Articles
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Focal Arche Headphone Amplifier/DAC/Preamplifier
|Focal are known principally for their transducers, both great and small. Given that fact, the Arche headphone amplifier/DAC/preamplifier/headphone stand may seem like a major departure from their usual offerings. But when you consider what can ...read more -
KLH Ultimate One headphones
|Some audio firms are forever written into the history of high-performance audio. Acoustic Research (AR) and Kloss, Lowe and Hoffman (KLH) are two that immediately come to mind. Over the years the trademark KLH has ...read more -
Shure KSE1200 Electrostatic Earphone System
|Shure has been involved with the creation and production of music since 1925, but the reason it is still around while most of its competitors from that era have vanished is Shure’s ability to stay ...read more -
Manley Laboratories Absolute Headphone Amplifier
|Most pure analogue headphone amplifiers are simple affairs with a volume knob, some gain adjustments, and that’s it. And then there is the Manley Absolute Headphone Amplifier, which has so many controls and adjustments that ...read more -
Focal Elegia closed‑back headphones
|Since Focal began making headphones their roster of offerings has grown precipitously. Currently you can find Focal earphones such as the Spark Wired models for as little as £59/$69 or you can go big with ...read more -
Empire Ears Phantom custom‑fit in-ear monitors
|At a certain point in nearly every headphone enthusiast’s lifetime they begin to contemplate purchasing a pair of custom-fit in-ear monitors (CIEMs) rather than universal-fit earphones. The primary reason for making the switch is fit. ...read more -
Astell&Kern ACTIVO CT10 portable digital audio player
|When my review of the Astell&Kern A&Futura SE100 appeared on the website of our sister magazine The Absolute Sound, the first reader comment was, “Yet another DAP from A&K? Whoopee.” Snide, but I get it. ...read more -
Campfire Audio Equinox custom-fit in-ear monitors
|One driver… While many custom-fit in-ear monitors use two, three, four, or more balanced armature drivers, Campfire Audio has forged a different path, choosing to refine and perfect a single full-range dynamic driver design. The ...read more -
Sony DMP-Z1 Signature Series Digital Music Player with headphone amp and DAC
|When Sony unveiled the DMP-Z1 it drew the attention of the audiophile press like a perfectly cooked steak in a room full of starved Paleo dieters. But it was not so much its looks or ...read more -
Brainwavz B400 earphone
|For the past couple of years, the Brainwavz B200 universal in-ear monitors have been one of my go‑to earphones for the gym due to their compact footprint, excellent fit, and good all-around sound. When Brainwavz ...read more -
Westone WX1 universal‑fit earphone with Bluetooth dongle
|I know one audio industry pundit who is convinced that wireless Bluetooth earphones will become so pervasive that you will be hard-pressed to find wired models in a few years. That could well be. Even ...read more -
Ultimate Ears Live custom-fit in-ear monitor
|Ultimate Ears has a new top-of the-line custom-fit in-ear monitor dubbed Ultimate Ears Live, which was created for both serious personal listening and live on-stage performances. UE Live delivers several technical and ergonomic improvements over ...read more -
Astell&Kern A&futura SE100 digital audio player
|Astell&Kern almost singlehandedly created the market for high-end portable music players. Currently they have players priced from less than £600 (for the AK70 MkII) to more than £3,000 (for the SP1000). The SE100, which is ...read more -
LH Labs Geek Out V2 USB headphone DAC/amplifier
|Many people think that the first big audio crowd-funding success story was Neil Young’s PONO launch, but that’s not the case. LH Labs Geek Out USB DAC brought in $303,000 and its Geek Pulse and ...read more -
ADL X1 Portable DAC and Headphone Amplifier
|Someday in the future we will be able to carry round and play our entire musical collection, on a device smaller than credit card. And while the hardware isn’t that miniaturised yet, the £395 ADL ...read more