Category: DACs
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Audiophile Holiday Gift Guide 2019: 10 Best Stocking Stuffer Ideas, Christmas Gifts Under $100!
Best Buys, Bluetooth, Budget, DACs, Deals, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, MQA, Music, News, Portable Audio, Power Amps, UncategorizedThe Christmas Holiday Season is upon us again! This year just flew by, didn’t it? Well, here we are back again to help out with Christmas Gifts, and let you know precisely what the Audiophile/Music lover in your life wants under the tree! We will have several posts with gifts at all different price points,…
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Fiio K5 Pro Headphone Amplifier Review: This Impressive Budget DAC Amp Will Excite You!
It wasn’t long ago that I would call a $150 desktop headphone amp with great sound and decent power a steal. So then what should I call a desktop headphone amp with excellent sound, decent power, and a quality USB DAC built-in? I would call it the K5 Pro. The Fiio K5 Pro ($149.99 on…
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The Mighty Parasound NewClassic 200 Integrated Amp & DAC In The House! First Impressions And Unboxing Pics!
DACs, First Impressions, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, Integrated Amps, News, Power Amps, Preamps, Reviews, Shows, Speakers, UncategorizedMy first experience with the $1195 Parasound NewClassic 200 Integrated Amp & DAC was eye-opening. It was part of an impressive display at this year’s RMAF, where it was matched up with a massive pair of $4500 Tekton MOAB speakers. It was a combination so successful; I felt it was possibly the best-sounding rig at the…
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Must See: World’s Smallest MQA Hi Res Audio USB DAC/Headphone Amp Launches On Kickstarter Today
Budget, DACs, Deals, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, Integrated Amps, MQA, Music, News, Portable Audio, StreamingZorloo’s Ztella, the World’s Smallest MQA DAC/Headphone Amp, is launching on Kickstarter today. I covered its introduction last month on the site, and the specs are jaw-dropping, to say the least. The biggest selling point is its ability to act as an MQA renderer, much like the Dragonfly DAC/AMP from Audioquest, but with dimensions not…
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Audiolab 6000N Play Wireless Audio Streaming Player Review: You Need This Spellbinding Hifi Music Streamer!
If you read my review of Audiolab’s 6000A Integrated Amp, you know I’m a big fan of that “Entry Level” amplifier. I loved it so much I ended up buying the review unit. After having such a pleasant experience with that product, I knew I had to take a listen to the matching 6000N Play…
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A Thrilling Hi-Fi Home Stereo System For $500? Here You Go!
Budget, DACs, Deals, Downloads, Headphone Amps, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, Integrated Amps, Music, Power Amps, Preamps, Speakers, Streaming, Wireless(Editor’s Note: Looks like they may have sold out of units at the sale price….but this system is still a great deal at the regular price! Check it out!) Think you can’t get an enchanting Hi-Fi stereo system, source and all, for $500? Well, think again, because I got one right here. It’s called the…
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iFi’s New $129 ZEN DAC: The Specs Are Tremendous!
iFi Audio just released the full info on their new budget desktop DAC/Headphone Amp, and the feature list is impressive. The ZEN DAC will sell for $129 in the U.S., and unlike the similarly-priced portable DAC/Amps they’ve put out in the past, (see iFi Audio Nano iDSD LE) this product doesn’t have a rechargeable battery.…
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The Seductive Fiio M11 Pro Digital Audio Player In The House! First Impressions And Unboxing Pics!
Bluetooth, DACs, First Impressions, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, MQA, Music, Portable Audio, Reviews, Streaming, WirelessFiio’s M11 Digital Audio Player had some pretty beefy specs, but evidently that wasn’t good enough because now we have the jam-packed Fiio M11 Pro. In this new version, they upgraded the DAC chips to two flagship AKM “Velvet Sound” chips, doubled the storage from 32GB to 64GB, put in a Fully-Balanced THX-Certified amp section,…
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Zorloo Ztella: The Tantalizing Specs On This Tiny MQA-Enabled DAC Will Entice You
Best Buys, Budget, DACs, First Impressions, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, MQA, Music, News, Portable AudioAlmost two years after the launch of their well-received Zorloo Zuperdac-S, Zorloo has announced a new, MQA high-resolution audio-enabled USB DAC. It’s called Ztella, and it’s the smallest MQA DAC released thus far, not much bigger than a standard USB-C dongle. From the press release: Zorloo is pleased to introduce Ztella, the smallest USB-DAC with high-end audio…
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iFi ZEN Blue: A Bluetooth Receiver Crafted For Audiophiles
Our full review of the iFi ZEN Blue is up! Check it out here. iFi is bringing High-Resolution Audio via Bluetooth to a desktop near you. The $129 iFi ZEN Blue is their new desktop-sized Bluetooth Reciever that leverages hi-res Bluetooth codecs like LDAC and aptX HD to convey 24-bit “better than CD quality”…
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HiBy Packs A Bunch Of Tech In Their New $59 Bluetooth Headphone Amp
Bluetooth, DACs, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, Music, News, Portable Audio, Power Amps, Streaming, WirelessHiBy’s new Bluetooth Reciever/Headphone Amp, the W3, packs a bunch of features in a compact and inexpensive package. From the announcement: The W3 is packed with powerful hardware, utilizing a CSR8675 Bluetooth 5.0 receiver and a separate AK4377 DAC+amp chip to bring you audiophile quality wirelessly. It is compatible with our patented Ultra Audio Transmission…
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Rocky Mountain Audio Fest Report Part 5: The Show In Pictures-Room Highlights!
DACs, First Impressions, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, Integrated Amps, Music, Power Amps, Preamps, Shows, Speakers, StreamingSo this is the wrap-up of my Rocky Mountain Audio Fest 2019 coverage, and basically, I wanted to post some pics of the rooms I dug but haven’t posted yet. Zu Audio’s room was pretty cool with the Druid 6 and Omen Dirty Weekend paired with Pass Labs/Holo Audio gear, the newly launched Sonus Faber Olympica…
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Bowers & Wilkins Unveils Formation Flex, A Smaller Take On Their Wireless Audio Tech
Bowers & Wilkins has expanded their wireless Formation Series with the new Formation Flex. The Flex is the smallest speaker in the range (Height: 8.5 in, Width: 5.1 in, Depth: 5.1 in), which as the name suggests, allows flexibility in use and placement. As stated in the press release: The Formation Flex features the same…
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Rocky Mountain Audio Fest Report: Cambridge Audio Intros New CX Series Integrated Amps
Budget, DACs, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, Integrated Amps, Music, News, Power Amps, Preamps, ShowsI always make it a point to stop at the Cambridge Audio room when I hit a show and even more so this time because I hoped to hear both the relatively new AX Series budget amps and the brand new CX Series 2 Integrated Amps. Dubbed the CXA81 ($1299) and CXA61 ($999), they offer…
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Shanling Audio Unveils New M6 Android DAP, 5 Driver IEM, and Bluetooth Headphone Amp
Bluetooth, DACs, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, MQA, Music, News, Portable Audio, Software, Streaming, WirelessAfter several days of product teases via their Social Media accounts, Shanling Audio unveiled several new products yesterday, including their very first android based digital audio player, the M6. Along with the M6, they also took the wraps off the UP4 Balanced Bluetooth Headphone amp and the ME700 In-Ear Monitor which features five drivers per side.…
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Rocky Mountain Audio Fest Preview: Kanto Audio To Demo TUK, A New High-End Active Speaker
Bluetooth, DACs, Headphone Amps, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, Music, News, Shows, Speakers, WirelessKanto Audio is bringing their new flagship powered speaker called TUK to RMAF (Denver/Aurora, CO Sep. 6-8) this year. The $799 TUK is the company’s first powered speaker to sell above $400, (their Budget YU Series has received a lot of love) it is also their first to use an AMT (Air Motion Transformer) tweeter…
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Audiolab 6000N Play Network Audio Player In The House-First Impressions And Unboxing Pics!
A couple of months back, I got Audiolab’s 6000A Integrated Amplifier in for review, and I loved it so much I bought the unit as a reference amp. Today I’m taking a look at the companion product to that amp, the $599 6000N Play Network Audio Player. The 6000N Play leverages the DTS Play-Fi Wireless audio…
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ICYMI: AudioQuest Does It Again With New DragonFly Cobalt USB DAC
A while back, AudioQuest turned the Headphone Amp/DAC game on its head with the DragonFly, a USB device that made it easy to get top-level sound out of your smartphone or computer. Not only that, but it also gave you a more powerful headphone output than the built-in jack on your devices allowing you to…
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Deal: HiBy R6 Digital Audio Player-Check Out The Pre-Prime Day Discount!…$100 Off!
Best Buys, Bluetooth, DACs, Deals, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, MQA, Music, Portable Audio, Streaming, WirelessIf you are looking for a state of the art digital audio player here’s a chance to get a great one at an awesome discount! Between now and July 10th, HiBy is having a Pre Prime Day sale on Amazon for their R6 Hi-Fi DAPs, slashing $100 off the regular prices. The Android-based R6 features…
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Audiolab 6000A Integrated Amplifier Review: Class-Leading Sound And Construction
Bluetooth, DACs, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, Integrated Amps, Music, Power Amps, Preamps, Reviews, Streaming, WirelessAs I said in my first impressions/unboxing post, Audiolab shook things up 35 years ago with their 8000A Integrated Amp, a product still revered today for its bulletproof build quality and high-end sound. The $950 6000A Integrated Amplifier I’m looking at today is the cornerstone of the UK company’s new and more affordable 6000 series,…
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