Category: Headphone Amps
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PS Audio Sprout100 Integrated Amplifier In The House!
DACs, First Impressions, Headphone Amps, Hi-Fi, Home Audio, Integrated Amps, Power Amps, Preamps, StreamingEver 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!
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
Best Buys, DACs, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, MQA, Portable Audio, Reviews, WirelessSo 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…
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NAD D 3045 Hybrid Digital DAC Integrated Amplifier In The House!
Best Buys, Bluetooth, DACs, First Impressions, Headphone Amps, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, Integrated Amps, MQA, Power Amps, Reviews, Streaming, WirelessNAD D3045 Hybrid Digital DAC Amplifier ($699) – I call it a little wonder box…Integrated Power Amp, High-Current Headphone Amp, USB DAC w/ MQA and DSD, not to mention an APT-X HD Bluetooth Reciever. There’s not much this relatively small box can’t do. I can’t wait to put it through its paces! Stay tuned for the review……
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How To Get The Best MQA Audio With TIDAL and Your iPhone (Plus A Word Regarding Android)
DACs, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, MQA, Music, Portable Audio, Software, Streaming, WirelessSince TIDAL added universal MQA (Tidal Masters) support to their iOS app, there has been some confusion on how to get the highest quality hi-res MQA audio stream out to your headphones or audio system. John Darko jumped right on this with an excellent explanation of why getting hi-res audio out of an iPhone can…
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HiBy W5 Audiophile Bluetooth Amp Hits Kickstarter
Much to the chagrin of Audiophile purists, Bluetooth has firmly taken root within hi-fi, and HiBy is seizing upon the trend with a new portable Audiophile Bluetooth amplifier for headphones. It’s called the HiBy W5 and it launched today on Kickstarter with a Super Early Bird price of $59. (As of this writing, the $59…
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iFi xCAN Portable Headphone Amp Review
Powerful Portable Audiophile Amp with Excellent Wireless Sound Judging from my research and general discussion about the xCAN, it seems like people are really confused about what it actually is. I guess part of the confusion is the existence of the xDSD, a portable headphone amp/DAC that is more along the lines of what people…
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Technics Releases Two Premium Headphones with apt-X HD and LDAC Bluetooth
Bluetooth, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, Music, News, Noise Cancelling, Portable Audio, Streaming, WirelessAt CES 2019 in Las Vegas, Technics released two premium over-ear wireless headphones, the EAH-F70N and EAH-F50B. Both models are aiming for audiophile sound quality, incorporating high-resolution Bluetooth codecs (both apt-x HD and LDAC) along with custom 40mm diaphragms. The F70N model adds active Noise Cancelling with an Ambient Awareness feature that will allow you to…
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TIDAL Making MQA Audiophile Format Available To All Android Smartphones
UPDATE: Check out my post on How to get the best sound quality from the TIDAL app and MQA! TIDAL Masters MQA is now available on iOS as well! Check out our post about it here. TIDAL announced today that it will be making TIDAL Masters, their implementation of MQA high-resolution streaming, available to all…
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1MORE Receives CES Award For New Flagship Penta Driver In-Ear Headphones
Bluetooth, DACs, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Music, News, Portable Audio, Streaming, Wireless1MORE just announced a new flagship in-ear headphone at CES for which they have earned the CES 2019 Innovation Honoree Award. The new neckband-style Penta Driver In-Ear Headphones feature 5 balanced armatures per side, and have the option of either wireless listening via Bluetooth or wired via an included adapter. They also support the Apt-X…
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iFi xCAN: Bluetooth Audiophile Headphone Amp In The House!
Bluetooth, Budget, First Impressions, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, Music, Portable Audio, Power Amps, Streaming, WirelessThanks again to iFi for sending me another product to review! After checking out their nano iDSD Black Label last year, I was very impressed with the build quality, feature set, sound, and just overall value for the money! Highly recommended, and if you don’t believe me, then check out the million other favorable reviews…
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USB Audio Player PRO Adds MQA Support
Bluetooth, DACs, Downloads, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, MQA, Music, News, Portable Audio, Power Amps, WirelessUSB Audio Player Pro, the popular music playback app from eXtream software, now supports MQA decoding, but you will have to pay a little extra for the option. The upgrade comes in the form of an in-app purchase which costs $3.99. Once purchased, it unlocks the ability for UAPP to function as an MQA core…
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2018 Budget Hi-Fi Holiday Gift Guide
Best Buys, Bluetooth, Budget, DACs, Deals, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, Integrated Amps, MQA, Music, News, Portable Audio, Power Amps, SpeakersLast-Minute Gifts for the Audiophile/Music Junkie in your life! Christmas is approaching fast, and if you are ordering online, then the time to order your gifts and have them delivered in time is approaching even faster! Here are some last minute gifts for the Audiophile in your life that won’t break the bank! 1MORE Triple…
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Review: Nano iDSD Black Label by iFi
Best Buys, Budget, DACs, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, MQA, Portable Audio, ReviewsMQA and Native DSD playback set this mini powerhouse apart. Looking for a powerful, great sounding, DAC/headphone amp combo that handles MQA rendering and native DSD playback? Want it to be smaller than a pack of cigarettes? Want to pay less than $200? Then the Nano iDSD Black Label by iFi is not only the…
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2018 Black Friday & Cyber Monday Hi-Fi Audio Deals! (Check Back for Updates)
Best Buys, Budget, DACs, Deals, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Home Audio, News, Portable Audio, Power Amps, UncategorizedBlack Friday is almost upon us, and hi-fi audio brands like Fiio and Q Acoustics are looking to get in on the action. We have scoured the internet for these deals so you don’t have to! So be sure to check back here as we constantly update this page with new Black Friday and Cyber…
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AXPONA 2018: Sunday At The Ear Gear Expo (HiFiMAN, Acoustic Research,Dekoni,Cleer,MEZE Audio,Campfire Audio, MYTEK)
With all the ground I had to cover at the show on Saturday, by Sunday morning my feet were absolutely killing me. But that didn’t stop me from checking out my favorite part of any audio show and that is the headphone demos. AXPONA calls it the Ear Gear Expo, and it shares the Expo…
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Hi-Fi Deals: Get This Highly Recommended Digital Audio Player/DAC for $148! (That’s over $40 off)
Best Buys, Budget, DACs, Deals, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, Integrated Amps, Music, Portable Audio, Streaming, WirelessThis week Fry’s Electronics is offering the FiiO X3 Mark III Portable High-Resolution Lossless Music Player – Black for only $148 this week with a Fry’s Promocode. That’s over $40 off the lowest price we could find for a new unit, which is $189 at Amazon. The well-reviewed X3 Mark III is a budget DAP full of…
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iFi Nano iDSD Black Label In The House!
DACs, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, MQA, Portable Audio, Reviews, UncategorizedThis headphone amp/USB DAC has all the technology, but how does it sound? Review coming soon! P. CashI’m an audio writer who started as a young audio salesman/consumer electronics professional back in the late 90s. That’s where I discovered the magic of 2-Channel sound. My thirst for great sound has led me on a delightful…
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