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Editor's Picks
This is a comparison between the Focal Utopia dynamic driver headphone and the Voce electrostatic headphone from Dan Clark Audio, formerly known as MrSpeakers. Both are among my favourite headphones. I chose to do this comparison with the Utopia equipped…
The Hifiman Edition XS is one of Hifiman’s most popular headphones. Launched in 2021, the XS is the latest version of the Edition X-series. The first Edition X was launched in 2015 and the Edition X V2 followed shortly after in…
As the name suggests, the Quintet has 5 drivers per side. There are 4 different types of drivers: 1 Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) dynamic driver, 2 balanced armature (BA) drivers, 1 planar magnetic driver, and 1 piezoelectric (PZT) bone conductor. A…
The Hifiman Sundara and Edition XS are two of Hifiman’s most popular headphones. The Sundara was launched in 2017, Edition XS was launched in 2021. The XS, however, is based on the previous Edition X, launched in 2015 with…
Hifiman makes great planar magnetic headphones in all price classes. From the super expensive, ultra high-end Susvara, to the entry-level HE400-series, with the current version being the HE400SE. The first HE400 came around in 2011/2012 and was Hifiman’s new entry…
It is time for me to honor this great headphone. Even after Hifiman has released their Stealth version, the HE1000v2 is still available. The HE1000 is special for many reasons: It was the first flagship after the HE-6, and was…
The Focal Utopia is one of the best headphones in the world. Naturally, it deserves a good source and a serious amplifier. I have tried quite a few amps with the Utopia in various types and price classes, and in…
French high-end speaker-manufacturer Focal entered the realm of high-end headphones with the launch of the Utopia in 2016. The Utopia soon gained the reputation of being one of the world’s finest headphones. Focal followed up and introduced the Elear later…
Headphones
FiiO has been making affordable quality audio gear for many years, but the FT3 is their first full-size headphone. Launched in 2023, it has a 60 mm dynamic driver with a rated impedance of 350 Ohms and a sensitivity of 105 dB. FiiO has also introduced a 32 Ohms version, which is more suited for portable setups. The HD660S2 was…
French high-end speaker manufacturer Focal entered the realm of high-end headphones with the launch of the Utopia in 2016. It utilized Focal’s experience with Beryllium speaker tweeters and was a huge success: The Utopia soon was getting a reputation for being among the world’s best-sounding headphones. Focal followed up and introduced the Elear later the same year. The original Clear…
The original HE1000 came out in 2015 but was soon replaced by the almost identical sounding HE1000v2 in 2016. The HE1000 series headphones were designed with an asymmetrical magnet structure with smaller magnets on the inside. The latest version of the HE1000v2 has got revised with “stealth” magnets, which is a fancy word for more aerodynamically shaped magnets. Both have …
The Hifiman Edition XS is one of Hifiman’s most popular headphones and was launched in 2021 as the third generation of the Edition X-series. It’s the most affordable of the oval “egg-shaped” headphones from Hifiman that started with the HE1000. It is a planar magnetic headphone and uses a dual-sided magnet driver with aerodynamically shaped “stealth magnets” and the thin…
This is a short comparison between the Hifiman Edition XS stock version and the Focal Elex/Elear with Dekoni fenestrated sheepskin pads. The Hifiman Edition XS is one of Hifiman’s most popular headphones and was launched in 2021 as the third generation of the Edition X-series. It’s the most affordable of the oval “egg-shaped” headphones from Hifiman that started with the…
This is a comparison of the Stax SR-007 mk2 and the Focal Utopia (original). These headphones are both known as among the best headphones ever made. The Utopia is a traditional, dynamic headphone. The STAX SR-007 mk2 is an electrostatic headphone that needs a dedicated electrostatic amplifier. The Utopia can be used with any standard headphone amplifier and it’s a…
Headphone amplifiers
The Gemini hybrid headphone amplifier is designed around a tube-based input stage and an op-amp-based output stage. In this review, the…
The Focal Utopia is one of the best headphones in the world. Naturally, it deserves a good source and a serious…
This is not a review but a guide to the Violectric legacy products and their current lineup. I have so far…
THE GAME CHANGER Violectric V200 is a long-standing reference amp for many, including myself. It is now discontinued. Its successor V202…
This is a group test of the headphone performance as a standalone DAC/amp of the SPL Phonitor xe with the DAC768,…
I reviewed the original Brooklyn DAC when it came out and was pretty impressed by both the DAC and the headphone…
More Posts
This is an “honorary” review of the iKKO OH10 Obsidian. It’s being replaced by a newer version called OH10S. However, I have wanted to write about the OH10 for some…
This a a/b comparison of the Kiwi Orchestra Lite and the iKKO OH10 Obsidian In Ear Monitors. They’re in the same price range. I’ve done separate reviews of both if…
These two in-ear monitors are very differently constructed. The Kiwi Ears Orchestra Lite features 8 custom balanced armature drivers: Two ultra tweeters for the treble, four midrange balanced armature drivers…
The Sennheiser IE200 is a small single-driver IEM. It uses the same 7 mm True Response dynamic driver as the IE600 and the IE900, the difference between them lies mainly…
This a a/b comparison of the Kiwi Quintet and the iKKO OH10 Obsidian In Ear Monitors. They’re in the same price range. I’ve done separate reviews of both if you…
The HE-560 and Sundara are similar in many ways. Both are single-sided magnet driver planar magnetic headphones. They have circular ear cups. Even if they started out on different price…