iFi’s diminutive and cost-effective Nano iDSD Black Label headphone amp/DAC ($199/£200) beckons with an extensive list of features and functions, but it creates an even stronger impression once listeners hear the device in action and ...

If we turned back the calendar to 2016 and took stock of HiFiMAN’s headphone offerings, we would see that the firm had moved forward from its critically acclaimed HE 1000 model to create the even ...

We have teamed up with the innovative folks at Final to bring an exciting competition with the chance to win a fantastic pair of D8000 planar magnetic headphones. The Final D8000 were reviewed by Chris ...

In the vacuum tube audio world, perhaps the most rarefied air is reserved for OTL or ‘output transformerless’) designs. As the name suggests, an OTL design directly couples the output from the tubes/valves to the ...

Portable headphone amp/DAC Chord Electronics Hugo2 The original Chord Hugo revolutionised the notion of what could be done with portable audio. Now the new £1,800 Hugo2 almost doubles the original’s already impressive number of filter ...

Cost-no-object earphone/CIEM JH Audio Lola JH Audio is the brainchild of Jerry Harvey, who began his career at Westone, went on to co-found Ultimate Ears, and now creates some of the world’s finest custom-fit in-ear ...

Cost no object headphone HiFiMAN Shangri-La HiFiMAN’s Shangri-La system is an all-out, cost-no-object assault on the pinnacle in headphone performance. The system consists of a set of Shangri‑La electrostatic headphones with a ‘Nanotech’ driver whose ...

This is the last of four illustrated descriptions of the new and exciting products seen at CanJam NYC 2018. Part One: hifiplus.com/articles/canjam-nyc-2018-show-report-from-ultimate-headphone-guide-part-one-1/ Part Two: hifiplus.com/articles/canjam-nyc-2018-show-report-from-ultimate-headphone-guide-part-two/ Part Three: hifiplus.com/articles/canjam-nyc-2018-show-report-from-ultimate-headphone-guide-part-three/ NAD NAD is the sister brand to ...

This is the third of four illustrated descriptions of the new and exciting products seen at CanJam NYC 2018. Part One: hifiplus.com/articles/canjam-nyc-2018-show-report-from-ultimate-headphone-guide-part-one-1/ Part Two: hifiplus.com/articles/canjam-nyc-2018-show-report-from-ultimate-headphone-guide-part-two/ Part Four: hifiplus.com/articles/canjam-nyc-2018-show-report-from-ultimate-headphone-guide-part-four/ HeadAmp The wheels of change turn slowly ...

This is the second of four illustrated descriptions of the new and exciting products seen at CanJam NYC 2018. Part One: hifiplus.com/articles/canjam-nyc-2018-show-report-from-ultimate-headphone-guide-part-one-1/ Part Three: hifiplus.com/articles/canjam-nyc-2018-show-report-from-ultimate-headphone-guide-part-three/ Part Four: hifiplus.com/articles/canjam-nyc-2018-show-report-from-ultimate-headphone-guide-part-four/ Campfire Audio Campfire Audio has earned a ...

Ultimate Headphone Guide is a new bi-annual publication that represents a joint venture between The Absolute Sound magazine and its sister publication Hi-Fi+. My name is Chris Martens and I have the privilege of serving ...

Serious headphone enthusiasts are by nature an inquisitive lot and so it happens that at industry gatherings such as the CanJam event held each year at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest we do a lot ...

Clicking on the Ultrasone website is an unexpectedly pleasant experience that plunges the browser by way of video on a fly-by journey into the sunny green countryside of Bavaria. The score to The Sound of ...

When Chord Electronics released the first-generation Hugo headphone amp/DAC in 2014 it started a revolution in more ways than one. First, the Hugo proved that a headphone amp the size of a paperback novel could ...

The setting: The CanJam tent at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest 2016. “Have you heard Audeze’s new planar magnetic headphones?” blurted an excited friend and colleague from Head-Fi. “They’re in-ears, if you can believe that!” ...