“Since the advent of the CD, listeners have been deprived of the full experience of listening.” - Neil Young PonoPlayers...
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Headphones
Lehmann Black Cube Linear USB DAC and Headphone Amplifier
Richard Black has posted a review of the Lehmann Black Cube Linear USB Headphone Amplifier (£1050.00) at TechRadar. His conclusions: Restricting ourselves to sensible listening levels, we tried this amp with various headphones from Grado, Shure and Beyerdynamic, and found it an excellent and fearless performer. It's slightly less at home with the lowest...
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Denon AH-D7000 Headphones
Tom Martin has posted a review of Denon’s top-of-the-line AH-D7000 headphones ($999) at Playback. His conclusions: In summary, the great thing about the 7000s is that the macro-balance from bass to midrange to treble is very artfully judged, which is probably the item most people will notice first and consider most significant. In addition...
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Apex Peak Headphone Amp and Volcano Power Supply
Tom Martin has posted a review of the Apex Peak headphone amp and Volcano power supply (together, $2095) at Playback Magazine. His conclusions: To put things in perspective, and though it may sound contradictory given the minor drawback I have noted, the Peak/Volcano is not one of those splashy or strident sorts of “high-resolution”...
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Anedio Audio DAC1 and Headphone Amplifier
Mike Richardson and Mike Peshkin have posted a review of the Anedio Audio DAC1 ($1270) at StereoMojo. Their conclusions: OK, the Anedio D1 DAC just plain rocks! I was a bit long in warming up to it, but over time (probably too long a time… Sorry, James!) it grew on me in a big...
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Resonessence Labs Invicta DAC and Headphone Amplifier
Srajan Ebaen has posted a review of the : Resonessence Labs Invicta DAC preamplifier ($3995) at 6moons. His conclusions: It'll be up to Stereophile's John Atkinson to put the Invicta through its paces on the bench and create measurement context against his data log of competitors. Given the extensive documentation by the design team...
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Furutech GT40 USB DAC/Phonostage/Headphone Amplifier
S. Andrea Sundaram has posted a review of the Furutech GT40 USB DAC/Phonostage ($525) at GoodSound. His conclusions: When reviewing a lesser-priced component, reviewers accustomed to listening to very high-quality, expensive audio equipment often fall into one of two traps: either they disparage it for not being as good as products that aren’t really...
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HiFiMan HE6 Electrostatic Headphones
Will Wright has posted a review of the HiFiMan HE6 electrostatic headphones ($1200) at Positive Feedback Online. His conclusions: It is fair to ask what place a set of $1200 headphones has in an mp3 world. Interestingly, as other high end audio categories climb to stratospheric pricing, most of the reference quality headphones can...
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Furutech GT40 USB DAC/Phonostage/Headphone Amplifier
Dean Seislove has posted a review of the Furutech GT40 USB DAC/Phonostage ($525) at Positive Feedback Online. His conclusions: For anyone looking for a really nice sounding DAC, the Furutech GT-40 should be given serious consideration. The high quality parts and specs are outlined on the Furutech website, and I can say that the...
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Schiit Lyr Hydrid Headphone Amplifier
Srajan Ebaen has posted a review of the Schiit Lry hybrid headphone amplifier ($449). His conclusions: After extended burn-in during which various speaker reviews were handled, the core quality of the Lyr sampled first over my favorite Audez'e LCD-2 with upgraded ALO Audio leash was juiciness. By extent it reminded me foremost of Frank...
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Apex Pinnacle Headphone Amplifier and Preamplifier
John Crossett has posted a review of the Apex Pinnacle headphone amplifier and preamplifier ($10,000) at The Audio Beat. His conclusions: If you’re looking for a headphone amp that will never restrict you in both your choice of headphones and connections while making the music you love come alive, then the Apex Pinnacle is...
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Woo Audio WA 22 Headphone Amplifier
Tom Martin has posted a review of the Woo Audio WA 22 headphone amplifier ($1900-$2450) at Playback. His conclusions: This quality of more realistic mid-range contrast was one I observed with the WA22 across many, but not all, of the headphones I tried. So while my reactions to the WA22 were extremely favorable, I...
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ALO Audio Rx Mk2 Portable Headphone Amplifier
Chris Martens has posted a review of the ALO Audio Rx Mk2 portable headphone amplifier ($449) at Playback Magazine. His conclusions: The ALO Audio Rx Mk2 portable headphone amplifier has been a wonderful, reference tool that has served Playback (and its readers) well in countless evaluations of high-performance earphones and custom-fit in-ear monitors. The...
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Benchmark Media DAC1 PRE DAC, Preamplifier and Headphone Amplifier
Clarke Robinson has posted a review dating from 2009 of the Benchmark Media DAC1 PRE digital-to-audio converter, preamplifier and headphone amplifier ($1595) at Enjoy the Music. His conclusions: At $1595, the Benchmark DAC1 PRE is not an inexpensive unit (at least not by my standards), but that it does everything that it does as...
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KingRex UD-1 Pro DAC and HQ-1 Headphone Amplifier
Wojciech Pacuła has posted a review of the KingRex UD-1 Pro DAC (€269) and HQ-1 headphone amplifier (€590) at High Fidelity. His conclusions: Both the devices are fully worth their price and more. The headphone amplifier needs some more activity, but it can also be upgraded with a battery power supply SLAP!, also offered...
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Review:Stax SR-007 Omega Reference Series II Earspeakers
Roy Gregory, former Editor of Hi-Fi+ and currently Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Nordost, has posted a review of the Stax SR-007 Omega Reference Series II Earspeakers (£3295) at AVGuide. His conclusions: Right about now the naysayers and “everything should be free on the internet” brigade will be spluttering their outrage at...
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Ultimate Ears 18 Pro Custom In-Ear Monitors
Steven Rochlin has posted a review of the Ultimate Ears 18 Pro Custom in-ear monitors ($1350/pair). His conclusions: What has won me over as my now preference for the Ultimate Ears 18 Pro Custom over the JH Audio JH13 Pros is the touch of extra bass and a slightly better fit due to using...
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C.E.C. DA53N USB DAC and Headphone Amplifier
Wojciech Pacuła has posted a review of the Review: C.E.C. DA53N USB DAC and headphone amplifier (~€1250) at High Fidelity. His conclusions: Returning to well recorded material with only a handful of instruments showed, that the CEC handles that best. It will be good with rock and similar music, better than with comparable players...
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Eddie Current Balancing Act Linestage Headphone Amp
Srajan Ebaen has posted a review of the Eddie Current Balancing Act linestage and headphone amplifier ($3995) at 6moons. His conclusions: Craig Uthus' direct-heated triode machine is headphone amp first, preamp second. That's not slighting its performance in the second application. It's simply a reflection on equivalent—similar if not identical—results being possible with rather...
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Benchmark DAC-1 HDR DAC, Preamplifier and Headphone Amplifier
Jeff Dorgay has posted a review of the Benchmark DAC-1HDR linestage, DAC and headphone amplifier ($1895) at TONEAudio. His conclusions: If you break it down, the Benchmark DAC-1 HDR is essentially a $700 linestage, a $700 DAC and a $500 headphone amplifier. The sound quality and resolution of each stage compares favorably, comparing each...
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Ultrasone Edition 8 Headphones
S. Andrea Sundaram has posted a review of the Ultrasone Edition 8 headphones ($1499) at Ultra Audio. His conclusions: The Ultrasone Edition 8s combine the traditional advantages of a sealed design — superb isolation and extraordinary bass extension — with the flat frequency response and articulation of the best open designs. They deliver an...
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Burson Audio HA-160 Headphone Amplifier
Chris Martens has posted a review of the Burson Audio HA-160 headphone amplifier ($695) at Playback. His conclusions: Burson’s Audio’s HA-160 is a superb-sounding and incredibly well made headphone amplifier that is more than reasonably priced at $695. For headphone enthusiasts serious about pursuing top-tier sound, the search can begin right here—and for many,...
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Westone TrueFit 4 Universal-Fit In-Ear Headphones
Chris Martens has posted a review of the Westone TrueFit 4 Universal-Fit In-Ear Headphones ($449) at Playback. His conclusions: Westone’s TrueFit 4 is very well balanced performer that does most things extremely well, and whose few performance compromises take the form of relatively minor sins of omission. This is without a doubt one of...
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CEntrance DACPort USB DAC and Headphone Amplifier
Aaron Marshall has posted a review of the CEntrance DACPort USB DAC and headphone amplifier ($399) at Audio Ideas Guide. His conclusions: At $399 the DACport is something of a no-brainer. It’s easy to use, sounds like it should be far, far more expensive, can drive difficult headphones with relative ease, is portable enough...
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Audio-Technica ATH-W1000X Headphones
Sebastian Eilzer has posted a review of the Audio-Technica ATH-W1000X headphones (€748) at 6moons. His conclusions: The W1000X is the latest evolutionary installment of the ATH-W wood series which for me finally cashes in fully on Audio-Technica’s established house sound. Versus the predecessors bass power has been significantly increased and particularly the midband has...
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Musical Fidelity USB DACs and Headphone Amplifiers
Chris Connaker has posted reviews of the Musical Fidelity M1DAC ($699), M1HPA headphone amplifier ($799), and V-Link Async USB converter ($169) at The Computer Audiophile. His conclusions: It has been nearly six years since I enjoyed a Musical Fidelity system as much as the M1DAC ($699), M1HPA ($799), and V-Link ($169). My old X-v3...
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