Category: Reviews
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Best Budget Hi-Fi Speakers (2022)
Best Buys, Budget, Hi-Fi, Home Audio, Integrated Amps, Music, Power Amps, Reviews, Speakers, Streaming, VideosWhen you build a hi-fi system, the speakers are probably the most important and the most difficult component to select. At the end of the day, it’s the speakers that allow the rest of the system to shine, and they also have the biggest impact on the overall character of the system. If you’re working…
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METERS OV-1-B-Connect Noise-Canceling Wireless Headphones Review: Eye-Catching Looks, Middling Sound & Comfort
Bluetooth, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Music, Noise Cancelling, Portable Audio, Reviews, WirelessTL;DR The OV-1-B-CONNECT’s fabulous looks and detailed sound are somewhat let down by so-so comfort and heavy-handed tuning. Intro For most audiophiles, wireless headphones usually compromise sonic fidelity for convenience. However, with the $269 Meters OV-1-B-CONNECT, Ashdown Engineering promises new ANC wireless headphones that are stylish with their functional VU meters and provide world-class audio…
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How To Build A Brilliant Budget Audiophile System In 5 Steps!
Analog, Best Buys, Bluetooth, Budget, DACs, Deals, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, Integrated Amps, Music, Power Amps, Preamps, Reviews, Software, Speakers, VideosYou CAN build a wonderful budget audiophile setup! If you’re reading this, then that means you most likely care about music. Not just music, but high-quality reproduction of music. That’s basically what Hi-fi (short for high fidelity) is all about. It’s about putting together a group of audio components to make a recorded piece of…
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Andover Audio SpinDeck MAX Review: This User-Friendly, Fully Automatic Belt-Drive Turntable Delivers!
TL;DR If you’re planning to buy Andover’s excellent SpinBase turntable speaker system, and you’re looking for a capable, fun, user-friendly turntable to match, the SpinDeck MAX is precisely what you’re looking for. Intro If you’re a regular reader of Hifitrends, then you know we’re big fans of the gear coming out of Andover Audio. They…
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iFi Audio xDSD Gryphon Portable DAC Amp Review: This May Be The Last Digital To Analog Converter You Need To Buy!
Best Buys, Bluetooth, Budget, DACs, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, MQA, Music, News, Portable Audio, Reviews, Streaming, WirelessIntro Back in 2018, when iFi Audio introduced the xDSD, the first model in its x-series line of portable DAC/Amps, it was groundbreaking, both in terms of design and feature set. The xDSD DAC/amp was shortly followed by the second model in the line, the xCAN, which was equally innovative with its powerful amp section…
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Linsoul Audio/HarmonicDyne Poseidon Review: These Handsome Headphones Know How To Get Down!
Intro The Linsoul Audio/HarmonicDyne Poseidon ($439.00) is third in the line of wood cup HarmonicDyne headphones, each named after a Greek god. The first one was Helios, followed by Zeus. The Zeus headphones featured drivers with a Beryllium coating, which reduced distortion and added clarity. The Poseidon picks up where Zeus left off, including the…
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Dilvpoetry DT-1 Tube Headphone AMP DAC Review: Lavish Your Headphones With Warm Tubey Goodness!
Bluetooth, Budget, DACs, Deals, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, Reviews, Streaming, WirelessTL;DR The Dilvpoetry DT-1 combines a decent DAC, powerful headphone amp section, and effective tube input stage in a single box for convenience plus musicality. Intro Tube-based headphone amps can offer listeners a different sound profile to solid-state models. Fans of tube amps crave their tendency towards an “organic” sound that is both warm and…
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Cambridge Audio AXR100 Stereo Receiver/AXC35 CD Player Review: This Affordable Hifi System Is Sensational!
Best Buys, Bluetooth, Budget, DACs, Hi-Fi, Home Audio, Integrated Amps, Power Amps, Preamps, Reviews, Speakers, Streaming, Videos, WirelessWondering what a hi-fi system is? Here’s your answer! Cambridge Audio has been making affordable yet robust amps and receivers for a long time now. My first proper high-end component, a modestly priced Azur 540A V2 integrated, was from them, and it held a special place in my hi-fi rack for a long time. That’s…
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Tin HiFi P1 Plus Planar-Magnetic IEM Review: These Attractive Earphones Are Impressive!
Best Buys, Budget, Deals, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, Portable Audio, Reviews, VideosI’m a big fan of planar magnetic headphones. They give you presence and detail not possible with most dynamic driver models. Usually, this does come at the expense of some bottom-end punch, but for someone like me, who puts more value into overall balance than visceral thump, this suits me fine. Because of this, I’ve…
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Technics’ New EAH-A800 Noise Cancelling Wireless Over-Ear Headphones Boast High-Resolution Audio With 50 Hours Of Playback!
Bluetooth, First Impressions, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, News, Noise Cancelling, Portable Audio, Reviews, Streaming, Uncategorized, Videos, WirelessToday, Technics unveiled the $349 EAH-A800 Wireless Noise Cancelling Over-Ear Headphones, a new premium set of Bluetooth earphones that promise industry-leading battery life (up to 50 hours), class-leading active noise canceling, and LDAC Hi-Res wireless audio. Price-wise they’re in direct competition with the current top-selling ANC headphones from Sony, so it will be interesting to see…
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Product Of The Year Awards 2021: Best Digital To Analog Converters, Best Music Streamers
Hey folks! Well…we’ve made it through another year! It’s been a tough one with Covid-19 ravaging the planet once again, but that hasn’t stopped us from checking out some of the best affordable high-end audio. As the year wraps up, this is the time when we look back at the best stuff we’ve come across…
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Product Of The Year Awards 2021: Best Headphones, Headphone Amps, & Portable Audio
Best Buys, Bluetooth, Budget, DACs, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, MQA, Music, News, Noise Cancelling, Portable Audio, Reviews, Streaming, Videos, WirelessHey folks! Well…we’ve made it through another year! It’s been a tough one with Covid-19 ravaging the planet once again, but that hasn’t stopped us from checking out some of the best affordable high-end audio. As the year wraps up, this is the time when we look back at the best stuff we’ve come across…
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Technics EAH-AZ60 Review: These Brilliant Wireless Earbuds With LDAC Bluetooth Are The Real Deal!
Best Buys, Bluetooth, Budget, Headphones, Hi-Res Music, Music, Noise Cancelling, Portable Audio, Reviews, Software, Videos, WirelessTL;DR The Technics’ EAH-AZ60’s strong ANC, call clarity, and detailed yet easy-going sound signature put them amongst the best True Wireless Earbuds on the market. The Bass can come on a little strong at times, but for the most part, it adds a nice weight to the music. Intro Technics is mainly known for its…
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Awesome! Cambridge Audio Celebrates The 10th Anniversary of StreamMagic!
Best Buys, Bluetooth, DACs, Deals, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, Integrated Amps, MQA, Music, News, Power Amps, Preamps, Reviews, Software, Speakers, Streaming, Videos, WirelessToday, Cambridge Audio officially celebrates the 10th Anniversary of their Streammagic streaming platform, a combination of hardware and software that allows the playback of digital music from their network audio components. As a long-time user of their gear, I have followed the development of StreamMagic for a while, and I think the current incarnation of…
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SMSL DO200 Review: This $489 MQA DAC Will Help You Build A Killer DAC Amp Stack!
Best Buys, Bluetooth, Budget, DACs, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, MQA, Music, Power Amps, Preamps, Reviews, Streaming, Videos, WirelessTL;DR This attractive and full-featured MQA DAC gives you a truly musical and immersive performance. You will have to spend several hundred more to get significantly more definition and layering. Intro At one point in time, desktop DAC and headphone amp separates were only available to those with deep pockets. But over the last couple…
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Holiday Gift Guide For Music Lovers & Audiophiles 2021: 10 Ideas For Last Minute Christmas Gifts (And They’re On Sale!)
Best Buys, Bluetooth, Budget, DACs, Deals, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, MQA, Music, News, Noise Cancelling, Portable Audio, Reviews, Streaming, Videos, WirelessHey folks, Christmas is fast approaching. If you want your gifts to arrive by Dec. 25th (11 days away!!), especially with free shipping, then you need to order them right about now. In this installment of the Holiday Gift Guide For Music Lovers And Audiophiles, we have a list of some of our favorite gear…
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iFi Audio GO blu Review: This Elegant $200 Bluetooth Headphone Amplifier Is Powerful & Compact!
Best Buys, Bluetooth, Budget, DACs, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Music, Portable Audio, Reviews, VideosIntro Ifi Audio is known for making remarkable yet affordable DAC/Headphone Amps, but today we’re looking at their first Portable Bluetooth DAC/Amp, the $199 iFi GO blu. Unlike many portable Bluetooth DACs, the GO blu has separate Amp, DAC, and Bluetooth circuits which enable it to provide double the output power of competitors. iFi also…
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OneOdio Monitor 60 Review: Are These The Best Budget Audiophile Headphones?
Intro The $79 OneOdio Monitor 60 is the third Studio/DJ headphone I’ve reviewed from this relatively new Hong Kong company, and it’s also by far the most ambitious design I’ve seen from them. The first two I looked at were satisfactory for the price, but ultimately just ok in terms of build and sound quality.…
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Holiday Gift Guide For Music Lovers And Audiophiles 2021: 5 Best Christmas Gifts Under $250
Analog, Best Buys, Bluetooth, Budget, DACs, Deals, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, Integrated Amps, MQA, Music, News, Noise Cancelling, Portable Audio, Power Amps, Preamps, Reviews, Shows, Software, Speakers, Streaming, Videos, WirelessHey Folks, Christmas is fast approaching, so here’s another installment of the Holiday Gift Guide For Music Lovers And Audiophiles to help you pick the perfect gift for the Hi-Fi enthusiast in your life! This time around we’ve picked out five exceptional gifts between $150 and $250 that will make an Audiophile very happy, including…
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Bluesound NODE Gen 3 Review: This Wireless WiFi Music Streamer (Still) Does It All!
Best Buys, Bluetooth, Budget, DACs, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, MQA, Music, Reviews, Software, Streaming, Videos, WirelessTL;DR While there may be some streamers out there that are a little more transparent, none at its price point offers the impressive blend of features and quality sound provided by the latest Bluesound NODE. Intro For many years, the Bluesound NODE has arguably been the best value in mid to entry-level music streamers. It…
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