Articles
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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 -
JansZen zA2.1 Speaker Review
|The JansZen zA2.1 attempts to deliver the advantages of a full-range electrostatic speaker, but in a small-footprint suitable for medium-sized rooms. Unlike planar speakers, which almost all require a large room to really work their ...read more -
Shure SRH1440 Headphones (Playback)
|Shure was founded in 1925. They began as a radio parts company and published their first catalog in 1926. Shure introduced their first microphone, the model 33N, in 1932, their first headset in 1942, and ...read more -
Urbanears Bagis Earphone (Playback)
|When I was a lad Swedish design was all the rage. Design Research, who specialized in Scandinavian modernism, had a large four-story Cambridge showroom that rivaled the Harvard Coop as the largest retail establishment in ...read more -
Beyerdynamic DTX 101 iE Earphones (Playback)
|If you do a search in Amazon for headphones you will see 236,565 choices. At least 1/3 are priced under $100. That’s a lot of options. Beyerdynamic has one more pair of earphones to add ...read more -
Paradigm Shift E1, E2m, and E3m Earphones (Playback 59)
|When I was a kid I used to read the Sears and Roebuck catalog from cover to cover. I saved up for months to buy the “good” fishing rod while still lusting after the Ted ...read more -
ADAM ARTist5 Powered Desktop Monitor Speaker (Playback 60)
|As little as five years ago few audiophiles would be caught using “pro gear” in their home systems. Back then, so long ago, there was a clear ergonomic divide between home consumer and studio/professional gear. ...read more -
M2Tech Young DAC and Palmer Power Supply (TAS 223)
|Italy may be better known for high-performance automobiles than high-performance audio, but that doesn’t stop Marco Manunta, owner and designer of the Italian audio firm M2Tech, from creating cutting-edge digital devices. His first commercial product ...read more -
Bowers & Wilkins P3 Headphone (Playback 59)
|The B&W P3 is the second full-size headphone in the B&W line, alongside the P5 headphone (click here to read the review) and the C5 earphone (click here to read the review). Priced at $100 ...read more -
Urbanears Medis High-Performance Earbud/Headset (Playback 58)
|Medis is a district of Stockholm, Sweden, located at exactly N 59º 18’ 54.46” by E 018º 04’ 20.91”. How do I know this? It’s written on the outside of the Urbanears Medis earphone’s box. ...read more -
Audio-Technica ATH-W3000ANV 50th Anniversary Headphones (Playback 57)
|You know a headphone is expensive when it has a serial number. Audio-Technica’s ATH-W3000ANV headphone review sample was #1505 (the MSRP for the headphone is $1,299.95, though street pricing may be considerably lower). As befits ...read more -
HiFiMAN Express HM-101 Portable USB Sound Card (Playback 56)
|A good entry-level portable DAC or sound card should have five primary characteristics: it should be inexpensive, compact, lightweight, glitch-free, and sound good. The $39 HiFiMAN HM-101 is the size of eight credit cards stacked ...read more -
Cambridge Audio DacMagic Plus DAC/Headphone Amp (Playback 55)
|Cambridge Audio’s original $349 DacMagic was a huge success. It was so dominant that it earned a place as the DAC to beat if you were making, selling, or buying a sub-$400 Digital Audio Converter. ...read more -
Audioengine 5+ Powered Loudspeaker (Playback 55)
|How many powered loudspeakers are available for $399 a pair? Probably more than I can count on my fingers and toes. And if I were forced to listen to them all, back-to-back, I’d be ready ...read more