Category: Headphone Amps
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Are Diamonds An Audiophile’s Best Friend? Periodic Audio Hopes So.
Periodic Audio, a company known for their Periodic Element themed earphones, is incorporating a very precious element in their new flagship IEM. That element is Carbon, which is used to create the lab-grown diamonds that coat the diaphragms in their new earphones. Carbon is also the name of Periodic Audio’s new product and they claim…
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Dekoni Audio Blue Planar Magnetic Headphones In The House! First Impressions And Unboxing Pics
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I’ve been trying to get my hands on these headphones for a while now. I’ve heard them at shows and was impressed by the sound, but it’s a whole different animal to break-in a pair at home. There is no shortage of Fostex T50 mods out there, and the Dekoni Blue is the first I’ve…
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HELM Audio Intros New Range Of Gear, Including THX AAA Headphone Amp & $99 MQA DAC
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in Bluetooth, Budget, DACs, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, MQA, News, Portable Audio, Shows, Streaming, WirelessWIth CanJam SoCal, the west coast installment of the world’s largest festival for headphone enthusiasts coming up this Saturday, we expected plenty of new product announcements this week. Among the first companies introducing new products for display at the show is HELM Audio, a manufacturer of innovative budget audio gear, and a company whose products…
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Emotiva TA-100 Integrated Amplifier Review: A Pleasure To Use
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Emotiva is a cool U.S. company based in Tennessee, which engineers the heck out of their audio products and then sells them directly to the consumer (they only sell on their website or Amazon) for meager prices. This commendable business model has allowed them to create their high-value, high-performance Bas-X line, which I’ve been admiring for…
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Cambridge Audio Presents New True Wireless Earbuds With Long Battery Life
Cambridge Audio has thrown their hat in the True Wireless Earbuds ring with the Melomania 1, the first such product in the company’s long hi-fi history. Battery Life is the name of the game here, with Cambridge Audio claiming 9 hours of listening on a single charge. That’s a long time compared with the bulk…
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Deal: Get $200 Off One Of The Best Closed Back Headphones For Audiophiles!
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For a limited time, you can grab a pair of Focal’s amazing Elegia for $699, which is $200 off the regular price of $899. The Elegia was released in November of 2018 and is one of the best closed-back headphones on the market! It delivers incredibly detailed and open sound (rare for a closed-back model)…
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HeadAmp Gilmore Lite Mk2 Headphone Amp In The House! First Impressions And Unboxing Pics
I first heard the $499 HeadAmp Gilmore Lite Mk2 headphone amplifier at AXPONA this year. I was so impressed with how it drove a pair of Meze’s Flagship Empyrean headphones that I had to reach out to the company for a unit to put through the paces at the crib. Thankfully, HeadAmp obliged and sent a…
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Cambridge Audio Debuts New Line Of Affordable Hi Fi Equipment
After releasing the high-end Edge series last year, it looks like Cambridge Audio is going back to their low-cost, high-performance roots with a new line of affordable audio equipment. It’s called the AX series, and it consists of four components ranging between $349 and $499. From Cambridge Audio: Today Cambridge Audio introduces the AX series,…
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HiBy W5 Bluetooth Hi-Fi Headphone Amplifier In The House: Unboxing and First Impressions
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Man…When I first read the specs on the HiBy W5 Bluetooth Headphone Amplifier, I couldn’t help but back it on Kickstarter. For $69 I got a wireless headphone amp that can drive 300-ohm headphones, supports Hi-Res wireless connections and sports a top-flight ESS Sabre DAC chip. I figured I couldn’t lose. Most of the Headphone…
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10 Father’s Day Gifts For The Audiophile Dad
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Is your Dad a music lover? Is he still listening to his tunes on a beat up old hifi stereo system or headphones purchased before you were born? Well, Fathers’ Day is the perfect time to help him upgrade his rig! Below is a list of affordable audiophile speakers, headphones, amps, and DACs that will make…
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PS Audio Sprout100 Integrated Amplifier Review: Simple And Elegant Hi Fi
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PS Audio is known as much for its personable co-founder and CEO Paul McGowan as it is for its relatively value priced high-end audio separates. But a few years ago, Paul’s son Scott decided they needed to create a compact integrated amplifier that fit the needs of younger and most likely space deprived audiophiles. He…
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NAD Electronics D 3045 HybridDigital DAC Amplifier Review: Flexible And Affordable
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At one point in time, other than being known as one of the best stereo amplifier brands, NAD was known for nondescript grey audio components that sounded great and didn’t cost a lot of money. Features and fluff were kept to a minimum, with the bulk of the budget put into high-current amplification. That way…
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Audiolab 6000A In The House: A Truly Versatile Integrated Amplifier
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35 years ago, Audiolab shook things up with their 8000A Integrated Amp, a product still revered today for its bulletproof build quality and high-end sound. Now they have distilled the essence of the 8000 series down (along with adding digital capabilities!) into the more affordable 6000 series, and the $899 6000A Integrated Amplifier is the cornerstone.…
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Get This High-End Audiophile Headphone At A Bargain Basement Price!
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in Best Buys, Budget, DACs, Deals, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, MQA, Music, Portable AudioWhen The AudioQuest Nighthawk Carbon Headphone first came out a few years back, it used to routinely sell for $699, but now you can get it at the crazy price of $299! The Nighthawk Carbon is a bonafide audiophile headphone that is not only beautiful to look at, but also provides a smooth, warm sound…
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One Of The Best Audiophile Headphones Now Selling For A Crazy Low Price!
The Focal (Pronounced Foe-kal) Elear came out in 2016, as part of the French High-End audio company’s bid to grab market share in the audiophile headphone segment. They were made in France with technology inspired by Focal’s flagship headphone, the $4000 Utopia, but at the time, they sold for $1000. They were seen as a…
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PS Audio Sprout100 Integrated Amplifier In The House!
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Ever since the first version of PS Audio’s Sprout Integrated Amplifier was announced back in 2015, I was intrigued by its promise. PS Audio was a well-respected high-end audio company, with renown driven not only by great sounding gear but also by the personality of its founder Paul McGowan. Before Sprout, all of their gear…
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AXPONA 2019 Show Report: Hands-On With The Best Audiophile Headphones Part 2
Be sure to check out our other AXPONA Posts: Budget/Affordable Audiophile Speakers And Electronics Hands-On With The Best Audiophile Headphones Part 1 High End Audio In Pictures ZMF Headphones makes some of the most beautiful wood headphones out there, both in looks and sound, and they had a large presence at AXPONA this year. Their…
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AXPONA 2019 Show Report: Hands-On With The Best Audiophile Headphones Part 1
Be sure to check out our other AXPONA Posts: Budget/Affordable Audiophile Speakers And Electronics Hands-On With The Best Audiophile Headphones Part 2 High End Audio In Pictures Ear Gear Expo, AXPONA‘s headphone showcase, is one of my favorite parts of the show every year, but this year it seems like it shrunk. Some of my…
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EMOTIVA BasX TA-100 Integrated Amplifier/Tuner In The House!
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EMOTIVA is known for making some heavy duty audio gear and selling it at very low prices. Because of this, I have been really wanting to get some of their stuff in for review, and it has finally happened! This is the BasX TA-100 Integrated Amplifier (w/ tuner!) and it does a whole lot for…
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iFi xDSD Bluetooth DAC/Headphone Amp Review-Must Have Companion For Audiophile Headphones
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So not too long ago, I reviewed the iFi xCAN Bluetooth headphone amp, and today I’m reviewing its sister unit, the iFi xDSD combination Portable Bluetooth DAC and Headphone Amplifier. As I said in that review, it’s hard to tell the difference between the two by just looking at them, but basically, the xCAN is…