Tag: headphone amp dac
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SMSL HO200 Headphone Amplifier Review: The Best For Astonishing Power And Detail!
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in Best Buys, Budget, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, News, Preamps, ReviewsFor the last year or so, if you were looking for a powerful, yet affordable headphone amp for your desktop, the $499 Topping A90 is the one most people would recommend. The A90 is fully balanced with XLR input/output, a 4.4mm jack, a pre-out, a 3 step gain setting, plus a smooth volume control knob…
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Denafrips ARES II R2R DAC Review: You Need To Hear This Digital To Analog Converter!
The Low Down: The Denafrips ARES II R2R DAC may use older technology, but when done right, resistor ladder Digital To Analog Converters can provide a natural, engaging sound. Many feel it’s a sound that more recent chip-based Delta-Sigma DAC designs can’t match. That’s exactly why the ARES II (1098 SGD, about 800 USD) has…
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Audirect Atom2 Lightning MQA Dac Amp Combo Review: Don’t Listen To Apple Music Lossless Without It!
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in Best Buys, Budget, DACs, Deals, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, MQA, Music, Portable Audio, Reviews, Streaming, VideosThe Low Down The Audirect Atom2 Lightning is a lightweight DAC/Amp combo with a lightning connector for iPhones. It connects directly to the bottom of the phone so you can avoid floppy dongles, and it has decent power for driving full-sized headphones. For a $79 DAC/Amp the sound is extraordinarily smooth, detailed and expansive. If…
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Campfire Audio Drops Two Tantalizing Reference IEMs, The $649 Holocene And $549 Mammoth
This week, Campfire Audio continued the sustained growth of its burgeoning product line with two new models, the Holocene and Mammoth IEMs. Both are constructed of Campfire’s iconic aluminum housings and stainless steel spouts accented with glow in the dark elements for more visual appeal. The glow in the dark motif is also carried over…
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Kinera Unveils Imperial Skuld, Their Latest Handpainted IEM Masterpiece!
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Kinera has been on a roll. Over the last couple of years, the company has put out a constant stream of beautifully handpainted earphones, and each one has an interesting theme based on Norse mythology. Their latest creation is called the Kinera Imperial Skuld. It’s named after Skuld, one of the mythological “Sisters of Fate,”…
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Lightning DACs and Camera Adapters: How To Get The Best Sound From Apple Music Lossless
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Last week Apple rolled out thousands of Lossless Audio and Hi-Res Lossless audio tracks on their Apple Music platform, bringing with them the promise of Audiophile-Quality playback. Here’s how Apple explains it: Apple has developed its own lossless audio compression technology called Apple Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC). In addition to AAC, the entire Apple Music…
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IFi Audio Zen DAC V2 Review: A Remarkable Dac Amp Combo Gets Even Better!
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in Best Buys, Budget, DACs, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, MQA, Music, Reviews, Streaming, Videos, WirelessWhen I reviewed iFi Audio’s original Zen DAC back in 2019, I couldn’t believe the massive value provided by the $130 desktop DAC Headphone Amp combo. It was compatible with all digital audio formats, including high-resolution formats like MQA and Native DSD, plus it had decent power, especially via the balanced output. Most importantly, it…
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Periodic Audio Rhodium DAC Amp Review: Best Budget Dac Amp Combo?
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Summary Yes, the Dongle DAC/Amp market is super crowded right now, but that hasn’t stopped Periodic Audio from dropping their own branded dongle DAC at a reasonable price of $49. It’s called the Periodic Audio Rhodium DAC, and it has 32bit/384kHz high-res PCM decoding, along with 30 mW of power to boost their earphones. Periodic…
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iFi Audio Unveils New And Improved ZEN DAC V2 DAC Amp, Available In May
Today, via their official Twitter account, iFi Audio unveiled a new version of its super-popular ZEN DAC USB DAC/ Headphone Amp, called the ZEN DAC V2. The new model improves upon the original with a more powerful 16 Core XMOS digital processing chip, transforming the new ZEN DAC Dac Amp into an MQA Decoder instead…
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Best Buys: The Best Portable USB DAC Amps Under $500!
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in Best Buys, Bluetooth, Budget, DACs, Deals, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, MQA, Music, News, Reviews, Software, Streaming, Uncategorized, VideosDAC’s or Digital to Analog converters have become an easy and inexpensive way to improve the sound coming from your laptop or smartphone. The easiest to use and most affordable is the portable DAC, which usually incorporates a headphone amp, hence the name DAC Amp. They also obtain the digital audio signal via a USB…
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Cambridge Audio DacMagic 200M Review: This Affordable Dac Amp Is Breathtaking!
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in Best Buys, Bluetooth, Budget, DACs, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, MQA, Music, Preamps, Reviews, Software, Speakers, Streaming, Uncategorized, Videos, WirelessSummary Cambridge Audio’s DacMagic DACs have long provided solid functionality and impressive performance for the money. Their latest DacMagic product, the DacMagic 200M, is their most admirable effort yet. The 200M supports the highest bit rates ever decoded in a DacMagic DAC (32-bit/768kHz), handles DSD and MQA, plus has built-in aptX Bluetooth (previous models needed…
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World Premiere! THX Onyx Review: Their First DAC/Headphone Amp Combo Is Marvelous!
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in Budget, DACs, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, MQA, Music, Portable Audio, Reviews, SoftwareOverview The portable DAC/Amp market is a crowded one. I’ve reviewed a bunch of them, and I have a couple on deck waiting for evaluation. To make noise in this product category, you have to come up with something special. Enter THX and their new THX Onyx, a $199 DAC/Amp that happens to be their…
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iFi iDSD Diablo Review: The Best Portable Dac/Amp Combo?
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in DACs, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, MQA, Music, Portable Audio, Power Amps, Preamps, Reviews, VideosIFi’s Latest Portable Dac/Amp Combo Has Unrivaled Power And Refinement At Its Price! It’s no secret that I have a bit of a soft spot for iFi products. Their combination of innovative design, thoughtful features, and build quality is unmatched at their price points. They always seem to give you more for your money. The…
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Now That’s A Good Question…What’s A Good DAC/Amp For The Hifiman Sundara?
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in Budget, DACs, Deals, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, MQA, Music, Portable Audio, Power Amps, Reviews, Streaming, Videos, WirelessChoosing a DAC Amp for the Best Value Headphone under $500! A Reader Writes: I’m wondering if you can give me your recommendation for pairing up a DAC for the Hifiman Sundara headphones. I have not purchased either item but I’d like to do so as soon as today. I’ve been unable to confirm what…
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Khadas Tone 2 Pro Review: This Revolutionary DAC Amp Will Make Your Headphones Sing!
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in Bluetooth, Budget, DACs, Headphone Amps, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, MQA, Music, Portable Audio, Preamps, Reviews, Videos, WirelessI’ve reviewed quite a few dongle style DAC/Headphone Amps over the last year or so, and I must say I dig them. Their compact size coupled with their affordability makes them an ideal way to upgrade a smartphone or laptop’s sound while on the go. Recently, I was really wowed by the $99 HELM Audio…
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Now That’s A Good Question…Bluetooth vs. Wi-Fi Music Streaming?
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in Best Buys, Bluetooth, Budget, DACs, Headphones, Hi-Fi, Hi-Res Music, Home Audio, Integrated Amps, Music, News, Power Amps, Preamps, Software, Streaming, Videos, WirelessA reader writes: Would a music streamer, like Andover’s Audio Songbird Music Streamer, be necessary for a system with a PS Audio Sprout since the Sprout has Bluetooth? Thanks M.B. Hello M.B, Not necessarily. If you’re happy with the sound from Bluetooth, then you may not need a Wi-Fi streamer like the Songbird. However,…
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Wow! Check Out The Euclid, Audeze’s Extraordinary New In-Ear Planar Magnetic Headphone
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Today, Audeze revealed the $1299 Euclid, their first closed-back in-ear Planar Magnetic earphone. It’s a beautiful design composed of aluminum and carbon fiber. Inside the housings are 18mm ultra-thin planar magnetic drivers which utilize scaled-down versions of Audeze patented technologies like Fluxor magnets for efficiency and Fazor waveguides for a cleaner sound. They also come with…
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Shanling BA1 Desktop Hi-Fi Bluetooth Receiver Review: Exquisite Bluetooth DAC For Headphones And Speakers!
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Remarkable Wireless Sound For The Money! It wasn’t long ago, the phrase “Hi-Fi Bluetooth Receiver” would’ve been considered something of an oxymoron. Even a couple of years back, the sound quality of Bluetooth was pretty poor, and most audiophiles would’ve scoffed at the idea of “Hi-Fi Bluetooth.” But in the last year or so, new…
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Check Out Cambridge Audio’s First MQA DAC/Headphone Amp, The Remarkable DacMagic 200M!
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Cambridge Audio’s First MQA DAC Amp Has Some Serious Specs! Today, venerated British hi-fi brand Cambridge Audio announced their first MQA compatible product, the top of the line DacMagic 200M DAC/Headphone Amp. This will be their new flagship standalone DAC (a step above the current DacMagic Plus), boasting dual ESS Sabre DACs (one per channel…
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Red Hot! Take A Look At iFi’s Dazzling New iDSD Diablo DAC/Amp!
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This Pocket-Sized DAC/AMP Promises Reference-Quality Sound! iFi Audio is starting the new year off right with an impressive-looking new DAC/Headphone Amp. Called the iDSD Diablo, it’s positioned at the top of iFi’s considerable transportable DAC lineup and designed to provide reference quality sound for headphones and stereo systems. This new battery-powered product comes in a sexy…