illustrating GTO’s output features while leaving another important aspect in the background: with 7.3c hip-dac2 will systematically upsample all digital input coming from the USB port up to 32 bit / 384KHz resolution prior to feeding the DAC chips. For what I seem to have understood this is fundamentally required for the GTO filter itself to work as intended.

I already experienced iFi’s GTO implementation in conjunction with Micro iDSD Signature and Nano iDSD Black Label. Simply put: on Nano iDSD BL the GTO option “sounds worse” than the native ones – for my tastes at least. Oppositely, GTO performance on Micro iDSD Signature is very significant, offering important analog reconstruction improvements on redbook-standard (16bit / 44.1KHz) tracks compared to the non-GTO firmware option.

Very similar is my experience on hip-dac2 / hip-dac, and this is one of the few notable differences between the two generations.

hip-dac2 GTO implementation (fw 7.3c) offers a very good alternative option compared to non-GTO (fw 7.3).

Oppositely, when I tested this on a first-version (ser# 54010xxxxx) original hip-dac I got a very similar result as the one I got with the Nano iDSD BL: GTO firmware is basically not worth for me. I didn’t have an opportunity to test a latter-generation hip-dac (ser# 54040xxxxx).

MQA

This is quite evidently the most important aspect about which hip-dac2 represents a significant upgrade from hip-dac: MQA reconstruction performance is evidently better.

MQA royalties and consulting fees apart, as one may easily imagine different enabling hardware makes a big difference on such a computing intensive process as MQA unfolding. Newer generation iFi models (hip-dac2, Diablo, ZEN DAC v2 etc) carry a 16 core XMOS chip with a much higher capacity and computing power (2X the clock speed, 4X the internal memory, latest USB standards compliance) so – simply put – it can “do more at the same time” than the predecessor model.

The improvement in the audible result is quite evident, and totally in line with theory. When applied to MQA-authenticated tracks hip-dac2 reconstructs a much airier, defined and detailed sound compared to the job done by hip-dac as mere Renderer on the very same tracks.

On the other hand, though, I think it’s worthwhile here to remember that – like it or not – MQA is not any sort of magical way to make a DAC sound better then it technically could when applied to a non-MQA, full resolution version of the same track.

A very easy comparison example for me is with Apogee Groove. While of course hip-dac2 will reconstruct/reproduce an MQA-master track at a higher level of audible detail and resolution compared to what Groove will do when connected as a non-MQA DAC on the same track, on the other hand Groove’s range extension, dynamic range, bass and treble control stay on a superior level even in such an “handicap-started” race. Even more evident is the DAC reconstruction quality difference of course when applying hip-dac2 to a given MQA-authenticated track, and Groove to a high-res non-MQA version of the very same track.

Long story short, I guess it all boils down to a quite trivial conclusion: MQA is no magic wand, it’s got no “hardware upgrade power”. Of course.

How does it sound: AMP performance

Based on experience I stopped expecting that low budget devices offer similar amping quality results from both their single and balanced ended outputs. It fundamentally never happens.

The fact is that in these cases balanced amping architecture is primarily adopted as an inexpensive, easy-implementable way for many manufacturers to offer a decent or above-decent output quality (cleanness, transparency, dynamic range) off of apriori difficult situations such as small / ultrasmall and low price tier pocketable devices.

Clean amping is mostly dependent on high quality power management, and in a small and/or relatively inexpensive “box” there is little “room” (physical and virtual) to fit appropriate power management circuitry. Clean power is a challange on amps of any size, and a very steep one the smaller the form factor and the budget get.

As size & cost go up it starts to be possible to encounter devices e.g. the Micro iDSD Signature whereon Single Ended and Balanced phone outs present a power difference, but negligible quality differences. Below that size and budget, I just encountered white flys. Groove, to name one, which Single Ended output is a few times over cleaner, more transparent and dynamic-extended than any other Balanced-equipped device below $300 I happened to hear. Another good case is Sony NW-A55. I have a serious hard time naming a third.

From this point of view, hip-dac2 / hip-dac follow the mainstream. Do not expect wonders from their Single Ended outputs, as in facts you won’t get any. The other way around is rather true: hip-dac2 / hip-dac’s Single Ended output is unimpressive – dull, compressed, closed-in. This, in spite of the good deeds of their S-Balanced tech.

Different story for the Balanced Ended 4.4mm output, which comes accross evidently airier, better bilaterally extended, with a very good level of control on bass and smooth trebles, and most of all a quite nice dynamic range and good microdynamic rendering. In a word, the solid impression is that on hip-dac2 / hip-dac BE out is the sole one with enough cleanness and transparency as to offer some justice to the preceding DAC stage.

As I already mentioned above, there’s a distinct warm coloration. Is this coming from the DAC or the AMP? Difficult to determine as hip-dac2 / hip-dac don’t offer a pure Line Out option, and thus a chance to use a third-party amp like it happens on other iFi models like Nano iDSD BL or Micro iDSD Signature is precluded.

A small difference can also be identified between hip-dac2 and hip-dac’s overall output quality, namely the former being a bit more sparkly in the highs, and just a whiff less intimate as far as soundstage goes.

I didn’t mention soundstage yet, which is definitely not a shiny aspect for hip-dac2 nor hip-dac. Quite narrow, really. Is this due to scarce spatial reconstruction skills at the DAC level or due to unclean AMPing? Again, impossible to say due to the lack of a Line Out option – and after all useless to know either, as it’s not something the user can do anything about.

Lastly, I think it’s worth noting that some hiss is picked by very sensitive loads (CA Andromeda, anyone? ). While definitely an imperfection taken per se, I guess it should be conceded to hip-dac2 / hip-dac that it’s a very common one, almost irregardlessly of the device budget.

Extra features

There are two toggle-buttons beside hip-dac2 / hip-dac’s volume knob, named Power Match and XBass.

Power Match is nice attempt at a layman-friendly naming for a Gain switch. Activating Power Match puts hip-dac2 / hip-dac in High Gain mode, which is of course recommended (only) when a low-sensitivity driver is connected. Attention though: on low-sensitivity and low-impedance devices the suggestion is flipped – Low Gain is typically a much better option.

XBass behaves like what an EQ expert would call a low shelf positive filter. By ear it pushes lows up by 2dB-ish from 100Hz down. Might occasionally turn out to be handy to help some bass-shy drivers, or as a compromise to compensate for some drivers requiring a higher level of current delivery than what hip-dac2 / hip-dac can deliver to express their best on their bass lines.

Notable pairings

You find some significant pairing impressions reported in Kazi’s article, which I already mentioned above.

I find myself totally in line with what Kazi wrote when referring to final Sonorous-III and Dunu ZEN / ZEN Pro which I also had a chance to directly test with hip-dac2 and hip-dac. Ditto for my experience with a pair of high-impedance cans, which is HD600 in my case – ultimately showing that hip-dac2 / hip-dac’s nominal 6V @ 600ohm spec is less effective than it may seem when put to the real work.

Let me just add a few other experiences here.

final E3000

Biasing-wise the pair is technically good, insofar as hip-dac2 and hip-dac both definitely deliver enough current to E3000 to open them up properly, keeping their bass transients controlled and delivering a good sense of space. The unavoidable down side is that due to E3000’s fixed cable it’s impossible to exploit hip-dac2 / hip-dac’s best amping output (the Balanced one) so the forced-single-ended pair is bound to unavoidably suffer from some dullness and lack of dynamics.

final E5000

Even when paired on the Balanced output hip-dac2 and hip-dac don’t seem to deliver enough current soon enough to brighten-up E5000’s bass line. The result is an overly thick presentation which is what very commonly one gets on E5000 from budget-tier sources.

Ikko OH-1S and Tanchjim Oxygen

Although different, the two IEMs react very similarly to hip-dac2 / hip-dac pair. Both get turned on very nicely by the balanced output, delivering much of their competence in terms of technicality. Both get “warmed up” by hip-dac2 / hip-dac’s coloration, which may be a welcome variation to many in comparison to their otherwise slightly-bright/neutral tonality. Hip-dac2 pushes both’s highmids up, luckily without passing the glare limit. Nice ones.

final Sonorous-II

Similarly to what happens on Sonorous-III, the pair has lights and shadows. Good is bass (a case where the XBass switch delivers a pleasant alternative at the user’s fingertip), and microdynamics. Less good is high-mids which get a bit too hot.

Shure SRH-1840

This is a really good pair. Power available on Low Gain is already more than enough to make SRH-1840 sing pretty well, and there’s no overdoing on the high-mids. Some treble extension is lacking. General warmth may be considered bearable in this case due to the fundamental pure neutrality of the phones taken on their own. Too bad for the narrow stage, but at this price level I’ve yet to find a better pair for SRH-1840 if I exclude Groove.

Notable comparisons

Again, some notable comparisons are already mentioned on Kazi’s article, which I once again encourage you to read. I do share his opinion about hip-dac2 vs hip-dac entirely.

vs Apogee Groove

The comparison is apriori dishomogeneous as Groove is a high-power-demanding dongle with a unique, not-general-purpose amping architecture while hip-dac2 and hip-dac are designed with full-horizontal applicability in mind. Performance differences found between the two devices should be put in the correct perspective.

That said, Groove’s DAC and AMP refinements, where applicable, are significantly better compared to hip-dac2 / hip-dac.

Hip-dac2’s DAC reconstruction prowess does challenge Groove’s resolving power exclusively when applied to MQA-authenticated tracks. On such very tracks, hip-dac2’s Full Decoder capabilities deliver superior resolution and air, while on the other hand still falling short vs Groove on range extension, bass control and treble vividness. On non-MQA material there’s no game instead.

vs Hidizs S9 Pro

Another dishomogeneous therefore “unfair” comparison, which I’m mentioning basically only due to S9 Pro’s popularity. Similarly to Groove, Hidizs S9 Pro is a battery-less dongle featuring a high host-power demand. Different from Groove, it carries a general-purpose amping architecture free from apriori pairing limitations.

Like hip-dac2 / hip-dac, S9 Pro also comes with dual phone outputs (Single Ended and Balanced Ended), and again similarly in both cases the Single Ended option, well, might also be omitted, for how underwhelming they are compared to their Balanced Ended alternatives.

That said, the sound quality difference between the two devices is nothing short of dramatic. Hip-dac2 / hip-dac are better resolving, have better estension, better dynamics and better features. Last but not least, when connected to a “noisy” host (e.g a laptop) S9 Pro degrades its cleanness and spatial reconstruction performance quite evidently, and benefits of a noise filter adoption (e.g. an iFi iSilencer or an AudioQuest Jitter Bug), while hip-dac2 / hip-dac is much more resilient off the bat.

S9 Pro costs 35% less than hip-dac2, that must be noted, too.

vs iFi Nano iDSD Black Label

Similarly priced and after all not so differently-sized, the two devices do behave similarly.

Overall, hip-dac2 comes out ahead when used as a complete (DAC+AMP) system, even more so if applied to MQA material as Nano iDSD Black label is a mere Renderer not a Full Decoder. On the flip side, Nano iDSD Black Label offers a pure Line Out option which is the big “missing bit” from hip-dac2 / hip-dac, which allows the user to “upgrade” the device with an external amp – possibly a desktop one? – and fully exploit the really nice quality of its internal DAC.

Considerations & conclusions

Hip-dac2 is an outstanding device, quite evidently the best sub-200$ battery powered pocketable DAC-AMP on the market today. It delivers very good DAC reconstruction capabilities, significant amping power, and remarkable cleannes, dynamics and air from its Balanced Ended headphone output.

Compared to its preceding version, hip-dac2 offers MQA Full Decoding which represent a solid further improvement for Tidal fans. Apart from that, its features are identical and its sound quality are so close to the preceding version that a current hip-dac owner may safely hold on to his existing investment in case Tidal Master is not his streaming service of choice.

Disclaimer

As always, a big thank you to iFi for the continued opportunity they offer me to keep assessing their products.

Our generic standard disclaimer.

The post iFi hip-dac2 Review (2) – Still The Best appeared first on Audio Reviews.

Gear of the Year: 2021 marks the blog’s third year and the second with 8 contributors. We collectively published almost 200 articles, mainly product reviews, but also technical information. Apart from receiving review units from manufacturers and sellers, we also purchased a lot…and we borrowed from audiophile friends and colleagues.

We are a heterogeneous bunch not pressed into templates by commercialism. Each of us enjoys maximum freedom. None of us gets paid. And it is this variety that makes this blog interesting. Two of us, Baskingshark and Kazi, have been drafted to also write for Headphonesty, which gives them more exposure and also access to very interesting gear.

We are currently experimenting with generic advertisements to recover our operating cost (Paypal does not work at all)…any money raised will go back into the blog. We remain non commercial.

Our main focus has traditionally been on earphones – we have reviewed almost 300 – but particularly DACs and amps also caught our attention this year.

As at the end of the previous years, we list our our personal favourites of 2021 – the portable audio we personally enjoyed most. There are no rules, we just tell you what we like. After all, the gear we use most is our best. And we attached some of this gear to our newly created Wall of Excellence, which averages all our opinions.

Enjoy this read and we wish you a happy and successful 2023!

We thank

Most of our reviews would have not been possible without our 2021 cooperating partners. We thank:

ADV, Allo, Apos Audio, Astell & Kern, AudioQuest, Azla, Blon, BQEYZ, Burson Audio, Campfire Audio, Cayin, CCA, Dekoni, Dunu, ddHiFi, EarMen, Easy Earphones, Fiil, Helm Audio, Hidizs, HifiGo, ifi Audio, IKKO Audio, KBEAR/TRI Audio, Keephifi, Khadas, Knowledge Zenith, Meze, Moondrop, Musicteck, NiceHCK, OneOdio, Penon Official Store, Pergear, Sennheiser, Shanling, Shenzhenaudio, Smabat, Snake Oil Sound, SpinFit, Tempotec, Tin Hifi, TRN Official Store, Unique Melody, Venture Electronics, Whizzer Official Store, Yaotiger Hifi Audio Store. Don’tkillusifweforgotyoujustsendusanotandwefixit. 

For the companies: you can check for your products/yourself in the search field on the right-hand side.

We also thank the private sources that supplied us with loaners.

And here we go…that’s what we enjoyed in 2021…

Alberto Pittaluga…Bologna, ITALY

I’ve come accross quite a few interesting pieces of gear in 2021, mixed / hidden amongst piles of shameful crap. Nothing new, is it ? I’ll try to make a succint list of the most significant stuff I auditioned here. Most of these devices are also now part of my operative audio gear.

IEMS

Dunu ZEN (discountinued, was $ 699,00) : beyond spectacular microdynamics, resolution, layering and technicalities in general. A masterpiece.

iBasso IT07 ($899) : the sole real “direct upgrade” to Ikko OH10 I encountered as of yet. Same presentation, twice the refinement, at more than four times the price.

Oriolus Isabellae ($ 599) : somewhat “more V-shaped” alternative to Zen, delivering very similar technical prowess.

Ikko OH1S ($143) : a potential new join into the our World of Excellence roster as a sub-200$ allrounder

Headphones

Final Sonorous-II  (€ 300) : arguably by far the best neutral-tuned closebacks in their price category, staging and imaging easily compete with many lower tier openback alternatives.

Sennheiser HD600 (€ 310) : not a novelty for anybody but me, I’m sure. Quite simply: I got my first HD600 pair in 2021 and that’s why I’m listing it here. I presume no one needs a description. Do you?

Earbuds

Rose Mojito ($259) : superbly neutral-tuned high end earbuds with strong bilateral extention, beyond spectacular mids and vivid, refined highs in a fully holographic stage, with plenty of resolution and dynamics.

K’s Earphone Bell-LBS (€ 59,25) : mid centric buds delivering superbly organic vocals – both male and female – and very good trebles

K’s Earphone K300 (€ 28,59) : unreal sub-bass extension for an earbud, they deliver a very nice V shaped presentation while drawing an incredibly sizeable 3D stage. Presentation remembers a bit Ikko OH10, but in earbud form.

DAC/AMPs

Ifi Micro iDSD Signature (€ 749) : top sub-$1K mobile dac-amp. Very high quality DAC reconstruction paired with superbly transparent amping stage with power to spare for the most demanding planars and power deflation options to optimise low impedance IEM biasing. Truly a full step ahead of the competitors’ pack.

DAPs

Cowon Plenue 2 MK-I (€ 835) : hopped on this recently when I found a impossible to turndown openbox deal. Starting from my direct experience proving that there’s pretty much no game between proprietary-OS DAPs vs commercial-OS (read Android) DAPs, the former being in by far better position to achieve superior output sound quality, Plenue 2 represents a great companion to my QP1R offering a different / alternative optimal pairing opportunity for a few of my preferred IEM drivers.

DAC/AMP Dongles

This year’s experience proved to me that exclusively higher-tier (and price) dongles are able to deliver sound qualities worth the comparison with battery-equipped alternatives. Simply put: pretty much nothing until an Apogee Groove ($200) is really worth the price difference compared to the super-cheap Apple Dongle ($9), and even on the Groove some caveats apply (power needs, amp stage competibility).  That said, I really had pick one device “in the midfield” I’d pick the :

Questyle M12 ($139,99): while still not worth an inclusion on our Wall of Excellence, yet M12 runs circles around pretty much all similar or lower priced competitors I assessed in terms of extension, note weight, clarity and technicalities.

Biodegraded…Vancouver, CANADA

Doesn’t have anything to report this year.

Durwood…Chicago, USA

Shozy Form 1.4 has still been my go to earphone due to it’s warm inviting nature, great technical abilities and it feels great in my ears.

7Hz Timeless is another good buy late in the year for me, it’s a little more sub-bass plus analytical counterpart to the Shozy that has nudged the BQEYZ Spring 2 out of the way. A more detailed review is coming.

I rediscovered the Senfer UES for a quick throw around set, was hoping the Senfer DT9 was a slight improvement, but alas the Senfer UES sticks around instead. Sony MH755 is also perfect for quick on the go usage where I don’t need the universal fit in-ears.

Tempotec impressed me enough to consider the Sonata E35 for when good phone DAP’s are finally dead. Other than that, dongles are not my thing, and I have issues with some of Sony’s GUI decisions on the NW-A55 mainly related to playlist creation and long text support.

Lastly, the Questyle CMA Twelve would be an awesome DAC/amp combo to have, but my needs are more mobile. Perhaps when life slows down, but there are other bucket list items such as the Burson Playmate 2, RebelAmp, the Ruebert Neve RNHP, or RME ADI-2 that look interesting as well. Maybe someone will loan me one in 2022?

Jürgen Kraus…Calgary, CANADA

Earphones have traditionally been our main trade and there’s not many that stuck with me this year. First and foremost, I was impressed by the immersive and engaging sound of the single DD Dunu Zen that further excel in microdynamics. They are still very popular within our team.

Moondrop finally got it right with their tuning in the smooth and very pleasant sounding Moondrop KATO single dynamic driver. This model is generally well received. The JVC HA-FDX1 are still my standard iems for equipment testing, and an honourable mention goes to the Unique Melody 3DT for the clean implementation of 3 (!) dynamic drivers.

Another iem that fascinated me is the Japanese Final E5000. On the market since 2018, and very source demanding, this iem can produce a bass texture beyond belief. I have become a bit of a Final fanboy, as their products are unpretentious and natural sounding…and they fit my ears very well. I also purchased the Final E1000, E3000, and A3000…which get a lot of usage. No surprise that our Wall of Excellence is decorated like a Christmas tree by quite a few of these Japanese earphones and headphones.

Expanding my horizon into other devices, the Sony NW-A55 is a user-friendly digital audio player with great sonic characteristics and signature-altering 3rd party firmware options. But, most of all, it updates its music library within a minute or two. For the ultimate portable enjoyment, I discovered the Questyle QP1R dap...sounds simply amazing with the Final E5000. Found the dap on Canuck Audio Mart.

Dongles, battery-less headphone DAC/amps that turn any cheap phone into a decent music player, were big in 2021. Around since 2016, the market caught on to these devices. But out of the mass of dongles tested, the 2019 AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt was the most musical to my ears. I also like the AudioQuest DragonFly Red and the EarMen Eagle (replacing the EarMen Sparrow which I sent to Biodegraded). For earphone testing (and bigger cans), I still use the excellent Earstudio HUD100.

For my full-sized headphone needs with my notebook, I discovered the powerful Apogee Groove, a current-hungry dongle DAC/amp that has been around since 2015. I am even portable around the house. As to headphones themselves, I am still happy with the Sennheiser HD 600 and HD 25, but also with the Koss Porta Pro.

For my desktop setup, I identified the EarMen Tradutto as being a fantastic DAC in combination with the Burson Funk amp. Currently testing the Tradutto with my big stereo system.

In summary, I learnt a lot in 2021…

My Take Home this Year

• The latest is barely the greatest…many old brooms get better into the corners
• Influencers are not always right (…to say it nicely)
• Measurements are overrated
• Timbre (degree of naturalness of sound) is underrated
• Source is super important and also underrated
• Group pressure through hype may become a sobering experience
• That groomed YouTube stuff is boring

Kazi Mahbub Mutakabbir…Munich, GERMANY

This year was very educational for me when it came to audiophilia. I got the chance to try out truly summit-fi setups and realized how good a system can sound. This also resulted in a sense of yearning where you keep comparing the gears you own with the ones you cannot own, at least not yet. Nonetheless, without further ado.

Headphones: The one headphone that has stuck with me throughout the year is the Hifiman Susvara. They won’t flatter anyone with the build quality but when paired with the right amp they sound astonishing. One of the most natural sounding headphones out there with exceptional timbre. A must listen.

Honorable mention goes to the Final D8000. Supreme bass that’s pretty much unmatched. On the budget side, I really liked the Final Sonorous-III. They are underrated and under-appreciated.

IEMs: When it comes to in-ear monitors, I have a hard time picking any single one of them as all of them fall short in one area or another. Nonetheless, the one IEM I’ve used the most throughout the year is the Dunu Zen. There is something truly addicting about their sound that makes me come back to them time and again.

However, the Zen is not the best IEM that I have heard throughout the year. That would probably be the Sony IER-Z1R or the 64Audio U12t. In the relatively budget realm, the 7Hz Timeless took me by surprise with their planar speed and excellent bass slam.

Source: Instead of going with separate sections for amps, DACs and such, I will just consolidate them into one.

Best desktop amp I’ve tried: Accuphase E380. One of those rare speaker amps that sound great with headphones.

Best portable amp I’ve tried: Cayin C9. It is the only review loaner in the past year that I have wanted to buy with my own money. I probably will, soon, budget permitting.

Best DAP: Lotoo PAW 6000, even though it can’t power difficult loads.

Best dongle: L&P W2. The only dongle that I found to be good enough to replace some DAPs.

Best DAC: Holo May L2. The price is extremely high but so is the sound quality. Exceptionally natural and neutral tuning. Another must listen.

And that’s a wrap. Have a great Christmas, and see you on the other side!

KopiOkaya…SINGAPORE

Too many lists…I focus on eartips…

Best EARTIPS of 2021

Most versatile eartips: SpinFit CP-100+
Best budget eartips: Audiosense S400
Best eartips for bass: FAudio “Instrument” Premium Silicone Earphone Tips
Best eartips for vocal: Azla SednaEarFit Crystal (Standard)
Best eartips for treble: BGVP S01
Best eartips for soundstage: Whizzer Easytips SS20
Most comfortable eartips: EarrBond New Hybrid Design

Loomis Johnson…Chicago, USA

Gear of the Year (and other Favorite Things)

SMSL SU-9 DAC/Preamp—one of those pieces that makes you seriously question why anyone would spend more. A seriously good DAC which is even better as digital preamp.

Hidisz S3 Pro DAC/Dongle—lacks the juice to power challenging loads, but has an uncanny knack for enlivening and improving more efficient phones. Very refined, with impeccable bass control.

Cambridge Melomania TWS—ancient by TWS standards, and its rivals have more features and tech, but this may still be the best-sounding TWS you can buy.

Shozy Rouge IEM—like a really hot girl you get smitten by the beauty before you even delve into the substance. Properly driven, however, these sound just as good as they look, with estimable staging and clarity.

The Beatles, “Get Back” Documentary—as probably the only person on earth who hasn’t seen Lord of the Rings I was gobsmacked by how brilliant this film looked and sounded. The real surprise for me, however, was how natural  a musician John was—unburdened by technique, but soulful and  exploratory.  Poor George invokes your pity—a good writer forced to compete with two great ones– while Ringo wins the award for Best Attitude.

Bob Dylan, “Desolation Row”—I always found the lyrics impenetrable and a bit sophomoric, but the Spanish-influenced lead guitar part is incredible, with scarcely a phrase repeated throughout the full 11 minutes. I’d always assumed it was Mike Bloomfield, but it’s actually the harmonica virtuoso Charlie McCoy, who also plays the trumpet part of “Rainy Day Women”.

Reds, Pinks and Purples, “Uncommon Weather” In hope of finding something genuinely fresh I dutifully listened to the most-touted 2021 releases before fixating on this one, which (predictably) sounds exactly like 80s Flying Nun and Sarah bands.

And This Was The Previous Year:

The post Gear Of The Year 2021 – Our Personal Favourites appeared first on Audio Reviews.

Cons — Voices rather lean (easily fixable).

Executive Summary

The ddHifi Janus2 (model 2020B) is a moderately warm and technically very capable single DD earphone with a bright tilt in the midrange. It is sonically completely different from the Janus1 (2020A).

Introduction

In the previous article we had a look at ddHifi’s first earphone, the Janus (2020A or Janus1). This is my analysis of the Janus2 (2020B) which replaces it. As it appears, some early adopters of the 2020A may have decried a lack of sub-bass extension so that ddHifi modelled their follow-up according to some frequency response model curve (I speculate).

Janus1 sound(ed) great to me as the tuning is matching the driver. Other examples of great-sounding iems with “unusual” frequency responses are the Dunu Zen, the Final Audio E3000/E5000, and Meze RAI Solo, to name just a few. There are, on the other hand, iems that sound meh because they were squeezed into a model curve. The SeeAudio Yume comes to mind.

What this tells us is that quantity (“frequency responses”) does not always translate to quality (“sound”). In fact, it never really does, but some frequency responses may ring alarm bells.

One thing up front, the newly designed Janus2 has sonically little in common with the Janus1: it is bassier, brighter, and faster. Whether this means is it more balanced than the Janus1, we will work out as follows.

Optically, not much has changed, there is more steel (and less “transparency”) in the earpieces, but there is a new, “faster” driver with high-speed tweeter inside.

Specifications

Physical Things and Usability

In the box are the two earpieces, the C80A PU leather storage case ($25) with magnetic lock, the BC110A silver plated ofc cable with MMCX connectors ($46) and the C10A magnetic cable clip ($8), 2 sets of silicone eartips (red-stemmed “bass type” bulbous narrow-bores, and black-stemmed “treble type” short wide-bores), 10 MMCX hole dust covers, and the usual paperwork. As you see, you can purchase some of the included accessories individually, and they add up to almost $80.

The earpieces preserve the Janus1′ innovative shape and still feature the dual connectors (2 pin, 0.78 mm and MMCX).

The cable’s wires are a combination of OFC (oxygen-free copper, for grounding) and silver-plated OFC (for data transmission) that comes with MMCX connectors and a 3.5 mm plug. The MMCX connection is the tighest fitting I have experienced. Cable’s outer material is medium hard PVC, which gives the cable just the right elasticity and keeps it free from microphonics.

The cable is devoid of (constricting) earhooks so that the earpieces can be worn over and under ear. In summary, an excellent one.

The case is still stain and fading resistant, lined with microfibre, and with a magnetic lock, but the material is now PU leather, which is smoother than the Janus1’s cowhide leather (but lacks that natural smell).

The reversible magnetic cable clips is strong enough to hold the Janus2 on the fridge door (a first step to our Wall of Excellence?) and on my jacket.

And like the Janus1, the Janus2 are very comfortable whilst isolation is soso. The included wide-bores worked again best for me. With its higher sensitivity, the Janus2 is easier to drive than the Janus1.

As with the Janus1, the whole assembly, that is earpieces and cable, is extremely light and small, and fit in the smallest shirt pocket.

Tonality and Technicalities

Equipment used: MacBook Air, iPhone SE (1st gen.); AudioQuest Dragonfly Red/Earstudio HUD100 w. JitterBug FMJ, AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt, EarMen Eagle; Astell & Kern PEE51; both sets of stock tips (red-stemmed “bass type” bulbous narrow-bore, and black-stemmed “treble type” short wide-bores); 200 hours of break in.

ddHifi have tuned the new 10 mm high-speed driver of the Janus2 completely differently compared to the original Janus1 by adding bass and upper midrange (for balance) but the treble (rolloff) remains approximately the same.

In the big picture, this results in a well-tempered DD sound, big staging, lushious spatial cues, good dynamics and excellent note definition, but a leaner midrange (compared to the Janus1) with grain at higher volumes and the occasional sibilance. In my testing, the Janus2 sounded best with a warm, organic source such as the two DragonFlys or the slightly cooler EarMen Eagle.

Sub-bass extension is (now) adequate, you get a good rumble at the low end, but it is still not record breaking deeply rooted. Mid bass is punchy and dynamic with a satisfying kick. There is good speed and texturing…it is on the faster side of the dynamic drivers I have tested. And yes, there are more than enough bass and impact, way more than in the Janus1.

Male and female are natural and well sculptured, with very good note definition and articulation, but they are also lean and frequently sharp, which can get fatiguing. A bit more body would have done them well. Read on…

That boosted upper midrange may help with the perceived technicalities and provide for a clean and transparent midrange, but it makes the lower midrange thin and breathy. And yes, the midrange is shouty at higher volumes and high violin notes can be grainy, but it is well resolving and clean at lower volumes. But…

As always with peaky iems, I put a strip of micropore tape over the nozzles (80-90% of the screens covered), which calms the upper midrange down (results vary between earphones). In this case, it removes most of the shoutiness and adds body to the vocals – and brings the bass out.

After this reversible fix, voices are not aggressive anymore and the richness of the vocals are now acceptable. Problem solved. ddHifi should have not boosted the 4-6 kHz that much, and they should have implemented the pinna gain between 1 and 2 kHz (instead of 3 kHz).

Note definition is very good across the midrange right into the well-resolving lower treble: high piano notes are well defined with cymbals, although somewhat back, are crisp. The recession in the lower midrange from 6 kHz progresses right into the upper midrange above 10 kHz which moves the vocals ahead of the high notes.

Some of the very high notes are tizzy, probably related to the 15 kHz spike, which definitely adds fake resolution, air, and sparkle to the midrange. The lower treble is largely similar to the Janus1’s, that is sweet and polite – and therefore pleasant on the ear.

Soundstage is rather wide with decent depth and height. Imagining, spatial cues, and 3D transparency are very good and so is separation. All better than in Janus1. The driver speed makes this possible and is also responsible for the excellent dynamics and attack. There is no smearing going on.

Timbre is organic with that bit of brightness added. Get yourself some micropore tape and make it darker…

Janus2 Compared

The $199 IKKO Gems OH1S 1 DD +1 BA has a much lesser bass and treble extension and is therefore less V-shaped. OH1S’s vocals are more forward and richer, but also with a tendency toward brightness.

The original Janus1 lacks the low-end extension, and vocals sound thicker owing to the more contained upper midrange. To me the Janus1 has a tad too little upper midrange and the Janus2 has too much. This also results in a narrower stage in the Janus1. The midrange of the Janus1 is somewhat reminiscent of the Sennheiser IE 500 PRO. It can also not compete with Janus2 in terms of dynamics.

The frequency responses of the Janus2 and the very well resolving NF NM2+ look similar, but the latter is much hotter in my perception – and way more analytical. Too hot to handle for me.

Concluding Remarks

ddHifi have produced a very good sophomore iem, but with a caveat: 2 steps forward and 1 step back. They implemented a faster dynamic driver and tuned it according a model curve as it seems. Out came a more dynamic, better resolving, better imaging, better staging iem (than Janus1 2020A).

However, the Janus2 falls short in the vocals department by an overdone upper midrange boost. Luckily, this can be fixed by very simple means. If ddHifi had tuned it slightly better, the Janus2 could be considered being fantastic.

If you own the Janus1, should you…? Erm…I don’t know but the Janus2 is a completely different beast.

The Janus2 is as innovative and classy as the rest of ddHifi’s offerings, it truly is a good sounding work of art and deserves a design award.

Until next time…keep on listening!

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Disclaimer

The Janus2 was provided by ddHifi for my analysis. Thank you very much.

Get the ddHifi from the DD Official Store

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You find an INDEX of our most relevant technical articles HERE.

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The post ddHiFi Janus2 (E2020B) Review – Second Coming appeared first on Audio Reviews.

Cons — Not bassy enough for some; some upper midrange glare; not cheap.

Executive Summary

The Ikko Gems OH1S are slightly warm, organic sounding 1+1 earphones with good midrange resolution and note definition that, in the opinion of some, deserve a bit more slam and sub-bass extension.

Introduction

First was the $139 IKKO OH1, which I analyzed. It had premium build, a healthy bass, but also an upper midrange glare that made me give it away to a Head-Fier over a coffee.

Next came the $199 OH10 with a V-shaped signature so well done that it pushed the model onto some best-of lists, including our own Wall of Excellence.

And now there is the $199 IKKO Gems OH1S, which according to some forums, early adopters are selling off in panic over a lack of bass.

Hey, wait before you make yourself unhappy – and read the whole article. The IKKO OH1S is a keeper. And that despite the different tunings of these three models which feature a 1+1 configuration, that is 1 dynamic driver and 1 balanced armature driver. The first two had large shells and the IKKO Gems OH1S has very small ones. Here you have your first huge bonus points (unless you fancy big plugs in your ears).

Specifications

Physical Things and Usability

In the box are the earpieces, the cable, a set of IKKO I-Planet foam tips, a set of oval silicone tips, a storage wallet, an IKKO pin, and the paperwork.

The IKKO Gems OH1S shells are premium built with mostly aluminum alloy and some resin, and they feature one of the companyʼs trademarks: oval nozzles, which help forming any eartip into the cross-sectional shape of your ear canals.

The shells are rather small and light compared to the original OH1, look and feel great, sit firmly in my ears and are very comfortable. The small size of the earpieces is certainly a huge asset. Isolation is not the greatest for me.

I typically do not write much about cables, but the included one is great for me: spindly, wiry, light. Coated with hard pvc, it has the right stiffness for me and is not rubbery at all. Great in the days where cables are more and more becoming ropes pulling our ears down. Less is more, also in this case.

Tonality and Technicalities

Equipment used: iPhone SE (first gen.), MacBook Air; ifi Audio nano iDSD Black Label with IEMatch, Hidizs S9 Pro, AudioQuest Dragonfly Red/Earstudio HUD100 w. JitterBug FMJ, AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt, Astell & Kern PEE51; grey stock tips, IKKO I-Planet foam tips. 75 hours of break-in.

Co-blogger Alberto already gave you his thorough account of the IKKO Gems OH1S, and I principally agree with him. In contrast, the internet was full of criticism such as “no bass”, “narrow stage”, “thin vocals”, “peaky”…people who had purchased the OH1S based on their experience with the V-shaped OH10 put their set up for sale.

My rec: buy one off them for cheap.

First, the IKKO Gems OH1S is NOT the OH10, both are tuned completely differently, and one is not meant to replace the other. In fact, it is worth having both. The OH1S is the evolution of the larger and really peaky OH1. There is obviously confusion in the naming convention and IKKO could have avoided this by attributing easily distinguishable names to their different series.

To my ears, the IKKO Gems OH1S is a slightly off neutral, marginally warm sounding iem with a slightly bright tilt. As you can see in the graph, that pinna gain is <10 dB (“screamers” typically have 13-15 dB), and the bass looks very linear with a bottom roll-off…but most of that rolloff is an artifact of my coupler and it appears at every one of my measurements. It is just that the low end is not exaggerated, unlike in most other iems.

And yes, there is sub-bass extension, it is not the world’s biggest but it is there and enough (and maximized with the foams). We are used to strong kicks that are pleasing but not natural. The IKKO offer a good punch, too. Bass is not the fastest or tightest, but it is clean. Classic dynamic driver.

As to midrange, it is not thin but lean, and in a positive way. Think of floorstanders and their lack of “fatness”. Vocals are lean and somewhat dry – but they are not pushed back as in a V-shape. They are forward and intimate, which gives you a listening sensation that is rather rare.

Treble is a mixed bag. Lower treble is held back a bit so that cymbals, although being crisp, sit behind in the 7 kHz region. That narrow peak at the transition lower/upper treble compensates for that but can be a bit strident for some; it comes out, for example, in very high violin notes. But that also adds good air.

You shuffle all of the above around when using the included I-Planet foam tips. These little cannonballs (look like such) fill my ears completely. In my perception, they increase bass and move the vocals back, which results in increased depth and deeper staging.

Apropos staging, I cannot confirm the reported lack of width. It is perfectly average to my ears. Spatial cues is great, particularly with the foams. Resolution and separation are also average for this class. Stage can become crowded with many musicians or when much is going on. Another big strength of the OH1S are the crisp attack.

Timbre wise, the IKKO Gems OH1S is sonically closer to a single DD than to a BA multi. It offers a rather organic sound, which is one of its biggest traits.

So, why would you not like the IKKO Gems OH1S? If you need a (really) strong bass and if you cannot handle the bit of midrange glare resulting from the relatively flat low end.

IKKO Gems OH1s and OH1 Compared

You can guess the differences between the original OH1 and the OH1S when looking at the graphs. The original had a more boosted low and but also a higher midrange including that grainy upper part. The OH1 did not sound bassier as the human ear hears the whole frequency spectrum in context. But it was strident in the upper midrange to my ear. The OH1S has a more civilized upper midrange may still have some occasional glare triggered by the neutral low end.

For those who want to see a comparison between the OH1S and OH10…nope that’s pointless as both are different iems. The OH10 are V-shaped in sound, and the earpieces are huge and heavy. Complementary designs in all aspects.

Concluding Remarks

Admittedly, I was lukewarm about the original OH1over its hot upper midrange. And I was initially sceptical about the IKKO Gems OH1S because of that flat bass tuning. But, bass is plenty imo, balance is there, only that sub-bass rumble may not be enough for some. Nevertheless, if you are looking for a bass bomb, this iem is not for you.

My ears really got used to that signature very fast and started enjoying it. And what adds to the pleasure is the small size of the shells which provide comfort, as well as that minimalistic, attractive cable. So yeah, no reason to sell yours.

Until next time…keep on listening!

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All Our >250 Earphone and Earbud Reviews (with Links)

Disclaimer

The Ikko Gems OH1S were provided by Ikko for my review and I thank them for that.

Get the Ikko Gems OH1s from ikkoaudio.com

Our generic standard disclaimer.

You find an INDEX of our most relevant technical articles HERE.

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The post IKKO Gems OH1S Review (2) – SlimFit Finesse appeared first on Audio Reviews.

This new OH1S model is presented as an evolution of its previous siblings in terms of technology, and carrying a quite different intended tuning compared to OH10. Formally positioned at $199,00 list price, same as OH10, it benefits of an introductory price of $139,00 (more on this later) which makes it very appealing for a quick grab. And you can bet it’s currently being hyped around. Which is more then enough to move my critical curiosity and spend quite some time with it to see if I agree with the hype (which, you know, is quite seldom the case ) .

At-a-glance Card

Full Device Card

Test setup

Sources: Apogee Groove + Burson FUN + IEMatch / Apogee Groove + iBasso T3 / Sony NW-A55 mrWalkman – JVC SpiralDot and Ikko i-Planet foam tips – Linsoul LSC08 cable – lossless 16-24/44.1-192 FLAC tracks.

Signature analysis

Technicalities

Physicals

Specifications (declared)

Some important notes and caveats

Burn in

For my personal experience, burn-in is way more rarely required than what I read around on a daily basis. That said, this is one of those times when it is compulsory. When I first put OH1S into my ears I appreciated them nowhere near how I appreciated them after a) a couple of days of free burn-in and b) optimising the fit aspect (see below).

So if you do get them, let them play a bit on their own.

Fit

Fit is probably “the” critical point with OH1S.

Not in the sense of difficulty. Wearing them is not problematic nor uncomfortable at all per se – the other way around, actually! – but it just takes a brief audition to realise sound, with particular regards to highmids and presence trebles, do change depending on how you position the housings into your external ear.

Given a bit of acquired experience with other equivalently capricious IEMs it took me relatively short to realise I better adopted a pair of shortstemmed, wide nozzle tips (e.g. JVC Spiraldots) and manage to push the drivers as much as possible into my canal: with that done, trebles get “combed”, less hot, the presentation gets less aggressive, definitely more elegant indeed. Thanks to OH1S design the housings are small enough that gently pushing them towards the inside of the concha does not result in an uncomfortable fit. At least for my ears!…

A solid alternative to obtain a very pleasant sound result, however, is using Ikko’s i-Planet foam tips, those bundled inside the box.

I am not a foam lover at all, and that’s possibly the reason why I was so surprised on how well these foams apply to these drivers: trebles are “combed” like it happens with short-stem silicons and deep push, bass gets a bit less edgy, but both extremes do not lose detail in the process. Furthermore, i-Planet foams significantly improve in passive isolation !

Cable

OH1S comes bundle with a very nice-quality “high-purity single crystal copper silver plated magnetic core” cable. Yeah almost a tongue twister I know, still, a good cable product, really. Build quality and sound transmission are very good, and way above what in the average you can find bundled with IEMs on this price range.

…Too bad that it does not pair ideally with OH1S.

The stock cable is what I would call a “bright” cable, i.e. a cable facilitating high mids and treble crystalline notes – which is the opposite I would personally choose as a good pair for the OH1S.

As a matter of fact, pairing OH1S with a (equivalently high quality) full-copper cable helps adding a bit of note weight and furtherly helps “combing” treble thinner peaks a little bit. I’m using a Linsoul LSC08 (2*44core 6N OCC single-crystal copper), which is by the way the same I’ve adopted on the OH10 – of course a different sample, with 2p connectors in that case. A less expensive but still very good alternative is the NiceHCK 16 core High Purity Copper cable.

One key comparison : Final A3000

Final A3000 ($130) is the single IEM that we deemed deserving to be stuck onto our Wall of Excellence in the $80-$200 bracket, and – to my experience – the champ of bright-neutral tonality drivers up until switching over to Oxygen, for twice its price tag. So I find it quite natural to bench the OH1S vs the A3000 and see hear how they fare.

Sub-bass is much more present on A3000, not tamed let alone rolled off. Mid-bass is also definitely more elevated on A3000, while keeping equivalent speed and definition compared to OH1S.

Mid tones and especially highmids are significantly more recessed on A3000, which brings them to appear “behind” the midbass – exactly the opposite of what happens on OH1S. Mid frequencies with particular regards to vocals have a leaner note weight on A3000 but the overall timbre is less dry on A3000 nonetheless, and the tonality is warmer in comparison to OH1S.

Trebles are a tad airier on OH1S but note definition is more organic on A3000, whereby OH1S sometimes comes accoss a bit thin on some details.

On soundstage and imaging there’s no game: A3000 is holographic and extremely precise. Layering and separation are I would say on par though.

A3000 are way more capricious to bias due to their much lower sensitivity, and higher altogether amping quality demand. On the other hand A3000 are way less tip / fit dependent – they deliver their best result with much lesser effort on that front.

Conclusions

At the bottomline I would say that OH1S – at its current introductory smart price – is 100% a fair contender onto the $100-$150 market bracket. I would surely recommend OH1S for vocal tracks, for example. And in general to get a different flavour of a very well tuned, coherent, affordable driver for jazz and other acoustic / unplugged musical genres.

On the flip side I do humbly suggest Ikko to convert its current discounted price into the regular list price. Raising it to $199 or thereabouts would in fact bring OH1S into direct or close to direct competition with higher tier alternatives, and that I’m afraid would be a pity.

This sample of Ikko OH1S has been provided by the manufacturer free of charge for this review.

You can buy them if you like from their own website, at this link. Importantly enough: if you decide to buy these “soon”, you might still benefit from the introductory special discount by making use of the “IKKOOH1S” discount code.

Disclaimer

I am not, nor Audioreviews is, commercially affiliated with Ikko, and I/we are not getting commission for any sales happening from the link above, or exploiting the mentioned discount code.

Our generic standard disclaimer.

The post Ikko Gems OH1S Review (1) – A Contender appeared first on Audio Reviews.

All Our Earphone-related Articles: here

ALL OUR REVIEWS (headphones, earphones, dacs/amps, daps, bluetooth, clean power & USB, microphones, cables/adapters, eartips, earpads, noise insulation): here

Models labelled with “*” are on our Wall of Excellence.

May additions: Gravastar Sirius Pro TWS, BQEYZ Autumn (2), 7Hz Timeless (3), Drop Grell TWS1X, Tripowin Leá, Mifo S TWS, Moondrop CHU (1), IKKO OH2.

April additions: Astrotec Vesna (1), RHA CL2, BQEYZ Autumn (1), KZ x CRN, 2*Hidizs MM2, KBEAR Aurora (3).

March additions: Whizzer Kylin HE03D, IKKO OH10, Tripowin X HBB Olina, LETSHUOER EJ07M, KBEAR Aurora (2), Whizzer BS1, NiceHCK EB2S, NiceHCK DB1, Tanchjim OLA.

Reviews in Alphabetical Order:

1. 7Hz Timeless (1) (Alberto Pittaluga)
2. 7Hz Timeless (2) (Durwood)
3. 7Hz Timeless (3) (Loomis Johnson)
4. Acoustic Effect TRY-01 (Baskingshark)
5. Akoustyx R-220 (Jürgen Kraus)
6. AME Custom Argent Hybrid Electrostatic (Jürgen Kraus)
7. Anew X-One (Jürgen Kraus)
8. Anker Soundcore Liberty Pro 2 (Loomis Johnson)
9. Astrotec Vesna (Jürgen Kraus)
10. Audbos/Tenzh P4 Pro (Loomis Johnson)
11. Audiosense DT200 (1) (Baskingshark)
12. Audiosense DT200 (2) (KopiOkaya)
13. Aune Jasper (1) (Loomis Johnson)
14. Aune Jasper (2) (Jürgen Kraus)
15. BCD X10 (Loomis Johnson)
16. Beats Powerbeats Pro TWS (Loomis Johnson)
17. Blon A8 Prometheus (1) (Loomis Johnson)
18. Blon A8 Prometheus (2) (Durwood)
19. Blon Bl-01 (1) (Baskingshark)
20. Blon BL-01 (2) (Alberto Pittaluga)
21. Blon BL-03* (1) (Jürgen Kraus)
22. Blon BL-03* (2) (Loomis Johnson)
23. Blon BL-05 (1) (Baskingshark)
24. BLON BL-05 (2) (Loomis Johnson)
25. Blon BL-05s (1) (Jürgen Kraus)
26. Blon BL-05s (2) (Kazi Mahbub Mutakabbir)
27. Blon BL-05s (3) (Baskingshark)
28. Blon BL-Max (Kazi Muhbab Mutakabbir)
29. Blon Mini (Baskingshark)
30. Brainwavz Delta (Jürgen Kraus)
31. Brainwavz Koel (Jürgen Kraus, Biodegraded)
32. BQEYZ Autumn (1) (Jürgen Kraus)
33. BQEYZ Autumn (2) (Kazi Muhbab Mutakabbir)
34. BQEYZ KC2 (Jürgen Kraus)
35. BQEYZ Spring 1 (1) (Durwood)
36. BQEYZ Spring 1 (2) (Loomis Johnson)
37. BQEYZ Spring 1 (3) (Jürgen Kraus)
38. BQEYZ Spring 2 (1) (Durwood)
39. BQEYZ Spring 2 (2) (Loomis Johnson)
40. BQEYZ Summer (1) (Jürgen Kraus)
41. BQEYZ Summer (2) (Alberto Pittaluga)
42. Cambridge Audio Melomania 1 (Loomis Johnson)
43. Cambridge Audio SE1 (Loomis Johnson)
44. Campfire Audio Andromeda 2020 (Alberto Pittaluga)
45. Campfire Audio Honeydew (Kazi Muhbab Mutakabbir)
46. Campfire Audio Satsuma (Kazi Muhbab Mutakabbir)
47. Cat Ear Mia (1) (Loomis Johnson)
48. Cat Ear Mia (2) (Durwood)
49. Cat Ear Mia (3) (Kazi Mahbub Mutakabbir)
50. Cayin Fantasy (Jürgen Kraus)
51. CCA C10 (Slater)
52. CCA C10 (Loomis Johnson)
53. CCA C10 Pro (1) (Durwood)
54. CCA C10 Pro (2) (Baskinghark)
55. CCA CA16 (1) (Durwood)
56. CCA CA16 (2) (Loomis Johnson)
57. CCA CKX (Durwood)
58. CCA CX4 Wireless (Loomis Johnson)
59. CCZ Plume (Baskingshark)
60. Cozoy Hera C103 (Jürgen Kraus)
61. CVJ CS8 (Baskingshark)
62. ddHiFi Janus1 (E2020A) (Jürgen Kraus)
63. ddHiFi Janus2 (E2020B) (Jürgen Kraus)
64. Drop Grell TWS1X (Darin Hawbaker)
65. Drop + JVC HA-FDX1* (1) (Jürgen Kraus)
66. Drop + JVC HA FDX1* (2) (Loomis Johnson)
67. Dunu DM-380 (Jürgen Kraus)
68. Dunu DM-480 (Baskingshark)
69. Dunu Falcon Pro (Alberto Pittaluga)
70. Dunu Luna (1) (Kazi Mahbub Mutakabbir)
71. Dunu Luna (2) (Baskinghark)
72. Dunu Studio SA6* (Kazi Mahbub Mutakabbir)
73. Dunu Zen* (1) (Kazi Mahbub Mutakabbir)
74. Dunu Zen* (2) (Jürgen Kraus)
75. DZAT DR-25 (Jürgen Kraus)
76. Earstudio HE100 (Jürgen Kraus)
77. Earsonics ONYX (Kazi Mahbub Mutakabbir)
78. Einsear T2 (Loomis Johnson)
79. Elevoc Clear (Loomis Johnson)
80. Etymotic E2XR (Loomis Johnson)
81. EZAudio D4 (Jürgen Kraus)
82. FAAEAL Datura Pro (Baskingshark)
83. FIIL CC2 (Kazi Mahbub Mutakabbir)
84. FIIL T1XS TWS (Loomis Johnson)
85. FiiO FA1 (Loomis Johnson)
86. FiiO FD1 (Jürgen Kraus)
87. FiiO FH1s (Jürgen Kraus)
88. Final Audio A3000* (Alberto Pittaluga)
89. Final Audio E3000* (Baskingshark)
90. Final Audio E-Series Roundup (Kazi Mahbub Mutakabbir)
91. Geek Wold GK10 (1) (Baskingshark)
92. Geek Wold GK10 (2) (Loomis Johnson)
93. Gravastar Sirius Pro TWS (Alberto Pittaluga)
94. Hidizs MM2 (1) (Jürgen Kraus)
95. Hidizs MM2 (2) (Kazi Mahbub Mutakabbir)
96. Hidizs MS1 Rainbow (1) (Durwood)
97. Hidizs MS1 Rainbow (2) (Loomis Johnson)
98. Hifi Walker A1 (Jürgen Kraus, Biodegraded)
99. Hill Audio Altair • RA (Jürgen Kraus)
100. Hill Audio S8 (Jürgen Kraus)
101. Hisenior B5 (Loomis Johnson)
102. HZ Sound Heart Mirror (1) (Baskingshark)
103. HZ Sound Heart Mirror (2) (KopiOkaya)
104. iBasso IT00 (Baskingshark)
105. iBasso IT00/Tin Hifi T2 Plus/Moondrop Starfield comparison (Durwood)
106. iBasso IT04 (Alberto Pittaluga)
107. iBasso IT07 (Alberto Pittaluga)
108. Ikko OH1 (Jürgen Kraus)
109. Ikko OH1S (1) (Alberto Pittaluga)
110. Ikko OH1S (2) (Jürgen Kraus)
111. Ikko OH10* (1) (Alberto Pittaluga)
112. Ikko OH10* (2) Jürgen Kraus
113. IKKO OH2 (Jürgen Kraus)
114. Intime Sora 2 (Alberto Pittaluga)
115. ISN Audio Rambo (Jürgen Kraus)
116. KBEAR Aurora (1) (Baskingshark)
117. KBEAR Aurora (2) (Durwood)
118. KBEAR Aurora (3) (Loomis Johnson)
119. KBEAR Believe (1) (Jürgen Kraus)
120. KBEAR Believe (2) (Baskingshark)
121. KBEAR Believe (3) (Kazi Mahbub Mutakabbir)
122. KBEAR Believe (4) (Loomis Johnson)
123. KBEAR Diamond in Japanese (Jürgen Kraus)
124. KBEAR Diamond (1) (Jürgen Kraus)
125. KBEAR Diamond (2) (Loomis Johnson)
126. KBEAR Diamond (3) (Christophe Branchereau)
127. KBEAR Diamond modding (Biodegraded)
128. KBEAR hi7 (Jürgen Kraus)
129. KBEAR KB04 (1) (Loomis Johnson)
130. KBEAR KB04 (2) (Baskingshark)
131. KBEAR KB04 (3) (Jürgen Kraus)
132. KBEAR KS1 (Baskingshark)
133. KBEAR KS2 (1) Jürgen Kraus)
134. KBEAR KS2 (2) (Baskingshark)
135. KBEAR KS2 (3 (Loomis Johnson)
136. KBEAR Neon (1) (Baskingshark)
137. KBEAR Neon (2) (Kazi Muhbab Mutakabbir)
138. KBEAR Lark (Jürgen Kraus)
139. KBEAR Robin (Baskingshark)
140. KBEAR TRI I3 Pro (Jürgen Kraus)
141. KBEAR TRI Starsea (1) (Kopiokaya)
142. KBEAR TRI Starsea (2) (Baskingshark)
143. Kinboofi MK4 (Jürgen Kraus, Biodegraded)
144. Kinera BD005 Pro (Baskingshark)
145. Klipsch T5 II TWS Sport (Loomis Johnson)
146. Knowledge Zenith ASF (Kazi Mahbub Mutakabbir)
147. Knowledge Zenith ASX (1) (Jürgen Kraus)
148. Knowledge Zenith ASX (2) (Loomis Johnson)
149. Knowledge Zenith ED16 (1) (Jürgen Kraus)
150. Knowledge Zenith ED16 (2) (Loomis Johnson)
151. Knowledge Zenith EDX (Jürgen Kraus)
152. Knowledge Zenith ZEX (1) (Kazi Mahbub Mutakabbir)
153. Knowledge Zenith ZEX (2) (Durwood)
154. Knowledge Zenith ZEX (3) (Alberto Pittaluga)
155. Knowledge Zenith ZSN (Loomis Johnson)
156. Knowledge Zenith ZSN Pro (Slater)
157. Knowledge Zenith ZSN Pro X (Jürgen Kraus)
158. Knowledge Zenith ZS4 (Loomis Johnson)
159. Knowledge Zenith ZS7 (Loomis Johnson)
160. Knowledge Zenith ZS10 (Jürgen Kraus, Biodegraded)
161. Knowledge Zenith ZS10 Pro (Loomis Johnson)
162. Knowledge Zenith ZSX Terminator (Loomis Johnson)
163. K’s Earphone Bell-LBs (Alberto Pittaluga)
164. K’s Earphone K300 (Alberto Pittaluga)
165. LETSHUOER EJ07M (Jürgen Kraus)
166. LETSHUOER S12 vs. 7Hz Timeless (Jürgen Kraus)
167. Lker i8 (Jürgen Kraus)
168. Lypertek Tevi L3 Powerplay (Loomis Johnson)
169. LZ A2 (Jürgen Kraus)
170. LZ A7 (Baskinghark)
171. MEE Audio Pinnacle P2 (Loomis Johnson)
172. Meze 12 Classics V2 (Kazi Mahbub Mutakabbir)
173. Meze RAI Penta (Kazi Mahbbub Mutakabbir)
174. Meze RAI Solo (Jürgen Kraus)
175. Mifo S TWS (Loomis Johnson
176. Moondrop Aria (1) Jürgen Kraus)
177. Moondrop Aria (2) Kazi Muhbab Mutakabbir)
178. Moondrop x Crinacle Blessing2:Dusk (1) Jürgen Kraus)
179. Moondrop x Crinacle Blessing2:Dusk (2) Biodegraded
180. Moondrop CHU (Kazi Mahbub Mutakabbir)
181. Moondrop Crescent (Jürgen Kraus)
182. Moondrop Illumination (Jürgen Kraus)
183. Moondrop Kanas Pro (1) Biodegraded
184. Moondrop Kanas Pro (2) (Jürgen Kraus)
185. Moondrop Kanas Pro (3) Loomis Johnson
186. Moondrop KATO (Jürgen Kraus)
187. Moondrop Quarks (Kazi Mahbub Mutakabbir)
188. Moondrop Spaceship (Jürgen Kraus)
189. Moondrop SSP (Jürgen Kraus)
190. Moondrop SSR (1) Jürgen Kraus
191. Moondrop SSR (2) (Baskingshark)
192. Moondrop Starfield (1) (Jürgen Kraus)
193. Moondrop Starfield (2) Loomis Johnson
194. Naenka LITE Pro TWS (Loomis Johnson)
195. NF Audio NM (Kazi Mahbub Mutakabbir)
196. NF Audio NM2+ (1) (Jürgen Kraus)
197. NF Audio NM2+ (2) Loomis Johnson
198. NiceHCK Bro (Jürgen Kraus)
199. NiceHCK DB1 (Jürgen Kraus)
200. NiceHCK DB3 (Jürgen Kraus)
201. NiceHCK DT600 (Jürgen Kraus)
202. NiceHCK EB2 (Jürgen Kraus)
203. NiceHCK EB2S (Jürgen Kraus)
204. NiceHCK EBX21 (Baskingshark)
205. NiceHCK EP10 (Jürgen Kraus)
206. NiceHCK EP35 (Jürgen Kraus)
207. NiceHCK Lofty (Jürgen Kraus)
208. NiceHCK HK6 (Loomis Johnson)
209. NiceHCK M5 (Jürgen Kraus)
210. NiceHCK M6 (1) (Jürgen Kraus)
211. NiceHCK M6 (2) (Loomis Johnson)
212. NiceHCK N3 (Loomis Johnson, Jürgen Kraus)
213. NiceHCK NX7 (1) (Loomis Johnson)
214. NiceHCK NX7 (2) (Jürgen Kraus)
215. NiceHCK NX7 Pro (Jürgen Kraus)
216. NiceHCK NX7 Mk3 (1) (Loomis Johnson)
217. NiceHCK NX7 Mk3 (2) (Jürgen Kraus)
218. NiceHCK P3 (Jürgen Kraus)
219. NiceHCK X49 (Jürgen Kraus)
220. Oriveti OH500 (Alberta Pittaluga)
221. Paiaudio DR2 (Jürgen Kraus)
222. PHB EM-023 (Jürgen Kraus)
223. Pioneer CH3 (Jürgen Kraus)
224. Queen of Audio Pink Lady (Jürgen Kraus)
225. Reecho Insects Awaken (Kazi Mahbub Mutakabbir)
226. RHA CL2 (Alberto Pittaluga)
227. Rose Mojito (Alberto Pittaluga)
228. Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus (Loomis Johnson)
229. SeeAudio Bravery (1) (Loomis Johnson)
230. SeeAudio Bravery (2) (Baskingshark)
231. Semkarch CNT1 (Loomis Johnson)
232. Senfer DT6 (1) (Jürgen Kraus)
233. Senfer DT6 (2) (Loomis Johnson)
234. Senfer UEs/NiceHCK Bro (Loomis Johnson, Jürgen Kraus)
235. Sennheiser CX 400BT (Loomis Johnson)
236. Sennheiser IE 40/400/500 PRO compared (Jürgen Kraus)
237. Sennheiser IE 40 PRO (Jürgen Kraus, Biodegraded)
238. Sennheiser IE 400 PRO (Jürgen Kraus)
239. Sennheiser IE 500 PRO (Jürgen Kraus, Biodegraded)
240. Sennheiser IE 300 (Jürgen Kraus)
241. Shanling ME80 (Jürgen Kraus)
242. Shuoer Tape (Loomis Johnson)
243. Shozy Form 1.1 (Biodegraded)
244. Shozy Form 1.1 vs. Form 1.4 (Jürgen Kraus)
245. Shozy Form 1.4* (1) (Jürgen Kraus)
246. Shozy Form 1.4* (2) (Durwood)
247. Shozy Form 1.4* (3) (Loomis Johnson)
248. Shozy Rouge (1) (Loomis Johnson)
249. Shozy Rouge (2) (Durwood))
250. Shozy Rouge (3 (Jürgen Kraus)
251. Simgot EM2 (Jürgen Kraus)
252. Simgot EM2 (Loomis Johnson)
253. Smabat M0 (Durwood)
254. Smabat M2 Pro (1) (Baskingshark)
255. Smabat M2 Pro (M2) (Jürgen Kraus)
256. Smabat Proto 1.0 (Alberto Pittaluga)
257. Smabat ST-10 (Jürgen Kraus)
258. Smabat X1 (1) (Baskingshark)
259. Smabat X1 (2 (Jürgen Kraus)
260. Sony MH755 (Jürgen Kraus)
261. Sony IER-ZR (Kazi Mahbub Mutakabbir)
262. Sony WX-1000XM3 (Loomis Johnson)
263. SoundPEATS H1 (Loomis Johnson)
264. Status Audio Between Pro TWS (Loomis Johnson)
265. SuperEQ Q2 Pro ANC TWS (Loomis Johnson)
266. Tanchjim Blues (Jürgen Kraus)
267. Tanchjim Cora (Jürgen Kraus)
268. Tanchjim Darling (Aberto Pittaluga)
269. Tanchjim Ola (Loomis Johnson)
270. Tanchjim Oxygen* (Alberto Pittaluga)
271. Tanchjim Tanya (1) (Baskingshark)
272. Tanchjim Tanya (2) (Alberto Pittaluga)
273. Tansio Mirai TSMR-6 (Alberto Pittaluga)
274. Tennmak Dulcimer (Loomis Johnson)
275. Tforce Yuan Li (1) (Durwood)
276. Tforce Yuan Li (2) (Loomis Johnson)
277. Tinaudio T1 (Jürgen Kraus)
278. Tinaudio T2 (Jürgen Kraus)
279. Tin Hifi T2 EVO (Jürgen Kraus)
280. Tin Hifi T2 Plus (1) Jürgen Kraus
281. Tin Hifi T2 Plus (2) (Loomis Johnson)
282. Tin Hifi T4 (1) (Durwood)
283. Tin Hifi T4 (2) (Loomis Johnson)
284. Tin Hifi T4 (3) (Jürgen Kraus)
285. Tin Hifi T5 (Alberto Pittaluga)
286. Tinker TK300 (Baskingshark)
287. ToneKing Nine Tail (Loomis Johnson)
288. Triaudio I3 (1) (Baskingshark)
289. Triaudio I3 (2) (Jürgen Kraus)
290. Triaudio I3 Modding (KopiOkaya)
291. Triaudio I4 (1) (KopiOkaya)
292. Triaudio I4 (2) (Loomis Johnson)
293. Triaudio Meteor (KopiOkaya)
294. Tripowin X HBB Olina (KopiOkaya)
295. Tripowin Leá (Jürgen Kraus)
296. TRN BA5 (1) (Durwood)
297. TRN BA5 (2) (Jürgen Kraus)
298. TRN BA5 (3) (Loomis Johnson)
299. TRN BA8 (1) (Baskingshark)
300. TRN BA8 (2) (Jürgen Kraus)
301. TRN-STM (1) (Loomis Johnson)
302. TRN-STM (2) (Baskingshark)
303. TRN-STM (3) (Durwood)
304. TRN T300 (1) (Baskingshark)
305. TRN T300 (2) (Loomis Johnson)
306. TRN T300 (3) (Alberto Pittaluga)
307. TRN V80 (Jürgen Kraus)
308. TRN V90 (1) (Durwood)
309. TRN V90 (2) (Jürgen Kraus)
310. TRN V90S (1) (Baskingshark)
311. TRN V90S (2) (Jürgen Kraus)
312. TRN VX (1) (Loomis Johnson)
313. TRN VX (2) (Baskingshark)
314. TRN VX (3) (Jürgen Kraus)
315. TRN-VX modding (KopiOkaya)
316. Tronsmart Apollo (Baskingshark)
317. Tronsmart Apollo Bold TWS ANC (Baskingshark)
318. Unique Melody 3DT (Jürgen Kraus)
319. Urbanfun YBF-ISS014 (Baskingshark)
320. Venture Electronics BIE Pro (Jürgen Kraus)
321. Venture Electronics Bonus IE (Jürgen Kraus)
322. Venture Electronics Monk Go (Jürgen Kraus)
323. Vision Ears Elysium* and VE8 (1) (Jürgen Kraus)
324. Vision Ears Elysium* and VE8 (2) (Biodegraded)
325. Whizzer BS1 (Jürgen Kraus)
326. Whizzer Kylin HE01 (1) Jürgen Kraus)
327. Whizzer Kylin HE01 (2) (Baskingshark)
328. Whizzer Kylin HE03AL (Jürgen Kraus)
329. Whizzer Kylin HE03D (1) (Durwood)
330. Whizzer Kylin HE03D (2) (Loomis Johnson)
331. Yinyoo BK2 (Baskingshark)
332. Yinyoo D2B4 v2 (1) (Biodegraded)
333. Yinyoo D2B4 v2 (2) (Jürgen Kraus)
334. Yinyoo V2 (Jürgen Kraus)

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