Cons — Strangely implemented EST causes narrow soundstage; deserves more accessories.

Executive Summary

The LETSHUOER EJ07M is a very enjoyable neutrally-tuned vivid performer with an added bass boost.

Introduction

LETSHUOER are a Shenzhen company specializing in OEM. They are having a current hit with the $149 planar magnetic LETSHUOERS12. The LETSHUOER EJ07M are the company’s current flagship iem and improved version of their very first iem, the $850 EJ07.

Whilst I am always critical with newcomers skipping elementary school and taking shortcuts, the EJ07M is a good pair. I found it first non descript, but it slowly grew on me. And it grew quite big. It is an earphone more on the lean side without being sterile.

Specifications

Physical Things and Usability

In the box is…actually not much for an iem of this price: the earpieces, an occ copper cable, 2 sets of silicone eartips (S/M/L), a little box with foams, a cleaning brush, a metal case, and the paper work. Just like the S12, the EJ07M features rather small earpieces, which provide for a good and comfortable fit (for me). They are made of aviation aluminum alloy with fancy, one-of-a-kind faceplates. The company claims they block up to 26 dB of ambient noise. Their low impedance makes them easily drivable.

I found the earpieces’s haptic and form factor great, but the isolation was only soso for me. The cable’s wire structure may be of great purity/quality, there is no microphonics, however the overall jewellery effect is rather small.

LETSHUOER’s translucent standard stock tips worked well for me.

Tonality and Technicalities

Equipment used: Sony NW-A55; Macbook Air + AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt or Earstudio HUD100 (high gain); white stock tips.

The EJ07M is tuned in a gentle U-shape, with a bottom-end emphasis on sub-bass, a moderate pinna gain, and an early treble rolloff. It is essentially neutral with a sub-bass boost. The graph resembles “the personal target curve of the season” of many reviewers (we at www.audioreviews.org don’t have such a thing), which excludes disturbing peaks and other unpleasant surprises. Its presentation is on the lean but never analytical side.

Sub-bass extension is decent (and the rumble can be a bit fuzzy), mid-bass is focused/, slightly lean with a crisp attack and fast decay, much faster than expected from a single-dynamic driver. It has a good kick and tactility. There is no mid-bass hump that pounds unpleasantly against my eardrums.

Transition to the neutral lower midrange is smooth and without bleed because the low-end boost is so far below that it does not affect vocals and instruments (crisp piano), which have very concise note definition and energy. They are not overly rich but never thin and also not recessed (vocals can be intimate), and the corners can be somewhat sharp. The midrange is very clean and clear and there is no shoutiness (although we are getting close). All this makes for great speech intelligibility.

Treble rolloff starting at 4 kHz narrows the soundstage and limits sheen. This is surprising as you would expect outstanding extension from an electrostatic driver, as perfectly demonstrated in the Vision Ears Elysium, for example. High notes are very subtle and back. A very sparse use of the EST.

Soundstage has good depth but the aforementioned limited width. Dynamics is very good, there is plenty of impact in the attack. The music is more moving back and forth than sideways. Spatial cues is very good. Lean notes make for lots of space between instruments on a crowded stage and great midrange clarity. Transients are generally fast, particularly at the recessed top end. Resolution is very good!

In summary, the “edgy” EJ07M is well rounded (sic!) and does nothing wrong.

LETSHUOER EJ07M Compared

The $150 magnetic planar LETSHUOER S12 iem plays bassier, has a wider but shallower stage, a tad warmer, and therefore less neutral. The EJ07M offers better vocals rendering, better (micro-) dynamics, and similar resolution.

The more organic $600 single DD Oriolus Isabellae plays thicker, richer, softer, and more relaxed, lagging behind in resolution and crispness and energy in favour of timbre and a soothing temperature.

Compared to the warmer, bassier $699 Dunu Zen single DD, the EJ07M lacks depth and body and plays swifter and more brittle. The Zen has a pronounced upper midrange glare and an earlier treble rolloff.

Concluding Remarks

The LETSHUOER EJ07M excels by doing well in all departments, though not achieving the highest possible score in each of them. It delivers a swift, neutral sound with a boosted sub-bass and technicalities in line with its peers. Nevertheless is its main competition internal, as the excellent $150 LETSHUOER S12 is not far behind in most aspects.

Until next time…keep on listening!

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Disclaimer

The EJ07M were provided by LETSHUOER and I thank them for that.

Get the LETSHUOER EJ07M from letshuoer.net.

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The post LETSHUOER EJ07M Tribrid Review – Dreimal Gut appeared first on Audio Reviews.

Featuring a single dynamic driver and a $219,99 price point Falcon Pro compete on a quite interesting market segment, populated – as usual – by a lot of underwhelming (or downright garbage) competing products alongside a few very solid longstanders.

At-a-glance Card

Full Device Card

Test setup

Apogee Groove / Sony NW-A55 mrWalkman / Questyle QP1R / Ifi hip-dac2 / Cowon Plenue 2 – final E clear eartips – lossless 16-24/44.1-192 FLAC tracks.

Signature analysis

Technicalities

Physicals

Specifications (declared)

Some critical comparisons

vs Tanchjim Oxygen ($260)

The comparison is pertinent on the “similar” pricing and technology (1DD) standpoints, although it must be noted that Tanchjim Oxygen are by designed tuned towards a “lean harman”, neutral organic target, Falcon Pro towards a V shaped warm one, which of course should set different apriori expectations from either product.

With that being said, Tanchjim Oxygen’s midbass is way faster, more controlled and articulated. Mid bass, down to sub bass notes are much more textured and technical on Oxygen compared to the bloomier ones issued by Falcon Pro.

Although not a detail monster by design, Oxygen also retrieve significantly more subtleties both from highmids/trebles and bass. Note weight is leaner on Oxygen accross the spectrum – maximally so on midbass, but on mids and trebles too. Oxygen are better at layering and separation.

Overall, Oxygen are obviously preferrable on acoustic music (classic, jazz), Falcon Pro’s “meatier” personality may be preferrable on folk, progrock & such.

vs final E4000 ($149)

Oppositely from the previous case, there is quite some common ground between Falcon Pro and E4000 in terms of intended tuning as both are clearly designed aiming at a warm-colored tonality.

With that being said, E4000’s tonality is evidently more balanced, with a much less invasive, color-imposing, slow bidbass, a bit, but definitely, clearer highmids and trebles.

On a more technical level, Falcon Pro deliver more solid note weight in the trebles, but less definition on trebles and everywhere, really. Falcon Pro offer a somewhat more extended stage size (both on width and depth), E4000 are way better in terms of layering and instrument separation.

Falcon Pro are easier to bias, E4000 require more current to properly open up.

Considerations & conclusions

Dunu Falcon Pro are honest, well executed single-DD IEMs, exuding design and construction quality from all the angles you can watch them from. Their tuning is very sided, so to say, towards a warm, laidback, intimate presentation which clearly aims at pampering the user more on the overall musical experience then at stunning on technicalities.

Their features do not coincide with my personal preferences neither from the audio nor from the musical standpoints, but that’s of course totally personal.

I received a sample unit kindly provided by co-blogger Kazi.

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The post Dunu Falcon Pro Review – Warm Intimacy 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.

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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 — Hip-DAC2 can feel unwieldy when paired with large phones
– Narrow staging
– Somewhat colored tonality won’t suit neutrality seekers
– Single-ended output is underwhelming
– A proper line-out would be perfect

INTRODUCTION

iFi Audio hit the homerun with the original Hip-DAC. It had excellent build, the design was unique, and the sound was different to most in the market with a warm, rich tuning that could power most reasonable headphones and IEMs.

The release of the Hip-DAC2 came as a surprise to me as I didn’t think the Hip-DAC was being outperformed by its peers. In fact, the Hip-DAC is still on of the best portable DAC/Amps under $250. On paper it appears that the Hip-DAC2 is mostly geared towards Tidal enthusiasts, having a major improvement in MQA decoding capabilities.

Let’s see if the Hip-DAC2 can prove itself to be just as good as its predecessor.

Note: the ratings given will be subjective to the price tier. iFi Audio was kind enough to send me the Hip-DAC2 as a loaner.

Earphones/Headphones used: Dunu Zen, Dunu Zen Pro, Final FI-BA-SS, Campfire Andromeda 2020, Sennheiser HD650, Sennheiser HD560S, Final Sonorous III.
Firmware versions: 7.30, 7.3b
Price, while reviewed: 190 euros. Can be bought from WOD Audio.

PHYSICAL THINGS AND USABILITY

PACKAGING AND ACCESSORIES

iFi Audio went for a minimalist package with the Hip-DAC2. You get the essentials: a type-C to USB type-A female cable (for connecting to phones), a USB type-A male to female cable (for connecting with the PC), and a type-C to USB type-A male cable for charging.

There is an optional case that you can buy but it cost 29 euros extra.

BUILD QUALITY

Build quality of the Hip-DAC2 mimics that of the original Hip-DAC and it is excellent. The housing is sandblasted aluminium with a Sunset Orange color scheme (vs Petrol Blue on the original). The volume pot has a silver-gray finish this time around whereas the OG had a golden knob.

There are two buttons on the left side of the volume pot (xBass and PowerMatch respectively) and two headphone outputs on the right side (4.4mm balanced and 3.5mm single-ended). The bottom of the device houses a USB type-A male port for connecting to devices, and a type-C port for charging.

The volume pot also acts as a power button and has two LEDs on both sides to indicate remaining charge (white for >75%, green for >25%, and red for >10% capacity). These LEDs also show the current sample rate and file format. The following image shows all the colors and their corresponding sample rate or format.

Engaging either xBass or PowerMatch lights up the tiny white LEDs underneath the buttons. Overall, excellent build quality with no noticeable room for improvement.
5/5

HANDLING

The Hip-DAC2 is fairly lightweight at 125gm, but due to the 70mm width can be awkward to hold in hand. This becomes more noticeable when you’re stacking the DAC/Amp with a large phone (most modern phones are large anyway). As a result, I preferred to use the Hip-DAC2 with my laptop rather than on-the-go with my phone. Also, the aluminium shell is quite slippery, so not the best experience when using as a portable device.
3.5/5

BATTERY LIFE

Clocking at around 8hrs of playback time, the battery life on the Hip-DAC2 is decent if unremarkable. The 2200mAh battery pack could have been upgraded over the original but that would increase weight and thickness so it’s a compromise iFi has to make. Recharging takes about 3 hours on a typical phone charger.
3.5/5

INTERNAL HARDWARE

iFi Audio are most comfortable with using the BurrBrown chipset and here it appears again. The BB DSD1793 chipset offers native DSD encoding and with the updated XMOS controller can now decode MQA files at a hardware level. This feature, admittedly, is of little use to non-TIdal HiFi users but it doesn’t hurt to have an extra feature.

The potentiometer is fully analog, thus not facing some of the limitations that digital potentiometers may have. However, being analog in nature, it may degrade over time. The Global Master Timing clock has been upgraded here over the original Hip-DAC. The amp sections remains unchanged on paper, with quad JFET OV4627 op-amps (customized for iFi Audio). The amp circuit also uses a dual-mono design for the balanced output.

Other extras include the xBass feature which is an analog EQ and mostly aims to “fix” the sub-bass roll-off issue on open-back headphones. In reality, many open-back headphones suffer from distortion in those regions and applying an EQ might cause further distortion and clipping. The other feature is the PowerMatch button that acts as a gain switch for headphones (iFi advises keeping it off for sensitive IEMs).

Speaking of power outputs, the Hip-DAC2 outputs 0.4W @ 32ohms from the balanced out and 280mW @ 32ohms from the single-ended output (which also supports their proprietary S-balanced tech). The voltage swing can go as high as 6.3Vrms from the balanced out and this comes handy when driving high impedance dynamic driver headphones.

The PCB design is excellent and the components are high quality so I have no qualms about the internals of the Hip-DAC2. I would have loved it even more had it had a true line-out with fixed voltage output. Pairing the Hip-DAC with external amps could make it a great desktop solution. Maybe something for the Hip-DAC3.

TONALITY AND TECHNICALITIES

The general sound of the iFi Hip-DAC2 can be summarized as warm-neutral. It has the characteristic iFi Audio warmth with smooth treble and an engaging midrange. The bass is mostly neutral but can be pushed higher with the xBass switch.

One area where the Hip-DAC2 falls short of its peers is the soundstage width. You won’t have the stage width of some of the ESS chipset-based DACs in the price range. On the plus side, the imaging was precise for the most part, provided you have headphones/IEMs with good imaging. Treble also doesn’t exhibit the rather common “glare” you find in many dongles these days.

One thing to note is that changing the firmware can bring subtle changes to the sound due to changes in reconstruction filter. I used both the default 7.30 firmware and the 7.3b firmware. The former had a more laid-back treble and had a slightly wider stage, while the latter had sharper treble with more up-front upper-mids. Do note that these are subtle changes and won’t drastically alter the sound.

Overall transparency and resolution was good for the price point, though again I could hear some roll-off in the upper-treble frequencies and separation was nothing exceptional. Moreover, the background hiss is noticeable with sensitive IEMs, so if you want a very dark background the Hip-DAC2 will disappoint.

PAIRING NOTES

Sennheiser HD650

The Sennheiser HD650 is one of the few headphones that scale according to the source quality. On paper, the Hip-DAC2 has the required voltage swing to power it, but reality is a mixed bag. The HD650 got loud from the balanced out but lacked the dynamics it can display on a more powerful amp. Separation was not the best either. I would not recommend the Hip-DAC2 for such high impedance dynamic drivers if you want to maximize their potential.

Final Sonorous III

Final Sonorous III is a closed back pair of headphones and are very efficient. Despite the efficiency they are quite transparent to source quality. The Hip-DAC2 drove them excellently with no loss in dynamics and the bass was quite pleasant. The upper-mids had more glare than usual, though, and the treble extension was lacking somewhat. Nonetheless, I would call the Hip-DAC2 a good pairing for efficient dynamic driver headphones.

Hifiman Sundara

On the planar magnetic side, we have the Hifiman Sundara. With a 94dB @ 37ohms efficiency, these are not the easiest headphones to drive. The Hip-DAC2 did get them loud with good enough dynamics. Moreover, the xBass switch was handy to add some slam and physicality to Sundara’s otherwise flat, dry bass. I would call these two a good pairing, though Sundara can do better when paired with high end amps.

Dunu Zen and Dunu Zen Pro

The Dunu Zen and Zen Pro both exhibited hiss from the balanced out of the Hip-DAC. However, the overall sound was quite pleasant. The Hip-DAC2 was not as resolving as the Questyle CMA-400i or Lotoo PAW 6000 with the Dunu Zen and Zen Pro, but none of its $200 peers sound any better with these IEMs so there’s that.

In general, the Hip-DAC2 pairs well with moderately efficient IEMs and some inefficient ones. The warm signature complements somewhat analytical headphones and IEMs. On the other hand, I would not recommend it for power-hungry planar magnetic headphones and IEMs, or very high impedance dynamic driver headphones. Headphones and IEMs with a warm tonality might not be the best pairing as well, e.g. Final E5000.

SELECT COMPARISONS

vs iFi Hip-DAC

There is little to externally differentiate between the original Hip-DAC and the Hip-DAC2 other than the different paintjob. In terms of sound, the changes are mostly minor. The Hip-DAC2 has more transparency in the upper-mids (OG Hip-DAC sounded smoothed out in that region) and slightly wider stage. The imaging also seems somewhat more precise though I’m not too convinced about this improvement.

Most noticeable difference will be for those who believe in MQA. I am not an MQA user and these supposed improvements were thus untested. I mostly stuck with DSD and PCM files and for those, the OG iFi Hip-DAC is nearly as good as the newer version.

vs Apogee Groove

Apogee Groove has a very different amp architecture and is not really smartphone-friendly due to its higher power-draw and lack of internal battery. The amp architecture is also very different and has a very high output-impedance that messes with most multi-driver IEMs.

I found the Groove to pair really well with high impedance dynamic driver headphones, esp the HD650 and the likes. Some inefficient single-dynamic IEMs like the Final E5000 also pair excellently with the Groove. Unfortunately, the Groove is abysmal with low-impedance low-sensitivity planar magnetic headphones. They are also not as intuitive to operate as the Hip-DAC and lacks the xBass/PowerMatch features.

Overall, the Hip-DAC2 is more universal whereas the Groove is superb with a select few headphones and IEMs but below-par with the rest.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

Holistically, the iFi Hip-DAC2 is a minor improvement over the original. I don’t think existing Hip-DAC owners need to upgrade to the Hip-DAC2 unless they are fully into the Tidal ecosystem and appreciates hardware MQA decoding.

That being said, those who are looking for a battery-powered DAC/Amp for desktop or laptop use and occasional phone pairing, the Hip-DAC2 is pretty much one of the best under $200. The original Hip-DAC is still available at Amazon Germany and costs $20 less, but I think you can just get the newer version since the price increase is marginal.

The Hip-DAC2 remains one of the best portable DAC/Amps under $200 and rightly earns my recommendation for using with desktops and laptops. Sadly, it is still not a good pairing for sensitive IEMs and leaves room for improvement when powering planar magnetic headphones. Something’s gotta give, after all.

MY VERDICT

4/5

A minor upgrade to an otherwise great portable DAC/Amp.

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DISCLAIMER

Get it from WOD Audio.

Our generic standard disclaimer.

PHOTOGRAPHY

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

The post iFi Audio Hip-DAC2 Review (1) – Subtle Improvements 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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The post ddHiFi Janus2 (E2020B) Review – Second Coming appeared first on Audio Reviews.

Cons — Poor bottom end extension.

Executive Summary

The ddHifi Janus (also referred to as Janus1 or E2020A) is a well-accessorized, mid-centric, articulate iem that is very well suited for listening just with a phone. It has been superseded by Janus2.

Introduction

ddHiFi have been bringing us innovation + functionality + design since 2017. Their products work well, look good, and it is no surprise that the whole company made it onto our Wall of Excellence. Most recently, the company added a new category to their portfolio: earphones. And the Janus is their first iem release. As you can see from the images, the Janus follows the design ideas of some of the ddHifi adapters, which makes it optically distinct from any other iem on the market.

Specifications

Physical Things and Usability

In the box are the earpieces and accessories worth >$90 when purchased individually: the $60 BC120A (Forest) Air Series Earphone Cable, the $25 C80B Genuine Leather Storage Case, an $8 C10B Magnetic Cable Clip, 2 sets of eartips (red-stemmed “bass type” bulbous narrower-bore, and black-stemmed “treble type” short widebores), and 10 MMCX port covers. The whole assembly, that is earpieces and cable, are extremely light and small, and fit in the smallest shirt pocket.

The earpieces contain a flexible printed circuit board that contributes to their lightweight. They feature two different connectors on opposite ends, one 2pin/0.78mm, and an MMCX. That’s the reference to Janus, the Roman god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames, and endings…an obviously very flexible deity. He is commonly represented by a double-faced head (frequently on antique coins).

The very light Forest cable comes with with MMCX connectors and a 2.5 mm balanced CNC machined alloy plug. It contains 4 conductors made of 6N OCC copper (that is 99.9999% purity) mixed with kevlar fibre. The outer material is interesting as it looks and feels waxy (= dirt resistant) like Twizzler candy, made of thermoelastic elastomer. The cable is free of microphonics. A truly superb cable.

The case is made from cowhide leather and coated to be stain and fading resistent. It smells nice. The interior is lined with microfibre and the lock is magnetic. Also interesting is the double-sided magnetic cable clip that adheres to the case, if not needed, but can also be used to attach the cable to a coat or bag when used on the road. See the Gallery section at the end.

The earpieces are extremely comfortable and can be worn over and under ear as the cable does not have any earhooks. The wide-bore tips worked best for me. The Janus are reasonably easy to drive (despite their 93 DB sensitivity) and some rare earphones that do not substantially benefit from amplifying. They sound great with my iPhone.

Tonality and Technicalities

Equipment used: MacBook Air, iPhone SE (1st gen.); AudioQuest Dragonfly Red/Earstudio HUD100 w. JitterBug FMJ, AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt, both sets of stock tips (red-stemmed bass type, and black-stemmed treble type); 200 hours of break in.

O dear, that graph looks more like of an earbud than of an iem, some “graphologists” may say. The low end is already rolling off in the lower midrange and the upper midrange is rolled back. One would expect the Janus1 is vocal centric with a wide stage and no congestions by a bass bleeding into the lower midrange. And yes, that’s right. And the obvious absence of a 2-4 kHz peak could mean it is not shouty and fatiguing. Yes, you are right.

But, most of all, the Janus1 does actually sounds darn good to my ears. So good that I have used it a lot in the last few weeks, particularly before going to sleep. As said, it sounds great just with my iPhone, no amplification needed. Another case of tuning that fits the driver (and not the other way round)?

The overal sonic signature is marginally warm with the smallest tinge of brightness. Presentation is relaxed, cohesive, and imo well suited for chilling.

Now from graphology to the cumbersome listening business: you think there is no bass extension? Actually not quite. The extension is principally there, it is just “a bit hesitant” and not very strong and the rumble is very subtle. But the (relatively) nimble driver makes somewhat up for the lack of quantity. The lowest frequencies remain well composed and are not fuzzy. Bass remains subtle and relatively tight. Punch and dynamics are there, too, but also subtle.

Vocals, male and female, are intimate and forward, which is probably the Janus1′ biggest asset. They are natural, of medium weight, and with good (note) definition and excellent articulation. There is no sharpness, rather the notes appear to be coated by a thin film of silk. Very pleasant and relaxed on my ears. The subtle bass also keeps the midrange transparent and clean. All this makes for great speech intelligibility.

The Janus1 has therefore become my go-to for listening to talk radio as it brings out voices without congestion (from the low end). If you think most iems are good for talk radio, think again.

Lower treble is back, and treble below 15 kHz is sweet and polite. No hint of stridency, just pleasant. Cymbals are lined up behind the vocals, but, like the vocals they are well defined. No smearing. The downside is limited air and sparkle, which again benefits the voice reproduction. Can’t have it all.

Stage is wide but not deep. Nevertheless, spatial cues and placement on stage are good, however the stage can get crowded. Dynamics are good to my ears and there is decent articulation. Yes, there is enough slam for me, but it may be too polite for others. What did I say, chilling? Timbre is excellent, spot on realistic.

The Janus1 is so unique in its design, sonic signature, and accessories, that it is pointless to compare it to other iems. And even more so as it has been discontinued.

Fun Fact: 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. 

Concluding Remarks

In summary, the Janus1 (2020a) is a vocal-centric, organic sounding earphone with an extra portion of silk, giving a relaxed presentation, which makes for a chilling and civilized listening sensation. It is not an adrenaline pump or a bass canon, but rather a well measured set that even works well with a simple source such as a phone.

Once you get your ears into its sonic signature, you can’t let go for hours. The Janus1, just like so many other product by ddHifi, are from the category “and now something completely different”.

The Janus1 has been discontinued and replaced by the Janus2, which is a totally different beast. You will find the Janus2 review (with Janus1 comparison) in this article.

Until next time…keep on listening!

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Disclaimer

The Janus1 was provided by ddHifi for my analysis. I thank them very much.

Get it from wherever it is still available.

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

Gallery

The post ddHiFi Janus1 (E2020A) Review – The Silky Way appeared first on Audio Reviews.

IT07 is iBasso’s flagship featuring 1 DD + 6 BA, costs a pretty penny – $899,00 – and was released some 3 years after IT04 (1 DD+3 BA), which I also will publish a review for in the next days.

I did not get the entire package so I couldn’t properly assess some secondary elements like the black and gold nozzles or the stock tips, but I reckon what I got is more than enough to form a solidly educated opinion on what we are talking about. Here we go.

At-a-glance Card

Full Device Card

Test setup

Sources: Apogee Groove + Burson FUN + IEMatch / Apogee Groove + iBasso T3 / Sony NW-A55 mrWalkman – Sedna Earfit Light Short tips – Stock High Purity Silver Litz cable – lossless 16-24/44.1-192 FLAC tracks.

Signature analysis

Technicalities

Physicals

Specifications (declared)

Some quick comparisons worth mentioning

iBasso IT04 ($499,00)

The key here is not being mislead by model naming: IT07 are not the direct upgrade to IT04, their intendend tuning and presentation being different. IT07 is indeed “technically superior” to IT04 on a few aspects, vis-a-vis an 80% higher price of course, but the tonal profiles are very obviously not the same and make up for two very different musical outputs.

IT04 is a warm-balanced open-V, instead of a dry-neutral W. IT04 has slower, meatier and more flowery bass, vs more elevated, more extended and way faster and punchier bass on IT07. Mids on IT04 are tonally more organic then on IT07, where they are better detailed though. Most of all, IT04’s trebles are combed, relaxed, very carefully finetuned to always come accross perfectly coherent with the DD in charge of the bass part, while oppositely IT07 features livelier, sparklier, way more detailed and airier trebles, indeed presenting a timbral incoherence with their DD for the purists though.

IKKO OH10 ($199,00)

Of course the comparison is totally unfair on the technical proficiency level – and better be, considering a 4.5X price gap! – but I’m mentioning OH10 precisely due to their almost identical tuning compared to IT07.

As a matter of fact, OH10 can easily be called “less expensive IT07” by anyone looking for a powerful, engaging, and most of all unforgivingly dry, ubleeding bass, paired with very lively and well tuned highmids and trebles. Mids are dry and slim on OH10 as on IT07, but they go as far as being “lean” on OH10 in comparison. OH10 are equipped with a single not-TOTL Knowles BA so we can’t reasonably expect the same IT07 proficiency in rendering anything above 1000hz, nor on detail retrieval – it being understood however that, conversely speaking, OH10 does wonders on those registers for the exact same reason! IT07 technicalities are also obviously more refined and downright “better” than OH10, while OH10 comes out a bit better in terms of timbre coherence between their DD and their (sole) BA compared to IT07’s 1+6 scenario.

DUNU ZEN ($699,00)

IT07 extract more highmids and treble thin details; cymbals are crystally adamant when they need to be, unlike on ZEN where they are somewhat “polished”, “matte” in a sense. Midbass are equivalently articulated on either, while perceivably oomphier on IT07, which is not necessarily better depending on taste and track. On ZEN mids are obviously airier, more bodied and totally organic. Piano notes offer the impression of spreading in an infinite space on ZEN. On IT07 mids are defintely slimmer, bringing them to the edge of unrealism, and sort of confined inside a room – a big room at that, but I do perceive the space as “finite”, whereas it is almost not on ZEN. Finally, ZEN offers a totally coherent timbre accross the entire spectrum, unlike IT07 as detailed above. Such very last point is what keeps me personally from granting IT07 360° “Excellent” status, but that’s a millimetric flaw when cast against the full product panorama.

Conclusions

IT07 impressed me a lot. I guess it comes from me liking OH10 tuning so much that my ear and brain really rejoyced in hearing that presentation’s direct evolution and sustantial refinement on the IT07.

IT07 offer a literally spectacular, energetic and at the same time very refined musical experience. While one may count their slight internal timbral mismatch as a coloration, which it is, the practical result is nothing short of lovable, and I’m up to strongly recommending it as a high-end driver ideal for a wide extension of different genres.

As mentioned above the sample I auditioned was loaned to me by a private owner, who paid for it off his own pocket.

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The post iBasso IT07 Review – Lovable Incoherence appeared first on Audio Reviews.

A device gets attached to this Wall of Excellence when based on our private and of course subjective experience it performs so well within its technical and price category as to even discourage considering homologous alternatives.

If it ain’t here, WE don’t want it!

Please note that our WoE will not be limited to devices we actually published a review of. Nonetheless, all WoE devices have for long time been or still are part of our operative gear.

We start small and plan to expand our wall according to merit.

This Site is being consistently updated…please bookmark it and keep checking back!

In-Ear Monitors

Past excellences, now discontinued or superseded

Headphones

Digital Audio Players (“DAPs”)

Desktop Amplifiers

Desktop DACs

Desktop Integrated Headphone DAC/AMPs

Portable Headphone Amplifiers

Portable Integrated Headphone DAC/AMPs

Headphone DAC/AMP “Dongles”

Dongles are little DAC/amps without battery that are powered by their source device.

Accessories

The post Wall Of Excellence appeared first on Audio Reviews.

Introduction

The Cayin fantasy is a $799 single-dynamic driver earphone with a Beryllium diaphragm which I had for ca. 2 weeks as part of a Head-Fi tour. Cayin have mad themselves a name with high-end daps, and they are currently entering the premium earphone segment, too.

Specifications

Physicals

I never completely unboxed the Cayin Fantasy because of the short time period I had it for. Therefore here a stock picture of the content. The earpieces arere comfortable but isolation is not great. I’d rather like to focus on the sound in my brief analysis.

Tonality and Technicalities

Equipment used: MacBook Air, iPhone SE (1st gen.); DragonFly Cobalt, Khadas Tone2 Pro, DragonFly Red, Jitterbug FMJ,

The Cayin Fantasy is a fast single DD earphone with great imaging that will be polarizing over its 4- 5 kHz peak.

Bass is as speedy and dry as it gets. Absolutely superb. No mid-bass bloat, no thumping, just a very composed and focused signal. Sub-bass extension is not the biggest so that some may miss that low-end rumble (I personally don’t).

Male vocals in the lower midrange have very good weight and definition, the reproduction is very realistic. But the higher notes of female voices or saxophones or violins can get fatiguing to my ears. That’s where that 4-5 kHz peak comes in, which introduces harshness and grain to some ears when listening at higher volumes. But it brightens up older recordings. It comes as no surprise that midrange has great clarity.

Treble extension is very good, too. Cymbals in the 7-10 kHz range are extremely well defined and crisp, but may be a bit sharp and bright for younger ears (they are mostly fine for my old flappers).

Technicalities are excellent for a single DD: expansive staging in all directions yielding a “cavernous” or “holographic” experience. Stage is wider than deep but deep enough. Lots of headroom.

Detail resolution is outstanding and instrument placement and separation even more so. I cannot think of any other earphone I could locate instruments on the stage so well – and guess distances between musicians.

At $799, the Cayin Fantasy is in line with the $800 Moondrop Illumination and the $700 Dunu Zen. Zen has more depth and less treble extension, and also some midrange glare, and it excels in microdynamics.

The Moondrop, I cannot remember in detail, but it was probably the least bassiest of the lot and is not quite as resolving as the fantasy. I also had perceived the Illumination as bright.

These comparison are from memory and should be taken with a grain of salt.

Concluding Remarks

In summary, the Cayin Fantasy is a great single DD earphone, but ultimately too bright for me. Please also check out our Cayin amp and dap reviews, such as the C9 Portable Amplifier and the N6ii with three different motherboards.

Until next time…keep on listening!

Contact us!

All Our Earphone and Earbud Reviews (with Links)

Disclaimer

I’d like to thank Cayin for this opportunity to add to my experience in the premium segment through a Head-Fi tour. I also thank the next reviewer, Head-Fier dweaver, for having a nice chat on the door.

Our generic standard disclaimer.

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

The post Cayin Fantasy Review – Light My Fire appeared first on Audio Reviews.

Cons — Cayin C9 is rather heavy
– Very faint amp hiss with sensitive IEMs
– Gets warm in class-A mode after more than an hour of operation
– NuTubes don’t sound like classic tubes, tube purists may feel disappointed
– Won’t replace desktop setups if you’re running inefficient planar headphones
– Eye-watering price that gives you a pause before purchase

INTRODUCTION

Cayin is no stranger to amps. In fact, they make some of the best desktop amps out there, including the venerable iHA-6 and the top-dog, the HA-6 (one of the best amps I’ve ever had the pleasure to listen to, by the by).

The Cayin C9 is their flagship portable amp, meant to be more transportable than portable given the ~0.5kg of weight.

Note: the ratings given will be subjective to the price tier. Cayin C9 was sent to me as part of the EU Review Tour (thanks Andy!)

IEMs/Headphones used: Dunu Zen/SA6, Final FI-BA-SS/E5000, UM MEST mk. 2, Campfire Audio Holocene, Sennheiser HD650, Hifiman Ananda

Price, while reviewed: $2000. Can be bought from Musicteck.

PHYSICAL THINGS AND USABILITY

PACKAGING AND ACCESSORIES

In terms of accessories, you get two high quality interconnect cables (a 4.4mm to 4.4mm balanced cable, and a 3.5mm to 3.5mm single-ended cable). You also get a type-C cable for charging (supporting QuickCharge), a screw-driver (for removing the battery bay), and some spare screws. That’s about it, no carrying case or anything. The accessories aren’t plentiful given the price-tag but you do get all the basic necessities.
3.5/5

BUILD QUALITY

Cayin C9 has a two part design: the front part has the amp circuit along with the controls/switches, and the back side has the battery bay which can be slid out. The top of the device is aluminium with CNC-cut windows (covered by glass) that houses the NuTubes, and the bottom of the device has a sheet of glass on it (I do wish this portion was also aluminium for consistencies’ sake). The tubes glow green when turned on and takes about 3/4 seconds to warm up.

The front of the device has… everything. Well, everything bar the pre-amp/line-in toggle button (on the left side of the device, you need to press it along with selecting pre-amp input mode on the front panel to activate the mode) and the USB-C port/battery indicators (on the back of the device, with the battery bay). Both the 3.5mm and 4.4mm inputs/outputs are on the front, along with the power switch/operation indicator LED button. There are toggles for (from left to right) line-in/pre-amp input mode, gain (High/Low), Timbre (Solid state/Tube), operation mode (Class-A/AB).

Lastly , there is the volume knob which is an ALPS rotary encoder and has quite high precision from my experience with no channel imbalance even at extremely low volumes (it’s electronic and resistance-ladder based with 130 discrete steps). The knob takes some force to rotate though, and it’s somewhat recessed into the housing to prevent accidental volume changes (which can be damaging due to the extremely high output power on the C9).

I don’t really have any complaint about build quality here.
5/5

USABILITY

The Cayin C9 is more of a transportable than a portable device. In other words, they need to be stationed somewhere (a desk/bedside) and not really portable in a shirt/pant/coat pocket (unless you love unsightly bulges). Other than that, it’s quite easy to operate the device once stationed on a desk. Changing between modes is easy to do without looking once you get the layout memorized. However, due to all the controls being on the front, it can a pain to hook it up as a sole headphone amp with a desktop DAC (then you need to reach on the back to connect/disconnect headphones and IEMs). As of now it is more suited to connecting with DAPs than desk setups.

Another interesting aspect is that there is a slight delay every time you change modes. This is something you have to take into account for on-the-fly A/B comparison as the changes introduced by the tube mode, for example, won’t be instantaneous.
3.5/5

BATTERY

The Cayin C9 uses four 18650 Li-ion batteries and apparently switching batteries may bring subtle changes to the sound signature (I did not verify this). It supports quick charge so recharging is quite quick, and I managed ~8 hours on a single-charge in class-A/High gain mode from the balanced out. This is not a stellar showing but given the power and performance here it is within expectations. Do note that Cayin have built several protection mechanisms in the battery powered circuitry (and you cannot bypass battery power here, not sure why would you want to anyway since the battery power is better than direct AC input for this particular use-case). You can read more about the power delivery method here.

AMP ARCHITECTURE

The internal architecture of the Cayin C9 is fully discrete and fully balanced. Cayin also didn’t use a traditional IC/Op-amp based circuitry, rather opted for fully discrete design. The volume control is resistance-ladder based with 130 discrete steps.

Instead of trying to explain all the nitty-gritties in detail (which isn’t really my forte) I’d instead link to the Cayin head-fi thread (click here). There you will find amp schematics alongside a closer look at the internal components.

TONALITY AND TECHNICALITIES

The Cayin C9 is an absolute chameleon of an amp when it comes to tonality and technicalities. Between the class-A/AB mode and solid-state/tube timbre, you can have 4 different signatures, and this is quite helpful when it comes to pairing IEMs with a specific sound signature. Please note that due to the way the mode-switching works in this amp (has a 2-5 seconds delay depending on mode) some of the A/B comparisons below are based on auditory memory and listening notes. In other words: take them with some salt (though I am fairly convinced about the different bass reproduction in class-AB mode and the general characteristics of the tube mode).

CLASS-A (SOLID STATE)

This is my most favorite mode, and apart from very bass-heavy stuff I preferred almost everything in my collection in this mode.

The best part about the class-A mode is the bass rendition. This is, by far, the best bass reproduction I’ve heard on a portable amp. The sheer grunt of the sub-bass (provided you have a suitably extended IEM) is unmatched. No DAP I’ve tried till date including the likes of Lotoo PAW Gold Touch, Sony WM1Z, Questyle QP1R, or the A&K SE200 could come close. I went through a huge portion of my library to simply enjoy the basslines in a completely different manner.

The sheer control Cayin C9 has over the sub and mid-bass is also uncanny. Snare hits are authoritative, sub-bass rumble is very much present, but it doesn’t overwhelm and actually corrects the bass-bleed issue in certain IEMs (Final E5000, for one). The best part about the bass: its density, given you got a good bass reproduction on the transducer side of things. The Cayin C9 isn’t a miracle-worker of course even in class-A mode. If you are pairing it with a BA-only IEM, the bass can only be so good. You’ll miss the texture and slam of good dynamic-drivers and that’s expected. Thus, the class-A mode is especially suited for dynamic driver IEMs/Headphones and the efficient planar magnetic ones.

All this talk about bass made me almost ignore the delightful midrange in the class-A mode. There is an analogue tone to the entire sound and vocals sound especially rich. However, transients aren’t softened at all and there’s a sense of transparency to the entire presentation. The stage depth is another aspect that seemed best on class-A mode, though I’d attribute it to the sub-bass response that is often perceived as depth while listening to tracks with an elevated sub-bass line. Separation was stellar with balanced out and I don’t think it can get any better in terms of perceived channel separation.

CLASS-A/B (SOLID STATE)

If you found the class-A mode to be a bit bass heavy and the mids to be somewhat up-front, then the class-AB mode evens things out. The bass is less authoritative and the midrange esp vocals get slightly pushed back. So you end up with a more relaxed, wider presentation overall. I would recommend this mode with bassy IEMs or headphones. Channel separation was excellent in this mode as well.

NUTUBE + CLASS A, A/B

Last but not the least: NuTubes. The Korg NuTubes are miniaturized triode vacuum tube that uses vacuum fluorescent display technology to emulate the class tube distortion. Basically: you get the tube sound without having large, heat-generating, extremely microphonic vacuum tubes. More info can be found here.

That’s the sales pitch at least. In practice, I didn’t find Korg NuTubes to be as tonally rich and colored as traditional tubes. Cayin’s own N3Pro, for example, has a more drastic and noticeable coloration via JAN6418 tubes. The coloration here is subtler. When coupled with class-A mode, the bass becomes somewhat loose and lacks the texture, definition, and authority vs the solid-state mode. Resolved detail is also masked somewhat. Female vocals sound richer, however, and some harshness/shrillness is smoothed over. Treble detail is also masked to a degree esp the attack-decay of cymbal hits aren’t as pristine as they are on the solid-state mode.

In the end, I found the NuTube to work best with the class-AB mode for my tastes and gears. With some bright or neutral IEMs the tube mode works quite well in reigning down the harshness. However, don’t expect the stellar separation and resolution of the regular class-A mode with the tubes engaged.

PAIRING NOTES

The Cayin C9 made nearly every IEM/headphone in my collection sound, well, better. Given the numerous modes I think one can mix and match and make it work with any IEM. However, the Campfire Andromeda 2020 had audible hiss even at low gain, so if you own very sensitive IEMs you may want to use an iFi IEMatch in-between. Final FI-BA-SS, meanwhile, didn’t hiss much even though it can detect hiss on many sources.

There was a slight amount of hiss on the Dunu Zen but the end result was simply stunning when pairing the Cayin C9 with Lotoo PAW 6000. I used the balanced line out mode and the presentation was very dynamic. The resolved detail was desktop class and frankly – I can see myself ditching even high-end DAC/Amp setups for this combo (LP6K + Cayin C9). Cayin C9 + Questyle CMA-400i was less drastic a difference though the sound was softer and more rounded than the regular headphone out of the CMA-400i.

Lastly, I paired the Cayin C9 with the A&K SE200 and it was another excellent pairing. The A&K’s AKM output gained even better microdynamics and I could listen to the Sennheiser HD650 in its full glory. Many prefer this particular headphone from OTL tube amps so I decided to try the tube mode on the C9, but the end result wasn’t aligned to my tastes. Your mileage may vary.

Overall, I found the Cayin C9 to take on the characteristics of the DAC/DAP it’s connected to while enhancing some parts of it (mostly bass response, channel separation, and dynamics). As such, I’d recommend the Cayin C9 even for TOTL DAPs like Lotoo LPGT, provided you are willing to splurge for the diminishing returns.

SELECT COMPARISONS

vs iFi Diablo

The iFi Diablo ($1000) is a powerhouse of a portable DAC/Amp that’s mostly intended to drive power-hungry headphones. It is excellent with inefficient planars (apart from the most demanding ones like Hifiman HE-6/Susvara) and as such works better in terms of powering planars than the Cayin C9.

That’s about it, though. The amp section on the Cayin C9 is superior to the Diablo in terms of tonal richness, bass reproduction, and powering IEMs and efficient headphones. The stellar separation of the C9 cannot be found on the iFi Diablo as well, and staging is more cramped as a result on the iFi Diablo. Moreover, it doesn’t have as many different modes as the Cayin C9 incl. the NuTubes.

As an amp, the Cayin C9 is indeed superior to the iFi Diablo. However, at half the price the Diablo also has a built-in DAC section and doesn’t rely on stacking as the Cayin C9 does, which is something buyers shall take into account.

vs Cayin iHA-6

In the end, I decided to compare the Cayin C9 with other desktop amps because that’s what most of the target audience would be looking into (desktop-class performance in a more portable format). The Cayin iHA-6 ($700) is one of the best amps under $1000 IMO, and I love pairing it with the iFi Neo iDSD (review coming soon for the iHA-6 soon). The iHA-6 is huge and heavy so if the Cayin C9 can somewhat replicate the feeling of transparency you get with the iHA-6 – that’s a major win.

Turns out that the Cayin C9 is actually… better than the iHA-6. Wait, hear me out. It’s not better in terms of power, iHA-6 can push 7Watts (!) into a 32ohm load from the balanced out whereas the C9 manages a mere (!) 4Watts. However, when not driving super-demanding planars, the Cayin C9 simply has better imaging and dynamics (esp microdynamics). The iHA-6, despite being similarly transparent in the midrange, sounds edgier in treble and not as effortlessly resolving. Another issue with the iHA-6 is that it’s beyond overkill for IEMs and might even blow the drivers out if you’re not careful. Moreover, iHA-6 has very high noise-floor for sensitive drivers.

The realization that an amp 1/8th size of the venerable iHA-6 can outperform it in most scenarios is rather shocking for me, but that’s how it is. The C9 is almost 4x the price of the iHA-6, but it seems you do get your money’s worth of performance at a much smaller footprint.

vs Headamp GSX Mini

The Headamp GSX-Mini ($1800) is one of my all-time favorite solid-state desktop amps and something I recommend everyone to try out. Given its desktop nature, it completely outshines the Cayin C9 in terms of output power and headphone driveability, though with moderately sensitive planars like Final D8000 Pro/Meze Empyrean you’re not really gonna need extra juice out of either of them.

I’ll skip over build etc. since it doesn’t really make sense when you’re comparing apples to oranges (desk amp vs transportable amp), but in this case there aren’t many competition to the C9 so desktop amps it is. However, one thing I must note: the volume knob on the GSX-Mini. It’s fabulous, class-leading. I want to fiddle with it for absolutely no reason, it’s that good.

With that out of the way, let’s talk about sound. There is a distinct difference in presentation between these two amps. The Cayin C9 goes for a transparent signature with slightly warm/analogue midrange and a sizeable increment in bass texture. The Headamp GSX-Mini takes a more laid-back approach with the bass but focuses on midrange and treble more. Outstanding detail retrieval is its calling card and there it does beat out the Cayin C9 marginally (when paired with full-size headphones).

However, the Cayin C9 strikes back with superior staging/imaging. The GSX-Mini can feel a bit closed-in in comparison. As a result the GSX-Mini works great with planars like Arya which have a naturally wide staging and the sound gains more focus with the GSX-Mini (if that’s what you want). The Cayin C9 meanwhile works better with IEMs and headphones that have relatively more intimate staging (e.g. Dunu Zen, Focal Utopia).

Overall, with the correct matching/pairing of headphones, the GSX-Mini does outperform the Cayin C9 in terms of resolved detail. That the Cayin C9 competes with a full-on desktop amp priced similarly is testament to what Cayin has achieved with the C9, and I am left even more impressed at this point.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

If you’re someone who owns a premium DAP (>$1000) with a high quality line-out and intend to make the absolute most out of your IEMs and less demanding headphones (as in, less than the Susvara/1266 Phi/HE-6) – the Cayin C9 will pretty much be an endgame addition at this point. The weight of ~500gm makes it hard to carry around but I am mostly using it while on the desk/lying down and it works absolutely fine that way.

The biggest issue of the Cayin C9 is its price-tag of $2000. Only the most effusive of enthusiasts would pay that much for a headphone amp that improves upon the intangible aspects of the sound you get from a high quality DAP. However, once you hear it there’s no going back and the dynamism it brings is truly one-of-a-kind.

Cayin chased perfection with the C9, and I daresay that they came dangerously close to it. I’ll miss listening to it, but hopefully not for long as I plan on getting one for myself.

TEST TRACKS

https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/04350ebe-1582-4785-9984-ff050d80d2b7

MY VERDICT

4.75/5

Endgame performance, but you gotta pay a pretty penny. #HighlyRecommended

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DISCLAIMER

CAYIN C9 Was sent as part of the EU review tour. You can buy it from here.

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Cons — Upper midrange glare, lack of treble extension.

Executive Summary

The $700 Dunu Zen is a natural sounding single-dynamic driver earphone with immersive depth and fantastic macro- and microdynamics and resolution that falls short of perfect only by its upper midrange glare.

Introduction

Dunu does not need an introduction, they have been providing the community with quality audio products since 1994. And they had been on my radar for the last five years, recommended by my German colleague “Chris, the Headphone Collector“. But whereas my co-authors have filled our blog with Dunu reviews, I have only had the opportunity to analyze one of their premium earphones now.

Specifications

Physical Things and Usability

I am skipping the package content as I never really unpacked the whole lot because of time constraints adherent to the short period I had this loaner for. I simply used stock cable and the earpieces, and added SpinFit CP 500 eartips upon the recommendation of co-blogger Kazi Mahbub Mutakabbir.

So I rather focus on my sonic perceptions and some simple comparisons with the Zen’s presumably closest competitors: Cayin Fantasy and Moondrop Illumination…and less so with the JVC HA-FDX1.

Tonality and Technicalities

Equipment used: MacBook Air & DragonFly Cobalt; iPod Classic 7th gen.; SpinFit CP500 eartips.

I since am a bit limited in my listening experience as I had the Dunu Zen only for two weeks as part of the Head-Fi tour. You may also want to read Kazi’s more detailed review for more details.

TL;DR: the Dunu Zen are characterized by their immersive, natural sound (timbre/dynamics) while having a great resolution and staging. They offer this rare combination of traits of multi-drivers and single dynamic-driver earphones.

And they also defy the idea of tuning a driver according to a trendy model curve. The Dun Zen appear to be tuned according to their driver, which results in a rather “ugly” frequency-response graph but a great sound (and not the other way round; plenty examples exist).

What stroke me most every time I used the Dunu Zen is that extended low-end with this well-layered, well-textured, articulate mid bass that creates a wonderful “depth of field”. The beefy, visceral low end comes with a natural punch. This results a warm tonality with full, rich drums and re-inforced deeper vocals. Simply seductive and essentially perfect.

And does not smear at all into the lower midrange. Voices are very well defined, nicely sculptured but the higher vocal notes could be a tad richer and creamier. There is a tendency toward sharpness/are a bit sharpened by that 12 dB gain from 1 to 2 kHz that adds some glare just below shoutiness. Nevertheless, the vocals are organic with good note definition.

Treble is crisp without being edgy. Cymbals are very well defined as you are used from a piezo. There is no smudging going on at all, but also no harshness. Good definition. Upper treble is lacking a bit.

Staging is not the widest but rather deep, and instrument placement and separation are bordering on spectacular. What is truly amazing is the macro- and microdynamics as well as macro-and micro-resolution. All this results in great spatial cues with – I had mentioned it already – lots of depth.

Yes, the piano and forte sections of an orchestra are handled very well, and so is the small dynamic nuances. For example, I really enjoyed the subtle dynamic variations of an oboe and its interplay with a harpsichord as in this DGG recording. And all this at a very natural, authentic timbre. Attack and decay are just right.

Dunu Zen compared

At $700, the Dunu Zen is in line with the $800 Cayin Fantasy and $800 Moondrop Illumination. Zen has the biggest depth and least treble extension of the three. The other two cannot compete in terms of punch and microdynamics.

I have to be cautious with details as these comparisons are based on memory – they were all loaners which I analyzed at different times. Please take my comments with a grain of salt.

The Cayin is brighter, wider, and also has excellent detail resolution, but it has this 5 kHz peak that introduces harshness and grain to many ears. And it lacks sub-bass extension.

The Moondrop is has the least mid-bass of the lot, and is the least resolving. It comes across as bright and aggressive to my ears, like the Cayin.

It may be a bit unfair to compare the $250 JVC HA-FDX1 with the Dunu Zen. But, the JVC had been hailed by some as possibly the best single DD on the market 2 years ago.

Well, the JVC cannot quite keep up with any of the three in terms of staging – and its timbre comes across as somewhat metallic. But it is a decent choice for the budget audio enthusiast.

Concluding Remarks

Although the Dunu Zen is not perfect, it is close. It comes in second on my eternal list, just beaten by the 3000 Euro VisionEars Elysium. I absolutely love the Dunu Zen for its immersive, seductive listening experience and its microdynamics: never have I enjoyed the synergy of an oboe and a harpsichord so much.

I am still considering buying one for my amp/dacs reviews. The usual problem: too much gear and no money…and the Zen Pro coming. The Zen Pro incorporates tuning suggestions by the graphing crowd.

I hope the company has not compromised sound quality for sales-generating graphs, as currently seen with DACs and amps. We’ll see.

Until next time…keep on listening!

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The Zen was provided as part of a Canadian Head-Fi tour and I think the organizers for that.

Get the Zen from Dunu.

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Cons — Hidizs AP80 Pro has average battery life
– Finicky touch response
– MSEB implementation isn’t the best
– Somewhat dry tonality
– Stock silicone case is horrible

INTRODUCTION

Hidizs have been around the block for a while now, mostly focusing on portable DAC/Amps, dongles, and the occasional DAP/IEM. The AP80 Pro is their update to the original AP80, and it brings in a dual-DAC architecture and a balanced output. The rest of the device is rather intriguing too with DAC support, MQA decoding capabilities, and sporting Hiby OS which has a lot of bells and whistles to tweak the sound.

Without further ado, let’s see if the Hidizs AP80 Pro can justify its $170 price tag.

Note: the ratings given will be subjective to the price tier. Hidizs was kind enough to send me the AP80 Pro for evaluation.

Firmware version: 1.5

IEMs/Headphones used: Final FI-BA-SS/E5000/Sonorous III, Dunu Zen, Campfire Audio Holocene, Meze 12 Classics V2, Etymotic ER2XR

Price, while reviewed: $170. Can be bought from Hidizs website (please note: this is an affiliate link, proceedings will go to a charity of choice)

PHYSICAL THINGS AND USABILITY

PACKAGING AND ACCESSORIES

The packaging is fairly minimal but you get all that you need to get started: a type-C charging cable, an OTG cable, and a horrible looking silicone case. The case does its job but makes the entire device look ugly which is a shame given the great design. Nothing is left out, but nothing stands out either in terms of supplied accessories.
3.5/5

BUILD QUALITY AND HANDLING

The Hidizs AP80 Pro was quite a bit smaller than I assumed it to be. It fits right in the palm of your hand though the sharp edges can feel uncomfortable. The design is a popular one: aluminium frame sandwiched by two sheets of glass. The screen protectors are pre-applied and that’s a good thing.

The scroll wheel is a bit of a mixed bag. It’s rather sturdy (doesn’t wobble as much as many others) and has defined clicks. However, the clicks feel mushy and the movement has a scratchiness to it. I am nitpicking but hey – I am a bit too particular about rotating knobs.

The playback buttons have good feedback, however, and I love that Hidizs put all the ports at the bottom of the device (unlike many flagship DAPs out there). On the left side you’ll find the microSD card slot (up to 512GB+, absolutely necessary since the Hidizs AP80 Pro lacks in-built storage). The top is bereft of anything.

Overall, the Hidizs AP80 Pro has a good build and the design is rather unique indeed. I do wish the scroll wheel was better (despite using ALPS potentiometer).
4.5/5

DISPLAY AND USER INTERFACE (UI)

The display is a 2.45″ Samsung IPS panel (480*360) with capacitive touch layer underneath. Since the display isn’t laminated, it shows a loss of contrast when viewing from an angle (and not the best under direct sunlight). Display brightness is quite good though, and the pixel density is good enough to hide pixellation from working distance.

Hiby OS is what Hidizs is using here, and it’s a pretty solid DAP OS. It takes ~10 seconds to boot, and then you go straight into a “launcher” of sorts. Here, you can access the actual music player, or use the FM Radio/Pedometer/BT DAC/eBook reader (why?)/System Settings/About menus. It’s a pretty straightforward launcher though I wish there was a faster way to get back to the launcher screen from within the music player app (right now you have to exit the app and then only you can get to the launcher screen).

I think the most impressive/noteworthy part of the Hiby OS is its MSEB feature. It’s a sort of DSP/Parmetric EQ combo that allows you to fine tune aspects of the output such as warmth/brightness/bass rumble/male vocal thickness and so on. It’s fun to play with if you’re into tweaking the sound of your DAP, and can help in fixing some tonality issues in many IEMs.

However, the implementation here on the AP80 Pro isn’t as good as the one found on Hiby R6 2020, or even the Hiby R3 Pro Saber. Both of those had a more convincing tweak to the sound whereas on the AP80 Pro it feels like you’re just using a multi-band EQ and never really have the same control on shaping the sound.

Sliding up from the bottom of the screen brings a menu that’s not unlike iOS’ Control Center. Here you can adjust the volume/brightness, control playback, and switch Bluetooth on/off, select gain level (low/high), switch between DAC or Storage mode when connected to USB, and finally switch between line-out/headphone output mode. Use the last one with caution though since it just maxes out the volume to reach the nominal 2Vrms output level (it’s not a true line out where there is only voltage gain).

Speaking about the performance of the DAP, it’s pretty good and much better than a certain Fiio M6. However, you won’t get even low-end smartphone level of smoothness. There will be missed swipes and taps and the entire UI runs at 30fps or lower so things won’t be very smooth. It’s absolutely usable though and a far cry from non-touch DAPs like Questyle QP1R in terms of usability.
4/5

BATTERY LIFE

Battery life was about average especially from the balanced out. You get between 8-10 hours of playback based on the device/volume level used mostly due to the 800mAh battery used. This is far from the battery life you get from some competing DAPs, namely Sony NW-A55 (~35 hours) or the Cowon Plenue D (~90 hours, it’s not a typo). In AP80 Pro’s defense – those don’t have quite as much output power or balanced circuitry as the Hidizs DAP. However, we are considering raw battery life only, so it’s an area where Hidizs can do better. The battery charging speed is fairly good though and should top the DAP up within an hour and half.
3/5

PAIRING NOTES

The Hidizs AP80 Pro is not a powerhouse and won’t run the Sennheiser HD600 and the likes well. There’s a noticeable lack of bass extension and slam with the HD650, for example. Final Sonorous III fared much better though the bass wasn’t as well-controlled on the AP80 Pro as it is on desktop sources.

As for IEMs, even with the sensitive Final FI-BA-SS I couldn’t notice any hiss and the sound was fairly dynamic. Dunu Zen had a good pairing though the upper-mid glare was more noticeable here. Best pairing was with the Meze 12 Classics V2 and the Campfire Holocene.

TECH SPECS

Hidizs decided to use the tried and tested Sabre ES9218P DAC chips in dual-DAC configuration, and are using the built-in amp circuit of these DACs. This isn’t a bad thing really since it allows you to get reasonably good amp performance in a small package. I couldn’t find the output impedance figures anywhere though, bummer. Full specs are here.

TONALITY, TECHNICALITIES, AMP PERFORMANCE

The Hidizs AP80 Pro has a slightly colored tonal profile, with a bit more focus in the bass region and some emphasis in the upper-midrange (a common tonal trait of these ESS chips). There is some dryness in the midrange that makes male vocals sound a bit distant and coarse. This can be somewhat mitigated by the MSEB tweaks but I prefer not to use DSP/EQ too much myself. The bass and treble could be a bit more resolving given the competition.

The best part about the AP80 Pro’s sound signature has to be its soundstage which is quite wide and never feels closed-in even with IEMs that can feel narrow on some DAPs. Imaging isn’t as accurate as higher-tier DAPs but for the price I don’t expect much better. Separation is also very good provided you have a resolving enough IEM.

Speaking about amp performance, the balanced output was powerful enough to drive the Final E5000 quite loudly, but the E5000 didn’t have quite the bass control that you can get on something like Questyle QP1R/Apogee Groove. Also the balanced output won’t run pesky planars, though some low-end planars like Hifiman HE-400se sounded alright.

Still, for these headphones I’d recommend a desk amp. The balanced output also has better channel separation. I’d personally recommend using the balanced output on the AP80 Pro since it’s noticeably better than the single-ended output.

All in all, the Hidizs AP80 Pro is a good performer for the price bracket. It has good staging and separation capabilities but doesn’t stand out in the other performance criterion. The amp section is fairly powerful from the balanced out but won’t run high impedance headphones that well so it’s mostly for moderately sensitive IEMs and headphones.
4/5

SELECT COMPARISONS

vs Hiby R3 Pro Saber ($210): At $40 extra, the Hiby R3 Pro Saber gives you WiFI capabilities (supports Tidal playback) and a more powerful balanced out. It also noticeably increases the battery life. You do lose out on the superior industrial design of the AP80 Pro and the Hidizs DAP has a better display.

That’s all on paper though. In terms of absolute sound quality, I can’t really notice much difference between them. The Hiby R3 Pro Saber has a bit more sterile tone (not a good thing in my book) but counterbalances that with better MSEB implementation (also the OS is more feature-rich on the Hiby R3 Pro Saber). The extra output power is handy if you want to push some higher impedance headphones but with most IEMs this extra power didn’t really matter.

In terms of specs, the $40 extra for the R3 Pro Saber is well worth it. However, if you’re after absolute sound quality and not the extra bit of power and can live without Tidal playback, the Hidizs AP80 Pro will give similar performance at a lower cost.

vs Sony NW-A55 ($200): I’ll say it outright – the Sony NW-A55 is my most favorite DAP around the $200 price bracket. It’s got a great industrial design, the display is fabulous, the UI is snappy, and the sound signature is gorgeous (as Gordon Ramsey would say). The best part about them are the modded firmware by a certain MrWalkman and they bring different tuning to the stock signature.

The Sony DAP is hard to find (it’s biggest con), lacks balanced output, and doesn’t have a lot of output power. Oh, it also uses the forsaken WMPort so you gotta carry that cable around. Battery life is exceptional though at ~35-40 hours of playback. Standby times are also excellent as I rarely turn it off and still have enough juice left for on the go use.

As for sound, the Sony NW-A55 reigns supreme in midrange rendition. The mids on the Sony DAP is unlike anything you’ll hear in this range and has a analogue-ish feel to it. The bass and treble is about similar on both DAPs, though I felt the bass to have slightly better texture on the A55. Staging and separation is where the AP80 Pro pulled ahead. Also, Sony NW-A55 doesn’t have anything like MSEB (though it has Sony’s own proprietary DSP based tricks).

Between these two, I’ll personally pick the Sony NW-A55. If you need a balanced out and more bells and whistles – the Hidizs AP80 Pro may be a better fit for your use-case.

vs Fiio M6 ($150): The Fiio M6 is horrible in almost every aspect. The Hidizs AP80 Pro is far superior. Please avoid the Fiio and save yourself hours of frustration. Thank you.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

Looking at the rest of the <$200 DAP market, the Hidizs AP80 Pro seems like a good value proposition. I don’t see a major weakness here. The issues I have are not really deal-breakers and competing DAPs have similar/worse problems. The display is good, the UI has quite a lot of features, and the design is a standout.

The middling battery life and the finicky touch response are the only sore points. Among its competitors, I do have a soft spot for the Sony NW-A55, but if you want better staging and separation over a more refined midrange tonality – the Hidizs AP80 Pro will serve you better than most other DAPs in this range.

MY VERDICT

4/5

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Get it from Hidizs Store. Check out their YouTube channel.
You can get 5% off with the following code: KMMBD5 (AP80/AP80 pro/DH80s/MS2/MS4/S9 pro/MS1/H2)
You can get 3% off with the following code: KMMBD3 (S8/MS1 rainbow/Seeds/H1/BT01/S3pro)

I have to mention the above offers due to contractual obligation. Also, the links above are affiliated, proceedings will go to a charity of choice.

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Cons — Sound is strongly eartips dependent, can be bright.

Executive Summary

The Whizzer Kylin HE03AL is a cohesive warm-bright, nimble earphone that scores in almost all aspects.

Introduction

With the abundance of multidriver earphones in the last few years, the size of the earpieces appears to have increased exponentially. This may be a consequence of the number of drivers packed into the shells, but even single-dynamic driver earphones appear to have grown. Apart from that, many shells appear to approach a few uniform designs. The listener has to stuff huge cherries into their ears and almost nobody appears to find anything wrong with that.

When choosing my earphones for the day, comfort, and therefore size, shape, and weight play a big role. A good example are my infamous, now discontinued UE 900S that feature four balanced armature drivers in very tiny shells.

Whizzer shows that it can be done. The company is currently having success with the highly rated $80 HE01, an articulate and fun-tuned single dynamic-driver iem. The earpieces come in a unique teardrop shape that provide an excellent fit. While the roségold design may polarize the audio enthusiasts, it stands out from the large uniform fraction of the rest.

Whizzer carried this principal shape over to their new HE03AL (not 100%), a 1+2 iem, which distinguish themselves from their competition through their appearance.

Specifications

Physical Things and Usability

The earpieces come in a very high-quality blue leather case, which may not be the most portable one. The earpieces are made of high-grade magnesium-aluminium alloy, and their haptic is as good as it can be. They are not only small but also light, and their nozzles are relatively long with two lips.

The 5N silver-plated copper cable is reminiscent of the ones that come with some Moondrop models: it is silver-white, with a round cross section, and is not too rubbery, rather light, drapes well around my body, and the connectors are made of metal. The earhooks are relatively elastic and do not strangle my ears. There is minor microphonics. Whizzer want to sell you their $79 GSC5N upgrade cable, but I find the stock cable just fine for me, as it is light. Works.

Also in the box are two sets of silicone eartips, black wide-bores, and whitish narrow-bores. The accessories are completed by a little soft brush and the usual paperwork.

Ergonomics is very good, the small earpieces with their long nozzles fit my ears like a glove. Very comfortable for many hours of listening pleasure. Isolation is not the greatest, but this may vary between sets of ears.

Tonality and Technicalities

Equipment used: MacBook Air/iPhone SE with AudioQuest DragonFly Cobalt; EarMen Eagle with AudioQuest JitterBug FMJ, Earstudio HUD100, ifi Audio iDSD Nano BL; stock tips.

A sonic characterization of the HE03AL is somewhat tricky, as the sound is rather tip dependent. But independent of tips, I’d characterize the HE03AL as cohesive and moderately warm, organic, and musical, closer to a “clean” single dynamic driver than a BA multi. This, combined with its small, light, ergonomic and therefore well fitting earpieces make for a pleasant, fatigue-free listening over longer periods.

The stock tips worked best for me. I also tried tip rolling but had no luck: SpinFit CP145 and CP500 did not improve anything and the Azla SednaEarfit introduced a muffled upper bass.

The white narrow-bore “reference” tips are bulbous in shape and rather long, and they have the thicker membrane of the two stock sets. They are made for deep insertion. The black wide-bore “soundstage” tips are rather short and wide. They are stitting shallower in your ear canals. Both kinds are short-stemmed and work well with the long nozzles.

Sonically the white tips dial the low end back and move the vocals forward. As a side-effect, this brings the upper midrange out and some may perceive the sound bright. Paradoxically, these “reference” tips create the better 3-D scene.

The black tips add to the bass and move the vocals back into the trough of a U-shape. That bass balances the upper midrange elevation, which essentially switches the midrange glare off and avoids shoutiness.

Different strokes for different folks.

All this is not reflected in my measurements, for two reasons: first, I always use the same standard tips for all earphones, and second, I could not get consistent results with the black tip as the coupler refused to work with the thin membane.

However, measurements with my standard tis show a 13 dB pinna gain from 1 to 2 kHz is followed by a 4 kHz peak, resulting in a broad upper midrange plateau. The elevated 4-5 kHz region can introduce grain and harshness to many ears, but can be mitigated with eartips, as seen above.

Independent of tips, the low end is well dosed with a natural decay. Extension into the sub-bass is good but not the greatest, neither is slam, although there is a good rumble with the black tips. Call it “relaxed”.

If you want a healthy bass kick, the HE03AL offer a more natural sounding solution instead. Fast bass lines are clean, precise, but subtle. “Composed” is the best fitting term for the low end, and more so with the white tips than with the black ones. Bass is thumpier and punchier with the black tips.

Vocals in the lower midrange are very nicely rendered and brighter with the white tips. Note weight does not suffer from the upper midrange glare with the white tips. Black tips cause some bass bleed that enhance the recessed male vocals. Note definition is very good and there is plenty of air.

The lower treble drops somewhat off with cymbals in the 7 kHz are being recessed and subtle, but still well defined and crisp. This does not really compromise the treble experience much as the 10 kHz comes to help. Treble resolution and details very good and there is no danger that the upper treble is fatiguing to anybody.

According to the subtle low end, soundstage is not as immersive as in the Dunu Zen, for example. the baser black tips make the stage deeper and limited in width, and the white tips cause the opposite.

Spatial cues is good, you can pinpoint musicians on the stage nicely. Resolution and microdynamics are average, and macrodynamics benefits from amplification. Resolution suffers when the stage is crowded.

Timbre is astonishingly natural but can be coated with a film of brightness, depending on tips. The BAs do not introduce that “glassy” BA timbre.

Whizzer Kylin HE03AL Compared

The $240 NiceHCK Lofty single DD has more depth and weight, is bassier, but is overall much less coherent and balanced. The $220 Akoustyx R-220 has a significantly flatter, neutral tuning with a much lesser low end that comes very close to Etymotic’s tuning. The $200 Shozy Form 1.4 sounds less organic but is technically better.

Concluding Remarks

With the HE03AL, Whizzer have released an iem that distinguishes itself from its competition already by its appearance. I would classify this iem as a great allrounder: it is attractive looking and feeling, well-made, comfortable, and it sounds musical, engaging, and pleasant. All little wheels work well together, the wow effect may come later. And it will…

I’d recommend the HE03AL to people who have saved their money for ONE earphone in the $200-250 class. For you, it will cover all the bases. And I assign some longevity to it. It is good enough to still serve you well 3 years down the road.

My wife has had a single earphone, the Hifiman RE-400. I gave her the HE03AL as an upgrade. The perfect iem for somebody like her.

Until next time…keep on listening!

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The Whizzer Kylin HE03AL was provided from Whizzer for my review and I thank them for that.

Get the HE03AL from Whizzer Official Store

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Cons — Cayin N6ii has poor battery life with the E01/T01 motherboards exacerbated by standby battery drain
– Archaic SD425 CPU is neither frugal nor performant
– Very aggressive background process management renders 4GB of RAM useless
– New motherboards are pricey

INTRODUCTION

Cayin knows their stuff.

Unlike many recent Chinese brands, they have been around for quite a while. They’ve been focusing on the portable market recently, and the Cayin N6ii is their latest offering (which is a successor to the original N6).

The new model ditches the awkward look of the original and settles for a more traditional candybar style. Meanwhile, it also brings in an Android-based UI/UX, offers a properly modular ecosystem with swappable motherboards that change the entire DAC/Amp circuitry along with the available outputs, and bumps the price accordingly because of course.

Cayin was kind enough to send me the N6ii as part of the review tour (courtesy of Andy Kong), and it retails for ~1500 euros here in Germany. There are currently three motherboards available: A01, T01, and E01, with prices ranging from $300–400 or so.

Yeah, that’s quite a steep price of admission, but does the sound quality live up to it? Let’s find out.

N.B. All relevant specs are here. Don’t wanna bore y’all with walls of numbers.

Note: the ratings given will be subjective to the price tier. The Cayin N6ii was sent as part of a review tour kindly organized by Andy Kong. Disclaimer

Price, while reviewed: $1200 (with E02 motherboard)

IEMs/Headphones used: Final E5000/E4000/E3000/E1000, Cayin YB-04, Tin T4, IMR R1 Zenith, MeeAudio Pinnacle P1, Audeze iSine10, Dunu SA6/Zen, Sennheiser IE40 Pro/HD650.

CAYIN N6ii: PHYSICAL THINGS AND USABILITY

PACKAGING AND ACCESSORIES

Many seem to demand a premium unboxing experience when it comes to flagship/Top-of-the-Line product, and they do have a fair point: if you are spending a premium, you should expect a special treat. Cayin takes care of that rather well.

The box itself is quite big and heavy and has dense foam-padding inside to protect the device. You get all the necessities: a type-C charging cable, a leatherette case with red stitching (pretty cool in person), a 2.5mm-4.4mm balanced adapter, some plastic screen protectors (not a fan of those myself, looks cheap and gets smudgy after a while) along with a tempered one, and finally loads of paperwork for you to admire.

I can’t seem to think any other major omissions, and while the accessories are not of exceptionally high quality (the tempered glass protector doesn’t cover the entire display) they do the job just fine.
4/5

BUILD QUALITY

For such a high price tag, you expect impeccable build and fortunately Cayin delivers, for the most part. The whole device feels very dense, premium, *enter words synonymous to luxury*. Both the front and back of the device is covered by tempered glass (not the premium Corning Glass, which is a bummer) and this ensures RF transparency. Unfortunately, I found the applied oleophobic coating to be inadequate as the device started to get smudgy real quick without the screen protector, which you should be using anyways due to the top display being slightly curved and lifted off of the side-rails (thus making it more vulnerable to face-down drops).

At this point, I should mention that the sand-blasted finish that Cayin opted for is absolutely awesome. It feels great in the hand and adds some character to the otherwise (subjectively) boring design.

On the right side you get all the buttons: a circular volume dial flanked by ridges to avoid accidental activation (which doesn’t work well, as we shall see soon), and it also doubles as a lock/power switch (activated via pressing inwards).

Then, you get the row of forward/play-pause/backward buttons. On the left side, you get the solitary micro-SD slot. I can already hear groans of those who prefer two SD card slots, so tough luck mates. The bottom of the device houses the type-C (thankfully!) port and the I2S (Inter-IC Sound) port, which is rarely seen on DAPs. This can be very handy if you intend to use the Cayin N6ii as a transport, as I2S doesn’t suffer from jitter issues that plague optical outputs. More info on I2S here.

One thing to note on the back is the two Torx T5 screws on the top left/right corners. These can be taken out to pull the motherboard out of the device (by pressing against the small ridge). Do make sure to turn the device off before doing so to avoid possible bricking/other issues.

Finally, we get to the top — and here are all those nifty output jacks, or jack if you are using the E01 motherboard (spoiler: my favorite one of the bunch).
While I like the overall build quality and port selections, I have a few qualms with overall attention to detail, which you expect in such a flagship. The bezels around the display, for one, are asymmetric, and it triggers my OCD right away.

Then there is the motherboard swapping mechanism. It is not the most user-friendly as the motherboard doesn’t slide on any rails and it’s basically very stiff overall. The T01 motherboard can be easily removed via attaching a headphone jack and then pulling against the jack itself, but the E01 motherboard doesn’t offer such hack and you have to struggle to get it out. This stiffness somewhat mars the otherwise excellently executed modularity aspect of the device. Perhaps a spring-loaded/assisted mechanism could have had helped here, but obviously that would make the inner design more complicated.
4.5/5

DISPLAY

The display at 4.2″ and 1280*768 pixels won’t blow you away if you are using a mid-range smartphone, but considering the DAPs of yesteryear this is a major improvement. It’s IPS, got decent viewing angles, has very good sunlight legibility and also has a pretty dim minimum brightness as to not blind you while using in the dark. The pixel density of 355ppi is enough for most I’d say (it’s above what Apple used to tout as Retina for those keeping count) and while the colors seem a bit washed out — this is a marked improvement. There is a small circular dot beneath the display that acts as a home-button/back key combo of sorts. It also houses a white LED that breathes while charging.

My biggest peeve here: those bezels on the side. It irks me every time I notice them in the daylight. Perhaps I’m too used to the ever-shrinking bezels of the smartphones, but I still think the DAP manufacturers can use better screens on their flagships products, esp AMOLED displays might provide some benefit with battery life as long as dark mode is used throughout.
4/5

HANDLING

At ~290gm, the Cayin N6ii will make its presence known — be it in your pocket or in the palms of your hand. The smaller footprint (compared to most smartphones nowadays) somewhat helps in handling, though it is counterbalanced by the 22mm thickness which reminds me of the good ol’ Nokia phones.

That thickness is required it seems with the modular motherboards and everything, so I won’t be too picky about that. There are other bones to pick, as it stands, with the prime culprit being those playback control button cluster on the right side. They are too trigger-happy and gets pressed randomly (esp when inside the case). Due to the weight of the device, you may often put pressure on the buttons during general handling and as a result it becomes rather annoying.

Fortunately, you can turn them off when the device is locked via Settings (Settings -> Lockscreen Button Settings -> Play/next/prev -> Turn off). This, however, is a poor solution since one of the reasons why many enjoy using their DAPs is that button trio.

Another issue is the volume wheel that scrolls often when, again, trying to pull them out of the pocket. They are fine while using the device in hand. However, I have turned off both these buttons while the device is locked to preserve my sanity. At least the buttons are clicky with good feedback and the volume wheel has satisfyingly crisp steps.

Finally, the positioning of the headphone out. Putting it on top means that the wire adds extra strain on the port while handling the device, and also a readjustment of grip is mandatory every time you pull it out of the pocket. Minor issue, but these niggles add over time.
3.5/5

UI/RESPONSIVENESS

Welcome to Android, everyone! Which means, welcome to all its flexibility, functions and the pain-points it brings along. Cayin is using Android 8.1 which would be unacceptable on any phone in 2020 but since it’s a DAP — all is well. /s

First up: boot times. It takes about 22 seconds to go from cold boot to fully mounting the SD card and being ready to go. This is not too bad by any means given there is a paltry Snapdragon 425 CPU here along with 4GB of RAM (my LG G7 for example takes ~15s to boot up, running an SD845). This, however, doesn’t bode well to those who prefer to turn the DAP off when not using it and turning it on again to conserve battery. This is part of the trade-off of running Android though and one I guess many won’t mind.

Next up: navigation, and this is where I encountered the first hurdle. Cayin apparently wants you to go with “one-button navigation” with the small circle at the bottom acting as a home/back button combo. A short press takes you back one level, and a long press takes you back home.

Simple, innit?

Not really.

Because to go into multitasking view, guess what, you have to swipe up from the bottom edge. This inconsistency leads to a somewhat jarring experience for those who’ve been using Android for a while with the traditional navigational cluster. The button is also placed awkwardly around the bottom edge of the front with a large blank space between itself and the display and that definitely spoils the aesthetic somewhat.

Fortunately Cayin allowed full access to Google Play Store services by default (unlike certain other manufacturers) and it works as expected. I could easily log in to my Google account, install Tidal and call it a day. It also comes with HiBy Music preinstalled which many seem to prefer. And that’s about it. No bloatware (though that odd browser named Via is a potential candidate) and mostly stock-ish build of Android apart from some curious omissions (no search function in Settings, for example).

The overall operation is mostly smooth, but issues crop up every now and then. Despite having such large amount of RAM, apps often disappear/relaunch due to aggressive background task management (likely employed to conserve battery, still a giant pain). Initially there were a lot of bugs in the SW but Cayin has ironed out most of the kinks over time via OTA firmware upgrades. I really wish Cayin used a better processor instead of the SD425 though, something like SD636 would have increased the overall fluidity many folds.
4/5

CONNECTIVITY

You get the much needed Wi-FI (dual-band ac, of course) and Bluetooth (sadly of the 4.2 variety and not 5.0). Reception is decent, and BT range is satisfactory and supports LDAC. There’s type-C and S/PDIF and the aforementioned I2S. All bases are covered and unless you really need 4G/cellular support for some reason this is kind of as complete as it gets (barring BT 5.0).
4.5/5

BATTERY LIFE

Prima facie, one would expect N6 II to have great battery life given the mammoth ~6000mAh battery. That’s almost twice as much as most smartphones and, on paper, should see you throw at least half a week.

Reality is different, sadly. First up, the standby batter drain is quite odd as the phone seemingly drains battery even when turned off. Secondly, during regular operation, depending on the motherboard, the battery can go flat within 6–7 hrs of playback.

If you want the best battery life, you gotta stick to the A01 motherboard as both the (sonically superior, IMO) T01 and E01 motherboards suck the juice faster than a honey-bee. Typically you should last around 3 days on a charge if you listen to music/stream them online via Tidal/Spotify on the A01. The T01 is the worst of the bunch from my experience, with the older design chipset being a total power-hog and I had to run to the charger barely a day and half later. The E01 fared slightly better and you might get an additional hour of playback’s worth, but even then it’s mostly around the 7–8 hours of playback mark.

The battery also takes quite a while to charge due to the massive capacity. It apparently supports Quick Charge 3.0 as per Cayin, but AFAIK the SD425 supported only QC 2.0. Either way, there is some form of Quick Charging so I can’t complain, albeit it still takes ages to get to 100% and something akin to Xiaomi or Oppo/OnePlus’ ultra-fast charging tech would likely be needed in similar future products.

Granted, the E01 is running a desktop DAC chip (ESS 9038Pro) and also operating in discrete class-A (switching to the A/B mode improves battery life by a further hour and half or so). Still, that doesn’t explain the standby battery drain and overall poor standby power management. For such a massive battery, this is a disappointing performer.
3/5

AMP MODULES

We gotta talk about them amp modules.

The A01 is running the AK4497EQ chipset, the T01 is using a dual PCM1792A (similar to the original N6) and the E01 has the highest specced DAC-chip of them all: the ESS9038Pro.

Each module comes with a T5 screwdriver to help in unmounting the old motherboard and installing the new one. The motherboard themselves only go in one way, so no option to mess up the direction. They use a connector that’s eerily similar to the Mini PCI-E connectors of the old.

Each motherboard also comes with their own set of output array and reconstruction filter settings. The T01, running the oldest chipset, has the least amount of reconstruction filter options, while the E01 has too many of them to keep count of. A01 is in somewhat the middle of the road in terms of options. The E01 lacks balanced out, while both the A01 and T01 has a 4.4mm balanced out (that has more output power and apparently better “separation”, though I couldn’t quite hear any improvement on that regard).

I initially decided not to try and describe the “sound” of each motherboard because frankly, it’s quite impossible (for me at least) to “remember” the sonic characteristics of each of them as just swapping the motherboard itself takes at least a few minutes. Auditory memory is hardly reliable and thus I decided to go with the highest specced and seemingly “best sounding” motherboard — the E01. Even then, I’d try to rummage through some notes I made about each motherboard.

A01 IMPRESSIONS

A01 didn’t sound anything special, frankly, so it was out after 10 minutes or so. It was too warm and colored sounding to my ears. Some may like it with specific IEM/headphone pairings (e.g. bright ones) but in general I found it to be the weakest offering among the three motherboards.

T01 IMPRESSIONS

T01 had the most dynamic presentation and definitely has a very fun signature. The coloration here is akin to the ones A&K players have: north of neutral yet tastefully done. The balanced out also has a lot of power in tow. Staging is widest with this motherboard as well (from memory, take with some salt). However, this motherboard is very power hungry, esp from the balanced out.

E01 IMPRESSIONS

E01 had the “smoothest” signature of them all, and I love myself some class-A goodness. It’s also got a bit of warmth to the overall signature but doesn’t veer too far off of neutrality and pairs well with any IEM. The power is lower than the T01 in terms of absolute volume but frankly it drives most headphones and IEMs excellently (barring those pesky inefficient planars). The E01 also sounds different between class-A and class-A/B mode. The A/B mode had a bit more dynamism but didn’t sound as tone-neutral as the class-A mode and also sounded a bit edgier in the treble region to my ears.

For the rest of the review, I will mostly describe the sound with the E01 motherboard as it is the one I liked the most and given the short tour period, the only one I could assess in a long-term nature.

SOUND SIGNATURE ANALYSIS

Motherboard used: E01
Filter used: Apodizing
Gain: High

Most of the critical listening was done with the HD650.

The first thing you notice with these is the lack of hiss. Even with my most sensitive IEM (JVC FX700) I could barely hear a very faint white noise when pushing the volume up very high. Job well done, Cayin, though for that price — it better be well done!

Next up is the quality of the mid-range rendition. I am very particular about vocals and Cayin doesn’t disappoint. No oddities in the vocal texture/breathing and everything sounds as it should, though there is a certain emphasis on the mid-range that’s difficult to miss. Instrument separation is good, but doesn’t stand out like certain desktop setups. The best thing about its sound though is how addictive it gets with the E01 motherboard after a while. It’s also not too revealing of poorly mastered tracks, which might or might not be a good thing depending on your preference and associated gears.

Frankly, if you are going by measurements alone, the Cayin N6ii gets trounced by the likes of iBasso DX160. However, that player doesn’t quite sound as enjoyable as the N6ii does with the E01/T01 motherboard. Dynamics are on a different level on the Cayin and I believe that’s what Cayin focused the most on while tuning this one.

Despite all this, you might feel disappointed with the lack of good PEQ support, or lack of any DSP effects like JetEffects (Cowon got that one absolutely nailed down). If you want to change the sonic profile, aside from swapping out the entire motherboard you’re straight outta luck, and that’s a massive bummer. Changing filters help, but lack of DSP options that competition offers is a slight letdown.
4.5/5

AMP PERFORMANCE

The amp performance varies depending upon which motherboard you install.

And then it also depends on the app you’re using. Talk about oddities.

On the stock music player, the amp seems to have a higher/full gain, while on other apps like Tidal/YT Music the amp gain is reduced. I don’t know why this behavior is there as apparently Cayin bypasses the resampling of stock Android audio pipeline via something they call Direct Transport Audio (DTA). Nonetheless, it’s yet another peculiarity to add to the growing list.

The volume scale is out of 100, which is good. I don’t get the point of 120/140 volume steps for the most part, so kudos Cayin. Using the HD650, on the stock player, I need about 62/100 to get to good listening volumes. This value reaches to ~72 on Tidal/YT Music. On the Final E5000, I need ~45 on the stock player, while ~55 steps seem to take care of it in Tidal. It’s quite annoying really to have to switch volumes the moment you switch apps and something I hope Cayin sorts out in a future FW upgrade.

If you need more power, the balanced output on A01/T01 will cater you better, even though those as well fall short of driving power-hungry planars perfectly. Stuff like HE4XX will run just fine, but more inefficient planar designs won’t reach their full potential. For such a portable device, however, I guess I can’t really complain with the power output here. It’s not exceptional, but it’s plenty for the most part.
4/5

SELECT COMPARISONS

vs Questyle QP1R (discontinued): The QP1R is my personal go-to DAP for daily use, and is one of the few DAPs with class-A amplification built-in. It uses an older chipset, however, being almost four years old. I personally like the design on the QP1R more, and there are reasons for that. The volume knob is nearly impossible to activate accidentally, and it’s build even better than the Cayin N6ii in a sense with the Gorilla glass panels on the back and front (instead of regular tempered glass on the Cayin) being “embossed” into the aluminium casing itself. However, the navigation and overall operation is archaic and cumbersome compared to the far more modern N6ii. It also lacks the Balanced output (A01) and A/B amplification mode switching (E01) of the Cayin DAP, along with the modularity aspect.

In terms of sound, the E01 motherboard has more output power than the QP1R, though it’s not as huge a difference as it shows on the specs. Both can drive low sensitivity IEMs or high impedance headphones like the HD650 to satisfying volumes and plenty of bass punch. What they can’t do, however, is deal with inefficient planars, at least not that well. Sound signature is largely similar on them, and the slight differences I noticed at times may be attributed to the slightly higher output impedance on the Cayin N6ii (0.15ohm vs 0.6ohm). Sonically, both are very similar when volume matched in class-A. In A/B mode the Cayin has more energetic albeit a tad unrefined signature, so it’s the class-A mode that I cared about.

In short, the Cayin N6ii seems like a natural upgrade to the Questyle QP1R. As Questyle has stuck with their awkward-at-best navigation system even on the latest QPM, the Cayin N6ii will offer a viable upgrade path to those who want to use streaming services without losing the sound quality of the Questyle player(s).

vs A&K KANN Alpha ($1000): The A&K KANN Alpha is a very interesting A&K offering in the sense that it doesn’t cost “as much” as their other premium DAPs and manages to sound nearly as good as those higher-tier offerings. A&K offers an unique coloration (their house sound) which is more of a love/hate thing. I personally love that particular take on sound and the KANN Alpha is indeed one of my most favorite DAPs in the price range.

In terms of build quality, both are excellent. UI/Responsiveness goes to Cayin N6ii though as the Kann Alpha can be a bit of a pain to use. Handling is awkward with both of these DAPs due to their sheer weight and size. Battery life is better on the Kann Alpha, however.

As for the sound, the Cayin N6ii+E01 is a more balanced, neutral presentation compared to the larger-than-life presentation that the KANN Alpha offers. Staging is wider on the KANN Alpha and the background details are slightly pushed forward. Dynamics are similar on both. Where the Cayin N6ii wins is the bass texture and midrange rendition. Vocals on the N6ii are an absolute treat. Treble was also extremely natural on the Cayin N6ii where coloration was more evident on the Kann Alpha. Output power is also higher on the KANN Alpha and if you want to drive full size cans the KANN Alpha is a better option. I did find the N6ii to have slightly better layering with the E01 motherboard.

Overall, I like both of these DAPs and find the Cayin N6ii + E01 combo more of a compliment to the A&K KANN Alpha than a competitor. The T01 module is another story though and given the overall increase in battery life I prefer the KANN Alpha to the Cayin N6ii + T01 combo. Do keep in mind that the modularity of the N6ii ensures that you can try different motherboards for different pairings, something the KANN Alpha doesn’t offer (you need to go for the A&K Futura SE180).

vs Lotoo PAW 6000 ($1500): The Lotoo player is positioned differently from the Cayin N6ii. It doesn’t have a smart OS, it doesn’t have swappable motherboards, and it doesn’t have as much output power as the Cayin player. it does, however, have much faster boot times, better battery life/handling, and a near-reference presentation. The way the Lotoo PAW 6000 delivers bass notes is something unique to it: rich, full of texture, and every subtlety can be felt (given a suitable headphone/earphone of course). Staging is also wider on the LP6K and its ability to portray micro-details is simply unmatched in the price class. Moreover, the DSP effects and PEQ options are very handy.

The Cayin N6ii on the other hand goes for a more relaxed presentation (with E01) and pairs better with brighter IEMs/heapdhones than the Lotoo PAW 6000. Microdynamics are also slightly better on the N6ii though these are marginal, negligible differences.

It’s hard to pick one for me since I like both of these DAPs. If offline playback is what you do mostly I’d probably pick the Lotoo PAW 6000 since it’s focused solely towards music playback with no smartphone-like distractions. For the streamers out there, N6ii with E01/E02/T01 can be more appealing. In terms of sheer sound quality though, you won’t go wrong with either.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

In the end, the Cayin N6ii faces all the trials and tribulations any flagship device faces, and is accursed by the fruitless exercise of chasing perfection. So, Cayin focused on the sound tuning, and while this is not a benchmark champ, I can’t quite find any faults with it sound signature, no matter which IEM/Headphone I throw at it. Barring a few notoriously difficult to drive headphones — this will make your gears sound as well as they are capable of with more than enough volume. The switchable motherboards also bring lots of possibilities. Not to mention: the stellar build quality. This is definitely one of the best sounding players out there under the $1500 mark.

While I can’t fault N6ii in the sound and build department, the rest of it is rather bland. The design is mundane and with the asymmetrical bezels and home button placement this is far from a trend-setter. Some may scoff at just one microSD slot (though 500GB+ SD cards are available), while others like me might have issues with the trigger-happy playback button cluster/headphone out location.

The biggest issue might arise with the battery and the OS though. Also, using a rather old 28nm(!) node obviously doesn’t help with power management. A much newer SoC e.g. SD636 would not only have made the DAP much faster while operating, but also have cut down the power draw by quite a margin.

Despite all the caveats, I crave for the N6ii. It doesn’t check all the boxes, but it checks the most important one — sound quality.

The Cayin N6ii will likely suit them who are willing to pay the price for one of the best sounding portable devices out there. The competition is stiff, but given the overall sound quality and flexibility on offer, it’s hard to go wrong with the Cayin N6ii (with E01 motherboard, for me).

MY VERDICT

4.25/5

Recommended with the E01/T01 motherboards

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PHOTOGRAPHY

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Cons — Availability of Spinfit tips can be a bit spotty
– Some experimentation required

INTRODUCTION

Third-party eartips are one of those things that you end up with a large collection of as you fall deeper into audiophilia. The reason is quite simple: universal earphones (i.e. non-custom IEMs) require fiddling with the tips more often than not. Moreover, eartips are just about the cheapest (and often most reproducible) way of tuning an earphone. So we all end up with boxes of eartips of our own, sooner or later.

Spinfit have been making eartips for a while now, and their claim-to-fame is the name-sake “swivel” mechanism that rotates the top of the inner-stem. This in turn helps to achieve a deeper, more secure seal as the top of the tip (along with the sound-tube) literally bends to get closer to the inner-ear.

In this round-up, we shall explore how well this mechanism works across a variety of IEMs. Models to be evaluated: Spinfit CP-100, CP-100+, CP-145, CP-145 (medical-grade silicone), CP-240, CP-360, CP-500, and the CP-800. The only two in-production models that I don’t have with me are the CP-155 (I don’t have a large-nozzle IEM at the moment) and the Airpod-specific CP-1025 (I don’t have an Airpod). With that out of the way, let’s head right in.

Note: The Spinfit CP-100 and the CP-500 are units I purchased myself. Rest were sent in by Spinfits themselves for evaluation. A huge shout-out to them. You can check out there entire catalogue of eartips here.

GENERAL BUILD QUALITY

All of the Spinfit eartips share some similarities in terms of build. They have a colored stem and the outer material is medical/food grade silicone. Each tips also has a depression/joint around the top of the internal sound bore. This joint allows the top of the tip to swivel 360 degrees around inside the ear-canal and (ideally) move past the bends in the ear-canal.

In all cases the internal stem is made of a stiffer material than the eartips themselves, though the stiffness varies depending on model. Now, let’s get into the details of individual models. For a more thorough look into the various dimensions of the tips themselves, please check out co-blogger Jürgen’s take on the Spinfit eartips.

SINGLE-FLANGE SPINFIT EARTIPS

CP-100/CP-100+

The Spinfit CP-100 is probably the most popular Spinfit eartips around. They are also the most widely available one. The original CP-100 model had a fairly stiff, color-coded stem (with color changing upon size) and the outer material was also fairly stiff. This model suited a number of IEMs especially those with a shallow nozzle (e.g. Dunu Luna, pictured below). The CP-100 was pretty much a utilitarian eartip, as in it would suit most models without affecting the FR too much or causing discomfort. I personally found the surface of the tip to be somewhat itchy after long-term use, and the stiffer outer layer didn’t have the best grip with the inner-ear wall.

Thus, we enter the Spinfit CP-100+. The new variant (which shall be released on Amazon soon) addresses my key complaint with the original CP-100: the stiffness and feel of the silicone. The new material is more supple and grips better. Most of all: the itchiness after long sessions is gone completely. In terms of ergonomics, this renders the CP-100 irrelevant.

Some suggested pairings for these tips: Moondrop Aria, Moondrop Starfield, Dunu Luna, Meze 12 Classics V2, Shozy Form 1.1, BLON BL-03/BL-05S

CP-145/CP-145 (refresh)

These are currently my favorite Spinfit tips. They are the most comfortable in Spinfit’s lineup along with the CP-100+ and pairs well with most IEMs with the given nozzle size (~4.5mm). Usually the bass seem to get tighter with these tips on and in some IEMs I’ve also experienced a perceived expansion of soundstage. The older CP-145 has a more supple, grippier texture on the outside whereas the new, medical-grade silicone version has a more coarse texture and has slightly worse seal. The choice between older and the newer CP-145 isn’t as straightforward as they both perform very similarly and are equally comfortable. Whichever you get, however, you shall find them stellar.

Some suggested pairings for these tips: Moondrop Blessing2/Aria/Starfield, 64Audio U12t, Final A8000, Dunu Luna, Reecho Insects Awaken

CP-360

The Spinfit CP-360 are specialist eartips meant to be used with TWS earphones. If you’re having trouble getting a fit with the stock tips that came with your earbud, give these a shot. The flange material is soft silicone and it’s very comfortable to wear due to the nozzle material not being too stiff. Isolation is also top-notch. Generally a good tip to have in your collection if you are into TWS earphones.

Some suggested pairings for these tips: Samsung Galaxy Buds/Buds Plus/Buds Pro, FIIL T1XS, Lypertek Tevi

CP-500

The most interesting offering in Spinfit’s entire lineup has to be the CP-500. It has a larger bore diameter (~5.5mm) and is meant for large nozzle IEMs that require a wide bore to work best. However, I have found them to work on slightly smaller bore IEMs too. I purchased the CP-500 initially to use with the Final E5000 (as stock E-type black tips have too much mid-bass). The CP-500 was the only tip available at that time for final’s E-series IEMs thus I pulled the trigger. Ironically, I ended up using the CP-500 on IEMs other than the Final E-type, most notably Dunu Zen and the IMR R1 Zenith. The CP-500 with Dunu Zen, specifically, have an incredible pairing that elevates the (already great) Zen to new heights. The difference between the Zen + CP-500 and other tips were far too noticeable.

That preamble aside, the CP-500 has a soft flange along with a similarly soft bore. The flange also has a somewhat oily texture to it, resulting in a fit that’s not the most secure and requires a bit of a deeper insertion. It’s a very comfortable eartip but isolation is worse than the CP-100/145/360. This is an eartip I’d recommend if you’re someone who’s into “tip-rolling” (as in, experimenting with various eartips). The CP-500 provides interesting results with many IEMs.

Some suggested pairings for these tips: Final E4000/E5000/E1000, Dunu Zen (best pairing for me), JVC FX-700, JVC FW-10000

CP-800

The Spinfit CP-800 is a specialized eartip meant for using exclusively with narrow-bore IEMs like the Shure, Etymotic ones. In case of Etymotic ER2XR this provides an interesting alternative to the stock triple/double-flange tips. The CP-800 has about the same bass and midrange rendition so those who find the stock triple/dual flange tips on Etymotics intrusive might find the CP-800 far more comfortable. I would recommend going for a smaller size than what you usually use with these tips (so if you usually need M, go for S). A size smaller will help with deeper fit. Sadly on the ER2XR at least, the CP-800 makes the treble roll-off earlier than the dual/triple flange tips. If you need more treble sparkle, the CP-800 might let you down on those IEMs. Shure IEMs like SE-215 worked just as well as the Shure Olive tips, however, with slightly improved fit.

Some suggested pairings for these tips: Etymotic ER2XR/ER4XR, Shure SE215/SE846.

DOUBLE-FLANGE SPINFIT EARTIPS

CP-240

The Spinfit CP-240 is their only dual-flange offering. Usually dual-flange tips offer a deeper seal along with improved isolation. The CP-240, however, is a strange case. Due to the larger gap between the swiveling part on top and the second flange below, the seal breaks inside the ear canal and may lead to a loss of isolation. Moreover, the bass response lightens up a lot as a result. This might help if you want to tone the bass down on some IEMs but for me this particular tip didn’t really have a permanent place on any of the IEMs I’ve tried them on. The CP-240 also comes with adapters that you can slot inside the bore to reduce bore size and use narrow-bore IEMs like Etymotic/Westone/Shure.

Some suggested pairings for these tips: Westone, Shure, Etymotic IEMs with adapter, Meze 12 Classics V2 without adapter.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

Writing about eartips can be confusing since it’s such a personal thing after all. This article is not meant to be taken as an absolute guide, rather a primer into what you might expect from the several Spinfit offerings. In the end, I can only speak from my personal experience along with the feedback I’ve gathered over time from other experienced users.

The Spinfit offerings are a must-have if you’re into collecting IEMs and love to experiment with several eartips. If I had to choose one SpinFit eartip among the 8 reviewed here, I would pick the CP-100+. It’s going to be widely available soon, it improves upon the original CP-100, and most of all it pairs well with most of the IEMs out there barring those with thin nozzles. Similarly, the CP-145 is a great choice and improves the comfort and sonic performance of many IEMs I’ve tried them on.

Among the rest, the CP-360 should be in your stable if you’re into TWS earphones, they are one of the few TWS-specific eartip after all. The CP-500 is a specialist eartip that can be unpredictable, and being the widest-bore tip in Spinfit’s lineup offers something unique. Finally, the CP-240 is something I couldn’t find a use for and the CP-800 didn’t perform as well as the tips it’s supposed to replace (for me). So these two don’t excite me as much.

Thus, I’ve covered most of Spinfit’s mainstream offerings. In the future I plan to make an entire post/thread where the eartips of all major manufacturers (along with a few obscure) ones will be covered. Let’s see how that one goes.

MY VERDICT

CP-100+/CP-145: Highly Recommended
CP-360/CP-500: Recommended

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DISCLAIMER

SpinFit Eartips can be found on Amazon.

Our generic standard disclaimer.

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

The post Spinfit Eartips Roundup: A Comprehensive Comparison Between 8 Variants appeared first on Audio Reviews.

Cons — Difficult to pick the right model.

Distinctive Features — Swivel mechanism; narrow-bore tips.

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Executive Summary

I have tested SpinFit eartips for this review since summer 2019, the results are reported here, and an overview of the different models is given. The main advantage of Spinfit eartips are in the added comfort, appealing appearance, and most importantly in their “kaiten”, the Japanese word describing their swivel mechanism (they don’t really “spin”). Kaiten results in deeper insertion and therefore sonic improvement over stock tips in many cases. Results may vary between earphones in combination with individual ear canals. While it cannot be said that Spinfits are universally better than other tips, they frequently are. They therefore fill a niche and should be in everybody’s eartips box. IMO, SpinFits are a good investment particularly for more expensive earphones.

Introduction

There are different ways to alter an earphone’s sound: cable, modding, nozzle-screen replacement…but eartips is the easiest and one of the cheapest, even taking the premium prices of some into account. The tips are at the end of the audio chain and can be a real bottleneck. If they don’t fit our ear canals properly, the whole listening experience is spoilt.

Some earphones come with a generous selection of eartips, others don’t. And in some cases, none of the eartips fit or provide an effective seal for the listener, so that the sound quality is compromised. In such situations, third-party eartips come to the rescue.

Eartips manufacturers can frolic as there is no real competition between them: all their products are different and there is no universal fit for any earphone/ear canal combination.

Eartips of the different makes are rather complementary and listeners have to acquire a box full of different types before “tip rolling” to find the best sound appeal for their individual ear canal geometry. So third-party eartips companies must be the best of friends.

SpinFit out of Taiwan are one of the pioneers of third-party eartips and their products have become somewhat of an industry standard. Most premium earphones that went through my hands as a reviewer came with SpinFit CP145 silicone tips, and these have become one of my starting points for “tip rolling”.

SpinFit have not only produced sonically appealing and comfortable eartips, they have also rolled them into some kind of appealing eyecandy, with coloured inner stems indicating type and size – for the advanced users. I sometimes feel like eating them. They are generally soft and pliable, comfortable, and durable.

Each of SpinFit’s offerings have distinct bore sizes (to fit the earphone nozzle) and umbrella size (to fit the ear canal). A unique swivel mechanism in all models helps connecting the two in an optimal manner – earphone and ear canal, that is. The swivel mechanism helps optimizing sound transfer and comfort. The mechanism also corrects for unfavourable nozzle angles on the earphone.

The Japanese word “Kaiten” describes the spin, which is actually not a spin at all, but a swivel. Some Japanese words also read as Chinese, because both languages share the “Kanji” characters.

Selecting the Right SpinFits for Your Earphone

Eartips are a very personal thing. There is no good or bad in most cases, there is good fit and lesser fit, which depends on both the devices they are mounted on and the listeners’ ear canals. These variables create a large number of possibilities and uncertainties so that no eartip is fitting universally. These variables are:

Fitting earphone nozzles: the first problem for the novice is – and it certainly was for me – to find the right SpinFit model to fit a particular earphone. First, one has to select the right diameter of the inner stem so that the SpinFit is being held safely in place. As a rule of thumb, most earphones have a nozzle diameter of 4.5 mm so that the CP145 is the most universal model for initial tip rolling.

Fitting ear canals: the second problem is that the umbrella size has to fit one’s ears. Size M fits most listeners (use the stock nozzles for comparison). I personally need L or XL. Also important is the length of the inner stem. Earphones with short nozzles such as the Blon BL-03 work best with a long-stemmed eartips, and most TWS earphones require short tips such as the CP360.

Check out the SpinFit Size Chart

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Optimizing sound: the SpinFit’s swivel mechanism corrects for unfavourably angled earphone nozzles, which contributes to sound optimization. Another parameter that influences perceived sound is the eartip’s bore diameter. All Spin Fits are narrow-bores and they therefore are even less competition to JVC Spiral Dots and Azla SednaEarfit tips, which are wide-bores. Narrow-bores and wide-bores differ in their sonic characters with most earphones [explained in detail here]. Trial and error rules, and there is no recipe for success.

I’ll give you an illustrated overview of the available below. Check the underlined links in the figure captions to follow up on the details.

The SpinFit Catalogue in Pictures

Please note that the SpinFit CP350 have been discontinued.

Co-blogger Kazi is going a bit more into detail of the individual models in his complementary SpinFit article.

What KopiOkaya says

Co-blogger Larry Fulton alias KopiOkaya summarizes the main characteristics of the leading third-party eartips in his famous eartips guide. He covers most of the SpinFit catalogue. You find his thoughts behind this spoiler.

Concluding Remarks

Eartips are the cheapest sonic upgrade of an earphone (without modding). SpinFit have established themselves as one of the industry leaders because of their special swivel mechanism, their comfort, fit, durability, and last but not least their optical appeal. I have dropped a few dollars on their offerings in my time as hobbyist.

SpinFit eartips are no miracle cure in all cases, but they are possibly the first ones to choose for “tip rolling”. They should therefore be in everybody’s audio toolbox.

Until next time…keep on listening!

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Disclaimer

I spent about $100 in my lifetime on SpinFit eartips, mainly on CP145, CP100, CP500, and CP800. Some of the SpinFits used in this review were kindly provided by SpinFit, in several stages since Aug 2019.

Get more information from the SpinFit website.

Our generic standard disclaimer.

The post JK’s Introduction To SpinFit Eartips appeared first on Audio Reviews.

Cons — Buttons on the front haven’t got the best feedback
– Amp section is underwhelming
– Noisy output from headphone out with sensitive IEMs/Headphones (might be fixed via FW upgrade)

INTRODUCTION

iFi Audio is on a roll lately with new releases.

First there is the Zen stack. The Hip DAC soon followed, and then came the iDSD Signature. The release of the Neo iDSD, however, was quite sudden as it’s been a while since iFi has released a desktop all-in-one solution.

Nonetheless, iFi refreshing their lineup is definitely a welcome move as they’ve been lacking options in certain price-points. The Neo iDSD aims to fill in the sub-$1000 bracket, and with a list price of 750 euro is definitely targeted towards premium buyers. This market segment is a very competitive one as products both below and above the price range can serve as quite viable options. The Neo iDSD ain’t short of tricks up its sleeve though to stand out.

A lot of ground to cover, let’s get right into it.

This review originally appeared on my blog.

Note: the ratings given will be subjective to the price tier. Karina Dearman of iFi Audio was kind enough to send the iFi Neo iDSD as part of the head-fi review tour. Disclaimer.

Headphones/IEMs used: Sennheiser HD650, Final Sonorous III/E5000, Hifiman Ananda, Dunu Studio SA6/Zen
Price, while reviewed: 750 euros. Can be purchased from Amazon DE.

iFi Neo iDSD: PHYSICAL THINGS AND USABILITY

PACKAGING AND ACCESSORIES

You get quite a few things in the Neo iDSD package. Alongside the usual RCA-to-RCA interconnect and a short USB 3.0 cable you also get a handy remote control (runs on cell battery), an antenna to improve BT reception, a metal stand where you can mount the Neo iDSD in vertical position, a 3.5–to-6.35mm converter, some spare rubber feet, and finally the iPower adapter. It’s definitely a complete accessory package but I have an issue with the super-short USB cable. The RCA-cable is short as well but I usually go for aftermarket RCA cables so that’s not an issue (and most buyers in this range will likely get a third-party one too). The USB 3.0 cable, however, is too short for desktop users. I wish iFi improves this part of the package in future products, esp at mid/upper-mid level pricing.
4/5

BUILD QUALITY

The iFi Audio Neo iDSD looks quite unique and the design is a welcome departure from the boring rectangular boxes you see literally everywhere nowadays. The silver-colored chassis is made out of sandblasted aluminium. There is a solid heft to the unit despite its diminutive size. Speaking of dimensions, the Neo iDSD is on the smaller side vs other DAC/Amps in this price bracket, esp if you orient it vertically. Yes, the Neo iDSD supports both horizontal and vertical orientation and I went with the latter which not only makes it look sleek but also saves desk space.

The front of the unit has the OLED display up-top which is a Silentline OLED, i.e. it doesn’t add any noise to the signal path and shows the current input signal type, sampling rate, volume, and selected input. The display also orients itself accordingly based on the orientation of the unit courtesy of a built-in accelerometer. At the bottom you’ll find the input selector along with the power button, followed by the 4.4mm pentaconn balanced out and the 6.35mm single-ended out. Sandwiched between the display and the buttons are the volume knob (also acts as a navigation wheel incl. push function and has nice tactile bumps when in operation) and a white, diffused LED strip to indicate that the unit is powered up.

Oh, I almost forgot the Hi-Res sticker. Very important.

The back of the unit is where things get more interesting. Everything is labeled already (as you can see in the picture) but just to reiterate: the output can be either RCA-in or two 3-pin XLRs. Also at the very top you can see the antenna screw-in point to improve reception of BT signal. Other than the front and back, the sides of the unit are bereft of any controls or ports. All in all the build quality is excellent. I do have one nitpick: the power/input selector buttons are a bit wobbly. Minor nitpick though. Also ignore the scratch on the display on my unit, that’s how the tour unit arrived and brand new units should be spotless.
5/5

OPERATION

The Neo iDSD can be operated using the supplied remote or the buttons on the front panel. The operation using the buttons is a bit different so it’s best if you check out iFi’s tutorial videos:

Also note that to switch between fixed and variable line-out mode you’d need to restart the DAC while holding down the volume wheel. Weird, I know.

TECH INSIDE

As usual, the specs first:

The iFi Neo iDSD uses a Burr-Brown chip as per tradition. The BT5.0 is one of the highlights of the product and has LDAC support. iFi also uses a new proprietary PureWave topology where they go for a dual-mono setup with shorter signal paths than their previous designs. The default firmware is GTO-enabled by default and iFi also ditched the xBass/3D analog circuits. I am a bit bummed at the omission of the xBass but Neo iDSD aims to be a purist design and those analog DSP effects are anything but purist.

The internal components are all high quality as expected. TDK/Murata caps, FET-based switching to mute those annoying “pops” you encounter on some DAC/Amps, and native MQA full-rendering support. I confirmed the latter by setting up Tidal on Windows in exclusive mode and playing MQA Master files, which were seamlessly handled by the Neo iDSD (indicated by displaying MQA in the OLED display). At this juncture I should mention that it’s advised to install the iFi Neo iDSD driver package if you’re on Windows (Mac version coming soon). You can get it here.

The Bluetooth also works really well. I transmitted music from my Sony Walkman NW-A55 via LDAC without much fuss. iFi has really nailed BT support on this device.

SOUND

AMP PERFORMANCE

The amp section on the Neo iDSD is disappointing from my experience, sadly. The single-ended out is too underpowered and the balanced out, while powerful enough to drive the Sennheiser HD650 and the likes, lack the dynamism you get when these headphones are properly driven. iFi’s own budget Zen Can has far superior amplification for such headphones and when using the Zen Can as an amp with the Neo iDSD the lack of drive on the Neo iDSD is painfully obvious.

Another issue is the noise you get with sensitive IEMs. I’m not entirely sure if this is unit specific or a firmware issue (iFi did issue a FW upgrade to solve this issue but it didn’t improve things on my unit) but a few other reviewers have also experienced it (e.g. Currawong) so I’d advise against driving sensitive IEMs out of the Neo iDSD.

When connected to high impedance/less sensitive headphones/IEMs the output is clean and exhibits a nice smoothness. Things can get too smooth at times if you’ve connected the Neo iDSD to a warm headphone but overall it’s an enjoyable listen, provided that you use something that’s not sensitive to background hiss.
3/5

DAC PERFORMANCE

The iFi Neo iDSD is 50% DAC and 50% Amp on paper, but for my use case — it’s 100% a DAC and a darn good one at that. Heck, it is one of the best DACs out there in the price-bracket, period (more on this in the comparison section). There is no GTO filter here so I was curious how it might sound and as it turns out — the rendition is wonderful. Dynamics are spot on, the soundstage has great depth (albeit less impressive height and width). The best part was the midrange rendition: smooth without losing details and very engaging presentation. The treble isn’t on your face either but has good amount of sparkle and air. Please note that these impressions were made by using Cayin iHA-6 as an amp and then connecting the HD650/Sonorous III. The Neo iDSD was also set up in balanced configuration via the two 3-pin XLR cables.

One area where the Neo iDSD might not suite everyone as a DAC is soundstage width. It’s one of the regions where it falls a bit short. Another area would be the bass, which has great texture but lacks the meatiness some might prefer. For a more balanced, engaging presentation the Neo iDSD does really well, however.
4.5/5

PAIRINGS

I mainly used two amps with the Neo iDSD: the iFi Zen Can and the Cayin iHA-6. The former is a relatively budget offering and provides an upgrade over the built-in amp of the Neo iDSD IMO, esp when powered with iPower X. The Cayin iHA-6, however, took things to the next level. Exceptional layering, stage depth and micro-detail retrieval coupled with great dynamics. Given the ~$1300 price tag for both of these devices combined, I’d say you’re getting comparable performance to other DAC/Amp setups in a similar price-point, though this particular pairing is mostly suited for full-size headphones rather than IEMs (iHA-6 is too powerful for most IEMs due to 7W @ 32ohms rating from the balanced out). For general all-purpose use I think something like the Topping stack (A90/D90) will be more versatile, or perhaps pairing the A90 with the Neo iDSD.

SELECT COMPARISONS

vs Questyle CMA-400i ($800): The Questyle CMA-400i is my daily driver DAC/Amp and shares some similarities with the Neo iDSD. Both got fully balanced architecture, both can be mounted vertically (though the CMA-400i stand is very difficult to find), offers no analog input (to use as an amp alone) and both are using relatively older chipsets without any selectable reconstruction filter options unlike the latest DAC/Amps out there.

The similarities end there though. The CMA-400i is much larger and weighs substantially more, has 2.5mm and 4-pin XLR balanced out unlike the 4.4mm one on the Neo iDSD, and has no display/remote option.

In terms of sound, unlike the Neo iDSD the CMA-400i has a very clean output. Unfortunately selecting the gain mode is cumbersome (you need to push 4 DIP switches at the bottom of the unit to switch gain) but even at high gain sensitive IEMs don’t exhibit as much hiss as the Neo iDSD (and in low gain it’s basically silent). The sonic differences are also quite noticeable. The CMA-400i goes for an airy presentation and displays a high amount of detail. In fact, resolved detail is higher on the CMA-400i than on the Neo iDSD. Depending on headphone though this can get a bit overboard, but I personally like it for my use-case (most of my headphones are warm-ish). Neo iDSD plays it safe on that regard. Both got exemplary stage depth though Neo iDSD edges out the CMA-400i on that regard. CMA-400i hits back with better stage width/height and more impactful bass rendition. Also if you want native MQA the Questyle can’t help you.

As a DAC, the CMA-400i is close to the Neo iDSD, with personal preferences splitting the difference. As an amp though the CMA-400i is clearly better and is more versatile for headphones and IEMs due to less background hiss and better drive (Questyle’s Current Mode Amp is truly exceptional in this regard).

vs Topping D90 ($750): The Topping D90 costs as much as the Neo iDSD but since I’m mostly using the Neo iDSD as a DAC I thought this is an apt comparison. In terms of features the D90 is clearly superior to the A90 with the highest-rated AKM flagship chipset and a very sophisticated UI that allows you to modify the sound in a number of ways. I do prefer the Neo iDSD’s minimalist approach in this regard but those who love to tinker might veer towards the Topping D90.

In terms of sound, the D90 is basically details galore. The stage is much wider and taller, though depth seemed similar. Mids are a bit pushed back on the Topping D90 at the expense of bass and treble presence. In terms of dynamics, I prefer the Neo iDSD though, as the Topping can feel a bit dull and uninspiring. In fact I enjoy listening to the Neo iDSD more than the D90 despite the latter having superior resolution and wider staging.

If you want a more neutral, almost boring presentation I think the D90 can serve you well and provide you with a feature set longer than the constitution. If you want a more engaging presentation though the Neo iDSD is the one I’d recommend.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

The iFi Audio Neo iDSD is a far better DAC than an amp, basically that’s my takeaway after using it for over a month. The amp section leaves a lot to be desired from an all-in-one perspective but the DAC section is excellent and will give even dedicated DACs in this price bracket a run for the money. The BT support is seamless, it looks sleek, and I just love the vertical stand option. iFi broke the mould of making boring rectangular DAC/Amps and offered purist design which I definitely appreciate, though those looking for all the bells and whistles like selectable reconstruction filters or PEQ might have to look elsewhere.

If only the amp was less noisy in the output and had better drive for higher impedance/low-sensitivity cans I could see this one as an endgame DAC/Amp solution for many. Sadly, it’s a bit away from that crown. Perhaps the next one might break through the barrier.

MY VERDICT

4/5

Recommended (for use as a pure DAC, amp section might disappoint)

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DISCLAIMER

Note: the ratings given will be subjective to the price tier. Karina Dearman of iFi Audio was kind enough to send the iFi Neo iDSD as part of the head-fi review tour.

Get it from Amazon US/Amazon DE

Our generic standard disclaimer.

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